Featuring: X-Men Release: December 12, 1965 Cover: February 1966 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Layouts: J. Kirby Pencils: Jay Gavin Inks: Dick Ayers Lettering: A. Simek 20 pages
Somehow, when I’m high in the sky this way, I feel there is no danger I cannot face– no problem I cannot solve– no enemy I cannot defeat!! Everything seems clean– and pure– and right! The way it ought to be! The way it must be one day, if man is ever to fulfill his promise– his glorious destiny!
I quite like the red glow of the cover. The cover warns me not to spoil the ending, but, well, I’m gonna do that anyway. Be warned.
Thoughts on the reading order. When books are published is a key factor, as is the order in which characters appear, as are story-arcs. What I’m not considering closely is the calendar date within the stories, as I don’t often know. We paused our X-Men reading because the Sentinels story ended and the next one was about to begin. This gave us a chance to catch up on other titles.
But this story begins the same day as the Sentinels story ended. Similarly, the X-Men had fought the Stranger and Juggernaut on the same day, with a short gap of time while the X-Men were injured between these momentous days.
In particular, it must now be within a couple days of Reed and Sue’s wedding, while most of our stories have jumped forward a bit more from that day.
While it’s been more than a year since the Stranger story was published, it’s only been a few weeks for the X-Men.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: December 9, 1965 Cover: February 1966 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Dick Ayers Delineation: John Tartaglione Lettering: S. Rosen 20 pages
The guys who give me orders have what it takes! They’re my kinda Joes! I’m proud to salute ’em… to fight with ’em… an’ to die with ’em if I haveta!
This issue promises the origins of Fury’s eypatch. The idea is that he has an eyepatch in his modern 1960s adventures as Colonel Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, but not in these 1940s adventures as Sgt. Fury of the Howling Commandos. We have seen him fighting in Korea in the 1950s, and he didn’t have an eyepatch then. And we have seen him team up with the Fantastic Four in the 1960s, before the founding of SHIELD. And he didn’t have an eyepatch then either. So presumably this issue will tell us he got it some time in the 1960s. It would seem silly to tell us it happened in the 1940s, so I imagine that’s not what they’re about to do.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: December 9, 1965 Cover: March 1966 12 cents Scripted and edited by: Stan Lee Plotted and illustrated by: Steve Ditko Lettered and relished by: Sam Rosen 20 pages
…she’d never accept me as Spider-Man… but, Spider-Man I’ve always been… and shall always be… for as long as I live!
As we discussed, I think last issue works as an ending to the story of Spider-Man. I think issue 39 will give the series a fresh start, acting as a new beginning. These 5 issues in between are something of a treading-water era. I’d like to offer a brief summary of the story of Spider-Man so far before we get into this issue.
Let’s review the story of Spider-Man.
We all remember how it begins. Bitten by a spider. Allows a burglar to escape. Learns a lesson about responsibility.
But then the story jumped forward a bit in time. Without Uncle Ben, Peter and his Aunt are facing financial hardship. Aunt May doesn’t want Peter to worry about it, but Peter feels a responsibility to help with the finances. He considers crime, but settles on going back to show business. But this time he wouldn’t be in it for himself or his ego. He’d be doing it to help his Aunt. His attempts to find money mean he is unable to hang out with the kids at school when they invite him out, which gets him labeled as standoffish. They’ll be less likely to invite him out in the future. But his insistence on keeping a secret identity makes it hard for him to get paid as Spider-Man. And then Jameson’s editorials against him tank his show business career. He tries to get a job as Peter, but nobody wants to hire a kid. When John Jameson’s space shuttle malfunctions, Spider-Man goes into action and saves the day, but still gets labeled a menace by Jonah. The public and even Aunt May are against him. It seems that nothing goes right for Peter.
Spider-Man thinks he can solve his financial problems by joining the Fantastic Four, but they don’t pay a salary. He encounters his first super-villain, the Chameleon, when the Chameleon thinks he can take advantage of Spider-Man’s bad press to frame Spider-Man for his crimes.
When Jameson struggles to get pictures of the Vulture, Spider-Man figures out how he can make money. Aunt May gives Peter Ben’s old miniature camera, and he goes into action as Spider-Man to get pictures of the Vulture. They battle and the Vulture defeats and almost kills Spider-Man on their first encounter, but Spider-Man recovers and defeats him though a combination of his superhero prowess and his scientific ability to invent helpful gizmos. In a bit of irony, Peter sells the pictures to Jameson, and makes enough money to cover Aunt May’s rent.
By the following issue, Spider-Man is now an active superhero, seeking out crimes to stop, presumably because he recognizes this as his “great responsibility”. Dr. Octopus is his toughest foe yet. He almost is ready to give up being Spider-Man, but the Human Torch inspires him to never surrender. And Spider-Man will become known for pushing past his limits and fighting when the odds are against him.
Peter wants to do the right thing, but isn’t always good at it. When he sees criminals about to rob a bank, he stops them too soon, and then can’t prove he didn’t just harass ordinary citizens. When he fights Sandman, his mask rips, so he needs to run away, and can’t return to action until he sews a new mask. Liz had finally agreed to a date with Peter, but Spider-Man gets in the way and Peter needs to cancel. Fortunately, his photo career brings him by the offices of the Bugle and Jameson’s secretary Betty Brant. He stretches the ethics of his already questionable photojournalism career by staging photos of his fight with Sandman after the fact.
With the Lizard, Spider-Man faces the type of ethical conundrum that will occupy his career. Should he turn Curt Connors over to the authorities for his crimes as the Lizard? He instead decides that Connors is a good man, not responsible for his actions as the Lizard, and to keep his secret. In doing so, he will make a friend and valuable ally when he needs scientific expertise.
When the Vulture returns, Spider-Man must fight him with a broken arm. Nothing comes easy for Spider-Man. But the situation creates the opportunity for romance to blossom between Peter and Betty.
It all comes full circle when Aunt May gets sick. Spider-Man must rush to be by her side, ignoring active crimes in progress, just as he once ignored the one burglar. Where do his responsibilities lie? His career as a photojournalist taking pictures of himself was already questionably ethical, but he crosses a new line when he creates fake photos to prove Electro is Spider-Man and make Jameson happy. His Aunt’s health and the money needed for her operations must outweigh all concerns. His activities as Spider-Man also nearly interfere with his blossoming romance with Betty, as he reminds her of someone else who lived too dangerously. But they seem to work it out, at least for now.
Betty was in debt to a loan shark, and she flees town when the Enforcers come to collect. Jameson comes to a rare moment of introspection, realizing the reason he hates Spider-Man may simply be jealousy of Spider-Man’s altruism.
Betty got involved with the mob to help her brother Bennett, who became a mob lawyer to pay off his gambling debts. Peter makes the decision to confide his secret identity to Betty. But then when Bennett dies, Betty blames Spider-Man. While she softens, she still never wants to see Spider-Man again, as it would remind her of her brother’s death. So maybe Peter shouldn’t tell her his secret just yet.
Betty doesn’t get her wish as she gets captured by Dr. Octopus and needs Spider-Man to save her. Dr. Octopus even manages to unmask Spider-Man in front of her and Jameson, but they all find the idea that Peter might be Spider-Man too laughable and dismiss it. The news of Peter’s feat gets out and Liz decides he’s not the coward she thought he was, that the school-kids had never been nice enough to Peter. She’s ready to leave Flash Thompson behind and go out with Peter. But this time it’s his turn to reject her, as he only has eyes for Betty now.
But there is tension between Peter and Betty. She still thinks his photography job is too dangerous, which scares her, given what happened to her brother. And a jealous rivalry between Betty and Liz begins.
One of his greatest triumphs comes when six of his greatest foes team up against him, and he must face them without his powers. It turns out the loss of his powers was psychological, rooted in his guilt and self doubt. By regaining his confidence, he regains his powers and again overcomes the odds.
Spider-Man attends a meeting of a fan club in his honor, which is crashed by Green Goblin. When Spider-Man gets word Aunt May is sick again, he decides he cannot fight Green Goblin and runs away, getting branded a coward. Fortunately Human Torch is on hand to pick up the slack.
Spider-Man comes to a realization. His job as Spider-Man is inherently dangerous. If he gets killed, then who does Aunt May have? He definitely can’t put himself at risk with her in the hospital and in need of attention. Is this the end of Spider-Man? When he sees Betty on a date with Ned Leeds, that convinces him it’s time to give up being Spider-Man for good. Get a proper job, take care of Aunt May, focus on his studies, focus on his relationship with Betty. He throws his costume in the trash. But then a recovering Aunt May gives a timely speech about how the Parkers aren’t quitters, and Peter realizes: “…a man can’t change his destiny… and I was born to be… Spider-Man!!!”
Spider-Man redeems his reputation teaming up with Human Torch against Sandman and the Enforcers.
Spider-Man’s most savage battle comes against the Scorpion, leaving him bruised and bloodied.
A European psychiatrist postulates that Spider-Man is insane, and Peter fears he may be correct. “He wants to be a spider… but of course he is a human being!” Aunt May reminds Peter it’s important to confide in the people you love.
The Crime-Master saga brings home that Spider-Man isn’t especially good at all aspects of his job. He’s got these powers, and he is a science whiz. But he’s not an investigator. He’s not the world’s greatest detective. When confronted with a mystery, he’s better off just letting the police handle it.
Ultimately, Spider-Man’s story is about coming of age. Peter’s big step into adulthood is graduating high school. He and Flash will go off to the same college, but Liz is off to become a working girl. She says he goodbyes to Peter, who never quite seemed to recognize that she’d matured from the girl who once rejected him
Ned asks Betty to marry him. She’s not willing to answer until she settles things with Peter. But Spider-Man still stands between them and always will.
All the threads tie together in the MasterPlannerSaga. Peter and Betty at last part ways, as he starts college, where he meets Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. Aunt May is dying from radiation from a blood transfusion she’d received from Peter. But this time, instead of Spider-Man distracting Peter from caring for his aunt, Spider-Man is needed when the serum that can save her is stolen. He battles Dr. Octopus and finds himself trapped under machinery too heavy to lift. But he has to lift the machinery, and in doing so saves his aunt, and proves to himself he can handle whatever life throws at him.
And so the series has gone, the story of a boy growing into a man, trying to do the right thing without always knowing how, trying to juggle too many responsibilities, and always managing to persevere against the odds.
And this issue?
Spider-Man fights Kraven again. Or, as Stan calls him, “… the somewhat magnificent menace of Kraven the Hunter!”
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: January 4, 1966 Cover: March 1966 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: V. Colletta Lettering: Artie Simek 5 pages
Thy mission is ended! The danger you have been seeking is here– in the City of the Golden Spires! Return then at once– to Asgard!
Thor and his crew sail to find an unknown foe, but keep facing random dangers. At present, Loki has been captured by Queen Ula of Thryheim, and Thor has come to save him.
Ula wants Thor to be her King. If he agrees, she will release Loki. Else, she will kill his crew.
It’s important to note that Ula had nothing to do with cracking the Odinsword. She is not the unknown foe they are searching for, just a woman who wants to marry Thor.
Featuring: Thor Release: January 4, 1966 Cover: March 1966 12 cents Stan Lee the literary lion! Jack Kirby the pencilling pussycat! V. Colletta the delineating dragon! Artie Simek the lettering looks it! 16 pages
“By the cloven hooves of Pan!! What doth it take to defeat the Son of Odin!??!” “A stronger arm! A stouter heart! A nobler soul! And none doth Hercules possess, thou blabbering, blustering, boastful buffoon!”
This is the first issue of Thor. It’s also the 126th issue of Thor.
Which is a little confusing. Last month (well, last week for us), we read Journey Into Mystery #125, which starred Thor, as it has for the last 40+ issues. Now the comic will just be called Thor.
Why not call it Thor #1?
For complicated and probably shady legal and financial reasons, they found it more sensible to keep the numbering of the old magazine.
Thor’s name has been prominent on cover going back to issue 104. But it’s no longer “Journey Into Mystery with the Mighty Thor”. It’s just: “The Mighty Thor”. The official title as seen in the indicia is simply “Thor”.
Starting a new superhero title that keeps the numbering of the horror title will become a common practice… though not soon. We’ll talk more at the end of this post about Marvel’s history of naming comics. Let’s get into the comic, starting with the title.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: December 2, 1965 Cover: February 1966 12 cents None but Marvel’s Stan Lee could tell such a tale! None but Marvel’s Jack Kirby could draw such a tale! None but Marvel’s Vince Colletta could ink such a tale! None but Marvel’s Artie Simek could be such a pussycat! 5 pages
We come to Thor’s final adventure in Journey Into Mystery, the series concluding after 125 issues. We’ll see next month what they have instead. Such a finale would be a good time for an overview of the series as a whole, but I gave a summary to celebrate the 100th issue, so I’ll just point to that. It may even spoil what’s coming next month.
“By the bristling beard of Odin,” Thor exclaims. We’ll start hearing that oath a lot. Have we heard it before? I failed to note it if we did.
Thor’s battle with the Demon concludes pretty readily and Thor takes the final Norn Stone to return to Odin.
I’d like to read through the story of Adam Warlock in the comics, inspired by his role in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. I made it through about 15 years of his history, at which point he seemed to be dead, so I stopped there.
We’ll also check in on some characters inexorably intertwined with his story, including High Evolutionary, Thanos, Drax the Destroyer, Captain Marvel, and Moondragon. As well as Six Gems that seem quite powerful.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: November 4, 1965 Cover: January 1966 12 cents How gallant, this script by: Stan Lee How glorious, this artwork by: Jack Kirby How gracious, this inking by: Vince Colletta How come? This lettering by: Artie Simek 5 pages
Is it not passing strange that the Grim One– the taker of countless lives in battle–should be so eager to protect the single life of Balder?
Ah, the Odinsword Saga. I made the decision not to read the whole thing at once, but that means we need to remind ourselves where we left off. In theory, the impetus for the Saga is that an unknown enemy has cracked the Odinsword, and Thor is leading a voyage to find the culprit. Along the way, Loki schemes to kill Thor, and the voyage encounters obstacles unrelated to the main quest. They just resolved one, involving a Dragon and Balder blowing a Horn. This issue introduces another such obstacle.
Featuring: Thor Release: November 4, 1965 Cover: January 1966 12 cents Story by: Stan (The Man) Lee Pencilling by: Jack (King) Kirby Delineation by: Vince (the Prince) Colletta Lettering by: Artie (Sugar Lips) Simek 16 pages
“Those arms of his can crush concrete! And yet!–“ “He’s holdin’ that kid as gently as if she was made outta egg-shells.”
Stan has a different nickname for the creators every issue it seems. But this is not the first time he’s referred to himself as “The Man” and to Jack as “King”, and these nicknames are the ones that will stick with them across the decades. Despite its rhyming qualities, “Vince the Prince” will not stick. I have no comment on the prevalence of this nickname for Artie.
The newsstand is selling the latest issue of Strange Tales, emphasizing what I’ve noted before: just how great a month for comics this is, perhaps the best in Marvel’s history.
Thor is reading a newspaper which is reporting on the Demon. As we’ve noted, there are no really clear stopping points in Thor’s saga anymore. Most ongoing threads resolved last issue, except last issue also began this Demon story, which is still just getting started; Thor and the Demon will finally meet in this issue’s final panels. That story involves a Vietnamese Witch Doctor finding a Norn Stone, so ultimately still traces back to the Trial of the Gods from issue 116 and Thor’s battle with the Viet Cong in issue 117. Jane remains in the hospital from smoke inhalation after being kidnapped by Harris Hobbs, as we saw in issue 122. While the Demon saga will resolve itself next issue, this issue, as the cover notes, also introduces Hercules to the mix, and a story which will continue on. The last year of Thor tales have covered a very short span of time.
