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

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

Strange Tales #111

Cover Date: August 1963

Plot Overview: Professor Kasloff is wandering the streets and trying to figure out how to become a successful criminal. He flashes back to his job and how he lacks the basic criminal knowledge to successful commit crimes. He decides that if he defeats the Human Torch that criminals will agree to work with him.

Kasloff develops a much stronger from of asbestos and creates a suit to become the Asbestos Man. AM proceeds to issue several challenges to the Torch until the Torch agrees to face him.

The battle begins and the Torch quickly finds that his flames have no effect on the Asbestos Man. The Torch throws several fireballs at AM and he uses a nitrogen net to throw them back at the Torch and they explode like bombs. The Torch falls into a trap door and into a liquid that puts out his flames. AM tells the Torch that he's defeated and that he can leave the building now.

AM begins to develop relationships with several members of the underworld while Johnny pouts about his loss. Sue points out that he was relying on his flames too much and wasn't thinking. He needs to attack AM indirectly to defeat him. The Torch sees her logic and heads off to fight AM a second time.

The Torch melts AM through the floor and uses his flames to suck up all the oxygen until the Asbestos Man surrenders. The Torch makes a quip at Kasloff as the story comes to an end.

Baron Mordo wishes to become the most powerful mystic in the world and uses his powers to poison the Ancient One with a potion. Dr. Strange arrives later on an unrelated errand to find Mordo there. Note, both men are in their astral forms for this story. They battle until Strange uses his Amulet to help the Ancient One recover. Strange bluffs and says that his Amulet can lead him to Mordo's body.

Mordo flees back to his body and Strange reveals it was a trap to remove his influence from the Ancient One's servant. Dr. Strange has won the day but hasn't see the last of Mordo.

The Ridiculous: The Asbestos Man as a concept is completely ridiculous. He's a total Silver Age concept.

My Take: The Human Torch story was a fun romp this month. The villain was bad but the story built around the villain was pretty good. I felt there was some good character development with Johnny Storm and I liked the interaction he had with his sister Sue in this story. It was nice to see their relationship get some screen time.

The Asbestos Man himself was pretty typical. Arrogant scientist wants to use his inventions for evil. You've seen it hundreds of times in comics but it was executed fairly well here. As you can see in the picture above, he's pretty silly looking. He served his purpose here.

Overall, this was another fun Human Torch solo story. It had action, it had a good pace to it and they even managed to develop some members of the Fantastic Four.

The art was pretty good for this issue. It didn't feel very rushed or anything. Another good solid entry.

I give the Human Torch story ** out of *****

The Dr. Strange tale was another 5 page backup. It was fun while it lasted and established his main nemesis. The art still is off from what Dr. Strange becomes. I believe the next appearance will have him looking more like the Dr. Strange we are familiar with.

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

Notes: This issue featured the first appearances of the Asbestos Man, Baron Mordo and an unnamed Hamir the Hermit. Hamir and the Asbestos Man make a handful of future appearances and are never considered important characters. Baron Mordo on the other hand is probably the main antagonist for Dr. Strange over the years. I would consider Baron Mordo to be a solid B level villain in the Marvel Universe.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #18

Strange Tales #110

Cover Date: July 1963

Plot Overview: The story opens with the Torch trying to study and ultimately going over old cases. He remembers his battle with the Wizard and his battle with Paste-Pot Pete and how both men came close to beating him. The scene shifts as Paste-Pot Pete has returned and he's out for revenge against the Human Torch. He's decided to break the Wizard out of prison so that their combined power can defeat their common foe.

They manage to escape prison and things start to go south almost immediately as the Wizard bosses Pete around much to Pete's disgust. The Wizard wants to discredit the Torch before they defeat him and has just the plan. Stories of the Torch committing crimes starts to hit the papers and public sentiment slowly turns against him.

Finally the Torch decides it's time to strike. He poses as a rich man and when the Wizard and Pete show up, he springs the trap. The bad guys flee to their house with the Torch close on their heels. The Wizard was ready and traps the Torch in a house of mirrors. The Torch unsuccessfully tries to escape until the Wizard and Pete appear. The Wizard explains that he's going to flood the area with a liquid that evaporates oxygen. Pete pastes the Torch to the floor and they head off to prepare the Wizard's liquid.

The Torch makes a double of himself and then burns his flames as hot as they'll go and melts through a mirror. The Wizard and Pete flood the chamber and at the last moment realize it's a fake. The Torch reveals himself and traps the two men with his flames. Johnny ends the issue upset that he now has to stay up all night doing homework.

A man is troubled by the same nightmare on a nightly basis and visits Dr. Strange for help. Strange agrees to enter the man's dreams to help him out. Strange enters the dreams and it is revealed to him that the man he is helping has committed crimes. Just then he is confronted by the creature Nightmare. Nightmare threatens to kill Strange. The man wakes up and decides to kill Strange because of what he's learned. Strange reaches out to his Master who hypnotizes the man from afar. This allows Strange to leave the dream and disarm the man. The man admits his crimes as the issue comes to a close.

My Take: The Human Torch part of this issue was absolutely ridiculous. I liked the idea of his former enemies teaming up to take him down but the rest of the stuff was just unnecessary. Why did they need to try and frame him for crimes? It didn't really add anything to the story. It really felt like it was tacked on for the sake of it. This issue would've been a lot better if they had just committed a bunch of crimes and had their face off with the Torch at the end. Honestly, Pete didn't even really play into this issue much. The Wizard could've easily done all of this on his own. Also the liquid that evaporates oxygen? Really? Wouldn't flooding the room with water have gotten you the same result as some special liquid?

I think they overthought this issue and got too cute with the story. A much more simple story would've been more enjoyable. Despite, the gaping huge flaws with the story, it wasn't actually a terrible read. It wasn't boring and it wasn't a tedious read. It was pretty quick and light which I always find to be a good quality with Silver Age books. I hate when you feel like you're just crawling through pages of text instead of enjoying the story.

The art was pretty good for the Human Torch part. I didn't like the look of the Wizard as much in this issue as I did in Strange Tales #102. He just seemed too normal looking here while I remember him being a little more troll like in the previous issue. But that's really a minor complaint. The art was rock solid for this issue.

I'd give the Human Torch story * out of *****

The Dr. Strange story was a 5 page backup in this issue. A lot happened in those 5 pages. It was a fun little tale of magic and a different feel from the other Marvel books. The art was pretty solid, though they quickly change th7e appearance of Strange in the coming issues. This wasn't a bad start for a new character. It was interesting, left a touch of mystery and left you wanting to see more of him.

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

Notes: This issue has the first appearance of Dr. Strange who really needs no introduction. He carves out his own little niche in the Marvel Universe. He'll be a key member of the Defenders in the 70s and he'll have his own title pretty consistently well into the 90s. This issue also has the first appearance of Wong. Though he only appears in one panel and is not named. When Dr. Strange appears, Wong won't be far behind. This issue also has the first appearance of Nightmare who is a recurring villain over the years but I wouldn't call him an A list guy or anything.

Next Issue: Fantastic Four #17