"The Spider And The Sorcerer(s)!"

 

Given the circumstances in which we left the former sorcerer known as Xandu the Unspeakable, it appeared that he was never going to trouble the world again in his mad quest to achieve the ultimate power to be gained by possession of the mystic Wand of Watoomb, his efforts foiled by both Spider-Man and the Master of the Mystic Arts, Dr. Strange. In that encounter's denouement, Strange not only drained the wand's power, but also removed Xandu's memories of it as well as absolved his evil nature, essentially giving him a second chance at life.

Yet, almost nine years later, it appears that Xandu's "reset" didn't take--appearing none the worse for wear when he sets his sights again on the wand, as well as the two who came between him and his goal. What that goal was and is will be revealed in short order; for now, however, we join him just after he's ambushed Spider-Man at the scene where the wall-crawler had just saved a lone figure from a mugging, only to find himself to be the victim.

As for the wand, what's the point of Xandu seeking it out again? With its power vanished, isn't it just an ornate paperweight at present? We'll have to wait a bit to find that out, as well, since the story's symbolic splash page is also posing questions to be answered--and from the look of things, Xandu intends to be holding all the cards as well as the wand.

(It seems Xandu's assertion that Strange is Spider-Man's enemy is true--he's made sure his cover "spotlight" figure is large enough to shove even the book's masthead aside!)

In The Night Comes... Nighthawk!

 

The story of Nighthawk--erstwhile member of the Squadron Sinister and, later, would join the dynamic Defenders--really begins at the point when he's conscripted to take part in a deadly game of life and death engaged between the alien Grandmaster and Kang the Conqueror which would decide the fate of the Earth. It was the Grandmaster who formed the Squadron to serve as his own "players" who would individually face Kang's chosen team of Avengers in battle--and while the latter team fought for the survival of their world, Nighthawk and his partners had more self-serving ends in mind.

As we'll learn, the Grandmaster had a direct hand in bringing Kyle Richmond's identity as Nighthawk to life--and while it may seem odd that the Grandmaster would bother with providing Nighthawk's mode of transportation, it appears to be the key to Nighthawk proving victorious against his opponent, despite what we may have assumed in regard to victory being achieved by the defeat of the player.

We'd have to look at the fine print of this game's terms to be certain, but here it seems that Nighthawk would win his match against Cap if his plan to destroy the Statue of Liberty had succeeded, rather than defeating Cap personally; otherwise, the Grandmaster would have declared Nighthawk the winner when Cap was caught by the villain's rope and slammed into unconsciousness against the statue's stone base. Regardless, since Cap came out on top by defeating both plan and opponent, the point is rendered moot.

In the end, the Grandmaster would ultimately be the losing party in the game and depart, leaving the members of the Squadron Sinister free to chart their own course. Hyperion's fate at the hands of Thor would be more problematic in that regard; and while we were left to assume that the Whizzer and Dr. Spectrum would have been turned over to the authorities, that doesn't seem to have been the case for Nighthawk*, who turns up roughly four months later to use his criminal talents to con his way into Daredevil's territory.

The Mightiest Mortal! The Caped Crusader!

 

I believe it may have been John Byrne who once remarked that the difference between DC Comics and Marvel Comics was that DC had the better characters, but Marvel had the better stories, going on to add that Marvel's approach to a story was better suited to do more with DC characters. The fact that writers and artists have at times left one company and gone to work for the other (as well as indulging in do-si-dos in that respect) may muddy those waters a bit--but it occurred to me that you can put that assessment to the test when the companies agree to feature their characters in joint stories, either as foes or dealing with a shared threat or crisis. One such gem could be found as early as 1981, as two characters as dissimilar as they come face each other for the first time.

This story takes place in the final issue of the DC Special Series* books, written by Len Wein (who had long since moved on from his stint on Incredible Hulk) and with art by José Luis Garcia-López and Dick Giordano. Having worked my way backward with these kinds of inter-company team-up issues, it was interesting to see that in earlier years the DC and Marvel characters were of the same world and had simply never crossed paths with each other. In this case, Bruce Banner has come to Gotham City and found employment (under forged credentials) doing odd jobs in a Wayne Research lab where we find a team of scientists working on the Gamma Gun, a device which Banner feels could be the key to his salvation for obvious reasons. Enter the Joker, who arrives to steal it for none other than the Shaper of Worlds, whom the pasty-faced criminal has struck an agreement with; but an altercation with the Joker's men triggers a transformation that has them dealing instead with a very angry man-monster.

IT Lives!

 

It!, the 1973-74 short-lived feature by Tony Isabella from Astonishing Tales, wasn't exactly the first to break ground in a Marvel story as a character named by that particular pronoun:

But while characters with pronouns for names have met with some success over the years, it wasn't long before the '70s It! found its masthead joined by the more descriptive wording, "the Living Colossus." And that's understandable, since you'd presumably want your cover character to deliver more punch on the sales stand with wording that conveyed more than the shock value of the unknown.

For our purposes, however, and to avoid confusion in just about every sentence constructed with the word "it," we'll refer to this 100-foot-tall creature by the more striking noun that was applied to it with its first appearance in 1961, as we examine just how much mileage it's unexpectedly received as a character whose purpose was to be either a gigantic threat or, oddly enough, a literally larger than life hero.

The Tenacious Return Of The Terrifying Toad-Men!

 

There are few if any conquering races more entertaining than the terrifying Toad Men, the Ferengi of space-faring conquerors who seem to strive to be taken seriously (even in light of their obvious power and resources)--aggressors that take what they want, when they want, and no two ways about it. These wily characters, with weaponry based on the power of directed magnetism, were introduced in mid-1962 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and, after a failed attempt to conquer Earth, now return thirteen years later, once more in the pages of Incredible Hulk--the passage of time apparently not having dimmed their lust for conquest in the slightest.

As we can see, this two-part story introduces the character of Glorian, whose origin would be later retconned by writer Bill Mantlo but who for now appears in the company of the Shaper of Worlds, another Hulk-based figure who searches for those whose dreams he can fulfill, regardless of the lives which might be impacted as a result. It's Glorian who now serves as both the Shaper's muse of sorts, as well as his conscience insofar as providing a more focused purpose for this massive alien's power.

The Hulk, of course, remains a font of unfulfilled dreams of a better life for himself--and when Glorian entreats him to leave the Earth (via rainbow--what else?) to realize those dreams at last, the man-monster finds the door has opened wide to his dreams and beckoned his long-sought happiness.

The Island That Walks Like A Man!

 

It was hard to imagine in 1975 that Krakoa--the evil mutant island mass created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum which inadvertently paved the way for the creation of the new X-Men--would have such staying power, especially when taking into account the circumstances of (what we thought was) its final fate. Yet in one form or another, Krakoa continues to endure to this day, as Marvel's writers find means of providing it with new life and direction; for our purpose, however, we'll spotlight Krakoa's existence in the twentieth century, when his future was still uncertain, if even considered.

Krakoa's sheer size, of course, enabled it to overwhelm the original X-Men, as they investigated readings of a new mutant detected by their Cerebro unit:

But the horror of their situation wouldn't be realized until the lone person to "escape" the fate of his friends, Cyclops, returned with an all-new team of X-Men formed by Charles Xavier and discovered that he and Xavier were little more than pawns, following the commands of a community intelligence that took its shape from the very ground they stood on.

All of that directed power, and no one thinks to target this thing's "eyes." Then again, does an intelligent, mobile island need vision in the conventional sense?

Finally, following a plan devised by Xavier, the X-Men shift tactics, pooling the talents of team members both current and new to remove the threat of Krakoa from the world, in the fullest sense of the word.

Fifteen years later, we would discover that the Stranger had at some point intercepted and secured Krakoa for study on his laboratory world where other beings whose paths crossed with Earth at one time or another had also been sequestered. In the meantime, Krakoa would find new life in Marvel's imaginary stories excuse me, parallel-world book, What If--in not one, not two, but three tales, where you can be sure that the X-Men, in one way or another, pay the price for their encounter with the Island That Walks Like A Man.

This Way Toward... Doom!

 

Perhaps eyeing the success of the DC horror/fantasy anthology titles House Of Secrets and House Of Mystery, Marvel launched two similarly themed books in late 1969: Tower Of Shadows and, one month later, Chamber Of Darkness. Like their DC counterparts which were published on a bimonthly basis (off and on), both Tower and Chamber hit the stands every other month--but it seems the similarity ends there in terms of sales, as Marvel's offerings sold poorly and were discontinued after ten and eight issues, respectively. Tower, premiering first, seemed somewhat better received by readers, judging by letters page response, though the ratio of raves to more critical assessments appeared to be about 30/70. There was also the question of sustainability, as both series began pulling in reprinted material from their earlier anthology titles from the '50s-'60s (Strange Tales and Tales Of Suspense) with their sixth issue.

Suffice to say that DC's House titles were in no danger of readers jumping ship for Marvel's offerings--though it wasn't for lack of trying on Marvel's part, at least initially, as some of the company's most notable talent were tapped to contribute stories. Roy Thomas, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Jim Steranko, et al. (including John Romita Sr., who mostly did cover work) were seemingly able to accommodate seven-page assignments (or less) within a two-month window (though I believe Steranko withdrew after only one story, reportedly due to a disagreement with Lee)--with some artists even pulling double duty and contributing scripts as well as art, in addition to inkers providing readers with examples of their own pencils.

After their all-too-brief runs, each title shifted to formats made up of almost entirely reprinted material, in addition to adopting new mastheads. Tower became Creatures On The Loose, which mixed its reprints with sword and sorcery tales as well as a regular feature on Man-Wolf, while Chamber morphed to Monsters On The Prowl--each book having a run of 30 to 37 bimonthly issues (the creatures pulling ahead of the monsters--make of that what you will). But since there's a little more ground to cover with both Tower and Chamber, and having already examined Jack Kirby's stories in the latter, let's turn to a few samples from some of the other names we've mentioned who made their mark in the macabre during the brief time when these two titles were being published.

Life Is Anything But A Dream

There have no doubt been any number of incidental characters in comics stories who were introduced to bring focus to either the lives of the more central characters or a plot slowly building to a crisis, while at times both conditions would apply. Such was the case in 1965 with a young man named Thomas Gideon, who got the short end of the stick by having the misfortune of being the son of Gregory Gideon, a man obsessed with the acquisition of both money and power to the detriment of having any substantive relationship with his family. Gideon's impatience, however, made him his own worst enemy--and to fast track that acquisition, he made a deal with his competitors to bring about the defeat of the Fantastic Four, a goal which only widened the rift between himself and those closest to him.

In the end, of course, the tables were turned on Gideon, who swore to make restitution as well as renounce his fortune in order to begin making amends to his family. But a tragic incident would effectively rescind his change of heart, and turn his attention toward preserving the lives of both himself and his son--and if that led to the acquisition of supreme power for himself, so much the better.

Yet this time, Gideon's plans met with not only defeat, but death--leaving Thomas an orphan in 1973, in the temporary care of those who had given his father the second chance that he squandered.

However, the FF were caught up in a bizarre twist of reality initiated by Slugger Johnson, one of Gideon's henchmen, with the help of the alien known as the Shaper of Worlds. Once the FF prevailed, the Shaper made provisions for dealing with the man from whose mind sprung the "dream"--while also turning his attention to the fate of Thomas.

And, strictly speaking, Thomas indeed returned to reality, as the Shaper promised--but while that return would occur in only two years' time, it would take roughly a decade for you and I to be made aware of it.

Which signals the return of yet another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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Whatever happened to Thomas Gideon?

Will-'O-The-Wisp!

The introduction of Will-O'-The-Wisp, a character brought to comics by writer Len Wein and artist John Romita (the concept taken from a fanzine Wein was connected with around 1966), appeared to be well-received by readers of Amazing Spider-Man following his debut in 1977:

"What interests me is this strange, new entity which calls itself Will-O'-The-Wisp. An unusual villain ... he's a tragic figure, forced to perform acts repellent to him, and hoping to regain his lost humanity. He seems to be one of Spidey's more fascinating foes, even from what little we've seen of him. And I hope we see much, much more."

"...Will-O'-The-Wisp is probably one of the most original and fascinating villains we'll see this year."

"Will-O'-The-Wisp is one of the more memorable of Spidey's antagonists, with a sufficiently bizarre appearance and interesting enough powers to make their fight an enjoyable one."

"I demand, I insist, I implore you--bring back Will-O'-The-Wisp! Never has a new character made such an impression on me. If you don't bring him back, I'll never forgive you."

"Will-O'-The-Wisp is about the most mysterious, most enigmatic hero villain to come along in... in... well, I don't know when. Please bring him back... soon! And when you do, please, don't reveal too much about his past. I like him as he is!"

"The Will-O'-The-Wisp was fantastic! He showed potential for becoming a real super-hero."

Before such high praise rolled into the Marvel offices, you'd think it would have been a tad premature to label the Wisp as a "SUPER-STAR!" right out of the gate.  Yet try telling that to the copywriter(s) for each of the covers of the Wisp's two-part story, who seemed convinced the character was going places:

Yet even if you weren't quite convinced of the Wisp's SUPER-STAR! status by story's end, chances are you were more than satisfied with a solid story by Wein and artist Ross Andru, which demonstrated their chemistry on the book while including most of the basics of a decent Spider-Man tale which usually tend to keep one engaged throughout. For example, in addition to appearances by friends of Peter Parker's, such as Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn, there's also Peter's romantic interest, Mary Jane Watson, along with rather a surprising turn for Peter's Aunt May:

We'll also be witness to a rather disturbing conversation between Spidey and Joe Robertson, City Editor of J. Jonah Jameson's "Daily Bugle"; and there's of course Jameson himself, who has taken the next step in hounding his webbed nemesis with yet another "Spider-Slayer":

Memory fails when scientist/biologist Dr. Marla Madison (Jameson's future wife) became a robotics engineer. You have to wonder what other credentials she'll spring on us at some point.

And speaking of Jameson, we find that Peter Parker has cause to worry about the contents of an envelope in Jameson's possession (though temporarily in Peter's, following Spidey's visit to Jameson's office safe):

All of which avoids overshadowing the Wisp, considering how prominently he's featured. We don't discover all there is to know about the Wisp in this story--but we're provided with sufficient enough information on the circumstances of his creation, the nature of his abilities, and the reasons behind his actions to be intrigued by both his power and his character. For instance, what sort of adversary runs a truck off the road in order to steal a mysterious device, only to tend to the injuries of its occupants before departing?

The Gods Must Be Crazy

We've come to the end of our roundup of the last of Marvel's large-format books from November of 1971 to be reviewed at the PPC--and of all of Marvel's characters who would be suited to such a format, few would arguably be more visually impressive than this gentle, inoffensive green behemoth who evokes serenity and happiness wherever he sets foot.

And if you're buying that malarkey, I have a gamma bomb I'd like to sell you.

All right, it's made of legos, but still.

With a large page count to accommodate, artists Herb Trimpe and John Severin (the definitive penciller/inker team for the incredible Hulk, in my humble opinion) more than fulfill their obligation in this issue, covering enough bases to give a new Hulk reader a decent amount of background on the character while also demonstrating what makes the Hulk so unique in Marvel's stable. Yet Hulk #145 isn't all smooth sailing, inserting as it does a story within a story of the Hulk being conscripted into appearing in, of all things, a Hollywood film being shot in the Sahara Desert. There's nothing new about a Hulk tale being a little offbeat on occasion; try picturing the Hulk being fawned over and holding his temper while attending a party thrown by the cream of Manhattan society, for instance. Yet you may find that "Godspawn," this issue's central story, is virtually dealt into everything else that's taking place, rather than the other way around--which may be intentional on the part of first-time Hulk scripter Len Wein, given how it only offers a glimpse of itself before disappearing for nearly half the issue.

The Staggering Saga Of... They!

The machinations of the mysterious group known as They (no relation to "Them," an organization later referred to as Advanced Idea Mechanics) reach back to 1973, as they began to insert themselves into the affairs of super-beings for reasons unknown--as unknown as their identities, always appearing in shadow when they deigned to appear at all. We first learned of them when the Orb made his play to wrest back control of the cycle show owned and operated by the Ghost Rider and his love, Roxanne Simpson; and for the next year, They continued to act behind the scenes in Marvel Team-Up stories to sow chaos and even widespread destruction that the book's guest-star would attempt to quash with the help of either Spider-Man or the Human Torch.

At the time, their motives were anyone's guess, their actions as diverse as they were unpredictable. From what would seem to be fairly low-key involvement in supplying the Orb with gear to win back the business he helped to found, They began to flex their influence more forcefully, both around and even beneath the globe. It all breaks down as follows:

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March-April, 1974 (four months following the Orb's appearance)

Traveling to the Savage Land, Vincent Stegron, an assistant to Curt Connors, uses an extract for cell regeneration to become Stegron, the Dinosaur Man, while intending to transport the region's dinosaurs to civilization in an insane plan to see their return to planetary dominance. And guess who provides the "ark" that will bring them all to New York?

You wouldn't think dinosaurs would be at all simple to corral--but Spider-Man does it as easy as you please, thanks to a super-strong if unstable formula that the Black Panther gives him to modify his webbing. Neither of these heroes wonders how an under-the-radar lab assistant like Stegron got his hands on a mammoth sky ark that can transport dinosaurs, nor do they seem interested at all in reverse engineering it to find any clues as to who created it--a lucky break for They, who it seems might have another pawn in writer Len Wein.

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October, 1974

The witch doctor of the Lava Men receives a vision that leads him to machinery abandoned by the Mole Man which can be adapted to activate every volcano on Earth, thereby drowning the surface world in molten magma.

Thor and the Human Torch show up to destroy the machine, with Wein finally giving us our first glimpse of They--who strike us as little more than mischievous malefactors with too much time on their hands.

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December, 1974

Spider-Man and Hercules team up to stop a series of deadly earth tremors in Manhattan. But the culprit turns out to be a pawn of parties as yet unknown.

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January, 1977

With neither Wein nor Gerry Conway (who scripted the Spidey/Hercules tale) showing any further interest in fleshing out They, the group lies dormant for two years until a link to them is established in The Man Called Nova--yet we won't truly learn of that link for some time, since writer Marv Wolfman appears either unaware of any plans involving They (assuming there are any concrete plans at this point) or uninterested in dropping their name. And it isn't like Nova doesn't have enough to worry about in stopping the mad plans of Tyrannus.

On an unrelated note, Wolfman inadvertently provides a scene that in hindsight could have served as a warning against rushing this flash in the pan into his own series--though for what it's worth, the book had a run of 25 issues before it folded.

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March, 1977

Len Wein returns to have They resurface two months later and at last step out from the sidelines (if not the shadows), conscripting the Absorbing Man to attack the incredible Hulk.

Of course, what Creel plans to do and what actually happens are often two different things.

As we can see, Wein isn't ready to tip his hand on They, who still haven't shown that they're much more than slightly sadistic troublemakers getting their kicks from provoking conflict. Yet the honor of providing substance to They would fall to someone else, as, 2½ years later, Roger Stern decides on behalf of Marvel that it's time for all of us to finally learn: