Daniel Sherrier's Blog, page 44

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 7: The Fantastic Four Explore!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Fantastic Four #44-51; Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #124, 125; Thor (Hey, look, he got promoted!) #126-130; Tales to Astonish (starring the Hulk) #75-79; Strange Tales (starring Nick Fury & SHIELD) #145; Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man and Captain America) #73-78; The Avengers #25-29; year: 1966.

Fantastic Firsts

The Inhumans debut in Fantastic Four #45. Viewers of the Agents of SHIELD TV series have met this hidden, ancient society of super-powered people—but not the comic universe’s main cast of Inhumans, who I suspect are being saved for the upcoming movie, which is slated for 2019. In the comics, we’ve already met Medusa, but in #44 we meet Gorgon and in #45 we meet the rest: Crystal (introduced as a potential love interest for the Human Torch), Black Bolt, Karnak, Triton, and dog Lockjaw. In #47, we meet their nemesis, Maximus.

Immediately after that adventure, Galactus develops his first craving for the Earth in FF #48, during which the Silver Surfer debuts, initially as the herald of the world-devourer. Yes, this is where the second Fantastic Four movie, Rise of the Silver Surfer, draws its inspiration, but ignore that film and read these instead.

And then, because the FF are on such a roll here, Mr. Fantastic visits the Negative Zone for the first time in #51.

Peggy Carter, the character Hayley Atwell has made famous in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuts in a flashback Captain America tale in Tales of Suspense #77, though she is never identified by name.

Many of the Olympus gods debut in Thor #129, including Ares, who will join the Avengers a long, long time from this point.

The Collector (Benicio Del Toro in Guardians of the Galaxy) first fights the Avengers in #28 as a pretty basic villain who uses his vast collection as weapons (using magic beans to summon giants to fight Giant-Man, for example).

Rest In—oh, never mind

The Black Widow, briefly presumed dead, is back in action—but brainwashed this time so she’ll remain loyal to those wicked Soviets. Hawkeye remains stupidly obsessed with her, and the fact that this hasn’t killed him yet is miraculous.

The Revolving Door of Avengers Mansion

Retirement didn’t take for Giant-Man and the Wasp, so they’re back on the team—only now Giant-Man is calling himself Goliath, because Hank Pym needed a third superhero identity in the course of five of our years (starting with Ant-Man, for those just tuning in). Fortunately, the Scarlet Witch took the liberty of sewing a new costume for this man she hardly knows.

The Status is Not Quo

–In the Marvel Universe, secret identities are not forever. Happy Hogan learns that his boss Tony Stark is Iron Man. Thor finally says to Hel with his father’s wishes and tells his beloved Jane Foster that he and Dr. Donald Blake are one and the same (though Dr. Blake has been showing up less and less lately). Goliath and the Wasp reveal their true names to the new Avengers. And Rick Jones, thinking his buddy the Bruce Banner has died, blabs the secret of the Hulk to everyone. Clearly Rick hasn’t been a comic book character long enough at this point to have learned the big rule: No body, no fatality. Heck, even if there is a body, there might not be a fatality.

–Peggy Carter, however, has no idea who Captain America really is. Their relationship isn’t well defined at this point—they’re already in love when we first see them together. Like her film counterpart, she’s a rare woman fighting for the Allies’ cause in Europe, and she’s strong-willed enough to resist interrogation. Then, while trying to save lives, an explosion injures her and she winds up with amnesia. And she never saw Cap again during WWII. So, her introduction shows some potential. She’s easily the toughest non-super-powered female character we’ve met thus far, probably tougher than the super-powered ones, too, and then…plot device. And she doesn’t even have a name yet! Looks like it’ll be a while before we see her again, too.

“Go ahead…shoot me! At least I shall die for freedom! But when the Allies finally crush you into the muck you rose from, what will you have died for?? Nothing but an insane fuehrer!” You tell ‘em, Peggy.

–The Scarlet Witch’s powers evolve over the years, but they’re still in their original form here. She’s not the telekinetic who can get into people’s minds as she does in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In these comics, she simply has a “hex power.” Basically, she makes a hand gesture, and something goes wrong—an object will topple, the ceiling will cave in, a machine will malfunction, etc. In about forty years from these issues, she’ll really make things go wrong—first for the Avengers, and then for the X-Men. But that’s a ways off.

General Thoughts

–I was going to see the new Fantastic Four movie, but then it got a 9 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Instead, this read-through reached a great string of classic FF issues that capture what the group is supposed to be about.

Reviews of the new movie backed up the concerns I had about the trailer—it looked too serious and too small-scale. That’s the opposite of the FF.

In these issues, within a short span of time, they meet an ancient super-powered race that has lived on our world for millennia without our knowing it. They stop a giant alien from eating the planet, aided by another alien who flies through space on a surfboard. And then they discover a whole separate dimension of reality. And they have all these ridiculous adventures while wearing their eccentric personalities on their sleeves.

Yeah, the 1960s style leaves plenty of flaws, but these issues are shamelessly fun, and some substance is even snuck in here and there.

People joke that the only good Fantastic Four movie has been The Incredibles. That’s partly true. The Pixar film captures a family dynamic that’s at the core of the FF, but when it comes down to it, the FF aren’t primarily superheroes. They’re explorers on a grand, cosmic scale who will step up to save the world when needed. The Avengers are the more traditional superheroes who are more actively on the lookout for threats.

Culture Smash!

–An antagonistic senator wants Iron Man to serve the public good, kind of like what we see in Iron Man 2, but with far less Gary Shandling. This senator is (wisely) portrayed as a decent man who’s doing what he feels is right, rather than a slimy politician. Yes, the comic has the less cartoony portrayal, go figure.

“He’s got to learn that Iron Man cannot work only for him (Stark), when the entire nation might benefit by his powers!” Senator Byrd tells Pepper Potts in Tales of Suspense #75.

Of course, Iron Man is already serving the nation on his own terms, and that’s been working out pretty well for everyone.

–In Journey Into Mystery #124, Thor is on a sidewalk about to swing his hammer to take off…and then a police officer stops him for not having “a license to give a public demonstration in the street.” Not even the Marvel Universe is immune to regulatory ordinances, it seems. And this is what distinguished Marvel from DC back then—Marvel’s heroes, despite their power, had to deal with mundane obstacles from time to time, which were often used lightheartedly, as in this example.

Trending Then

–Freakish superheroes. In addition to the Hulk and Thing, we now have Goliath permanently trapped at ten feet tall—well, as permanently as anything in the physics-defying comic book world.

Highlights

The Fantastic Four issues, as discussed above. But let’s focus on one in particular:

Fantastic Four #51: This is the finest single issue yet in this read-through, and it may well hold up as among the finest FF books, period. An unnamed, scientist who envies Reed Richards’ success, lures the self-pitying Thing into his apartment and steals his powers, reverting Ben Grimm to human form. Posing as the Thing, this scientist infiltrates the FF as Reed is trying create faster-than-light travel in his quest to build defenses against threats like Galactus (the world was almost eaten like yesterday, remember). He’s preparing to embark on a one-man exploration of sub-space but is depending on the Thing to keep him anchored to their dimension. When Reed gets into trouble, this nameless scientist who set out to destroy the FF just has to wait it out…but seeing Reed selflessly and privately undertaking this dangerous mission, without fanfare, begins to affect the scientist. It’s a short but incredibly effective redemption tale during which not a single punch is thrown. If the recent movie left a bad taste in your mouth, rinse it out with this issue, and the several issues that precede it.

Lowlights

The Hulk may be the strongest there is, but his series…is not. It feels like it keeps reinventing itself without actually advancing the story. Now Banner’s in control of the Hulk! Now he’s working for the Leader! Now he’s getting dumb again! Now he’s randomly thrown into the future! Nevertheless, now that his identity’s out of the bag, maybe we’ll start getting some good forward momentum. Maybe?

The Quotable Marvel

“Stop sounding like a wife and find me that gun, lady!” –Reed Richards to Sue Richards, FF #45. At this rate, I should just start a whole Mr. Fantastic is a jerk category…

“Destroy is merely a word! We simply change things! We change elements into energy…the energy which sustains Galactus! For it is only he that matters!” –the Silver Surfer, FF #49, philosophizing his way into a communism metaphor.

“Flying horses don’t leave hoofprints on window-sills without a reason!” –Tony Stark, genius, in TOS #73

“The name’s Captain America, mister! But you can call me Cap!” –Captain America, to a guy he’s punching out in Avengers #27. Wait, his friends call him Cap, so…this bad guy…huh?

“This is amazing! It’s the last thing I’d ever have expected!” –Quicksilver’s last line in Avengers #27

“It’s from a scientist named Henry Pym! He wants us to help him find the Wasp!” –Quicksilver’s first line in Avengers #28, telling us the amazing last thing he’d ever have expected.

To Be Continued…

Introducing the Black Panther!

Avenging the Fantastic, part 7: The Fantastic Four Explore!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Fantastic Four #44-51; Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #124, 125; Thor (Hey, look, he got promoted!) #126-130; Tales to Astonish (starring the Hulk) #75-79; Strange Tales (starring Nick Fury & SHIELD) #145; Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man and Captain America) #73-78; The Avengers #25-29; year: 1966.

Fantastic Firsts

The Inhumans debut in Fantastic Four #45. Viewers of the Agents of SHIELD TV series have met this hidden, ancient society of super-powered people—but not the comic universe’s main cast of Inhumans, who I suspect are being saved for the upcoming movie, which is slated for 2019. In the comics, we’ve already met Medusa, but in #44 we meet Gorgon and in #45 we meet the rest: Crystal (introduced as a potential love interest for the Human Torch), Black Bolt, Karnak, Triton, and dog Lockjaw. In #47, we meet their nemesis, Maximus.

Immediately after that adventure, Galactus develops his first craving for the Earth in FF #48, during which the Silver Surfer debuts, initially as the herald of the world-devourer. Yes, this is where the second Fantastic Four movie, Rise of the Silver Surfer, draws its inspiration, but ignore that film and read these instead.

And then, because the FF are on such a roll here, Mr. Fantastic visits the Negative Zone for the first time in #51.

Peggy Carter, the character Hayley Atwell has made famous in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, debuts in a flashback Captain America tale in Tales of Suspense #77, though she is never identified by name.

Many of the Olympus gods debut in Thor #129, including Ares, who will join the Avengers a long, long time from this point.

The Collector (Benicio Del Toro in Guardians of the Galaxy) first fights the Avengers in #28 as a pretty basic villain who uses his vast collection as weapons (using magic beans to summon giants to fight Giant-Man, for example).

Rest In—oh, never mind

The Black Widow, briefly presumed dead, is back in action—but brainwashed this time so she’ll remain loyal to those wicked Soviets. Hawkeye remains stupidly obsessed with her, and the fact that this hasn’t killed him yet is miraculous.

The Revolving Door of Avengers Mansion

Retirement didn’t take for Giant-Man and the Wasp, so they’re back on the team—only now Giant-Man is calling himself Goliath, because Hank Pym needed a third superhero identity in the course of five of our years (starting with Ant-Man, for those just tuning in). Fortunately, the Scarlet Witch took the liberty of sewing a new costume for this man she hardly knows.

The Status is Not Quo

–In the Marvel Universe, secret identities are not forever. Happy Hogan learns that his boss Tony Stark is Iron Man. Thor finally says to Hel with his father’s wishes and tells his beloved Jane Foster that he and Dr. Donald Blake are one and the same (though Dr. Blake has been showing up less and less lately). Goliath and the Wasp reveal their true names to the new Avengers. And Rick Jones, thinking his buddy the Bruce Banner has died, blabs the secret of the Hulk to everyone. Clearly Rick hasn’t been a comic book character long enough at this point to have learned the big rule: No body, no fatality. Heck, even if there is a body, there might not be a fatality.

–Peggy Carter, however, has no idea who Captain America really is. Their relationship isn’t well defined at this point—they’re already in love when we first see them together. Like her film counterpart, she’s a rare woman fighting for the Allies’ cause in Europe, and she’s strong-willed enough to resist interrogation. Then, while trying to save lives, an explosion injures her and she winds up with amnesia. And she never saw Cap again during WWII. So, her introduction shows some potential. She’s easily the toughest non-super-powered female character we’ve met thus far, probably tougher than the super-powered ones, too, and then…plot device. And she doesn’t even have a name yet! Looks like it’ll be a while before we see her again, too.

“Go ahead…shoot me! At least I shall die for freedom! But when the Allies finally crush you into the muck you rose from, what will you have died for?? Nothing but an insane fuehrer!” You tell ‘em, Peggy.

–The Scarlet Witch’s powers evolve over the years, but they’re still in their original form here. She’s not the telekinetic who can get into people’s minds as she does in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In these comics, she simply has a “hex power.” Basically, she makes a hand gesture, and something goes wrong—an object will topple, the ceiling will cave in, a machine will malfunction, etc. In about forty years from these issues, she’ll really make things go wrong—first for the Avengers, and then for the X-Men. But that’s a ways off.

General Thoughts

–I was going to see the new Fantastic Four movie, but then it got a 9 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Instead, this read-through reached a great string of classic FF issues that capture what the group is supposed to be about.

Reviews of the new movie backed up the concerns I had about the trailer—it looked too serious and too small-scale. That’s the opposite of the FF.

In these issues, within a short span of time, they meet an ancient super-powered race that has lived on our world for millennia without our knowing it. They stop a giant alien from eating the planet, aided by another alien who flies through space on a surfboard. And then they discover a whole separate dimension of reality. And they have all these ridiculous adventures while wearing their eccentric personalities on their sleeves.

Yeah, the 1960s style leaves plenty of flaws, but these issues are shamelessly fun, and some substance is even snuck in here and there.

People joke that the only good Fantastic Four movie has been The Incredibles. That’s partly true. The Pixar film captures a family dynamic that’s at the core of the FF, but when it comes down to it, the FF aren’t primarily superheroes. They’re explorers on a grand, cosmic scale who will step up to save the world when needed. The Avengers are the more traditional superheroes who are more actively on the lookout for threats.

Culture Smash!

–An antagonistic senator wants Iron Man to serve the public good, kind of like what we see in Iron Man 2, but with far less Gary Shandling. This senator is (wisely) portrayed as a decent man who’s doing what he feels is right, rather than a slimy politician. Yes, the comic has the less cartoony portrayal, go figure.

“He’s got to learn that Iron Man cannot work only for him (Stark), when the entire nation might benefit by his powers!” Senator Byrd tells Pepper Potts in Tales of Suspense #75.

Of course, Iron Man is already serving the nation on his own terms, and that’s been working out pretty well for everyone.

–In Journey Into Mystery #124, Thor is on a sidewalk about to swing his hammer to take off…and then a police officer stops him for not having “a license to give a public demonstration in the street.” Not even the Marvel Universe is immune to regulatory ordinances, it seems. And this is what distinguished Marvel from DC back then—Marvel’s heroes, despite their power, had to deal with mundane obstacles from time to time, which were often used lightheartedly, as in this example.

Trending Then

–Freakish superheroes. In addition to the Hulk and Thing, we now have Goliath permanently trapped at ten feet tall—well, as permanently as anything in the physics-defying comic book world.

Highlights

The Fantastic Four issues, as discussed above. But let’s focus on one in particular:

Fantastic Four #51: This is the finest single issue yet in this read-through, and it may well hold up as among the finest FF books, period. An unnamed, scientist who envies Reed Richards’ success, lures the self-pitying Thing into his apartment and steals his powers, reverting Ben Grimm to human form. Posing as the Thing, this scientist infiltrates the FF as Reed is trying create faster-than-light travel in his quest to build defenses against threats like Galactus (the world was almost eaten like yesterday, remember). He’s preparing to embark on a one-man exploration of sub-space but is depending on the Thing to keep him anchored to their dimension. When Reed gets into trouble, this nameless scientist who set out to destroy the FF just has to wait it out…but seeing Reed selflessly and privately undertaking this dangerous mission, without fanfare, begins to affect the scientist. It’s a short but incredibly effective redemption tale during which not a single punch is thrown. If the recent movie left a bad taste in your mouth, rinse it out with this issue, and the several issues that precede it.

Lowlights

The Hulk may be the strongest there is, but his series…is not. It feels like it keeps reinventing itself without actually advancing the story. Now Banner’s in control of the Hulk! Now he’s working for the Leader! Now he’s getting dumb again! Now he’s randomly thrown into the future! Nevertheless, now that his identity’s out of the bag, maybe we’ll start getting some good forward momentum. Maybe?

The Quotable Marvel

“Stop sounding like a wife and find me that gun, lady!” –Reed Richards to Sue Richards, FF #45. At this rate, I should just start a whole Mr. Fantastic is a jerk category…

“Destroy is merely a word! We simply change things! We change elements into energy…the energy which sustains Galactus! For it is only he that matters!” –the Silver Surfer, FF #49, philosophizing his way into a communism metaphor.

“Flying horses don’t leave hoofprints on window-sills without a reason!” –Tony Stark, genius, in TOS #73

“The name’s Captain America, mister! But you can call me Cap!” –Captain America, to a guy he’s punching out in Avengers #27. Wait, his friends call him Cap, so…this bad guy…huh?

“This is amazing! It’s the last thing I’d ever have expected!” –Quicksilver’s last line in Avengers #27

“It’s from a scientist named Henry Pym! He wants us to help him find the Wasp!” –Quicksilver’s first line in Avengers #28, telling us the amazing last thing he’d ever have expected.

To Be Continued…

Introducing the Black Panther!

Kids need Terrific role models

Kids need role models, and adults sometimes need role models on how to be role models.

This, of course, brings me to superheroes. Too many of today’s costumed crimefighters tend to fall short in this regard. Even Superman has stumbled—I would not recommend kids emulate the version of Supes we see in the recent Man of Steel movie.

While I was a member of the Comics Experience workshop (which I highly recommend for all aspiring comics pros), I was working on scripts for a superhero series that would be perfectly appropriate for ages 9 and up. Along the way, the notion crept into my mind that this should be a novel, and while it should remain appropriate for younger readers, it should be for adults who have little ones in their lives. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, coach, etc., you may feel you have to be near-perfect in the eyes of these children…even though you’re not, and you may even have a whole other life that occurs out of their view (parents’ jobs, teachers’ own family lives and hobbies).

This novel will be called Terrific, and it will feature the greatest superhero of its world—Mighty-Woman. And at the start, she has also been the world’s only superhero for the past several years, though she did start as part of a team. Things just went…wrong.

I had a full draft written, and then I attended the Taliesin Nexus Calliope Workshop for Fiction and Non-Fiction Authors last weekend and received excellent feedback, which I’m now implementing in a rewrite. The first draft was entertaining, and I’m excited to make it even better.

Terrific will be my next book and first full-length novel. Next on the docket will be volumes 2 and 3 of RIP, which will continue the established format of episodic novelettes that build on each other. That series is like my Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but with very human ghosts. Then I’ll return to Earths in Space for a third volume of fun, somewhat pulpy sci-fi action/adventure as my team of explorers continues to visit alternate Earths across the universe.

Superheroes, ghosts, and space travel—I’ll be busy, and I’ll be having fun.

In the meantime, RIP vol. 1: Choices After Death has joined Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon Prime members can borrow it for free. If that goes well, Earths in Space may follow suit.

Now, time to work on Terrific…

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 6: Avengers Reassemble!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Fantastic Four #39-43, Annual #3; Journey Into Mystery #114-123; Tales to Astonish (starring Giant-Man & Wasp and the Hulk) #60-74; Strange Tales (starring Nick Fury & SHIELD) #136-144; Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man and Captain America) #66-76; Avengers #15-24; years: 1964-66.

Fantastic Firsts

Thor is the first to fight the Absorbing Man (we saw a little of him in early season two of Agents of SHIELD) in Journey Into Mystery #114. He also takes on the Destroyer (that robot-like Asgardian weapon from the first movie) in JIM #118. In a flashback story in JIM #119, the Warriors Three first appear (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg, who also all appear in the movies—Thor’s Asgardian warrior friends who aren’t Sif).

Captain America has his first battle with Batroc the Leaper (seen in far less cartoonish form at the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier) in Tales of Suspense #75. In the same issue, he meets Agent 13, a young woman we’ll later learn is Sharon Carter, the sister of Peggy Carter who we know well from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (The familial relationship will change as World War II grows more distant.)

For the sake of democracy, Iron Man tackles evil commie the Titanium Man for the first time in TOS #69.

Jasper Sitwell, another familiar face from the cinematic universe, joins SHIELD in Strange Tales #144, though here he’s young, idealistic, and obnoxious.

Future Avenger the Swordsman first appears in Avengers #19. He’s in the bad guy camp at this point, but the seeds of future heroism are planted.

R.I.P. For Now

Captain America’s Nazi foe, Baron Zemo, the guy who killed his WWII sidekick Bucky Barnes, dies in battle in Avengers #15. Cap doesn’t lose any sleep over this.

In the next issue of Avengers, Hawkeye reports that the Black Widow has been killed by communists for trying to desert them. Nevertheless, I suspect we haven’t seen the last of Madame Natasha…

The Revolving Door of Avengers’ Mansion

Thor, Iron Man, Giant-Man, and the Wasp are out (amicably), leaving only Captain America to lead newcomers Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch.

The Status Is Not Quo

–The Hulk can’t seem to settle on a status quo. For the first time, the traditional “dumb Hulk” persona emerges, where he’s always referring to himself in the third person and is portrayed as being generally mindless…at least until Bruce Banner is accidentally shot in the head, which soon results in Banner being trapped in Hulk’s body with his own mind, unable to switch back without the bullet killing him (a more extreme version of Iron Man’s situation, basically), at least until the villainous Leader saves his life and coerces the Hulk to join forces with him.

“Then together, you and I…the only two green-skinned humans on Earth…can rule the world!” For a supposed genius, the Leader sure is fixated on skin color.

Major Talbot has become a recurring antagonist for Banner and the Hulk, one with more potential than the standard villains. Talbot is portrayed as a good man with rather understandable concerns about the presence of a super-strong brainless monster around a military base. He tends to jump to wrong conclusions about Banner, but Banner tends to disappear without a word on a regular basis, so can you blame the guy? Also, Talbot serves as a romantic rival for the affections of Betty Ross. However, Betty has yet to develop a personality (Banner gets two; she gets zero).

–Captain America has no life outside the Avengers, and he’s not content with that. So he writes a query letter to Nick Fury at SHIELD: “Dear Col. Fury, You won’t remember me, but we met in combat during the war! I’m anxious to get back into harness again, and I’ve heard that you are engaged in important counter-espionage for the army…” Because, yeah, that’s the sort of thing you casually hear while out and about. Maybe he overheard something from Tony Stark while living in the guy’s mansion…which brings us to out next point…

–Tony Stark is the most important man in the Marvel Universe. The Avengers meet at Stark’s mansion (and the new ones live there). Stark provides them with equipment and funding, even after Iron Man leaves the team. Stark employs a butler for them. (Yes, the Avengers are made possible by a benevolent capitalist. Take that, Communism!) Also, Stark is the top weapons designer for SHIELD and has played key roles in several issues of that series, so far never with his Iron Man armor. And let’s not forget, he also runs his own company and engages in all those solo Iron Man adventures. How he has time to pine away for Pepper Potts, I’ll never—oh, right, he still has to plug himself into the wall and wait to recharge.

–The Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married, which means three-fourths of that quartet are now related (sorry, Thing).

General Thoughts

–Changing most of the Avengers’ lineup changes the feel of the whole book.

The original team was a group of friendly professionals. They conducted meetings in accordance with Roberts’ Rules of Order, would take turns serving as chairman, and got along splendidly with each other, even while respecting each other’s secret identities.

In the new group, Captain America is fully in charge, but Hawkeye and Quicksilver (more so the former) think they’d be better leaders. Hawkeye in particular is always giving Cap a hard time, and the nagging eventually wears him down to the point where Cap quits (only to return when the other three get in trouble the next issue).

Actual Captain American quote: “I’ve played straight man to you jokers long enough! You can get yourselves another clown! Now that our names are cleared, I’m kissin’ you off—!” Picture Chris Evans saying that. Go on.

To be fair to Cap, trying to mold a trio of ex-cons into superheroes can’t be easy work. Yes, three-quarters of this Avengers team previously served the Dark Side—Hawkeye had been seduced by Black Widow, and Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch had felt they owed their lives and therefore their allegiance to Magneto.

–Giant-Man (formerly Ant-Man) and the Wasp’s adventures are no more. Their series in Tales to Astonish has been replaced by a Namor the Sub-Mariner feature (which I’m not covering), and thank goodness. Their series never developed a distinct hook or visual style to set it apart. Hank Pym is, frankly, a pretty boring guy at this point who would have been more at home in the era’s DC Comics, where superheroes were still working on developing distinct personalities. The Wasp, on the other hand, did bring personality to the table, but too much of her page time was wasted on flirting with Pym.

The writers tweaked Giant-Man’s powers to try to make him more interesting—near the end, he lost his ability to shrink, but was able to grow larger than before. But, to show how sloppy things were getting, in the final story, Giant-Man and the Wasp escape the villain’s trap by…Giant-Man shrinking to Ant-Man size, without one word about how he got his shrinking powers back, even though a huge fuss was made about the loss the previous issue.

There are several reasons why the Marvel Cinematic Universe made the right call using the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man in the movie with Pym already retired, and we’ll get into those over time, but for now, the early to mid-1960s show us that Hank Pym comes from pretty weak origins. The guy’s arch-nemesis called himself the Human Top, for goodness sake, and wasn’t played for laughs.

Glimpses of potential were seen earlier whenever the series would embrace the silliness of the shrinking concept (Ant-Man vs. an ant-eater, for example), which was lost when he started growing as well, and the Wasp had a somewhat promising introduction before her main motivation devolved into her relationship with Pym, which mostly progressed off-panel.

As a series star, Ant-Man/Giant-Man was the misfire of Marvel’s 1960s resurgence (not counting the Human Torch, who was introduced for the Fantastic Four and then spun off into solo adventures, whereas Ant-Man was conceived as a solo star who happened to join the Avengers later).

Culture Smash!

–Thor in the Vietnam War! He flies into it by accident, but even an Asgardian god prince knows right away that communists are evil. Also, Iron Man’s battle with the Titanium Man, which spans three issues, is presented in-story as a pre-arranged, televised propaganda piece (well, the U.S. and Russia are each hoping it will be propaganda to serve their side). So basically, Stan Lee and company are still shamelessly teaching their young readers that the communists are the bad guys—which they are; this is not a complaint, merely an observation that it continues to be a regular occurrence in this era.

Trending Then

–Soupy Sales???

TOS #74: “I don’t care if he’s Soupy Sales…” ST #142: “Well, it sure as heck ain’t Soupy Sales!” ST #144: “Who were ya expecting??? Soupy Sales??” ST #144

The second two quotes were from Nick Fury (and a quick peek ahead shows they’re not his last Soupy references). Nick Fury = closet Soupy Sales fan? Now I want Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury to reference Soupy Sales.

Highlights

Fantastic Four #39-40: The FF have lost their powers, and Doctor Doom strikes! Fortunately, Daredevil is around to help them through it. The resolution to their power outage situation is convenient, but the action is great.

Journey Into Mystery #118-119: Loki manipulates events to unleash the Destroyer against Thor, but he forgets that the Destroyer, which was created by Odin himself, is powerful enough to kill Thor. Then he realizes if Thor gets killed and Loki is implicated, he could very well pay for the crime with his own life. This puts Loki in the awkward, and more dramatically interesting, position of struggling to help Thor remotely from Asgard—even from a prison cell after he tries and fails to wake Odin from the Odinsleep—while Thor fights for his life against a more powerful foe on Earth. Two layers of tension for the price of one!

Lowlights

This honor goes to Giant-Man and the Wasp’s final string of issues. No wonder Marvel Unlimited didn’t bother adding these until the movie came out.

The Quotable Marvel

“My enchanted uru hammer begins to tingle!” –Thor, JIM #114, somehow confusing his hammer’s abilities with Spider-Man’s.

“None may disturb Odin while he takes his imperial bath!” –Odin, while bathing in JIM #116. He should have called it the Odinbath.

“Let go of my arm, Sue! This is no time to go feminine and romantic on me! I’ve got things to do!” –Mr. Fantastic, ever the charmer, in FF #41.

“Murdock, something’s happened! As our lawyer, would you tell the guests there will be a slight delay?” –Mr. Fantastic, right before his wedding, in FF Annual #3.

“She’ll never swallow a story like this! I’ll have to think of something clever…like, I had a flat tire!” –Tony Stark, genius, in TOS #68

“Quicksilver touches what he pleases!” –Quicksilver, Avengers #19. I’m shocked movie Quicksilver never said this. Shocked.

“Take away your crummy speed, and what have ya got?” –Hawkeye to Quicksilver, Avengers #20, a line that, perhaps coincidentally, was repurposed for different characters in the first Avengers movie, but the comic book is sorely lacking in Robert Downey Jr. quips.

To Be Continued…

To rinse out the taste of the critically panned new Fantastic Four movie, we’re entering the creative peak of 1960s FF. The Inhumans! Galactus! The Silver Surfer! And, meanwhile, over in Cap’s series, Peggy Carter!

Embrace Change…and Excerpts!

I’ve tweaked one little aspect of my website here…I’ve created a drop-down menu under the “Books” tab up top.

Now, you can visit a new page dedicated to each of my books. You’ll see the cover image, description, and sales links as you always did, but now I’ve included a permanent excerpt for each title. I’ve incorporated the reviews there rather than in a separate “Reviews” tab as before.

This change will also provide a dedicated space for folks to leave comments specifically about that book and discuss it amongst themselves.

So scroll up and check it out, please, and have fun reading.

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 5: Nick Fury Joins S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Fantastic Four #31-38, Annual #2; Journey Into Mystery #110-113, Annual #1; Tales to Astonish (starring the Hulk) #60-64; Strange Tales (starring the Human Torch and Thing) #125-134, (starring Nick Fury) #135; Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man and Captain America in separate stories) #59-65; Avengers #8-14; years: 1964-65.

Fantastic Firsts

Lots!

The Avengers battle time-travelling villain Kang for the first time in their #8, though technically the character already debuted as Rama Tut over in Fantastic Four. Then they meet Immortus in #10, who we’ll later learn is another version of Kang from a different point in time (pesky time-travel shenanigans).

Future Avenger Wonder Man is introduced in Avengers #9, though he’s not entirely a good guy yet. Then they meet Count Nefaria in #13, and with a name like that, you know he’ll always be a bad guy.

Thor is the first to utter the famous catchphrase “Avengers Assemble!” in #10, uniting the team against the Masters of Evil.

We meet Sue and Johnny Storm’s father in FF #31. (He’ll be in the upcoming movie, but it looks like he’ll be an entirely different character than the disgraced surgeon who appears here.)

The Fantastic Four first encounter the Frightful Four in #36. The group includes previously established villains the Wizard, Sandman, and Paste-Pot-Pete (now Trapster) and new character Medusa, who is the first of the Inhumans we meet, though she’s not yet identified as such.

SHIELD debuts and recruits Nick Fury in Strange Tales #135, where we’re introduced to SHIELD staples such as the Helicarrier, life-model decoys (LMDs), a flying car, and recurring enemies Hydra.

Avengers’ mansion butler Edwin Jarvis first appears in Captain America’s story in Tales of Suspense #59. Like his television counterpart in Agent Carter, he’s in the employ of a Stark, but unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no computer is named after the guy.

Golden Age villain Red Skull is reintroduced in TOS #65, though it is a World War II flashback story, so he hasn’t yet appeared in “modern” continuity by this point.

Norse and Greek mythology cross over when Thor accidentally visits Olympus in Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 and gets into a wee little misunderstanding with Hercules (another future Avenger).

The Hulk’s new solo series in Tales to Astonish features several notable first appearances, including Major Talbot (Adrian Pasdar’s character in the Agents of SHIELD TV series) in #61 and the villainous Leader in #62.

R.I.P. For Now

Wonder Man does not survive his first appearance. But we haven’t seen the last of him! (Don’t expect to see him in the movies, though. It’s possible, but I suspect Warner Bros. would object to another “Wonder” character floating around Hollywood.)

Dr. Storm, the Invisible Girl and Human Torch’s father, makes it to a second appearance in FF #32, at which point he’s killed by the alien Skrulls. I could be wrong, but I don’t think he ever rises from the dead—a rarity in the Marvel Universe.

The Status Is Not Quo

–How stubborn is Tony Stark? When his health takes a turn for the worse, forcing him to spend entire days within his full Iron Man suit, he demonstrates an unhealthy commitment to the whole secret identity thing. His employees, particularly Pepper and Happy, are immediately suspicious about the notion of Tony disappearing suddenly and leaving Iron Man—his bodyguard—in charge of the company, which leads to the authorities suspecting that Iron Man has kidnapped or even killed Stark. And once that’s cleared up, the Mandarin blows up Stark’s home when everyone believes him to be confined to bedrest inside. Rather than telling his closest friends, “Hey, I’m not dead! Don’t mourn me!” Iron Man keeps up the act long enough to resolve his health issue (or at least get it back to its usual level of precariousness) and appear in public as Stark again. So yeah—not like Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony “I am Iron Man” Stark.

–Along those lines, Tony lies about having a fiancé so Pepper will stop pining away for him, even though he secretly loves her himself. Nevertheless, he feels she’s be better off with Happy and tries to coax along their relationship. Because he knows what’s best for his secretary’s love life, obviously.

–The Black Widow gets a proper costume in Tales of Suspense #64, as well as some new tricks, such as being able to adhere to walls and swing from building to building on a special nylon line—so basically a cheap imitation of Spider-Man, almost, but no Widow Sense or teen angst. Hawkeye remains obsessed with her.

–For the first time, it’s established that the Hulk’s mood is what triggers his transformation. But it works both ways—when the Hulk experiences too much stress, he risks reverting to Bruce Banner.

–Dr. Doom gets fleshed out in FF Annual #2. We learn about his gypsy heritage, get a look at his college days when he was a classmate of Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, and we and the FF discover that Doom is the monarch of the small nation of Latveria.

–Reed Richards and Sue Storm take their relationship to the next level. And in 1960s comics, “next level” means going straight from professing their feelings to each to getting engaged between two issues.

–Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch have begun trying to pull away from Magneto and stop being bad guys. They seek out advice from the Fantastic Four in Strange Tales #128, but the buffoonery of the Thing and Human Torch results in a pointless fight that merely chases the twins away and back to Magneto for a little bit longer.

–After a lackluster first few issues, Captain America’s feature in TOS becomes a flashback series set in World War II, co-starring sidekick Bucky Barnes. Still nothing extraordinary, but it gives it a unique feel compared to other titles out at this point.

General Thoughts

It’s interesting to see a Nick Fury that’s experiencing the world of SHIELD for the first time. Movie Fury was introduced fully formed. The comic book version previously debuted as a World War II character in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, so he’s already highly skilled, just entering into a new experience and initially doubting he’s the right man for the job.

Movie fans might find it jarring to see a Caucasian Nick Fury. We’re still in the 1960s, remember. The important thing to note is that Fury’s awesomeness transcends skin color. Comic book Fury is awesome. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is perhaps a bit more awesome on account of his Samuel L. Jackson–ness, but both are great characters.

Another interesting point about SHIELD’s first appearance is that Tony Stark guest stars as an important associate of the organization, the head of the special weaponry section. But nothing in the issue even hints at his being Iron Man. Here, Tony Stark stands on his own without his alter ego, and he’s basically the one who convinces Fury to join (as opposed to Fury reaching out to Stark in the movies).

Culture Smash!

Racially, the Marvel Comics Universe has been overwhelmingly white so far, aside from Asian villains (pretty much all communists, except for the megalomaniacal Mandarin). But for the first time (unless I’ve missed something, which is highly possible), a black man appears in this group of series. In Tales of Suspense #61, Captain America rescues an old friend who’s a POW in Vietnam. This old friend happens to be black, and no fuss is made about that fact. He’s just a good soldier Cap is helping out of a bad situation. This character doesn’t recur, as far as I’m aware, but it’s a start in the right direction. (Before this, however, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos included a black man, Gabe Jones, as a regular member of the Howling Commandos.)

Trending Then

–It’s 1965, so…the Beatles, of course.

The Beatles guest star in Strange Tales #130. They don’t get any dialogue, just get to look goofy in drawn form. Crooks steal their payroll from a concert, and the Thing and Human Torch have to recover it. Later, the Thing wears a Beatles wig. I’m so glad Nick Fury’s series has replaced theirs.

–Women’s intuition—Stan Lee seems to view this as a special super-power possessed by all “females” (and nine times out of ten, he opts for calling women “females” rather than, you know, women.) Whether you’re Betty Ross or the Invisible Girl, if you’ve got the XX chromosomes, you can sense so much more than men can.

“And thus, possessed by an intuition which only females seem to have, Betty Ross suddenly realizes…” reads a caption in Tales to Astonish #62.

“Why does my woman’s intuition make me shudder at the sight of him?” the Invisible Girl thinks in FF #35.

Highlights

Journey Into Mystery #113 – Thor finally defies his father’s wishes and reveals his identity to Jane Foster. Of course, Odin retaliates by trapping Thor in his mortal form of Don Blake, and Jane doesn’t believe him, allowing him to back away from the revelation after his powers return. Still, it’s a pretty big step for the era, and we get to see Don Blake’s resourcefulness without the godly powers of Thor.

Avengers #9 – Wonder Man has a nice little single-issue arc here. He begins as a recently convicted embezzler with a grudge against Tony Stark. The Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo, Enchantress, and the Executioner) recruit him and give him powers so he can join the Avengers with the intent of soon betraying them to the MOE. But after that betrayal, he becomes impressed by the Avengers’ heroism and in his final moments, becomes a hero himself.

Strange Tales #135 – Pretty solid introduction to SHIELD.

Lowlights

Looks like I’m going to have to pick on something other than Strange Tales next time. But I stick by my original assessment that these Human Torch stories were the closest thing Marvel had to a Saturday morning cartoon in its early ‘60s roster. While all these series are dated and flawed, this was consistently the weakest of the bunch. The other books at least strive for some depth, angst, or big ideas, but this one never acquired any sort of special spark to distinguish it.

The Quotable Marvel

“Starring the world’s strongest mortal, who dares to ask the burning question: ‘Can a man with green skin and a petulant personality find true happiness in today’s status-seeking society?’” –first-page caption in Tales to Astonish #60. If there’s a better way to kick off a Hulk series, I don’t know it.

“The trouble with girls is—they all act like females!” –Captain America, showing his true age in Tales of Suspense #59

“These tours of duty can be mighty lonely, especially to a man who thrives on action!” –Captain America, TOS #59. Well gee, Cap, maybe monitor duty could be less lonely if you adopted a more modern attitude about the females…Then again, it doesn’t seem to be hurting Reed Richards’ love life…

“Not a fool, Sue…merely a female! You couldn’t have reacted differently!” Reed Richards, Fantastic Four Annual #2.

“So, from now on, I’ll be known as…the Trapster! That’s a name with dignity…with drama to it!” –no, Paste-Pot-Pete, it’s not; in FF #38.

To Be Continued…

Next, the Avengers re-assemble with some ex-cons!

And, shocker of shockers, coinciding with the release of the Ant-Man movie, Marvel Unlimited has added some of the Giant-Man and Wasp stories that were omitted in the Tales to Astonish issues listed above, so I’ll go back and check those out, too.

All this and more in three weeks!

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 4: The Black Widow Strikes!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man) #50-58; Tales to Astonish (starring Giant-Man and Wasp) #52, 53, 59; Strange Tales (starring the Human Torch) #120-124; Fantastic Four #25-30; Avengers #5-7; Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #105-109; year: 1964.

Fantastic Firsts

The Black Widow joins the Marvel Comics Universe as a foe of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #52, and Hawkeye gets seduced into helping her out when we meet him in TOS #57.

The Mandarin begins menacing mankind in TOS #50. Movie fans will never see him coming…primarily because he’s basically a different character with the same name.

In Avengers #6, Baron Zemo, an old Nazi foe of Captain America, forms the original Masters of Evil (Black Knight, who had fought Giant-Man and the Wasp; the Melter, who had fought Iron Man; and Radioactive Man, who had fought Thor—such balance).

The Fantastic Four and Avengers meet for the first time in Fantastic Four #26, where they bond while fighting the Hulk after first fighting over who gets to fight the Hulk.

Future Avengers Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have been introduced in X-Men as reluctant members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but they first appear in this corner of the Marvel Universe when they cameo in Journey Into Mystery #109. Dr. Strange, who has been appearing in own series (which we’re also not covering) in Strange Tales, begins guest-starring elsewhere in FF #27.

The Status Is Not Quo

–Black Widow is a villain from Soviet Russia, without any hint of future heroism—nor any fighting skills. In her first appearance, Natasha and her partner, Boris (yes, really), are charged with killing Tony Stark and ex-commie Crimson Dynamo. The Dynamo sacrifices himself stopping Boris, and the Black Widow slips away, only to brazenly return to Stark’s office in the following issue.

“I feel so ashamed…to think I once tried to harm you!” she sobs to Tony.

“There, there! I don’t make a practice of harboring grudges,” Tony responds, right before showing her the dangerous gravity gun he accidentally built, which she promptly steals.

Granted, he figured she was up to no good—he’s just cocky and underestimates her.

“Boris is finished! I’ll let the Black Widow go! After all…she is just a woman…and a lovely one at that!” he thinks in a flashback to the previous issue’s events.

And that’s basically Black Widow’s super-power—beauty that makes men stupid. And all in the service of Mother Russia.

–Hawkeye is originally a marksman act at Coney Island, going only by “Hawkeye,” no identification as Clint Barton yet. And when Iron Man swoops into action to save people from a failing ride, Hawkeye gets jealous at being upstaged.

The first words we ever hear out of Hawkeye, in a thought bubble: “I’m the greatest marksman the world has ever known! And yet, they ignore me!!”

Then, having nothing else going on in his life, Hawkeye spends the night fashioning himself a costume and trick arrows to become a costumed adventurer. A botched attempt at stopping a robbery gets him framed for the job, but the Black Widow coincidentally drives up and helps him get away from the police. He immediately falls in love with her and fights Iron Man on her behalf.

“I’ll beat him somehow! I can’t fail the gorgeous Black Widow!”

Hawkeye does not think with his head.

And that’s how two future Avengers begin their comic book careers—a commie criminal and her lovesick, attention-starved lapdog.

–Giant-Man is able to control Wasp’s size remotely. That’s creepy.

General Thoughts

I cannot see Scarlett Johannson playing the evil, very Russian Black Widow, alias Madame Natasha. Nor can I see anyone in the cast of Iron Man 3 playing the original Mandarin, who’s very comic booky with his ten rings that are each a different weapon, martial arts acumen, and huge castle of doom. It’s not that these actors couldn’t pull it off. The characters are just so different from what we’re used to, it would be disorienting.

But for some reason, I can see Jeremy Renner playing the old lovelorn, super-jealous Hawkeye.

Culture Smash!

–The Mandarin is introduced as “the most feared oriental of all time!” He’s from Red China, of course, but in a shocking twist, he’s not actually a communist. He’s in this world-domination gig purely for himself. Way to stick it to the commies, Mandarin.

Trending Then

–Rocky and Bullwinkle, apparently.

–Absent-minded inventors: Not only does Tony Stark create a functional gravity gun and not realize how he did it, Reed Richards develops a cure for the Thing’s rocky appearance without realizing how he pulled it off—and yet he somehow was certain it would have worked, if only the Thing hadn’t deliberately smashed it.

–Absent-minded Stan Lee: Bruce Banner inexplicably becomes Bob Banner in Fantastic Four #25. But the mistake is consistent throughout—he’s called “Bob Banner” several times. And it’s a mistake Stan Lee remembered, as in a later appearance, Hulks alter ego is identified as Dr. Robert Bruce Banner.

–Secret identities: Though this old trope isn’t much of a thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, back in the day the Avengers took the concept seriously. The team had a hard and fast rule about honoring each other’s secrets and not prying into each other’s personal lives. However, they all seemed to know that to contact Thor, you contact Don Blake, to contact Iron Man, you contact Tony Stark…

Highlights

Fantastic Four #25 – Featuring the greatest fight thus far. The Hulk is rampaging. The Human Torch and the Invisible Girl don’t have the raw strength to hold their own against him. Mr. Fantastic is out of commission with a mysterious flu. The Avengers haven’t arrived on the scene yet. That leaves the Thing as the only person in the city with any prayer of taking down the Hulk—but as strong as the Thing is, he’s seriously out of his weight class here. But that doesn’t stop him from giving the Hulk everything he’s got, and…it’s not enough. After a lengthy battle, the Hulk beats him, then leaves to look for the Avengers. And the issue ends with the Thing pulling himself up to get ready for the next round. It’s the superhero as the underdog, a tale of perseverance.

Journey Into Mystery #106 – Featuring the moment where Thor becomes cool. Late in the issue, Mr. Hyde knocks Thor’s hammer out of his grip, claiming he could beat the thunder god if it’s just them, no Asgardian weapons. Thor, who will revert to mortal Don Blake in sixty seconds if he doesn’t grab his hammer, is about to reach for Mjolnir, but then he decides, screw it, I can take this chump down within a minute. The fight begins, and Thor keeps track of the ticking clock. It takes nearly the full minute, but Thor defeats his foe, reclaims his hammer, and gets on with his day.

Lowlights

I’m really ready to be done with these solo Human Torch stories in Strange Tales.

The Quotable Marvel

“Almost every city has a Giant-Man and Wasp fan club!” –the Porcupine, TTA #53, because who among us hasn’t been in a Giant-Man and Wasp fan club at some point or another?

“In a way, I pity her! All that beauty outside…but inside…nothing!” –Tony Stark, dissing the Black Widow in TOS #52.

“Now for my first strike against democracy!” –Black Widow, TOS #53. Picture Scarlett Johannson saying that in a Russian accent.

“Other girls get flowers, candy, jewelry! I get a flying ant!” –Wasp, Journey Into Mystery  #105, summarizing her and Hank Pym’s dysfunctional relationship so perfectly.

“And now I’ll show you why it’s so vitally important to eat the right foods and get plenty of exercise and eight hours of sleep!” –Captain America, giving an acrobatic demonstration to teenagers in Avengers #5, neglecting to inform them that they also need to do drugs that will turn them into super-soldiers.

“You mocked free men! You boasted of your contempt for liberty!!” –Captain America, Avengers #6. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry…

“Easy, Cap! You can’t just go around fightin’ guys because they used to be Nazis!” –Rick Jones, Avengers  #7. Yeah, you really wouldn’t like him when he’s angry…

“She can’t die!! She has to be mine!! She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved!!” –Hawkeye the pathetic, TOS #57.

To Be Continued…

The Hulk and Captain America get their own solo series! Giant-Man and the Wasp still have theirs, but it looks like Marvel Unlimited hasn’t uploaded these issues, so I guess we’ll have to settle for just seeing them in the Avengers. Sorry to disappoint their numerous fan clubs in almost every city.

Next installment will be in three weeks so I can power through a greater chunk of the ‘60s.

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 3: Captain America Returns!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man) #45-49; Tales to Astonish (starring Ant-Man) #47-51; Strange Tales (starring the Human Torch) #113-119; Fantastic Four #19-24; Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #97-104; Avengers #2-4; years spanned: 1963-4.

Fantastic Firsts

Iron Man finally gets a supporting cast in Tales of Suspense #45, where we meet Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau in the movies). He ditches his clunky original armor for a more recognizable design in TOS #48.

Ant-Man becomes Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish #49.

The X-Men were introduced in their own series, which we’re not covering here, but they make their first guest appearance when they meet Iron Man in TOS #49.

Though he first appeared in the World War II–era Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Nick Fury makes his first modern-day appearance in Fantastic Four #21, where we learn he now works for the CIA.

The Lady Sif first appears in a flashback story of Thor’s youth in Journey Into Mystery #102, although she’s nothing more than a damsel in distress with zero lines of dialogue. Sif the warrior, like we see in the movies, is yet to come.

The Invisible Girl gains a more useful power—invisible force fields—in FF #22, and unless I missed it earlier, the Thing first utters his famous catchphrase, “It’s clobberin’ time!” in FF #23. The intended target of clobberin’ is Dr. Doom, and the Thing, still relatively inexperienced at clobberin’, swings and misses.

Captain America joins the modern world in Avengers #4. However, earlier, the character had a “tryout” in Strange Tales #114, though that was a villain in disguise messing with the Human Torch (an gauging reader interest in the dormant World War II character).

Notable new villains include Rama Tut in FF #19, the Crimson Dynamo in TOS #46, the Molecule Man in FF #20, the Human Top (later Whirlwind) in TTA #50, Mr. Hyde (who Kyle Maclachlan plays in Agents of SHIELD) in JIM  #99, and the Enchantress, the first recurring female villain, in JIM #103.

RIP For Now

In Avengers #4, we learn that Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s teen sidekick, apparently did not survive World War II.

How Captain America grieves: He notices that Rick Jones, former sidekick of the Hulk, looks almost exactly like Bucky. “I was wasting time—mourning him—but you’ve suddenly made me realize that life goes on! In a way, Bucky can still live again!”

No pressure, Rick.

The Status Is Not Quo

–Happy has a crush on Pepper. Pepper has a crush on Tony. Tony still has to worry about plugging himself into the wall every so often to stay alive, so serious dating is off the table. Also, there’s a running gag of sorts where Happy has been hired as Tony Stark’s chauffeur but he never actually drives him anywhere. Instead, Happy spends his work days sexually harassing Pepper the secretary.

–Hank Pym decides to expand his repertoire by literally expanding into Giant-Man, as he figures out how to enlarge himself to twelve feet tall. He does not think to ask the Wasp if she might enjoy the option of becoming a giant herself. Then again, he still hasn’t realized he could give himself wings like he did her.

Their method of size-changing gets an update. Instead of spraying themselves with gas as they were doing, they now pop pills swallow color-coded capsules that will immediately bring them to the desired size.

Yeah, they basically take drugs that alter their perception of the world. And this stuff works fast.

–Not one for long-term commitments, the Hulk quits the Avengers in #2, and Captain America, having nothing better to do after twenty years in a block of ice being worshipped by Eskimos, joins in #4. Cap’s reintroduction to the modern world comes courtesy of the Namor the Sub-Mariner, who angrily and obliviously hurls the ice into warmer water, where the Avengers discover him. Cap and Namor fought together in World War II, but neither recognizes the other in their battle here (though Cap does vaguely recall the name).

General Thoughts

The Avengers don’t do much avenging…or basic super-heroic day-saving, it seems. In their first issue, they thwart Loki’s scheme to get revenge on Thor. In their second, the Space Phantom tries to turn the Avengers against each other to clear the path for a future alien invasion. They spend the third issue trying to track down their former teammate, the Hulk, who has joined forces with Namor. The duo’s first goal—defeat the Avengers, a mission Namor continues into #4. The Avengers also cameo in JIM #101 to check in on Thor.

So at most, the Avengers are serving as targets to distract forces that could later have threatened humanity. Otherwise, they’ve yet to directly do that whole “saving the world” thing.

Culture Smash!

–TOS #46 is a fine bit of Cold War propaganda:

“I was certain that he’d believe it…because he knows how treacherous all communists are!” Iron Man thinks after he deceives the Crimson Dynamo into believing his Soviet leader is going to betray him.

“Thank you, Iron Man! You saved my life! I realize now that my scientific genius has been at the service of a savage, double-dealing system!” the Crimson Dynamo says after having just been lied to by the very man he’s thanking.

Tony Stark then hires the Crimson Dynamo.

Not that I disagree with Tony, of course, but the lack of subtlety sure is something special.

–A city council passes an ordinance banning the Human Torch from flaming on in Strange Tales #119. That’s probably the most realistic thing to happen in any of these books thus far.

–To Jane Foster, a “boss” is actually “a potential husband.” And to her bosses, a “nurse” is an “almost girlfriend.”

Thor, in his mortal identity of Dr. Donald Blake, yearns to reveal his true feelings to Jane, but he wants Odin’s approval first. Jane knows he likes her—like likes her likes her—but she thinks he’s too timid to express himself (and though she doesn’t know it, he is letting his father dictate his love life). So she quits and gets a job with another doctor.

“It’s too late for that now!” she says in JIM #97. “I waited—hoping you’d return—hoping you’d finally say what I’ve longed to hear—but, while the city was threatened by the Lava Man, you didn’t even care enough to find me—Doctor Andrews drove me to the suburbs—looked after me! A woman wants a man, Doctor Blake—not a timid mouse! And so, I’m leaving.”

Dr. Andrews then kicks a man when he’s down: “Don’t worry, Blake—you’ll find another nurse!”

And this might just be Marvel’s first cliffhanger. Jane returns to work for Dr. Blake in the next issue, and their poorly sketched attraction provides some forward momentum for the series after Odin expressly disapproves.

Trending Then

–Single-issue stories were the norm, but now we’re beginning to get into some two-parters, even though none of these cliffhangers end with the hero in immediate physical danger. They’re like in Tales to Astonish #50-51, where in the first part Giant-Man is unable to defeat the Human Top, and the issues ends with Pym training hard for round two.

–Each series had been mostly self-contained up until this group of issues as well. Prior to now, the Human Torch in his solo stories never referenced specific adventures from Fantastic Four, and after the first issue of Avengers, the team received no mention in any of the individual books. But that’s starting to change, and cameos are becoming a more regular thing. Avengers #3, for example, begins with Iron Man using an absurd invention to project his image to the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Spider-Man to ask them if they’ve seen the Hulk.

A caption at the beginning of TOS #49 reads, “The Angel and the X-Men appear in this story courtesy of the editors of ‘The X-Men’ magazine!” These days, the guest stars just show up—no courtesy necessary.

Highlights

Journey Into Mystery #100-103 – Though the series has improved tremendously, the main storylines still don’t hold up as all-time classics. However, a back-up feature, Tales of Asgard, is pretty interesting, especially these installments that depict a young Thor accomplishing a series of special feats to earn his worthiness to wield his hammer. It’s got a very Once and Future King vibe, and the Jack Kirby art is perfect for it.

Lowlights

Fantastic Four #21 – The Hate-Monger, in the midst of spreading lots of hate, makes the FF hate each other. In the end, the Hate-Monger is unmasked, and we learn he’s really…Adolf Hitler?!? Or maybe a fake Hitler. But either way, the Hate-Monger looks exactly like Hitler—in case you didn’t know hate was bad.

Tales of Suspense #49 – The Angel nearly kills Iron Man. Yes, Angel would be the novice teenage X-Man who just has wings and nothing more, nearly finishing a genius in a suit of armor with all sorts of weapons. But in Iron Man’s defense, Angel was exposed to radiation that turned him evil, like radiation does. Several other stories in this go-around are technically worse, but this has got to be a low point in Iron Man’s career that he would never want to speak of again.

The Quotable Marvel

“All commies are chronically suspicious of each other!” –Iron Man, TOS #46, just in case the message hasn’t sunk in yet.

“Reed, what exactly are molecules?” –The Human Torch, FF #20, apparently too busy saving the world to attend school.

“Although he is lame and unglamorous, you’ll never be half the man he is.” –Jane Foster, JIM #98, taking down two men at once.

“Dr. Donald Blake! I have heard of him! He is the famous lame doctor!” –Calvin Zabo, the future Mr. Hyde, in JIM #99. That Dr. Blake sure does have a reputation.

“In fact, I have an urge to boast—brag of what I have done!” –the Space Phantom, Avengers #2, succumbing to a temptation all too common for villains.

“Help! Some strangely dressed menace has invaded the factory!” –some guy, TOS #48, pointing out a problem all too common in the Marvel Universe.

“You dared to ask me to make that female an immortal?” –Odin, JIM #100, saying what we’re all thinking.

“Editor’s Note: We sincerely suggest you save this issue! We feel you will treasure it in time to come!” –Avengers #4. They warned you.

“But what about—the Hulk? He’s sure to return some day…and when he finds out that Captain America has replaced him—will anything be able to stop him then??!” Rick Jones, Avengers #4, that time Captain America and the Hulk were part of the same sidekick triangle.

To Be Continued…

The Black Widow strikes! And she’s not an Avenger! The Mandarin makes his move, too, and he’s not an actor!

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 2: Avengers Assemble!

Continuing the read-through of as many Avengers and Fantastic Four–related Marvel comics as possible!

Books Read

Tales to Astonish (starring Ant-Man) #42-46; Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man) #40-44; Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #92-96; Fantastic Four #14-18, Annual #1; Strange Tales (starring the Human Torch) #109-112, Annual #2; Avengers #1; year: 1963.

Fantastic Firsts

We meet Janet Van Dyne, a.k.a. the Wasp, who becomes Ant-Man’s sidekick in TTA #44. This brings us up to two female superheroes in the Marvel Comics Universe—one who turns invisible and one who shrinks.

Unless I missed someone, we also get the first non-white, non-extraterrestrial super-villain who would recur, the Radioactive Man, in JIM #93 (though back then they hyphenated it as “Radio-Active”). He comes from Red China, of course.

The Fantastic Four battle the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android for the first time in FF #15, and in the next issue they take the first trip to the Microverse. In #18, the shape-shifting alien Skrulls introduce their Super-Skrull.

The Human Torch endures his first team-up with Spider-Man in Strange Tales Annual #2 (though they first met in the first issue of Spider-Man’s series, which we’re not covering here).

And the Avengers assemble in their own first issue, with the initial line-up of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and the Wasp.

The Status Is Not Quo

–So, back in the day, Ant-Man had a somewhat reckless method of travel.

At the size of an insect, he catapults himself out his window and across the city. While he’s being a projectile, ants converge at the landing spot he calculated, and they act as a cushion for him to fall on. He gives the Wasp wings so she can fly, but Ant-Man, the little reckless daredevil, keeps catapulting himself and never thinks to give himself wings. Though in TTA #46, he does start riding flying ants “like a Pegasus.” The man travels in style.

–Iron Man’s armor is powered by “transistors,” not “ark reactor” technology as seen in the movies and modern comics. And as Tony Stark, he doesn’t just have the glowing circle in his chest—he has to wear an entire armored chestplate under his clothes at all times. To recharge, he literally plugs the armor into everyday electrical sockets, the same ones you would use to plug in a toaster, and he sits there and waits. Tales of suspense, indeed.

Tony is seen dating different women in several issues, but none of these relationships last, presumably on account of his inability to take his shirt off without having some explaining to do. Though how these women never notice the peculiar hardness of his chest and stomach remains a mystery, unless Tony Stark dances like a middle school kid.

General Thoughts

Whereas the DC Cinematic Universe feels like a rushed response to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, things were kind of the other way around in 1960s comics. DC restored the popularity of superheroes in the mid-to-late 1950s, and the publisher achieved great success teaming up the various superheroes as the Justice League of America beginning in 1960.

Marvel’s response began with the Fantastic Four, but the Avengers were considerably more JLA-like—a bunch of characters who were separately introduced in their own series coming together in the face of a powerful threat. The big difference, though, is in the JLA’s first appearance, they united to stop an alien invasion. The Avengers united while Loki was trying to get revenge on Thor.

Loki frames the Hulk so Dr. Donald Blake would have a reason to transform into Thor. Hulk’s former sidekick, Rick Jones, leads a group of youthful ham radio enthusiasts who call the Fantastic Four to investigate. But Loki diverts the message to a different wavelength, which is heard not only by Thor, but Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp as well. They meet at the teenagers’ house (or teen-agers, because hyphens were all the rage). Thor quickly suspects Loki’s involvement and ditches the others without one word as he goes to Asgard, leaving Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to battle the Hulk for no real reason. Thor brings back a defeated Loki to sort out this misunderstanding, but Loki prepares to launch another attack, which is thwarted by Ant-Man. And Ant-Man and Wasp suggest making the team-up a regular thing, and they all figure, “Why not?” (That’s actually a direct quote from Iron Man.)

So, the Avengers—brought to you by Loki’s insecurities and ham radio. And the success of the Justice League.

But unlike in the cinematic universes, though Marvel was following DC’s lead, Marvel still wound up putting out the better product. DC rejuvenated the superhero genre, but Marvel took it to the next level by giving it more personality.

Culture Smash!

It’s still the 1960s, and it still shows in so many ways.

So let’s talk about Wasp’s first appearance, during which we also learn about Hank Pym/Ant-Man’s backstory for the first time. Turns out his wife Maria had escaped Soviet Russia, and for that affront, she was kidnapped and murdered.

When Hank meets Janet Van Dyne, his first thought is, “She…she looks somewhat like Maria! But she’s much younger! Not much more than a child!” And later on that same page: “So much like Maria! If she were not such a child…!”

So what does Pym do about these conflicted, improper feelings for a young woman he just met? After her father is killed by an alien, he decides to reveal his identity to another person for the first time and make her a superhero. I’m uncertain which stage of grieving this would be considered for either of them.

“Ant-Man…I think you’re wonderful! I want you to know, in case this creature kills us, as it did my father, I—I’m falling in love with you!” she says the day her father died. Not the healthiest beginning to a relationship there ever was.

“No! You mustn’t say that!” Ant-Man immediately responds. “You’re only a child! Let’s get this straight…I chose you as my partner simply because I thought you had a reason, as I have, to fight for mankind!” Keep telling yourself that, Hank.

Though the Ant-Man/Wasp adventures aren’t classics, her introduction enlivens the series tremendously. She shows much more personality than he does, and though she’s clearly following his lead, she demonstrates some independent initiative. But in the first Avengers, she mostly just objectifies the men and tries to make Ant-Man jealous.

However, for all the sexism that was present in these days, sexual objectification of female characters hadn’t become a thing yet, as these books were still intended primarily for children. The Invisible Girl and Wasp are fully clothed at all times.

Trending Then

–The Fantastic Four were the trend. They cameoed in the first issues of Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers (even appearing on the cover of the former) because they were the star attraction of the Marvel Universe. Yes—back in the day, Spidey and the Avengers needed boosts from the Fantastic Four.

–Stan Lee was on a hypnotism/mind-control bender in these issues. The Puppet Master mind-controls Namor the Sub-Mariner; a villainous Dr. Strange (no relation to the superhero Sorcerer Supreme) hypnotizes Iron Man; Radioactive Man hypnotizes Thor (because radiation can do anything); and Loki alters Thor’s personality by striking his “chromosomatic gland.” Those Asgardians and their wacky glands.

Highlights

Tales to Astonish #45 – It’s so ridiculous it’s kind of amazing. Ant-Man and Wasp imperiled by an ant-eater! Ant-Man fights an iguana by riding an ant as a horse and using a pin as a lance! The Wasp uses that same pin as a stinger to disarm henchmen! And lines like “Oh, Ant-Man, can’t you see I’m a woman and in love with you? How can a man so brilliant be so blind?”

Fantastic Four #18 – A great example of old-fashioned comic book–style action as the Fantastic Four battle a Skrull that possesses superior versions of all their powers. And the warm-up act is the FF getting mobbed by adoring fans while shopping at the mall.

Fantastic Four Annual #1 – The longest story by this point, and it builds on elements previously established, such as the attraction between Namor and Sue Storm. Namor has finally found the Atlantean race, and they declare war on the surface world. What’s most interesting, and groundbreaking for the era, is how Namor meets his defeat. The FF don’t succeed in overpowering him, but when the Invisible Girl is seriously hurt, Namor drops everything to get her to a hospital. The Atlanteans see this as a betrayal and abandon him, leaving Namor ostracized both on land and in the sea.

Lowlights

Thor’s solo stories are pretty bad. Chief offender:

Journey Into Mystery #95: Thor’s physician alter ego created an android, because what doctor doesn’t have enough spare time to create artificial intelligence? “Dr. Blake’s fantastic anatomical knowledge enabled him to construct this synthetic creature down to its last cell!” But the android is soon destroyed by a jealous scientist, who then unleashes his own duplicator ray on the world, which says to hell with physics and creates matter—and life—instantly out of nothing. This era has plenty of charming absurdity, but this is just dumb absurdity. Before meeting his demise, the scientist accidentally duplicates himself, producing a non-evil but still brilliant duplicate whom Thor feels will be good for mankind. But the evil scientist had kidnapped Jane Foster, and Thor tells her, as she’s still tied to a chair, that the scientist has “snapped out of it and he’s sorry for what he’s done.” Yeah, that makes kidnapping all better.

The Quotable Marvel

“So he’s from Red China, huh? That explains why he’s after Thor!” –Dr. Donald Blake, JIM #92, noting the commies’ well-documented hostility toward Norse mythology.

“Stop acting like a lovesick female…!” –Ant-Man, not the perfect gentleman to the Wasp, in Avengers #1

“But there is one thing I can do…avenge him!” –Janet Van Dyne, immediately pre-Wasp in TTA #44

“That’s right! We need a name! It should be something colorful and dramatic, like…the Avengers…” –Wasp, Avengers #1. So when she’s not pining away for Pym, she’s all about the avenging. How’s that for a multi-dimensional, consistent character?

“That means I timed the incident so perfectly that the hammer hit his chromosomatic gland, which determines and changes personality!” –Loki, JIM #94, for the benefit of those of us who don’t understand Asgardian physiology.

“Since there’s little chance of another crisis arising right after that one, I’ll leave my costume behind!” –Tony Stark, tempting fate in TOS #43

“Anyone ever tell you that you complain a lot for a superhero?” –Human Torch to Spider-Man in Strange Tales Annual #2

To Be Continued…

An Avenger quits, already! Ant-Man grows up! And Captain America…On Ice!

Avenging the Fantastic, Part 1: The Marvel Comics Universe Begins!

Also posted at Smash Cut Culture!

The Avengers have been around since long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became a mainstream pop culture juggernaut. In this new series, I’ll be reading the Avengers-related titles of the original Marvel Comics Universe from the 1960s through the present over the course of many, many months, and I’ll chart my observations here every two or three weeks.

I’ll include the Fantastic Four in this, since not only is their first (hopefully) good movie coming up this summer, but they’re also a major part of the traditionally super-heroic corner of the comics universe—as opposed to the feared-and-hated characters like the X-Men and Spider-Man or vigilantes like Daredevil, though Hulk gets included on account of being a founding Avenger. (If I included those other franchises, I’d never finish.) Between the Marvel Unlimited digital library and my own collection, we’ll be able to cover most (but not all) of the books starring Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the like. Special thanks to The Complete Marvel Reading Order for sparing me the hard work of keeping track of what to read next.

So face front, True Believers, as we begin our long-term tour of the evolution of Marvel with this extra-sized first issue!

Books Read

Fantastic Four #1-13, Tales to Astonish (starring Ant-Man) #27, 35-41, Incredible Hulk #1-6, Journey Into Mystery (starring Thor) #93-89, 91, Strange Tales (starring the Human Torch) #101-108, and Tales of Suspense (starring Iron Man) #39;  years spanned: 1961-3.

Fantastic Firsts

We’re at the ground floor here, so pretty much everything is new.

Though Marvel Comics had been around in some or another since the late 1930s, Marvel continuity officially begins with the introduction of Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing in Fantastic Four #1.

The next character we meet is Hank Pym (who will be played by Michael Douglas in this summer’s Ant-Man movie) in Tales to Astonish #27, which is more a sci-fi short story about a scientist being almost done in by his own invention rather than a superhero tale. Pym becomes Ant-Man in TTA #35.

The Hulk is next in the first issue of his own series, followed by Thor in Journey Into Mystery #83. A little while later, Iron Man comes along in Tales of Suspense #39. Perennial sidekick character Rick Jones first appears in Hulk #1, and Thing’s longtime girlfriend Alice Masters first appears in FF #8. The do-little Watcher shows up in FF #13.

Notable villains introduced include the Mole Man (FF #1), the alien Skrulls (FF #2), Doctor Doom (FF #5), the Executioner (JIM #84), Loki (JIM #85), the Wizard (ST #102), and the Puppet Master (FF #8).

Marvel’s first superhero, Namor the Sub-Mariner, gets reintroduced in FF #4, though he’s mostly a bitter antagonist in this era.

The first crossover happens in FF #12, when the Fantastic Four are sent after the Hulk.

The Status Is Not Quo

–Back then, the Hulk didn’t need to be angry for you to not like him. Bruce Banner’s transformations are initially triggered by nightfall, and he’d revert to his normal self upon sunrise. That quickly changes in multiple ways during the Hulk’s initial six-issue run.

The Hulk’s co-star is insufferable teenager reader identification character Rick Jones, whose life Bruce Banner saved when the gamma bomb went off, creating the Hulk. In #3, a trip to space results in Banner being stuck as the Hulk regardless of the time, and because back on the ground Rick is operating controls to return the spacecraft to Earth, some radiation feedback gives him the ability to control the Hulk’s actions. Radiation was magical in the 60s.

Later, Banner creates a machine to manually switch himself back and forth between his personas, and he’s even able to gain control of the Hulk’s body for a little while, though Hulk’s rougher personality soon reasserts itself, and somewhere along the way Rick loses his influence over him. However, the Hulk’s still more intelligent than the traditional “Hulk smash!” characterization we’re used to.

–Thor isn’t just Thor. He’s also a physically weak physician, Dr. Donald Blake, who discovers Thor’s hammer in Norway. By holding onto the hammer, the “lame” man can become the Norse thunder god, but if he releases the hammer for more than sixty seconds, he reverts to mortal form. The whereabouts of Blake’s personality remain unknown. And whenever Thor’s in a jam, he just needs to think a message to his father Odin on Asgard, and it’s deus ex machina to the rescue!

–Everyone loves the Fantastic Four, unless aliens are framing them or they go broke and can’t pay their bills, but that’s usually resolved within twenty-some pages.

–Superheroes were a bit less super back then. The Thing is strong enough to break a thick log with his bare fists, but it’s a tiring effort, and even the Hulk seems less incredible than we see today. The Invisible Girl doesn’t yet have her force field power.

General Thoughts

These stories don’t hold up well by today’s standards. It’s not just that they’re dated, which they absolutely are, but they were intended primarily for elementary school–aged boys. Comics will grow up later.

The main appeal to reading these now is their historical value, not only to see the earliest versions of characters that have endured for so long but to experience facets of past decades through a pop culture lens. Nevertheless, these books have plenty of freewheeling imagination at play, unhampered by pesky little things like “scientific accuracy,” and that lends them a sort of innocent charm.

Fantastic Four is hands-down the strongest series at this point, and it was the most popular then—the first superhero book to derive as much conflict from the protagonists’ own personalities as from their evil foes. The Hulk starts out interesting enough with a “modern” Jekyll-and-Hyde premise, which gets somewhat lost in adventures with aliens and such after the first issue. And Ant-Man and Thor are pretty generic superheroes, not all that different from what DC had to offer at the time.

Iron Man’s debut issue shows some promise, though, as it reads like a very abridged version of the first half of the first movie, but with 100 percent more communism to fight and, sadly, 100 percent less Robert Downey Jr.

Culture Smash!

–Yeah, they fought quite a few commies back in the day. It was the Cold War, after all.

The quintessential Cold War issue is FF #13, which features a space race. Representing America, we have the Fantastic Four, and over in the Soviets’ corner is a maniacal Russian man and his three apes (in case young readers didn’t know communism was bad). Of course, the commie and his animals all gain super-powers as they travel through cosmic rays and become the Red Ghost and the Super-Apes. Both groups land on the moon—specifically the “Blue Area” where they find ruins of an ancient civilization and, conveniently, oxygen.

–This was also during the Vietnam War, so Iron Man’s origin story takes place in Vietnam.

–Comics from the 1960s are appallingly sexist by today’s standards, but the inclusion of Sue Storm/Invisible Girl in the Fantastic Four represented significant progress, even if she does get captured a lot and tend to pine away for bad-boy Namor. She’s still an active team member, though, who occasionally plays a key role in turning the tide against the FF’s opponents.

But then we have to endure lines like this, from FF #12: “Miss Storm, a pretty lady can always be of use—just by keeping the men’s morale up!” Granted, old-fashioned General “Thunderbolt” Ross says that, but Mr. Fantastic immediately chimes in to agree.

Jane Foster and Betty Ross fare much worse than the Invisible Girl. Unlike Natalie Portman’s accomplished scientist in the movies, comics Jane is a nurse who works for Dr. Blake, and her defining character trait is that she’s in love with both Blake and Thor—not knowing they’re (gasp!) one and the same!

Jane gets a cringeworthy but mercifully brief daydream sequence in which she, no joke, fantasizes about taking care of Thor. “Nonsense! Your hammer will look more impressive polished!” I bet it will, Jane. I bet it will.

Betty basically hangs around an army base with her father, General Ross, as she worries about Bruce and faints whenever convenient.

–All superheroes are Caucasian. Most of the bad guys are, too, except the Vietnamese in Iron Man’s debut.

–The Human Torch was exposed to a lot of asbestos, the poor kid.

Trending Then

Stan Lee loved him some hyperbole. “The Human Torch battles the most fantastic foe of all! Paste-Pot-Pete and his unbeatable super-weapon!” the cover of Strange Tales #104 boasts. Yep. Paste-Pot-Pete, the most fantastic foe.

Highlights

Fantastic Four #6 – In which Dr. Doom and Namor team up to create headaches for the team, and we learn the differences in how these bad guys function in the way they’re contrasted against each other. Plus, the FF’s skyscraper headquarters being rocketed into space is a memorable visual.

Fantastic Four #12 – The Hulk guest-appearance is the first time we’re explicitly shown we’re reading about a shared, expanding fictional universe, which makes the adventure a bit more fun than the standard fare of the era. And we witness the first Hulk vs. Thing fight.

Tales of Suspense #39 – Iron Man’s debut, though far from a work of art, holds up about as decently as it could have. Moviegoers will recognize quite a bit.

Lowlights

Pretty much the entire Human Torch solo run in Strange Tales, which reads like Human Torch: The Hanna Barbera Cartoon. The FF definitely work better as an ensemble.

The Quotable Marvel

“That lollipop stick—it’s my only chance!” –Ant-Man, TTA #37. The movie has a high bar to meet indeed—no, wait, it only looks high from Ant-Man’s perspective.

“Weeks later, all America acclaims a new motion picture hit, little dreaming of the amazing tale behind the film! The Fantastic Four once again have the money to carry on their unique work…” –a prophetic caption in FF #9 foreshadowing the 21st century relationship between comic books and movies

“Have to be careful! I absent-mindedly almost wrote Human Torch on a deposit slip!” –Johnny Storm, already forgetting his own name in ST #104

“Only a genius such as I, Ivan Kragoff, could have trained a gorilla to operate a spaceship!” –the Red Ghost, reminding himself of his own name in FF #13

“I would take my chances with them [the Super-Apes], rather than the Red Ghost, for they are like the communist masses, innocently enslaved by their evil leaders!” –Invisible Girl, FF #13, saving red-blooded American boy readers from the commie influence (but not red-red-blooded, of course)

To Be Continued…

We’ve got one more founding Avenger to meet—the Wasp—before the team assembles. Meanwhile, Captain America is sleeping in a big ice cube underwater somewhere, awaiting the exciting, modern world of the 1960s!