Featuring: Watcher Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: September 1964 12 cents Story plot by: Stan Lee Script + Art by: Larry Lieber Inking by: Geo. Bell Lettering by: Art Simek 5 pages
Larry Lieber celebrated his birthday last week. 89 years young. I think he is the only still-living creator we have encountered thus far. The Marvel superheroes of this era have become a cornerstore of our culture, but we have few remaining connections to those who helped make them. The most notable of those connections is Larry Lieber, younger brother of the late Stan Lieber, better known as Stan Lee.
Space pirates set to attack a world run afoul of the Watcher. Like the last would-be attacker to do so, they think the Watcher won’t be a problem, due to his oath. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t read the fine print of the oath.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: September 1964 12 cents Written by: Smiling Stan Lee Illustrated by: Sparkling Don Heck Lettered by: Sterling S. Rosen 18 pages
Interestingly, this is the first Iron Man cover not drawn by Kirby. In fact, it’s the first major cover of the era not drawn or partially drawn by Kirby or Ditko. In general, Ditko has been drawing the covers of his books, and Kirby has been drawing the covers of his own and everybody else’s. For example, Kirby has drawn very few Giant-Man stories, but has drawn every cover. Since covers were often drawn before the issue, Kirby often had a hand in the creation of the new villains, by virtue of being the first to actually draw them. But not Hawkeye. Hawkeye may be the first major character we’ve met not in any way attributable to Kirby or Ditko. He seems to be entirely the creation of Stan Lee and Don Heck.
For example, Kirby is generally not credited as a creator of Black Widow, but he was involved at the beginning, having drawn her first cover appearance. Same story for Daredevil. I see none of his fingerprints on Hawkeye, but may be unaware of some behind-the-scenes work.
When we met Daredevil, I declared our cast of original stars complete. That was an admittedly arbitrary cut-off. I could have waited just a few months and claimed Hawkeye completes the package.
I said what I said because Hawkeye is not of our stars. At least not yet. He is a just a new super-villain, one of many. Like Black Widow. Like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch…
See the Our Cast So Far page to see how I’m breaking out the characters.
Featuring: Watcher Release: May 12, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + art: Larry Lieber Inking: Geo. Bell Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
This story makes me cringe a bit.
There have always been off-color jokes made about the character of the Watcher, suggesting a certain voyeurism to his character. After all, he watches. There seem to be no limits to what we can or will watch. Personal privacy is not a particular concern of his.
I have always taken such comments as jest and not a serious critique of the character of the Watcher, who, after all, is an impossibly advanced cosmic being, indistinguishable to us from a god.
But then we come to this story. Where he falls in love with a woman he is watching.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: May 12, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Written with consummate skill by: Stan Lee Illustrated with blazing drama by: Don Heck Lettered with bloodshot eyes by: S. Rosen 18 pages
The time of the science fiction short stories has ended, allowing this comic to devote a full 18 pages to telling Iron Man’s story. I’m sure that making it longer was the missing ingredient in making it good.
This issue, Iron Man battles the Unicorn. I’m undecided if that name conjures a powerful Soviet menace. It doesn’t sound like something a tough bad guy would call themself, but then I wouldn’t want to have to fight a unicorn.
The character arc of the issue is that Tony Stark decides to give up being Iron Man and live a normal life. He then feels guilty when Happy is injured by the Unicorn because he had neglected his responsibilities.
Featuring: Watcher Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Story plot: Stan Lee Script + Art: Larry Lieber Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
The Watcher’s emotional state in the previous issue led me to conclude it was an ancient story of the Watcher’s youth. This story is clearly taking place closer to modern times, though still in the past. The Watcher has already set up shop on our moon, which he describes as his temporary domain; he will finally leave this home in Fantastic Four #13. The continents of Earth seem to be in their current position. He must already be an ancient being.
An alien plans to steal Earth’s sun to save his own world. The Watcher distracts him long enough to thwart his plans.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Presented by: Stan Lee and Don Heck Lettered by S. Rosen 5 pages
This is pushing the line between what I’d call a story and what I’d call a special feature at the end of a story. It’s long enough and told in a comics format, so I decided to give it its own entry, but I could have included it at the end of the last one.
This feature fits in where the science fiction tale would normally have gone, but those are done now.
The first page shows some of Iron Man’s major villains:
Black Widow
Mysterious Melter
Mandarin
Scarecrow
Mr. Doll
Crimson Dynamo
Gargantus
Jack Frost
It’s not an exhaustive list. I don’t see:
Wong-Chu
Kala and the Netherworlders
Dr. Strange
Red Barbarian
The Actor
The Mad Pharaoh
One villain is unnamed, and I don’t recognize him.
Featuring: Iron Man Release: April 9, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Written by: Friendly Stan Lee Illustrated by: Faithful Don Heck Lettered by: Fearless Art Simek 13 pages
For the second issue in a row, a comic I own in original form, because it was too hard to find the Watcher story in the back any other way.
The title is, “No one escapes the Mandarin!” Iron Man is currently a prisoner. Willing to bet money someone will escape the Mandarin by issue’s end. (In fact, someone will escape the Mandarin by page 3.)
I need everybody to agree on a couple points. Iron Man is a captive. He is tied up just like he was at the end of last issue. That’s the first point. The second is that he is wearing a different helmet than he was a moment ago. There is a clear lack of bolts down the face. Somebody explain.
Featuring: Watcher Release: March 10, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Story plot by: Stan Lee Script + Art by: Larry Lieber Inking: Chic Stone Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
As I mentioned in the last post, this is the first comic in our reading I actually own an original copy of. This story is the reason I have it. I had the Iron Man story already in the Essential Iron Man and Iron Man Omnibus. But at the time, nearly 20 years ago, I couldn’t find the Watcher story anywhere else. So I tracked down the original comic, shelling out several dollars for it, maybe as much as 7 or 8. Definitely more than the 12 cents it should have cost.
The Watcher is unusually passionate at the moment. I think of him as more reserved. Here, he plans to stick to his oath, but it torments him.
That makes me think this tale is set in very ancient times. The modern Watcher is a little more accepting of his role, and this tale takes place in his youth, when he struggled a bit more with his oath.
As I’ve expressed before, the Watcher’s conclusions about morality are wrong. It’s better to act. That said, they fascinate me. Especially stories like this that attempt to explore the morality of his oath.
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.
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 Essentialvolumes 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.
