Sandman and Thor (both of them)

This is from Adventure Comics 75 by Kirby and Simon where Sandman, along with the cops, fights a Thor impostor. Below is Thor 164 where Thor, along with Balder and the military, fight Pluto's mutates. While not a direct swipe, it certainly felt inspired. 

Adventure Comics 75

Thor 164

Fantastic Four Annual 3 Predicts Future Battles!

In Fantastic Four Annual 3, Dr. Doom sent a many supervillains to attack the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Many heroes also attended the wedding. Three of these battles between foes at the wedding inspired plots for three later issues. Fantastic Four Annual 3 was published October 1965. It can be excused if none of the villains commented on having fought these heroes before since Reed wiped all the bad guys' minds, but the heroes should have remembered. 

While traveling to the wedding Thor was attacked by the Super Skrull. Aside from their grappling later in a picture that featured many characters, their battle was not seen. However in Thor 142, Loki sent the Super Skrull to battle Thor. Strangely, Thor did not comment on having battled the Super Skrull before. Nor did Stan in a footnote. Thor 142 was published July 1967. 

Fantastic Four Annual 3

Thor 142, obviously

Towards the end of the battle, Iron Man easily defeats the Mad Thinker's Awesome Android. Just two months later in December 1965, Tales of Suspense 72, would have Iron Man battling the pair again. Upon sight, Tony Stark recognizes the Awesome Android, but he doesn't make any reference to their brief battle at the wedding. 

Fantastic Four Annual 3

Tales of Suspense 72

In a speedster battle, Quicksilver quickly defeated the Human Top. Yet in Avengers 46, November 1967, Quicksilver does not make any reference to having fought the Human Top before. These two issues seemed to build up that the two mutants could have been arch-enemies but later writers have declined to pursue that line. Pity. 

Fantastic Four Annual 3

Avengers 46

Half-Naked Banner

Before the world found out that Bruce Banner was the Hulk, Bruce was able to keep it a secret for awhile. As you can see, Bruce was found or confronted multiple times by Betty or the military half-naked, only wearing shredded purple pants. Of course, nobody ever put together on how the Hulk also wears shredded purple pants and no one would ever ask Banner why he was half naked. In fact, it was Rick Jones who spilled the secret that Banner and the Hulk were one and the same. At this rate, I think Banner could have gone on longer keeping his identity a secret. 

Incredible Hulk 2. Script  by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby

Incredible Hulk 2. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby.

Avengers 5. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. 

Tales to Astonish 60. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Steve Ditko. 

Tales to Astonish 63. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Steve Ditko. 

Tales to Astonish 67. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Steve Ditko. 

Tales to Astonish 68. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. 

Tales to Astonish 69. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. 

Sub-Mariner Can't Make the Connection

In a short span of time (18 months in the real world, assuredly considerably shorter in comic book time) the Hulk and Sub-Mariner battled one another in Tales to Astonish 100 and then in Incredible Hulk 118 (the magazine that Tales to Astonish was changed to). The reason for both battles were fairly contrived. I remember in the introduction to the TPB, Marvel's Greatest Super Battles, Roy Thomas was not impressed by Tales to Astonish 100. Anyway, after fighting to a standstill, both battles end with the Sub-Mariner knocking the Hulk out of the water. The Hulk lands on shore and turns back into Bruce Banner.  The Sub-Mariner comes across the unconscious Bruce Banner and doesn't make the connection and turns back to the sea and leaves. 

I actually think Incredible Hulk 118 is more ambiguous on whether the Sub-Mariner made the connection or not. He calls it wizardry that he came across Banner where the Hulk landed. Banner is laying in a Hulk-sized indentation in the ground. So it could be seen that the Sub-Mariner is aware that the Hulk has turned back into Banner and leaves because he's grown weary of fighting for the day. 

Tales to Astonish 100. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Marie Severin. 

Incredible Hulk 118. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Herb Trimpe. 

The Many Deaths of the Puppet Master

In the 1960s, the Puppet Master seemed to die more than Kenny on South Park. A very dated reference, but I couldn't think of anything else. It's like they almost wanted to do away with him and make it the final Puppet Master story, but they just kept bringing him back. Looking at the all various ways the Puppet Master "dies", you get the feeling he's very clumsy/careless and chooses his locations very poorly.

I have to say out of the all "deaths", Captain Marvel 14 is my favorite. In all the others, he is dispatched "off screen." But I like how CM 14 shows him with his hand sticking out of the burning machinery. Gruesome.

Fantastic Four 8. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. Death #1: Falls out a window. He'll be okay. 

Fantastic Four 14. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. Death #2: Sub crushed by a giant octopus. He'll be okay.

Tales to Astonish 100. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Marie Severin. Death #3: Drowns in a tidal wave caused by the Sub-Mariner. He'll be okay. 

Captain Marvel 14. Script by Gary Friedrich. Art by Frank Springer. Death #4: Causes an explosion that buries him underneath the debris of smoldering machinery. He'll be okay.

Fantastic Four 100. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Jack Kirby. Death #5: Causes an explosion by firing his gun at the Hulk android and instead hits explosives in his HQ. He'll be okay or rather they'll (he and the Mad Thinker) will be okay. 

Daredevil vs. Whoever! Daredevil 30-38

So...for 9 months it was Daredevil vs. someone who was not a regular enemy of his. Of course, this is the Marvel Universe and Stan Lee and his collaborators did toy with pitting different enemies with different heroes and occasionally they would become a regular enemy for the new hero. An easy example is probably the Sandman who started off as a Spider-Man, but became a Fantastic Four villain for awhile. However, I think the Marvel Universe became more stratified and it took a crossover like "Acts of Vengeance" in which Loki encouraged super villains to switch opponents that people realized again, "Hey! This is a shared universe."

For some reason, Daredevil kind of went through his own "Acts of Vengeance" from late 1967 to early 1968. Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan starting having Daredevil fight villains that were not from his traditional rogues gallery. Is "rogues gallery" strictly a Flash term? Too bad, I needed to steal it. I wonder what brought this 9 month sequence of issues on? Were Lee and Colan tiring of having Daredevil fighting the same supervillains? Did they think his rogues gallery was lame? Or did they think, "It would be a shame to let this Marvel Universe go to waste!"

Starting with Daredevil 30-32, DD fought Thor villains, the Cobra and Mr. Hyde. Daredevil even received Thor's blessing to battle in his stead.  Out of all the villains he fought in these issues, these two had the most staying power and returned in issues.....

Next Daredevil fought the Beetle, who had been around a little in the Marvel Universe, starting off as a Human Torch villain, but later battled Spider-Man and the Avengers. I don't recall the Beetle ever fighting Daredevil again.

After that, Daredevil fought the Trapster, another villain who started off as a Human Torch foe.

Finally, Daredevil battled Dr. Doom. Now, Daredevil battled had battled Doom before in Fantastic Four 39-40. although neither made a reference to this.

It came to an end in Daredevil 39 when Daredevil went back to fighting his own foes, the Unholy Three (Ape Man, Bird Man and Cat Man).

But if Stan and Gene had continued on this trend, who could have Daredevil fought next? Well, Daredevil Annual 1 featured a dramatization of a typical meeting and Baron Zemo was suggested by Stan.  A lost adventure perhaps for the future?

Alicia Masters...A Mutant or Mutated Human?

 Alicia Masters, the blind significant other of the Thing, predates Daredevil as a blind person who seems to have superhuman senses.  

Alicia first appeared in Fantastic Four 8, in which her keen senses were demonstrated. She was able to sense Sue's heartbeat.  Now that's super hearing! Or is it more? In the 1994 cartoon adaptation, she's able to sense that Sue is a woman.

Fantastic Four 8. Alicia looked a lot like Crystal in her first few issues.

Alicia also seems to possess some kind of empathy power in being able to sense "goodness" or the aura of people. She couldn't sense the evil in her stepfather, apparently at first. 

Fantastic Four 8. Alicia is disguised as Sue Storm. Her resemblance to Sue was never touched upon again.

Fantastic Four 10. Sue knocks out Reed trapped in Dr. Doom's body.

Fantastic Four 14

Alicia has sense of touch is keen, allowing her to sculpt figures and even find a hidden compartment in the Puppet Master's cell.

Fantastic Four 10. Again her "Crystal" phase. 

Fantastic Four 66

Fantastic Four 66

Fantastic Four 170. 

Now is it from simply living a life being blind that sharpened Alicia's remaining senses? Perhaps so. I can't think of issue where her sense of taste and smell were ever demonstrated. However, being able to hear/sense a heartbeat and her sense of touch in being able to find a hidden compartment in a jail cell, coupled with her ability to sense the presence of the Puppet Master makes me think that Alicia is far more ordinary than she lets on. In fact, sensing a presence or being able to sense people "goodness" is not really connected to the five senses at all.

What is her origin? Well, quite similar to Matt Murdock's. She was hit in the eyes with a radioactive substance. 

Marvel Team Up 6

My theory is that perhaps she didn't hear Sue's heartbeat because she specifically said "sense." And the way she can sense other people's auras makes me think that Alicia is a telepath, but doesn't fully comprehend or lets on less than she knows. The radioactive clay could be responsible for her telepathy. After all, her stepfather had a psychic connection to the clay and they're not related.  She could be mutant whose latent mental powers were brought to the surface by the accident. I've noticed in most issues of the Fantastic Four that Alicia does not have much trouble getting around. She has never required a cane. Unconsciously, her telepathy may compensate for her lack of sight, giving her a telepathic "radar" sense, like Daredevil. 

I also wonder if Alicia developed her abilities on her own or if she ever had anyone reach out to her? In Fantastic Four 36, she seems familiar with Charles Xavier, so he may have reached out to her if she was a mutant. However, her stepfather, the Puppet Master, would probably not have allowed her to go to Professor X's school. 

Fantastic Four 36.

I have not been able to find any meetings in the comics between Matt Murdock and Alicia Masters. They both appear in Marvel Two in One 37, but do not exchange any dialogue and only share one scene at the end. However, out of canon, there does seem to be a connection between Alicia and Matt in the 1994 Fantastic Four cartoon. After the Fantastic Four lose their powers, Alicia, for some reason, takes Ben to meet Matt Murdock. She mentions how Matt has always been there for her, making me wonder if they have some history. At the very least, they probably appear at benefits for the visually impaired since they are most high profile blind people in New York City. I wonder if Matt could sense that Alicia had heightened senses as well? 

Fantastic Four Season 2. Episode 1, "And a Blind Man Shall Lead Them." Alicia Masters and Matt Murdock. The two most famous red headed blind people in New York City.

Now, Alicia may just be a capable normal human and I don't want to take away with how capable many blind people are in real life, but when there's aura sensing and radioactive clay in the mix, then I think there's a conversation to be had. 

Daredevil Annual 1...reprinted with changed dialogue

In Daredevil Annual 1, Daredevil battled a bunch of his old rogues, in Electro's Emissaries of Evil. After a fight, Daredevil ended it by lassoing the bad guys, but his explanation to how the lasso will hold them changes from the original to a reprint in Essential Daredevil Vol. 2. In the original, Daredevil tells them that he's using the lasso to reverse the current so that Electro's power would shock the others into submission, with Electo too weak to break the bonds alone.  

Apparently, the reprint editor didn't think that was plausible, so he or she changed it to Daredevil telling them that if the wire is broken it will electrocute them all. Kind of cold of Daredevil. I mean, he's telling them they're going to die.  

I don't either think either explanation really makes sense. I think it was kind of deus ex machina to end the fight. I was never entirely satisfied with how the fight ended. 

When I read Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 3, reprinted in color, they didn't change anything from the Annual. Don't George Lucas this stuff. 

Daredevil Annual 1. Script by Stan Lee. Script by Gene Colan. 

Daredevil Annual 1. Script by Stan Lee. Art by Gene Colan.

Reprint appearing in Essential Daredevil Vol.2