Prisoner of the 5th Dimension!
by
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers
Johnny Storm is running late to school. He hides inside an alleyway to flame on to keep his identity secret. From there, he flies to school. Once inside the halls, Johnny overhears people discussing a house builder named Bentley. He has been trying to build houses in a nearby swamp, however the structures keep sinking into the ground.
At the swamp, another house has been destroyed. The construction crew claims that they filled the ground with hard soil to stop the sinking. It appears not to have worked. Suddenly a strange old man appears, warning Bentley and his men of Swamp Demons. According to him, the Swamp Demons are not happy with these men destroying the swamp, so they are getting even. Bentley and his men disregard the old man's tale as nonsense and attempt to build again. Later that night, two mysterious men disturb the soil yet again.
The next morning, Bentley and his crew discover the house structure sunk again. Johnny, who has gotten wind of this contacts Reed Richards. Reed tells him that the rest of the Fantastic Four are tied up with another case, so Johnny will have to go it alone. Flying down to the swamp, the Human Torch meets Bentley and his men. The Torch burns a hole through the ground. He determines that the ground seems to be solid enough to hold up a building. The old man returns with his warning of Swamp Demons, which gives Johnny an idea.
That night, Johnny spies on the swamp. He witnesses the old man, plus two strange blue men accompanying him. They lay out a ray gun on a tripod. As they activate it, the ray shoots the soil around the house, making it so loose the house can't help but sink underground. As Johnny quietly follows them, he sees the two blue men and their ray gun completely vanish. After they disappear, Johnny becomes the Human Torch and confronts the old man. At this instigation, the old man removes his disguise revealing another blue humanoid underneath. He fires an anti-matter electron gun that converts air into liquid at the Torch that extinguishes his flame. Under gunpoint, Johnny is lead to the spot in the swamp where the other blue men vanished. The blue stranger tells him they are leaving this dimension and entering his.
Before Johnny Storm's astonishment, the blue humanoid presents his home; The 5th Dimension. Johnny sees a world full of blue humanoids riding flying vehicles and giant arched dome structures dotting the skyline. Johnny is brought before Zemu, the despot leader of these beings. He explains the situation to Johnny, they are destroying the houses to keep people from discovering their location, so that they can use the point in the swamp where their dimension converges with Johnny's to conquer earth when they've gathered enough forces to do so. This is why they denied the housing development to start building in the swamp. Done with explanations, Zemu commands his men to imprison the youth.
As the guards take him to a water filled tank, Johnny notices a young blue lady has a look of concern on her face over him. After chaining him up inside the water tank, all but one guard leaves. It is then that the lady, Valeria, shows up to distract the guard. She exposes her hypno-ring to the guard's eyes, leaving him dazed. Valeria and her father, Phineas, quickly release Johnny from his imprisonment and go to their hideout. Once inside their apartment hideout, Johnny fully comes to. Phineas explains that they are rebels, who oppose Zemu's rule. Johnny vows to help them however he can.
While Johnny and the 5th dimensional rebels figure out a plan, Zemu has discovered the lad's escape. Outside the main munitions supply, Johnny flames on and goes on the attack. Inside, the blue men are practicing an ice ray gun when the Torch bursts in and melts it. They call for reinforcements as the Torch makes a getaway, burning a tunnel underground. The absence of solid ground causes the foundation to collapse, destroying the munitions, the building and anyone trapped inside. Outside, the rebels are seized by Zemu's forces. Zemu uses a giant magnet weapon to pull the three rebels onto it. The Torch comes out just in time to save them. He creates a load of smoke to blind the enemy army and then blazes so hot it melts the magnet. Valeria starts feeling an attraction towards Johnny as she is rescued by him.
As the Human Torch lands, he is confronted by Zemu and a fleet of tanks. Zemu exclaims that the tanks have been treated with an asbestos coating, so they can't be burnt. This doesn't stop the Torch. He creates a giant tornado, like when he fought Sub-Mariner the first time, that swoops all of the vehicles up in it's draft. The rebels inform Torch that Zemu still has thousands of troops under his command.
Flying up in the sky, the Human Torch sparks a revolution. In giant blazing letters, he tells everybody to rise up against Zemu. The men and women of the 5th Dimension begin a revolt against their tyrannical leader. As Zemu tries to escape, Torch imprisons him in a cage made of fire.
With Zemu captured, the rebels say their farewells to Johnny. They promise to stop anymore invasion attempts now that the people are on their side. Valeria expresses a desire to visit Johnny back on his world someday. Johnny wishes he could stay, but he must return to his friends and family on earth. After his return, Johnny spends the following days daydreaming about Valeria and her dimension. His teacher tells him it looks like he is in another world.
Notes:
Immediate Thoughts: Not bad. This is the first solo Human Torch story that doesn't feel overly convoluted. It's a pretty basic, straightforward story without all the weird convoluted explanations that made the last two stories difficult. The setup with the sinking houses was a little silly, but story didn't focus on that too much to be distracting. My main objection is the naming of this other realm as the "5th Dimension" If they had named it anything else I'd like it a little more. I like DC's with the imps better.
Firsts: This is the first time Johnny Storm has felt sexually attracted to someone in a story, something that becomes more of who he is as a character. Valeria could be his first time feeling that way about someone.
Move Set: I like the call back to previous uses of the Human Torch's powers. He does his tunneling move that he did in FF #1 to escape the Mole Man. He did the super tornado trick that he fought off Sub-Mariner with in FF #4 and he used his smoke screen and the super intense heat to melt the magnet.
Cameo: Reed shows up for 1 panel to tell Johnny he can't help him. See Next Issue to find out what Reed and the rest of the FF have been busy with.
List Thoughts: I'm putting this between JIM 84 which was also about a tyrant being overcome by rebellious forces and the first story in Hulk #4 which was told pretty straightforward with less convolutions. Neither of which have much impact on the Marvel Universe as a whole. Probably one of the highest ranking Human Torch stories we're going to get from Strange Tales. The art isn't great throughout the issue and the 5th Dimension guys are supposed to be blue, but the coloring makes them more pale green, like they are all about to vomit. Also, a very cheesy ending that felt tacked on when Johnny returns home.
List
The next morning, Bentley and his crew discover the house structure sunk again. Johnny, who has gotten wind of this contacts Reed Richards. Reed tells him that the rest of the Fantastic Four are tied up with another case, so Johnny will have to go it alone. Flying down to the swamp, the Human Torch meets Bentley and his men. The Torch burns a hole through the ground. He determines that the ground seems to be solid enough to hold up a building. The old man returns with his warning of Swamp Demons, which gives Johnny an idea.
That night, Johnny spies on the swamp. He witnesses the old man, plus two strange blue men accompanying him. They lay out a ray gun on a tripod. As they activate it, the ray shoots the soil around the house, making it so loose the house can't help but sink underground. As Johnny quietly follows them, he sees the two blue men and their ray gun completely vanish. After they disappear, Johnny becomes the Human Torch and confronts the old man. At this instigation, the old man removes his disguise revealing another blue humanoid underneath. He fires an anti-matter electron gun that converts air into liquid at the Torch that extinguishes his flame. Under gunpoint, Johnny is lead to the spot in the swamp where the other blue men vanished. The blue stranger tells him they are leaving this dimension and entering his.
Before Johnny Storm's astonishment, the blue humanoid presents his home; The 5th Dimension. Johnny sees a world full of blue humanoids riding flying vehicles and giant arched dome structures dotting the skyline. Johnny is brought before Zemu, the despot leader of these beings. He explains the situation to Johnny, they are destroying the houses to keep people from discovering their location, so that they can use the point in the swamp where their dimension converges with Johnny's to conquer earth when they've gathered enough forces to do so. This is why they denied the housing development to start building in the swamp. Done with explanations, Zemu commands his men to imprison the youth.
As the guards take him to a water filled tank, Johnny notices a young blue lady has a look of concern on her face over him. After chaining him up inside the water tank, all but one guard leaves. It is then that the lady, Valeria, shows up to distract the guard. She exposes her hypno-ring to the guard's eyes, leaving him dazed. Valeria and her father, Phineas, quickly release Johnny from his imprisonment and go to their hideout. Once inside their apartment hideout, Johnny fully comes to. Phineas explains that they are rebels, who oppose Zemu's rule. Johnny vows to help them however he can.
While Johnny and the 5th dimensional rebels figure out a plan, Zemu has discovered the lad's escape. Outside the main munitions supply, Johnny flames on and goes on the attack. Inside, the blue men are practicing an ice ray gun when the Torch bursts in and melts it. They call for reinforcements as the Torch makes a getaway, burning a tunnel underground. The absence of solid ground causes the foundation to collapse, destroying the munitions, the building and anyone trapped inside. Outside, the rebels are seized by Zemu's forces. Zemu uses a giant magnet weapon to pull the three rebels onto it. The Torch comes out just in time to save them. He creates a load of smoke to blind the enemy army and then blazes so hot it melts the magnet. Valeria starts feeling an attraction towards Johnny as she is rescued by him.
As the Human Torch lands, he is confronted by Zemu and a fleet of tanks. Zemu exclaims that the tanks have been treated with an asbestos coating, so they can't be burnt. This doesn't stop the Torch. He creates a giant tornado, like when he fought Sub-Mariner the first time, that swoops all of the vehicles up in it's draft. The rebels inform Torch that Zemu still has thousands of troops under his command.
Flying up in the sky, the Human Torch sparks a revolution. In giant blazing letters, he tells everybody to rise up against Zemu. The men and women of the 5th Dimension begin a revolt against their tyrannical leader. As Zemu tries to escape, Torch imprisons him in a cage made of fire.
With Zemu captured, the rebels say their farewells to Johnny. They promise to stop anymore invasion attempts now that the people are on their side. Valeria expresses a desire to visit Johnny back on his world someday. Johnny wishes he could stay, but he must return to his friends and family on earth. After his return, Johnny spends the following days daydreaming about Valeria and her dimension. His teacher tells him it looks like he is in another world.
Notes:
Immediate Thoughts: Not bad. This is the first solo Human Torch story that doesn't feel overly convoluted. It's a pretty basic, straightforward story without all the weird convoluted explanations that made the last two stories difficult. The setup with the sinking houses was a little silly, but story didn't focus on that too much to be distracting. My main objection is the naming of this other realm as the "5th Dimension" If they had named it anything else I'd like it a little more. I like DC's with the imps better.
Firsts: This is the first time Johnny Storm has felt sexually attracted to someone in a story, something that becomes more of who he is as a character. Valeria could be his first time feeling that way about someone.
Move Set: I like the call back to previous uses of the Human Torch's powers. He does his tunneling move that he did in FF #1 to escape the Mole Man. He did the super tornado trick that he fought off Sub-Mariner with in FF #4 and he used his smoke screen and the super intense heat to melt the magnet.
Cameo: Reed shows up for 1 panel to tell Johnny he can't help him. See Next Issue to find out what Reed and the rest of the FF have been busy with.
List Thoughts: I'm putting this between JIM 84 which was also about a tyrant being overcome by rebellious forces and the first story in Hulk #4 which was told pretty straightforward with less convolutions. Neither of which have much impact on the Marvel Universe as a whole. Probably one of the highest ranking Human Torch stories we're going to get from Strange Tales. The art isn't great throughout the issue and the 5th Dimension guys are supposed to be blue, but the coloring makes them more pale green, like they are all about to vomit. Also, a very cheesy ending that felt tacked on when Johnny returns home.
List
- Amazing Fantasy (Spider-Man) #15
- Fantastic Four #1
- Fantastic Four #4
- Incredible Hulk #1
- Fantastic Four #5
- Amazing Adult Fantasy (X-Men) #14
- Fantastic Four #6
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #85
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #83
- Fantastic Four #2
- Fantastic Four #8
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #86
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #36
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #35
- Incredible Hulk #4a
- Strange Tales (Human Torch) #103
- Journey into Mystery (Thor) #84
- Tales to Astonish (Ant-Man) #27
- Strange Tales (Human Torch) #102
- Fantastic Four #3
- Incredible Hulk #2
- Fantastic Four #7
- Incredible Hulk #4b
- Tales to Astonish #37
- Incredible Hulk #3
- Strange Tales (Human Torch) #101
Next Issue: The Fantastic Four are bankrupt!
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