Nemesis 19: B&B #185

#19

Brave and the Bold #185 (April 1982)

Synopsis: 

Outside Washington, DC Marjorie Marshall receives another bullet in the mail. This one has Greyfox's name etched on it. She wearily puts it on the scale of Nemesis sitting on her mantle, remembering how Tom has promised to work to "balance the scales" for the death of her husband, killed by Tom's brother. 

In New York City, Dr. Chris Foxworth is changing the bandages on Tom's wound while arguing with his sister, Valerie, about how they have been targeted by the Council, Tom remembers how he got shot by Greyfox, and how his helicopter mechanic, Barney, helped save his life. 

In Houston, the three remaining Council members are at Jay Kingston's estate bemoaning how difficult their lives are with Nemesis after them. Kingston, who fancies himself a modern-day Roman emperor who keeps lions roaming over his grounds, suggests that each of them work separately to kill Nemesis; whoever succeeds becomes the new Head of the Council. Scarfield and Maddox agree. 

Back in New York, Tom won't wait for his wounds to fully heal because he has a strong lead on Kingston. He plans to go to Houston and infiltrate a meeting of his top lawyers. 

However, after Nemesis takes the place of one of Kingston's men, he is surprised to find that Kingston is prepared for him: the men have been given a password, but Nemesis obviously doesn't know what his man's word is! After a quick gun battle, Nemesis leaps into the compound. This opens his wound, and he collapses in the bushes in pain as one of Kingston's lions approaches....! 

Commentary: 

I love these "book-end" installments in the on-going Nemesis series, where the details of the previous mission are cleared up, we sort of catch our breath, and then we start off on another adventure. 

It was nice to see Valerie and her brother again. This is a subtle reminder that they are still "prisoners," hiding out from the Council. And we get to see Marjorie Marshall again, too, with a reminder of why Tom chose the code-name "Nemesis" in the first place. I also liked the flashback featuring Barney, the airplane mechanic. The omniscient narration tells us that Tom is feeling affection for Barney; he's clearly part of the Nemesis "family" now. 

And lastly, we check in with the remaining Council members, Irene Scarfield, Leonard Maddox, and would-be Roman Emperor Jay Kingston. This is also a nice bit, except for the heavy-handed "It's Ms, not Miss" bit from Scarfield (to show us that she means business?). We get it, Kingston is the planner, Scarfield is the bitch, and Maddox is the tough. I'm betting on Nemesis. 

There's a nice artistic bit in the Council scenes, though. Besides the reference to the lions roaming the grounds in the dialog, artist Dan Spiegle draws them in....twice! Have you heard the commentary about live theatre and guns? It says that if you're watching a play and there is a gun shown sometime during Act One, you know it will be used in Act Two. This time out, the lions are the gun. Talk about your cliffhangers! 

There isn't a lot of action this time out, so Spiegle shines with his architectural work. He distinguishes different looks for Marjorie's home, Chris' office, and Kingston's estate. In fact, for Kingston's home he adds all manners of brick-a-brack (note the lion decoration on the coffee table on page four). That chair on page eight is terrifically ornate!   

Just a minor question, but....didn't Nemesis get shot *through* his back last issue? Seems like a rifle shooting at a person at close proximity, like Greyfox shot Nemesis, the bullet would have gone through him? So Nemesis should have bandages around his chest, shouldn't he?

 

Nemesis Fact File:  

• The team-up in this issue is between Batman and Green Arrow. "The Falcon's Lair!" by Don Krarr and Adrian Gonzales & Mike DeCarlo has our heroes battling the Penguin.  
• There were no letters in The Brave & The Bold #190 mentioning Nemesis. 

This story has not yet been reprinted. Therefore, I gladly reproduce the eight-page story here in its entirety, exactly as it appeared in its comic-book form.
Please do not allow it to fall into the hand of the Council!

NEMESIS 

created by Cary Burkett and Dan Spiegle