“Yesterday’s” Comic> Thunderbolt #53

Guys, she’s not worth fighting over.

Thunderbolt #53

Charlton Comics Group (August, 1966)

Case #4: “Enter…The Tong”

WRITER/ARTIST/CREATOR: P.A.M.

[Read along with me here]

A relic of the past, a man calling himself The Tong wants to bring the Chinese crime organization of the same name to America, starting his own criminal empire. His goal is to use a drill machine to steal the city’s gold, but after learning one of his criminal contacts is an uncover cop, has him killed. Except he survives the attempt, and with their biggest lead in a coma, Lt. Palmer calls Peter Cannon about a tattoo that is the symbol of the tongs. As The Tong (not to be confused with the group name or the cooking utensil) continues his rampage, Tabu once again convinces Peter to become Thunderbolt. Captured by the villains, he manages to break free, and attempting to use the tank on Thunderbolt, The Tong ends up out of control and into a watery grave just as the undercover man wakes up and sends the police to round up his men.

What they got right: Some decent action I guess. The plot itself isn’t bad.

What they got wrong: There are two recurring events in these stories that are turning me off. One is Thunderbolt repeating the “I can do it…I must do it…I WILL DO IT!” every single time he’s down. It’s like a Furmanism, those same lines Simon Furman likes to reuse, only it’s the same guy each time. There’s also the idea that Tabu has to keep talking him into using his talents to actually help instead of having them and not doing anything with them. It doesn’t make him much of a hero if he has to be badgered into it EVERY TIME! Just call Captain Atom. He shows up in this comic to talk about nuclear energy in a back-up by Frank McLaughlin. He’s got nothing better to do.

What I think overall: The “please use all that training and intellect into doing more than writing articles and sitting on your butt” routine is getting old. Sure, that’s what I do these days but I don’t have his abilities. I’m just not into the reluctant hero when he shows no signs of changing.