Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: October 8, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Monumental story by: Stan Lee
Magnificent pencilling by: Dick Ayers
Masterful inking by: Frank Ray
Melancholy lettering by: Artie Simek
12 pages
| Previous | #285 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Four #34 | Reading order | Strange Tales #128, Story B |
| Strange Tales #127, Story B | Strange Tales | Strange Tales #128, Story B |
I appreciate that Simek has come up with logos for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Some wooshes over Quicksilver’s name. Some frayed edges for the Scarlet Witch.
Frank Giacoia
We see a new name in the credits. Frank Ray is the inker. Frank Ray is a pen name for Frank Giacoia. He wil become a frequent Marvel inker, initially under the name Frank Ray or Frankie Ray.
Interestingly, Marvel will eventually have a superhero Nova whose true name is Frankie Raye, introduced as a potential love interest for Johnny Storm. While I’m uncertain if there’s a connection, it’s quite likely an intentional homage to Giacoia on the part of Nova co-creator Roy Thomas.
Giacoia and Ayers make a very good team this issue.
If I trust Wikipedia, we’ve seen Giacoia’s work once before. Wikipedia had credited him with the Jack Frost story we read in USA Comics #1, which we know was drawn by Charles Nicholas. The GCD notes his first comics work is actually the Jack Frost story in USA Comics #3, which we haven’t read in this blog (we could if we wanted to; I do have the USA Comics Marvel Masterworks on my shelf). Fortunately Wikipedia is editable, so I edited the entry.
Giacoia’s been drawing comics since 1941. Starting with this issue, he will settle down to be a regular longtime fan-favorite Marvel inker.
Let’s see a sampling of his prior work. We’ll start with work where he did the pencils.
In order, left to right:
- USA Comics #3, featuring Jack Frost, inked by Carmine Infantino (Marvel, 1942)
- Airboy Comics #8, featuring Link Thorne the Flying Fool (Hillman, 1946)
- “The Princess of the Future”, Amazing Adventures #3 (Ziff-Davis, 1951)
- “The Blue and the Gray!”, Our Army at War #20 (DC, 1954)
But he was far more prolific as an inker, usually on DC superhero characters. His frequent collaborator was his old schoolmate, the legendary Carmine Infantino.
In order, left to right:
- “School for Sabotage!”, Young Allies #6, pencils by Don Rico (Marvel, 1943)
- “The Case of the Patriotic Crimes!”, All-Star Comics #41, featuring Justice Society of America, pencils by Carmine Infantino (DC, 1948)
- “Ambush at Eagle Pass!”, All-American Western #103, pencils by Irwin Hasen (DC, 1948)
- “The Timberland Trail!”, Green Lantern #36, pencils by Irwin Hasen (DC, 1949)
- “Escape from Love!”, Romance Trail #1, pencils by Alex Toth (DC, 1949)
- Mystery in Space #1, pencils by Carmine Infantino (DC, 1951)
- “Rex– Forest Ranger”, Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog #1, pencils by Alex Toth (DC, 1952)
- “Death’s Strange Deputy”, The Phantom Stranger #2, pencils by Carmine Infantino (DC, 1952)
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch
Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are interesting characters. They were introduced as villains, but as reluctant villains. They are part of Magneto’s Evil Mutants and often help him try to destroy the X-Men. Yet, Quicksilver also single-handledly prevented Magneto’s attempt at genocide. Scarlet Witch feels a debt to Magneto because he once saved her life, and Quicksilver stays with Magneto only to protect his sister. They are thus the least evil of the Evil Mutants.
They cover all this again in this issue and debate the meaning of honor. On the one hand, they swore allegiance to Magneto, so honor demands they serve him. On the other hand, he is pure evil and plans to conquer the world, so perhaps it’s more honorable to not help him. Beyond the debt, Wanda also suggests it’s possible Magneto is right since normal men fear and hate mutants.
It’s definitely clear that Wanda doesn’t want to try to conquer the world with Magneto. She’d probably much rather settle into a cozy suburban lifestyle with a family like she’s seen on television sitcoms.
Human Torch and Thing
Unfortunately, Ben and Johnny have a bad habit of talking people out of reforming. Just a few issues back, they attacked Namor without provocation, screwing up Mr. Fantastic’s efforts to make a truce with him. Now, when Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch arrive at Four HQ seeking help, Ben and Johnny just attack them.
These misunderstandings are pretty common amongst supertypes, but Pietro tries repeatedly to explain they come in peace, to no avail.
Ultimately, this reinforces what Magneto has always taught them, that Homo sapiens can never be trusted to accept them. To be fair, the Thing and Human Torch are hardly ordinary Homo sapiens.
Wanda’s hex power
Let’s take a look at Wanda’s powers. So far, they have been pretty simple. She makes a gesture and an accident happens. Things break or fall down; people trip; etcetera. The word “hex” has been used a couple times to describe what just happened, going back to X-Men #5, but by this issue it’s pretty clear that is the official phrase they are using: Wandas “hex power”.
The first use of her power in this issue causes Quicksilver to trip. That’s entirely in line with what we’ve seen so far. However, there is some escalation of her powers in this issue. The first is when she makes a hose tie up a security guard. This is a new effect because all the others had been plausible. She didn’t make anything impossible happen; of the things which might have happened, she simply seemed to make the unlucky outcomes more likely. Everything she had done before this effect is something which might have happened anyway. Until this hose seeming to come to life to tie someone up.
This also implies a degree of control over her power we had not seen before.
The next escalation is when she seems to summon a storm. That’s a plausible effect, so not new in that way, but it implies a greater strength to her powers. Creating a storm from the sky is the type of thing Thor does, and we consider it godlike. It’s far more dramatic and less localized an effect than somebody spilling a drink.
This suggests we have not yet seen the full limit of Wanda’s powers.
Wrapping up
One thing to note is that this is pretty significant character work for Wanda and Pietro, who are on loan from the X-Men comics. Usually when one title has borrowed another’s villain, the appearance has been rather routine. You don’t expect major developments for Dr. Doom to be in the one issue of Amazing Spider-Man he appeared in. Yet this is a significant early chapter in the early character development of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, even though they are X-Men characters. They almost leave Magneto and have their first ever battle independent of the Evil Mutants.
This is pretty easily the best issue of the Human Torch series yet. Maybe this series will turn around for the better.
Why did I just hear Ron Howard tell me it didn’t?
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 52/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
You can find this story in Marvel Masterworks: Human Torch vol. 2 or The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales – The Complete Collection. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Quicksilver/Pietro
- Scarlet Witch/Wanda
- Human Torch
- Thing/Ben Grimm
Story notes:
- Full title: The Human Torch and the Ever-Lovin’ Thing Meet Two of the X-Men’s Most Colorful Foes… QuickSilver and the Scarlet Witch.
- Quicksilver wants to flee Magneto with his sister, but she waivers.
- Scarlet Witch makes a gesture, and Quicksilver trips. This is described as using her hex on him.
- Quicksilver considers people who might be able to help them, picturing: Spider-Man, Captain America, Giant-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, and Thor. Scarlet Witch suggests instead the Fantastic Four, since their address is public.
- Johnny on phone with Dorrie.
- Yancy Street Gang describes Thing’s costume as diapers in mocking letter.
- News bulletin shows pictures of evil mutants: Magneto, Quicksilver, Mastermind, Toad.
- Johnny reflects on battle with X-Men, picturing: Beast, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Professor X, and Iceman. Stan references FF#28 and Strange Tales #120
- With a gesture, Scarlet Witch makes a fire hose move and trap a police officer.
- Scarlet Witch describes her power as a “hex power”.
- Wanda knocked out by falling machine from her hex.
- Thing puts on asbestos suit to protect himself from Johnny’s flame.
- Wanda’s hex creates a sudden storm.
| Previous | #285 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Four #34 | Reading order | Strange Tales #128, Story B |
| Strange Tales #127, Story B | Strange Tales | Strange Tales #128, Story B |
