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 #113

Cover Date: October 1963

Plot Overview: Johnny Storm has a date with  Doris Evans and arrives in style as the Human Torch. Doris isn't impressed at all and constantly complains about Johnny's "Flaming On". Johnny is torn on Doris. He appreciates her liking him for him but the glory hound in him is not pleased with the prospect of being a normal person. While on their date, her father gets into an argument with the gardener Samuel Smithers and fires him.

Smithers has been experimenting and trying to increase the I.Q. of plants. A freak accident suddenly makes his device work. He decides it's time to get revenge on Mr. Evans for firing him. Smithers dubs himself Plantman and robs the jewelry store that Mr. Evans works at. He leaves a watch behind so that the police suspect him.

Johnny promises to help Doris out and later encounters Plantman. Plantman uses the dew on the various plants to put out the Torch's flames. He then has the plants hold the Torch captive until he escapes. Johnny was beaten but he vows to win the next time he encounters Plantman.

Plantman takes over a local park and starts his plans of world domination. The Torch hears of the events and arrives on the scene. Plantman again manages to dose the flames of the Torch but this time Johnny has one last ace up his sleeve. He creates a giant fireball that wilts the plants in the area. The plants turn on Plantman for getting them into this situation. The Plantman flees and vows revenge.

Doris thanks Johnny and then complains about his "Flaming On" as he flies away as the Human Torch.

My Take: This issue was a really quick read for some reason. Sometimes, these older books can feel like a real chore to get through with all the text. This one felt like there was a little less text than normal. It made it a more enjoyable experience that's for sure.

The story was competent. It felt very monster of the week to me. Your standard bad guy gets powers and gets beaten by the hero. Plantman himself is a standard archetype of villain. He actually looks a lot like the Shadow in this book, only with green clothes. They give him a more super villain kind of getup later on.

This issue also continues the trend of introducing some villains with a little staying power this month. Rama-Tut, the Porcupine, Crimson Dynamo and even Molto the Lava Man make some repeat appearances for Marvel throughout the 60s and into the 70s. I said it a few issues back but it's really nice to see Marvel introducing some super villains into the fold instead of having the good guys beat up on generic Communists all the time.

This was a pretty throwaway story though. It was a fun and quick read but I doubt I'll remember it a couple of weeks from now. It was more there to fill up space for a month. Don't mistake that as bad though. It was a competent story and I've easily read worse and will probably read worse.

The art was rock solid in this issue. Nothing looked terrible. The trees and plants attacking the Human Torch didn't look as ridiculous as it could have looked. There were some good backgrounds in this issue too. There always seemed to be something behind the characters. I noticed every little blank backgrounds throughout the issue.

I give this ** out of *****.

Notes: This issue marks the first appearances of Doris Evans and Plantman. I believe Doris Evans will hang around as a sort of love interest for the Human Torch for a little while. Plantman is another one of those C list villains that shows up off and on again. He'll eventually get hired by Count Nefaria and form a team with the Eel, Porcupine, Unicorn and Scarecrow. That team up is a favorite of mine and that happens in  X-Men #22. Unfortunately that's in the far distant future but it's something to look forward to. I consider him to be another classic low level villain though.

Next Issue: Strange Tales Annual #2