AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #14

“The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin!”
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Art Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
The Green Goblin convinces a Hollywood producer to make a film with Spider-Man portraying himself. Unbeknownst to the moviemakers, Green Goblin and his henchmen, the Enforcers, are portraying the bad guys. When they lure Spidey into a cave, he realizes who they really are, but in the middle of their fight, Hulk shows up, and the action shifts. Impressed by Hulk’s fighting skills, Spider-Man at last escapes, then tricks Goblin into thinking he’s drowned. Swell guy that he is, Spidey goes back to rescue the Enforcers from Hulk.

WHAT’S HOT
MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN. The Green Goblin is introduced in this tale, but not much is yet known about him. What is his motivation? What are those sparks he emits from his fingertips? How does he invent a flying broom? At the end of the story, we see him switching back into his everyday persona…a man in a green suit. It’s not lost on me that J. Jonah Jameson also wears a green suit. Is the Marvel bullpen trying to insinuate something? If so, it wouldn’t be the first time.

HEROICS. A short time ago, I complained about heroes who are noble to a fault, even going so far as to evoke the name of the great James Tiberius Kirk. Spidey has a little Kirk in him as well, going back to rescue the Enforcers from certain doom at the hands of the Incredible Hulk. The one thing that saves this scene is Spider-Man recognizing that he’s “probably a nit-wit” for risking his life in this way. It’s okay to take heroism to ridiculous heights, as long as you recognize it’s ridiculous.

VS. One of my favorite things about Marvel is speculating on who would win, should two superheroes fight each other. The comics certainly indulge us with these scenarios often enough, and now we have another one: Spider-Man vs. Hulk. Not that the outcome was at all surprising, but it was nice to see Spidey give it the old high school try.

HOLLYWOOD!! This is the not the first time Marvel has poked fun at the film-making industry. We’ve been to Hollywood a few times already, but each visit seems more surreal than the last. First, the Fantastic Four starred in an autobiographical drama (FF 9), and then Thor performs in a Viking picture in order to support his favorite charities (JIM 92). The flamboyant producer’s manic-depressive desire to duplicate the success of “The Nameless Thing From the Black Lagoon in the Murky Swamp” borders on the absurd. I have a feeling Marvel will keep poking fun at Hollywood, with deeper and deeper jabs.

WHAT’S NOT
ENFORCING…WHAT? The Enforcers? Really? And I thought we were done with these guys! Didn’t we cart them off to jail in the final pages of ASM 10??? Seems Mervel’s infamously lenient code of justice has struck again. Guess the policemen and judges in this universe want to make sure they don’t ever find themselves out of a job, so they keep letting convicted criminals go free, ensuring that no one is ever truly safe and their services will be in constant demand.

BETTY BOO HOO. Oh, poor Betty. I really feel for this girl. Can’t figure her out. Only a few years out of high school (or was it secretarial school?) she’s landed a posh job as the executive secretary to the publisher of a major metropolitan newspaper. Yet, this hasn’t given her enough confidence to pursue a romantic relationship with anyone who doesn’t take a daily ride on a yellow school bus. Sure Peter’s a smart guy, and not bad-looking now that he’s lost the spectacles, but the fact remains…he’s in HIGH SCHOOL. Doesn’t Betty know she can do better than that?

BETTY BOO HOO PART II. And to make matters worse, Betty spends way too much time fretting that her high school boyfriend is going to be lured away by either Liz Allan…or Marilyn Monroe. Okay, Liz could be a real concern, as the blonde high-schooler has obviously seen the light and is now heartily extolling the virtues of Peter Parker over flashy Flash Thompson. But what in the world makes Betty think Hollywood starlets are going to give up Clark Gable and Tony Curtis so they can date a freelancing high school photographer? For someone in the newspaper biz, it would behoove Betty to learn that reality is driven by multiple points of view. Just because you’ve got this strange fetish for schoolboys, honey, doesn’t mean every gal does.

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AVENGERS #6

“The Mighty Avengers Meet the Masters of Evil!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
Years ago, Captain America covered evil Zemo with Adhesive X, gluing his hood to his face. Seeking a remedy, and revenge on the resurrected Captain America, Zemo gathers Radioactive Man, Black Knight and the Melter, to fight the Avengers! The Teen Brigade assists, as does an incarcerated Paste Pot Pete, who provides a “super-dissolver.” Obligatory fight scenes abound, but in the end, Zemo escapes–not with the super-dissolver, but with a cannister of tear gas cleverly planted by the Teen Brigade!

WHAT’S HOT
PETE…AND REPETE. When I heard about Adhesive X, I immediately thought this would be a great opportunity for a guest appearance by my favorite funny foe, Paste Pot Pete. And sure enough, Pete makes an appearance, though since he is in jail, he’s not looking his usual flamboyant self. He’s also not acting like himself, since he offers assistance to the good guys! But then, he’s trying to earn Brownie Points with the Warden, in hopes of an early release. Considering the lenient Marvel justice system, this single act of selfish altruism practically guarantees Pete will show up again soon—and this time, with his clown suit and bucket of paste!

BRIGADIERS…UNITE! As if this story didn’t already have enough characters, the Teen Brigade gets into the action as well, switching out the canisters of Adhesive X with Paste Pot Pete’s Super-Dissolver. Favorite Line: “We won’t let you down, Rick! Here’s where all our teamwork really pays off!”

A MAN AND A HORSE. At the end of the story, Thor flies in on Black Knight’s horse, delivering the vanquished villain to the police. I’ve always thought Thor was a powerful enough character on his own, but I must admit, he looks good on a horse. Too bad his overactive sense of right and wrong prevents him from commandeering the horse. I think they could be a good team.

JUSTICE? I SNEER IN THE FACE OF JUSTICE! Zemo notes that the police won’t hold his allies forever, and “sooner or later we’ll rejoin forces.” The lenient ways of the Marvel justice system are so legendary, villains barely even blink in the face of it.

BAD IS BAD. Zemo’s cronies label themselves “The Masters of Evil.” Zemo’s pilot says,”Zemo was right! Those who fight for justice can always be defeated.” Let’s listen to that again: Those who fight for JUSTICE can always be defeated. There’s both a clear understanding of “justice,” and a complete disregard for it. These guys are not noble villains, like Doctor Doom or Sub-Mariner. They’re not even pretending their low road is actually a high road. They revel in their evilness. They seek revenge and mayhem. Now, if they could only get more organized, once they get out of prison, it might be fun to meet up with them again.

WHAT’S NOT
BOY STORY. I’ve gleaned a lot of gems from this story, but in the end, it was mostly just good guys vs. bad guys. There was so much action, it didn’t leave any time for soap opera—unless you want to talk about Cap’s brief melancholic reminiscence of his beloved Bucky. Boys of all ages may enjoy the non-stop battles, but I hope the next story slows down a bit to take us deeper inside the characters.

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TALES OF SUSPENSE #55

“No One Escapes the Mandarin!”
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Don Heck
Letters: Art Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
Iron Man escapes the Mandarin by tricking him into looking for Tony Stark. Once free and recharged, Iron Man discovers Mandarin is using a ray to capture U.S. missiles. Mandarin and Iron Man fight, and Mandarin uses various tricks to confuse and capture his foe, but to no avail. In the end, Iron Man destroys the ray, and Mandarin declares he will devote the rest of his life to finding and destroying Iron Man. Stark returns home and is happy to see Pepper, but Happy is not happy to see Stark and Pepper getting so cozy together.

WHAT’S HOT
HAHA? It’s a stretch for the writers to open the story by saying that Iron Man is “smiling,” but how can the Mandarin tell? “Iron Man, are you MAD? You dare smile in the face of death?!!” This is a joke, right?

SURELY YOU JESTER! As an added feature, we have a “Pepper Potts’ Pin-Up Page,” which shows the auburn beauty in a harlequin print one-piece bathing suit. Move over, Sue Storm! You’ve got some competition. (Of course, Pepper is also wearing the obligatory shoes.) As an added bonus, Happy looks hunky in his flying saucer print trunks and straw hat.

WHAT’S NOT
WAIT! I’LL BE RIGHT BACK. The Mandarin commits Classic Villain Mistake #32, when he leaves Iron Man alone to look for Tony Stark. Why not take two seconds to kill Iron Man first, then look for Stark? Methinks he underestimates the power of his enemy. Though, me-alsothinks by the end of the story, underestimating Iron Man is a thing of the past for the Mandarin.

NOW YOU SEE ME…In the 1960’s, the idea of multiple images of the hero’s foe hadn’t yet reached trope status, but looking at this now, I roll my eyes. How many times have we seen this before? Marvel villains aren’t the only ones who enjoy playing with mirrors. But I wonder if they were the first?

I WONDER…
CONTINUING LOVE STORY. This is the second part of a story that began with Stark thinking amorous thoughts about his assistant Pepper Potts. In all the commotion of the run-in with the Mandarin, this plot point was happily not forgotten. When Stark deplanes at JFK, he’s delighted to see Pepper waiting for him, and she “looks more gorgeous than ever!!” When the limo gets a flat, Happy is stuck changing the tire, while Tony and Pepper go off to look at the moonlight. Wow! Looks like we’re really going somewhere with this! Can’t wait to find out what happens next!

However, in the “More Info About Iron Man” featurette, Stan confirms my earlier suspicion that Tony never gets serious with a woman because “he alone knows that he is living on borrowed time!” Looks like Tony (and Stan) are trying to have it both ways! The more interesting mystery may end up being NOT how Stark reconciles his sudden interest in Pepper with the fact that he knows his heart will only continue to beat for as long as his electronic chest device supports it, but rather how Stan will attempt to maintain a brewing romance in which one of the participants feels he can never truly invest his emotions.

The Sun-Stealer!
Plot: Stan Lee
Script & Art: Larry Lieber
Letters: Art Simek

An alien, planning to steal the sun, lands on the moon and is convinced that the Watcher will do nothing to stop him. The Watcher engages the little green man in a lengthy conversation, and as the alien brags for pages about his planet’s mammoth Magneto-Gravity Machine, his spaceship sinks in a lunar bog.

The sun is safe, but it appears the Watcher is now going to have a long-winded neighbor to keep him company on the bleak, airless moon.

Incidentally, how do you pronounce “Xakku?”

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TALES TO ASTONISH #57

“On the Trail of the Amazing Spider-Man!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Dick Ayers
Inks: Paul Reinman
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
Egghead tricks Giant-Man and Spider-Man into fighting each other. As the police keep an eye on the Giant/Spider battle, Egghead and his underworld minions steal a payroll truck. The two superheroes realize they’ve been duped into providing a diversion, then work together to haul in the criminals.

WHAT’S HOT
NATURAL ENEMIES. Boy meets girl, but it’s not what you think. What an unfortunate first encounter between Spidey and Wasp! They don’t get along, and it has little to do her new compressed air stinger, or him wrapping her up in a web. “Spiders and wasps are natural enemies” is the given explanation, and…well…that sort of makes sense. It’s refreshing to see these two strong, outspoken characters taking jabs at each other. The most we can hope for is that they’ll learn to tolerate each other. Should we ever see them together again, they’ll have to learn to work together for the common good….sort of like Edward and Jacob, when the goal is protecting their beloved Bella.

WHAT’S NOT
I’M NOT UGLY, I’M JUST DRAWN THAT WAY. Not a fan of Dick Ayer’s interpretation of Wasp. She looks like my third grade teacher. And if you were in that class with me, you’d know: not a pretty sight! Black lipstick doesn’t make it any better.

GET THEE BACK TO SUNDAY SCHOOL! Pym may be a smart guy, but he needs to pay more attention in Bible Study. He makes the classic mistake of declaring that “Money is the root of all evil.” Extra points for anyone who knows how the saying really goes.

“A Voice In the Dark!”
Plot: Stan Lee
Script & Pencils: Larry Lieber
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen

While Jan is hurrying to a dinner date with Hank, she gets sidetracked chasing a jewel thief into the sewer. When all other attempts to stop him fail, she pretends to be the Invisible Girl, and the thought of the Fantastic Four scares the thief so much he turns himself in. When Jan tells Hank what happened, he doesn’t believe her, and is unnecessarily rude.

First, I’ve got to say I was pleased to see the little woman get a story all her own. She does the best she can under the circumstances, and when super “powers” fail her, she resorts to super smarts, which gets the job done. It’s a relief, as well, to see Wasp actually doing something in the “B”-side story, other than entertaining orphans and veterans with tales of alien civilizations.

But one thing confuses me. Why is Jan so convinced that Henry will be “about as calm as a raging tiger” because she’s late for their dinner date? I’ve never seen anything about Hank Pym that suggests an angry temperament. Do things go on behind the scenes between Hank and Jan that we don’t know about, or is Jan simply trying to convince herself that Hank loves her so much that he is driven into a frenzy when she’s not there? Maybe our little Wasp is acting more like a bee than a wasp—a drama queen bee, that is!

However, at the end of the story, when Jan finally shows up for their date, Hank’s pretty heavy with the sarcasm. (“It wasn’t ME you had a date with…it was really Mr. Fantastic, pretending to be me!”) I understand it’s all for laughs, but scenes like this open the door for questions about what goes on with these two, when we’re not looking.

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JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #106

“The Thunder God Strikes Back!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Art Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
With Mjolnir stuck inside a machine, Thor causes a commotion so he can transform to Blake. Blake promises to deliver Thor to Hyde and Cobra, if they will first retrieve his antique cane. With his cane, Blake hides in the crowd, and reverts to Thor. Thor fights both villains until the police come, but Hyde hides, and transforms back to Calvin Zabo. Zabo follows Thor to a deserted spot, then reverts to Hyde. They fight again. Thor delivers Hyde to the police, and Blake returns to Jane, who is angry at him for betraying Thor.

Once again, I can’t decide if these observations are “hot” or not,” so I’m merely offering them up for your entertainment:

STUPID CRIMINALS, PART….AW, FORGET IT. JUST STUPID CRIMINALS. When Thor reverts to Blake and can’t be found, brainiac Hyde deduces, “Thor MUST still be here! All the doors are bolted! He can’t have escaped!!” As if bolted doors could stop the mighty THOR. I think Mr. Hyde underestimates his opponent.

STUPID CRIMINALS…ANOTHER PART. Blake promises Hyde and Cobra he will reveal the secret of finding Thor, but only if they first retrieve his antique cane from the innards of some complicated machine. After this, both criminals spend a good deal of time attempting to retrieve the cane, instead of simply saying “Look, buddy! What good is an antique cane going to do you if you’re DEAD?? Tell us where Thor is or we’ll KILL you!”

AND AGAIN…Why are Cobra and Hyde not wondering about the coincidence of Blake’s cane ending up in the same machine as Thor’s hammer? Why are they not yet realizing that both the cane and the hammer are present every time they deal with Blake and Thor…but are never seen at the same time? Well, Cobra is no scientist, and may not be an even marginally smart person, but Zabo has invented a Time Reversal Ray and concocted a Jekyll/Hyde potion, so he should be pretty high up there with the IQ points. Yet, it seems he has a missing screw when it comes to logical intuitive thinking.

HOUSE DIVIDED. As always, when super-villains team up, we have that inevitable moment when one member of the team feels he’s being slighted by the other. Cobra whines, “So far Hyde has tried to run the whole show! It’s time I show what I can do!” Later, when Thor captures Cobra, his taunt of “You were merely his Cat’s Paw” is certainly more hurtful to the beta villain than any amount of POW and BAM!

TEST OF STRENGTH? Wait. Hyde, with the strength of 12 men is able to tear the machine apart…but Thor is not able to do the same? I mean…he didn’t even try!

WHERE’S WALDO? Decades before the advent of the “photo bomb,” Asgardian Thor practices the art here on earth, circa 1964. Is he a man ahead of his time? Is this where the concept came from? Or do we earthlings have something else for which to thank Asgardian culture?

TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME! Thor uses his alter-identity as Blake to hide himself several times in this story…but Hyde comes right back with the same trick, drinking a potion to revert to mild-mannered scientist Calvin Zabo, just before the police arrive. It’s amazing that neither Thor nor Hyde ever suspect their opponent might have abilities similar to their own.

WHAT THE WELL-DRESSED SUPER VILLAIN IS WEARING THIS SEASON. When Zabo turns into Hyde, he wears his jacket inside out and the transformation is complete. Generally, wearing clothes inside out looks mighty peculiar, but this fashion faux pas is the least objectionable element of Mr. Hyde’s appearance.

COMPARISONS. Thor believes Hyde is more evil than Loki. Now…that’s saying something! However, I would have to disagree with Thor.

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FANTASTIC FOUR #28

“We Have to Fight the X-Men!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Art Simek

I’ve got nothing to say about this. The X-Men are duped into fighting the Fantastic Four, and it’s completely predictable. We expect Sue and Marvel Girl to compliment each other’s looks, and they do. We expect things to be put right at the end, and it’s no surprise that Reed praises the teenagers for being “valliant.” I was a little surprised, however, when Thing calls Marvel Girl a “tigress” and wants to give her a spanking, but that never goes anywhere, and it’s a good thing too, because this is family entertainment. I’ll be quiet now.

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