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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 15, 2016 11:23:17 GMT -5
Fantastic Four #20 Story Title: “The Mysterious Molecule Man!” Cover Date: November, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby; Steve Ditko (redrew third panel on page 17) Inks: Dick Ayers; Steve Ditko (see above) Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Artie Simek Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); George Roussos (inks) Synopsis: As the FF study a meteor in their lab, they suddenly become aware of a strange glowing ball of energy outside the Baxter Building. The FF engage the ball of energy, but after proving incapable of subduing it, they discover that it’s actually some sort of portal the domain of the Watcher. The Watcher explains to the FF that a menace capable of destroying the universe has come into existence and he then proceeds to relate the origins of the Molecule Man. Beginning as a lowly lab tech at an atomic facility, the tech is transformed into the seemingly all-powerful Molecule Man when one of the atomic devices malfunctions. The Watcher transports the FF back to New York, but they discover that the Baxter Building is missing, seemingly having been uprooted from its foundations. They then discover that the Molecule Man is the cause and find him on top of the building, as it hovers over the city, issuing commands to his civilian “subjects.” The FF engage in a battle with the Molecule Man, but his vast powers prove to be too formidable. Retreating to form a new strategy, Reed eventually realizes that the Molecule Man can’t affect organic matter with his powers. Regrouping at Alicia Masters apartment, Reed gets Alicia to cover the team in plaster and signals for the Molecule Man with the FF’s flare. When the Molecule Man attempts to rearrange the molecules of the “statues”, the attempt to affect the living targets stuns him and the FF manage to defeat him. The Watcher then transports the Molecule Man away from Earth and congratulates the FF for their bravery. Character Appearances: The Fantastic Four [Mr. Fantastic [Reed Richards]; the Invisible Girl [Sue Storm]; the Thing [Ben Grimm]; the Human Torch [Johnny Storm]]; the Molecule Man (introduction, origin); the Watcher [Uatu]; The Yancy Street Gang; Alicia Masters Comments: The opening of this issue features one of my favorite splash pages from the early part of the Lee/Kirby run. This is the sort of scene that does a great job of showing the reader that the FF aren’t just about fighting super-villains, they’re explorers and investigators even more than they are super-heroes. This story is bursting with creative action scenes and Kirby seemed to be particularly inspired in this issue. The early battle with the Watcher’s energy ball/portal was exciting and funny and the later battle with the Molecule Man let Kirby be extremely creative given the nearly limitless scope of the villain’s powers. The first battle with the energy ball has some hilarious moments like this one: At one point, after the Molecule Man commands that the citizens locate the FF for him, they are “saved” by a member of the Yancy Street Gang, to the Things utter embarrassment: The Molecule Man is a great villain, not just because he’s seemingly all-powerful, but because we never learn his true identity. The fact that he’s a “nobody” working thanklessly for a heartless company that shows him no gratitude gives him the right amount of pathos. Lee and Kirby were big on the philosophy that heroes weren’t “all good” and that villains weren’t “all bad” and by this point they were doing an excellent job of creating complex villains that weren’t just mustache twirling power-sets. We never learn why the Molecule Man needed a regular wand to focus his powers (it wasn’t present when he gained his powers) but we will...eventually. Here is my favorite page of the comic and a wonderful display of Kirby’s cleverness and imagination. On the previous page, the Thing jumps down a manhole cover to escape the Molecule Man and this happens: Character Development: This is the first story that features the Watcher’s now legendary interfering brand of non-interference. How he justifies warning the FF at all about the Molecule Man is anyone’s guess, but like the nature of the Molecule Man himself, these are aspects that will be fleshed out over time. The FF don’t get to interact much in this issues, since it’s straight action from start to finish, but the playful ribbing of Ben and Johnny is present as is Reed’s leadership and problem solving. Sue is the first one to be proactive in trying to figure out what the Watcher’s energy ball is, and is the first to get transported to his domain. I still wish she was written as interestingly as the Wasp, though. Baby steps. Personal Rating: 8. Yet another excellent issues featuring a brand new villain who clearly has a lot of possibilities. The only real knock I have on the story is the lack of clarity about the Molecule Man’s wand and the lack of character moments, but both of those are very minor quibbles. Historical Rating: 9. The Molecule Man is obviously an extremely important character in the history of the Marvel Universe, but this issues is also significant in that it marks the first time the Watcher clearly shows favoritism for the FF and directly warns them of danger. This behavior will come into play again in a far more important story down the road…
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 15, 2016 11:39:51 GMT -5
Wow ,if the Molecule Man (who was essentially the whole basis of Hickman's uber-story ending in Secret Wars) and The Watcher (RIP) first appearances don't net a 10, what does? Just the origin issues or the main heroes?
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 15, 2016 11:44:05 GMT -5
Wow ,if the Molecule Man (who was essentially the whole basis of Hickman's uber-story ending in Secret Wars) and The Watcher (RIP) first appearances don't net a 10, what does? Just the origin issues or the main heroes? Well, it's not the Watcher's first appearance. That was in FF #13. I debated giving this one a 10, but I just don't quite see the Molecule Man being as iconic as Galactus or a major villain like Doom. It's subjective, no doubt, but a solid 9 felt right. If it had been the Watcher's first appearance, along with Molecule Man's, I would have given it a 10, no doubt.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 15, 2016 11:46:40 GMT -5
Yeah, that's true.. he was only made super important by Hickman... so I guess his relevance is far greater in universe (though perhaps no one remembers him right now) than with us fans.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 15, 2016 11:46:54 GMT -5
Also, the Molecule Man really doesn't become important again untill...1984 with the first Secret Wars? That kind of knocks his significance down just a tad in my eyes. I'm sort of framing my historical opinions on Marvel continuity from 1961-1991, so the modern stuff barely registers for me. It also doesn't help that I didn't care for what Hickman did in Avengers and Secret Wars.
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Post by MDG on Sept 15, 2016 12:05:22 GMT -5
Just re-read this. Love three-toed Hulk--was this ever no-prized into continuity somehow? Also--and Kurt may know this--but is there any hero or group created in the silver age that didn't confront an invasion from space within their first three appearances?
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 15, 2016 12:11:43 GMT -5
Gah! I missed at least mentioning Kirby's inexplicable Three Toed Hulk...
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Post by tolworthy on Sept 15, 2016 15:20:42 GMT -5
Also, the Molecule Man really doesn't become important again untill...1984 with the first Secret Wars? That kind of knocks his significance down just a tad in my eyes. I'm sort of framing my historical opinions on Marvel continuity from 1961-1991, so the modern stuff barely registers for me. Unless you are an FF nut who secretly thinks the series ended with issue 200.* In which case the Molecule man was the crowning villain in the whole 200 issue story. His spectacular and unforgettable defeat of Reed caused Reed to disband the team. (Reed then came back for the final triumph against Doom, and said in FF 201 that as far as he was concerned the FF was then no longer needed) * Yeah, OK, there are at last seven really good jumping off points for the FF, but that has to be high on the list.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 15, 2016 20:17:39 GMT -5
The 70's (with the exception of the Hulk and Batman) is a big blind spot for me in terms of a lot of characters. I've read all of the Lee/Kirby FF, the Byrne run and the Simonson run but that's about it save for a smattering of issues.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 21, 2016 9:32:15 GMT -5
Journey Into Mystery #98 (The Mighty Thor!)
Story Title: “Challenged by the Human Cobra!” Cover Date: November, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Don Heck Inks: Don Heck Colors: Stan Goldberg (?) Letters: Artie Simek Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky (inks) Synopsis: Thor is furious that Odin has forbade him to wed Jane Foster. Odin summons Thor to Asgard and tries to ease his mind by suggesting that he forget the mortal woman, but Thor says that this is something that not even Odin can make him do. Seeking to get away from his worries, he travels to India as Don Blake where finds that one of his old teachers, Professor Shecktor, has been murdered by his traitorous assistant, Klaus. Klaus had a lab cobra bite Shecktor and himself, but denied Shecktor the antidote. Unbeknownst to Klaus, the cobra was radioactive, and that combined with the antidote gives him the power of a human cobra. The Cobra hijacks a plane to New York and Thor pursues him. Thor fights the Cobra, who kidnaps Jan Foster, and defeats him, however the Cobra escapes. After Jane Foster sees Doctor Bruce Andrews cowardice during their capture by the Cobra, she goes back to Doctor Blake. Character Appearances: Thor [Doctor Donald Blake]; Cobra [Klaus Vorhees] (introduction, origin); Jane Foster; Doctor Bruce Andrews; Odin; Professor Shecktor (introduction, death) Comments: The Cobra (“The Human Cobra” in this early tale) is the kind of Thor villain that has always presented a problem for me as a Thor fan. There’s an old mantra regarding Thor that basically goes, “occasionally he needs to come to Earth and take his lumps from the Absorbing Man.” I can’t remember which creator said that, but the basic premise is a sound one: Thor’s cosmic adventures shouldn’t take him too far from his Earthly roots. That’s all well and fine when he’s fighting a villain as powerful as the Absorbing Man, but the Cobra simply shouldn’t give him a moments trouble if we’re really honest here. Cobra would make a great Spider-Man villain but he’s simply not convincing as a Thor villain since there’s nothing about a human sized cobra that suggest he has even a fraction of Thor’s power. His various gadgets, which aren’t explained in any way, were inexplicably capable of given Thor trouble. At one point in the story the Cobra’s “unbreakable cobra cord” actually binds Thor for a time causing him to drop his hammer. Thor tricks the Cobra by getting him to fling him through a glass window. Thor then transforms into Blake…and just walks back in and retrieves his hammer. Absurd. All that said, it wasn’t a terrible issue. Cobra is an interesting villain and I really like his design, though I would have liked to have seen a transition from the cobra bite plot to his new identity as The Human Cobra, explaining his costume and gadgets along the way. We still haven’t gotten to the point where Lee and Kirby are the regular creative team so we’re still seeing Lee and company struggle with Thor’s power levels and giving him interesting things to do. I think at some point they must have realized that Thor should be having epic mythological adventures, at least part of the time, like the ones already being showcased in Tales of Asgard. While I think that Don Heck did a pretty good job in this issue, the far superior Kirby drawn Tales of Asgard that follows only magnifies his inadequacy as a Thor artist in my eyes. Character Development: Thor is clearly frustrated and furious at Odin’s sanction regarding Jane Foster, physically lashing out in Blake’s office. When Thor refuses to forget Jane, Odin shows understanding when one of his advisers (I assume) asks why he allows him to walk away, seemingly showing disrespect. Odin comes off pretty well in his brief appearance and it's even hinted at the end of the story that he might have orchestrated the events that lead to Jane returning to Blake (Though one would hope that he didn't have anything to do with Shecktor's death...). Personal Rating: 5. An average and flawed story that doesn’t really work as a good Thor tale, but the Cobra is an interesting enough villain so that it’s not too unsatisfying. Historical Rating: 8. Cobra would go on to become a fairly major villain, first as a partner of Mister Hyde and later as a member of the Serpent Squad/Society.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 21, 2016 10:34:30 GMT -5
Journey Into Mystery #98 (Tales of Asgard, Home of the Gods!)
Story Title: “Odin Battles Ymir, King of the Ice Giants” Credits
Script: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Don Heck Colors: Stan Goldberg (?) Letters: Artie Simek Synopsis: The ice giants, led by Ymir, attack Asgard. Odin fly’s down from the highest peak in Asgard in his horse drawn chariot and does battle with the ice giants. After his mounts are blown away by the giants, he defeats them by cleaving an entire mountain with his sword, sending them down to the depths of Surtur’s fiery realm. Finally, Odin takes on the mightiest of the ice giants, Ymir, and traps him on a volcanic plane inside a ring of fire. Character Appearances: Odin; Ymir; Ice Giants (introduction) Comments: This is an excellent second installment of Tales of Asgard. Even though this is still an early, all too brief, five-page story, Kirby masterfully packs in a books worth of action with a limited number of pages to work with. The open page is classic mythological Kirby and my favorite image from the story. I could only find the remastered versions online, but none of the grandeur is lost: The most epic moment comes when Odin cleaves an entire mountain with his sword, defeating the ice giants. This is a level of power we haven’t seen in the early Marvel universe yet and puts Odin on a completely different scale from anything we’ve seen so far. Yeah, I think if my dad could do this I’d listen to him: I think Don Heck does a surprisingly good job inking Kirby in this story. Since very little Kirby was lost in the process, I'm assuming that Kirby's pencils were tight. Regardless, the art is superb. Character Development: None to speak of, but that’s not really the point. Ymir’s elemental fury is present, but beyond a few taught hurled at Odin, we don’t get much character interaction. Personal Rating: 8. Fantastic and exciting story. The only real knock on it is the limited page count. Tales of Asgard would evolve and get better over time, in part due to the number of story pages expanding, but this story still rivals any of the others in terms of shear excitement and mythological grandeur. Historical Rating: 8. Though Ymir debuted in the first installment of Tales of Asgard, this is the first we see of his ice giant brethren and the first time we see Odin in action.
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Post by Rob Allen on Sept 21, 2016 11:50:45 GMT -5
Hmmm... Peter Parker, bitten by a radioactive spider, gets spider powers... Klaus Voorhees, bitten by a radioactive cobra, gets cobra powers. Does this work with all animals? What if you get scratched by a radioactive plant?
Also, Don Heck was a terrific inker for Kirby, and IIRC, Kirby thought so too. The main story might have been one of the ones that Stan & Don did with a hybrid Marvel Method that they used for a while. Don was accustomed to working from a script and wasn't comfortable plotting by himself, so Stan would write a script for the first three pages and the last three pages of the story, and Don would do the middle by himself. Since I found this out, I haven't had a chance to look at the early Lee/Heck stories to see if these transitions are visible.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 21, 2016 11:58:04 GMT -5
Hmmm... Peter Parker, bitten by a radioactive spider, gets spider powers... Klaus Voorhees, bitten by a radioactive cobra, gets cobra powers. Does this work with all animals? What if you get scratched by a radioactive plant? Also, Don Heck was a terrific inker for Kirby, and IIRC, Kirby thought so too. The main story might have been one of the ones that Stan & Don did with a hybrid Marvel Method that they used for a while. Don was accustomed to working from a script and wasn't comfortable plotting by himself, so Stan would write a script for the first three pages and the last three pages of the story, and Don would do the middle by himself. Since I found this out, I haven't had a chance to look at the early Lee/Heck stories to see if these transitions are visible. I'm just glad this doesn't work in real life. I can just image all of the rednecks I live near running round drunk, literally, with superpowers...*shivers* That's interesting about Don Heck. I've read that he didn't like the Marvel Method, but I didn't realize Stan would write some of the story full script. I know that Jim Aparo had no interest at all with Marvel Method and only wanted to work with full scripts. I've always wondered if that was the reason Aparo never did any Marvel work.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 28, 2016 10:13:30 GMT -5
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #4
Story Title: “Lord Ha-Ha’s Last Laugh!” Cover Date: November, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: George Roussos [as G. Bell] Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky (inks) Synopsis: The story opens with the Howlers visiting London when suddenly the Nazi’s undertake an air-raid on the city. Fury meets Pamela Hawley while helping her rescue an injured child and is surprised to meet her again when invited to Lord Hawley’s mansion with Captain Sawyer. He learns that Lord Hawley’s son, the infamous traitor and radio announcer, Lord Ha-Ha, is actually the Lord’s son, Percy. Believing that his son was captured and tortured into serving the Nazi’s as a propagandist, Lord Hawley asks them for help and Captain Sawyer sends Fury and the Howlers to bring him back home. Behind enemy lines, the Howlers skillfully track down their target by posing as circus performers. The commandos bust in on the Nazi leaders, and after a firefight, capture Percy and make their escape to an abandoned house. When a Nazi tank patrol passes, Percy uses the opportunity to grab a rifle and starts firing it in the air, hoping to alert the patrol. The Nazi’s mistake Percy for a madman and gun him down and then proceed to open fire on the Howlers. In the process Jonathan Juniper is killed, and just as it looked like the rest of the Howlers would be next, an allied sub arrives and destroys the tank patrol. Making it back to London, Fury informs Pamela of her brother’s demise but doesn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. The two then walk off together into the sunset. Character Appearances: Sergeant Nick Fury; the Howling Commandos [Corporal Dum Dum Dugan; Dino Manelli; Izzy Cohen; Robert Ralston [Rebel Ralston]; Gabe Jones; Jonathan Juniper (death)]; Captain Happy Sam Sawyer; Lady Pamela Hawley (introduction); Lord Peter Hawley (introduction); Evelyn Hawley (introduction); Lord Ha-Ha [Percy Hawley] (villain, introduction, death) Comments: I haven’t read many war comics in my time, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say that the death of a regular character was uncommon even for this genre. Juniper’s death is handled briskly, bloodlessly and with little drama, but this obviously had to do with the limitations imposed by the Comics Code Authority. Izzy Cohen’s remark, “What’s the diff? We’re all expendable.”, when Dino wonders which one of them will be next, is surprisingly chilling. It’s nice for the series to add just a bit of reality to the mix of what often comes off as a glorification of warfare. I don’t personally take it that way, but I can easily see why some readers do. It’s a valid critique regardless. Kirby’s art is great in this issue and Roussos does a fine job inking his pencils. Stan’s still heavy with the jokey banter, and while it doesn’t work as well for me as with Spider-Man, it’s still giving the series its own special charm. Lord "Ha-Ha" at work. The tragic death of Jonathan Juniper. Fury breaks the news to Pamela. Character Development: Pamela Hawley is a nice addition as Fury’s love interest. Fury initially can’t believe someone like her would be interested in “slob” like him. This isn’t something I’d envision the later suave super-spy leader of SHILED ever thinking. Then again, much like with Peter Parker, Fury miraculously gets better looking in the latter half of the 60’s so… Personal Rating: 7. I’d say that this is the best issue so far, primarily for the addition of Pamela and the tragic death of Juniper. Taking into account when it was written, I think Stan and Jack did a pretty good job of handling the harsh realities of war. Historical Rating: 8. The death of Juniper is the main reason this issue warrants a high score here. It was the first death of a regular character in the early Marvel Universe, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2016 16:37:19 GMT -5
Historical Rating: 8. The death of Juniper is the main reason this issue warrants a high score here. It was the first death of a regular character in the early Marvel Universe, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Not only that, but unlike many of the others, AFAIK he never came back. Not as a clone, not as a robot, not as a doppelganger from another dimension.
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