After making it abundantly clear that they suck as a team, Mister Hyde and the Cobra go their separate ways. Will that be any better?
Daredevil #82 (1973)
written by Gerry Conway
pencils by Alan Weiss & Barry Smith
cover by John Romita
The first to show up again is Mister Hyde…
…who gets a very monstrous first impression.
Despite that, he’s far from impressive.
He’s been hired to prevent anyone from examining the corpse of the Scorpion, who “died” in the previous issue (more on that later).
I’m skipping though this because it’s a very inconsequential appearance, despite the fact that Hyde is presumed dead in an explosion.
Captain America #151 (1972)
by Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema
He shows up again in a different Conway book, where both Hyde and the Scorpion are confirmed to still be alive.
We actually already saw the previous issue in a different retrospective, and we start off with the two villains attacking Stever Rogers in an alley.
This is a pretty bad outing for both Mister Hyde (what else is new) and the Scorpion, who typically gives a hard time to Spider-Man.
Here, they are both taken out VERY quickly by Steve…
… TOO quickly, considering he’s evidently using brute strength.
Captain America will have outright super-strength between issues 168 and 193; outside of those, he shouldn’t be anywhere NEAR strong enough to knock out Scorpion, let alone Hyde!!!
After that failed, Hyde’s plan is to go after Steve’s love interest Sharon Carter.
Hyde’s relationship with Scorpion is only marginally better than what he had with the Cobra.
Turns out that neither of them really died on that Daredevil story: they had been put on stasis, and the ones we saw “die” were actually android built by the supervillain Mr. Kline.
Yeah the early 70s were WEIRD for Daredevil… one of his villains was an android from the future!!!
Hyde’s rematch with Captain America goes just about as well as you’ve come to expect.
Look, I like Captain America. A LOT. But he’s several weight classes below Thor, making me questioning how the Hel was this guy able to last even five seconds against him.
Still, Hyde manages to take Sharon Carter hostage.
Captain America #152 (1972)
by Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema
The biggest suspense is what we’re supposed to find out in the letters page about the cover.
More on that at the end of the review.
Hyde doesn’t get an actual scene until page 15…
…where he fails to break Cap’s shield.
I can’t stress it enough that in this period, Captain America is NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE SUPER-STRENGTH and Hyde is explicitly strong enough to lift a car.
Which means Cap is able to break his ribs and knock him out with a single punch.
Sounds legit.
“Whump” indeed.
Captain America #163 (1973)
by Steve Englehart & Sal Buscema
Will the Cobra be less embarrassing when he shows up the following year?
Well it’s in the VASTLY superior Englehart run, so that gives me hope.
The Cobra has found himself new teammates, forming the Serpent Squad.
A team that includes the original Viper… not the woman also known as Madame Hydra, who is AWESOME. This one is a man and he’s quite lame.
And infamously we have the original Eel, who debuted as a Human Torch villain in Strange Tales #112.
Yes, the “Serpent Squad” includes a guy named after an animal who is most definitely NOT a serpent.
Yeah the Cobra should feel right at home with those idiots.
Falcon doesn’t even have his wings yet, but he’s still more than enough to defeat a guy who lost against a Daredevil who didn’t have super-senses.
Hey at least this comic remembers that the Cobra is supposed to be a scientific genius, because he’s the one to design the weapons the Serpent Squad employs in the second round.
This issue also has what is possibly the first outright victory Cobra has in a fight.
Against an unarmed veteran who has lost one arm in the war.
I’m sure the Cobra has this in his resumé.
At this point the Cobra has lost to Daredevil without his senses AND to Captain America without the use of his hands.
Captain America #180 (1974)
by Steve Englehart & Sal Buscema
Okay that wasn’t exactly the best part of the Englehart run, but the Cobra shows up in the GOOD part: after Steve has abandoned his Captain America identity and is now Nomad.
It’s also the return of the Serpent Squad. Not really sure why they even bother to still recruit the Eel, considering that now they have Princess Python who is actually NAMED AFTER A SNAKE and even has her own snake!!!
It also have the COOL Viper, who mercilessly kills her predecessor exclusively because she wants to use the name.
Dude, you’re trying this with freaking VIPER???
Are you COMPLETELY INSANE???
That radioactive snake must have given you supernatural luck if you’re still alive: we’re talking about a woman who is considered dangerously unstable BY THE RED SKULL.
The Cobra is involved in one of the greatest bits in superhero history… Captain America tripping on his own cape when he’s wearing the Nomad costume.
Even Princess Python is making fun of you, Cobra.
PRINCESS PYTHON, whose entire qualifications as a supervillain is owning a big snake and having breasts.
Captain America #181 (1974)
by Steve Englehart & Sal Buscema
We learn that Viper is actually working with Krang, the Atlantean villain typically facing Namor.
Cobra’s rematch with Nomad is… look do I even need to tell you how well that goes?
Especially since Cap at this point DOES have legit super-strength.
Captain America #182 (1974)
by Steve Englehart & Frank Robbins
Yeah between Viper and Krang, things might be a liiiiitle above the Cobra’s head.
The Cobra is so hysterical that he even hallucinates Mister Hyde coming for him.
Yeah, uhm, great choice of teammates Cobra. You allied yourself with a woman who would GLADLY watch the world burn.
Granted, it’s a little hard to take anyone seriously with Frank Robbins artwork.
Despite being shot in the back with a machine gun at close range, the Cobra gets through this.
Told you his power is luck.
Is it any wonder that he’s going back to Mister Hyde after this?
Historical significance: 4/10
The Captain America run is EXTREMELY significant to Cap, but I’m only talking about the Cobra and Mister Hyde.
While they will both become part of his rogues gallery, Mister Hyde’s role here is incidental.
For the Cobra, however, this will lead directly into him joining the Serpent Society (where he will have to deal with Viper again, in a slightly more dignified manner).
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
The Daredevil plot has to do with androids from the future.
The Captain America run includes some of the most grounded plots he’s ever had to deal with… as well as an alliance with an Atlantean warlord to gain the powers of a magic crown.
Comics, everybody!
Does it stand the test of time? N/A
I can’t in good conscience rate these, considering how much I skipped.
In general, despite some good artwork the Daredevil run is easily skippable.
The Captain America run is HIGHLY recommended: it starts very slow, but it does include some truly groundbreaking stuff.
However, when it comes to the Cobra and Mister Hyde, their time alone certainly didn’t make them any favors. At this point they’re just disposable henchmen with a gimmick that ANYONE can defeat without much problem.
So what was important enough to advertise on the cover of Captain America #152 ?
The apology that the cover scene doesn’t actually happen in the comic.
Loved this Captain America run, even the Gerry Conway issues. It is not easy to find these levels of characterization for that character.
As I understand it, it was eventually revealed or at least hinted that Mr. Hyde’s strength waxes and wanes according to which batch of his serum he has most recently taken and how recently. Not a very good explanation for his consistent defeats here, but maybe he was also overconfident, pressed for time, and/or simply lacking convenient access to a properly fitted laboratory to make more serum. I would think that Hyde is at least a tad more impulsive and careless cautious than Zabo.
Haven’t you misread the range of issues where Captain America had superstrength? It is widely agreed that it began with #158. The end is less clear, but the first clear indication was in #218, which hints that the power loss may have been gradual. IIRC the Kirby run from #193 to 214 did not have any clear displays of superstrength, so it may have been gone already behind the scenes.
You’re right, I didn’t go into the details, but #218 is just the first time they officially acknowledge Cap has lost his power-up. He definitely lost it way earlier but it’s never stated outright until #218.
I think it’s likely that the retcons about Hyde’s fluctuating strength were introduced precisely to explain the total inconsistency of his portrayal in these early years.
I find Cobra endearingly incompetent. Hyde is just dull (comicswise).
Marvel (or DC) comics’ villain is a difficult career choice. Even if you find a niche, odds are that you will have to fight for it and even run a serious risk of legal repercussions. I kid you not.
Cobra does have a few surprises in him, though.
It is a bit surprising that Gerry Conway decided to partner Hyde with Scorpion and that he did it sort-of-twice without any obvious need. But this is rather early on Scorpion’s career, and at this point he is arguably more of a Cap foe than a Spider-Man one. Also, he is a visually interesting villain and I suppose it keeps the venomous animal theme.
I think that Cobra and Hyde (and Scorpion) just happen to be nicely placed for recurrent use. Too powerful for regular cops, suitable for good fight scenes with a few innovative angles to boot, and offering just the right level of challenge for street-level heroes to keep them busy and dutifully fighting crime without necessarily overpowering other running plots of the time. Both also have enough range and hidden depths for each to eventually decide on their own that they can do better without the partnership, making their appearances slightly less repetitive than those of comparable characters.
Wow, I never realized that Marvel had made these guys so thoroughly into jobbers.
It just occurred to me that maybe Mister Hyde got mixed into Daredevil because someone writing Daredevil was looking for old Daredevil villains, and mistook the Owl for him. They both dress in loose green suits with cloaks.
Makes a lot of sense. As it happens, the Owl is the villain in #81, working for the same master mind as “Hyde” and “Scorpion”, and Gene Colan’s pencils make him look a lot like Hyde.