Lightning and metal forged in fire and ice!

Week Ending 14th July 1973

Extremists fight for power, a Pharaoh from the future, Peter Parker grows up and graduates from high school and we get a proper (ish) Norse legend tale. All in this weeks blog.

The Mighty World of Marvel #41 

This weeks cover is split into two panels. The larger panel was originally from the cover of Tales to Astonish #97 which features the Hulk smashing the Legion of Living Lightning's giant lightning machine is drawn by Marie Severin and inked by Dan Adkins. No one seems to know who was the artist on the lower panel, but from what I can gather it was inked by Mike Esposito. 

The Incredible Hulk "The Legions of the Living Lightning"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Marie Severin

Inker: Herb Trimpe

Originally published in Tales to Astonish #97

Cover date November 1967

(Published in August 1967)

Having returned to Earth by the power of the High Evolutionary last issue we find him leaping into trouble, carried by the worlds most powerful legs the green gargantuan man-monster collides in mid air with a plane. Knowing that he was responsible the Hulk clears the wreckage to free the planes single occupant. The Hulk must have some amount of Bruce Banners intelligence because he gives the pilot first aid, stopping bleeding from his arm and fashions a splint to support his broken leg. The pilot was on his way to the secret base of the Living Lightning and his Legion that was guarded by a lightning machine. After an incredible bombardment from its high voltage discharge the Hulk is rendered temporary unconscious. Believing that the Hulk can supply the advantage to take over General Ross's Air Force base. Wound up by the Living Lightning the rampaging Hulk makes his own exit and heads off to destroy the base. Hulk-inued on page 14, or more correctly in the next paragraph.  

The Incredible Hulk "The puppet and the power!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Marie Severin

Inker: Herb Trimpe

Originally published in Tales to Astonish #98

Cover date December 1967

(Published in September 1967)

"The puppet and the power!" now that's a cool title from Stan, I wonder if his other choices were "The Power of the Living Lightning!"? The Living Lightning, sometimes referred to as the Lord of the Living Lightning or even Lightning Lord, I guess Stan couldn't make up his mind on his name, or just forgot or simply didn't care, lead a group of insurrectionists solders and scientists who wanted to overthrow the American government, basically a BTEC Hydra. 

Right wing or Left wing it doesn't matter there must be legions of dissatisfied men who will join any organisation with intent to depose elected governments, as long as they have a kinky line of stormtrooper uniforms they're up for it. It's a way to prove their masculinity. Lord of the Living Lightning wants to attain power for himself in the name of revolution. By playing on the Hulk's distrust of all things military Lightning Lord manipulates the green brute into attacking the base and distracts the armed forces allowing the Legion to gain some control over the base. He demands that General Ross surrender the base completely to the LLL live on a nation-wide radio broadcast, as he has imprisoned the General's daughter, Betty Ross, in a cell with a now sleeping (due to the army's successful use of sleeping gas on the rampaging monster,) Hulk, who will wake any minute with the most angriest hangover in history. To be continued next week "when the monster wakes!"

The Mighty Marvel Mailbag

Two pages of letters this week so lets get into them, Huw Parker from Norfolk writes to say he has to buy two copies of MWOM, one to read and the other to cut out the entry form when he enters any competition, he asks why there isn't a competition slip stapled into  the centrefold to save destroying his copy? Well it's a great way to increase sales figures. He also believes that readers in London have an unfair advantage in a competition as they receive their copies earlier than the rest of the UK. The editor points out that the entry date is late enough for everyone to have a fair chance. Robert Szczerba from Yorkshire asks 1) can Johnny Storm be burned by fire when he has not flamed on? 2) When Marvel UK runs out of old stories to print what will they do? 3) Where have all the American editions disappeared to? The answers he is given are 1) No he won't, when exposed to flame his body automatically flames on. Fighting fire with fire maybe? 2) Future plans haven't been finalised, but they intend to fill all their mags with the finest stories and artwork available. 3) As fast as American editions turn up they're snapped up. David Purves from Edinburgh would like to see longer letter pages, he gets his wish this week, but boy it does make more work for me 50 years later. Peter Hendy from High Wycombe wants to see his favourite hero Iron Man in a UK mag soon. Kevin Jordan from Kent likes the Hulk but is less keen on the Thing as he's always cross.

Alister Hooke from Clydebank is a bit of a poet. Dean Whisson's whole family read his copy of MWOM, and now his uncle has also started to buy his own copy, they're all from Yorkshire. Jonathan Coote from Surrey wonders why the Mad Ghost doesn't sink into the ground? Ghost don't sink into the ground, if they did how would anyone see them? Or maybe they do and that's why I haven't seen any! Jeremy Smith from Ipswich wonders who's Spider-man's deadliest foe? Jeremy who can really say? David Denyer from Sussex thinks DareDevil is great and wants to the FF, DD, the Hulk, Spider-man and Thor together in one great big adventure. Big team-ups are on the way but you'll have to wait till January to see the full return of the Man Without Fear! Dundee University Marvel Fan Club members (no they didn't call themselves that I just made it up,) A Rogawski, Rob Hands, Geoff Houghton, Colin Macarby, I Nicol and J Yule all want to say they really enjoy MWOM and SMCW and wouldn't dream of missing them for fear of the Hulk's wrath. He is their favourite hero and have started an anti-"Thunderbolt" Ross campaign on the university campus. I kind of feel sorry for the General, but I would join if they opened it up to anti-"Talbot" fanatics. 

The Fantastic Four "Prisoners of the Pharaoh!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby

Inker: Dick Ayers

Originally published in the Fantastic Four #19

Cover date October 1963

(Published in July 1963)

In this story we meet one of the most far reaching characters in Marvel history for the first time, at least in our timeline that is. Pharaoh Rama-Tut the man who would become Kang, the Scarlet Centurion, Immortus, Iron Lad but was born Nathaniel Richards, although we wouldn't find all that out till years later or is that decades later, or centuries may be. Richards, Reed Richards that is, thinks that he's discovered a cure for blindness used by the Pharaohs during a mostly unrecorded era of the Egyptian empire, approximately 2960BC. In a bid to restore Alicia Master's sight the FF travel to Doctor Doom's castle to use his abandoned Time Travel Platform to make the trip into the past. 

Once in Egypt of the past they are attacked by an army and defeated by a mysterious weapon, to find themselves prisoners of the Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Reed believes that with the Pharaoh's knowledge of the group he must be a time traveler. Rama-Tut produces a Ulta-Diode ray gun and informs them that he comes from the year 3000AD, a time in which he had come bored with that century's peace and progress and he wanted adventure. Envying historical records of the FF's adventures he searched in the runes of an ancestor dwellings and discovered a Time Machine. He piloted it to ancient Egypt to plummet that era's treasures only to crash and damage the machine leaving him marooned in that century. Next issue the FF enslaved!

A promo for Tales of Asgard coming soon to the pages of Spider-man Comics Weekly. A little strange that this promo should feature in MWOM and not SMCW first, may be there was a spare page and it does make a cracking pin-up. Spider-man fans might also not take the news with excitement as the stories would run simultaneously with Thor and Spider-man, taking some of Spidey's page count. The Artwork was taken from the cover of Tales of Asgard #1 by Jack Kirby. Cover dated October 1968 (Published July 1968,) it was a reprint comic that started with material from the Tales of Asgard stories that had been originally been printed from Journey into Mystery #97-106. 

Advertising this weeks Spider-man Comics Weekly a half page feature telling us that Spider-man must face the mind-staggering Molten Man! And the mighty Thor faces his deadliest peril when "Giants walk the Earth!" All above the standard FOOM! membership kit advertisement. Still only 50 pence! I wish I could have had one!

This weeks Marvel Collectors Special from MWOM is number 7 and features the Fantastic Four. It had originally been featured in the Fantastic Four #15 cover dated June 1963, published March 1963. Jack Kirby drew it and Dick Ayers inked it. Originally it had been signed "Sincerely Ben, Reed, Sue + Johnny." 

Spider-man Comics Weekly #22

This cover was by Joe Rubinstein with the pencils tightened by Rich Buckler, so Rubinstein himself had said. The piece was finished off with inks by Marvel UK regular cover inker Mike Esposito. My copy has a very unusual "bite" mark on the spine just under the top staple. It isn't human, dog, hamster, insect or vampire, I think it might have got caught in the cutting machine or a letter box. Either ways it's still intact and doesn't have any effect on my enjoyment of the comic. 

Spider-man "The menace of the Molten Man!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

Inker: Steve Ditko

Originally published in the Amazing Spider-man #28

Cover date September 1965

(Published in June 1965)

Steve Ditko again this week is given credit for this story's plot and artwork. Ditko is at his creative height with his work, there's so much to love about it. Stan Lee doesn't let Ditko get all the plaudits, he credits himself with writing and editing it with loving care. Peter needs his costume back so he goes to inventor Spencer Smythe's home with an excuse that as a physics student he's interested in the Spider-Slayer robot and would like to see it up close. The robot reacts when he approaches sensing his spider powers and entraps him with its steel tentacles. Know that this could happen he produces a jar of spiders to explain why it trapped him, Smythe believes him and switches off the robot. 

While Smythe is distracted by the door bell Peter swaps his store bought costume for his original one. Smythe's caller turns out to be Mark Raxton, a young scientist and assistant to Smythe, who wants his share of the Liquid Metal they have been working on to sell for profit. 

At one point Smythe tells Raxton "You can't walk out on me now! I supplied all the money, all the equipment! The whole idea was mine!" Was this Stan voicing his opinion to Steve about his creative input in the Spider-man stories? Was Lee allowing Ditko some of the control he wanted with the character but also letting him know who was in charge.

Was it a case of "I've got the brains, you've got the pencils and inks, let's make lots of money!" Do you think Stan Lee talked to Neil Tennant about it when he was a Marvel UK editor? 

 Raxton takes the newly developed Liquid Metal alloy and strikes out at Smythe causing him to drop the glass container spilling its contents over himself. His body absorbs the new metal causing his skin to turn gold in colour, while endowing him with strength and immunity to pain. Peter gets Raxton's address from Smythe and confronts the newly named Molten Man. Ultimately defeating him by using his own strength against him.

With all the action this story had to offer it's great that it ends with Peter's graduation from High School. Peter wins a science scholarship to the Empire State University, leaving Aunt May feeling very proud. I know how that feels as I watch my daughter graduate from University only last year. In America graduating from High School is as big as from University. Peter wasn't the only one to get a scholarship award, Flash Thompson received one for proficiency in athletics and would continue his "spiky" relationship with Peter at ESU, that of course would grow into more of a friendship. Somethings wouldn't stay the same, Liz Allan's time in these tales was over, for the time being at least, listing her jealousy of other girls Peter had liked more than her and feeling that Peter had always thought of her as a dizzy blonde. That sort of story change does feel sudden. In hindsight maybe the introduction of Mark Raxton, the Molten Man, who would later turn out to be her step brother had something to do with it. And so ends Peter's high school life, after only 29 tales in the Marvel universe it really is only a small part of what the Spider-man that we know and love is.   

A nice little page filler for younger readers, the Marvel Maze Page starring the mighty Thor! Most of the images come from recent Thor stories, the most noticeable one being the centre panel featuring the Executioner from last weeks issue. It's worth noting that on the other side of this maze page featured another chance to enter the Wordophobia competition as first appeared last week, together with an entry form that when cut out wouldn't have spoilt any strip action only the lower part of the maze. May be Marvel did listen to readers suggestions after all. 

The Web and the Hammer 

More letters from readers, first up is Mark Attleck from Hampshire. whose first comic he bought was SMCW #2. He wants to know can the Human Torch and the Thing become human again? The editor's answer is it would be a million to one chance. My answer is why would you want them to? Andrew Marriott from Essex asks how did Spider-man get his Spider-Sense? My answer is with the rest of his amazing powers, a radioactive spider bite and the creativity of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Kevin Barret, again from Essex got the second issue of SMCW but missed out on the amazing first issue. He asks what happens when Spidey runs out of web fluid? My answer is pure Marvel drama. Jasper Singh from Derby thinks SMCW is great but wants to see more super heroes. Don't we all. Stephen Keevil from London asks who placed Thor's hammer in the cave for Don Blake to find in "Thor and the Stone Men of Saturn"story from SMCW#1? God only knows, ask Odin, or was it Odin?

Two more letters to go. David Murton from Middlesex who's a keen model maker and would like to have a construction kit based on a Marvel character. I never thought that these were available in the 70's, not like todays merchandise heavy world, but this point seemed to keep coming up. He also wants to see posters in the double-centre pages of the weekly comics. That did become a thing with some cool landscape centre-folds in a couple of years time. The 80's colour centre-folds from Marvel UK had some excellent posters by British artists, but that's in the future. Finally Alan Anderson from London  wants to thank Steve Ditko for the Marvellous pics of Spider-man in action against Electro and Kraven the Hunter. He's absolutely right, they are amazing!

A little teaser about next weeks competition to win one pound a week pocket money for a whole year! Just imagine what a child in 1973 could buy with that! I'd scour the shops looking for American Marvel imports to go with the Marvel UK weeklies. Now that's heaven. 

The Mighty Thor "Giants walk the Earth!"

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby

Inker: Chic Stone

Originally published in Journey into Mystery #104

Cover date May 1964

(Published in March 1964)

Jack Kirby is starting to have a ball with this particular run on the Mighty Thor, you can tell he likes creating new mythologies from old ones. This story is set on Earth but the amount of Norse legends is increasing, making it the kind of Thor tale that I absolutely love. It starts with Loki plotting in Asgard the down fall of Thor and Loki's own ascension to the throne of Asgard, with the Enchantress and the Executioner. Spotting a chance to make Odin go down to Earth so that the All-Father can assert his authority on the God of Thunder over the matter of his love for the mortal Jane Foster.

 Loki's scheming manipulations work better than he would have imagined with Odin gifting the God of mischief with a portion of his powers in his absence, to enable Loki to rule Asgard till the All-Father's return. Odin arrives on Earth in a manner similar to which Anthony Hopkins did in the MCU movie Thor Ragnarök. Loki thrilled with power releasees two of Asgards most fearsome enemies to defeat Odin and Thor for him.

Skagg the Storm giant and Surtur the fire demon, they seem to be right out of Norse mythology, but not completely. Skagg is the name of the beards worn by Scandinavian warriors. Storm Giants or sometimes know as Frost Giants in Norse mythology were known as the Jötnar. The Jötnar are usually described as quite large and strong. The Jötnar mainly lived in Jötunheimr, one of the nine Norse worlds. This is probably what Stan and Jack had intended when they created Skagg. In Norse mythology, Surtr (Old Norse  for "black" and "the swarthy one, called Surtur in modern Icelandic) is foretold as being a major figure during the events of Ragnarök, carrying his bright sword, he will go to battle against the Æsir, he will battle the major god Freyr, and afterward the flames that he brings forth will engulf the Earth. It's no stretch of anyone's imagination to see the fire demon with his flaming sword from Marvel legend. 

Completing our Norse cast are Heimdall, the Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge and Balder the Brave. Heimdall with the sharpest hearing of the gods is alerted to Loki's plan, but cannot leave his post guarding the Rainbow Bridge, so he sends for Balder the Brave to worn Thor and Odin of the coming of Skagg and Surtur to Earth. Forewarned Odin sends all of humanity to a dimension beyond the comprehension of human minds, so that Thor, Balder and himself can battle the two giants. In which they do, with ultimately Odin defeating the two fiends by draining Skagg's evil powers and then sending Surtur off into deep space towards an asteroid composed of magnetically charged particles that hold the fire demon for ages to come. Odin bids his son goodbye, forgiving his son's weakness of heart to the mortal nurse, and later in the great halls of Asgard he punishes Loki for his treachery by making him serve the trolls until he decide to set him free. It's a fantastic tale, the best Thor story for ages.

The inside back page returns the favour of the Spider-man Comics Weekly advert shown in it's brother comic by featuring an in-house advert for this weeks Mighty World of Marvel. Not one but two full length Hulk thrillers as he must face the Legion of the Living Lightning, but you've already read about that earlier as well as the frankly fabulous Fantastic Four who are trapped in the past as "Slaves of the Pharaoh!" All great Marvel fun. 

The last and definitely the least thing to get excited about this week is number eight in the Marvel Collectors Special series. Featuring a very poorly drawn J. Jonah Jameson, the bigoted, bull-headed editor of the Daily Bugle. Granted who ever drew him has done a better job than I could, but I can't honestly say it's anywhere near as good as anything Kirby, Ditko or Buscma could churn out. 

Don't let this weeks blog end with Jameson's negativity, there's loads more comics to read and read about. Next week Doctor Strange makes a house call and news about some group called the Avengers too. All that as well as the Hulk, the FF, Spider-man and the mighty Thor too. 

See you in seven. 

Make Mine Marvel.