Dec 1981
Mind Games
By J. M. DeMatteis, Don Perlin, Jack Abel, Joe Sinnott, Sal Trapani
Clea and Gargoyle help their teammate, Kyle Richmond. His problems date back to events that happened in Defenders 14 and 93. He was almost killed by Nebulon in Defenders 14 but Dr. Strange saved his life with a magical life bond. That life bond was severed in Defenders 93. Luann Bloom, Kyle’s nurse, is very skeptical about the mystical treatment.
The next day, Kyle takes Luann to visit Mindy Williams, an old flame of his. Kyle almost killed Mindy in a drunk driving accident a few years ago. His father covered up the fact that Mindy survived the crash. Kyle later found out (in Marvel Team-Up 101) that she was still alive but crippled.
Kyle and Luann arrive at Carriwhite Acres, the home where Mindy lives. They are greeted by August Masters, the head of Psychiatric Care. He takes Kyle to see Mindy. She is also in a wheelchair. She blames him for what happened to her, which is understandable considering that he was the one who was driving drunk.
Clea contacts Kyle that night and tells him that the force that severed his life bond is located in Carriwhite Acres. He sneaks back in to the sanitarium where he is met by a reception committee that consists of armed employees.
Nighthawk deals with the reception committee. He soon finds out that Carriwhite is a front for a test facility for the Central Information Bureau (CIB). Masters is the man in charge. They are testing the “potential uses of telepathy for national security”. He shows Nighthawk around the setup. Mindy is their most valued possession. She is the focal point through which all the patients mental abilities are channeled.
Masters forces Mindy to attack Nighthawk after the costumed hero slugs the CIB man. She attacks Nighthawk with her mind. His costume gets ripped to shreds but then Mindy remembers the good times with Kyle and redirects her attack to the staff of the testing facility. Most of them are killed but Masters survives. Kyle walks away with Mindy after he gives Masters an earful and promises to get Carriwhite Acres investigated and shutdown. The next day he learns that the facility burned to the ground, thus destroying all the evidence.
This is my first time reading this comic. It is the opening chapter of the story that later picks up in Captain America (1968) 264 and 268 before returning to the pages of Defenders in issue 106.
The visual storytelling gets the job done but I can’t think of anything nicer to say about it than that. It probably doesn’t help that it was done by a rather large team of artists.
Mindy gets up and walks, towards the end of the issue. There is no explanation given for why she was able to walk. Kyle Richmond is a different story. He is crippled by day and able to walk at night.
J. M. DeMatteis was writing both Captain America and Defenders at this time.
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