Marvel Super-Heroes #20
Title: This Man, This Demon!
Writer: Larry Lieber
Artist: Larry Lieber
Villain: Diablo
Guests: Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm) (vision)
This is the last original story that appears in Marvel Super-Heroes, apart from an adapted story related by the Watcher in Marvel Super-Heroes #23. It's a very special 24-page epic that stars Marvel's greatest villain, Doctor Doom.
Diablo, who we last saw in Avengers #42, approaches Doctor Doom and offers an alliance. He suggests that they use Doctor Doom's time machine, which is in the American castle that he hasn't used since Fantastic Four #5. Diablo suggests that they change the course of history, using their superior powers of science and necromancy. When Doctor Doom refuses, Diablo reveals that he's holding his childhood lover Valeria as a hostage. Doom tricks Diablo and sends him into the distant future.
Valeria says that she will be Doctor Doom's lover again if he renounces his goal of world domination. He doesn't reply.
This story is slightly out of sync with the current stories of Doctor Doom. It must have taken place before Fantastic Four #84 (March 1969).
Captain America #113
Title: Lest we forget!
Writer: Jim Steranko
Artist: Jim Steranko
Villain: Hydra, Madame Hydra
Regulars: Rick Jones, Nick Fury, Sharon Carter
Guests: Avengers (Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Vision, Black Panther)
Dum Dum Dugan, Gabriel Jones, Jasper Sitwell
After last month's non-canon issue written by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko returns to the comic with his dazzling story and artwork. We see the funeral of Steve Rogers, whose death was faked in Captain America #111. It's a genuine funeral, because at this time nobody knows what's really happened.
Madame Hydra attacks the funeral after recounting her origin story. The Avengers and the other guests are knocked unconscious by gas. Is it that easy? They're packed into coffins to be carried away, when Captain America returns and defeats Hydra. Madame Hydra herself is killed in a missile attack... supposedly.
This story is obviously out of sync with the current Avengers comic, but it's easy to deduce when it takes place. Yellowjacket and the Wasp are missing, so they must be on their honeymoon. The story has to take place between Avengers #60 and Avengers #61.
Amazing Spider-Man #72
Title: Rocked by the Shocker!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Villain: Shocker, Lizard (flashback)
Regulars: Aunt May, Anna Watson, Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson
The Saga of the Stone Tablet continues. Last issue Spider-Man delivered it to Captain Stacy, so it could be given back to the authorities, but before Captain Stacy has a chance to get rid of it the Shocker attacks him to steal it. I wonder how he knew that Captain Stacy had it.
We last saw the Shocker in Amazing Spider-Man #46. Spider-Man postpones the battle while he sees his Aunt May off on holiday to Florida. Then he returns to defeat him.
While J. Jonah Jameson is in hospital the Daily Bugle has been printing articles praising Spider-Man. This is enough to drive him crazy. As if he isn't crazy already.
Captain Marvel #13
Title: Traitors or Heroes?
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Frank Springer
Villain: Man-Slayer (robot), Yon-Rogg
Regulars: Carol Danvers
This issue marks the arrival of a new creative team, Gary Friedrich and Frank Springer.
The Man-Slayer revives after losing the Mad Thinker's control beam last issue. Now it's a different enemy. With no control it's confused and doesn't know what to do. It merely recognises Captain Marvel as an enemy.
Captain Marvel has the upper hand when fighting with the Man-Slayer at the Cape, but the soldiers on the ground are firing at him, because they think he's a traitor. He breaks off the fight and teleports to the orbiting Kree ship to get revenge on Yon-Rogg for killing Una.
The soldiers read Doctor Strange comics. They have good taste. I wonder if they also read Millie The Model, Mad about Millie and this month's new comic, Chili? See the bottom of this page.
Captain Marvel underestimates Yon-Rogg and is almost knocked out. He sees on a view screen that the Man-Slayer is threatening Carol Danvers, so he teleports back to Earth.
Captain Marvel destroys the Man-Slayer. Then soldiers arrive to arrest him as a traitor.
Daredevil #52
Title: The Night of the Panther!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Barry Smith
Villain: Starr Saxon
Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Karen Page
Guests: Black Panther, Yellowjacket, Vision
Black Panther is in the streets looking for Hawkeye, not yet aware that he's become Goliath. The police enlist his help in searching for Daredevil. He follows Daredevil to Matt Murdock's apartment, where Starr Saxon is holding Karen Page hostage. Together they overcome him. From the conversation between Daredevil and Starr Saxon, the Black Panther deduces that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. Karen also begins to suspect it.
Daredevil has to let Starr Saxon go, because there's not enough proof that he was responsible for Biggie Benson's death.
The Avengers #64
Title: Like a Death Ray from the Sky!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan
Avengers: Goliath (Clint Barton), Black Panther, Vision, Yellowjacket, Wasp
Villain: Egghead
Regulars: Black Widow, Jarvis
This issue has a three-part splash page, so I've reproduced all three pages for you to marvel at. Does anyone still doubt that Gene Colan is an artistic genius?
In this issue Goliath (previously Hawkeye) finally reveals to his fellow Avengers that his real name is Clint Barton. It would have been awkward for them to carry on calling him Hawkeye in his new costumed identity.
Egghead destroys a small town in the American Midwest. Nobody has been harmed because he gave an advance warning. He threatens to strike again, without a warning, if his terms aren't met. His terms aren't named. Maybe he asked for 100 billion dollars. Or even a kajillion kajillion dollars.
The racketeer Barney Barton comes to Avengers Mansion to tell them where Egghead's orbiting space station is located. He insists on boarding the Avengers' rocket with them to face Egghead. In the battle he dies a hero. Supposedly? Clint reveals that Barney was his brother.
Thor #164
Title: Lest Mankind Fall!
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Villain: Pluto, Mutates, Karnilla
Regulars: Odin, Sif, Balder
Guests: Him, Zeus
Thor and Sif fight valiantly against the Mutates, but they're incapable of defeating Pluto himself. The only thing Thor can do is move the contents of the funnel back to the 20th Century.
Balder is still plagued by his love for the Norn Queen Karnilla. He asks Odin for assistance, but Odin tells him, quite rightly, that no power can stop love. "That which lies within the heart of man and God is eternally inviolate". The best he can do is offer him distraction. He sends him to Earth to assist Thor and Sif in the battle against Pluto.
Even the three Gods aren't strong enough to defeat Pluto. However, Zeus sees Pluto on Earth and sends him back to the underworld.
Here's that funny word a'bornig again, that Stan Lee first used on the cover of Thor #162. I've figured out what it means now. It's slang from the southern states of America and just means "beginning".
The Incredible Hulk #115
Title: Lo, the Leader Lives
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe
Villain: Leader
Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot, Betty Ross
Guests: Watcher (flashback)
The Leader returns, after seemingly dying in Tales To Astonish #74. He offers his services to General Ross as the only person capable of imprisoning the Hulk. He puts him in a prison made of plasti-thene (TM), a material that always snaps back when it's pushed.
We can guess that the Leader didn't help out of the goodness of his heart. It was because he considered the Hulk the only one strong enough to stop his evil plans.
Sub-Mariner #13
Title: Death, thou shalt die!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Marie Severin
Villain: Naga, Karthon
Sub-Mariner is sentenced to die by combat in the arena. Against all expectations he defeats the creatures which are set against him. Finally he is allowed to pick his opponent, and he asks to fight Naga. The request is granted, but Naga is much too powerful for Sub-Mariner. Before he kills Sub-Mariner he reveals that the girl who died on his throne last issue wasn't Dorma, it was a Lemurian called Llyna. Karthon recognises her as his sister, so he strikes Naga dead from behind. Karthon is appointed the new ruler of Lemuria, and Naga is buried with the serpent crown.
Fantastic Four #86
Title: The Victims
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Fantastic Four: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Crystal
Villain: Doctor Doom
Regulars: Susan Richards
Doctor Doom's robots are attacking his own people. Originally this was intended as a test of their capabilities, but now they're out of control. The Fantastic Four have lost their powers due to Doctor Doom's Hypno-Persuader (TM), so Reed Richards organises the villagers into an army against the robots.
The Fantastic Four slowly regain their powers and manage to defeat the robots. Doctor Doom detonates an explosion to destroy the Fantastic Four and everyone around them, at which point the dea ex machina (sic) arrives. Susan Richards has followed the others to Latveria to protect them.
Iron Man #13
Title: Captives of the Controller!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: George Tuska
Villain: Controller
Regulars: Jasper Sitwell, Janice Cord
Guests: Nick Fury
Iron Man has only been faking immobility. The Controller's disc doesn't work through his armour. The Controller sucks Iron Man into a vacuum disposal tube which should shred his armour, but he falls unharmed into the sea.
The Controller stops a train and uses it to travel to New York with his Absorbatron (TM) to take control of eight million people at once. The Absorbatron's range is still limited, but it extends as more people are added to its control. Jasper Sitwell is sent to investigate the train and reports back to Nick Fury. SHIELD will use an ESP blast against the Controller as soon as he gets too close to the city. If this weapon succeeds it will also kill everyone under his control, including Janice Cord, so Iron Man begs for the ESP blast to be delayed as long as possible.
Iron Man boards the train and battles the Controller. At first it looks like the Controller is winning, but then he becomes steadily weaker, until he can't even stand. Jasper Sitwell has uncoupled the last cars of the train, and the Controller is now out of range of the Absorbatron.
In the epilogue Tony Stark wants to relax with Janice Cord, but then he realises that he can't put her life in danger, so he walks away.
Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #12
Title: Hell hath no Fury
Writer: Steve Parkhouse
Artist: Barry Smith
Villain: Robert Rickard, Hydra
Regulars: Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jimmy Woo, Countess Valentina
Steve Parkhouse is an English comic book writer who only wrote two stories for Marvel in the 1960's: this issue and the Ka-Zar solo adventure in Marvel Super-Heroes #19. In the 1970's he wrote stories for Marvel UK.
A man called Robert Rickard is sent from Washington to investigate SHIELD's efficiency. He recommends that Nick Fury be replaced by a younger man. This makes Nick so angry that he needs a few days holiday to cool off. He spends the time with Countess Valentina. Obviously he's no longer interested in Laura Brown, after spending the last few issues with her.
When Nick Fury returns to duty he's denounced as a traitor. Rickard presents photos of Nick meeting with foreign agents. Countess Valentina denies that she was with him for the last few days. Maybe she's angry with him because she found out about Laura?
Nick Fury flees and is hunted by SHIELD agents. We find out that Rickard is secretly a member of Hydra. He arranges for Hydra agents to join in the hunt, trying to kill rather than arrest Nick.
Rickard himself attempts to shoot Nick Fury, but Nick shoots him fatally. Dum Dum Dugan witnesses this and arrests him for murder.
X-Men #56
This issue is the first drawn by Neal Adams, who was DC's most popular artist at the time. He was one of the few artists who openly admitted that he worked for both Marvel and DC at the same time, rather than hiding his identity with a false name. He had a very dramatic style, particularly in the composition of pictures, i.e. the arrangement of the characters in a panel. From his very first issues he was generally praised as Marvel's best artist. I only know two people who disagreed: I was one of them, because I preferred Jim Steranko, and Stan Lee was the other, because he always liked Jack Kirby the most. In an interview in the early 1970's Stan Lee was asked if he thought Neal Adams was Marvel's best artist. He replied, "No, he's Marvel's worst artist, because he never finishes his work on time". That's an extreme statement, but it shows the differing priorities.
Title: What is the Power?
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Neal Adams
X-Men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Iceman
Villain: Living Pharaoh / Living Monolith
Regulars: Alex Summers
The Living Pharaoh separates Alex Summers from the X-Men, because that's the only person he's interested in. They're both mutants, but he says that unlike the other mutants they derive their powers from cosmic rays. There are only a limited number of cosmic rays to go round, so he puts Alex in a container to prevent the rays reaching him. This makes the Living Pharaoh grow into a giant, and he now calls himself the Living Monolith.
Alex breaks out of the container and re-absorbs the cosmic rays by sheer willpower. This makes the Living Monolith return to normal size and become powerless.
In the final scene Alex tells the X-Men to stay back, because he can't control his powers and he doesn't know what will happen.
Here's an example of Neal Adams' artwork. What do you think?
Title: The Flying A-Bomb!
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Werner Roth
X-Men: Professor X, Angel, Cyclops, Iceman
The Avenging Angel, as Warren Worthington III initially called himself, refuses to join the X-Men. Professor X is able to persuade him telepathically that he needs to fly into the upper atmosphere to dispose of the dangerous radioactive vial that he's carrying.
Doctor Strange #180
Title: Eternity, Eternity
Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan
Villain: Nightmare
Regulars: Clea, Wong
Guests: Eternity
Doctor Strange dreams about Eternity, who was seemingly destroyed by Dormammu in Strange Tales #146. The image fades, and he sees his enemy Nightmare, who was last seen in Doctor Strange #170. Nightmare threatens that he will soon attack.
The next day is New Year's Eve. Silly me, I thought it was May! Doctor Strange takes a taxi to Times Square with Clea to see in the New Year. As midnight chimes chaos breaks out. Times Square is invaded by prehistoric creatures, Vikings and beings from outer space. Nightmare reveals himself as the one responsible. He reveals to Doctor Strange that he's captured Eternity. He challenges Doctor Strange to a battle, and Doctor Strange accepts.
Does this issue's cover look familiar? It ought to. It's a drawing of Eternity by Steve Ditko that's been borrowed from the aforementioned Strange Tales #146.
This issue contains a pinup page by Gene Colan. As much as I appreciate his artwork, I still find Doctor Strange's new appearance ugly.
Other comics published this month:
Millie the Model #170 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Chili #1 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #66 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders #14 (Arnold Drake, Don Heck)
Not Brand Echh #13 (Roy Thomas, Marie Severin)
Last month's launch of Mad About Millie wasn't enough. Now Stan Lee is writing a second spin-off comic from Millie The Model. It features Chili, who's been a supporting character since Millie The Model #14 (October 1948).
This month is the final issue of Not Brand Echh. I know it's a cult favourite among many Marvel fans, but I never liked it. It's an interesting attempt at satire, but I just didn't find it funny.
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