Strange Tales #144

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Designer: Jack Kirby
Penciller: H. Purcell
Inker: M. Demeo
Letterer: Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Daredevil #17	Reading order	Strange Tales #144, Story B
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It is given to few men to serve the forces of SHIELD… and those of us who are chosen dare not take the challenge lightly!

We are back for the new year! And Howard Purcell is back on art. He was credited with an assist last issue, but now is credited as the penciller, with Kirby as the “designer”. Which presumably means layouts by Kirby, finished pencils by Purcell, followed by inks by Esposito. Or something like that.

Strange Tales has oddly shared its pages of late between the spy stories of Nick Fury and the mystical stories of Dr. Strange. It seems like the writer has finally mixed up the two and tossed a Dr. Strange villain into Nick Fury’s story.

Ah, but we turn the page and see that this isn’t the mystic ceremony it seems to be. Science powers the illusion. The Druid just has a flair for the dramatic. Beneath what looks like a spooky woods lies a technologically advanced headquarters.

I don’t know why the Druid wants to destroy SHIELD, and I’m not sure we’ll ever understand. For now, it’s enough to know that he does.

His weapon of choice is the Egg of Satan. We saw one of these Eggs last issue, destroying an atomic aircraft. Fury is on the scene, ready to risk his life to shut down the reactor. Dugan is encouraged to evacuate, but won’t leave Fury.

Plenty of chances to show off the fancy gadgets SHIELD has put into Fury’s car. Often Stark technology.

We meet Jasper Sitwell. I used a pull quote from Jasper above. Out of context, it may not be clear that the writer, like Dugan, finds Sitwell to be overly melodramatic in his love of duty. Though it’s not clear Stan Lee is in any position to consider another overly melodramatic.

Sitwell even seems impressed by SHIELD’s official catchphrase, which always makes me groan: “Don’t yield! Back SHIELD!”

Sitwell is from the class of 1966. This of course bothers me as it’s not 1966 yet. Spider-Man has just started college. It’s been at most 2 years since we met him. It’s been at most 3 years since the Human Torch got his powers. At most. It should be currently 1963 or 1964. The writers can’t keep track of how much time is actually passing in their stories so just seem to assume they are happening in real time, though that is impossible to reconcile with all the facts. We’re going to treat that as a typo.

Here’s Jasper Sitwell played by Maximiliano Hernández from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rating: ★★★☆☆, 54/100
Significance: ★★★★☆

So what characters are important enough to earn the precious 4-start significance rating with their intro? The Druid isn’t. But Sitwell might be. I mean, he’s in the MCU.

Characters:

• The Druid
• Dum Dum Dugan
• Col. Nick Fury
• Jasper Sitwell

Story notes:

• Gathering of Druids at Witches’ Sabbath.
• Fury manages to shut off reactor.
• SHIELD coastal defense command room detects next Egg.
• Fury’s car fitted with Borer Bomb.
• Druid observatory hidden beneath forest. Trees contain observation devices.
• Fury disabled Egg’s Thermal Ray, so Druid activates Traction Nodules.
• Fury’s car has air sacs that pop up at the push of a button to cushion shock and air jet fans to hover car.
• Sitwell uses Stark’s invention, a Coaxer, to convince the barber he is a SHIELD agent.

Previous	#507	Next
Daredevil #17	Reading order	Strange Tales #144, Story B
Strange Tales #143, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #144, Story B