Order of Appearance: Uncle Sam, Black Condor, The Human Bomb, and Phantom Lady are together in Buffalo, New York; The Ray appears a page later fighting the Silver Ghost; Doll Man appears last, in a New York City jail cell.

Guest Stars: None

Supporting Characters:
WGNY-TV reporter Martha Roberts, NYC Assistant District Attorney Michael Tulane, Earth-X Martha Roberts and her father (in flashback); Public Defender Fred Snyder

Opponents:
Cat Man and his three underlings, the Silver Ghost as Americommando

Overall Summary:
The Freedom Fighters split up, as three of them battle Cat Man in Minneapolis, the Ray battles the Silver Ghost, Black Condor chases after the Ray, and Doll Man is investigated for murder!

Plot Summary:

Somewhere outside Buffalo, four members of the Freedom Fighters grab a newspaper and learn that Doll Man has been arrested on charges of murdering NYC District Attorney David Pearson. Uncle Sam asks Black Condor to fly off in search of the Ray, who left with Doll Man last issue and has not been heard from since. Uncle Sam suggests that the rest of the Freedom Fighters go to Minneapolis to investigate a string of robberies that might be a plot by the Silver Ghost to bankrupt New York City. For the time being, they decide to leave Darrel safe in jail, having faith in "good old American Justice."

We then go back 24 hours to see for ourselves out what has happened to the Ray, who had caught up to the Americommando. They have an aerial dog fight over the forest that is noticed by park rangers, who call in State Troopers to investigate. While fighting, the Ray learns that Americommando really is the Silver Ghost! However, when the State Troopers in helicopters arrive, the Ray accidentally blasts one of them in his fury, and they quickly open fire on both men. The Ray is hit in the shoulder, causing him to plummet to the ground. Americommando/Silver Ghost thinks that the Ray is dead, so leaves him there. Moments later, someone ELSE finds him...!

In New York City, Doll Man is talking to Martha Roberts when he begins to reminisce. He remembers how he first shrank, after perfecting a serum with his mentor, Dr. Roberts, who happened to be the father of his world's Martha.

Then he tells this world's Martha about how, one terrible night while the Freedom Fighters were out on a mission, Nazis found their secret hide-out. Martha and her father were both tortured and killed. When he returned and found them dead, Doll Man went crazy, nearly killing all of the Nazis single-handedly. The guilt of that evening still haunts him.

In Minneapolis, the Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, and Uncle Sam visit the IDS Center and Nicollet Mall but are unable to establish any connection between the Silver Ghost and Cat Man's robbery of Cathcart & Co. They then happen to witness Cat Man and his gang trying to rob Tollin's Pet Palace of ultra-rare Siamese Twin Siamese kittens, so they go into action.

Jumping Cat goads Uncle Sam to hit him, but he jumps out of the way and "always lands on his feet." Agile Cat is able to dodge the Human Bomb's attempts to hit him. And Cat Eyes can see in the dark, even when enveloped by Phantom Lady's blackout beam. He attempts to attack her, but she becomes intangible, and he falls on his own face.

The Cat Gang rush the male Freedom Fighters as a pack, but Uncle Sam takes care of two and the Human Bomb knocks out the third. Phantom Lady is able to use her intangibility plus some wicked jiu-jitsu moves to take out Cat Man himself, after he manages to tell them that he is not working with the Silver Ghost.

Back in New York City, Doll Man's court-appointed lawyer arrives to interview him. Darrell tells him how Pearson was shot while he was in the room, but that he, Doll Man, wasn't the one who shot him. He didn't think to look behind him, though, so he has no idea who the shooter really was.

Review:

In some regards, this is one of the best-written issues of the book. Every character has something unique and exciting to do (except Black Condor) and there are no dull moments. Kudos to Bob Rozakis, who is clearly becoming familiar with these characters, and to Dick Ayers and Jack Abel, who don't draw a dull page this time out. Everyone seems to be on their top game.

The Ray cutting loose against the Silver Ghost is well done aerial action, and the intrusion of the State Troopers is logical and well-choreographed. The Ray being left behind by the Silver Ghost, and then being found by someone else right after that, is a bit contrived, though. I mean, how difficult would it have been for the Silver Ghost to check for a pulse?

I have to admit that I went to college in St. Paul, Minnesota so I have actually been to IDS Center and Nicollet Mall. (For those of you who have never been to Minneapolis, it's the downtown area that Mary Tyler Moore walks through in the opening of her old television series.) The setting of this story is retro-nostalgic, but that doesn't make me like it any more. This is the second time Phantom Lady, the Human Bomb, and Uncle Sam have teamed up (the first time was in Fighters #5) and clearly Bob Rozakis likes their dynamic. One page is given over to explain what Cat Man and his gang are doing, and then the next four pages shows how good the Freedom Fighters really are. Great stuff.

Of course, the issue belongs to Doll Man, who retells his origin and then how his girlfriend and his mentor were murdered by Nazis. And a full-on nude shot to boot! But seriously, I remember thinking the first time I read these pages that this was pretty gritty stuff for a comic-book. "All I could see was Martha....tied to that chair...." That's pretty strong stuff. Rozakis does a great job mixing the words with totally different graphics by Ayers & Abel. Very well done.

Lastly, is it just me, or does the star necklace that Earth-X Martha wears remind anyone else of the Star of David? (see page 8, reprinted above) I imagine that the star might represent the Earth-X underground, but a blatant display like that around Nazis would definitely have gotten you killed. I wonder if Dick Ayers drew it as a Star of David and someone changed it to a regular star? It might just be me, but it somehow adds to the pathos of their murders.

Black Condor Moment

Black Condor flies after the Ray, right out of the rest of the story.

Doll Man Moment

In a very violent but emotional page, Doll Man nearly kills the Nazis

responsible for the deaths of Martha and her father.

It takes the rest of the Freedom Fighters to pull him off of them.

Human Bomb Moment

The Human Bomb takes out the Agile Cat member of the gang.

Phantom Lady Moment

Phantom Lady takes out Cat Man by herself.

The Ray Moment

The Ray verifies what Martha had told them, that

Americommando is really the Silver Ghost.

Uncle Sam Moment

Uncle Sam doesn't take any gruff from the Agile Cat guy.

Best Moment

The splash page as Front Page is my recommendation for Best Moment.

Look at it; how cool is this!?!

Worst Moment

For the first time, one of the "Best Moments" is also the Worst Moment.

The scene of Uncle Sam deciding to go to Minneapolis is so contrived,

it's down-right silly. No way is Cat Man working with the Silver Ghost!

And the decision to send Black Condor off on his own while he is still

suffering from mental attacks is also a bad one. Two for two, Uncle Sam!

Moment They Could Have Been Cleared:

For the first time since the Freedom Fighters were wanted, there was no opportunity in the story for them to clear their names. Uncle Sam et al might have asked the police in Minneapolis to contact the New York City police and put in a good word on their behalf, but that wouldn't have cleared them.

This issue's letter column features two letters and answers by Jack C. Harris. The main item of note was the beginning of a poll asking the readers who their favorite Fighter was. I know that I wrote in to support The Human Bomb. How about you? Who is YOUR favorite Fighter?

Freedom of Information

The date on the Front Page on the splash page is Thursday, June 23, 1977.
Uncle Sam's hat has not been restored from when Americommando's shield sliced it in FF#8. Phantom Lady notices it as they go into battle against Cat Man.
Darrel shrinks down out of his clothes the first time he tries his serum, giving us our first nude Freedom Fighter.
Only three members appear on the cover (four if you count the newspaper photo of Doll Man).
Logos for five of the members make their debut in this issue:

art by Mark Armstrong & John Workman

The Freedom Fighters

assembled by Len Wein

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Freedom Fighters #10

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