JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #95
“The Demon Duplicators!”
Plot: Stan Lee
Script: Robert Berns
Art: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
IN A NUTSHELL
Jealous scientist Prof. Zaxton destroys Dr. Blake’s super android, then kidnaps Jane Foster, forcing Blake to help him create a duplicating machine. The duplicator creates physical copies with opposite personality. An evil duplicate pursues Thor, but cannot overcome him as Mjolnir will only grant Thor’s power to one who is “worthy.” Zaxton duplicates himself to confuse Thor, then carelessly falls off the building with his diabolical invention. Thor lets the duplicate live, as he can be an asset to humanity.
WHAT’S HOT
HANDSOME HERO. New artist Joe Sinnott depicts Thor as quite a handsome fellow! However, sadly, in the grand tradition of 1960’s Marvel Comics, female character Jane Foster is still not looking her best.
SMARTY-PANTS. Dr. Blake, the medical doctor, invents powerful androids in his spare time. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
FAVORED SON. The story begins and ends with Thor visiting Asgard to assist with a drought. Would Loki do the same? I doubt it. In fact, Loki probably caused the drought! No wonder Odin prefers Thor to Loki!
WHAT’S NOT
TOUCHY CONTROLS. Simultaneously twisting all the dials on the remote for Blake’s android—either purposely or by accident—creates an atomic explosion. And I thought it was bad when an errant click on my computer translated Wikipedia to Russian!
ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR. Super-scientist Zaxton is smart enough to deliberately blow up an android, but not smart enough to realize that when the thing blows, he’ll be destroyed just like everyone else. “Luckily, Thor was there…”
CATS! Zaxton recklessly makes multiple copies of an alley cat. Like the population of stray animals is not already out of control, we have to have mad scientists contributing to the problem?
I WONDER
Blake explains that it is against Thor’s code to harm a human being except in self-defense, and that’s why he can’t force Zaxton to reveal Jane’s location. So…I guess according to Thor’s code, as long as it’s someone other than himself that’s in danger, there’s little he can do. That hardly seems heroic…
Blake displays some questionable ethics in another area as well. While he draws the line at duplicating human life, he apparently has no problem creating an android that can be duplicated and used as a super soldier to destroy human life. Why is it okay to destroy life, but not to create it?
The android is able to work out “the world’s most complicated mathematical problem” because Blake gave it an IQ of 375! Two questions: What is Blake’s IQ, and can God make a rock that He can’t lift? One comment: too bad the answer to the world’s most complicated mathematical problem appears only as squiggly lines. It would have been nice if new artist Joe Sinnott had let us in on that little secret.
Barrooommm! There it is again! Time for a drink after a long, hard day of writing and illustrating comics!
STRANGE TALES #111
“Fighting to the Death with the Asbestos Man!”
Plot: Stan Lee
Script: Ernie Hart
Art: Dick Ayers
Letters: Sam Harold
IN A NUTSHELL
Professor Orson Kasloff, foremost analytical chemist in the world, plots to destroy the do-gooder Human Torch in order to gain the respect of the criminal underworld. He creates an asbestos suit and triumphs over Torch in their first fight by dropping Johnny into a moat filled with a flame-quenching chemical. However, second time around, Torch wins, by attacking his opponent’s surroundings, rather than the menace himself. Defeated, Kasloff confesses to the police, and is carted off to jail.
WHAT’S HOT
NO SECRETS. I guess Johnny’s identity as Torch is no longer a secret in this title, as a letter addressed to “Human Torch” comes directly to the Storm household. Good. That secrecy stuff just wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.
REAL GANGSTERS. Or at least gangsters who talk the way we expect real gangsters to talk. Blackie Barker, king of the underworld (is that an official title?) tells his driver to “Step on it!” and coos to Asbestos, “We’re gonna GO places, you an’ me!”
SISTERLY ADVICE. Sue encourages the despondent Johnny and makes him realize there’s another way to defeat Asbestos. If it weren’t for her, would Johnny have ever emerged from his funk and come up with a plan?
CULTURAL REFERENCE. Kasloff thinks he should be as rich as Croesus…who is that? I had to run to my Encyclopedia Britannica (well…Wikipedia).
WHAT’S NOT
BAIT AND SWITCH. Fighting to the death is promised on the splash, but never delivered. Nobody dies. Not that I’m being morbid, but I’m reminded of the Buffy “Inca Mummy Girl” episode, where Xander says, “Typical Museum trick. Promise human sacrifice, deliver old pots and pans.”
DUH? Johnny looks up “asbestos” in his chemistry book. Excuse me? WHY? He’s already run into this stuff in previous adventures, and his bedroom is even MADE of it. As Torch’s single Achilles’ heel, Johnny should have completed his research before this.
STORYHOUNDS. The press guys get all excited about their “scoop” of Asbestos Man bringing down Torch, even though Torch is the hero of the city who has cut crime in half. Even back in the 60’s the press is portrayed as grubby slimy storyhounds who don’t care about right or wrong, as long as they get their name on the front page. And a “bonus.”
CROSS-TITLE THREAT? Kasloff has invented a liquid solvent that melts steel and iron. Iron Man had better watch out…or has Tony Stark already anticipated this development and invented a counter-potion?
UNBELIEVABLE!
Kasloff realizes he’s heard of Torch as “THE nemesis of the criminal underworld!”—as if there are no other superheroes who can deal with the criminal underworld. Never mind Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, etc. It’s not even noted that Torch is one-quarter of the fabulous Fantastic Four.
Where does all this take place? Presumably somewhere close to suburban Pleasantville, yet Kasloff is able to find “an old castle, far from any other habitation, yet in a rural area close to town.” Househunters on HGTV couldn’t have better luck fulfilling their “must have” wish lists!
Kasloff invites the press to his secluded castle to witness him fighting and destroying the city’s #1 crimefighter. Why would he want the press reporting who he is and where he lives? His plan is to destroy Torch to win the admiration and cooperation of the underworld. Wouldn’t you engage in this sort of illegal activity in private? Or, if you must have an audience, at least you don’t do it in your own front yard so the police know exactly where you live.
“Face to Face with the Magic of Baron Mordo!”
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Terry Szenics
IN A NUTSHELL
The Master’s former pupil, Baron Mordo, poisons the Master in order to coerce the most closely guarded secrets of black magic from him. Realizing his mentor is in danger, Strange travels via spirit image to battle the evil Mordo. After reviving the Master with a wave of pure energy from his enchanted amulet, Strange tricks Mordo into returning to his physical body, then he himself escapes, fearing the next time he and Mordo meet, it will be a fight to the death.
WHAT’S HOT
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Baron Mordo’s hidden castle is “in the heart of Europe,” where castles should be! The world makes sense once again.
INSTANT ACCESS. Dr. Strange can tell the Master is in trouble because he does not answer a summons via the enchanted amulet. How many times have you worried about someone you cannot reach by phone? And hasn’t that problem only gotten worse with the advent of cell phones? Basically, the enchanted amulet serves as a cell phone, decades before cell phones are invented.
ENERGY. A wave of pure energy comes from the amulet, reviving the master. Hey, this black magic stuff is awesome! Sometimes wish I had an enchanted amulet at the end of a long day.
WHAT’S NOT
SUPERLATIVE. How can Mordo be “THE most dangerous menace of our time”? Doesn’t that bold proclamation weaken and negate the claims we’ve heard about all the other super-villains? They can’t all be the most dangerous. And if I had to choose one super-villain that was “THE most dangerous,” it certainly wouldn’t be Mordo.
ARCH-FOE. What? Is the phrase “arch enemy” not good enough?
FISTICUFFS. Even though Strange and Mordo are in their “spirit images,” they engage in a physical battle to settle their differences, even though they have all the power of black magic at their command. Why??
BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL. In the last panel of the story, Strange looks at the camera and says, “In time to come, let us peer behind the enchanted veil together,” presumably inviting the reader to further adventures. Generally, I’m a big fan of breaking the fourth wall, so I’m not really sure why this bothers me. Maybe I just feel Dr. Strange is too talented, dignified and mysterious to engage in this simple parlor trick?
EMPTY WORDS?
At the end of the story while discussing Mordo with the Master, Strange reveals, “I feel that death waits for…the one who loses the next encounter.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that anything like “Human Torch fighting to the DEATH with the Asbestos Man!” from earlier in this same issue? More hyperbole? For someone as attuned to the mystical world as Dr. Strange, you’d think his intuition would serve him better than this.
Of course, having read only this one story, there is no way to predict how many more times Baron Mordo will appear, but I happen to know (from Russ) that we’ll be seeing lots more of Doctor Strange’s arch-foe. So, since he poses a continuing threat in the Marvel Universe, I’ve evaluated him for my Villain Valuation chart, but he comes up squarely in the middle, neither in the Top 10 or the Bottom 10, so he doesn’t appear on the chart at the moment, but as I meet more villains, that could change. Also, as we run across him in future stories, he may present himself as more (or less) of a foe to be reckoned with. I feel like I’ve only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg in this first story.
TALES TO ASTONISH #46
“When Cyclops Walks the Earth!”
Plot: Stan Lee
Script: Ernie Hart
Art: Don Heck
Letters: Sam Rosen
IN A NUTSHELL
Henry and Janet vacation in Greece, where they discover a Cyclops terrifying the local residents is really a robot controlled by aliens who plan to colonize Earth. By adjusting the aliens’ electronic impulses, Ant-Man prevents the robot from doing further damage, while Wasp rescues the captured fishermen.
WHAT’S HOT
MAKES SENSE TO ME. When Pym determines that the mysterious bright lights mesmerizing the Cyclops are really from space ships, he tells Wasp, “This is all beginning to tie together now!” Only a science nerd like Pym could find out there are aliens in the mystery mix, and think it all makes sense.
HE KNOWS HER… Already, Ant-Man knows Wasp well enough to suppose that when she goes off to do her own thing, it’s possible she’s only pretending she didn’t hear him.
…AND HE LOVES HER. When Ant-Man considers the possibility that the Wasp may be killed by the Cyclops, he laments, “Without her, I…I can’t picture my life!” Still early in their relationship, but a lot is already happening!
WHAT’S NOT
MISNOMER PART 1. Early in the story, we hear that Henry’s new partner is “Janice.” Wait! Isn’t her name Janet?
MISNOMER PART 2. Henry calls Wasp “My eager little beaver.” Sorry…that’s just wrong.
BOREDOM. Janet’s bored because everything is quiet and there’s no crime to fight, so she gets grouchy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the whole point of crime-fighting to put an END to crime? So if there’s no crime, wouldn’t that indicate a certain level of SUCCESS? Why is she grumpy about being successful? Perhaps she’s so quickly become an adventure addict?
ASSUMPTIONS. Ant-Man assumes that because Cyclops’ eye is so huge, his vision must be “extremely keen.”
AND MORE ASSUMPTIONS! At the first little kink in their diabolical plan, the aliens exclaim, “We must escape this accursed planet!” Haven’t we seen this before—aliens that make assumptions and give up way too easy?
