War in the Washington Monument!

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THE HUMAN FLY — Issue no. 15, August 1978

Book: The Human Fly

Issue No.: 15

Published: August 1, 1978

Title: “War in the Washington Monument!”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copy

The Human Fly is an unusual Marvel comic book because it’s about a sort-of real Evel Knievel-type stuntman instead of a totally made-up superhero. The Human Fly and his stunt team occasionally get mixed up with superheroes, but usually they’re just putting on stunt shows to raise money for various charities.

Based on reading eight issues of The Human Fly, I think the book is at its best when the Fly and his pals visit some small town to do a show and end up helping the locals solve a crime. Probably my favorite so far is issue no. 10, where the Fly and company take on shady coal mine executives in Harlan County, Kentucky.

This issue is set in Washington, D.C. Definitely not a small town! But the helping-out-the-common-folks angle is there. One of the guys on the Human Fly’s stunt team is Ted, a Vietnam vet, and the Fly, Ted, and the rest of the team are in D.C. to visit one of Ted’s war buddies at a veterans’ hospital. But they’re immediately attacked by hospital security. Long story short, some bad dudes are mismanaging the hospital and mistreating the veterans there, and the hospital security goons are trying to keep anyone from getting inside and discovering the scheme.

A panel from this issue showing the Human Fly punching a guy. Narration reads, “The Fly fights on in silence — hating the sound of fist against flesh... as he tries not to hate those who make such violence necessary!” The Fly thinks, “Why did these guys go crazy the minute we asked for Slick Gordon?” Sound effect for the punch is “whap!”

The Human Fly and company escape the hospital only to find out that Ted’s war buddy Slick Gordon and another veteran are threatening to blow up the Washington Monument in a misguided attempt to bring attention to the problems at the veterans’ hospital. So the Fly must use his stuntman skills to save the Washington Monument from the two veterans, and the two veterans from themselves.

Aside from the main story, this issue includes a two-page photo-and-text feature about the real Human Fly visiting the Marvel Comics offices. And to add to the often confusing saga of the real Human Fly circa 1978, the Fly is joined by his sidekick Mercury when he visits Marvel. There is, as of this issue, no Mercury in the comic book, and in my reading up on the real Human Fly, I don’t recall ever seeing anything about Mercury. Writer Bill Mantlo states that he’ll be adding Mercury to the book’s cast soon, but it’s also possible that Mercury’s only appearance with the Fly was whatever day they visited Marvel. Based on the good ol’ Fandom.com Marvel wiki, there are only (spoiler) four more issues of The Human Fly after this one, so if Mercury is going to show up as a comic book character, it will have to happen by Fly issue no. 19.

Next time — A treasury full of Spider-Man team-ups!

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