tales of suspense – Page 6

Tales of Suspense #54

The Mandarin’s Revenge!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: March 10, 1964
Cover: June 1964
12 cents
Written (in his magic Marvel manner) by: Stan lee
Drawn (in his famous flashing fashion) by: Don Heck
Lettered (in his smooth subtle style) by: Art Simek
13 pages

We reach a personal milestone for me in this reading. Up to this point, every story I’ve read, I’ve used some form of reprint, often a collection from one of their reprint lines like Marvel Masterworks, sometimes a later comic that happens to reprint the old story.

This comic I own. Cover barely hanging on, brown at the edges, but this is mine. That cover? That’s a scan of my copy. Most of the other covers have been taken from the GCD.

So that’s pretty exciting.

Now for the bad news. The Mandarin returns. Iron Man’s lamest villain yet (despite some stiff competition) is back for round 2.

Iron Man gets a new helmet. The face mask no longer protrudes out, making his head a smoother shape, and there are visible bolts along the mask. I get the bolts along where the facemask meets the helmet, but not sure what the ones down the middle are doing. They won’t be around long. In fact, they’ll disappear mid-story suddenly without any plausible explanation.

It’s a pretty weird look, frankly. It will be better when that middle line of bolts goes away.

Tales of Suspense #53, Story C

The Way It Began…

Featuring: Watcher
Release: February 11, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Story plot by: Stan Lee
Script + art by: Larry Lieber
Inking by: Paul Reinman
Lettering by: Art Simek
5 pages

I learned this series existed relatively late in my Marvel reading. I’d gotten it into my head that I wanted every Marvel comic some 20 years ago and got to work. But it took time to even develop a good catalogue of what that meant. I had read the old Iron Man and Silver stories in the Essential volumes Marvel put out, but didn’t realize at the time about the Watcher backups not reprinted in those volumes.

As the internet took shape, and comic experts put forth their knowledge, I could borrow from that work to get a sense of the complete list. I meticulously studied the UHBMCC and MCP to find every Marvel Universe comic there was, including the oddities, like this short-lived series of Watcher tales.

My enthusiasm went through a bit of a roller coaster ride. I’d always loved the Watcher from his appearances in What If…? and was excited to learn he had solo adventures. Enthusiasm high. Then I learned the solo adventures were just a light wrapper around other stories he would narrate. Enthusiasm waned. Then I learned some of these stories were reprints of older stories with the Watcher parts added in. Further waning. But then I learned there were a few stories (like this one) which did feature the Watcher in his own adventures. Enthusiasm rising. And then I learned that we would learn the origin of the Watchers. Enthusiasm at its height.

What tragedy at the dawn of time caused this ancient race of immortals to take such a dark vow, to spend eternity observing the events of the cosmos without interference? I was excited to find out.

Then I read it. Enthusiasm has reached equilibrium. It doesn’t help to read so many of these Watcher stories and similar sci/fi tales in close proximity. A very large number of them have the moral that we should end the threat of nuclear war. While I agree, and appreciate that it was on people’s minds a lot back then, it really is overdone in these pages. And then to learn that’s the origin of the Watchers…

We begin with the Watcher making the choice he always makes, to watch a dying patient die and choose not to help, even though he could save the man’s life. He proceeds to explain why.

The Watcher refers to us as “lesser beings”. No offense taken.

His people once shared nuclear secrets with another race, who did with the knowledge what humanity has done and set on a path toward self-destruction.

Tales of Suspense #53

The Black Widow Strikes Again!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: February 11, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Story plot by: Stan Lee
Script by: N. Korok
Art by: Don Heck
13 pages

Iron Man takes a big step forward. Since his debut, he’s been the lead feature of Tales to Suspense, featured on the cover with his name somewhere prominently, and his visage in the little box up top. This issue, he gets a logo. Large font in a standard position atop the page reads, “The Power of Iron Man”. The comic is still “Tales of Suspense”, as noted at the top; yet, the comic’s title is the subordinate font. In big bold letters, we see clearly this is Iron Man’s comic. Marvel will do the same with Thor next month. For whatever reason, they seem less inclined to advertise Human Torch or Giant-Man so boldly.

While less impressive, it should be noted that The Watcher gets acknowledged on the cover in a text box. No other covers have or will mention his backup features. That coincides with a change in the Watcher tales. He will no longer be narrating other tales but starring in his own adventures.

Black Widow returns, now with black hair (though this time it looks red on the cover). Last issue, her only role was distraction by seduction. Here, she steals a powerful new Stark weapon, but we still don’t see her demonstrating many talents of her own.

Her plan largely hinges on Stark’s stupidity (which worked well for her last time). He shows her his new top secret super weapon, perhaps because he is smitten with her. She then steals the weapon. We learn Stark was not smitten, but pretending to trust her to learn her plans. There was no need for that. The events of last issue provide plenty of evidence she was a Soviet spy and an accomplice in the murder of Professor Vanko. There was no reason to learn her new plan. Just have her arrested.

Tales of Suspense #52, Story C

The Failure!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: January 10, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + art: L.D. Lieber
Inking: P. Reinman
Lettering: S. Rosen
5 pages

With this story, we finally finish all the January comics, after some jumping around in time. We’d already ready some February books, but now we have officially reached February in our reading.

The Watcher has another tale for us, concerning the one man on Earth who was seen as a failure because he refused to pursue success in business. He and his lady end up rulers of a galactic empire. The Watcher asks: “Can any of us ever really know who is a failure and who is not?”

Tales of Suspense #52

The Crimson Dynamo Strikes Again!

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: January 10, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Plot by: Stan Lee
Story by: N. Korok
Art by: Don Heck
Lettering by: S. Rosen
13 pages

N. Korok is an alias for Don Rico. Stan credits Rico with the story and himself with the plot. I would love to know what Stan thinks the difference between “plot” and “story” is. Rico had been working with comics, and Marvel Comics in particular, since 1939, as artist or writer or editor. By this time, he had mostly left comics behind and become a successful novelist– likely why he’s not using his real name on this comic work. Any comics work by Rico from this point forward will be quite uncommon.

Khrushchev decides it’s time to deal with the traitorous Crimson Dynamo. He sends for Russia’s best agents, Boris and Natasha.

No, not those two.

Tales of Suspense #51, Story C

The Primitive!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: December 9, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
Lettering: S. Rosen
5 pages

In general, these science fiction tales are a poor fit for the Marvel Universe. They do better as standalone stories. Within the context of the Marvel Universe, a scientist wouldn’t be desperately trying to prove there are advanced alien civilizations out there… we already know that because dozens have invaded Earth.

We know the Watcher is part of the Marvel Universe, and he claims to be telling us a story of the future. But perhaps it is not the future of our Marvel heroes. Perhaps it is another future, maybe even our own. It is set in the far-off 21st century.

Tales of Suspense #51

The Sinister Scarecrow

Featuring: Iron Man
Release: December 9, 1963
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan (When does he sleep?) Lee
Illustrated by: Don (When does he eat?) Heck
Lettered by: Art (When will he learn to spell?) Simek
13 pages

Stan notes we are probably wondering how a Scarecrow can cause Iron Man any trouble. I was wondering exactly that, Stan. In fact, I often wonder why most of Iron Man’s villains cause him any trouble. This issue will not answer the question. Iron Man strikes me as far more powerful than you make him out to be.

We get a somewhat interesting origin for a super-villain. It begins with Iron Man making a joke that he’s glad the performer is not a criminal, which inspires the performer to be a criminal. All he needs now is to steal a Scarecrow costume from a costume shop and some trained crows from a colleague.

Those who engage in humor know it to be an art form not free from consequence; we maintain that the rewards, though subtle, are worth the risk.

Tales of Suspense #50, Story C

Journey’s End!

Featuring: Watcher
Release: November 12, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script + art: Larry Lieber
Inking: S. Brodsky
Lettering: Art Simek
5 pages

The Watcher tells a tale of the distant future, the 21st century.

Wilbur Weems is a shy space pilot, teased by everybody for his general wimpiness. Having no friends or family or much of anything, he volunteers for an apparent suicide mission to investigate a cosmic dust cloud.

Tales of Suspense #50

The Hands of the Mandarin!

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.

Tales of Suspense #49, Story B

The Saga of the Sneepers!

Featuring: The Watcher
Release: October 8, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Story plot: Stan Lee
Script and art: Larry Lieber
Inking: G. Bell
5 pages

“The Saga of the Sneepers” is the type of story that’s occupied this title since before Iron Man showed up, and has continued to exist in the form of backups to the main Iron Man stories. The difference between this and the ones we’ve opted not to read is that the Watcher is narrating it. That is the format of the first of these “Tales of the Watcher” stories.

The same format showed up this month in Tales to Astonish with “The Wonderful Wasp Tells a Tale“. The Watcher seems a more natural narrator of science fiction tales than the Wasp. The Wasp seems like she should be living adventures. The Watcher is forbidden to interfere in events, so narrating the events he observes is a more sensible use for the character than what he’s done in his two Fantastic Four appearances: interfering in events.

A notable difference between the two is that Wasp was presumably spinning a fictional story about the future to entertain, whereas the Watcher is narrating actual events. So the Sneepers are an actual alien race within the Marvel Universe; the Wobbows likely are not.