Thor #162
Title: Galactus is born!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Villain: Galactus, Norn Queen
Regulars: Odin, Heimdall, Balder. Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg
Guests: Recorder, Ego, Tana Nile
I was confused by the unofficial title on the cover of this comic. What does "a'borning" mean? Is it a quote from Chaucer? Luckily the comic's splash page translates the title into modern English: Galactus is born.
When Thor returns to Rigel-3, the leader says that it's time to deactivate the Recorder. Thor protests. Even though the Recorder is only an artificially created machine, he has a soul. This is a topic that predates similar stories in various Star Trek series.
Tana Nile calls the time when she was Thor's enemy the half-forgotten past. That's an exaggeration. It was less than three years ago, in Thor #129 to Thor #134.
On returning to Asgard, Odin reviews the origin of Galactus and warns Thor that a final battle against Galactus must be fought to protect Asgard from danger.
We see that Balder is plagued by his love for Karnilla the Norn Queen, even though she's a sworn enemy of Asgard. That's a relief. I was starting to think that I'm the only man who falls in love with evil women. Bad girls are the best.
Sif is on Earth facing an unknown peril. Thor hurries to find her.
The continuing stories of Thor are getting better from month to month. The backup story, Tales of Asgard, has been discontinued, but its atmosphere, complete with the pomp and pageantry of Asgard, has been absorbed into the main story.
The Incredible Hulk #113
Title: Where fall the shifting sands?
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Sandman, Blastaar (flashback)
Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot, Betty Ross
Guests: Fantastic Four (flashback), Triton (flashback)
Bruce Banner is suffocating inside the spaceship taking him back to Earth. He finds a gamma ray device on the ship that turns him back into the Hulk. That was a lucky coincidence!
The Sandman, who we last saw in Marvel Super-Heroes #15, sees the Hulk's spaceship crashland on Earth, near the missile base where General Ross is stationed. Yet another lucky coincidence. After a brief fight he persuades the Hulk that his real enemies are the soldiers in the base.
The Hulk's memory is failing. His girlfriend is called Betty Ross, not Betty Brant. That's J. Jonah Jameson's secretary in the Daily Bugle. Or maybe it's Stan Lee who's getting his Betty's mixed up. He should have given the general's daughter a different name. What about Peggy Ross? That has a ring to it. Even better is Peggy Sue Ross.
When the Hulk sees the Sandman driving a truck that is endangering Peggy Sue – I mean Betty! – he realises that the Sandman is his enemy and attacks him. The Hulk leaves the base, and the Sandman swears revenge
Sub-Mariner #11
Title: The Choice and the Challenge!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Barracuda
Regulars: Dorma
Captain Barracuda has fired a torpedo at a navy ship. Sub-Mariner stops the torpedo, making it explode harmlessly, but the ship's crew mistake his intentions and attack him. While Sub-Mariner is fighting with the ship's crew, Captain Barracuda uses the distraction to invade a navy base and steal a Sonic Magno-Directoid (TM), which can divert torpedoes.
Once back in his submarine, Barracuda fires another torpedo at the ship. Oops! He accidentally turns on the Sonic Magno-Directoid – can I abbreviate that to Somadi? – making the torpedo reverse course and hit his own ship. So he's dead now. Or is he?
The Avengers #62
Starting from this issue, the comic's name is changed to The Mighty Avengers. This must have been an unpopular change, because it only lasted eight months, until Avengers #69. I'll just ignore it and carry on calling this comic The Avengers.
Title: The Monarch and the Man-Ape
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema
Avengers: Hawkeye, Black Panther, Vision
Villain: M'Baku the Man-Ape
Guests: Black Knight
After defeating Ymir and Surtur in the last issue, the Black Panther takes the Avengers back to his nearby kingdom of Wakanda. They were in Africa all along, but they didn't realise it because the land was still full of the snow and ice created by Ymir. Don't worry, it'll melt.
I'm glad to see that Hawkeye (whose real name still hasn't been revealed) is a movie fan. He knows all about Barbarella and Bela Lugosi.
In the Black Panther's absence, the warrior M'Baku has taken over as king. He hands the throne back, but then challenges T'Challa to a duel, because he considers him unworthy to rule.
This is new information. The Black Panther is strongest in the dark? Or expressed differently, light makes him weaker?
Despite this disadvantage, the Black Panther defeats M'Baku, who is crushed to death by Wakanda's panther statue. Seemingly. In Marvel Comics nobody stays dead except for Uncle Ben and Bucky Barnes, and even Bucky's death is questionable.
Fantastic Four #84
Title: The name is Doom!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Crystal
Villain: Doctor Doom
Guests: Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan
After leaving the Inhumans' Great Refuge, the Fantastic Four are intercepted by Nick Fury. He tells them that there's evidence of robots being used in central Europe. They travel by land to Latveria to speak to Doctor Doom, the world's leading expert on robots. Doctor Doom, who we last saw in Daredevil #38, is in no mood to offer the Fantastic Four a friendly reception. They're attacked and imprisoned.
As sovereign of Latveria, Doctor Doom loves his people, but he expresses his love by not allowing anyone to leave. That sounds like East Germany, whose people were prevented from leaving to protect them from the evil influence of capitalism.
Amazing Spider-Man #70
Title: Mission: Spider-Man Wanted!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Villain: Kingpin
Regulars: Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Randy Robertson, Ned Leeds, Aunt May (vision)
Spider-Man doesn't turn into the menace that was suggested at the end of last month's issue. I guess he just needed a few days to cool down.
He tries to find out what the inscription on the stolen tablet means, but the police are blocking him wherever he goes. When he hears that the Kingpin has escaped from prison he tracks him down, hoping that he will be able to give him information. No luck. After being defeated by Spider-Man a mystery woman drives him away.
Spider-Man loses his temper and threatens J. Jonah Jameson. This causes JJJ to have a heart attack.
On a positive note, the dean of Empire State University offers the students low-rent accommodation, which is what they've been demonstrating for.
Captain America #111
Title: Tomorrow you live, tonight I die!
Writer: Jim Steranko
Artist: Jim Steranko
Villain: Madame Hydra
Regulars: Rick Jones
This is an amazing splash page by Jim Steranko. He was Marvel's best artist in the 1960's.
Captain America is training Rick Jones to be his new sidekick, but his expectations are too high and Rick feels like he'll never be good enough.
While Steve Rogers is going for a stroll, Hydra agents kidnap Rick Jones. Steve has to suit up as Captain America to rescue him.
Steve realises that it's a disadvantage for the whole world to know his secret identity. After his fight with Hydra he lets his costume be found, together with a Steve Rogers mask, giving the impression that he was really someone else.
I still think that Madame Hydra is the sexiest Marvel villain. Any girl who swings a whip gets my vote. Why wasn't she featured in the recent Marvel films?
Daredevil #50
Title: If in battle I fall!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Barry Smith
Villain: Biggie Benson (gangster), Starr Saxon (robot maker)
Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Karen Page
Daredevil manages to resist the robot's attack, but it reacts by growing bigger. In the battle the robot is damaged and forgets its mission. It returns to its maker, the scientist Starr Saxon. He hurriedly inserts a new memory card, but it's the wrong card. The robot is now programmed to kill Biggie Benson. Daredevil rushes to the prison to protect Biggie, but Biggie doesn't trust him and knocks him unconscious just as the robot arrives.
Iron Man #11
Title: Unmasked!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Mandarin
Regulars: Janice Cord
Iron Man has been trapped by the Mandarin's Neutralizing Rays (TM), which stop his armour functioning. The Mandarin rips off his helmet, but instead of Tony Stark he sees a man with blond hair. He's so angry about it that he doesn't bother to check if it's a mask. At the same time there's a live television report with Tony Stark talking about the claims that he's a traitor. It's a realistic Life Model Decoy.
The Mandarin departs to face Tony Stark, leaving Iron Man with Mei-Ling. He soon escapes and heads after the Mandarin. The battle goes well for Iron Man, so the Mandarin takes Janice Cord as a hostage.
Mei-Ling arrives to collect the Mandarin. When she sees him threatening Janice Cord, she jumps in the way and is killed by the Mandarin's power ring.
The Mandarin flees, but Iron Man is too late to stop a team of paramedics collecting the unconscious Tony Stark LMD.
Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #10
Title: Twas the Night before Christmas
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Frank Springer
Villain: Hate-Monger (Adolf Hitler)
Regulars: Jasper Sitwell, Laura Brown
This is a strange Christmas story. Nick Fury is relaxing at home, preparing to spend Christmas alone, when Laura Brown visits him. At first he's disappointed that it isn't Countess Valentina, who seems to have run away with Jim Steranko, but he doesn't complain. As a certain musician wrote two years later, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". I should add that to my repertoire of pick-up lines.
Before Nick Fury can settle into the Christmas spirit with Frank Sinatra's Christmas album, he's interrupted by a phone call. The Hate-Monger is about to drop a germ bomb (the 1960's name for a biological weapon) on New York that will wipe out the population. Wasn't the Hate-Monger killed last month? He comes back from the dead more often than Count Dracula.
Nick Fury detonates the bomb in space, too high up for the germs to do any damage.
There's a small scene at the beginning before Nick goes home for Christmas. Nick Fury is attacked by a group of muggers. They're no match for him, of course, and when he says his name they're really afraid. But what's that they say? "Let's shag"? Can someone please tell me what that means in 1960's American slang. Let's run? Let's hide?
Captain Marvel #11
Title: Rebirth!
Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Dick Ayers
Regulars: Yon-Rogg, Una, Carol Danvers
At the end of the last issue Captain Marvel was standing in front of a firing squad, awaiting his execution. On the very first page of this issue the firing squad is wiped out by a surprise attack. The Aakons want revenge on the Kree.
Yon-Rogg leads a squad of Kree warriors to battle the Aakons. A stray bullet hits Una, who was standing in the trees watching the execution. Mar-Vell blames Yon-Rogg and begins to fight against him. When he sees that Una is still barely alive, he flies away with her in his arms. He steals a space rocket from the Cape to get away from Yon-Rogg, though I have to ask what the point is. No Earth spaceship could possibly outrun a Kree battleship.
Una dies in the rocket, so Mar-Vell buries her on an asteroid orbiting Mars. Mar-Vell leaves the asteroid, intending to return to Earth, but Yon-Rogg catches the rocket with an energy leash – the pre-Star-Trek name for a tractor beam – and drags him through space at five times the speed of light. Then he stops abruptly and releases the leash, sending Mar-Vell's rocket flying out of control through space.
After 112 days he falls unconscious, but wakes up on a planet populated by beautiful women. Is it Heaven? Not quite. A being called Zo tells him that he will give Captain Marvel great power so that he can pursue his revenge against Yon-Rogg. He can now fly through space faster than the speed of light without needing a space ship.
Did you notice that there's a new letterer, Jean Izzo? That's Artie Simek's daughter, whose real name is Jean Simek. I don't know why she's using a pseudonym. Maybe she's afraid that if Stan Lee finds out who she is she'll be put in a cage like her father.
X-Men #54
Title: Wanted Dead or Alive, Cyclops!
Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Don Heck
X-Men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Iceman
Villain: Living Pharaoh
Regulars: Alex Summers
Scott Summers is attending the university graduation of his younger brother Alex, accompanied by his fellow X-Men. Scott says that he knows Alex is a mutant, but he hasn't yet told him. What are his powers? Wait and see.
Alex is kidnapped by someone who calls himself the Living Pharaoh. He claims that all the pharaohs of ancient Egypt were mutants, and Alex Summers is also descended from the pharaohs. For this reason the Living Pharaoh wants to kill Alex before he can pose a threat.
The X-Men attack the Living Pharaoh to rescue Alex. Cyclops is knocked unconscious, and when he wakes up he's lying next to the dead body of the Living Pharaoh. The police want to arrest him. That's what we see on the splash page. Cyclops escapes, knowing that he's innocent. He wanders through tunnels beneath the university, where he meets the Living Pharaoh, who's very much alive.
Jean Simek/Izzo has hardly begun to work for Marvel, and Stan Lee is already teasing her in the Crazy Credits. He says that her lettering is graffiti. It's much more. She's a master calligrapher. Or should I call her a Mistress of Calligraphy? Whatever she is, she's wonderful and talented.
Title: The Million Dollar Angel!
Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Werner Roth
X-Men: Angel
Warren Worthington III is a rebellious child, always getting into trouble at home. His parents send him to a private school, where he excels at sports and academic subjects. In his teenage years wings start to sprout from his shoulders, but he hides them from the rest of the boys.
Marvel Super-Heroes #19
Title: My father, my enemy!
Writer: Arnold Drake, Steve Parkhouse
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Plunderer
This story seems out of place, compared with Ka-Zar's other recent appearances. Ka-Zar has renounced his title as Lord Plunder, and during this story he returns to the Savage Land where he grew up. In Amazing Spider-Man #58 (March 1968) he was still Lord Plunder, but in Incredible Hulk #109 (November 1968) he was already back in the Savage Land, which makes me think that the story happened some time between the two comics.
Ka-Zar is horrified to see his brother practising the "sport" of fox hunting, so he disrupts the hunt. His brother tries to persuade him to give up his half of the pendant which holds the secret to the anti-metal found in the Savage Land. Ka-Zar refuses and returns to the Savage Land.
In the Savage Land the Lizard Men are being ruled by an extraterrestrial being called Quor. The Golden People are Ka-Zar's allies. The dispute between Ka-Zar and his brother remains unresolved.
I don't quote Stan Lee's soapbox or other articles from the Bullpen Bulletin page every month; only when Stan says something special that I think should be shared with the world. Here are his thoughts on tolerance and understanding. I grew up reading Stan Lee's thoughts, so he's influenced me more than anyone else.
Other comics published this month:
Millie the Model #168 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #64 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders #12 (Gary Friedrich, Don Heck)
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