Featuring: Human Torch Release: December 9, 1963 Cover: March 1964 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Dick Ayers Lettering: S. Rosen 13 pages
What? Is that Dr. Strange on the cover of a comic? Not just buried in the back of the comic somewhere where they hope nobody will notice?
Congratulations to Dr. Strange on his first cover appearance. 8 issues after his introduction.
This marks the fourth battle between Human Torch and Wizard. Perhaps this solidifies the Wizard as his “archfoe”.
The Wizard of these stories hasn’t quite been the character I know from my own youth. A key difference gets resolved this issue. While in prison, Wizard was given the necessary equipment to build an anti-gravity power unit that allows him to fly. I definitely think of flying as being a key Wizard trait.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: November 12, 1963 Cover: February 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Don Heck Lettered by: Ray Holloway 13 pages
So there’s this idea of an archfoe. Not every superhero needs one, but most have one. For Superman, it’s Lex Luthor. Batman has an extensive rogues gallery, but Joker stands out amongst them as his archfoe. We have not yet met Green Goblin, but many consider him Spider-Man’s archfoe. That’s likely why he was the villain in the first Spider-Man film. Those people, including the filmmakers, are wrong. We have met Spider-Man’s archfoe. It’s Dr. Octopus.
Thor has fought Loki in almost every issue. Magneto showed up in X-Men #1 and will be showing up a lot more. The Fantastic Four have fought Dr. Doom in a full quarter of their issues.
For Human Torch, it seems to be the Wizard. For Ant-Man/Giant-Man, it’s a little less clear. I tend to point to Egghead, others to the Human Top.
In this issue, Iron Man meets the Mandarin. He’ll be showing up again in a few issues. And conventional wisdom suggests Mandarin is Iron Man’s archfoe. I have no idea why conventional wisdom suggests that. I just don’t understand and never have.
Mandarin is a “yellow peril” villain, part of a long tradition of villains, with the most eminent one being Fu Manchu. Within Marvel, they had the Yellow Claw back in the 1950s. We’ll visit his old stories when he reemerges in the modern era. Today, by modern standards, this tradition of villains is considered racist. They are stereotypes of Asian people, which feed and draw from the prejudice that many Americans feel toward the people of various Asian countries. This prejudice is rooted partly in government propaganda, going back to the war against Japan, and continuing with the Cold War against Communist China, with this xenophobia enduring to the present day.
Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp Release: September 3, 1963 Cover: December 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Jack Kirby Rendered by: Steve Ditko 23 pages
Kirby and Ditko is a rare and special combination. I think this is now the 4th time we’ve seen the combo.
Giant-Man gets a costume change, though less dramatic than the Iron Man one we just saw. Since he’s no longer Ant-Man, the ant logo is vestigial. He thus drops it in favor of some vertical stripes that resembles suspenders.
We get a major new villain, Human Top. For many characters, it’s obvious who their arch-nemesis is. Thor has Loki, the X-Men, Magneto. For Dr. Pym, it’s less clear. I had suggested it was Egghead, but a friend argued it was the Human Top. Both are contenders.
We learn Dave Cannon was born with super speed and the ability to whirl really fast like a top. This makes him a mutant as Professor X explained the term. Though this comic does not use that word.
