The Avengers #321

Puck takes part in a multi-national rescue mission. 

The terrorists are allowed to dock in for repairs as Alpha Flight, the Avengers and the People’s Protectorate plan their next move. Judd is among those chosen by Cap to infiltrate the submarine and subdue the terrorists. The team finds the captured British sailors and Cap has Judd take them topside.

Notes of Interest: 

1) We learn that Judd speaks Russian, and in a finer dialect than Red Guardian.

2) Cap picked Judd for this mission “because of his size and his expertise in such matters”.

3) The other members chosen for the mission are Cap, Box, Vostok and Vision.

4) Judd takes out two of the three terrorists they meet before finding the British crew.

WTF? Moment: I like the fact that artist Rik Levins has Judd standing on a crate in order to look at the vessel blueprints with the other heroes. That was a nice touch.

WTF? Moment #2: I was surprised when I read Cap’s reasoning for choosing Judd because of his expertise. Here’s why:

1) Exactly what “expertise” does Judd have? Up to this issue, there has been no mention of him ever facing terrorists threatening nuclear destruction or any terrorist activity whatsoever. I’m not saying it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that he has faced such an ordeal, but if so, it hasn't been mentioned yet.

And more importantly…

2) Presuming Judd has faced terrorists before, how would Cap know about it? It’s established that Judd is roughly seventy years old at the time of this story, putting his birth around 1920, which is about when Steve Rogers was born. It is possible that Steve, as Captain , met a “pre-cursed” Judd at some point during WWII. If that’s the case, then Cap may have remembered him. It’s also possible that Cap could have read Judd’s Avengers file beforehand, in which case they, or maybe S.H.I.E.L.D., has more info on him than we do.