dr. henry pym – Coke ⊕ Comics

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 3

…To Become an Avenger!

…To Become an Avenger!
Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: August 2, 1966
Cover: November 1966
25 cents
Smilin’ Stan Lee
Layouts by Jazzy Johnny Romita
Pencilin’ by Dashin’ Donnie Heck
Inking’ by Mirthful Mickey Demeo
Letterin’ by Adorable Artie Simek
21 pages

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Thor #140, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #85
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2	Amazing Spider-Man Annual	Amazing Spider-Man Annual 4

I can’t fight it any longer! I’ve got to follow my own destiny– and let the chips fall where they may! I must have been given my spider-power for a reason! Thor was right! I do have an obligation– to mankind!

This is a “King-Size Special”. Which Marvel will sometimes be calling their Annual issues.

It boasts “72 Big Pages”. Let’s do math. The story is actually a pretty normal-sized 21 pages, but they reprint two old Spider-Man stories (issues 11 and 12), which brings the total to 64 pages. What are the other 8 pages? A table of contents, and some ads. When they advertise 72 pages, they are advertising 7 pages of ads.

The first stories I ever read with Spider-Man were Transformers #3 and Avengers #317. In the Avengers saga, Spider-Man was offered membership in the Avengers, but when Spider-Man struggled to keep up on their space adventure, Captain America and Spider-Man both agreed membership wasn’t for him. Avengers was one of the first series I regularly followed, so I read Avengers #329 a year later, in which Spider-Man does officially join the Avengers. No explanation was given for why Cap and Spider-Man changed their mind. Avengers #329 is the first time he officially became an Avenger, but the arc in #314-317 was not the first time he came close. That is here.

The Avengers are an interesting grouping. They began as Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. All characters who had had solo (or duo) series. Left out of the Avengers were the Fantastic Four, already an established team, as well as Dr. Strange and Spider-Man. Behind the scenes, there seems a clear pattern that Kirby formed the Avengers from characters he had created, but left off the characters Ditko had created. They were soon joined by a revived old character of Kirby’s, Captain America.

When the original team disbanded, they needed replacements. Rather than turn to established loner superheroes like Daredevil, Dr. Strange, or Spider-Man, they sought out old enemies like Namor and Hulk, and accepted applications from reformed villains, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch.

The Avengers know Spider-Man, or at least of him. He teamed up with Giant-Man and Wasp in Tales to Astonish #57; Wasp hated him because wasps and spiders are natural enemies. Spider-Man briefly ran into the individual Avengers in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1. They fought a Spider-Man robot created by Kang in Avengers #11. And they were all guests at the wedding of Reed and Sue.

For his part, Spider-Man has mostly been a loner, but at the start of his career, he tried to join the Fantastic Four, only to learn they don’t pay a salary. You sometimes find yourself asking if things might have been different. What if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four?

But the Avengers are funded by Tony Stark. Maybe they can afford to pay Spider-Man?

I think this is a really good comic, if we forgive some nonsense in the premise. Which we’ll get to.

It even has great art. Heck is the credited artist, and Romita is just credited with layouts, but a lot of Romita shines through, perhaps due in part to Esposito’s finishes. Layouts have been Heck’s biggest weakness as an artist.

Where does this fit in in Spider-Man’s story. The most important thing to note to me is that Peter Parker has the motorcycle he acquired in Amazing Spider-Man #41, so it’s after that. I think Amazing Spider-Man #41-43 read well as a story, united by arcs for the Rhino, Mary Jane, and John Jameson. So I didn’t care to break that up. Hence we are reading it after #43. This is where a lot of collections place it, including the Essential, Omnibus and Epic Collection. The Masterworks weirdly places it after issue 50. But I think the thinking there was just to put it at the end of one of their volumes and not worry about where it “goes”. The MCP wants it before issue 42, and the CMRO agrees, but that seems unnecessary when there are so many unresolved plot threads from issue 41 to deal with first.

“We’ve studied that photo of Spider-Man long enough” says Cap. How much was there to study in one photo? Detail-oriented heroes, I guess.

In the funniest line of any of these comics we’ve read, Hawkeye describes Spider-Man as “a real swinger”.

Captain America, famous for his tact, notes Hawkeye identifies with Spider-Man because they’ve both been outlaws.

The question before them is: Should Spider-Man be offered membership in the Avengers.

Wasp, of course, hates spiders.

Tales of Suspense #84, Story B

The Super-Adaptoid!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: September 8, 1966
Cover: December 1966
12 cents
A Stan Lee * Jack Kirby powerhouse production
Delineated by: Fearless Frankie Giacoia
Lettered by: Swingin’ Sammy Rosen
10 pages

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Tales of Suspense #84	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #84
Tales of Suspense #84	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #85

After all these years… all the countless battles… and the scars which will never fade… here I stand… still a loner– a human anachronism. All I’ve ever loved… all I’ve held dear… vanished with the past… while the memories remain to haunt me forever! But, I must be true to my trust! Every man has a purpose… a destiny to fulfill… and, whatever mine may be… I’ll never shirk it!

Captain America calls in the Avengers to deal with the Adaptoid. The Tumbler he just left to the police.

Hawkeye recalls the original Avengers foe the Space Phantom, and suspects a connection. But Cap notes the Adaptoid is a robot, while Space Phantom was an alien. Goliath and Wasp, the only ones present who actually fought the Space Phantom, do not weigh in.

Avengers #31

Never Bug a Giant!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: June 9, 1966
Cover: August 1966
12 cents
Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Dazzlin’ Don Heck
Lettering: Adorable Artie Simek
Bugle calls: Honest Irving Forbush
20 pages

Previous	#523	Next
Avengers #30	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #30
Avengers #30	Avengers	Avengers #32

Soon, my limbs shall be swifter than ever before– while your hex power once again shall dazzle and defeat your enemies! All we need is patience, my sister– and an unaltering faith!

The Avengers are off to South America to save Goliath. And presumably will be here when Galactus attacks.

Hawkeye now likes Captain America, but still dislikes orders. As do I, Hawkeye. As do I.

Wasp recalls how they all used to share the command. It’s the first time they’ve really addressed this change. The original team had rotating chairs. The new team had Captain America as permanent leader. Given this, Hawkeye’s annoyance was understandable.

Avengers #30

Frenzy in a Far-Off Land!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: May 10, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee: Writer
Don Heck: Artist
Frank Giacoia: Inker
Sam Rosen: Letterer
Irving Forbush: Arbitrator
20 pages

Previous	#522	Next
Amazing Spider-Man #38	Reading order	Avengers #31
Avengers #29	Avengers	Avengers #31

But, the past is over now! The past is dead! You are the master no longer! I’m free of you… at last!

We just saw Galactus appear in the middle of New York. There to devour the Earth. The Avengers have a mansion in the middle of New York. Why didn’t they help out?

Well, maybe they were away. Where? Surely not just elsewhere in New York fighting Black Widow. Maybe off wherever the Collector’s castle is? Or in the middle of the Atlantic fighting Attuma? Or perhaps they were in the “Far-Off Land”, as the title suggests. It seems likely they were quite far away.

Now, the Avengers won’t make it to the titular Far-Off Land this issue, but next issue.

And Marvels will claim this is where the Avengers were when Galactus attacked. Which is good enough for me.

Avengers #28

Among Us Walks… A Goliath!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Brilliantly conceived by: Stan Lee, writer
Cleverly perpetrated by Don Heck, penciller
Daringly executed by: Frankie Ray, inker
Stoically buried by: Artie Simek, letterer
20 pages

Previous	#495	Next
Avengers #27	Reading order	Avengers #29
Avengers #27	Avengers	Avengers #29

Goliath! I like the sound of that! That’s what I’ll call myself from now on– Goliath!!

Today… Hank Pym will be infamous for having taken on too many superhero identities… but this isn’t new. This was a pretty early feature of the character. In under 5 years, he’s on 3, and sort of 4, identities.

When we met him, he wasn’t a superhero at all, just a scientist named Dr. Henry Pym. A year or so later he jumped on the superhero bandwagon as Ant-Man. Another year down and Lee decided the public wanted more powerful superheroes, so Ant-Man became Giant-Man. Those changes all somewhat made sense. But now… he’s no longer Giant-Man… he’s Goliath. That change seems gratutitous.

With the new name comes a new status quo. But he’s had a lot of status quos already. We attempted to recount in the final issue of his ongoing series, Tales to Astonish #69. The rules just keep changing. He drinks a liquid or takes a pill or uses his mind. And he can only chage size every so often or hold the new size for so often or…

Anyways, now he can grow to 25 feet and only 25 feet and remain that way for exactly 15 minutes, no more, no less.

We’ve met one other Goliath, the biblical one, in Avengers #10.

How does he get the new name anyway? It’s a bit weird. We basically learn it’s happening from the cover and title.

We are getting ahead of ourselves. The story begins with Hank Pym contacting the Avengers to help him find the Wasp. We’d last seen her attempting to escape from Attuma. Of course, they don’t know who Dr. Pym is. Because of secret identites.

Now, as secret identities go… Wasp’s costume often didn’t cover her face… she often called Giant-Man Henry or Hank in the presence of others… Giant-Man’s lab was a well known location where his fan club hung out… the kids Jan read sci/stories to knew she was the Wasp… Hank sometimes did experiments in his own house and one day he accidentally turned giant and came bursting out of his house…

Avengers #26

The Voice of the Wasp!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Incredible script by: Stan Lee
Inconceivable art by: Don Heck
Indescribable inking by: Frank Ray
Indelible lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

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Tales to Astonish #80	Reading order	Avengers #27
Avengers #25	Avengers	Avengers #27

He endures so much– to hold the Avengers together! And yet– none can help him! He walks– alone!

A recap. Giant-Man and the Wasp left the Avengers in Avengers #16. Then in Tales to Astonish #69, they agreed it was time to retire from superheroing and work on their relationship. And presumably on Pym’s scientific interests as well. Flash forward to Tales to Astonish #77 and Hank’s experiments involve drilling into the ocean to learn the secrets of life. These experiments are wreaking havoc on Namor’s domain. This leads to conflict. Namor breaks their equipment and then decides to head to New York. In a nonsensical plot decision, Jan decides to become the Wasp once more to race Namor across the ocean to New York. But she’s the size of a wasp, and can presumably fly at about the speed of a wasp. She obviously can’t cross an ocean. But she tries anyway.

Unsurprisingly, we haven’t heard from her since. Surprisingly, we will hear from her again.

I’d like to start thinking about something as we read the next several Avengers comics. At some point very soon, the Fantastic Four are going to fight a massive global threat, one the Avengers probably should have helped them with. The Avengers do not show up to help, which implies the Avengers are busy. So let’s be on the lookout for where the Avengers might be at the time that they don’t notice a very noticeable world-ending threat.

Tales to Astonish #78

The Prince and the Puppet!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: January 4, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Blue ribbon story by: Stan Lee
Prize winning pencilling by: Adam Austin
Academy Award winning inking by: Vince Colletta
Booby prize lettering by: Artie Simek
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #77, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #78, Story B
Tales to Astonish #77, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #78, Story B

Fire! The one element which is alien to me! The one element I fear!

Austin had unmasked as Gene Colan last issue. Not sure why were are back to the pseudonym.

We are into Namor’s second story arc in his new series. Though it will turn out to be less of an arc than a bunch of loose threads. Surface experimentation is threatening Atlantis; Namor resolves to go to the surface to stop it; the earthquakes created unleash the Behemoth; Namor finds Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne–formerly Giant-Man and Goliath–responsible for the testing.

Tales to Astonish #77

To Walk Amongst Men!

Featuring: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner
Release: December 2, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, writer
Gene Colan, penciller
Vince Colletta, inker
Sam Rosen, letterer
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #76, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #77, Story B
Tales to Astonish #76, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #77, Story B

Supreme is the head that wears the crown! The decision must be Namor’s alone to make! Imperius Rex!

A secret has been revealed! Not to us, because I spoiled it when he first showed up. But this is the first time Gene Colan’s name has shown up in the credits. Yet it’s clearly the same artist as last issue, drawn by “Adam Austin”. So Adam Austin must be Gene Colan!

Just like superheroes have secret identities, artists do too. In this case, it was likely to disguise the fact that he was moonlighting for both DC and Marvel. Some comic artists used pen names so that their lesser comic work wouldn’t get conflated with the great novels or works or art they were one day to create. For many, it may have been to make their names sound less Jewish.

Since Namor got his own series back in issue 70, he’d been on a continuous quest to retake his kingdom from Krang. Last issue was almost a clean ending to that quest, save for the final pages. Namor was now the ruler again, with Lord Vashti his Grand Vizier. But then an earthquake strikes, and Namor suspects atomic tests of the surface world are responsible. He resolves to go to the surface world to sort this.

If Namor is the ruler of Atlantis, why is he Prince Namor? Why not King Namor? The Atlanteans must do it differently.

Vashti sits on Namor’s council and offers the wisdom that the choice of action is Namor’s, as the absolute monarch. Then why even be on the council, Vashti? Namor knows it’s his decision. Advise him!

This next story arc is going to get quite convoluted. The last one was relatively clean. Krang had taken the throne. Namor needed to recover some ancient artifact to reclaim it and followed a series of clues. This story begins with an earthquake and Namor’s plan to go to the surface world to get them to stop the tests. Let’s see where it goes from there.

Tales to Astonish #68

Peril from the Long-Dead Past!

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: March 4, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
Stupefying script by: Stan Lee
Stereophonic art by: Bob Powell
Stultifying inking by: Vince Colletta
Schizophrenic lettering by: S. Rosen
12 pages

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Tales to Astonish #67, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #68, Story B
Tales to Astonish #67, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #68, Story B

Who is Giant-Man’s #1 archnemesis? I had previously suggested it was Egghead, and my friend Dan countered with the Human Top. His original run only featured three repeat super-villains, Porcupine being the other. He fought Egghead 4 times and now Human Top 3 times. But two Human Top stories are 3-parters so Human Top appears in 5 different issues. They’re both strong contenders. Maybe we’ll see which are in more significant stories in the decades to come. So far, neither has been in any story I would call particularly significant. The possible exceptions are issues 57 and 59. 57 is significant for guest-starring Spider-Man and happens to feature Egghead. 59 is significant for guest-starring Hulk and happens to feature Human Top.

Neither is a particularly good villain.

Honestly, I would argue Porcupine is the best of the 3 villains, which is why he will go one to find better nemeses than Giant-Man and Wasp.

The issue opens with Human Top crashing a plane into Giant-Man to knock him unconscious. He’s stumped as to what to do next. Even unconscious, Human Top can’t figure out how to harm a giant.

The last time Human Top had Giant-Man at his mercy, he didn’t want to harm him. He thought locking him in a closet would be enough satisfaction.

Tales to Astonish #66

The Menace of Madam Macabre

Featuring: Giant-Man and Wasp
Release: January 5, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Beamin’ Bobby Powell
Inking: Friendly Frankie Ray
Lettering: Sunny ol’ Sherigail
12 pages

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	Prelude	Marvel Comics #1, Story F
Tales to Astonish #65	Reading order	X-Men #10
Tales to Astonish #65, Story B	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #66, Story B

The Giant-Man tale is hogging most of the cover real estate.

Wasp doesn’t seem to be recognized as a co-lead for the second issue in a row. This is just described as a Giant-Man story. The covers have long since omitted her name.

Yes, we are falling farther and farther behind in our Hulk reading.

As before, it’s not actually a new Giant-Man. He just has a new hat.

Madam Macabre is an evil analogue to Giant-Man, with the power to make things shrink or grow. Not knowing she is evil, Giant-Man considers partnering with her, until he learns she thinks they can rule the world together.