Tales of Suspense #44

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: Tony Stark heads to Egypt to help an old friend on a dig. Tony tells his friend that he needs Iron Man, who just happens to be in Egypt. Stark heads off and returns as IM. He finds the tomb of Hatap and digs it up. Later that night, Tony Stark is confronted by Hatap. Hatap tells Stark about how he took a serum that let him sleep for 2000 years. And now, he's going to use an amulet to take them to the past so that he can steal the throne from Cleopatra.

They head to the past and Tony slips away and becomes Iron Man. Hatap flees at the sight of Iron Man so IM goes looking for Cleopatra. IM comes across a Roman siege and easily destroys the invading forces. Cleopatra sends for IM and he tells her about Hatap and how he will capture him. Iron Man confronts Hatap and makes short work of his forces.

Hatap tries to return to the present but IM sprays his amulet with oil and he drops it. Hatap dives for the amulet but falls on a sword and kills himself. Cleopatra declares her love for Iron Man as he returns to the present. The issue ends with Tony Stark telling the press that you never know, Cleopatra might have fallen in love with him.

The Ridiculous: Iron Man places wheels on himself and propels himself at Hatap and his enemies to win the day.

My Take: This wasn't a bad little romp. I was dreading reading this from the cover as I typically hate these "hero X goes back in time and meets historical figure y" but this one wasn't so bad. I think the use of magic over science made the story a little better. Past that, this was just Iron Man showing off his powers against overmatched opponents.

My biggest complaint is they made a big deal about his chest plate running low on power early in the issue but it wasn't an issue once he was in the past. He made mention that he had limited power but there seemed to be no real sense of worry that he couldn't recharge while in ancient Egypt. I don't think it was a big deal but it was something that bothered me during the story.

I'm really starting to want to see Iron Man vs. some super villains. The mad scientists, rulers, etc. stuff is fun but it really makes me want to see him going toe to toe with a super powered baddie.

The art was rock solid on this issue. I've really grown to like Don Heck's art style through this project.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of Hatap and Cleopatra. Cleopatra has another appearance in Strange Tales a few years down the road but that's it as far as these two go.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #95

Tales to Astonish #46

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: Ant-Man and Wasp come back from another fruitless patrol. Wasp complains that all the crime has dried up because everyone is afraid of them. Henry suggests they take a vacation and an excited Jan says they should go to Greece. Henry and Jan travel to Greece and start hearing rumors of a monster attacking ships at sea. They eventually hire a boat to investigate.

Henry discovers a species of ant with wings and decides it will come in handy. The Cyclops appears and grabs their ship and heads to the islands. Ant-Man and the Wasp lay low to see what's going on. They discovered several captured sailors and an alien race known as the A-Chiltarians. The aliens are on Earth to test the mental power of humans and the Cyclops is actually a robot used to scare people away from the island.

The aliens have decided that humans are inferior and orders the Cyclops to kill the sailors. Ant-Man and the Wasp split up, due to the Wasp making a rash decision to help the sailors. Ant-Man gets inside of the Cyclops and messes with the internal mechanics until he gains control of the Cyclops with his helmet. This was just in the nick of time because the Cyclops was just about to crush the Wasp and the sailors.

Ant-Man uses the Cyclops to chase the aliens off the planet. Ant-Man then sends the Cyclops to sea to never be seen again. Ant-Man and Wasp return home and Jan says that she can't stand the excitement of another vacation.

The Ridiculous: Ant-Man mentions riding a winged ant like a pegasus.

My Take: This was a fun issue. It felt like they broke the formula up and it worked. I liked the interactions between Henry and Jan, they're starting to play off of each other a lot better. They overcame the challenges in this book in a reasonable manner. I didn't feel like anything really came out of left field, it was a well thought out use of their powers.

The story moved at a really good pace. It felt like the story was constantly moving forward and there weren't many moments of the characters just sitting around planning. I liked how it was kind of set up as a mystery at first with the locals being afraid of a monster. It was more of a natural storyline progression instead of a contrived super hero story. Honestly, I think this issue would hold up well as an old 50s B horror movie or sci-fi movie. It would need to be greatly fleshed out but I think the skeleton of the story for this issue works that well.

The art was really good this issue. Don Heck was the artist and he did a great job. It really felt like the art in this issue was a few steps up from other issues at the time. The characters looked really good and the level of detail to the panels was a welcome change of pace. There was barely any standing in front of nothing going on, there seemed to always be something in the background for each panel.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of the A-Chiltarians, who never appear in another Marvel book ever. The Cyclops robot also never shows up again.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #44