Prisoners of the Puppet Master!/The Hands of the Puppet Maker/The Lady and the Monster!/Face-to-face with the Puppet Master!/Death of a puppet! Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: August 9, 1962 Cover: November 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 23 pages
I read this issue in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. The comic has the signatures of Lee and Kirby. The collection lists Ayers as the inker.
We begin now the second year of adventures of the Fantastic Four.
Well, he did tell them to call him Thing…
I’ve found it weird the whole series that they always refer to him as ‘Thing’ instead of ‘Ben’. In later comics, they will mostly call him Ben. The writers seemed to have noticed it’s odd as they make a thing of it here. Sue calls him Ben, and he complains about how it’s only ‘Ben’ when they want something.
Prisoner of the Wizard/Wizard’s Wiles! Release: August 9, 1962 Cover: November 1962 12 cents Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber Penciler: Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 13 pages
This is better than the previous Human Torch story. It at least introduces a notable villain. And Wizard is a pretty cool character.
But, man, that secret identity thing remains a rough plot point. First, the ultra-genius Wizard needs a convoluted plan to find the Torch because nobody knows his secret identity. And then, Wizard douses Torch’s flames to defeat him, but only on his body… leaving a flaming head. Why?
Trapped by the Protecter!/Face-to-face with the Protecter! Release: August 2, 1962 Cover: November 1962 12 cents Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber Penciler: Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 13 pages
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Ant-Man/Giant-Man vol. 1. I took the credits above from the collection. I see no credits within the story itself.
I guess people can hear him now
In his first outing, a difficulty Ant-Man had was that nobody could hear him in ant-size. They haven’t specifically addressed how he overcame that, but he clearly has. Perhaps speakers are built into his helmet.
Again, we see Ant-Man as the most active superhero, using his ants to patrol so he can find his way to crime scenes and help investigate. This will become an increasingly common practice for people in this world, but nobody else is really doing it yet.
Who just rents a jewelry store on a whim?
As part of a trap, Henry Pym rents a jewelry store. That doesn’t sound cheap, suggesting a certain affluence on Dr. Pym’s part. It seems like it would have been easier to have his ants stake out other jewelry stores.
This story introduces the evil Protecter, who is extorting jewelers by threatening to destroy their merchandise with a disintegrating ray. The story has a lot of beat similarity to the Human Torch tale we recently read. There is a villain, and it ends with an unmasking of the villain, who turns out to be the only other character the story bothered to name. We also learn other secrets of the villain, like in this case he didn’t really have a disintegrating ray. He just created a flash and quickly (and entirely implausibly) gathered up gems and sprinkled sand. (How long is that flash? This is a guy in a big mechanized suit– how fast is he?)
We just met Odin in Journey Into Mystery #85. That was his Marvel Age introduction. But of course the company had been publishing all sorts of fantasy tales for decades, often drawing from mythology. The CMRO reckons Odin’s introduction into its “expanded order” as Adventures Into Terror #26. I fear I have not read that issue.
I will give us a glimpse of an old Odin story, from 5 years earlier in the same Journey Into Mystery series.
This tale follows a pretty standard format. There is a less-than-reputable lead engaging in immoral activity, and a fantastic twist which serves him justice, often an ironic form of justice.
Trapped by Loki, the God of Mischief!/The Vengeance of Loki!/ Release: August 2, 1962 Cover: October 1962 12 cents Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber Penciler: Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 13 pages
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor vol. 1. The credits above come from the collection. I see no credits within the comic itself.
This is a pretty exciting story for me. I like the character of Thor, but what excites me most is the mythological world surrounding him. The first 2 issues told of a man in Thor’s body battling aliens and Commies. Now we finally get to Asgard.
“Beyond our segment of time and space, there exists Asgard, the citadel of the Norse gods, which is connected to earth by a rainbow bridge called the Bifrost!”
The Challenge of Comrade X! Featuring: Ant-Man Release: July 10, 1962 Cover: October 1962 12 cents Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber Penciler: Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 13 pages
Some time has passed since the previous issue, which ended with Henry Pym pondering: “Will I ever be forced to become Ant-Man again?”
Turns out, it didn’t take much forcing. He immediately began positioning himself to find and stop crime, and has made a name for himself, trusted by the police and public.
The FF stories used a similar gap. Had their first tale tell of their first adventure, but jumped forward for their second tale, to where their heroism had already become routine and they had gained public acceptance.
The Human Torch/The Flaming Fury Strikes Back!! Release: July 10, 1962 Cover: October 1962 12 cents Writers: Stan Lee and Larry Lieber Penciler: Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 13 pages
I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch vol. 1. I don’t see any credits within the issue. The collection’s table of contents gives the credits I list above.
In his first solo outing, Human Torch must battle the Destroyer in Glenville, while preserving his secret identity…
Wait? What?
He wasn’t that concerned about his secret identity when he flamed on in front of his mechanic friend… Or talked to his friends about his Fantastic Four problems… Or went to Congress to get awards and his photo taken… Or when he decided his costume didn’t need a mask. (Yes, I realize Superman thinks the same)
We highlight here the characters we have met. We’ll note in parentheses when the character was introduced, when we met them in our Marvel Age reading if they’re older characters, when notable aliases were introduced, and when they were killed. If no other death issue is given, they were killed/destroyed/lost in their first appearance.
The easiest way to find all appearances of a given character we have covered is to follow the tags within the post.
The original stars
These are the major characters and groups who star or will star in their own stories from the earliest days of the Marvel Age, the ones we are trying to track.
Sub-Mariners/Atlanteans (Marvel Age introduction: Fantastic Four #4; originally from Marvel Comics #1; Fantastic Four Annual 1 is the first time we see multiple Sub-Mariners in the Marvel Age; first revealed to be from Atlantis in Sub-Mariner Comics #31 and Fantastic Four Annual #1 in Marvel Age.)
Prisoners of Kurrgo, Master of Planet X It Came From the Skies!/Outlawed!/Bound for Planet X!/Twenty Four Hours Till Zero! Release: July 3, 1962 Cover: October 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 24 pages
I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. Dick Ayers is credited within the omnibus, but not the issue itself.
It sounded incredible the first time, maybe even the second…
This is at least the fourth time aliens have come to earth in recent months, if you accept that all the stories we’ve been reading take place in the same continuity. The government may have covered up some of them, but the Toad Men broadcast their demands for surrender globally. There is no reason for a US military commander to be shocked by the appearance of a spaceship. Even if the Hulk and Thor stories were their own thing, the military guy should at least know the Skrulls attacked earth.
In general, I would prefer we move toward less scenes of characters being shocked by fantastic things. I prefer Betty’s observation from Incredible Hulk #1, recognizing that the world has fundamentally changed: “…with the strange and supernatural forces all around us, I feel as though we’re on the brink of some fantastic unimaginable adventure!” Or the phrasing from Marvels #0: “…the world would know the presence of the unnatural and extraordinary as part of reality.”
This issue concerns the Fantastic Four being summoned to Planet X to help prevent the world’s destruction.
Banished to Outer Space/The Origin of the Hulk!/The Ringmaster Featuring: Hulk Release: July 3, 1962 Cover: September 1962 12 cents Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inker: Dick Ayers 24 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1, which notes Dick Ayers is the inker. He is uncredited within the issue itself.
There are perhaps three distinct stories here, but we’ll treat them in one entry.
Banished to Outer Space
The first story concerns General Ross’ ‘Plan H’ to banish the Hulk into space in a rocket. This story perhaps inspired a modern story where Hulk was banished into space and landed on what became known as Planet Hulk, by Greg Pak and Carlos Pagulayan. Planet Hulk was adapted into an animated movie, and it partly formed the basis of the film Thor: Ragnarok.
This story picks up right where the previous one left off, the very same night. Hulk is trapped safely away in the underwater cell they built. The decision to let Hulk free requires some stupidity on Rick’s part. He is tricked by General Ross, but his actions are absurd and merely serve the plot.
