Rematch with Stilt-Man

Daredevil #27 (April 1967--writer: Stan Lee. artist: Gene Colan) picks up pretty much where the last issue left off and jumps right into the action, avoiding the pacing issues from which the previous issue suffered.

Daredevil is looking for Stilt-Man, pausing to help Spider Man take out some crooks and asking the Webslinger to also keep an eye out for the villain.

It's pretty obvious that Spider Man is in the story to help boost sales for DD's lower selling book. Spidey was the 14th best-seller for that year. DD was a lower--though still respectable--27th. But it's not unreasonable that the two heroes would occasionally run into each other and I do enjoy Spidey's attitude towards Daredevil. He's annoyed that people might think it takes two of them to subdue common thugs. So his appearance doesn't seem forced or contrived.

In the meantime, The Masked Marauder showing off his cool stuff to Stilt-Man. He has a helicoptor equipped with a force field that disintegrates anything touching it. The Marauder knows Daredevil is connected with Murdock and Nelson, so his plan is to kidnap the lawyers and force them to tell what they know.

The villains raid the law office, gassing Matt, Foggy and Karen unconscious and stuffing them in the force-field protected chopper. Threatened with death, Matt reveals that Daredevil is really his twin brother Mike. His supposed cowardice ticks off Karen, but it does send Stilt-Man off on a false trail.

But when Stilt-Man can't find Mike listed in the phone book, he's stumped on what to do next, eventually deciding to rob a jewelry store in hopes of luring Daredevil into the open. But in the Marvel Universe version of New York City, you really can't predict which hero will show up when you commit a crime. Stilt-Man finds himself fighting Spider-Man.

Gene Colan uses the same technique to choreograph this fight as he used in the Daredevil/Stilt-Man fight from the previous issue, shifting perspective from panel to panel to highlight the bad guy's changing height and the hero's agility.

Matt, in the meantime, has managed to knock the Marauder into the force field's Off Button before allowing himself to "fall" out of the chopper. In what might be the most remarkable achievement in his career, he changes into his Daredevil costume while hanging upside-down by his knees from the helicopter.

His ensuing fight with the Marauder is interesting to contrast with the Spidey/Stilt-Man battle. Where Colan used wide shots and shifting perspectives for the earlier fight, here he uses tight shots to highlight the confined space and lack of room to manuever. It's an excellent example of just how skilled an artist he was. Both fights have their own flavor and are exciting in their own ways.

Marauder had re-activated the force field and, to the suprise of pretty much no one, ends up falling out of the chopper and getting disintegrated by his own device. Stilt-Man, in the meantime, has escaped from Spider-Man, but accidentally electricutes himself unconscious by trying to zap Daredevil while standing in water.

This ending is too abrupt. I imagine Stan Lee recognized that a third issue with Stilt-Man probably wasn't a good idea. He's a fun villain, but needs to be presented in small doses or he'll just get too silly. But the story had reached the end of its page count, so poor Stilty had to come to an ignomious end to wrap things up quickly.

But this abruptness doesn't spoil the entertainment that preceded this. The fight scenes are fun and well-choreographed. And it's always worthwhile to see Stilt-Man as long as he doesn't overstay his welcome.

Next week, we'll visit with Tarzan's son Korak.

Stiltman Returns!

I have a real fondness for the second- and third-tier supervillains that populate the Marvel Universe. These are guys who will work their way up to arch-enemy status, but whose occasional appearances can give us a lot of four-color fun.

Stilt-Man is one of these lower-tier villains and he really is a lot of fun. The concept of using extendable hydralic legs to pull off crimes may be inherently silly in real life, but it adds a nice touch of whimsy and visual fun to a Comic Book Universe.

His first appearance was in an early issue of Daredevil, which ended with the villain getting hit by his own shrink ray and vanishing. But the shrink effect eventually wears off and he's ready for another appearance in Daredevil #26 (March 1967). This issue is written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gene Colan.

This issue has a slow and somewhat annoying start, with a few too many pages showing us Matt Murdock play-acting the part of his "twin brother" Mike--a loud, hammy persona that gets on the nerves of both Foggy Nelson and the reader. Matt has a legitimate purpose for creating his make-believe twin--he can claim that Mike is actually Daredevil if he ever needs to do so to protect his own secret identity. But we simply don't need eight pages of the guy before the story gets rolling.

Daredevil had fought another lower-tier villian--Leap-Frog--in the previous issue and now that bad guy is on trial. Foggy is defending him, but the trial is cut short when it turns out that District Attorneys in the Marvel Universe are just as incompetent as the prison wardens in the DC Universe who keep giving Lex Luthor access to the machine shop. Leap-Frog is literally handed one of his spring-loaded shoes while being questioned. He promptly puts it on and springs out a window to freedom.

Well, actually, he doesn't quite make it to freedom. He's no smarter than the D.A. and--since he's only wearing one shoe--breaks a leg on the sidewalk.

There's actually an art mistake by Colan in a couple of panels when he shows L-F wearing springs on both shoes. Oh, well. Even the Masters of the genre aren't perfect. And it's a half-century too late for me to try to claim a No-Prize anyways.

Leap-Frog not only has a broken leg, but he soon finds himself being lectured by Stilt-Man, who was just arriving to rescue him and form a super-villain partnership. In the meantime, Matt has changed into Daredevil and also arrives.

Though this issue is flawed in terms of story construction with its slow start, the ensuing fight scene is a more fun than a barrell full of spring-loaded shoes. Gene Colan effectively uses shifting perspective from one frame to the next to highlight Stilt-Man's changing height and Daredevil's agility as the two go at it. This includes are really fantastic full-page panel about half-way through the fight.

Eventually, Daredevil uses his billy club cable to trip up Stilt-Man and knock the villain unconscious.

I'm not sure if the geography of the next few moments are logical, but apparently Stilt-Man falls into an alley out of sight of Daredevil long enough for yet another villain (the Masked Marauder) to stuff Stilt-Man in a car trunk and make a getaway. The Maraurder has it in for Daredevil, so has plans of his own for a villain partnership.

So there you have it. The first third of the book has pacing issues. "Mike Murdock" was probably supposed to be a fun character, but really just grates on my nerves. But the return of Stilt-Man and a great fight scene manages to save the issue and give us a fun read despite these flaws.

We'll follow up with Stilt-Man in the next issue of Daredevil in two weeks. Next week, we'll open the New Year with a visit with the Space Family Robinson.

Cover Cavalcade

A dynamic Gene Colan cover from 1968.

Matt, Natasha, Foggy, SHIELD and Hydra

Cover art by Gil Kane

Prior to Frank Miller's gritty retooling of Daredevil in the early 1980s, Matt Murdock was a 2nd-tier character. Because of my personal preferences, I'm not usually a fan of gritty retoolings and never regularly bought Daredevil after his life became horrible and unrelentingly tragic.  Also, he stole Kingpin away from Spider Man's Rogue's Gallery. Phooey!

But, to be fair, Daredevil was of uneven quality through the 1960s and 1970s. He had never developed a truly great Rogue's Gallery of his own and the stories were often a little dull. In fact, now that I think about it, I never did collect the title regularly.

Every once in awhile, though, there would be a gem in the rough. Beginning with Daredevil #120 (April 1975), writer Tony Isabella and artist Bob Brown (who co-plotted the story) brought us a very fun four-part action/adventure tale involving secret organizations, killer robots, giant bats, high-tech weaponry and Shea Stadium.

This was during a time in which Matt Murdock and Natasha Romanoff (The Black Widow) were in a romantic relationship and were struggling to figure out how to combine super-heroics with boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. This is made harder by the fact that the Widow absolutely loathes Matt's best friend Foggy Nelson. Foggy, while he was district attorney a few years early, had prosecuted the Widow for a murder she hadn't committed.

All the same, when Hydra agents led by a villain called El Jaguar attack a New Year's party and try to kidnap Foggy, she joins Matt in trying to stop them. Nick Fury shows up with some SHIELD agents as well. The bad guys are forced to retreat and Foggy is safe.

But why does Hydra want to kidnap Foggy? Because they've learned that Nick Fury is about to offer the chubby lawyer a position on SHIELD's board of directors.

Daredevil #121 gives us yet another attempt to snatch Foggy. This time, it involves a full-scale battle outside a Manhattan courthouse, with a Dreadnaught (a killer robot used by Hydra) making things particularly difficult for the good guys.

When the Black Widow is stunned and about to be killed by the Dreadnaught, Foggy sacrifices himself to save her. The issue ends with him in the hands of Hydra.

It's a really effective combination of action and characterization. The story is very well-paced--action set-pieces keep the story exciting, with exposition and character moments expertly seeded between the battles. Natasha now has to face the fact that a man she held in contempt had risked (and perhaps given) his life to save her. This leaves her pretty much obsessed with finding and rescuing him.

Cover Art by Gil Kane

Beating up scores of Hydra agents in DD #122 finally brings Natasha a clue--Hydra is apparently hiding out in a warehouse in Queens. The clue is probably a trap, but there doesn't seem to be any option other than walk into that trap. Daredevil and the Widow do so, getting into tussles with El Jaguar and another villain named Blackwing, who makes pets out of genetically-engineered giant vampire bats. Everyone needs a hobby.

Once again, the fight scenes are effectively choreographed and exciting, with the added twist in that Daredevil is forced to kill (albeit a giant bat rather than a human being) for the first time in his career. But the fight goes badly and the two heroes end the issue unconscious. We also learn that the current head of SHIELD is former crime-boss Silvermane, who was supposedly dead after drinking a Fountain of Youth formula and regressing into nothing back in Spider Man #75. It turns out he just sort of snapped back to an adult age later on. One can legitimately argue this is weak even according to the dictates of Comic Book Logic, but the rest of the story is entertaining enough to leave me in a forgiving mood.



The story concludes in Daredevil #123 (July 1975), with several successive and truly impressive plot twists. DD and the Widow have been taken to Hydra's real secret base underneath Shea Stadium. (How did Hydra build a secret base under a busy stadium that houses both pro baseball and football teams and therefore has no significant time when its not in use? Tony Isabella literally tells us not to ask.) From here, they watch via cameras as SHIELD raids the warehouse in Queens, with the telepathic villain Mentallo making sure they are real and not Life Model Decoys. The warehouse is blown up, killing Nick Fury and other top SHIELD officers.

Except they were LMDs, equipped with "thought tapes" to fool any mind-reader who might be "listening." Also, Daredevil has a tracker in one of his horns, so SHIELD is soon attacking the Shea Stadium base. Foggy gets yet another Crowning Moment of Awesome when he snatches a rifle away from a guard and blasts the chains off DD and the Widow. How Foggy suddenly became an expert marksman is something else I think were not supposed to ask about.


So we get yet another great fight scene, this one involving Daredevil, Black Widow, Widow's friend Ivan and a number of SHIELD agents going up against several super-powered Hydra agents and an army of mooks.

I appreciate the skill with which Isabella and Brown lay out the action, keeping things moving while giving just about every named good guy character a few moments in the limelight. Dum Dum Dugan and Ivan get to do some butt-kickin' along with Matt and Natasha.

Silvermane gets away, but SHIELD is victorious. And Foggy now has some first-hand experience to help him make his decision about whether to join SHIELD.

 There's another interesting thing about this story. Over the past few years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has made Hydra a fairly well-known part of pop culture. They are a major and regular threat in that particular universe. But in this 1975 story, Hydra (though presented as a credible threat to humanity) was a relatively small drop in a large fictional bucket. Tony Isabella felt obligated to provide us with several pages of prose (divided between the first two issues of the story arc) to tell readers what Hydra is and review their history. I think its an indicator of just how large and intricate the Marvel Universe had become by the mid-1970s. After a dozen years of regularly introducing super powered heroes and villains, a secret high-tech terrorist organization that has made repeated attempts to destroy civilization was something we needed to be reminded about.

On the one hand, you can argue that this is why comic book universe should be re-booted from time to time--they otherwise become too large for the average reader to keep track of. On the other hand, the script here does an excellent job of bringing readers up to speed. If you didn't know what Hydra was (or even what SHIELD was), you are given the information you need to still follow and enjoy the story.

To re-boot or not to re-boot? It's a question that will be forever debated.

Cover art by Sal Buscema

 Next week, we return to Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters.

History of the Marvel Universe: April 1968

DAREDEVIL #38

FANTASTIC FOUR #73

Before dealing with this month’s FF adventure, we first gotta jump over the pages of Daredevil for a moment.

Dr. Doom is back and his latest nefarious scheme involves swapping bodies with Daredevil.  But Daredevil turns the tide on Doom by convincing Lavarian officials he’s the real Doom, then declaring war on the rest of the world. This forces Doom to switch their bodies back so he can put a stop to that.

But Doom uses a voice modulator to call Reed and, claiming to be Daredevil, tells him that the real Daredevil is really Doom.

I’ve always felt that the Daredevil stories from these years were often a little weak, but this was a fun and clever story.

That leads us into this month’s Fantastic Four.  Daredevil’s on his way to the Baxter Building to warn our heroes about Doom’s return. But Reed, Ben and Johnnie (Sue is still out of town) are getting ready to meet “Doom” head on when he “attacks.”

Daredevil runs into Spider Man and Spidey had earlier noticed a still de-powered Thor wandering around, so DD now has some allies on his side. The FF, though not completely sure, figure “Spidey” and “Thor” are probably Doombots. What follows are extended fight scenes (DD vs. Reed, Thor vs. Thing, Spidey vs. Torch) until Sue shows up to tell her husband he’s acting like an idiot. She just saw the real Doom holding a televised press conference and booked back to New York to put a stop to the fight.

The whole situation is pure fun. That Daredevil “just happened” to run across Spider Man and Thor is a little contrived, but it’s the sort of thing that happens quite often in a comic book universe.

Also, I do wonder why Spidey and Thor simply assumed DD was telling the truth about being real. Both are aware that stuff like body-swapping technology does exist in the world they inhabit.

But those are minor points. Stan Lee seemed to have gotten into a rhythm for the books he was writing, dropping in a few single-issue stories between extended story arcs. This actually worked quite well and, backed by Jack Kirby’s typically magnificent artwork, he gives us a cool fight scene between characters who would normally be allies.

On top of this, the dialogue between DD and Reed, debating over how the heck someone can prove he’s not a body-swapped imposter (taking place during their fight), was entertaining and interesting.

SPIDER MAN #59

Well, while the Fantastic Four is having its “breather” before jumping into another multi-part epic, Spider Man is getting started with his next multi-part epic. Spidey’s “breather” was his fight-to-the-death against a Spider-Slayer last issue.

Peter finally shows up after being “missing” and supposedly kidnapped by Spider Man. Aunt May perks up immediately upon seeing him. Peter tells the cops what is actually a pretty good story—Spidey had amnesia; saw Peter taking photos; assumed he was an enemy and captured him; got his memory back and let Pete go.  In a comic book universe, it’s a perfectly reasonable story. It’s a nice wrap-up to the amnesia story arc and it brings an end to Aunt May’s latest brush with death (something Stan Lee was leaning on a little bit too often).

It also gives Peter a chance to overhear the cops talking about how a lot of dangerous thugs were getting bailed out of jail. In addition, he meets Captain Stacy for the first time and learns that Stacy has made a special study of Spider Man.

But on with the story. Mary Jane has gotten a job dancing at a new club. But the place is really part of a plot to lure city officials there and brainwash them. When Peter and his friends are there one night, he notices something suspicious and investigates. This leads to the first of many, many, many occasions in which Mary Jane is rescued from certain death by Spider Man.

Spidey eventually fights his way to the back room of the club, where he finds Captain Stacy being brainwashed. The final panel is the big reveal—the Kingpin turns out to be behind the whole thing.

I’m getting to the point where I’m almost wishing John Romita or Jack Kirby would have an off issue. I’m repeating myself so often in abject praise of their art that I’m starting to sound like a broken record.

But Romita, darn him, does do another magnificent job here. Mary Jane looks gorgeous enough to make it completely believable that she’s a hit as a professional dancer and the action sequences flow smoothly and logically, providing perfect support for the plot of the story.

THOR #151

This issue takes only a moment to sum up, because it’s pretty much an all-battle issue. Thor is in New York fighting the Destroyer (animated by Sif’s life force and with her unable to control the robot’s instinct to destroy). Back in Karnilla’s realm, she makes a play for Balder—having the hots for Balder will pretty much be her primary motivation in future stories. But he rejects her. But when Ulik (powered up by enchantments from the troll king) shows up to do her in as part of his plan to re-establish himself as the baddest dude in the Seven Realms, Karnilla and Balder are forced to team up. The issue ends with Thor still facing off against the indestructible robot and Balder facing off against Ulik.

And darn Jack Kirby, too. He continues to make it look awesome, so I’m forced to repeat myself again.

While all this is going on, one of Odin’s wizards reestablishes a video link with Earth. But it turns out all-knowing Odin already knew his son was in a life-and-death fight. He explains his plan all along has been to teach Thor some humility. That’s apparently been accomplished, so he gives Thor his powers back. The Thunder God is still facing off against an opponent more powerful than he is, but it’s not quite the mismatch it had been.

I mentioned recently that I hadn’t read this story arc in years and accused Odin of acting like an idiot—the one major flaw in an otherwise sound plot. But I also realized he might have a secret plan behind it all that’s I’d simply forgotten about.

Well, it turns out that Odin DID have a master plan that I’d forgotten about, but all the same, I’m going to continue to defend my “Odin is an idiot” premise.

The whole trouble is that Thor HAD NOT BEEN ACTING ARROGANT OR FULL OF HIMSELF. He hadn’t. Over and over again, he’s been using his powers intelligently and bravely to defend the Earth, Asgard and those weaker than him. Even when he argued with his dad, it was usually because he wanted to return to Earth to protect a world he loved. Odin was teaching him something he already seemed to know.

Heck, the recent Thor movie (which I thought was flawed, but still enjoyed) handled this aspect of the story better than here. It had Thor initially acting without thought and with over-confident arrogance, making his epiphany about humility and service to others have real impact later on.

Though these past issues have handled epic-level action much better than the movie did, I gotta say that Odin’s actions are very contrived. It simply comes across as random. “Ah, it’s Wednesday. Time to teach my son an unnecessary lesson in humility. On Friday, I’ll teach him how to throw a baseball.”

That’s why I didn’t remember Odin’s motivation. It’s because it didn’t make any sense.

Oh, well, perfect stories are rare. This one still rates a 9.3, with great action, a plot unfolding on several levels at once and some nice character moments for Sif and Balder.

That’s it for April. Next week, I’m going to feature a guest writer’s look at the Justice League of America’s first mission. We’ll return to the Marvel Universe in two weeks, when the Fantastic Four will again face off against a certain planet-eating foe; Gwen Stacy’s dad goes on a crime spree; and Thor has a rematch against his butt-ugliest opponent.

History of the Marvel Universe: March 1966, part 2

STRANGE TALES #142

Mentallo and the Fixer team up, then attack SHIELD HQ. Mentallo can predict everything the defending agents will do, plus mentally detect structural weak points and hidden weapons. The Fixer can then whip out a gadget for dealing with each individual situation.

With all this going for them, they kick SHIELD butt and capture Nick. They then place a mask on Nick that’ll alter his brain waves and make him their mental slaves.

This chapter is a straightforward and exciting action tale. Kirby continues to come up with cool looking gadgetry. But, as I said a few issues back, his stuff here doesn’t look quite as cool as it does in the FF or Thor. Just my impression, of course, but I think Jack was putting a little bit less time and effort into Nick Fury to give him more time to concentrate on the other titles.

Since the SHIELD stories are still excellent (visually as well as structurally), then I’m okay with this. Jack Kirby when he was merely good was still leagues ahead of nearly any other artist.

Dr. Strange, meanwhile, detects the bomb hidden in his Sanctum and tosses it away, but the concussion still knocks him out. He’s captured by Mordo’s minions, who have no idea their boss has been banished to a far dimension by Dormammu.

Strange is locked up in a mask that keeps him from seeing or speaking and a pair of mitten-like gloves that keep him from making magical gestures. (Or any other sort of gesture—though Strange has too much class to just flip off the bad guys anyways.)

In a really nifty action sequence, Strange has to use his ectoplasmic form to awkwardly guide his physical body. He manages to knock out a couple of guards and escape the house he was held in, but his physical body is still nearly helpless and the bad guys are closing in on him.

DAREDEVIL #14

After a couple of cool issues, the Ka-Zar story arc winds down a little bit unsatisfactorily. The art is still fine—John Romita pencils this issue. But the story jumps awkwardly between plot points without any real sense of pacing; the Plunderer adapts a supervillain costume that isn’t as cool as the pirate duds he was using; and Ka-Zar spends the whole issue in jail.

I mean, yes, it’s Daredevil’s book, so it makes sense that he gets to do most of the heroic stuff. But Ka-Zar is pretty darn cool in his own right (8.2 on the Bogart/Karloff scale), so it’s a shame to have him in a story and not have him do ANYTHING. Gee whiz.

But in the end, Daredevil helps the army capture the Plunderer and his gang while Ka-Zar is proved innocent of the murder he was accused of last issue. Matt Murdock heads home for New York, where he can once again get into an awkward love triangle with Foggy and Karen.

And that’ll be it for Daredevil. His will be the first book we drop from these reviews.

Daredevil is an important addition to the Marvel Universe, but in those early years he seems to often be odd man out in terms of getting cool stories. There have been a few high points mixed in up till now, but he will pretty much muddle along for years without ever really being exceptional. Eventually, Frank Miller will make him popular by going all dark and gritty with him. I can’t object to this, because taken on their own merits those stories are of good quality. But, in my opinion, I always thought DD went a little too far down the “dark and gritty” path. Heck, the fact that it led to that awful Ben Affleck movie is proof enough of that. And I refuse to talk about what is eventually done to poor Karen Page. That was just wrong.

But for now, we’re going to leave DD behind to muddle his way through the rest of the 1960s and most of the ‘70s with mildly entertaining but unmemorable stories. He will forever be a great character who never quite seems to find the right voice.

X-MEN #18
Along the course of this issue, we discover that Magneto busted out of the Stranger’s museum planet by salvaging an old space ship (and contemptuously kicking poor Toad out of the hatch before taking off).

Now he’s planning on scanning the DNA of Warren’s parents and using that to grow an army of mutant slaves. That actually kinda makes sense in terms of comic book science. The Worthingtons already gave birth to a mutant, so their genetic make up should produce more mutants.

With most of the X-Men floating into airless space inside a balloon, only the injured Iceman (who was still in the hospital last issue) is around to fight the villain. But Bobby does a pretty good job of holding Magneto at bay while the rest of the team think their way out of their death trap. They then gang up on Magneto until Professor X projects an illusion of the Stranger coming back to re-capture the evil mutant. Magneto pretty much runs away screaming like a little girl. Professor X mind-wipes the Worthingtons so they just remember getting a good night’s sleep (Stan Lee STILL hasn’t worked out the ethics of mental powers, it seems) and everything ends happily.

Which makes this a good place to leave off with the X-Men, I think. Stan will script one more issue, then Roy Thomas will take over. The book will remain solidly entertaining, but it never gets to be a really big seller during the 1960s and early 70s. In fact, if I remember correctly, for some years it will simply be reprinting early stories.

But then, in 1975, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum will introduce a new generation of X-Men and suddenly mutants will be the most popular thing in the Marvel Universe. We’ll eventually look at some of those storylines, as the book (done regularly by Chris Claremont and John Byrne) was quite excellent and the new X-Men were vibrant additions to the Marvel Universe. But eventually, their very popularity will hurt the quality of X-Men stories, with too many different X-titles, Wolverine’s healing power amped up to absurd levels (to the point where he wasn’t cool anymore, just silly) and the angst and tragedy taken too far over the top.

But let’s not end on a downer note. In 1966, the X-Men were pretty cool. In 1975, they’d get even cooler and stay that way for a number of years. That’s not a bad record.

So, as we leave Daredevil and the X-Men behind for now, we look forward to our visits next week with Thor, Namor, Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man.

History of the Marvel Universe: February 1966, Part 2

STRANGE TALES #141

It’s a good thing comic book characters don’t usually know they are comic book characters. The good guys, at least, would probably go nuts knowing that no villain or villainous organization is ever eliminated completely.


SHIELD mops up Hydra in this issue, with the Hydra leader getting offed by his own men before he can press the self-destruct button. But Hydra isn’t gone for good. It’ll be back again. And again. And again….


Anyway, Nick also lets the leader’s daughter escape as thanks for her help. Then, without time to take a breath, he plunges into another adventure. On a trip to SHIELD’s new ESP division, he finds out a former agent with Esper abilities has gone rogue. A lot of this issue also involves an intricate jail break by a criminal inventive genius called the Fixer. The Fixer and the rogue esper (who will take the name Mentallo next issue) will be teaming up for the next story line. It’s a neat paring—the technical guy and the psychic guy. Plus, Jack Kirby really seems to have a ball taking us step-by-step through the Fixer’s prison escape using various gadgets he had built from spare parts. (Note to all wardens: For heaven sake, stop letting super-villains work in the prison machine shop!.)


Off in another dimension, Dormammu is ticked off at Mordo for interfering in the big D’s one-on-one fight against Dr. Strange. So Mordo is banished into the Dimension of Demons (which does not sound like a good thing), while Strange recovers and goads Dormammu into continuing the fight.

Playing on the powerful villain’s ego, Dr. Strange manages to outfight him and win the bout. Dormammu is forced to promise never to endanger Earth. He does get some petty revenge by banishing Clea (who is still unnamed—gee whiz, Stan, give the girl a break) to an unknown dimension.

Strange and the now healthy Ancient One return to Earth. But when Strange gets home, he’s unaware that Mordo’s minions have planted a bomb. He’s got the house rigged to detect magical threats, but something more mundane passes unnoticed. Tick, tick, tick…

This pretty much brings an exciting story arc to an end. It is, in my opinion, the best arc Dr. Strange has ever had—culminating in a multi-issue magical wrestling match that showcases Ditko’s unique and often stunning art style. Stan Lee will be writing just one more issue before passing the reins for this book onto others—most notably Roy Thomas. Dr. Strange will always be a cool character and he’ll still be in some strong stories, but we’ve finished up what I believe to be for him the best of the best.

DAREDEVIL #13

Jack Kirby continues to supply the layouts for John Romita’s pencils as this fast-moving story continues. It’s another case where so much happens, it’s difficult to summarize briefly.

But by the end of the issue, Plunder has captured both Ka-Zar and Daredevil and brought them back to his castle in England. Ka-Zar is his long-lost brother and both of them have half of a medallion. This medallion is of a rare metal discovered by their dad that reflects energy and causes surrounding matter to disintegrate.

It’s unnamed here, but this is (I believe) the first appearance of Vibrinium in the Marvel Universe. It’s something that’s destined to become the Macguffin in countless stories.

Well, everyone pretty much has a chance to fight everyone else before the issue is over. Ka-Zar and DD get loose, but they are pursued both by spies who want the medallion and the local cops (Plunder has accused them of murder). The two heroes are being knocked for a loop by a rifle grenade in the last panel.

The art looks great and, as I mentioned last time, Kirby’s return to the book (along with Romita’s skilled pencils) seems to have reinvigorated the title. This is really exciting stuff.

There’s one some continuity error. At the beginning of the issue, Daredevil has lost his powers due to an explosion while Ka-Zar is out looking for healing herbs. Both men are captured before Ka-Zar can give the herbs to Daredevil. Later, when DD’s powers are returning, he mentally credits the herbs—despite Ka-Zar never having had a chance to give them to him.

Oh, well. It’s hardly a story-wrecking error. But it’s fun to take note of it.

X-MEN #17

Iceman, injured in the fight with the Sentinals, is in a coma. The other X-Men are getting minor injuries patched up when the Angel learns his parents are coming to the school for a visit. He flies back there to meet them, only to be captured by an unseen intruder.

Scott and Xavier head back to the school when they don’t hear from Warren—only to get captured.

Jean and Hank head back to the school when they don’t hear from Scott and the professor—only to get captured. All the prisoners are loaded into a big balloon and turned lose to drift to the upper atmosphere.

The captor turns out to be Magneto. His return is nicely times. There had been a danger of overusing him early in the book’s run, but exiling him to deep space six issues back gave us a needed break. His return is appropriately dramatic and well-handled.

Next week, we’ll see Thor enter HIS best story ever. We’ll also visit, as usual, with Namor, Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America.

History of the Marvel Universe: January 1966, part 2

STRANGE TALES #140

Dormammu sticks Strange, the Ancient One and Mordo in a neutral dimension, then summons the rulers of neighboring dimensions to watch him humiliate his arch enemy in single combat. He also forces Clea (who is still actually unnamed at this point) to watch through a dimensional portal.

What follows is the first half of one of the niftiest battles ever seen between the covers of a comic book. Strange and Dormammu each put “pincers of power” on their wrists—devices that extend out in sort of mystical claws. They then go to town in one-on-one combat. Strange uses judo tactics and pure courage to slowly gain the upper hand. So Mordo, in a panic that his evil master might lose, zaps Strange in the back.

The whole issue is a visual delight, setting up this long serial for a satisfying ending next issue.

Back on Earth, Nick manages to hook up with the SHIELD strike force and—despite a counter-attack by Hydra troopers on motorized skate boards—the good guys defeat the bad guys. In the meantime, Tony Stark pilots the Braino-saur into orbit and disarms the orbital nuke.


Hydra is beaten--or is it? The Hydra leader ends the issue intending to press a self-destruct button, taking out Fury, the SHIELD team and his traitorous daughter.


We see the Hydra boss unmasked for the first time. In previous issues, we had been shown a tyrannical corporate CEO who was presumably Hydra’s leader. But it turns out to be his meek secretary. Not really that surprising a twist, since the CEO practical wore a sign around his neck that said “Red Herring.” But the overall storytelling is pretty strong. The SHIELD vs. Hydra gun battle was certainly intense, with both sides taking losses before the end.

DAREDEVIL #12

Jack Kirby’s return to the title combines with getting Matt out of New York and away from his godawful contrived love triangle to really reinvigorate this title. It’s all the more fun after several weak stories in a row.

Matt takes a cruise, but the ship is attacked by a pirate named the Plunderer. This guy (real name: Percival Plunder) dresses and talks like a traditional pirate and sails what appears to be an old-fashioned schooner. But that little ship is rigged with high-tech options (including the ability to transform into a submarine. Holy Cybertron!) and his crew is equipped with ray guns. He’s clearly nuts, but his crew is too scared of him to raise a stink about a little thing like sanity.

Daredevil gives the pirates a run for their money, but he’s forced to surrender when Plunder threatens to force a passenger to walk the plank. Impressed with Daredevil’s fighting skill, Plunder presses him into his crew, then takes his submersible ship through an underwater tunnel to his secret base in the dinosaur-infested Savage Land.

Once there, the pirates are jumped by Ka-Zar and the saber-tooth tiger Zabu (both introduced a few months back in X-Men). Another tussle ensues in which Daredevil is badly injured. Ka-Zar takes him to a cave, then leaves to find some healing herbs. But the issue ends with Ka-Zar about to be eaten by a carnivorous plant while a savage ape-man stalks the unconscious Daredevil.

Pirates and dinosaurs together. That by itself gives this story a 9.2 on the Bogart/Karloff scale. The whole fast-moving story is simply entertaining.

Of course, those of us familiar with Marvel characters will know that Plunder is also Ka-Zar’s real family name, but readers in 1966 didn’t know that. They’d be finding out in the next issue, though, when Ka-Zar’s origin is revealed.

X-MEN #16


The X-Men try an unsuccessful escape from the Sentinels, Professor X figures out how to jam the signal powering most of the big robots and Professor Trask decides to sacrifice his life to blow up Master Mold and prevent more Sentinels from ever being built.

Of course, there will eventually be more Sentinels built—the idea behind them and their cool visual design guarantee that they’ll become a regular part of the Marvel Universe. But for now, the original Sentinel trilogy comes to a satisfying conclusion. The action flows along smoothly while allowing in a few nice character moments—perhaps the most important being Iceman (the youngest of the X-Men) realizing that he has earned the respect of his teammates.

Next week will bring (among other things) more giant robot action as we visit with Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Prince Namor.

History of the Marvel Universe: December 1965, part 2

STRANGE TALES #139

With the help of Hydra Leader’s estranged daughter and a shirt with high explosives woven into the fabric, Nick blasts out of the cell he’s locked in. He and the girl, both now armed with submachine guns taken from downed guards, begin blasting it out with Hydra troopers.


In the meantime, Tony Stark is putting the finishing touches on his Braino-saur, which turns out to be a rocket-equipped computer able to disarm the Hydra bomb currently in orbit around the Earth.


While all this is going on, Gabe and Dum Dum figure out where the Hydra base is and lead a strike force to attack. But will they arrive in time to save Nick and the girl?


The 12-page tale does a very good job of jumping back and forth between multiple points-of-view without losing track of the story. And we get to see more Kirby-designed gadgetry, though the “mechanical hunter” that Hydra sends after Nick isn’t as cool looking as most of Jack’s visuals usually are. Not that it’s bad. It just manages to leave the impression that maybe Jack wasn’t spending as much time on this book as he is on FF or Thor. Most Kirby machines rate a 9 or 10 on the Bogart/Karloff Pure Coolness Scale™. This one was maybe a 7.


James Bond influences remain apparent. Hydra Leader keeps a panther on a leash next to him pretty much all the time—that’s a touch that would fit the average Bond villain to a tee. And we got a Q-inspired scene a few issues back, in which Nick is shown how his explosive clothing works, that pays off this issue.


Dr. Strange’s story is a particularly good one—the first of several issues that will feature non-stop magical battling. In this one, Strange and Mordo duel. Mordo’s power is still being amped up by Dormammu, but Strange out-fights him, playing off first Mordo’s overconfidence and then his innate cowardice. Finally, Dormammu gets disgusted with Mordo and—as the issue ends—decides to finally take a personal hand in the battle

Ditko’s art is still perfect for the story—presenting bizarre and fascinating visuals to represent the magic spells the two combatants toss at each other. This issue and the next two (which concludes this long story arc) are, in my opinion, the best in Dr. Strange’s canon.

DAREDEVIL #11

The uninteresting story of the Organizer and his attempt to gain political control of New York City is wrapped up as Daredevil exposes the scheme. There is a nicely choreographed fight scene between DD and the Organizer’s minions, but overall the story was awkwardly constructed and predictable.

The issue ends with Matt taking a leave of absence from the law firm. He’s convinced that Foggy and Karen are in love and doesn’t want to come between them. Ah, whatever. It will take Matt on a cruise ship and into a really cool two-part story arc.

X-MEN #15

This is pretty much an all-action issue, though we do get some information via flashback about Hank McCoy’s early life (made fun of because of his appearance, excelling at school academically and athletically, recruited by Professor X).

The X-Men assault the Sentinel HQ. Beast and Iceman are captured in the first attack, but Cyclops, Jean and Angel blast their way in during a second try. Iceman is busted out of his prison while Beast is being mind-probed. The heroes manage to trash a couple of Sentinels, but all are captured (or re-captured, as the case may be). Master Mold, the prototype Sentinel, then tells Dr. Trask to build an army of Sentinels so they can “serve mankind” by conquering it. Boy, is Trask’s face red as he realizes how badly he’s screwed up, but he’s got no choice but to obey Master Mold.

Good solid action that works well as the middle chapter in the Sentinel trilogy.

That’s it for now. We’ll finish December next week with looks at Thor, Hulk, Sub Mariner, Iron Man and Captain America.

History of the Marvel Universe: October 1965, part 3

TALES TO ASTONISH #72

Namor, still on his quest to find Neptune’s trident, manages to defeat the seaweed monster long enough to find the next clue—it turns out he must now travel to the Diamonds of Doom.

Meanwhile, Lady Dorma refuses to marry Krang and gets exiled to the realm of the Faceless Ones. What this means we aren’t yet told, but we are not given the impression that it’s a good thing.

Namor finds out about this--via fish telepathy—a power more commonly associated with Namor’s DC parallel Aquaman. Even though he’d been around for a few years now, Namor’s powers were still in flux. Stan Lee never seemed to remember what Namor could or could not do. Sometimes he could do fish telepathy, sometimes he couldn’t. In later years, he pretty much seemed not to have this power, though he could always summon up a few undersea monsters whenever the plot demanded it of him.

Anyways, Namor can’t take time to save Dorma because Krang will start a world-encompassing war unless he’s defeated. So it’s off to the Diamonds of Doom. The Doom part, he discovers, comes from their ability to suck out the life force of any living thing that comes close to them. Namor realizes this a little too late, giving us this issue’s cliffhanger.

Meanwhile, the Hulk has been teleported by the Leader to the villain’s secret base. Soon after, the army blows up Banner’s mountain lab (thinking the Hulk is still inside), destroying the equipment Banner needs to keep himself from turning human again. (Remember, the bullet in his skull kills him if he turns back into Banner.)

The Leader wants Hulk to work for him, but the two really can’t manage to play nice. To make matters worse, Hulk begins to slowly turn back into Banner while fighting the Leader’s Humanoids. Weakened by this, he falls to a barrage of energy weapons. If the weapons don’t kill him, turning human will.

AVENGERS #21

A mercenary who worked for the late Baron Zemo is still hanging around Zemo’s lab in South America. The Enchantress shows up and uses the same machine that turned Simon Williams into Wonder Man (back in issue #9) to turn the merc into Power Man.

Then she and her new ally begin using magically created illusions and a series of dirty tricks to make it look like the Avengers are destroying property and breaking laws. Eventually, the government issues a court order, forcing them to disband.

The idea of discrediting the Avengers is an old one. Count Neferia tried it just a few issues back. But Enchantress’ plan is a pretty clever one and the circumstances are used to highlight some of the strained relations within the Avengers (most notably between Cap and Hawkeye). That will really come to a head next issue.

DAREDEVIL #10

A criminal known as the Organizer, um, organizes a cadre of criminals respectively known as Cat Man, Frog Man, Bird Man and Ape Man. All have costumes and talents that mimic the animals they dress up as.

They are, to be frank, a pretty silly looking bunch. Only Wally Wood’s effective layouts save the story, in which the bad guys steal from or otherwise attack the political Reform Party (which has recruited Foggy Nelson as their candidate for D.A.). As the issue ends Cat Man has been captured, but the others are still loose and Daredevil has to rescue a kidnap victim who doesn’t really seem to be all that much of a victim. That the villain is secretly making the Reform Party look good to the public is obvious from the start and no surprise when this is revealed in the next issue.

That’s it for October. Before moving on to November, we’ll take a week next time to look at the 1965 annuals. Reed and Sue are goin’ to the chapel and gonna get married; Spider Man has a strange encounter with Dr. Strange; and Thor meets the official Marvel Universe version of Hercules.

History of the Marvel Universe: August 1965, part 3

TALES TO ASTONISH #70

Well, Prince Namor hasn’t yet conquered the surface world, but at least he’s got his own comic. That’s not a bad consolation prize.

The story picks up from the moment we last saw Namor (a few months back in Daredevil #7). He’s returning to Atlantis after learning that Krang has seized his throne.

But when he gets back, Lady Dorma double-crosses him, figuring that if he doesn’t have his throne, maybe he’ll finally give her his love.

This gets Namor captured and tossed in a dungeon. He also found out that Krang has gotten himself a lot of popular support from the people of Atlantis.

Gee whiz, are the people of Atlantis genetically bred to be fickle? It seems every time we see them, they are alternately abandoning Namor, then later taking him back as King.

Dorma has the fickleness gene as well. Guilt-ridden over betraying Namor, she breaks him out of the slammer. He goes on a quest to find the long-lost Neptune’s Trident, which legends say will prove him worthy of the throne. But he soon finds himself trapped in a cave with an angry giant squid.

Stan Lee immediately embraces the serial format for this series and Adam Austin provides some strong artwork. Namor isn’t always the most likable guy in the world, but his strong personality does make him an effective protagonist.


Meanwhile, Banner is still suffering from a bullet to the head. Rick Jones steals his body and takes it to Banner’s secret lab, using the equipment there to turn him into the Hulk.

This saves Banner’s life, but he’s now stuck in Hulk form, unable to revert to Banner without dying. But he also now has Banner’s brain, so he’s able to whip up a chemical formula that will prevent him from reverting to human form.

The Leader, meanwhile, is having a bad day, since the Absorbatron was destroyed in the last issue. So he comes up with a plan to build a super weapon of his own, use it to destroy an American base, sell it to the Russians, then use the money he gets to fund his own plans for world conquest. Gee whiz, being a super villain can get complicated sometimes.

His super weapon is a Godzilla-sized humanoid. General Ross sends several volleys of missiles at the big guy, but these are ineffective. Hulk joins in the fight, not knowing that Ross is about to launch a “Sunday Punch” missile that will disintegrate what ever it hits.

Stan and Jack continue to keep the pace of their serial storytelling here at something just over the speed of light. I love it.

This, though, is the last issue with Kirby doing the full art work. He’ll still provide layouts for some time to come, but other artists will be doing the penciling. The overall quality of the art will remain high, though different artists popping up every few issues will sometimes make it seem like Bruce, Betty and others are having plastic surgery done between issues.

AVENGERS #19

The Swordsman—an adventurer with a bad rep (and, it turns out, Hawkeye’s mentor from his carnival days)—shows up to demand membership in the Avengers, but gets into a fight with them instead. He gets away, now determined to destroy the team. He lures Captain America into a trap, capturing the shield-slinger and holding him hostage on a girder of a half-constructed building, threatening to do away with him unless he’s made leader of the Avengers.

The Swordsman is a good character—like Hawkeye, initially a bad guy who will one day redeem himself and become a real hero. But his plans and motivations in this initial appearance aren’t clearly defined. Also, Stan Lee depends a bit too much on coincidence (most of it involving Cap’s misplaced letter to Nick Fury, asking for a job) for the issue to be truly satisfying.

Still, the action is well-handled and, as I said, the Swordsman has potential. He’ll even start to have a noble thought or two next issue.

There’s still a lot of squabbling going on between Cap and his new teammates, but there’s a point to it all. Personal conflicts between the team members will come to a head in a few more issues. In the meantime, the arguments ironically highlight the fact that they are indeed a team—fighting together effectively despite personal feelings.

DAREDEVIL #9

Karen (who’s secretly in love with Matt but doesn’t dare tell him) arranges for Matt (who’s secretly in love with Karen but doesn’t dare tell her) to travel to the small country of Litchenbad and see an eye specialist. Foggy (who is secretly in love with Karen but doesn’t dare tell her) hopes Matt doesn’t come back because he senses Karen is secretly in love with him (Matt), but he (Foggy) hates himself for feeling this way about his best friend.

Got all that? I wish I didn’t. Stan Lee, who handles romantic woes with humor and humanity in Spider Man and managed to build a real sense of romance between Sue and Reed in Fantastic Four, continues to stumble over cloying attempts to introduce a love story in other books.

But the action bits are still good, with Wally Wood still providing some excellent visuals. Litchenbad turns out to be a dictatorship ruled by a madman, who uses robot knights to subdue the populace. Daredevil manages to help get a rebellion started and, in the climatic battle, the dictator falls to his death.

There is one bit of really interesting characterization. Matt is actually scared at the idea of having his eyesight restored, because he doesn’t know if he’ll keep his super senses if that happens. That’s a neat little insight into Daredevil’s psyche.

Well, that’s it for August. In September, Ben continues to fight against the rest of the FF; Peter Parker graduates from high school; SHIELD fights a skirmish against Hydra; Dr. Strange visits yet another strange dimension; Thor encounters an old enemy; Iron Man encounters a new enemy; Bucky gets captured by a mad scientist; Namor fights an angry patch of seaweed; the Avengers continue to fight the Swordsman; and the X-Men continue to fight Juggernaut.