INCREDIBLE HULK #4: Masterpiece Theatre Meets the Tasmanian Devil

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Chrissy

Published: November, 1962

“The Monster and the Machine!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: John Duffy

“The Gladiator From Outer Space!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: John Duffy

Last time I reviewed a Hulk, I didn’t realize there were two stories in one book. I remember thinking, “Geez, it sure took a long time for the villain to show up!” But in fact, there was no villain in the first story, then a short review of the origin, and then we started the next story. It was kind of confusing, and not made any less so by the fact that the cover of Hulk #3 shows only one image. One image = one story…right? Apparently not.

But the cover of Hulk #4 shows a split screen, alerting us that there will be two distinct stories within this issue. In fact, in addition to promising that this is “Fantasy as you like it!” the cover also proclaims “2 feature-length Hulk Thrillers in this issue!” So not only are they “feature-length,” but they are also “Thrillers.” With all this intense marketing, how could any kid with twelve cents possibly resist?

We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. So let’s get started!

THE MONSTER AND THE MACHINE
In the first feature, “The Monster and the Machine!” Hulk is obviously the monster, and immediately we see him strapped into a machine. While Banner was Banner, he built a hidden lab in a cave, and a machine to “bombard” Hulk with gamma rays, in hopes of turning him back into Banner. And vice versa, one would presume. Only trouble is, with Banner all hulked up, only “tense teenager” Rick Jones is left to run the machine. Fortunately, even though he “can’t even understand half of the jazz” that Banner wrote in the instruction manual, he flips the switch and, lo and behold, it works! Hulk is now Banner once again.

However, Banner is weakened by the experience, and uses the machine to bombard himself with gamma rays again in hopes of maintaining his intellect while infusing himself with Hulk’s strength. And guess what? It works again!

Now Hulk is strong AND smart. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, plenty, actually. For smarty-hulk’s first trick, he rescues a family from a burning house. You’d think they’d be grateful, right? But no…

The local deputy races to the scene and begins shooting at Hulk–once again, the classic “Shoot first, ask questions later” mentality that so pervades both life and literature.

Hulk grabs Rick and they escape. Using the marvelous machine, Hulk morphs back to mild-mannered super-scientist Bruce Banner, and everyone is safe for the moment, but the reader is left with a lot of unanswered questions.

HUH?
1. Whatever happened to the idea that Banner would transform into Hulk when the sun went down? In this story, Banner is apparently considered “missing,” and it seems Hulk has not turned back to Banner for some time. Are we no longer bound by night and day? That seems a thing of the past, maybe something we’re not even supposed to remember, question or think about.

Now, a machine controls the transformation process. And when Banner subjects himself to the machine’s gamma-rays, he is weakened to the point that he laments, “…can’t keep changing too often…not too quickly…rays are too strong.” This is a new piece of the puzzle, a new development in the mythos. How long will we continue changing the mythos until it is established enough to BE a mythos?

I guess it’s a useful device in that Stan can have Hulk whenever he needs him, but at the same time, it also reduces a lot of the drama that was inherent in Banner not having control over the monster. I’m not sure I’m on board with this new development. I know it won’t last long (at least I don’t think it will), but while it does, it’s just a little too convenient, if you ask me.

2. Whatever happened to the idea developed in the last couple of stories, where Rick Jones is able to control Hulk? I thought that was kind of cool. What happens when you put a “tense teenager” in charge of a mega-strong rage monster? There were so many possibilities in that set-up. I’m disappointed that apparently we’re not going to explore that further.

In this story, Hulk is propelled far enough away that he can no longer receive mental commands from Jones. In the previous story, Jones was able to contact Hulk over a great distance. So this distance must be even further. But the point is moot, because Jones is no longer controlling Hulk, just communicating with him.

3. And what’s this new idea of Banner being able to maintain his intellect while hulking up to super-strength? Yes, it makes him a formidable foe, but again, the drama is diminished. The scary thing about Hulk is that you never know what he’s going to do because he is, as Tony Stark puts it in The Avengers, “an enormous green rage monster,” with the emphasis on “rage.”

With Banner in control of Hulk’s brain, we get a lot of talky-talky and too much making sense. It’s kind of like Masterpiece Theatre meets the Tasmanian Devil. Actually, it’s kind of…jarring, and unsettling, to see so many words coming out of Hulk’s word balloon. Once again…just doesn’t work for me.

In fact, there are a lot of things that don’t work for me in this story. Most are minor, yet still jarring. In the retelling of the origin story, Betty Ross is wearing a yellow dress, instead of the pink dress and pillbox hat she wore in the original scene. No biggie. I won’t dwell.

On the missile testing field, General Ross warns his daughter, “Stay back, Betty, this is the weapon…” which leads to the question: what is a civilian doing running out into the middle of a weapons test? However, we’ve already seen that in this world, the military is extremely lax about their procedures involving dangerous weapons. (If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be here!) So even though this is not realistic, at least it’s consistent.

After Hulk rescues the family from the burning house, we see someone on the phone exclaiming that no one will be safe until the Hulk is found. But the rescued family is seen in the background. Are they not going to tell anyone, “Hey, wait! It was the HULK that saved us! He’s not the bad guy you think he is!”

Okay. I can look past that, I guess, because they are probably in shock after everything that’s happened to them. I mean, would you be thinking coherently if a huge green man in purple pants pulled you from a burning building? I think not.

However, there are some MAJOR developments that just don’t sit right with me. At the end of this story, Banner thinks, “even though the Hulk now has my brain, he is still a raging goliath! Still hard to control. I pray he never turns on me…or on mankind…” To which I have to ask…where is this coming from? Does it even make sense? How or why would Hulk turn on Banner? And if he did, how would that work?

At one point, after Hulk turns back to Banner, Rick Jones says, “It’s a relief to have you back, that Hulk was beginning to scare even me.” And in the last panel he worries, “I know the Hulk is still a problem.” But I didn’t see any of that in this story. Why is Rick scared? Where’s the problem? Hulk did good! He was coherent and reasonable. In this story he’s much more “tame” than we’ve seen him thus far. Very little to be afraid of or concerned about.

To some degree I feel that since the real drama of Hulk being unpredictable and uncontrollable has been watered down by the use of this new machine, Stan is grasping for something to infuse a little drama back into the situation, whether or not it actually makes a whole lot of sense.

One of the main themes that is firmly retained from the original stories is the idea of poor Hulk being persecuted simply because he is a monster. When he says, “I’m sick of bein’ shot at and hounded!” I think, “Ah! Yes! Here is the Hulk I know and love!”

BETTY
And we also still have Betty Ross, though she appears only marginally. Betty is the only one who’s been paying enough attention to begin to figure out that there’s some connection between Banner, Jones and the Hulk. It’s her romantic interest in Bruce Banner and concern for his safety that leads her to share those suspicions with her father. That of course precipitates further complications, but complications are good. They move the story forward.

And now we have moved forward enough that we are ready for the next story in this issue of Incredible Hulk.

GLADIATOR FROM OUTER SPACE
We ended the previous story with the impression that Banner only plans on hulking up when the need arises. Now, in “Gladiator From Outer Space,” the need arises and Hulk is forced out of retirement when “Mongu” lands in his “alien spaceship” and issues a challenge to any opponent able to handle a “two ton ax” in hand to hand combat, or “the warriors of my world will attack this puny planet and conquer it without mercy.”

I’ve purposely used a lot of quotes in that sentence, because once Banner hears the challenge and transforms to Hulk, and he and Rick Jones travel to the the Grand Canyon to meet that challenge, we discover that there is no alien Mongu, and this whole thing is a hoax dreamed up by…you guessed it…the dreaded Commies!

Yes, folks, it’s the Commies again. This time, it’s a Boris Monguski who informs Hulk that they plan to capture him and take him behind the Iron Curtain so their scientists can study him in an attempt to develop an army of Hulks.

So Hulk and Rick Jones are surrounded by a platoon of gun-wielding Commies in the middle of the lonesome Grand Canyon, and if you think this means the end of Hulk and his tense teenage sidekick, then you haven’t been paying attention. All Hulk has to do is jump in the air, and when he lands, it causes an explosion that causes all the Commie soldiers to drop their guns.

Well, not all their guns, because one Commie is hidden in the “alien spaceship” (which is actually a disguised Mig) and is now using a gun that emits ultra-sonic sound waves that prove torturous to Hulk’s super-sensitive ears.

But that doesn’t stop him either! Because “Banner’s brilliant brain” works in concert with Hulk’s incredible strength to dig a hole in the ground to escape the piercing noise. He burrows under the aircraft and throws aside the soldier.

But is that the end of it? No, not yet. The Commies threaten to kill Rick Jones unless Hulk cooperates. Rick, of course, very bravely yells to Hulk, “Don’t worry about me!PULVERIZE THESE CREEPS!” because every good red-blooded American boy hates the Commies more than he loves life itself.

But Hulk has no intentions of sacrificing his sidekick. He throws a huge piece of shrapnel at their helicopter. Now, there’s nothing left for the Commies to do but surrender, because “There is a limit to the frustrations which any men can endure—even communists.”

Personally, I think they gave up way too easily…even for communists…but at least the crisis has been averted. Hulk, still utilizing Banner’s brilliant brain, ties all the Commies together with their belts and connects them to the bottom of their disabled helicopter.

But we’re not done yet! After Hulk and Rick Jones leave (presumably in the chartered “twin engine” plane that brought them there?), a military squad arrives, surveys the scene, with the discarded Mongu “shell” and some footprints and fingerprints that could only belong to Hulk, and ASSUMES that Hulk must have rigged the entire scenario in order to appear a hero.

Okay. Now it’s bad enough that the military comes to this erroneous conclusion, but then the press takes the story and runs with it, plastering it all over the front page. No one seems to care that the facts just don’t add up. If Hulk wanted to appear as a hero, why would he stage this confrontation in the remote location of the Grand Canyon? And why would he leave behind evidence that the entire incident was a hoax?

I can almost forgive the military for jumping to this conclusion, because it’s their job to look for threats, so it’s believable that they would find one where no real threat exists. But I’m extremely disappointed in the press. Is it not the job of the press to seek out and publish the truth? The newspaper headline we see is in the Metropolitan Herald, not the National Enquirer.

Or am I bringing a post-Watergate mentality to the table? The press of the early 1960’s did not question authority. If the military gives us this story, then that’s what we publish. It was a different world back then, much less cynical. Is that what’s going on here, or is it just too easy a plot device to help perpetuate the feeling among the general population that Hulk is evil and manipulative? Of course, that’s where a lot of the drama in the Hulk stories is coming from right now, so we have to do whatever we can to advance the plight of the misunderstood anti-hero…but even at the expense of making the U.S. military and the “free press” look incredibly prejudiced and stupid?

I’m looking at this panel from when the military comes in and finds the “evidence” that Hulk must have set the whole thing up as a self-promotion gig, and I have to wonder…do they not see the huge Mig in the background? Wouldn’t they recognize a Commie aircraft? Does it never occur to them that the Commies might somehow be involved? Or do they hate Hulk even more than they hate Commies? If so, that’s a pretty pervasive hate, because back in the 60’s, no one was more hated than the Commies.

GOT ME!
With that in mind, I wish I could say that when I began reading, I suspected the Commies. But I didn’t. In these early Marvel comics, so far I’ve probably seen the alien threat just about as much as I’ve seen the Commies. But Mongu presented as a very real alien threat at first. There was no reason to suspect that–well…yes, there was, actually. His “spaceship” had landing gear.

When I first saw that, I did think for a moment… “How odd…” but then as soon as Mongu appeared, I was completely immersed in the alien threat storyline. Got me, Stan! Got me good. Nice work.

When Mongu was revealed to be a fake, though, after my first thought of “Doh!” the next thing that occurred to me was: General Ross! This is all part of Ross’ evil plan to get Hulk! That would have made sense, right?

But it wasn’t even Ross. So again I say: Good work! It was a nice surprise to be fooled twice.

And speaking of surprises, imagine my surprise when Rick Jones and Hulk charter a “twin jet” to take them to the Grand Canyon. There are so many things wrong with this picture. First of all, who would be willing to accept a charter flight for the Hulk? Again, I reference a line from the recent Avengers movie, when Banner, believing the ship is about to submerge, wonders “Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized metal container?” Submerged or airborne, it’s the same thing, right? But even if they found a pilot who was just crazy enough to do anything for money, how would the plane lift off the ground with that enormous weight inside?

MYSTERY DATE

This whole idea of Hulk in a chartered plane really gave me a chuckle. And I also got a chuckle when Hulk proclaims, “And now…Mongu has a date with…the Hulk!” For me, this panel evoked memories of the Mystery Date board game which I played as a child in the 1960’s. I remember that most of the dates behind the door were “dreamboats” ready to take you to the prom, a beach picnic, skiing, bowling. But there was one “dud” with sloppy clothes and dirty face. I’ve got to say, though, that guy’s got nothin’ on Hulk! Hulk brings a new and disturbing dimension to the concept of a dud date!

VILLAIN VALUATION
Well, Hulk may be a dud date, but that’s not as bad as being a Marvel villain, and I think it’s time I added “The Commies” to the villain chart. I’ve resisted so far, because from my 2012 perspective, I don’t really think of Commies as villains so much as simply an international annoyance. But they’re showing up enough that I ought to make at least some general comments about the threat they pose.

In Marvel comics, we have four types of villains: most significantly, the super villains, who have superpowers, and pose a real threat for our superheroes. Next, aliens, who wish to conquer earth. Then, on occasion, we may run into a “thug” or common criminal. I think so far I’ve only encountered this class of villain in the Spider-Man origin story. The police could take care of these guys, if no superheroes were available at the moment. And last of all, the Commies.

I’ve run into Commies a few times now, and I’m starting to notice a pattern: Commies come on strong, but are vanquished way too easily. (Remember in the last Ant-Man story, all it took was a few ant bites to throw the Commies off their game.) In this story, the Commies have a few tricks up their sleeve, but apparently they have very short sleeves, because one “Whoom!” “E-E-E-E-E-E!” live grenade and disabled helicopter later, they are ready to give up. They surrender Rick, then Hulk uses their belts to tie them to the bottom of their helicopter to send them back to “vodka-land.” With this “vodka-land” jibe, we’ve added insult to injury. Icing on the cake. And this is exactly as it should be in 1960’s America.

So far, our journeys into the Marvelous Zone have taken us from the edge of Atlantis to a far-flung planet, from the other-worldly dimension of Asgard to the dangers of the 17th century. But next time, we’ll visit a land where Yesterday meets Tomorrow.

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FANTASTIC FOUR #8: Love is Blind

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Chrissy

Published: November, 1962

“Prisoners of the Puppet Master!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek

The Puppet Master is the creepiest looking Marvel villain I have met thus far. I mean…just look at him! He’s got “creepy” written all over him. He’s got a lot of what you think would make someone look attractive–long eyelashes, small nose and finely shaped eyebrows, a good set of teeth–but when you actually see it all put together, you’re like…gehhhh…never mind, maybe not.

Of course his power, the ability to make others do his will, is excessively creepy all by itself. That’s a serious super-power that can go badly in the wrong hands. So, let’s get to our story, and see how badly it goes (or not) for our heroes, the FF.

MEET THE PUPPET MASTER
As Reed is working on a secret project in his lab, Sue and Johnny attempt to keep Thing from entering. Angry, Thing leaves, and Sue follows, invisibly. When they see someone about to jump off a bridge, Sue sets off the “4” flare, and Johnny flames on to rescue the jumper. At the same time, we see the Puppet Master attempt to push a doll of a “nameless nobody” from a toy bridge. A flame bursts from his finger, and he realizes that the Human Torch has intervened in his “test.”

Alicia runs into the room, concerned because her “father” has cried out, but the Puppet Master sternly reminds her that he is not her father, only her stepfather.

The Puppet Master sends Alicia to her room, then reveals to us that Alicia is blind, and his dolls are composed of “radioactive clay.” (Oh! I see! So that’s what causes a person to lose their free will… Whew! Glad that’s cleared up! For a minute there, I was afraid this wasn’t going to make SENSE!)

The Puppet Master carves a doll in the image of Thing, who in real life is drawn to his house. As Thing comes in, with Invisible Sue behind, blind Alicia alerts her fath–uh, stepfather, that two people have entered, not one.

The Puppet Master uses ether to cause Sue to fall asleep, and she becomes visible again. Seeing that Sue and Alicia look alike, the Puppet Master disguises Alicia as Sue, and has her accompany Thing back to FF HQ. Still under the Puppet Master’s control, Thing attacks, but in the lab, he crashes into the vial of potion Reed has been working on…and changes back to Ben Grimm! (This, of course, is the “secret” they were trying to keep from Thing earlier; just in case it turned out to be a bust, they didn’t want him to get his hopes up.)

Before they have a chance to marvel over the transformation from Thing to Grimm, the others realize that Sue isn’t really Sue, and quickly after that, Ben turns back to Thing. But whether Grimm or Thing, Alicia likes “the strong, kindly one.”

Meanwhile, the Puppet Master has used a clay doll of the prison warden to set free all the prisoners. As the Puppet Master plays with his dolls, orchestrating the prison break, Sue wakes up and attempts to escape, but the Puppet Master stops her by holding the ankles of a Sue Storm doll.

Sue manages to set off her flare gun, and when the others arrive, they must fight the Puppet Master’s robot. This is only a temporary distraction, however, as the Puppet Master soon escapes on a winged horse, taking Sue as hostage.

Which proves to be another temporary distraction, as Reed easily rescues Sue with one long arm.

Next, the FF head over to the prison riot, where Torch rescues the warden, and Thing wraps a bunch of iron cell doors together as a cage, capturing a whole kaboodle of escaped prisoners.

Other prisoners are firing guns, but the bullets bounce off Mr. Fantastic, and he “shoots” them right back “like a sling-shot.” Reed disarms the prisoners, and Torch wraps them in a ring of fire as the warden, returned to his right mind, gets the guards to round up the prisoners.

Meanwhile, Alicia sits tearfully by a window, now aware what a “menace” her stepfather is. The Puppet Master comes in and tells her his plan for world domination, how he will use a puppet of himself dressed like a king to “control armies, nations” and get kings and dictators to do his bidding. He will tear down the UN, demote the current world leaders to his personal wait staff, and as for the FF:

Alicia decides this is just too much, and as she objects and reaches for the doll, there is a struggle. Alicia slips, and the Puppet Master trips over her arm and tumbles through the window.

The Fantastic Four burst in and Thing comforts Alicia.

End of story.

And end of the Puppet-Master…. Or is it?

DEAD?
I feel certain we have not yet seen the last of the Puppet Master. I remember that horrible face, and I don’t think I’m remembering it from only this story. At the bottom of the last page, Alicia reports that her stepfather fell through the window–which, by the way, how does she know, since she is blind and didn’t actually see it happen? But Reed says, “We saw him down below.” Notice that Reed does not say, “We saw him down below and he was a bloody mess of broken bones, no way he could have survived that fall, he’s dead for sure.” Nope. We have no actual report on his injuries, or his fate.

There is a truism in comics that if you don’t see a body, they ain’t dead. And this is surely one of those times. This issue is left open-ended, ripe territory for revisiting this particular villain.

VILLAIN VALUATION
Since my short experience with Marvel comics tells me we are probably not yet through with the Puppet Master, in evaluating him as a villain, I will not list “defeated by the FF” as one of his failings. In fact, there are not too many things I would list as failings. He’s got that all-consuming desire for world domination that seems so much more villainous than “Haha! I’ll hypnotize them and steal their wallets!”

So: craves world domination, in the Plus Column. Manipulates people against their wills—also in the Plus Column. However, his means of manipulation, a radioactive clay, works against him. How much of this stuff does he have? Will it ever run out? What if someone else gets their hands on it? His source of power is not without issues.

Also, I have this against the Puppet Master: I don’t think his name is appropriate for his superpowers. True, he manipulates people AS IF they are puppets, but this manipulation involves dolls more than puppets. Of course, “puppet” sounds much more manipulative than “doll.” If we say he uses “dolls” to achieve his evil schemes, that sounds just plain goofy. And in fact, if memory serves me correctly, there will be some sort of “Doll” villain in the near future, and he will be rather goofy. “The Puppet Master” sounds menacing. But the fact remains: he plays with dolls.

ALICIA
Yes, the Puppet Master is creepy, with a powerfully creepy power, and I’ll put him pretty high up on my villain list. But the real excitement in this story is the introduction of Alicia, who will become a love interest for Thing. WHAT?! You might well exclaim. A LOVE interest for Thing? Well, of course, she would have to be blind. Right? She doesn’t see him, but can sense that he is strong and powerful…yet gentle. Whether as Ben Grimm or Thing, Alicia is attracted to his inner qualities. Although a bit heavy-handed, there’s a wonderful lesson here about not judging a book by its cover.

I haven’t seen much of Alicia yet in my readings, but I think it’s clear she’s a “good person,” a noble character. And very quickly, we see her loyalties shift. She starts out calling the Puppet Master “Father,” though he is only her stepfather, so we have a sense that she is devoted to him. But when she learns what a terrible louse he is, she is distraught, and wonders what she will do if he should require her to once again participate in his evil plans.

Well, we know what she will do, because she does it right away. She says “No way, Jose!” and makes an attempt to stop him (“It is wrong! It is madness! You have no right!”). And she does, indeed, stop him. She may be physically blind, but now that she sees the true nature of this man she has called “Father,” she decides to put concern for all mankind before her daughterly duty.

ALSO OF INTEREST…
My main interest in this story is the introduction of Alicia, but we also discover a few facts about the Fantastic Four that might be worth noting for future reference.

For instance, did you know that Sue cannot maintain her invisibility when she is asleep? The Puppet Master gas-masks himself, Alicia and Thing, then releases ether, which puts invisible Sue to sleep, and causes her to become visible. Hmmm…. Interesting…. But the bigger question is…how did the Puppet Master know that would happen? Did he read it in Villains Weekly magazine?

Also, have you ever wondered if Mr. Fantastic’s stretching ability is limitless? Apparently not, because when the need arises to rescue the bridge-jumper, Reed stretches as far as he can, but it’s not enough. Another “Hmmm…”

And Torch? Well, we find here that he can’t “flame on” if he’s recently overexerted his flaming abilities. On occasion he can’t participate in heroics with the others, because he is literally “burned out.”

As for Thing, the story starts with him getting all bent out of shape because he thinks the others are keeping secrets from him (“Whenever something important comes along, I ain’t GOOD enough to be told about it!”). He’s hot-headed, impatient, prone to violence and/or sulking whenever he feels disrespected. For someone made of rock, he’s incredibly sensitive.

So each of our heroes has a weakness, but fortunately, whether it’s a gaping hole in their superpowers or an outright personality flaw, the others are always there to pick up the slack. If Sue becomes dangerously visible, Thing will protect her. If Johnny can’t flame on, Reed will stretch out to save the day. And no matter how many times Thing pitches a hissy-fit, his teammates will always take him back into the fold.

Because they are family, and that’s what family does.

And now Alicia is about to become an “honorary” member of this family. The circle widens. The villain list grows. And there’s more where all this comes from, when old and new enemies threaten in upcoming issues of The Fantastic Four.

But before that happens, our next venture into the Marvelous Zone will involve a double dose of large, mean and green! You know who I’m talkin’ about. So don’t miss it!

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Posted in Fantastic Four | 6 Comments

Meanwhile… : October, 1962

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Chrissy

So far I have been reviewing a great deal of the Marvel comics that came out way back in 1962, but I haven’t hit all of them, and as time goes on, I will continue to miss a few here and there. I would love nothing better than to be independently wealthy so I wouldn’t have to go to work every day and could hire someone to do my housework and shopping. If that were the case, I would spend oodles more time reading and reviewing Marvel comics, and post these reviews on a more frequent schedule so that perhaps someday I might catch up with my comic-lovin’ honey. But alas…not wealthy…not enough time…and will probably never catch up with Russ. 🙁

With all this in mind, my reviews will concentrate upon the seminal moments in the Marvel Universe — origin stories, introduction of important new characters, and the very best (or very worst) villains. As I move from month to month in the Marvel Universe, I will periodically post this “Meanwhile…” entry, to simply mention the books I have regrettably had to pass over, due to time constraints.

This entry should fill in the blanks, give you the full picture of everything that was going on in the Marvel Universe at the time, in case you were wondering, and would like to further your own marvelous education.

All that having been said, here are the other “Marvel Universe” books published in October, 1962 (and this month, there was only one):

Posted in Ant-Man, Meanwhile, Tales to Astonish | 1 Comment

STRANGE TALES #101: …Really??

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Chrissy

Published: October, 1962

“The Human Torch”
Script: Larry Lieber
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek

It always amuses me when Marvel characters from one title “guest star” in another title. These “guest appearances” are always grandly introduced, Strange Tales #101 being no exception. On the cover we are informed that Torch appears “By permission of the Fantastic Four magazine,” and on the splash, it is boldly proclaimed that “The Human Torch appears in Strange Tales thru [sic] the courtesy of the Fantastic Four magazine.”

So, first of all, in case you didn’t get that: there’s this other magazine, Fantastic Four, and if you like what you see here, you can get lots more where this came from by plunking down another twelve cents each month for that magazine as well.

But so much hoopla about guest appearances also leads to my next question: doesn’t Marvel own it all, anyway? If we’re going to use “guest appearances” as a motif, isn’t this somewhat like the old days of Hollywood, when actors contracted with a studio, and were then obligated to appear wherever the studio told them? There’s no “permission,” or “courtesy” involved. The employee does what the boss says.

I really get a kick out of this illusion that the characters had to be invited, hired, or contracted to appear in the new title. I have this image of Stan (much younger, no gray hair, but still with the aviator glasses) sitting at his desk, dialing his rotary phone…

BRRRRRNG!sp “Hey…Torch! How ya doin’, old buddy old pal! Hey, listen, Torchy: wanna ask ya a favor…”

How much money did Torch get paid for his appearances in Strange Tales? Did his lawyers go over the contract with a fine tooth comb? Now that he’s so popular, will he demand a bigger trailer, with a star on the door? And does he only work if guaranteed a constant supply of Jalapeño Fire Dorito chips?

We know that in the world of entertainment, ratings and sales are likely to go up as a result of “guest appearances,” and I suppose that’s the intention here. It’s about money, but I think it’s also just plain fun, an exercise in creativity.

In a way, you could say that “guest appearances” is how the Avengers got started. Each character “jumped title” to appear in the new Avengers comic mag. Jeez! Wonder how many phone calls Stan had to make to get THAT one organized!

RECAP
As this story starts, we meet Torch, and just in case you have no idea who he is, almost immediately we recap the Fantastic Four origin story. The recap begins with the words “For those few readers who are not familiar…”

I read this with the emphasis on “few.” It seems an assumption that pretty much everyone knows–or at least OUGHT to know–and if you don’t know, then you are not among the privileged, informed, initiated, indoctrinated. You are not part of the “in” crowd, and you need to do whatever it takes to remedy that situation as soon as possible!!

Johnny lives in Glenville with his sister Sue, whom (at least in this story) the world knows to be the Invisible Girl. However, in this story, no one knows that Johnny Storm is the Human Torch.

I repeat: in this story, no one knows that Johnny is Torch.

SECRET IDENTITY?
Huh? you may ask. And you would be right to do so. Because the Fantastic Four has just completed seven issues, and the last time we saw them, they were all bellyaching about having to show up for a Congressional Dinner in their honor. But they went, and were honored, by Congress, in public, with at least four, count ’em FOUR cameras in attendance!

A word balloon that surrounds the text with a broken line indicates the character is whispering.

–Russ

After this, it’s highly unlikely the FF are enjoying any of the privileges of “secret identity.” In fact, at the Congressional Dinner, Reed thinks or whispers (whichever one it is when the word balloon uses a broken line), “I suppose these nerve-wracking ceremonies are the price we must pay for fame!”

Fame.

The exact opposite of secret identity.

Yet Johnny spends the entire scope of Strange Tales #101 fretting about how in the world he’s going to maintain his secret identity. He uses smoke and mirrors (almost literally) to draw attention away from himself so that he can perform two rescues. And thus his “secret identity” remains…secret.

I’m simply baffled. But we’ll get back to this issue later.

VILLAIN
For right now, let’s take a look at our villain: The Destroyer! And once again I say, what a fabulous name for a villain! And once again I say…too bad that by the end of our story this villain is caught and hauled off to jail. In fact, in the last panel, the writer tells us, “And so, the Destroyer is finished!”

Why? Why have a villain with a great name like the Destroyer, and finish him off in eleven pages? You’ll notice I say he’s a villain with a great NAME, but I didn’t say he was a great villain. Because when all is said and done, it turns out the mighty Destroyer is merely a Commie spy, and his arsenal of superpowers consists of one gun, which Torch easily melts with a single blast of flame.

I’m not going to legitimize the Destroyer’s reputation by going into further detail here. You can read more about him when you see where I’ve placed him in my Villain Valuation. Slightly higher than the Skrulls? That tells you something, right?

Well, actually, I did want to say one thing about the Destroyer. He begins his “reign of terror” (sarcastic quotes) by sending a newspaper clipping threat:

He follows by sending a couple more. Which made me think, “How hokey! How cliché!” And that made me wonder…how and when did this cliché get started? I looked all over the internet, and couldn’t find anything, so I presented the case to the Answer Man (Russ), who in about ten minutes came up with the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his 1902 Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles employed the use of what was later to become known as the “Ransom Note Effect.”

Don’t know if Holmes was the first character to use the “Ransom Note Effect,” but apparently Marvel Comics did not invent this cliché, they simply perpetuated it. To which I say… good going! Russ and I differ on the value of clichés, but I feel there’s a reason why clichés exist. Clichés provide a common language and, as long as they are not overdone, can be effective. As this cliché is here in Strange Tales.

A dimension of irony is added to the use of the newspaper clipping note, because it turns out that the Destroyer is actually the editor of the newspaper to whom the notes are being sent! That was a nice twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Bravo!

GUEST APPEARANCE WITHIN A GUEST APPEARANCE
The Destroyer’s third and final note to the newspaper dares Torch to meet him alone at a cabin on the outskirts of town. Because if you want to meet someone alone that’s what you do — publish the invite in the newspaper.

You know, now that I know the Destroyer is actually the publisher of the newspaper, this makes even less sense than before. He could have decided to avoid potential complications by not publishing that note in such a public forum. However, since Torch has a “secret identity,” perhaps this was the only way he could get in touch with him.

The Destroyer takes a huge risk in assuming that no one else will show up at this secret meeting, because he almost sets himself up to have to deal with…THING! Yes, Thing shows up at Johnny’s door offering to help, but Johnny sends him away. (“The Destroyer challenged ME and I’m not gonna chicken out!”) So now we have a guest appearance within a guest appearance! Wonder what Thing demanded for this cameo…

But there are others who have read the newspaper challenge and show up near the cottage. Some teenagers manage to scare off the big bad Destroyer so the secret meeting in the cabin ends up a bust.

However, we do get to see some wonderful examples of Marvel teenage boys in suits and ties and hats, so all in all, I would say this little diversion was worth it, just for a chuckle.

Getting on with the story, though, Johnny figures out that the Destroyer is only going after the really tall rides at the amusement park, so he flies high and sees a Commie sub! Once spotted by “the Yankee man of fire,” the sub goes under, and Torch boils the water so they are forced to surface.

The icing on the cake is when a “Yankee” ship comes in and the Captain proclaims, “If we hadn’t spotted them by the light of the Torch’s flame, they might still be free.”

So when all is said and done, the teenage Torch saves the day, keeping the world safe for democracy.

CANON??
In some ways, this is actually a good story with a bit of mystery: who is the Destroyer, and why is he hell-bent on destroying an amusement park? Not your usual conflict. However, much of the “suspense” comes from Johnny’s efforts to maintain his secret identity…and we know he doesn’t have a secret identity! So it rings false. I feel like we’re in another universe, and I didn’t sign on for this universe! I want my FF straight up and fully out of the superhero closet, the way I’ve come to know and love them.

Who wrote this story? Who approved it? How did it get past Stan? Did he not care that the FF canon was being tampered with? And did the readers at the time not care either?

Maybe the creators figured this 12-cent comic mag will be here today and gone tomorrow and no one will remember or care that Johnny has a secret identity in these stories, but not in other stories. Maybe they never imagined that fifty years later people would be writing about their little 12-cent stories on the INTERNET!

And what’s with the editor’s note about four high school buddies that know Johnny’s secret but now one is in the army, two are at college and the last is working in Chicago?? Who cares? Why do we need to know that? How does that make things any better?

It’s because of this major flub that I just can’t get behind this story, or any of the other Torch stories in Strange Tales. I may have mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of respecting the canon, so I don’t really consider these stories part of the Marvel universe.

Now, if these stories were prefaced with a kid asking his dad to tell him a bedtime story about what it WOULD BE LIKE if nobody knew that Johnny Storm was the Human Torch, and then the dad told this story…well, that’s just about the only way this works for me.

But also, the thing I most enjoy about the FF is the interaction between the four of them, and except for the brief moment when Thing shows up, that’s not here. Johnny on his own is just not that interesting to me, with or without a secret identity.

Of course I understand that Johnny would have been of great interest to most of the young readers of the day, because he is the one character these little boys buying and reading Marvel comics could most easily identify with. And that’s probably whyw Johnny gets his own series.

“FOR THE TECHNICALLY MINDED”
One more thing, and then I’ve got to go. Early in the story, we see that Johnny’s bedroom is composed almost entirely of asbestos, in case he has a nightmare and accidentally “flames on” while he’s asleep.

Really?? The mind boggles.

This information is provided for “the technically-minded.” Were there a lot of technically minded readers at this time? Kids who wanted to know “how can that be?”

And if there were, I wonder if the “technically minded” MINDED that Johnny is portrayed in this story as having a secret identity when, technically, he does not.

These Torch stories in Strange Tales are not my favorites, so it’s unlikely I’ll review more. But I did want to weigh in on the strange phenomenon of an original work diverting from its own canon. Next time, we return to the REAL Marvel Universe and meet the love interest for the ever-lovin’ Thing!

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