History of the Marvel Universe: September 1964, part 2

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #108

This seems to be the month for guest stars. Daredevil popped up in Spider Man--now Dr. Strange is helping out Thor. And it is again a perfectly fair way to plug another character, dropping him into a self-contained, well-written story that doesn't obligate you to buy another comic unless you choose to do so.

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Doctor Strange mentally summons Thor to help after he's left injured from a fight against Baron Mordo. Don Blake must perform surgery on Strange, using his mystical knowledge as Thor as well as his skill as a mortal doctor to save Strange's life. During the operation, though, he's forced to ignore a summons to Asgard sent by Odin. This ticks off the perpetually grumpy All-Father yet again.

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In the meantime, Loki escapes from Asgard, tricks Blake into unwittingly switching walking sticks while disguised as an old man, then kidnaps Jane. Blake has to recruit the recovering Doctor Strange to help locate his real stick. Then Strange has to help again, protecting Jane while Thor goes up against Loki. By the time Loki is defeated, Odin has calmed down and complements his son on a battle well-fought. But he's still concerned that Thor is in love with a mortal.

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It's a fun, fast-moving story with several fun twists and a lot of cool visuals. The Tales of Asgard back-up feature is also a visual treat; a disguised Thor allows himself to be captured by Trolls as part of a plan to free other Asgardians also held in slavery by the evil creatures. In terms of story, Thor actually has too easy a time busting out of troll prison to make the yarn as exciting as it should be. But Kirby's layouts are fantastic, making the story fun to just look at.

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TALES OF SUSPENSE #57

This issue introduces us to Hawkeye, who will soon become a regular member of the Avengers. But the archer doesn't start out on the right side of the law.

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Hawkeye's performing in a Coney Island side show when he witnesses Iron Man in action. He decides to become a superhero himself, though his motivation is mostly centered around his ego and jealousy over how much attention Iron Man gets.

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With his trick arrows and newly designed costume, he stops a thief, but then gets mistaken himself for a thief by the cops. He's "rescued" by the Black Widow, who vamps him into agreeing to take out Iron Man.

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He uses an arrow that sprays a rust-inducing chemical to gain a brief upper hand against Iron Man, but the armored Avenger soon proves more powerful. (By the way, I think this is the first issue in which the magnetic beams Iron Man shoots out of his gloves are refered to as "repulsor beams.")

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When the Black Widow is accidentally injured by one of Hawkeye's explosive arrows, the distraught archer snatches her up and makes a getaway. He'll be back before long, though, and his career as a villain will be a short one before Iron Man helps him reform.

TALES TO ASTONISH #59

This issue starts with a meaningless but kinda fun continuity glitch. At an Avengers meeting, Iron Man is using a "portable projector" to show newsreel footage of Spider Man fighting the Hulk. The trouble with that, of course, is that Spider Man fought the Hulk (in Spider Man #14) in a cave without witnesses. Who the heck shot that footage?

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But the point, of course, is to remind us of the Hulk, since Giant Man is about to encounter the green guy. Hank wants to find him and convince him to rejoin the Avengers. He and Jan head out to New Mexico, unaware that their old enemy, the Human Top, is tailing them.

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The Top manages to sic the Hulk on Giant Man. While those two tussle, the Top then convinces the military that the Hulk alone is in an evacuated town. The military then fires a nuke at the town, but the Hulk grabs the missle and throws it into some nearby hills to explode harmlessly. Well, almost harmlessly--the Human Top was hiding out there. But he'll survive--villains always do.

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It's an okay story, though it's overall structure is a bit awkward and the Human Top is kinda wasted in it--his own superpower never makes a bit of difference in the tale. The story's main purpose, though, is to introduce the Hulk to the readers of Tales to Astonish. Starting next month, he'll be starring there in his own feature.

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Next week, we'll finish up September 1964 with a look at the Avengers and the X-Men.