Update

I'm in the process of moving this blog over to my own domain at Mighty Marvel Reader. So it might be a little wonky for a few days. The traffic to this blog has been increasing rapidly over the last couple of months and I decided it was time to move to my own domain. So be patient, there might be some back and forth as I get it working properly.

Marvel Tales #1

Cover Date: January 1964

My Take: I promised Spider-Man this time but I decided to go with the first issue of the second volume of Marvel Tales that came out in the same month. This is a series that ran reprints on an annual and eventually became a monthly title that reprinted Amazing Spider-Man comics. It actually ran for a really long time as it came to a close when I was collecting.

I had a fondness for this series as it was reprinting issues of Spider-Man from the 80s when it was at an all time high. This was one of my favorite books and I was sad when it was cancelled around issue 300.

This book was a brilliant idea on Marvel parts as it reprints the original stories of Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Sgt. Fury and it throws in the second appearance of Ant-Man. It also features Iron Man building his current armor. I imagine that the books were starting to get more popular at the time and this was a good way to show newer readers the origins of the various characters.

I'm not going to rate this issue as it's just reprints of material I've covered previously. But here's the links to the issues reprinted:

Amazing Fantasy #15
Incredible Hulk #1
Tales to Astonish #35
Tales to Astonish #49
Tales of Suspense #39
Tales of Suspense #48
Journey Into Mystery #83

Tales of Suspense #49

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: Angel is flying back to Xavier's school when he comes across Iron Man. Iron Man tries to warn him about an upcoming nuclear blast but doesn't make it in time. The blast catches Angel and turns him evil. Iron Man tries to catch up to the Angel as he flies off but his thrusters run out of power. Iron Man saves himself from the brunt of the fall with his repeller but suffers some damage. He sets about repairing the damage to his armor.

The Angel returns to the school and quits the X-Men. He says he'll be joining the evil Mutants and then escapes when the other X-Men try to restrain him. Professor X returns and mentally tries to talk sense into the departed Angel. After failing to reach Angel, X begins to doubt his mission.

The X-Men decide to call for the Avengers and Iron Man is the only one to answer. He heads out to find the Angel. Meanwhile, the Angel steals some TNT and sets it off above town to try and draw attention to himself. The police are aiming to shoot him down but Iron Man convinces him to wait. Iron Man chases the Angel through one of his hangers and tries to trap him in there. The Angel outsmarts him and tries to lock him in. Iron Man easily escapes and decides he has one chance to try and turn the Angel good again.

Iron Man grabs Angel and flies really high into the air until his thrusters give out. He begins to fall to the earth and the Angel snaps out of it and saves him at the last minute. Iron Man and the Angel return to the Xavier School and they thank Iron Man for helping the Angel. As Iron Man leaves, Professor X mentally tells him that he'll repay this act one day.

The Watcher appears in a backup and tells a tale of an alien race that follows the progress of mankind. They begin to worry that humans may one day rival them. But the humans discover nuclear power and the Cold War begins. The aliens relax and figure the humans will destroy themselves. The tale ends with the Watcher warning humanity to not let this alien race take over the galaxy.

My Take: This issue was a rough one to get through. For starters the dialogue was really bad. I mean, brutally bad. I know they had to show Angel was evil but he probably said "evil mutants" 20 times in an 18 page story. Having him say Magneto instead would have been a lot better and not so fake sounding. Also, when the nuclear blast he had an awful inner monologue that I'm adding a picture of here.

On top of the poor dialogue, Iron Man's plan to make Angel a good guy again was asinine on multiple levels. For starters, what if the Angel wasn't strong enough to stop his fall. Iron Man is a guy in a suit of armor and Angel is a mutant with wings that can fly. There's no indication that he had the strength to pull that off. And what if it hadn't snapped Angel out of it. Iron Man didn't have a plan B to save himself. It just wasn't a well conceived idea.

On top of those problems. There was a typo as they refer to Tony Stark as Anthony Blake early in the issue. There might have been another one but I don't recall it now. Not a huge deal, just thought I would point it out.

The art was good though. The Iron Man armor looked better than in the last issue. It seemed more refined and just overall better designed. As I said last issue, this newer armor will prevent some of the wonky contortions that some artists had him doing in the old tank armor. I think that will be a giant plus in the long run.

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

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #8

Avengers #3

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: The Avengers decide that the Hulk can't be left to roam freely. Iron Man unveils one of Tony Stark's inventions, an image projector. He uses the image projector to visit the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the X-Men. The FF and X-Men are too busy with their own affairs and Spider-Man was just Spider-Man about it. The Avengers remember Rick Jones and decide to contact him.  Jones sets out and finds the Hulk in New Mexico. He contacts the Avengers and they all head to New Mexico in their unique ways.

Iron Man is the first there and gets ambushed by the Hulk. The Hulk uses the needles of a cactus as deadly projectiles. Iron Man blocks the attack but the needles cause some problems for Giant-Man, ant sized at the moment, and the Wasp. They head to a nearby ant hill and use the ants to cause the ground to collapse to try and catch the Hulk. The Hulk avoids the trap and takes to the air as he continues to battle Iron Man. Iron Man uses his magnetic repulsers to spin the Hulk until Thor arrives.  The Hulk tries to flee and hitches a ride on a nearby train. He fends off the Avengers before using flour in the smoke stack of the train. He uses the resulting confusion to escape from the Avengers.

The Hulk hides in a truck load of gravel and then takes to the ocean after it gets dumped. He gets picked up by a ship and is pretty worn out. Meanwhile, Namor has been watching the Hulk the entire time. When the Hulk decides to leave the boat and head to a secluded island he is greeted by Namor. They have a short battle where Namor gets the upper hand in the water. Afterwards, they decide to team up to get their revenge upon humanity. They head off to begin their conquest while planning to destroy each other afterwards.

The Avengers are challenged to battle them at Gibralter. They arrive on the scene and Namor fires an old WWII cannon at them. Iron Man repels the shell and Namor uses a pellet with emery dust to disable Iron Man. Giant-Man and the Wasp find oxygen equipment and set about cleaning Iron Man up while Thor keeps Namor and the Hulk busy with his Hammer. Namor and the Hulk make a temporary retreat.

The battle continues on and just as things are starting to look good for Namor and the Hulk, the Hulk reverts back to Bruce Banner. Banner flees from the scene of the battle. The Avengers easily capture the abandoned Namor as he grows weaker without water. Namor manages to crack a wall and the water revives him. He makes his escape and  Thor says that he's earned his escape today. The issue ends promising us some big surprises for the next issue.

My Take: I wanted to start this issue off by saying the Avengers really came off like jerks in the first part of the story They were essentially telling the Hulk he was a menace to society that shouldn't be allowed to roam free and then getting mad that he didn't want to reason things out with them. Yes, because antagonizing someone is a great way to get them to see your point of view!

Iron Man also makes a mental note that no one knows that he's really Tony Stark about 3 times in this issue. It was overkill and I think I literally rolled my eyes the last time it randomly was mentioned in this issue. We get it, you're Tony Stark and no one knows! With all of that hand wringing on his part, he makes a slip of the tongue early on in the issue. He goes on at length about Tony Stark's image projector and then after using it he calls it HIS image projector. No one really reacted so I think that was more of a writing error than anything else.

These first 10 issues of Avengers are burned into my brain from being a teenager. I was lucky enough to get about 4 of the Marvel Masterworks when I was a teenager and this was one of them. I remember not liking this issue much from those days. As an adult, it wasn't so bad. There were a lot of interesting aspects to this issue. For starters, everyone in the Marvel Universe showed up in this issue. The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and X-Men all made appearances here. They all blew Iron Man off, Reed picked an experiment over fighting the Hulk, and that was really interesting. You would expect for all the heroes to jump at the chance to fight a bad guy. But they all kind of shrugged it off as an Avengers issue and weren't terribly interested. It humanizes the Marvel characters in a very negative way. All of the characters have depth and it really shows that the Marvel heroes don't march to the same drum.

It's also really interesting to see how this book slides into continuity. I think a book like the Justice League of America ran away from trying to fit in with the heroes solo books but Stan Lee seems to really embrace it. The heroes costume changes appear in the Avengers even the same month that it happens. It mentions the upcoming Iron Man issue from the same month. And Stan Lee makes a point of reminding you when you last saw a character. The universe is really small right now but it's incredible to see the care that Stan is taking to fit it all together.

The art was really good in this issue. The Hulk looked great and there was some really good action going on in this issue. Most of the issue was just an all out brawl with the Avengers vs. the Hulk and the Avengers vs. Namor and the Hulk. Jack Kirby also did a good job of refining the look of the new Iron Man armor in this issue. It looked a little wonky and crappy in Tales of Suspense #48 but it looked better in this issue.

I give this issue *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first meeting of Hulk and Namor. Their relationship will be important in the 70s as they become two of the main members of the non-team the Defenders. Their relationship keeps a very similar dynamic to this issue throughout those issues.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #49

Tales to Astonish #51

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: Giant-Man continues to train at capturing the top. After another failure he admits that he can't catch the Human Top but he can't give up. Meanwhile, the Human Top blows up an abandoned tug boat with the dynamite we saw at the end of Tales to Astonish #50. He plans to use this as a distraction from his real crime.

Giant-Man and Wasp arrive on the scene and they see the Human Top fleeing from his real crime. Giant-Man gives chase and is no closer to catching the Top than before. This time, Giant-Man tries some misdirection and actually catches the Top. The Top spins at almost top speed and manages to get away. The Wasp has the police hit the Top with water from a fire hydrant. This slows him down but he manages to recover before the Wasp can get to him.

Giant-Man says that he's made a mistake in trying to match speed with the Top. He needs to try a different approach. The Top stole defense plans from the Federal Building but they happen to be out of date. The authorities know who he's going to hand the plans over to. Giant-Man captures those people and heads off to meet the Top in disguise.

Giant-Man reveals himself at the exchange and the chase is on again. The Top runs away and learns that the city has been fenced in. Giant-Man waits for the Top to wear out a bit and then pounces on him. Giant-Man finishes him off with a punch. As the Top is being taken away, he reveals to the Wasp that he put glue on his gloves to get a better grip on him.

In a short backup, the Wasp tells a group of disabled veterans a science fiction story. It's a mostly forgettable tale about Rack Morgan. He breaks all the rules and ends up being killed by an alien because he ignored the rules about landing on an alien planet.

My Take: Really fun issue this time out. It was really similar to last issue but I think avoided the pitfalls. Giant-Man didn't seem like as much of a clumsy oaf this time, just overmatched. This also felt like a more straight up superhero story and not a specialized story because he was the size of an ant. They also downplayed the Wasp's attraction to Giant-Man a little. She still made her comments and he was still annoyed but they didn't dominate the story.

Giant-Man and Wasp work better as a combo. With his ability to grow larger, you can get some more standard stories out of it. They don't have to come up with ridiculous things for an ant sized person to do on a monthly basis anymore. The Human Top is silly but he's a better villain than we've seen in the entire run of Tales to Astonish so far. I'm still not eager to read the book when it comes around but I do think it's gotten better.

I can't put my finger on it but this issue just read a little better in general. It didn't feel like we were having Hank and Jan's powers explained to us again. It felt like we picked up right where the last issue left off and went right into the action. Things weren't over explained. It was just about Giant-Man trying to catch the Top. It felt like a nice fast paced story and I was shocked when I got to the last page of the story.

Jack Kirby drew this issue so the art was again top notch. I really like the Giant-Man costume in it's current form. It's just a cool costume with the red and blue. The Human Top was also really well done. He was always spinning in the book but if you really looked at him you could see he was keeping the form of a speed skater. It was a really cool art effect in this book.

I give this *** out of *****.

Notes: Giant-Man is swarmed by his fan club at one point in this issue and one of the fans refers to him as high pockets. The Wasp later adopts that nickname for him.

Next Issue: Avengers #3

Fantastic Four #22

Cover Date: January 1964

Plot Overview: An experiment of Reed's increases Sue's invisibility powers. Now she can create a shield and make other objects invisible. Meanwhile, the FF field numerous complaints from neighbors about the dangers of Reed's experiments. Reed decides that maybe he should experiment in a more secluded area. As luck would have it, there's an ad for an island for sale.

Reed and the FF take off to check out the island in the U-Car. The island is concealed by a barrier reef so the Torch burns a path through for them. The island is quite creepy but Reed thinks it will work for his purposes.

Suddenly, the U-Car begins to sink. The Torch tries to see what's going on but the steam caused from his flames puts him out. Reed makes the save and is critical of how careless Johnny was. They spot a mysterious figure watching them and chase him to a nearby cave. They fall into a trap. They're in a ring surrounded by a radioactive wall.

They come face to face with the Mole Man. The Mole Man reveals that he's planning to pull the cities of New York and Moscow under the ground. The Americans and Russians will blame each other and start a nuclear war. The FF spring into action but the Mole Man captures each of them in specially made prison cells.

They each use their powers to escape their prisons in the nick of time. The battle continues and the Mole Man escapes with the trigger to sink the cities. Reed let's him go and herds the other members of the FF to the found U-Car. The other members doubt his motives but as they escape the whole island sinks. Reed reveals that he rewired the trigger and New York and Moscow are safe.

My Take: I have mixed feelings on this issue. The first half of the book had some good energy with the antics of the various FF members.The art also was really good in this issue. The characters really had a lot of personality. I might have missed it in a previous issue but this felt like a big jump in the quality of the art. It's like Jack Kirby decided to try a more detailed approach in this issue.

The second half of the issue, I didn't like as much. The Mole Man capturing them in various prisons. I've felt like they've used that plot device several times and it feels kind of tired. The second he captured them, it felt like the air just went out of the story. I would rather they just had more straight up battles in this book. The gimmicks are just tiring at times.

Reed was also kind of a jerk in this issue. He was very short with the other members of the team during the mission. That seems different for him but I could be glossing over some instances in previous issues. Reed being a little grumpy is a little more characterization than he's shown in previous issues though. I would prefer they dial it back a little from this issue but I think it makes him a little more interesting.

Overall, I'm just going to say it was an average and forgettable issue. There were some character things I liked and I laughed at a few of the moments earlier. I also like that Sue has a broader range of powers now and she can do more than sneak up on the bad guys. It will be nice to see her be more useful in more situations. Outside of that, I didn't like how the fight with the Mole Man went. I'm just going to cut the difference on this one.

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

Notes: The Thing utters his catchphrase "It's Clobberin' Time" for the very first time in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #51

1963: A Year In Review

1963 was a big year at Marvel comics. You could tell as the year started to progress that the superhero line had been successful and they were here to stay. Coming into the year you had Fantastic Four, Tales to Astonish, Incredible Hulk, Journey Into Mystery and Strange Tales as your Marvel line. At the end of 1963 you have Fantastic Four, Tales to Astonish, Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales, Amazing Spider-Man, Tales of  Suspense, Avengers and X-Men. As you can see the line exploded quite a bit.

The Incredible Hulk fell victim to cancellation in the early part of the year. It wasn't a surprise in hindsight though. Reading those 6 issues, you could just see that they didn't know what to do with the Hulk early on. It seemed like every issue they were taking a different approach to how the character worked. He returned after about a 6 month absence in Avengers #1. They seemed to have a much better grasp on the character with his return. It's more like the character that everyone knows and loves today.

The shared universe really came into being in 1963. The Hulk arrived to battle the Thing in Fantastic Four #12 and that kicked off a year of the heroes and villains appearing in each other's books. Granted, the majority of the books are Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four crossing over. The shared universe also hit critical mass when the Avengers formed. Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man, Wasp and Thor formed the Avengers to defeat Loki when the Fantastic Four were out of town. By the last issue of 1963 you really feel like these characters exist in the same world.

Speaking of Spider-Man, his book hit in 1963 and it seems to have taken the world by storm. It went monthly after just a few months and you can see them really pushing the character. He's easily the second most popular character behind the Fantastic Four at this point in the Marvel history.

To end this article. I thought I would just do a list of some of the big first appearances for the year of 1963:

Iron Man
Wasp
X-Men
Dr. Strange
Magneto
Super Skrull
Mad Thinker and Awesome Android
Vulture
Doctor Octopus
Sandman
Lizard
Watcher

Strange Tales #115

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: Reed Richards calls the Torch in for a job. The Sandman has broken out of prison since being captured in Amazing Spider-Man #4. Reed wants the Torch to go and find Spider-Man since he has the most experience with him. This bothers the Torch and he decides to try and take down the Sandman on his own.

The Torch finds the Sandman on the George Washington bridge. The Sandman isn't interested in fighting the Torch and jumps off the side of the bridge. The Sandman actually hid under the bridge with his sand powers. This slight makes the Torch want to take down the Sandman even more.

Later, Spider-Man calls out to the Sandman with a bullhorn and challenges him to a fight. Later, the Sandman finds Spider-Man and ambushes him. Spider-Man yells Flame On and it's really the Human Torch. The Sandman doesn't think the Torch stands a chance against him and ducks into an elevator shaft.

The Sandman's plan is to wear out the Torch's flames and then finish him off. The Torch chases the Sandman through the building before realizing that his flame is starting to get weak. He creates a big flame to try and subdue the Sandman. The Sandman just smiles because sand doesn't burn. The flames turn on the sprinkler system in the building and it puts out the Torch's flames. It also turns the Sandman to mud. Johnny Storm uses all the fighting lessons from the Thing and Reed Richards and a little left over flame to get the best of the Sandman.

The real Spider-Man rushes to the scene to save the Torch and finds the police hauling the Sandman away. He comments that the city might not be big enough for both of them one day.

In Doctor Strange we get his origin story. He was a surgeon that was blinded by his own pride. One day he was in a car accident and it robbed him of his ability to perform surgery. He sought the Ancient One for healing but the Ancient One refused. He senses some good in Strange and offers to teach him. Strange refuses and goes to leave but a snow storm has trapped him at the Ancient One's home. Strange is introduced to Baron Mordo. During his stay, he figures out that Mordo is trying to kill his master. Mordo casts a spell on Strange to prevent him from warning the Ancient One. Strange works around it and asks to become the Ancient One's pupil. He is accepted and the Ancient One removes the spells placed by Mordo. The Ancient One reveals that he knows of Mordo's plans but keeps Mordo where he can control him. He tells Strange that it will one day be his job to battle Mordo.

My Take: The Human Torch story was really good. It furthered the dynamic between Spider-Man and the Torch nicely. I really liked the continuity as Reed and the Torch were discussing Spider-Man's battle with the Sandman as happening a couple of months ago. The way the Torch beat up on the Sandman at the end was a little silly but it was kind of fun at the same time.

I've said it a few times, I wasn't looking forward to reading the Human Torch stories but they've ended up being a fun read every month. The villains are silly more often than not but the Torch has been a really fun character on his own every month. I actually don't have a lot to say about the Torch story this time out. It was just a good quality read with good art. It was the kind of story that makes you want to pick up another issue and read it.

I give the Human Torch story ***1/2 out of *****.

The Dr. Strange story added some good depth to the character. You get to see that he wasn't a good person for the majority of his life and he's serving a sort of penance for his pride. It established a really good backstory for his universe. You understand his relationships with Baron Mordo and the Ancient One now. Iit kind of makes me wish they did a longer origin story so we could see him actually training. Again, this was a good quality read with good art in it.

I give the Dr. Strange story *** out of *****.

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #22

Journey Into Mystery #99

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: Thor heads off to Asgard in front of an astonished crowd. One member of the crowd isn't as impressed and that's Mr. Hyde. He plans to get revenge on Don Blake. Hyde thinks back to when he was Calvin Zabo. He tried to get a job with Blake, and rob him but Blake had heard of him. Zabo vowed revenge. He then researched and discovered the Hyde serum and became Mister Hyde.

Meanwhile, Thor again petitions Odin again to allow him to marry Jane Foster. Odin again denies his pleas because an immortal can not marry a mortal. Thor then asks for Odin to make Jane an immortal. Odin initially denies the idea but changes his mind and says that he would consider it if she proved herself worthy.

A hopeful Thor returns to Blake's office just as Mr. Hyde breaks in. Thor becomes Blake just as Hyde breaks in. Blake goes for his walking stick and Hyde throws him out of the window. Blake manages to tap his stick on the side of the building and once again becomes Thor. Thor returns to the office and finds Hyde gone. He tells Jane that he saved Blake and she thanks him.

The papers report that Blake was saved by Thor and this enrages Mr. Hyde. Hyde robs a bank disguised as Thor and the authorities start planning to capture Thor as the issue comes to an end. The end of the issue promises a face off between Thor and Mister Hyde in issue 100.

In the backup, Odin defeats the Trolls and then Surtur. Surtur's defeat creates the moon and Odin creates the rotation of the Earth to keep Surtur trapped in the core. Surtur sends Odin a winged horse as a gift to try and get released from the core of the Earth as the story comes to a close.

My Take: I enjoyed the Thor story quite a bit. There was no battle but it did a really good job of making you want to see Thor and Mister Hyde duke it out. It's also interesting to note that Marvel hadn't done any 2 part stories in the anthology books and did one in Tales to Astonish #50 and this issue this month. I hope it leads to some bigger stories being told and a greater sense of continuity.

It's interesting to note that Thor has been trying to convince Odin to allow him to marry Jane Foster. It's added some good tension between the two characters. Jane also is returning the feelings of Don Blake and now there's a chance they could be together. Jane will get a chance at some point to prove her worth but who knows if she'll be successful or not.

I usually don't mention much about the Asgard backup but they've been a fun little side story. It's a nice bit of history to read every month and those stories are always interesting. The writing style is also a little different. It's trying to mimic more of a mythology feel and I think it's largely successful at that.

I'm looking forward to the fight between Mister Hyde and Thor. Foes with great strength have been a little more rare as opponents for Thor. I'm hoping for a big huge issue long brawl in #100. It could be one of the better fights that Marvel has had in a book thus far.

The art was surprisingly good in this issue. Don Heck brought his A game this issue and it looked great. Mister Hyde was ugly and sinister looking. You really got a creepy feeling everytime you saw him and that's the perfect way to approach him. Heck can be a little hit and miss on these issues but he really hit the ball out of the park on this one.

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

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of Mister Hyde. Mister Hyde later becomes a member of the Masters of Evil and plays a big role in one of the more memorable Avengers tales ever told. He's a solid C list villain who's had some big moments in the Marvel Universe. He will continue to be a factor, though minor most of the time, until the current stuff.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #115

Amazing Spider-Man #7

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: The issue begins with a recap of Spider-Man defeating the Vulture back in Amazing Spider-Man #2. The scene shifts to the Vulture in prison where he's become a model prisoner. He sneaks parts out of the machine shop and builds a makeshift flight suit to escape prison.

Peter Parker is playing volleyball at school when he hears a radio bulletin about the Vulture's escape. He fakes a headache to be excused from class. Peter sneaks home and becomes Spider-Man. Meanwhile the Vulture is flying through town in his new suit. He evades a police helicopter and robs a jewelry store. He then flies low over the crowd so the police won't fire on him.

The Vulture spots Spider-Man and decides to trick him. He's fixed the flaw in his suit and Spider-Man's device will no longer short out his suit. He approaches Spider-Man and then pretends to fall when Spider-Man uses his device. The Vulture then ambushes him and pummels him in mid air. Spider-Man falls onto a roof and the Vulture thinks that he's dead and flies off.

Spider-Man gets up and realizes that he's sprained his arm really badly. He tells Aunt May that he sprained it in a volley ball game to cover up his Spider-Man activities. Meanwhile, the victorious Vulture plans to rob the payoll from the Daily Bugle.

Peter Parker is trying to sell some pictures of the Vulture when the Vulture breaks in and holds up JJJ for money. JJJ pleads with the Vulture not to take the money as Peter slips off to become Spider-Man. He uses his webbing to secure his injured arm and wonders if he can beat the Vulture with one hand. Spider-Man chases the Vulture through the offices of the Bugle while the Vulture tries to find an open window.

He finally manages to escape and Spider-Man lets the Vulture grab him. The Vulture threatens to drop Spider-Man and gloats about his victory. At that moment, Spider-Man webs up his wings and then creates a parachute that brings him safely to the ground. Spider-Man stops in at the Bugle and JJJ says he's holding Spider-Man accountable for the damages. Spider-Man webs his mouth shut before becoming Peter Parker again.

Parker finds Betty Brant in the ruined offices and they share some quality time together as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Really good issue this time out for Amazing Spider-Man. They really allowed the Vulture to show some personality as a villain. It was still your typical generic villain fare but he had some motivation throughout the story and his reactions to JJJ's pleadings at the Bugle were really well done. The end chase scene was really good and had some nice suspense to it. Injuring Spider-Man and then making him deal with it was a really novel idea to me for this issue. It's another example of Spider-Man winning when he has no business winning.

This was a really fun story from start to finish. You have the usual Peter Parker stuff on top of one of his classic super villains. I was at page 18 and I was stunned that the book was done already. That's a rarity for even good Silver Age stories at times. You also got a little development with the Peter Parker/Betty Brant relationship. They've been teasing it for a few issues and it feels like it will actually move towards them being an item. I like seeing some progression with the characters vs. some of the other books that Marvel is putting out right now.

The art on this was pretty good as usual. My only real complaint here is that the Vulture looked a little wonky at times. That's pretty normal for Vulture art though. Aside from that, I thought the art was really good on this issue. Peter Parker's art really had a lot of personality in this issue. He seemed like less of a generic nerd this time around. The other characters seemed to have a more refined look to them as well.

I give this **** out of *****.

Notes: There was nothing of note in this issue.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #99

Tales of Suspense #48

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: One of Stark's associates back out of a deal and Tony decides to drive out to Charleton Carter's estate to find out why he's decided to no longer do business with him. Stark arrives and sees Carter being terrorized through a window.

Stark becomes Iron Man and enters the room. He comes face to face with Mister Doll. Mister Doll's powers seem to revolve around a sort of voodoo doll that he can shape to look like people. He shapes the doll to look like Iron Man and starts to cause pain. Iron Man tries to flee the scene and falls over a railing into the water. Mister Doll assumes that Iron Man has died.

Iron Man pulls himself out of the water but his chest plate is almost out of power. He manages to get back to his lab and hooked up to the power before passing out. He's awoken the next day by Pepper Potts calling him. Meanwhile, Mister Doll has forced Carter to sign over his business and he now plans to go after Tony Stark.

Tony Stark has become frustrated with the bulk of his current suit and decides to design a new one. He creates the more familiar red and gold armor of Iron Man. This suit features magnets which help him put it on faster. In general, it's got the same or more power but is lighter and more flexible.

The police decide to protect Stark from Mister Doll. Stark is displeased by this because he wants to track down Mister Doll as Iron Man. Stark tricks the guard into thinking he wants to ask Pepper out on a date and the guard allows them to go into a different room. Stark thanks Pepper for her help and tells her, to her disappointment, to keep acting like she's in love with him.

Iron Man relieves the guards just in time for Mister Doll to arrive. Doll again makes Iron Man suffer through the use of the doll. He decides that he's subdued Iron Man and changes his doll to look like Tony Stark. Iron Man now has a problem. If he registers any pain, Mister Doll will know his true identity. Iron Man struggles to not show any reaction and Mister Doll takes his disinterest as a sign of weakness. He decides to send Iron Man away until he has further use of him.

Iron Man locks himself in the lab and struggles with all the pain. He decides that he must temporarily disable his chest plate. This will numb his nerves and block out the pain so he can build a counter to the voodoo doll. Stark works quickly and finishes his device just in time.

Iron Man confronts Mister Doll again and uses his new transistor ray to shape the doll into the shape of Mister Doll. Mister Doll drops the doll out of fear for hurting himself and is incapacitated. Iron Man turns him over to the police.

A short time later, Happy and Tony realize they left Pepper locked in that room. They go let her out, needless to say, she is not happy about it.

My Take: I'm a little sad to see the tank style Iron Mam armor make it's exit so soon. I love the clunky old style look to it. But it does make way for the more iconic red and gold Iron Man armor. Tony will be sporting a version of this armor well into the 70s.

This issue was a pretty fun read despite Mister Doll being a lame villain. We just had the Puppetmaster in FF and he's pretty much the same character. Mister Doll wasn't that important to the story. I think the new armor was the big deal in this issue and I liked how they handled that. They did a good job of showing off the new features of the armor and Tony did a really good job of explaining why the old armor needed to go.

Despite my love of the old armor, the new armor will be better from an art stand point. There were exactly two artists that understood how to draw the tank armor and that was Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Everyone else that drew the armor had him doing weird contortionist moves. I consider it a welcome upgrade for the future art of Iron Man appearances.

The art was decent in this issue. Mister Doll was a stupid looking villain and the new armor needs a little work. But those are really my only complaints about it. The art looked pretty good other than those two things.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of Mister Doll. I had to look him up and it appears he's just a footnote in Marvel history with a handful of appearances. This book is also the first appearance of the Mark III Iron Man armor. As I said earlier, this suit undergoes some revisions but it's one of the iconic armors for Iron Man.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #7

Tales to Astonish #50

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: David Cannon has the ability to spin his body at an incredible rate of speed. He uses this for petty crimes as a youngster until the police finally catch him. He then learns to become an ice skater and rigs races to get payoffs from gambling syndicates. Cannon decides to go into business for himself and becomes the Human Top.

Hank Pym reads of the exploits of the Human Top but decides that it's beneath him. He summons the Wasp and the ants communicate that the Human Top is planning to rob Danly's Department Store. The Wasp scolds Pym for getting too big a head and ignoring the Top. Pym agrees.

Meanwhile, the Top is working as an ice skater and mocks how little he makes at it. He dons the costume of the Human Top and prepares to rob Danly's Department Store.

Hank and Jan take jobs at the Department Store so that they can stop the robbery. The Top steals the payroll and makes his escape. Giant-Man and the Wasp leap into action. Giant-Man chases the Top but he's too slow and clumsy to capture him. Giant-Man eventually has his ants chew the pavement and knocks the Top off balance. This isn't enough as the Top regains his footing before Giant-Man can capture him. The Top disappears into the sub-way system and the papers report about the Human Top's victory.

The Top basks in his victory but decides he has to finish Giant-Man off once and for all. Meanwhile, Giant-Man has been putting himself through all sorts of tests and drills to try and increase his speed and agility. He even takes a chemical compound to help. He has the Wasp control a robotic top and he almost catches it. Giant-Man is feeling confident in his abilities but the Wasp is worried. She doesn't have the heart to tell him that she was only running the top at half speed and that he doesn't have a chance against the real Top. The issue ends with the Top carrying dynamite and it's to be continued until Tales to Astonish #51.

My Take: I saw the cover to this one and I was dreading it to a large degree. This seemed like one of those issues that was going to have an absolutely ridiculous villain and he was to a degree. But I thought the execution wasn't really that bad. The Human Top really just outran Giant-Man and got away with the stolen money. Not a bad little story and it was nice to see them give the Top a pretty fleshed out origin story.

My only problem was Giant-Man seemed needlessly clumsy in this issue. He was running into signs and things like that. Granted, this is only his third appearance as Giant-Man, it just seemed to come out of nowhere a bit. In fairness, his other two appearances were stories where brute force were all that mattered. So I guess this would have been his first real attempt at having to be quick on his feet.

This issue shows the wisdom of switching to the Giant-Man persona. You couldn't have told this story with Ant-Man. The Top presented problems that were uniquely difficult for Giant-Man and the Wasp to overcome. It will be interesting to see how they manage to defeat the Human Top in the next issue.

The dynamic between Hank and Jan is what it is. Jan is crazy about Hank and Hank is put off by her obvious signs of affection towards him. He was a little more playful with her in this issue and that was a nice thing to see. I wish that they would push their relationship forward a little bit. They don't need to be a couple, I just want to see Hank reciprocate a little more than he currently does.

Jack Kirby was on art duties this time and I think the quality shows in this issue. The action scenes with Giant-Man trying to capture the Top were really good and felt fluid. It really felt like Giant-Man was this big awkward oaf and the Top could run circles around him with ease. The Human Top's outfit was pretty ridiculous but more often than not the costumes are going to be bad. It comes with the territory right now.

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

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Human Top. He would later go on and become the more well known Whirlwind. Whirlwind is a very well known C list villain. He joins the Masters of Evil at one point and he's an antagonist to Giant-Man, Wasp, Iron Man and the Avengers more than a few times. He also appeared in several of the Marvel cartoons and the arcade game Captain America and the Avengers. So while he's not a huge mover and shaker in the Marvel Universe, he's a very well known character.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #48

Fantastic Four #21

Cover Date: December 1963

Plot Overview: The Thing shakes the Baxter Building with his new punching bag which brings the other members of the FF  to his room. The thing is upset over the Hate-Monger causing trouble around the country. The other members agree that he is a troublemaker but they can't do much about him.

The  FF hit the strees and come across the Hate-Monger giving a speech. He incites a riot and the FF leap into action. The Hate-Monger decides to test out his Hate-Ray on the FF. They immediately turn on each other and begin fighting among themselves. They call it quits as a team and head in separate directions.

Reed returns to the Baxter Building and finds that Nick Fury is fighting with the lobby staff about seeing Reed. They know each other from World War II. Nick Fury reveals that he's now a colonial and a member of the CIA. He needs the FF's help with a rebellion in San Gusto. Reed says that he can handle it himself and takes off in the pogo plane. The other members of the FF see this and get upset that Reed took the pogo plane. Fury goads them into going to San Gusto as well and they take off in one of the FF's rockets.

The Hate-Monger watches all of this and heads back to San Gusto with his men. Meanwhile, Reed disarms several groups of rebels and stumbles upon the Hate-Mongers hideout. He gets paralyzed by nerve gas and captured by the Hate-Monger's men. The Hate-Monger's plan is simple. He's going to use the Hate-Ray on the entire world and turn everyone against everyone.

Just then Nick Fury hits the scene and forces the Hate-Monger to give Reed the antidote at gunpoint. The Hate-Monger manages to escape but Reed has the antidote. He tricks the other members of the FF into taking the antidote and the team is back together again.

The FF hit the scene just as Nick Fury ran out of ammunition. The Hate-Monger decides to blast the Human Torch with a stronger dose of the H-Ray but Sue knocks his aim off. The H-Ray accidentally hits two of his men and they shoot the Hate-Monger for bringing the FF down on him. Fury decides to unmask the Hate-Monger revealing Adolf Hitler. Fury isn't sure if it was the real Hitler of a duplicate. The issue ends with the FF saying that the Hate-Monger can never truly be defeated as long as men have hatred in their hearts.

My Take: This was a very interesting issue. Stan Lee very lightly touched on some social issues in the beginning with the Hate-Monger preaching hatred of immigrants. It was quickly forgotten when the FF turned on each other but it was interesting to see it pop up in a comic book. The Golden Age Superman dealt with a lot of the issues of his era but that kind of storytelling seemed to fade as the Comics Code came into being.

Reed Richards went solo for a good deal of the book and I liked that. It was nice to see him flex his muscles a bit. I've felt he doesn't get the same screen time that the Thing or Torch get so this was refreshing to see. Ii found the H-Ray to be a little lame but the cover of the issue gave that away. It's the Silver Age, you have to take the kooky with everything else.

I liked the reveal of the Hate-Monger as Adolf Hitler. He would have been a much older man but they played him off as probably being a clone. It was a nice surprise in the grand scheme of things and it showed that Lee was thinking outside of the box a little bit. I also thought that Nick Fury added a nice change of pace as a guest-star. He feels different from the other characters running around the Marvel Universe at this time.

The art was solid on this issue. The story was pretty down to earth though so there wasn't anything super memorable. The Hate-Monger didn't look bad as a villain. The quasi-KKK outfit was an interesting choice. I would actually be interested in seeing if there are any Stan Lee interviews about this issue or character. It made me wonder if there were specific events that lead to this issue or if it was Lee trying to be socially relevant at the time.

I give this *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue has the first appearance of the Hate-Monger. He's a solid C list villain that bothers mostly Captain America over the years. Several different guys take up the cowl but I think he's mostly gone by the 1980s. This book also features the first current timeline appearance of Nick Fury. He had previously been starring in the WWII war book Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos. This was a very different version of Fury to the one that people know today. He didn't have the eye patch for starters and he's with the CIA instead of SHIELD. I'm not sure when the more familiar version of Fury shows up or if we get to see how he loses his eye. I'm interested to see how he develops as the 60s progress.

Next Issue: Tales to Astonish #50

X-Men #2

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Professor X has called the X-Men to a meeting. The X-Men take various paths to arrive at the school. Beast climbs buildings and catches a ride on a train. Angel gets swarmed by a mob of girls and Marvel Girl uses her powers to bail him out. Strangely enough they refer to them as teleportation powers not telekinesis powers. Marvel Girl overextends herself with this act and Angel picks her up and flies her back. Cyclops and Iceman see a wall start to fall on a bunch of workers and Cyclops destroys the wall with his optic blast. The workers thank Cyclops and Iceman for saving them before they finally hitch a ride in an ice cream truck back.

Professor X has a mission for the X-Men. A potential mutant by the name of the Vanisher is a new menace to mankind. Professor X mentally shows them images of the Vanisher robbing a bank and then disappearing before the security could stop him. Professor X says that the X-Men will need special training and takes them to the danger room. He puts the X-Men through some rigorous challenges to prepare them for what might await them.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., the Vanisher warns members of the Pentagon that he plans to return and steal defense plans. Xavier's contact, Fred Duncan, informs Xavier of the Vanisher's plans and asks for the X-Men's help. The X-Men take off for D.C. at once and arrive just in time. The Vanisher has stolen the plans and has appeared right before them. Beast grabs the plans but the Vanisher easily regains them. Cyclops blasts the plans out of his hand and Marvel Girl grabs the plans with her telekinesis powers. She reveals that she's a mutant as well and the Vanisher uses knock out gas on her to retrieve the plans. Iceman freezes his hands together and the Vanisher disappears before Iceman can hit him with an ice fist.

The X-Men sulk over their defeat and Iceman and Angel get into a fight afterwards. Professor X puts a stop to the fight and says that he'll be joining them for their next confrontation with the Vanisher. The Vanisher has demanded 10 million dollars from the government or he'll turn the plans over to the Communists.

The X-Men square off with the Vanisher and his gang of hoodlums in front of the White House. Professor X comes forward and mindwipes the Vanisher. He now has no idea of who he is or the fact that he has mutant powers. His gang realize their meal ticket has been taken out and attack the X-Men. The X-Men jump into action and make short work of the gang of hoods. The issue closes with Professor X saying that the greatest power in the world is the power of the human brain.

My Take: As with issue 1, I had read this when I was a teenager in a Marvel Masterworks collection. I was dreading this issue as I remember it being a fairly boring read and I was pleasantly surprised again by this issue. It was a really quick and fluid read and it does a really good job of establishing the characters and their powers in this book.

Lee really let the characters show off their abilities again. Just answering Xavier's call let Lee spend a little time with each character and how they would transport themselves in any given situation. The same with the danger room tests. Iceman is really the only character that didn't get to show off a lot this issue. Perhaps they felt he didn't need as much explaining to do. Lee is also doing a good job of letting the characters show some personality in each issue. You can pick out a moment for everyone in this book.

The ending was kind of a surprise. The Professor just wipes out the Vanisher's mind and that's that with his criminal career. It's interesting to see the different mentality today vs. back then. Such tactics would be frowned upon by, well everyone. This kind of thing was the subject of a DC crossover called Identity Crisis and the fallout wasn't pretty. And a recent issue of New Avengers saw this subject come up, but there hasn't been any real ramifications to that. I'm assuming it won't be pretty when it all hits the fan though.

The Vanisher's costume was really bad. I'm not sure what they were going for with it honestly. He just looked like a deranged bird more often than not. I also took issue with how the X-Men approached him the first time. If Cyclops can blast the defense plans out of his hands then why not just blast the Vanisher? Seems like it would have saved everyone a bit of trouble and he would've just dropped the defense plans anyway.

Aside from the awful costume for the Vanisher the art looked pretty good in this issue. The X-Men are all really distinct and snowman Iceman is a favorite look of mine. The action and movement in this issue also looked really good. But it's Jack Kirby and his stuff always looks good.

I give this issue **1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Vanisher. He's really kind of a footnote in history kind of villain. Some meager appearances throughout the years. He does later become a bigger deal as he survives the depowering of the mutants and becomes one of the main transportation options for the more militarized X-Men during the Utopia days. So he still has his place 50 years later even if it's a very small one. This issue also features the first appearance of Fred Duncan. He'll be a Professor X contact throughout the 60s.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #21

Strange Tales #114

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Johnny's friends interrupt a Torch training session to tell him that Captain America will be appearing at the Glenville antique car show. Johnny is excited because he used to read comic books about Cap when he was younger.

Two men steal a car at the show and Johnny becomes the Human Torch. Also, Captain America jumps into action. Together they capture the crooks but Cap tells the Torch that he didn't need his help and flings mud at him. They begin to argue before the Torch takes off and Cap gets the credit for capturing the crooks.

Later, Johnny is upset about the situation while his girlfriend Doris Evans moons over Cap. This upsets the Torch and he accidentally Flames On. Doris chases him out of the house and the Torch goes on a sort of patrol.

Meanwhile, Cap breaks the two crooks out of jail and tells them to raise a real fuss. They take off in a car and eventually get captured by the Human Torch. They reveal that Cap was using them as a distraction so that he could rob the Glenville Bank.

The Torch arrives on the scene and Cap tries to escape in a rocket. The Torch destroys the rocket and Cap manages to escape with a parachute. Cap heads to a sporting goods store and uses a mop to put out the Torch's flames. He then handcuffs Johnny and makes his exit. A janitor helps dry off Johnny and he becomes the Torch to continue the chase.Cap manages to trap the Torch in an asbestos lined truck.

The Torch manages to escape the truck by using his heat to blow the truck apart. Cap is out of options at this point and surrenders to the Torch. The Torch unmasks to reveal the Acrobat. The Torch turns over the Acrobat to the authorities and then heads home. Johnny wonders what happened to the real Cap as his story comes to a close. The editor mentions that this was a test run for Captain America and asks the reader to reply if they want to see a return of the real Captain America.

Dr. Strange is called by a Sir. Clive Bentley. Bentley asks for the help of Strange and he agrees. Bentley reveals that he is indeed Baron Mordo. Strange arrives at the house and Mordo captures him with a special candle. The Ancient One offers to free Strange but he says that he must free himself to show that he has mastered the art of sorcery. Strange reaches out and lures a Victoria Bentley to the scene. She frees Strange and Mordo reappears. He says that Victoria has latent magical powers and tries to dominate the will of Strange so that he will kill her. Strange reveals that it was just a mental projection of himself and that he has just arrived on the scene. Strange and Mordo have a great battle on the astral plane and Mordo eventually flees. Victoria wants to learn the mystic arts but Strange says she must wait until Mordo is no longer a threat. The issue ends with the Ancient One telling Strange that Mordo is still stronger than he is.

My Take: The Human Torch story was really fun. I think the story had a nice little twist at the end even though it was obvious that it wasn't the real Captain America. The fight between Cap and the Torch was really fun. The Torch really made his life harder than it had to be in this issue. If he would've just stopped and thought a little more he probably could have beaten the Acrobat in a much easier fashion.

Johnny Storm is still hanging out with the stick in the mud Doris Evans. I guess he's just a sucker for punishment. I wish that Sue got a little more screen time in these books. I think it would be interesting if they explored the brother-sister dynamic with the Storm family in this book more.

I think it's interesting that they used this issue as a barometer to see if the readers wanted to see Captain America back. He had previously failed in the brief 50s return so I guess they were a little gun shy about bringing him back a second time. At this point, 2 years in, I think it's obvious the super heroes have been really successful for Marvel so it's a little surprising that they wouldn't just bring him back. There's about a 4 month gap between this test run and Avengers #4 so the feedback must have been quick and very positive.

The Dr. Strange story was okay but you can't really do much with a 5 page story. They seem to be trying to figure out the character still as well.

The art for both stories was pretty good. They brought in Jack Kirby to draw Cap which was a really nice touch. Cap looked good in this issue and the action looked really great. This was a really well drawn issue. Even the Dr. Strange story was well done.

I give this issue *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of Victoria Bentley. She's a minor footnote in Marvel history. This issue is more important for a quasi-return of Captain America. This issue usually gets mentioned in any sort of early Silver Age history of Marvel. The Captain America in this story ends up being an imposter but this was a test run to see if they were going to bring the real Cap back.

Next Issue: X-Men #2

Journey Into Mystery #98

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Thor trashes the office of Don Blake out of rage over his situation with Jane Foster as the issue opens. Odin calls Thor to Asgard and advises that Thor forget the mortal Jane Foster and Thor says that is not possible. Blake decides to travel to distant lands after his visit to Asgard.

Meanwhile in India, a Professor Shecktor and his assistant Klaus Voorhees are working on a cure for all snake bites. Klaus decides he wants the credit for the discovery. He devises a plan where he'll allow a cobra to bite both of them and then use the cure on only himself.

Blake happens to choose India and overhears the locals discussing the fact that his old teacher Professor Shecktor is dying from a snake bite. Blake becomes Thor and finds the dying Professor. The Professor tells him what happens and warns that the cobra was radioactive. His assistant now has the powers of a cobra and is now a threat to the world. Thor leaves the Professor vowing to destroy the Cobra.

Back in New York, the Cobra attacks a chemical lab so that he can create more creatures like himself. Thor arrives on the scene and the Cobra has some gadgets that he uses on Thor. Thor dodges the poison tip darts and the poison gas has little effect but the Cobra traps him with an unbreakable line. Thor drops the Hammer and tricks the Cobra into throwing him out the window before he turns in Blake. The much smaller Blake escapes the rope and enters the building as the Cobra exits to find Thor. Blake once again becomes Thor and confronts the Cobra. The Cobra opens a valve and unleashes a chemical and uses the confusion to escape Thor.

The Cobra breaks into the office of Dr. Andrews' and his new assistant Jane Foster. The Cobra threatens to kill them unless they hand over the chemicals he wants. Andrews complies and Jane realizes what a coward he is. She sees Thor flying by and throws a beaker through the window to draw his attention. Thor enters the office and the Cobra takes Jane hostage. He'll hurt Jane unless Thor lets him escape.

Thor allows the Cobra to escape and sneaks around the building. He catches the Cobra by surprise and manages to save Jane. The Cobra escapes and Thor says that he'll deal with the Cobra in the future. Jane decides to leave Dr. Andrews and asks Don Blake for her job back. Blake thinks that maybe Odin took pity on him and brought her back to him. The issue closes with the Cobra recovering on the shore of a river.

The back up tale details how Odin defeated Ymir and the Frost Giants.

My Take: This issue really was a ridiculous mess. A radioactive cobra bite? Really? I know Marvel used radiation a lot in the 60s because that was popular in sci-fi at the time but this one really takes the cake. First of all, this was a rip off of Spider-Man's origin. And second, the guy didn't even really show cobra powers. He said he had the cunning of a cobra with the smarts of a human being. The rest of his "powers" were devices that he created that imitated snake powers.

This issue was a tough read. The writing seemed really clunky compared to some of the other books that came out in this time frame. The idea behind the Cobra was really ridiculous and I found it hard to understand why Thor would struggle with such a C lister. Seriously, a battle between the Cobra and Thor should be over pretty quickly. The Cobra was notable for dodging the Hammer but that doesn't seem like the biggest deal. Thor has powers beyond that.

This issue really felt like those early issues of Fantastic Four. Just super clunky reads where it feels like you're crawling through mountains of text to explain the situations going on in the book. It felt like it took forever to read this book and that's a bad thing when you're reading a 13 page story.

I did like the character growth of Jane Foster in this issue. She realized that Don Blake has flaws and may not be perfect but deep down he has a certain fortitude that maybe she was taking for granted. In that regard, I will be interested to see how that effects future issues of Journey Into Mystery in regards to her character.

The artists on Thor has been a revolving door lately. Don Heck took up the duties for this issue and it was okay. I liked the Kirby and Sinnott more than Heck as their styles seemed to fit the book a lot better. Heck didn't do a bad job here though.

I give this *1/2 out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Cobra. He eventually joins the Serpent Society and becomes a foe for the Avengers. He's a minor villain throughout the 60s and into the 70s.

Next Issue: Strange Tales #114

Amazing Spider-Man #6

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: A creature named the Lizard chases men out if his swamp and tells them to stay out. Meanwhile, in New York, Spider-Man grabs a copy of the Bugle to see that he's being challenged to face off with the Lizard. He decides to try and get JJJ to send him to Florida as Peter Parker. JJJ of course declines. He doesn't believe that the Lizard actually exists.

Peter decides to head to the museum to try and learn more about reptiles. Liz Allan and Flash Thompson are also there. Peter realizes that two men have stolen something from the museum and sneaks off to become Spider-Man. He returns to find that the men have taken Liz Allan hostage. Spider-Man saves the day and Liz instantly falls for the masked hero.

Spider-Man decides to take a different approach to JJJ and visits in person. He webs JJJ to the ceiling and tells him he accepts his challenge. He's heading to Florida and JJJ better send a photographer. JJJ sends for Parker and tells him that they are going to Florida. Peter is not amused by having JJJ tag along but he figures he'll just have to make the best of it.

They arrive in Florida and Peter tells JJJ that he'll meet up with him later. Peter dons the Spider-Man suit and quickly encounters the Lizard. The Lizard ambushes him and pulls him under water. Spider-Man throws mud in his face to escape. Spider-Man quickly realizes that the Lizard isn't a guy in a suit and then tries to grab his tail. The Lizard flings Spider-Man far away from the battle.

Spider-Man realizes that he's close to the house of reptile expert Curt Conners and finds his wife Martha crying. She explains that her husband is the Lizard. He lost his arm in the war and decided to try and derive a serum for reptiles to try and regrow his arm. The experiment was initially successful but Curt eventually changed into the Lizard. He loses his humanity the longer he exists as the Lizard.

Martha's son Billy is being chase by the Lizard and Spider-Man makes the save. He punches the Lizard and almost breaks his hand in the process. Martha calls out for Billy and it causes the Lizard to flee the scene. Spider-Man asks for Curt's notes on the serum and begins to develop an antidote. Just as Spider-Man finds success, the Lizard storms the house. The battle is quick as the Lizard throws an oak desk on Spider-Man and then leaves thinking he has killed his opponent.

Spider-Man sets out in search of the Lizard and finds him gathering crocodiles near an old abandoned tower. The Lizard is planning to use the serum to make a race of super intelligent reptiles. Part of the tower crumples and the Lizard sees Spider-Man. The coming battle pretty much sees Spider-Man trying to avoid the Lizard and distracting him with web. Spider-Man also has to contend with the crocodiles and eventually locks himself in a tower with the Lizard. He manages to get the Lizard to swallow the antidote. The Lizard catches Spider-Man with his tail and has him beaten before finally reverting back to Curt Conners.

Spider-Man returns Curt safely to his family before becoming Peter Parker again. Parker meets up with JJJ and hands him pictures of the Lizard. JJJ thinks Parker has been scammed and won't buy the pictures. He also complains that he didn't get any Spider-Man pictures. They head back to New York with JJJ still mad at Parker. At home, Peter decides to call Liz Allan for a date. She says that he only has eyes for Spider-Man now. Peter thinks that's a real kick in the pants as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Great issue here. Spider-Man was absolutely no match for the Lizard in this issue and it made this a really memorable comic. He tried going toe to toe with the Lizard the first few times and it was a disaster. He finally decided to just avoid the Lizard and get the antidote in his mouth. I love it when the hero has to use strategy and out think the bad guy like this. I think this issue really showcased what the Spider-Man character is all about. Spider-Man is an underdog through and through and this was a perfect example of that. He had no business beating the Lizard and yet he managed to pull it off with determination and brainpower.

This read a lot like a monster movie from the 50s and 60s. A giant lizard creature in a swamp, terrorizing the public. I think this was a well executed storyline. It had almost no Silver Age cheese to it either. I think this story could actually work in modern times with some rewriting. The characterization is really good in this issue and it felt like a Spider-Man comic. This issue also featured a ton of action. Spider-Man and the Lizard had about 4 different battles in this book. 3 of those fights were really short but the final fight was about 4-5 pages at the end. You could feel the desperation from Spider-Man during the last battle and it was a very memorable fight.

I've said it a few times in these reviews but it's amazing how quickly they figured out Spider-Man. There were virtually zero hiccups in the process of getting the character off the ground. And his rogues gallery has just exploded from the beginning. This is issue 6 and we've been introduced to Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, the Sandman, Lizard and Chameleon. Those are all villains that continue to play a part in the Spider-Man mythos up to the modern era.

As always, the art is top notch in this issue. The Lizard looked awesome in this issue and the fight scene was really good. Steve Ditko always brings his A game on the Spider-Man title. I think Spider-Man probably features my favorite art from the Silver Age.

I give this **** out of *****.

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Lizard and the Conner family. The Lizard is one of Spider-Man's biggest foes over the years. You honestly don't get much bigger as far as Spider-Man villains go than the Lizard. He was the featured villain of the latest movie and he's appeared in several of the animated series. As far as Spider-Man villains go, he's probably one of my favorite. There's just something special about a Lizard story to me. He's a foe that Spider-Man can't really stand toe to toe with in a good story and he has to outsmart him. He's a good villain to showcase the underdog nature of the Spider-Man character.

Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #98

Tales of Suspense #47

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: A government test ends when the tanks fall apart. Upon inspection it's revealed that the parts were greatly weakened. Meanwhile Stark is attacked from behind at one of his plants by the Melter.

The Melter reveals that he was a competitor of Tony Stark named Bruno Horgan. Stark outed him for using inferior parts and he lost all of his government contracts. Horgan of course vowed revenge. Some time later, Horgan discovers a beam that can melt iron and decides to use it for evil. The Melter now plans to sabotage Tony Stark at every turn to ruin him.

Happy Hogan finds Stark and helps him back to his office. Stark makes some excuse so he can sneak off and recharge his chest plate. Meanwhile, the Melter is still in the plant and begins to melt one of Stark's generators. Stark sees the alarm and becomes Iron Man.

Iron Man hits the scene and the Melter immediately melts one of Iron Man's arms. Iron Man flees the scene and uses some of his magnets to burst a few steam pipes. The Melter is forced to retreat from the scene. Iron Man returns to being Tony Stark and orders the generator repaired. Stark realizes that he can't confront the Melter again and begins to think of ways to beat him.

The government summons Stark to Washington DC and threaten to pull his contracts if he doesn't get the mistakes under control. They don't believe his story about the Melter and give him one last chance. Stark then gets called away to his Long Island factory on an emergency.

The melted iron has completely covered the generator and it's going to take even longer to repair the generator. Stark says he'll send in Iron Man to help with the repairs. Stark becomes Iron Man and starts to repair the generator.

The Melter appears again and melts a mass of pipes that Iron Man has lifted over his head. Iron Man escapes the molten iron and the Melter then tries to melt him. No effect. The Melter is taken aback by this and starts flailing for anything that might help him beat Iron Man. He melts a crane holding a boulder and Iron Man is forced to save Pepper and Hogan from being crushed. The Melter flees and Iron Man corners him in part of the factory. The Melter tries to melt the floor under Iron Man but he just turns on his transistor jets. Iron Man tears a panel of floor up and knocks the Melter off balance. The Melter decides to dive into the sewers and risk drowning over being captured by Iron Man.

Iron Man is frustrated by the fact that the Melter escaped and he doesn't know if he's dead or alive. He becomes Tony Stark again and the reader learns that he used an aluminum suit to thwart the Melter's ray. He orders everyone to get back to work as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: Really fun issue this time around. The Melter was a fun villain with your usual cliche origin story. He worked well in this story and it was nice to see Tony Stark being forced to think of a solution to his problems in this issue. I'm happy that Iron Man has been getting a steady stream of super villains and not just beating up on thugs and dictators. Marvel has been doing a really good job with the more recent issues of introducing super villains for the heroes to fight.

My biggest problem with this issue is that he came from the same template as Tales of Suspense #46. It had the same story with the government threatening to pull his government contracts due to some sort of sabotage. I don't think he's been named yet in the comics but Harrington Byrd seems to exist solely to threaten and question Stark every issue. This isn't a deal breaker by any means, it just felt like I was reading a really similar story to what I read last time. But that's comics for you.

Steve Ditko came on art for this issue and it really looked good. The Melter had a decent look and the Iron Man armor looked awesome in this issue. Ditko probably made Iron Man look better and more realistic to anything that's been done with him before, just a tremendous job on art.

I give this *** out of *****.

Notes: This issue features the first appearance of the Melter. I have a hard time framing the Melter in a context of what tier he should be in. He's essentially a C list villain but he's also been a part of some important moments in Marvel History. He was a founding member of the Masters of Evil and he was a semi important Iron Man rogue for awhile at least. As I said before, I have a hard time really placing him in that sort of context.

Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #6

Avengers #2

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Thor and Hulk argue until Giant-Man and the Wasp arrive to start their meeting. Meanwhile, the Space Phantom lands from outer space. He plans to defeat the Avengers so the other Space Phantoms can invade and take over the Earth. He's been observing the  Avengers for awhile and knows that they're meeting in Tony Stark's mansion.

The Phantom switches places with a guy on the street, casting him into limbo, and walks into the mansion. The Avengers are watching the intruder from a tv and the Hulk decides to go confront him. The Phantom switches places with the Hulk and then starts a fight with Iron Man. The Hulk is in a certain limbo while the Phantom has his form. The Phantom escapes the mansion and meets up with Rick Jones.

Rick Jones quickly figures out that this isn't the real Hulk and the Phantom decides to brag about his plans and reveals himself to Rick. The Hulk reappears but disappears again as the Phantom takes on his form again. The Phantom goes to a Stark plant and destroys a special missile project. This draws out Iron Man and the battle is on. Iron Man grabs the Phantom and gives him a little shock. The Phantom, lacking the pain tolerance of the actual Hulk, freaks out and takes off running.

The Phantom changes places with a wasp and the real Hulk returns. Iron Man continues his attack and fights with the real Hulk. Meanwhile, Rick Jones calls Giant-Man and the Wasp for help. They arrive on the scene quickly and breaks up the fight. The Wasp senses an evil presence and then is attacked by the Phantom, as a wasp. Giant-Man senses the Wasp is in danger and gets Hulk and Iron Man to follow him to Stark's plant.

Giant-Man makes the save but the Phantom trades places with him. The Phantom attacks the Hulk but quickly realizes that the Hulk is far stronger. The Phantom tries to crush the Hulk with an experimental tank but the Hulk kicks it away. The tank hurtles towards an unsuspecting Iron Man but he uses the suit to protect himself. The Phantom switches places with Iron Man.

The Wasp decides to get Thor and heads to the offices of Dr. Don Blake. Blake says that he'll summon Thor for her. Blake sends her out of the room and becomes Thor. Thor heads to the fight to find that the Phantom as Iron Man is getting the best of the Hulk and Giant-Man. The Phantom tries to switch places with Thor and instead is cast into limbo. Thor says that this happened because he is not a human, he is the god of thunder.

The conventional wisdom seems to be that the Space Phantom is trapped there forever because no one can take his place. The Hulk takes this moment to quit the Avengers. He says he never realized how much they all hated him and will do things along like he always does. The Avengers worry about how dangerous the Hulk will become as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: This issue has a deep and lasting impact on the Marvel Universe. Even as recently as the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover has this issue played it's part. Let that sink in a little bit for how important the Hulk quitting the Avengers was that it gets a little nod in a story 49 years later.

This was a pretty fun issue. The Space Phantom was a really fun villain for this issue and he was used well throughout the issue. I liked getting to see the various Avengers fight with each other throughout the issue. The Iron Man vs. Hulk match up was intriguing but hasn't gotten a lot of time in the first 2 issues.

The Hulk leaving in issue 2 was huge, HUGE! That event right there sets a tone that the Avengers keep throughout their entire history. This roster is about change and change happens a lot as the years progress. The roster is almost always in some state of flux and you can see that it started at the very beginning. I just have to write that again, we're at issue 2 and one of the founding members have quit the team already. That was just unheard of in this time period.

The art was really good in this issue. It was one of the stronger books that I've read art wise so far. Jack Kirby has really been doing some good issues recently. The Phantom Stranger was weird looking and fairly unique. I would also add memorable. The fight scenes also looked pretty good throughout.

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

Notes: This is the first appearance of the Space Phantom. He is a C list villain that gets a lot of appearances through re-tellings of this particular story. I would say that he's probably one of the most memorable C list villains in the Marvel Universe because of how important and retold this story is. He makes some other appearances over the years but I don't think I've read any of those other ones.

The Hulk leaves the Avengers in this issue.

Next Issue: Tales of Suspense #47

Tales to Astonish #49

Cover Date: November 1963

Plot Overview: Pym crashes through the front of the house as a giant and in a new costume. The gardener flees in terror at the sight and the Wasp arrives shortly afterwards. She gives Hank a shrinking pill and he becomes normal size again. Hank states that if he grows taller than 12 feet tall that he becomes too weak to stand.

Pym has turned his gas into pills and tests the growth one out with the help of Jane. The gardener tells the police of what he saw but they don't have time for his claims. They have reports of people being erased.

The Living Eraser is nearby and erases a hotdog vendor that saw him. The  Living Eraser has 5 targets and has erased 3 already. He finds the next victim and easily erases him and then reveals that Hank Pym is his next target.

Hank and Jane are going over the new pills and Hank has made belts to carry their pills. Jane tries out her pills and becomes Wasp size. Suddenly the Living Eraser strikes and quickly erases Hank Pym.

Hank wakes up in Dimension Z and finds out the Living Eraser is from a race of people that have been observing the human race for several years. They saw the human race test the atomic bomb and need the technology for themselves. That's why they sent the Living Eraser to bring back nuclear scientists. Hank tries to escape but they capture him. The Wasp reveals herself and gives Hank a shrinking pill. Hank and the Wasp escape into the duct work and find the captured scientists.

Hank becomes Giant-Man and grows to 12 feet tall. He enjoys his new found strength and tosses the aliens around like they are nothing. Giant-Man reeks havoc until he finds a lone soldier and makes him take them to the Living Eraser. Giant-Man is caught in a glass cage and the Eraser reveals how his powers work with a little device on his hand. The Wasp silently moves into action and releases Giant-Man from the cage. Giant-Man grabs the  Eraser and takes the device from him. Giant-Man returns everyone back to the  Earth. Hank and Jane read the news article about their exploits as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: The addition of growth powers to Hank Pym are a good place to go for these stories. Getting small only has so many places to go. But as a giant, Pym can have more standard super hero battles and some more standard enemies. It's a welcome addition to me as I didn't think the Ant-Man stories were really working the way they were.

This issue was okay. I liked the gardener freaking out when Hank came crashing through his house at the beginning. I'm kind of tired of how they approach the Hank and Jane dynamic in this book. Jane acts like a love sick little puppy and Hank is either oblivious or put off by it. I would like to see some evolution in that regard soon.

The story was pretty standard fare. Weird alien abducts hero, hero escapes the alien world and returns home. This followed that formula pretty closely and then gave Hank a lot of chances to show off his Giant-Man powers. I kind of wondered why he gets stronger as Giant-Man but retains human level strength when he gets small. I know they did that for storyline purposes but it made me stop for a moment and think.

The art was pretty good in this issue. I really like this version of the Giant-Man costume. It's simple in concept but I think it's a really good costume. I also like the name Giant-Man a lot better than Ant-Man. It just sounds cooler and a little more like a super hero.

I give this ** out of *****.

Notes: This issue contains the first appearance of the Living Eraser. He's a very minor villain who is fondly remembered for being a ridiculous Silver Age villain. He goes on to have a handful of appearances and that's about it for him. This issue also marks a new costume for Hank Pym and the start of the Giant-Man identity. Pym has also learned how to grow to giant size in this issue.

Next Issue: Avengers #2