Journey Into Mystery #93

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: The issue starts with Thor thwarting a Chinese attack on a group of Hindu people. The Chinese plot how they can defeat Thor and crush the morale of the West. A man named Chen Lu boasts that all of the Chinese scientists won't rest until they find a way to defeat Thor.

Chen Lu has discovered that if he blasts someone with enough radiation that they will gain superpowers. He doesn't see the need to give such power to another so he tests it on himself. Chen Lu becomes the Radioactive Man and shows his powers to the Chinese government. They send him to America to destroy Thor.

The Radioactive Man arrives in New York and issues his challenge to Thor. Thor arrives shortly afterwards and the battle begins. Thor quickly finds that none of his powers work on the Radioactive Man. RM takes the advantage and hypnotizes Thor. RM has Thor throw his hammer and to his dismay Thor throws it further than he expected. RM leaves the scene and Thor changes back to Don Blake. RM can't find the hammer and confronts Blake about where Thor went. Blake sends him on a wild goose chase.

Blake arrives at his lab and develops a machine to find the hammer. Blake then retrieves the hammer and reappears as Thor. He creates a giant cyclone and tosses the Radioactive Man back to China. The Radioactive Man explodes on impact as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This issue was okay. I like the concept of the Radioactive Man but giving Thor a weakness to radiation is a little silly. It just felt really cliche to have the typical "hero has a weakness and is totally helpless" deal in this book.

The pacing was also really bad. They build up was really great and you wanted to see Thor and the Radioactive Man square off and then you literally got 2 pages of action. I was really hoping for an all out brawl and just got skirmishes. It was frustrating and disappointing.

I do like the idea of Radioactive Man though. He's a cool villain that has powers that writers can get creative with and he's easy to make a threat. I think he's been one of the better villains that Marvel has come up with by this point in it's publishing history.

This month has been pretty Communist heavy as Iron Man was involved with the Communists in the last thing I read. I really don't like it for Thor. Thor battling Communists just seems to not fit the character and the concept at all. Thor should be fighting cosmic threats and super-villains. Iron Man, on the other hand, works better with the Communist threat considering Tony Stark's roll in the world.

The art was pretty good here. Some of these early Thor's have looked absolutely awful but this one was a solid effort. Not that a big green guy is hard to draw or anything.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Radioactive Man. That name is probably best known for the superhero comic that Bart Simpson reads on the Simpson. RM becomes essentially a B villain in the Marvel Universe. He joins the Masters of Evil at one point and gets involved with the Thunderbolts years later.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #109

Tales of Suspense #42

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: Iron Man catches several Communist agents in an FBI sting operation and hears the name the Red Barbarian. A short while later Tony Stark shows off his new disintegrator ray. U.S. officials comment that the Communists would love to get their hands on this new technology.

Meanwhile behind the Iron Curtain, the Red Barbarian is approached by the Actor. The Actor can impersonate anyone that he sees just once and he wants to steal the plans for the Barbarian. The Actor departs for the U.S. and uses his abilities to summon Tony Stark to Washington D.C. for a fake meeting.

The Actor uses the chance to impersonate Tony Stark and gain access to his secret lab. The Actor figures out that Tony Stark is Iron Man while searching for the plans. The Actor finds the plans and leaves behind some Communist agents to assassinate Tony Stark. Stark arrives shortly and the agents attack. Their bullets have no effect because of the chestplate Tony Stark wears. Stark turns out the lights and becomes Iron Man. He grabs the agents and they tell him about the Actor stealing the plans.

Iron Man uses a rocket to get to Russia ahead of the Actor. He captures the Actor while he travels to meet the Red Barbarian. Iron Man then departs and approaches the Red Barbarian pretending to be the Actor. Iron Man hands the Red Barbarian a case and tells him that he needs to wait 4 hours for it to open and then departs.

Iron Man frees the Actor who then runs to the Red Barbarian. The Actor tells the Barbarian his story but the Barbarian thinks the Actor is trying to trick him. The Actor tries to reveal Iron Man's true identity but the Barbarian has him killed before he can communicate the information.

My Take: This was kind of a weird comic. The villains got a ton of screen time and Iron Man actually kind of felt like an afterthought when the issue was all said and done. It kind of felt that the issue was mostly from the perspective of the actor.

This issue was a fun read. It didn't get too bogged down in exposition. The story moved at a fast pace and it was pretty straightforward. The end was also a pleasant surprise as Iron Man used trickery instead of brawn to win the day. And it didn't feel too contrived.

My main complaint is that Tony Stark and Iron Man needed a little more screen time. This is only Iron Man's fourth appearance and he really didn't get much character development in the issue. It felt different from the way the past 2 issues had worked. But that's really a minor complaint from me.

I'd give this **1/2 out of *****.

Notes: The Red Barbarian and the Actor first appear in this issue but I don't think they ever show up in another comic.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #93

Tales to Astonish #44

Cover Date: June 1963

Plot Overview: The issue opens with Henry remembering back to his wife. She was a political prisoner in a foreign country and murdered upon her return. This led Henry to become the Ant-Man.

In the present Henry has decided that he needs a partner. Someone to help him in battle and to carry on his legacy if he were to ever die. He develops specialized cells so that this new person can grow wings and antenna when they're small. Shortly afterwards Henry is approached by Vernon Van Dyne and his daughter Janet. Vernon is playing to use a ray beam to contact other planets and wants Henry's help. Henry declines.

Sometime later Vernon's experiments are successful but the Creature from the Kosmos rides the beam to Earth. He explains that he is a criminal and he has come to conquer the Earth. The Creature uses some weird power that kills Vernon. Janet finds the body and the Ant-Man arrives shortly afterwards. Janet vows revenge on whoever did this and Ant-Man sees in her a potential partner. Ant-Man tells her to contact the FBI and to go to Henry Pym's lab. Ant-Man's ants also act strangely and say they are afraid of this creature.

At the lab, Pym reveals his identity as Ant-Man to Janet and asks if she would like to join. Janet agrees and Henry injects her with the specialized cells. The Creature from the Kosmos begins to rampage in the city and they head off to action. The ants refuse to fight the creature but Wasp tries to attack it head on. She almost looks at the Creature and falls victim to his strange powers but Ant-Man saves the day.

Ant-Man has an idea and they head back to Pym's lab. He realized the creature is made from an acid that is present in ant stingers. He makes an antidote and places the antidote in shotgun shells. With the help of the ants they fire on the Creature until it disappears. Ant-Man and the Wasp have saved the day.

My Take: This seems like a drastic direction shift for the Ant-Man stories. First of all he gets a partner in the Wasp and second, this was the first time that they really tried to develop the character of Henry Pym. They retconned his story quite a bit from his first appearance and tried to make him a more sympathetic character. It was a little hollow if you ask me.

Janet Van Dyne almost immediately falls in love with Henry Pym and it's kind of eye rolling to be honest. They've known each other for roughly 5 minutes and she's making big declarations of love while Pym doesn't want to get involved and scolds her numerous times.

I think this issue shows that Henry Pym's power set really doesn't carry solo stories well. Even with Janet's addition, the book still feels contrived and silly more often than not. To me, this book is easily the weakest of the Marvel lineup at this point.

I'd give this ** out of *****

Notes: This issue has the first appearance of Janet Van Dyne aka the Wasp. It goes without saying that she's been one of the top characters in the Avengers books for a long time.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #42