Artwork by Sal Buscema
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were indeed awe-inspiring. From the Great Pyramid of Giza that dominated the Egyptian landscape to the 330-foot tall Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Statue of Zeus at Olympus to the Colossus of Rhodes that greeted visitors to the Greek island, each was an engineering achievement equal to those of contemporary times.
In 1969, Marvel’s Avengers were pitted against a team of supervillains known as the Squadron Supreme as part of a “chess match” between the Grandmaster and Kang the Conqueror. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Goliath, and Yellowjacket were transported to locations around the world to not only do battle but protect the contemporary equivalents of the original Seven Wonders.
For Iron Man, it was the Taj Mahol in India and a face-off against Doctor Spectrum, while Thor headed to Egypt, where the Great Sphinx of Giza had a front row seat for his battle against Hyperion. Goliath and Yellowjacket, meanwhile, were sent to London to protect the iconic Big Ben from the Whizzer. As for Captain America? His opponent turned out to be Nighthawk, while the Wonder of the Modern World he was sent to protect held a deep, personal meaning for the star-spangled Avenger.
“Lady Liberty!” Cap exclaims as he stares up at the Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. “She’s more than just another finally chiseled statue. More, even, than just an embodiment of America. She’s the personification of any free man’s life, and an enslaved man’s dream.”
French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi was fascinated by the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ever since he visited Egypt in 1856. Ten years later, Bartholdi unveiled plans for a new colossus that he believed would rival those of old – a robed female figure bearing a torch, constructed at the entrance of the Suez Canal and named Progress: Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia. The project, however, was deemed too expensive and a simpler lighthouse was constructed instead.
In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye of France proposed building some sort of monument and gifting it to the United States in honor of the country’s upcoming centennial. While Auguste Bartholdi embraced the idea from an artistic standpoint, he also wanted to pay tribute to the democratic principles upon which the United States was founded. Using his initial designs for the entrance of the Suez Canal as a starting point, Bartholdi added a crown and tablet, transforming Statue of Progress into Liberty Enlightening the World, which was later shortened to simply the Statue of Liberty.
Captain America quickly realizes that he is being watched but fails to react fast enough to keep from being knocked unconscious. When he later awakens, Cap finds himself inside a control room with Nighthawk gloating over him. Since the star-spangled superhero refuses to admit defeat, Nighthawk instructs him to look out one of the circular windows in the room.
“Good lord!” Captain America exclaims. “We’re airborne, and so is the statue!”
Nighthawk holds a detonator in his hand and tells Cap that he will destroy the Statue of Liberty if the Sentinel of Liberty makes any moves. The words are barely out of the supervillain’s mouth before Captain America’s shield slices the detonator in half. “If you think you can do more than delay my supreme triumph,” Nighthawk then says as he escapes through a hatch in the floor, “you’ll soon see the error of your ways!”
The Colossus of Rhodes measured 108 feet in height and collapsed in 226 BC due to an earthquake. Auguste Bartholdi envisioned the Statue of Liberty extending 151 feet to the top of its torch, and while he was not worried about earthquakes, Bartholdi was concerned about the height and weight of the statue surviving the strong winds that blew across New York Harbor. Bartholdi thus enlisted famed engineer Gustave Eiffel – who would later construct a tower for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris that still bears his name – for assistance.
Eiffel designed both a primary and secondary internal framework for the Statue of Liberty, as well as a series of flat iron bars that connected copper sheets to the secondary framework that acted as springs and adjusted to changes in both temperature and wind pressure.
It had been decided early on that the Statue of Liberty would be a joint project of the French and American people, with the funds to build the statue raised in France while payment for the pedestal would fall on the United States. Although innovative fundraising efforts resulted in the necessary funds for completion of the statue itself, American efforts to raise the $300,000 needed for construction of the pedestal fell short.
Just as the legendary Gustave Eiffel was instrumental in the design of the Statue of Liberty, another historical figure stepped in to help raise the remaining funds – Joseph Pulitzer. As owner and publisher of the New York World newspaper, the Hungarian-born immigrant was a powerful and influential figure not only in New York but across the country. Using the front page of the World as promotion for a new fundraising drive, Pulitzer secured the final $100,000 in a mere five months.
Nighthawk was able to lift the Statue of Liberty off Liberty Island using magnetic grapples and a special aircraft capable of carrying the load. With Captain America now awake and his detonator destroyed, Nighthawk ventures outside and to the statue’s crown.
“To complete my victory, I need only destroy my captured prize,” he says. “That which is obliterated can hardly be rescued. And, when this manual lever sends that statue crashing to the ground far below, all of Earth’s hopes and dreams will smash as well!”
Captain America has by now made his way outside and to the crown as well. After a brief tussle between the two, Nighthawk decides to end the battle by firing an explosive pellet at Captain America. Cap is fast to react, not only using his shield to block the blast but send it back towards Nighthawk. The resulting “KROOM!” incapacitates the supervillain, allowing the Sentinel of Liberty to safely return the Statue of Liberty to Liberty Island.
As part of the fundraising effort for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal, American poet Emma Lazarus composed a sonnet in 1883 entitled “The New Colossus.” In 1903, Lazarus’ poem was etched on a plaque and fastened inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Today, those words are just as famous as the statue itself, as well as synonymous with the overarching message that Auguste Bartholdi wanted to convey – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The Colossus of Rhodes was erected in 280 BC in celebration of Rhodes’ victory over Cyprus. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was completed in 317 BC to help guide ships into the port of Pharos, while the Great Pyramid of Giza was a homage to the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and is even older, with construction being completed in 2560 BC.
Considered three of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, each reflected their times as well as the beliefs of their populations. The Statue of Liberty is a direct descendant of those engineering feats, and likewise representative of the concept of liberty that the United States personifies – something that Captain America can no doubt appreciate.
Anthony Letizia