Tales to Astonish 41

Prisoner of the Slave World!

by

Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Don Heck

Henry Pym is attempting to visit Paul, a colleague friend of his. When he rings the doorbell to his lab, there is no answer.  Worried that his fellow scientist may have taken ill, Henry uses his shrinking gas and dons his Ant-Man costume to investigate. He summons an ant to carry him up to the door’s keyhole. Once through, Ant-Man searches for his missing friend. He finds it incredibly odd that all the windows and doors are locked from the inside. Paul seems to have simply vanished. A few nights later, still distraught over his missing friend, Henry sees a news bulletin on TV. Eminent scientists have suddenly gone missing, baffling both the police and the FBI. Henry suspects that he will soon be targeted as well, but he'll be ready as Ant-Man. 

Several days later, Henry Pym is approached in his lab by a man claiming to be a new window washer. He wants to give Henry’s lab a free service and if he is satisfied with the job, he’ll use him regularly. As Henry returns to his own work, the window washer sneaks up behind him to pour a pail full of paralyzing liquid over him. The window washer watches as the paralyzing agent renders Henry Pym physically speechless. 

At the same time in another dimension, a green, alien tyrant named Kulla has captured several scientists from earth to create weapons for him. He demands that they make him an electro-death ray that he can use against the forces that have lay siege to his tower. When one scientist refuses, Kulla has him sent to a dungeon. Back in the regular dimension, Kulla’s human accomplice has finished securing a helmet to Henry Pym and his own head. Upon activation, the two men vanish and reappear in Kulla’s tower. The con-man has been promised payment for all of the scientists he has kidnapped. 

Henry Pym finally meets with his friend Paul and several other captives. After some quick reminiscing, Pym starts causing a commotion to get Kulla’s attention. Two of his guards grab Pym and carry him off to a solitary confinement, which is what he wanted all along. All by himself, Henry once again shrinks down to become Ant-Man. 

As Henry Pym changes, he is approached by this world’s version of insects. He attempts to communicate with them after putting on his Ant-Man helmet. When that fails, the strange alien insects start attacking. In the midst of their brawl, Ant-Man determines the frequency of the insects’ antennae on his helmet. Successful, Ant-Man is able to command the creatures just as easily as the ants back home. Having gained his new allies, Ant-Man escapes under the prison door to rescue his peers. 

Heading towards the main room where the scientists are, Ant-Man accidentally trips an alarm. With everyone aware of his presence, Kulla’s men use their boots to stomp on the tiny hero. Ant-Man is able to duck between the ridges of leather on the bottom of a stomping boot. From there, he cuts a hole in the sole to hide inside the alien’s boot. The aliens search for the missing hero, when suddenly he pops out of the boot. Running from the guards, Ant-Man reaches his fellow scientists who gather him up and hide him in a coat pocket. 

While the guards question the scientists, Ant-Man uses his helmet to summon the insects. With the aliens distracted by questioning Paul, Ant-Man sneaks out of the pocket. He hops onto the floor, but is immediately spotted. Kulla takes out a vial of the paralyzing agent and dumps it on Ant-Man. Ant-Man is stuck in place as Kulla approaches with a mallet in his hand. 

As Kulla prepares to swing his mallet down on Ant-Man, Kulla is hit by his own death ray. When the chemicals wear off, Ant-Man reveals that while he was paralyzed, he was still able to communicate with the insects through his helmet. He commanded them to activate the death ray and blast Kulla before he killed him. Still under his command, the insects release the locked door, allowing the forces outside to storm the tower. They quickly overcome the guards, as the free scientists praise Ant-Man. 

While Ant-Man sneaks off to change back into Henry Pym, the con man reappears with a new human captive. The scientists surround the criminal and deride him for hurting his fellow man. The con man proclaims that they can’t do anything about it since they aren't police. Interjecting, the aliens promise to keep him a prisoner on their world. With that settled, the scientists use a dimensional transporter to return to earth. Basking in their freedom, the only question left on the scientists’ minds is how Ant-Man got to the dimension to rescue them. Henry chimes in that perhaps it doesn't matter, so long as he is always there when needed. 

Notes

Unstable Molecules - This is the first time we find out Ant-Man’s costume, like the Fantastic Four’s, is made with Unstable Molecules

Henry Pym facilitates the death of Kulla in this story. This shows he is not above killing if necessary. 

Review & Ranking

It’s a pretty boring issue. This story isn’t anything we haven't seen before. There are a few bits I like; the design of the alien bugs is pretty good and otherworldly. Ant-Man’s chase scene wasn’t too bad, but we've seen better on this title. I don't like the alien designs. Kulla is just another generic green alien tyrant who has very little agency beyond that. I’m more intrigued by the con man character, but we don't learn very much about him. I wish we got to spend a little time with the resistance forces closing in on Kulla, but this story was so short it didn't have time at only 10 pages long. 

I am placing this one under Incredible Hulk’s story with Mongu. Both are very short and don’t make a whole lot of sense, with only a few interesting panels here and there. 

Next Issue: Spider-Man returns with his own series!

Tales of Suspense 39

Iron Man is Born!

by

Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Don Heck

Inside a secret location within the United States defense perimeter, a 24-hour guard has been set up to protect millionaire, playboy, scientist-engineer, Anthony Stark. Under a government contract, Tony has created miniature transistors that are able to increase the power flow of various devices; in this case, a magnet. He shows off the magnet’s increased power for a visiting general; the transistor energizes the magnet, making the magnet’s pull so strong that it can force a 6-inch thick, locked, steel door to come crumbling to the floor. Astounded, the general agrees the transistors will help them in Vietnam.

In South Vietnam, Wong-Chu has taken over a village in the jungle. The tyrant challenges any man in the village to a wrestling match. If they can beat him, he will release the village from his capture. After beating every able-bodied person hand-to-hand, Wong-Chu commands his men to plunder the town. On the outskirts of the same jungle, Tony Stark has landed with a group of soldiers to protect him. He is here to witness his invention being used first-hand. The transistors are to help the infantry carry more weapons with ease through the jungle.

The American soldiers spot enemy combatants as they stride through the jungle. After they chase the Vietnamese guerrillas off, Tony Stark stumbles over a booby trap. He walks right into a small wire running near the ground, which triggers a bomb to detonate that knocks him out. Minutes later, one of Wong-Chu’s men discovers the prone form of Tony Stark and takes him back to the village. As Tony recovers in a hut, Wong-Chu discusses with one of his men that they found his identification papers. They know he is a famous American inventor. They would keep him as a POW to work for them, but he has too much shrapnel lodged near his heart from the bomb to survive for more than a week. Wong-Chu connives that they will trick him into working for them, giving them all kinds of inventions until the shrapnel reaches his heart and he expires. When they present this to a conscious Tony Stark, neglecting to mention that he will die, Tony already realizes he doesn’t have much time left and that they are merely using him until he is dead. They bring him to a lab and leave him alone to invent.

After a day by himself, Wong-Chu brings along another prisoner to join Tony. His name is Professor Yinsen, a great Chinese physicist, whose work Tony is familiar with. Together these two brilliant men set to work building a weapon to defeat the villainous Wong-Chu; a fully functioning suit of iron powered by Stark’s mini-transistors with a self-lubricating feature. The transistors power the suit and it’s devices, which need an electrical charge in order to function. In a race against time, as the bomb shrapnel moves closer and closer to Tony Stark’s heart, the two work feverishly on Stark’s design. Just as Tony starts to feel his heart being torn into by the piece of metal, Yinsen presents him with the fully-functioning armor which will hold the shrapnel in place, preventing his death.

Laying out on a table dying, Tony Stark is fitted into the armor suit. Professor Yinsen pulls a lever to power the armor up with electricity, when suddenly an alarm they built goes off. It means Wong-Chu must be headed their way and any interference will surely kill Tony. As Tony lays motionless in the suit of armor, he listens as Professor Yinsen runs out of the lab to distract Wong-Chu. Wong-Chu and his men chase after the escaped professor. Tony hears a gunshot in the distance, suddenly bearing the weight of knowing his friend and mentor has just been sacrificed in order for Iron Man to live.

Fully charged, Tony Stark is Iron Man. He gets to his feet, only to come crashing back down. Unfamiliar with the armor, Tony has to learn how to walk in it. Raising again to his feet, Iron Man quickly gets the hang of his grey, clunky armor. With Yinsen dealt with, Wong-Chu beats the door to the lab open. Before he enters, Iron Man maneuvers to the ceiling so Wong-Chu doesn’t see him. As Iron Man hangs from the ceiling rafters, he overhears Wong-Chu angrily comment that he will make his accompanying soldier kill Tony, just like he did to Yinsen, when he finds him. Iron Man silently vows to avenge his friend’s death.

Outside in the village, Wong-Chu has returned to his favorite sport to relieve stress; wrestling down the inferior men of the village. Wearing the white coat and blue hat of Tony Stark, Iron Man approaches the scene. He challenges Wong-Chu to a fight. Under a full moon, Iron Man disrobes to reveal his true metallic form. Before Wong-Chu can run away, Iron Man lifts the villain over his head to twirl him around and give him a toss. Wong-Chu commands his men to open fire on Iron Man. Iron Man uses a transistor to reverse the polarity of a magnet that repels all bullets and grenades lobbed at him back at the guerillas, from which they all flee.

Wong-Chu runs away to a tower with a loudspeaker. Over the loudspeaker, he promises ten million yen to anyone that destroys Iron Man. Iron Man uses his suit to interrupt Wong-Chu’s broadcast. Overriding the system, Iron Man mimics Wong-Chu’s address to command everyone to flee into the jungle. Iron Man uses a transistor powered buzzsaw, hidden in the finger of his glove, to cut open the locked door to the tower. As Iron Man enters, Wong-Chu shoves a whole stack of file cabinets filled with rocks down some stairs, on top of the armor-clad avenger.

As Wong-Chu flees from the tower, Iron Man struggles to get the file cabinets off. Wong-Chu races towards the ammo dump before Iron Man can get free. Having spent most of his suit’s energy on the file cabinet, Iron Man resorts to squirting out his suit’s lubricating apparatus. It leaves a trail of oil leading to the ammo dump. As soon as Wong-Chu reaches it, Iron Man ignites the chemical trail. The fire immediately catches and beats Wong-Chu to the weapons shed. Wong-Chu is caught in the explosion, seemingly disintegrated. After freeing the villagers, Iron Man looks on at the burning debris, mournful at having avenged Professor Yinsen’s death. Donning his hat and coat, Iron Man strolls into the jungle, wondering what destiny has in store for him.

Notes

As you probably know, Iron Man/Tony Stark is another main player in the Marvel Universe. He is introduced as a millionaire, playboy, engineering scientist. No mention of his company, Stark Industries, but that will come next issue.

Iron Man starts off with a clunky Iron/Grey-colored battle suit. We see that it houses particular tools, like a buzzsaw and magnets. It needs to be charged like a phone does today. There will be innumerable modifications and suit changes as the series progresses.

Tony’s love life is only merely touched at in this introductory issue. It will take on a more central part of the series later on. Most of his early adventures, as seen here, will be dealing with Communist threats.

Iron Man is not above killing his opponent. This is one of the few deaths caused by one of the main heroes of another human being in a Marvel book for the Silver Age.

Review & Ranking

This is a great start for Iron Man. Instead of him being an all out powerful hero, he has to learn how to control his armor before he can properly use it. The villain is pretty generic, but given some edge for killing Iron Man’s mentor and being part of his main origin. Similar to the Burglar in Spider-Man’s origin.

The story is fairly straightforward. There’s isn’t much in the way of unneeded exposition. It deals with stuff that was actually going on in the world at the time. My major gripe is in the dialogue of Wong-Chu & the other Vietnamese guerrillas who are written in a way that makes them sound dumb because they don’t speak english which is a bit racist and cartoony. And the coloring is a tad too yellow still. Wong-Chu is a complete cartoon of a villain. He reminds me of Bluto from Popeye, but less appealing.

With this being a very important issue of Marvel Comics history and being well told, with some emotional resonance, I am putting this right under Doctor Doom’s first appearance in the rankings.

Next Time on Marvel: It is Ant-Man’s turn to be captured and taken to another dimension by strange aliens

Incredible Hulk 6

The Metal Master!

by

Stan Lee, Steve Ditko & Dick Ayers

As the United States military prepares to test his latest rocket, Bruce Banner has gone missing. General Thunderbolt Ross scours the base for him, while his daughter Betty Ross worries that something tragic has happened to Bruce. Only Rick Jones knows the truth about him, but he is also concerned about his absent partner. Outside in the desert, we find the reason Bruce is missing; He is trapped in the form of the Hulk. Lying between him and his underground cave is a squadron of soldiers on maneuvers. Hulk knows that if he makes an appearance, they will all target him. Trying to maintain his secrecy, Hulk plans to jump just low enough to avoid radar contact. As he does, he nearly runs into jets flying by. Ducking back behind a pillar, Hulk decides it best to wait them out. However, the longer he waits, the harder it will be for him to turn back into Banner. The wait doesn’t take long, as suddenly a loud emergency alarm blares over all the action, commanding everyone to return to the base. After the soldiers disperse, Hulk goes down into his lair to change.

Once he is back to being Bruce Banner, the scientist finds himself much weaker than ever before after a change. As he stumbles to a nearby chair, he carelessly flicks on a screen monitoring the army base. He is shocked to see Betty and General Ross in a state of panic. The camera pans over to the rocket launch site, to show that the entire rocket and launch pad appear to be melting. Suddenly, an unearthly being appears and announces to all that he is the Metal Master. He explains that he comes from the planet Astra. On Astra, all beings have the power to control metals with their mind. He has become an exile for disrupting his race’s peaceful lives with his desire of conquering others. Travelling through space, he sought out metal-rich planets to take control of and that’s when he stumbled upon earth. After a grander display of his powers, Metal Master tells them they all must accept him as their ruler. The earthlings have 24 hours to comply. Not on General Ross’s watch. He races across his base to launch two missiles at the alien as he flies through the air on a mentally-controlled metallic platform. Before they hit, Metal Master disintigrates one and sends the other one back. General Ross grabs Rick Jones out of the way. They run for cover as the missile explodes part of the base. In the confusion, Rick Jones runs off knowing they need the Hulk’s help.

In Bruce Banner’s secret lab, Rick finds Banner in the midst of changing into the Hulk. Hulk explains he saw what happened. Rick looks on befuddled, as the Hulk appears beside him with Bruce Banner’s face still intact. When Rick points this error out, Hulk grabs a Hulk mask that Bruce had made for study purposes. With his proper face on, Hulk leaves and launches himself towards the Metal Master.

Hulk quickly finds the Metal Master beside a heap of scrap metal. Before Hulk can hit him, the alien forms a cage around Hulk. This cage does not last very long under the Hulk’s strength. The alien starts launching metallic object at Hulk’s face. Before Hulk can retaliate, Metal Master wonders if the Hulk wouldn't want to team up with him to take over the world. Hulk briefly entertains this notion before remembering that Hulk needs no one else. With Hulk distracted, Metal Master drops a huge piece of metal on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious as the alien hovers off again.

A few moments later a detachment of troops discover the dazed Hulk sprawled out on his back. With Hulk unable to react, the soldiers discover his Hulk mask only to discover the Hulk’s real green face underneath. The confused soldiers call in to General Ross, who is ecstatic over Hulk’s capture. They bring him into a specially designed prison Ross had built for him. Rick tries to tell the general that they are making a mistake, but Ross is not hearing any of it. Rick goes off to speak with Hulk alone. Hulk starts accusing him of revealing his secret because the soldiers found him wearing the mask and assumes Rick told them. Rick tries to tell him the truth, but Hulk refuses to believe him, telling Rick he doesn't need him anymore. Heartbroken, Rick wanders off as Hulk pounds away at the wall of his concrete prison. Rick finds General Ross to inquire about joining the military. Ross tells him he is only 16, so he can’t just yet. The best thing he can do is stay in school and then he can join when he becomes 18.

Meanwhile, Metal Master has been wreaking havoc across the globe; Destroying oiling platforms in the middle east, construction in Africa, disrupting shipping lanes in the sea and disintegrating bridges in Europe. The leaders of earth have had enough. As these troubles persist, Rick wanders around his school. He runs into some classmates who want to cheer him up with a special surprise. They bring him over to their clubhouse where they show off their brand new ham radio. This gives Rick an idea. Using the ham radio, the teens can contact others to form a network of youths that can help out in times of crises all across the country. They are dubbed the Teen Brigade.

The Hulk finally pounds his way free of his concrete cell. Elsewhere on the base, Betty worries about the missing Bruce Banner who hasn't been seen for days. Her father gets the news that the Hulk has escaped. Betty wonders if Hulk has somehow captured Bruce. Hulk has made his way back to his secret lair, where he stands on the platform to turn back into Banner. Rick arrives, preparing to leave for good, only to find Bruce in a much weakened state after the transformation. After helping him to a bed, Bruce explains to Rick that he is getting weaker the more often he has to turn into the Hulk with the gamma ray machine. Rick realizes he can’t leave Bruce behind after all, it isn't fair to hurt him for the Hulk’s actions. Bruce tells Rick that he’s come up with a plan to defeat the Metal Master, but he needs more people to help put his plan in motion. That’s when Rick let’s him in on the Teen Brigade.

The Teen Brigade carry out Bruce Banner’s plan. They connect with other ham teens to form a network of teenage Hulk helpers. With them bringing in supplies from all over the country, Banner returns to his platform to turn into Hulk yet again. Meanwhile at the UN, top officials from all over the world are in an outcry to stop the Metal Master. He has carried on his path of destruction, warping rail tracks and disintegrating more missiles, this time of the Soviet variety. After melting down their jets, Metal Master proclaims that soon mankind will indeed be his.

In the southwest of the United States, the local chapter of the Teen Brigade has gathered all of Bruce’s necessary equipment at a warehouse.  Rick heads inside to find Hulk at work instead of Bruce. Retaining some of Bruce’s intelligence, Hulk is able to put the finishing touches on the device to stop Metal Master. He heads outside to the astonishment of the teens who point out his gun won’t work since it appears to be completely metallic. Near Washington D.C., a couple of Teen Brigadiers spot Metal Master in the distance. They relay the message through the network until it reaches the teens near Hulk. Hulk leaps in the direction relayed to him and confronts the alien. Metal Master lowers himself towards the Hulk on his metallic hovering platform. He tries to use his mental energy to make the bazooka-like device Hulk is holding to explode.  Hulk mocks Metal Master’s much vaunted power as it fails him. Metal Master tries with all of his mental might, but he simply cannot destroy the bazooka.

Back at the military base, Betty has been checking everywhere for Bruce Banner at the behest of her father. She has even resorted to calling the morgue in case his body turned up. As General Ross paces the room, he is given word that the Hulk has been spotted squaring off against the Metal Master in the outskirts of Washington D.C. The general has his men prepare his private jet as he quickly crosses the country to lead a battalion towards the location.

Down at the battle site, Hulk still has Metal Master locked in the bazooka’s sights.  Metal Master uses his powers to smack Hulk in the head with the metal platform he’s been flying around on. This lowers the alien down to Hulk’s level, where the green behemoth can easily grab him. With Metal Master in his clutches, Hulk demands that the alien return earth back as it was before his interference or he’ll belt him. Under the Hulk’s threats, Metal Master regrettably complies and returns all metallic structures around the globe back to their proper form. After the Hulk releases the alien, he immediately returns to his rocketship and blasts away from earth. The teens congratulate Hulk and realize that the bazooka was only a decoy, made of cardboard and plastic. As Hulk celebrates with the Teen Brigade, they hear a new transmission over their radio. The army is coming.

Just as General Ross arrives with a battalion, Rick slings himself around Hulk’s shoulders to protect him. As the Hulk leaps away, the Teen Brigade inform Ross that it was the Hulk who saved them all from the Metal Master. Returning to his underground lair, Hulk steps onto the changing platform. The machine blasts him, but fails to transform him back into Banner. Hulk suddenly gets very anxious. He laments having hated Banner’s weakness all this time, now afraid that he will be forever stuck as the Hulk. Elsewhere, Betty Ross is still on the lookout for Bruce.  After checking all of his usual haunts, she is overheard by members of the Teen Brigade. The youths contact their network to reach Rick, so he can inform Bruce that Betty is desperately searching for him. Back in the lair, Rick tells Hulk that he has been granted a full pardon from the government on account of him saving the world from the Metal Master. Hulk is too distraught to care. He starts trashing the room in anger before he finally changes back into Bruce. Rick supports the weakened scientist and finally tells him that Betty has been looking for him.

At the Ross’ house, ol'  Thunderbolt is furious that the Hulk has been granted a full pardon. The doorbell suddenly rings. It’s Bruce Banner. Betty is delighted to see Bruce alive and well. He claims that he had been feeling sick lately, so he took some time off in Bermuda. General Ross can’t see what she is attracted to in the milksop doctor. Betty and Bruce head out for a late night stroll around the base. As they walk under the full moon arm-in-arm, Betty expresses her desire to know what the secret between him and the Hulk is. She knows there is a connection. Bruce explains that it is because of how much she means to him that he could never divulge the secret between him and the Hulk. And as the story comes to a close, Rick Jones is left wondering what will happen next time Bruce is forced the use the increasingly unpredictable gamma ray machine.

Notes

The Metal Master should not be confused with X-Men archvillain Magneto. They both have similar powers, but that is it.

The Teen Brigade is formed. These ham radio enthusiasts will appear sporadically throughout the Marvel Universe. They play a large role in the early days of the Avengers.

Bruce Banner & Betty Ross pretty much cement their relationship as a couple at the end of this issue.

The Hulk’s transformations are all over the place at this point. The dosage of gamma rays are having a wild effect on Hulk and Banner. He is somewhat in between. When he is Banner he is much too weak to do almost anything, as the Hulk he is able to retain some of Banner’s intellect, but he still hates him and just about everybody else.

This is the first time we see a major fracture in Hulk & Rick’s relationship. Another arc that plays out through the early Marvels.

Hulk does a brief shout out to the Human Torch, whom he just met in Fantastic Four 12

This is the final issue of the Incredible Hulk’s original run. He will be popping up in other titles. Mostly in Avengers when they are established. He will get his own solo feature again in the pages of Tales to Astonish #60.

Review & Ranking

This is a pretty decent, straight forward story. There’s not a lot of faffing around. The Metal Master has an interesting, new power set, but his demeanor, plan, origin and defeat are nothing we haven't seen before from would be conquerors. Steve Ditko does a serviceable job, but I'm not a big fan of how he draws the Hulk. He’s absolutely fantastic at all of the other characters’ facial expressions and showing off Metal Master’s powers. I just don't like it when they give Hulk the Frankenstein monster hairdo as he has in here. I'm much more of the spinach/broccoli hair Hulk of Herb Trimpe or Sal Buscema. He also feels a little more neanderthal-ish than monstrous in this Ditko style.

All of the personal interactions are well done, even Betty has something to do, even tho that thing is worrying the whole issue long. I don't have a problem with Betty not knowing who the Hulk is when it seems so obvious to us. But that is because we know Bruce and Hulk inhabit the same being; we are in on the secret the same way Rick Jones is. Betty doesn't know that. She would have no way of knowing that the Hulk turns into a man or vice versa. From her point of view, there is a brilliant man that she is attracted to, and there is a big green monster wandering the desert side who occasionally attacks her father’s military base. At the end she is just starting to get a suspicion about some connection between them. It doesn't make her dumb, it gives her character more weight.

Rick Jones goes through an emotional journey in this one. He starts off anxious about Bruce missing and Metal Master’s attack. Heartbroken when the Hulk basically breaks up with him. Joyous and prideful about forming the Teen Brigade and then back to his normal teenager-y self.

Hulk comes to the conclusion that Banner isn't completely useless despite being weak. If this were the final issue of the Hulk ever, this wouldn't be a bad note to end the series on.

I am putting this issue of Incredible Hulk #6 at 19 on my ranking list. Overall, I like this better than the Tyrannus story in Hulk #5, but not quite as dynamic and powerful as Thor vs. Soviets story above it in Journey into Mystery #87. The lack of fight scenes doesn't bug me too much this time around because the artist is Steve Ditko, not Kirby, and Ditko is much more suited to the interpersonal moments, so it jells more with his style when there is less fight going on.

Next Time:

Journey into Mystery 90

Trapped by the Carbon-Copy Man!

by

Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Al Hartley

On the planet Xarta, a father and son, named Ugarth and Zano, lead a fleet of spacefaring, barbarian type people to attack Earth. Ugarth declares this mission to be his last. Once successful, he will give complete reign over to his son. The soldiers are wary of defeat, but Ugarth reminds them of their special abilities to insure their victory.

On Earth, Donald Blake is pacing in his lab. He wants to tell Jane Foster how he feels about her, but cannot come to grips with his situation of being weak and his secret of being Thor. Slamming his cane down in frustration, he turns into Thor and finally decides to tell her the truth. The next day, as Don arrives at his practice, he begins to talk to Jane. Suddenly Odin appears, visible only to Don. He tells him that he strictly forbids his son to reveal his secret identity to any mortals. Crushed, Blake brushes off his conversation with Jane. He then makes an excuse to work away from her for the afternoon at a charity hospital. Jane watches him exit, wishing he would be more brave like her idol Thor.

As Doctor Blake walks outside, he notices some very strange happenings on the street. The commissioner has apparently ordered for cars to now drive exclusively on sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to walk in the gutter. Elsewhere in the city, posters are being displayed on buildings instead of on billboards, bridges have been painted in polka dots and it has been declared “trust people week;” forcing everyone to keep their doors unlocked.  When Don has returned to his office that afternoon, he tells Jane that he now has a court summons.  Apparently treating charity patients is now against the law.

Suddenly Jane Foster starts uncharacteristically arguing that it should be against the law. She says, if people are so poor, they don't deserve medical treatment. So enraged at her employer, Jane quits. This alerts Blake that something must be going on for Jane to act so out of character. The whole city seems to be going mad. He decides to seek out the mayor in order to get to the bottom of it. Slamming down his cane, Don changes into Thor and takes off for city hall.

When Thor arrives in mayor Harris’s office, the mayor immediately calls for the guards to take him away. Thor spins his hammer around before the guards can nab him and flies back out the window. Outside, Thor gets his bearings. He uses his hammer to activate a specific moment in his life that he can’t recall. At some point in the distant past, Odin had taught him the lesson that the simplest answer is usually the obvious answer. This makes Thor realize that since these people are acting weird and not themselves, they must not actually be themselves at all. With this in mind, Thor makes a search of the city.

As twilight falls, Thor finds a group of felled trees on the outskirts of town. Behind these trees, Thor discovers a spaceship in hiding. He realizes it must be from another planet, because it is made up of metals not native to Earth. Laying his hammer down to feel along the hull for a hidden door, Thor is suddenly seized in some kind of magnetic pull that forces him against the ship. With Mjolnir out of reach, Thor reverts back to the lame-legged form of Dr. Blake.

Two Xartans appear to capture Don Blake. They haul him into their ship, where the mayor and Jane Foster are also held prisoner. Ugarth shows the captives their power of changing shape into any being. Zano demonstrates, changing into an imposter of Don. He goes on to explain that their plan is to impersonate people in key positions throughout the nearby city, in order to keep everyone distracted by the ensuing chaos as the waiting Xartan armada invades the world. They will repeat this process until the entire world is conquered. The mayor and Jane protest that they will never succeed as long as Thor is around. Don concurs, agreeing to lead the aliens to Thor’s capture; leading to more protest from mayor Harris and Jane.

Outside of the spacecraft, Don leads the aliens away. When their back is turned, he reaches for the uru hammer and turns back into mighty Thor. The aliens approach the thunder god. Ugarth calls for the other humans to come out and bear witness as he defeats their champion. As Thor turns to fight, Zano shapeshifts into an angular being made out of ice. He encases Thor in a block of ice, blasted from his fingertips. Before he is completely frozen, Thor throws his hammer so that it boomerangs back and shatters the frozen prison.

Zano transforms into a roman style gladiator. He tosses a steel net over Thor, but he counters by blasting a bolt of lightning at the alien. Kneeling in agony, Zano admits defeat as Thor easily tears the net apart and Jane cheers him on.

Ugarth swears to avenge his son and confronts the Norse god. As a more seasoned warrior, he promises more of a challenge. Ugarth fades from their very eyes. Like the Invisible Girl, Ugarth starts striking Thor as he can't see him. Thor struggles to come up with a plan. While he is pummeled about, Jane and the mayor grow more anxious. Suddenly, Thor has it. He uses his hammer to summon a rainstorm down. Paying attention to the water droplets, Thor is able to make out the space that Ugarth inhabits.

Pinpointing Ugarth, Thor takes up the steel net and wraps it around the Xartan leader. Secured in the net, Ugarth is flung around Thor’s head like his hammer. Thor lets go, slinging Ugarth out into space, right past the Xartan armada. The entire fleet retreats to rescue their leader.

Back on Earth, Jane and mayor Harris congratulate Thor on rescuing them. They wonder what to do about the remaining aliens. Thor has an idea. They will keep them here on earth as hostages to insure the Xartans will never invade again. Thor orders Zano to retrieve all of his agents still disguised in the city. Once that is done, Thor commands all of the aliens to take the form of trees. The thunder god explains that once the Xartans take on a form, they take on their entire traits. Meaning that now that they are trees, they cannot think to become anything else.

With the threat neutralized, Jane and the mayor praise Thor yet again. Before he leaves, Thor explains that Don Blake’s seeming betrayal was actually beneficial to them, so they shouldn't be mad at him. The two of them take him at his word. Soon after, Don returns to his office with Jane. She explains to him what Thor said about his help, but assumes he meant he just wanted Don out of his way.  Don turns to the audience with a smug look, saying, “we can’t all be as brave as Thor.”


Notes

This is the first time Thor is told by Odin that he is forbidden to reveal his secret identity to anybody. The first in a series of forbiddings.

Jane Foster continues her idolization of Thor.

Don Blake almost reveals his secret to Jane as well as his feelings for her.

Thor’s hammer has the power to recall past events, even if Thor has forgotten them.

Review & Rank

Why do Ugarth and his race care so much about earth? There is no explanation given beyond them wanting to conquer. The plot reason they attack Earth is because it is Thor’s book and he lives on Earth and if they attacked some other planet we wouldn’t have much of a Thor story. They try to add an additional layer to their personalities with Ugarth & Zano’s father/son dynamic, but they are still very bland, boring enemies. It would be a little better if they could have juxtaposed their relationship with that of Odin and Thor’s, but there is none of that.

I had trouble with Thor’s memory hammer. I guess it makes sense if Thor can’t recall specific events from his past just yet with him still being within a year of being reactivated. The explanation still seems a bit convoluted and it doesn’t really come across well in the narration boxes.

This is the worst art we have seen so far in these early Marvel issues. Al Hartley is a perfectly capable artist, who worked mostly in the romance/teen genre. I’m not trying to blame him at all because he does a few panels that show he knows what he’s doing (specifically during the Thor/gladiator fight sequence,) I just think his style really clashes with Thor. Don Blake and Thor look really cartoonish and off-model this whole issue. Jane isn’t too bad. The Xartans are just very generic humanoid aliens, there’s nothing that stands out about them to make them memorable at all. It might be fine if this were a humor or teen series, but it isn’t. The last panel of Don Blake looking right into the “camera” is so off putting, I just want to punch him in his stupid smug face.

This issue isn’t helped by Stan & Larry Lieber completely recycling a plot that was done so much better in Fantastic Four #2; Just replace Xartans with Skrulls and trees with cows. It also really feels like a story that they had sitting around and just tacked Thor onto it to make it a superhero comic.

I am giving this issue of Journey into Mystery the lowest rank so far in the entire list. It’s so convoluted. Nothing of value happens this issue. The one somewhat noteworthy thing happens in a cartoonish, off-model panel of Odin, when he should be one of the most dramatic figures of them all. The thing that tips it over for me to make it worse than Strange Tales #101 is the art and the really poor expositions. The explanation of Thor’s hammer memory is really confusing and comes across as silly. It really seems like a leap in logic to me from Thor  remembering Odin’s moral, that “the simplest explanation is the obvious explanation,” to realizing that everyone is an imposter.

If I had written this, I would have waited until after Jane Foster had been replaced for Don Blake to then try to reveal his secret to her, and then Odin interferes to forbid him and reveal that Jane had been replaced instead of this memory nonsense. It would juxtapose the father/son dynamic a little bit with the villains’. Bottom of the barrel for Thor and Marvel so far.

Next Issue: We say goodbye to the Incredible Hulk’s own title for awhile.