X-MEN #15

“Prisoners of the Mysterious Master Mold!”
Script: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Pencils: Jay Gavin
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
The X-Men climb a hill to put themselves out of range of the Sentinels’ rays. Beast, Iceman and Angel launch an attack on the fortress, but the Sentinels capture Beast and Iceman. The Sentinel Master Mold coerces Bolivar Trask into using a psycho probe on Beast to learn the X-Men’s secrets. While under the probe, Beast reveals that their mission is to protect humans. Meanwhile, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Angel infiltrate the fortress and free Iceman, but they are eventually all captured.

WHAT’S HOT
NO, I INSIST…AFTER YOU! I love how all the X Men are so intent on protecting Professor X while he prefers they protect themselves.

Later in the story, X sends his “astral image” to help Hank. If he’s always had this power, do the others know about it? If they did, they might not have been so intent on assisting him. But if he’s always had this power, why haven’t we seen it before? Or have we? Why didn’t he use it to protect himself from falling into the abyss? Or was that why he was encouraging the X-Men to pay attention to their own safety rather than his?

LOGIC. You’ve got to hand it to the Sentinels. It takes some pretzel logic to get around to convincing themselves of the best way to fulfill their purpose—“We can only guard the human race by becoming its master! Humans are too weak, too foolish to govern themselves!” But actually…this kind of makes sense.

BEAURACRACY TO THE RESUCE! The whole operation of the Sentinels is slowed down when they consult the Section Leader before they can move forward. If not for the slowly plodding Sentinels seeking out further guidance, the X-Men may not have ultimately fared so well.

WOKE. Bolivar Trask experiences that eye-opening moment when he realizes that everything he had so ardently devoted himself to his entire lifetime is misguided and a lie. And this has the power to help him do a 180. I only hope he holds true to his newfound sensibilities for the exciting conclusion in the next issue.

STORYTIME. Now that we’ve heard Beast’s backstory, are there likely to be others?

WHAT’S NOT
DEFINING OUR TERMS, PART 1. As I began reading this story, I wondered, Is the mysterious “mold” what grows on cheese and bread, or is it like something you use to make jello look more appealing?

DEFINING OUR TERMS, PART 2. Oh! Okay! So it IS a jello mold (or the mold used in production of any kind of plastic or metal gizmos). But then…why is the Master Mold so big? Shouldn’t he be the same size as all the other Sentinels? Hmmm… Maybe I’m not yet understanding some new definition of “mold.”

“LITTLE LADY.” Why does Scott ask Angel to fly Jean to a place of safety? Sure, they’re about to go into battle and he doesn’t want her to be hurt, but this shows a complete lack of faith in her superpowers. If I were Jean, instead of being grateful for his concern, I’d be insulted by his condescension.

“I’ve spent years drumming it into you—NOTHING is impossible!”
— Professor X

STRANGE TALES #139

“The Brave Die Hard!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinott
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
HYDRA hynotizes Fury in a failed attempt to learn SHIELD’s secrets. Meanwhile, as Tony Stark oversees the test-launch of the braino-saur to disable HYDRA’s betatron bomb, Dugan and Gabe launch the search for Fury. Back at HYDRA HQ, the Supreme Hydra’s daughter helps Fury escape. The Supreme Hydra releases the Hydra Hunter to recapture them. Just as things are at their grimmest, a SHIELD strike force arrives. In response, the Supreme Hydra orders the deadly Tiger Division to attack.

WHAT’S HOT
SELF-REFERENTIAL. I’m intrigued by the clever cover. It appears Doctor Strange is looking at the splash for the Nick Fury story in the Strange Tales issue where he himself will later show up. There are some minor differences between the cover and the splash, but no doubt what he’s looking at. The page Strange is perusing is enormous, which makes me wonder if within the comic book world all comic books are this large, or did Strange use magic to increase the size so he didn’t have to go look for his reading glasses? So many questions. Mind officially blown.

GADGETS AND GIZMOS. This high-tech spy story has all the toys: a Mechanical Helper, Image-Inducer, Braino-saur, and energy compressed food that resumes its form when exposed to air. Welcome to the genre!

WHAT’S NOT
LARGE, GRANDE, SUPER, MEGA? Sometimes he’s called Imperial Hydra, sometimes Supreme Hydra. Which is it? Or…are there in fact two competing leaders of Hydra, each wearing identical outfits from the “HydraЯUs” catalog? I don’t really believe that, but this discrepancy makes me think of the various Starbucks drink sizes (Tall, Grande, Venti, Trenta) and wonder which of “Imperial” or “Supreme” is more supreme…or imperial…

EMPTY PROMISE. I know through the MCU that Hydra will in fact continue way past this particular issue of Strange Tales, so I’m interested in seeing how the Narrator gets out of promising “The Long-Awaited End of Hydra” as a tease for the next story.

“I wanted to give her the WORLD…and now she BETRAYS me!”
— Imperial Hydra

“Beware…! Dormammu Is Watching!”
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
Strange confronts Dormammu and Mordo and insists that he be taken to the Ancient One, but they only comply when Strange reveals that he received no help from Eternity. Undaunted by their situation, the Ancient One assures Steven that there are forces at work that he cannot fathom, and they will yet overcome their enemies. Mordo challenges Strange to ultimate combat, and Dormammu forces the white-haired girl to watch. Strange’s astral self separates from his physical body, confusng Mordo. Outraged, Dormammu prepares to enter the battle himself.

WHAT’S HOT
EMOTIONS, PART 1. The art is good. I especially like the facial expressions on every character, clearly revealing their feelings and concerns about the epic battle. Even the relatively formless face of Dormammu is ablaze with rage.

EMOTIONS, PART 2. Strange humiliates Mordo by making him fall for a simple ruse. This makes Mordo feel like an idiot, and his injured pride and emotions make him lash out even more recklessly. The same weekend I read this story, I watched a football game where multiple times players reacted to pushing and shoving with retaliatory pushing and shoving, causing 15-yard penalties for their team. The smart player (or villain) corrals and contains their emotions, so the victory can still be won. In the heat of battle, emotions are not always your friend.

WHAT’S NOT
HUH? Doctor Strange devises a “smoke and mirrors” plan to confuse and distract Mordo—but it also confused and distracted me! I was given no warning on the top of page seven, that the “spirit” that separates from Strange’s physical form was not simply his astral body. It sure looked like his astral body! It’s not until the middle of page eight that the wiser-than-Mordo Dormammu exclaims in exasperation “It never EXISTED! It was created by a spell!” Which means I’m just as much a “bumbling fool” as Mordo. And by the way…why was Mordo not ready for this possibility? How was he so easily tricked? How can he be both so powerful AND so stupid? How can he be as stupid as ME—who had to go back and read all of this over a second time before I caught on to what was happening. Personally, I like my comics to be straightforward and easy to follow. The Doctor Strange title sometimes makes you have to work too hard.

“Waste not your energy on words! Let the deed be done!
The time for gloating comes after the victory!
Attack, Mordo—Attack!”
— Dormammu

TALES OF SUSPENSE #72

“The Sleeper Shall Awake!”
Script: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Art: George Tuska
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
Cap finishes his tale of his previous adventures to his fellow Avengers, but later that night, he is haunted by images and memories of his past battles with the Red Skull. He recovers a long-buried memory of the Skull’s threat to bury three Sleepers that will one day awaken and revive the Third Reich. Later, in Bavaria, General von Kimmer awakens the first Sleeper, just as Cap parachutes from a plane to land nearby. His efforts to stop the robot are ineffective. Meanwhile, Skull agent Erica Wolfmann plans to awaken the second Sleeper.

WHAT’S HOT
PRELUDE TO A ROMANCE? As the only woman on the team, Wanda has elected herself Cap’s Emotional Guardian, protecting him against Hawkeye’s verbal jabs. Combined with her recent comments in Avengers about how much she misses seeing him work out in their private gym, and I have to wonder what’s brewing inside her pretty little head.

WHAT’S NOT
OH NO! NOT THE NAZIS AGAIN! We’ve just finished a nine-issue WWII run, and it felt good to see the present-day Avengers on the splash. But then, we go right back to the past. It’s 20 years later, but we’re still fighting Nazis! In the last panel, the Narrator says this story is in response to requests for more Cap stories in the “present,” but I feel cheated, as I imagine those 1965 readers also may have also felt.

1945 CALLED AND THEY WANT THEIR COMPUTER BACK. The robot is described as a “computer”—a computer that has been jiggled awake after 20 dormant years! If you had a 20-year-old computer, would it still work? And even if you could juice it up, would be efficient? The 1960’s may not have been very cognizant or demanding of computers, but from our current perspective, it seems highly unlikely this robot computer from the past could really be that much of a threat. Therefore…

THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB. Why is Cap fighting this robot computer? Where is Iron Man? Cap knows nothing about technology, but Stark/Iron Man could surely put this heap of metal on the scrap heap by the bottom of page two. But then…oh yeah…where’s the story?

“I just told it as it happened!”
— Captain America

“Hoorah for the Conquering Hero!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Don Heck
Inks: Mickey Demeo
Letters: Artie Simek

IN A NUTSHELL
The Countess de la Spiroza, still stung by Tony’s treatment, engages the services of the Mad Thinker to help her discover Iron Man’s true identity, believing that will serve as proper revenge against Stark. The Thinker sends his android to capture Stark, but Tony tricks the Thinker into opening his booby-trapped briefcase. He changes into Iron Man in the confusion and defeats Thinker. Later, Pepper reports that something has happened to Happy in the hospital.

WHAT’S HOT
ESCAPE ROUTE. Stark has a secret staircase hidden beneath the floor in his office. Hot because…well…secret escape route.

HOLY TRANSISTORS, IRON MAN! A scientific man like Stark swears differently than the rest of us. “What in the name of a thousand transistors is that?” Even Robin with his “Holy this!” and “Holy that!” was never this linguistically innovative.

WHAT’S NOT
YOU’RE FIRED? How did the giant android get past all those security guards without being seen?

GET OVER YOURSELF! The Thinker is really annoying with all his down-to-the-second calculations and predictions. He’s so egotistical, he can’t admit to being even the slightest bit wrong. The Thinker makes me think of PeeWee Herman falling off his bicycle and proclaiming, “I meant to do that!”

UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU! A new corner of the Marvel Universe opens up as Senator Byrd plans to order Stark to reveal Iron Man’s identity, since “Iron Man is too powerful to be serving Tony Stark alone!” Up until this issue, though supervillains are always seeking to gain control of superheroes, we haven’t yet seen the government flex its muscles in an attempt to corral those powers for national defense. Right or wrong, this is the first crack in the dam that eventually will flood into to the Sokovia Accords and Civil War.

“Tony Stark loves you too much to want you to return that love!”
— Iron Man

DAREDEVIL #11

“A Time to Unmask!”
Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Bob Powell
Inks: Wally Wood
Letters: Sam Rosen

IN A NUTSHELL
After “rescuing” Debbie from her “kidnappers,” Daredevil learns that Debbie was reluctantly helping the Organizer out of love for him, but now she realizes that the Organizer is insane. With Debbie’s help, Daredevil defeats the Ani-Men and uncovers the Organizer’s true identity: Abner Jonas, the party’s mayoral candidate. Afterwards, Matt and Foggy are faced with financial difficulties and no prospective clients. Realizing the need for the firm to downsize, Matt reluctantly announces that he’s leaving the partnership.

WHAT’S HOT
FOGGY LESS FOGGY. I greatly enjoyed this more intimate glimpse into Foggy Nelson—his ambition, jealousy, past and present love life. Superheroes are not the only interesting characters in Marvel comics!

WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM…When the political superhero drama is suddenly picked up on live TV, I found it amusing when a random viewer observes, “It’s too early for Agents of SHIELD!” Was that an actual show at that time in the Marvel Universe? Or did he somehow prophetically mean it was 48 years too early for Agents of SHIELD?

BATTLE OF THE THOUGHT BALLOONS. On the last two pages, the soap opera is taken to epic proportions as each member of the Nelson & Murdock LLC office romance says one thing aloud while anxiously wondering what all these quickly unfolding events can possibly mean.

WHAT’S NOT
UNLIKELY #1. The Organizer reasons if the Reform party knocks off their election opponent, their candidate will automatically win. If that were true, I’m sure someone would have tried it already. I’m reminded of the infamous words of the esurance commercial, “That’s not how it works! That’s not how ANY of it works!”

UNLIKELY #2. The police decide the people have a right to witness the meeting between the Frogman and the Organizer, not having any idea what’s likely to happen. Nowadays, TV news will provide coverage of live, unscripted and potentially explosive events, but I’m not aware of any time when law enforcement is willing to take such liberties.

CHILDHOOD TRAUMA REVIVED. The live TV feed interrupts Gunsmoke. Which brings up one of the most distressing moments of my pre-teen years, when my grandparents visited one Monday evening and I was forced to miss an episode of The Monkees as my grandfather commandeered the only TV in the house to watch Gunsmoke. Decades later I realize this was not actually the most devastating thing that could possibly happen to a ten-year-old girl, but to this day, I vividly recall the anger and angst of that evening.

ABANDON SHIP. If Matt has saved up enough money to travel the world, why hasn’t he used it to pay the overdue office rent?

“When it comes to affairs of the heart, I really AM a blind man!”
— Matt Murdock