Part 1 of 3. James Bond had faced a "Madame Spectra" in the 007 newspaper strip story "The Spy Who Loved Me" in The Daily Express (December 18, 1967-October 3, 1968); see James Bond 007 #[7] (Titan Books, August 2005). Last previous appearance of HYDRA in Strange Tales #159 (July 1967); its subsidiary, A.I.M., had effectively split off to become a separate organization and continued to crop up in the Nick Fury, Captain America & Iron Man series.
Cap had first asked Rick to be his partner back in The Avengers #4 (March 1964)but hesitated because he did not want to place a teenager in danger. The sequence in the sewers is strikingly similar to the one in "Spy Ambush" in Captain America Comics #10 (January 1942). The Spirit had also once faced a female villain who planned to poison NYC's water supply in an early story.
Notes:
Letters of comment from readers Robin Stover, Bruce Dravis, Eric Nash, Brian Clancey, Roger Vanous, Albert Rodriquez, Kenwood Dennard and Joe Trainor; includes Know Ye These, the Hallowed Ranks of Marveldom.