How do you build a story around an effectively omnipotent hero? Well, one way is to team him up with another character who’s vulnerable.
That’s what scripter Mike Friedrich and artist Neal Adams did in the third issue of the Spectre’s short-lived 1960s title.
Interdimensional forces accidentally empower “Sad” Jack Dold, making him the main problem of the story. But Ted Grant is also troubled by the inevitable dimming of his abilities with age in the story Hang ’Em Up, Wildcat — You’re Finished.
So Wildcat carries the story here with his all-too-human vulnerability.
“A further team-up of Golden Age heroes in the Silver Age, as this issue shares the spotlight with Wildcat, and Spectre doesn’t join proceedings till halfway through the tale, when he steps in to help Wildcat out by taking on the mystical element that had been hampering the latter from dealing with the purely physical side of things,” Keith W. Williams wrote. “With the help of Neal Adams’ dynamic drawing, new writer Mike Friedrich provided an engrossing tale which emphasized Wildcat’s humanity. Made me feel a bit better about (Gardner) Fox and (Murphy) Anderson’s leave of absence.”
“Fan-turned-pro Mike Friedrich tapped into a gray-at-the-temples Ted Grant’s insecurities in The Spectre 3 (March-April 1968), devoting fully half of the ghostly title character’s comic book to Wildcat’s growing frustration over the effect that age and retirement had taken on his fighting prowess,” wrote John Wells in his Back Issue magazine article The Domestication of Wildcat.
“The capper was an attack by a cosmically empowered minor crook who found that he could control the hero’s every move, and subjected him to a humiliating defeat before a crowd at a boxing match. The Spectre stepped in to defeat the ‘mystic mastermind,’ but Ted was left feeling like a has-been.”
“Hoping to stem his teammate’s depression, the Spectre suggested Ted become a mentor. Opening Grant’s Gym in his hometown of Knickerbocker City, Ted began instructing kids in self-defense and boxing, slowly regaining his old confidence and enthusiasm in the process.” Ted Grant turned out to have a lot of fight left in him. Wildcat — a character created by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen — continued crimefighting for decades, becoming a fan favorite.
“While reader reaction to the youthful Friedrich’s story was mixed, the dynamic neo-realism of Neal Adams’ art was greeted with wild acclaim,” Wells noted.
“I remember that story,” Matthew Grossman recalled. “There were and are many great comics artists, but overall, I’d say nobody drew superheroes as well as Adams. (Anyone want to fight me on this?)
“Other than what you’ve written here, my thoughts on the story were that the antagonist’s origin was drawn and handled very well (basically, his powers were an accidental result of a duel between abstracted sorcerous entities, the kind of woo which adds a bit of colorful depth to the world and which kids love) and that Friedrich interestingly chose not to allow Wildcat to meaningfully contribute to actually defeating the antagonist, which is certainly believable given their difference in power levels, but somewhat unexpected considering the genre: most superheroic team-ups allow the less powerful partner to do something towards resolving the plot, but Wildcat’s simply too out of his depth here to add much. Nicely plays into the character’s move towards tutoring kids at the story’s close.”
“Of course, Wildcat went on to become a regular partner for Batman in The Brave and the Bold, but Bob Haney’s scripts never really made it clear whether this was the Earth Two Wildcat or a previously unknown counterpart from Earth One!” wrote Philip Rushton.
“Spec’s mid-’60s revival was fine, but I preferred him when he was rasty when he returned in the ’70s in Adventure Comics, I believe,” recalled Bruce Kanin.
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