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