Bubble Funnies Mini Comics #1-4

[vanhornluke]

Bubble Funnies Mini Comics #1 (1981)
By ?

APPEARANCES:
Spider-Man, bus passengers, robbers, Doctor Octopus, students

SYNOPSIS:
Pete has a computer science test tomorrow, so he visits World Computer Communications to get some extra help in learning computers. When he arrives, he’s refused entry and realizes that the computers in the building are being stolen by goons working for Doctor Octopus. He quickly webs up the thieves and then confronts Doc Ock. The villain gains the upper hand until Spidey throws webbing on the computer equipment Ock was stealing, threatening to smash it if Ock doesn’t let go. He releases Spidey to balance the equipment with his mechanical arms before it falls over, so Spidey is able to walk up behind him, remove his glasses, and then capture him. Pete spends the rest of the night reassembling the stolen equipment, so he feels confident the next morning that he’ll pass his computer science test unless he falls asleep.

NOTE:
I didn’t notice any placement clues other than that Pete is in college and Ock is free. I would appreciate suggestions for chronological placement.

Bubble Funnies Mini Comics #2 (1981)
By ?

APPEARANCES:
The Leader, Hulk

SYNOPSIS:
The Leader wants to be strong as well as smart, so he tricks the Hulk (who is in the desert) into jumping toward a mirage of water. The Hulk falls for the trick and is dropped into a hole where he is gassed into unconsciousness. The Leader uses a device to drain the Hulk’s strength and transfer it to a suit he can wear, then walks out into the desert, thrilled with his new strength. Back in the Leader’s lab, Bruce Banner awakens and quickly surmises what happened. He switches some settings on the strength-draining device and then attaches it to himself. He sneaks up on the Leader and merely by touching him draws the strength back into himself, thereby transforming back into the Hulk. He smashes the Leader’s suit but decides to leave the Leader alive so that he can use his big brain to think about better things like the beauty of a desert.

NOTE:
I didn’t see anything to indicate when this story takes place other than that it has to be when the Hulk can be in the southwestern desert and the Leader is free. Again, placement suggestions would be appreciated.

Bubble Funnies Mini Comics #3 (1981)
By ?

APPEARANCES:
Nick Fury, Captain America, Ronald Reagan, American civilians, Red Skull

SYNOPSIS:
The Red Skull uses the weaponry in his Skull Satellite space station to destroy a major American city, and then to demand the surrender of the United States. Nick Fury contacts Captain America and tells him to report to the president. Cap does so and the president explains what has happened and then gives him the use of an experimental prototype stealth space shuttle to reach and sneak aboard the Skull’s station. When the Red Skull realizes Cap has arrived, he attempts to fire his weapons to destroy Washington, D.C., but Cap throws his shield and stops him. The shield hits the self-destruct command, so Cap offers to take the Skull with him, but he refuses to be Cap’s prisoner. Figuring that the Skull must have an escape method of his own, Cap races back to the shuttle and returns to Earth.

NOTE:
I wonder which major American city was destroyed. Chronological clues for placement are that Nick Fury is at S.H.I.E.L.D. and that the Red Skull is free to attempt this scheme. Nowhere is the Red Skull’s real name used, so it’s possible that this is a Skull imposter (as we’ve seen in some other stories), so that gives a little wiggle room here. Also, the president isn’t named, and we only see him from behind, so it’s not entirely certain which president this is. Since this issue was published in 1981, I went with Reagan, but I suppose it could be Carter if that’s necessary to find a place where the story fits in Cap’s and Nick’s chronologies. This issue is referenced in the handbooks as 616, so it needs to be included in their chronologies somewhere.

Bubble Funnies Mini Comics #4 (1981)
By ?

APPEARANCES:
Spider-Woman, Prof. James, kidnappers, Latverian guards, Doctor Doom

SYNOPSIS:
Spider-Woman sees Prof. James being kidnapped, so she follows the kidnappers to the airport and sees them board a flight headed to Latveria. She boards another plane flying to Europe and, once in Latveria sneaks into Castle Doom. There she sees Doom threatening Prof. James in order to convince him to use his cutting edge, best-in-the-world cosmetic surgical skills to repair Doom’s face. Spider-Woman intervenes and objects, saying the professor shouldn’t be forced into doing anything, but in the ensuing scuffle the professor’s hands are injured. Since he’s no longer able to fix Doom’s face, Doom allows the professor and Spider-Woman to leave.

NOTE:
Again, placement suggestions are welcome.


Chronologies:

CAPTAIN AMERICA/STEVE ROGERS
See above note

DOCTOR DOOM/VICTOR VON DOOM
See above note

DOCTOR OCTOPUS/DR. OTTO OCTAVIUS
See above note

FURY, COL. NICHOLAS “NICK” JOSEPH
See above note

HULK/DR. ROBERT BRUCE BANNER
See above note

JAMES, PROF.
BFMC 4

LEADER II/SAM STERNS
See above note

REAGAN, RONALD WILSON
See above note

RED SKULL/JOHANN SHMIDT
See above note

SPIDER-MAN/PETER BENJAMIN PARKER
See above note

SPIDER-WOMAN/JESSICA DREW
See above note

[ShadZ]

The covers to these comics may be seen here: https://www.comics.org/series/25099/covers/