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 

Maximus...Bad Boss....Can't Remember Names

This post is about Maximus the Mad, an Inhuman pretender to the throne and brother of Black Bolt. In his quest to seize power, Maximus had a following of other Inhumans. Now you would think as way of showing his appreciation of for his followers, he would at least learn their names. It sucks when the boss doesn't know your name.  He calls Stallior "Centarius" and he calls Leonus "Lionus." Aireo calls himself "Aeolus", but I think Maximus must have called him "Aeolus" and Aireo thought it would not be wise to correct him. Two of his other followers at the time, Falcona and Nebulo do not appear in this story, but if they did, Maximus would probably have called the "Falconus" and "Nebulus."  He does get Timberius' name correct. He must like Timberius.

Amazing Adventures 1. Story and Art by Jack Kirby.

Jim Owsley and Aloysius R. Jamesly

Christopher Priest, known as Jim Owsley in the 1980s, had a contentious relationship with writer Tom Defalco and artist Ron Frenz when he was editor of the Spider-Man books. Eventually Defalco and Frenz were fired from the comic. That's not disputed. Why they were fired is disputed. In any event, they decided to get their revenge by modeling a character after Owsley that only industry insiders would have known who it was. I remember being puzzled by the character, Aloysius R. Jamesly, when I first read the Thor comics. He was almost too real to be created out of whole cloth. What he says is over the top and ridiculous, but his hairstyle and manner of dress were so eccentric that it almost had to be real. 

A photo of Owsley/Priest

Spider-Man refers to the costume as a cheap imitation which he picked up in Germany a few months previously. This is a reference to the Spider-Man vs. Wolverine one shot that was written by Owsley/Priest which took place in Germany. The "cheap imitation" may be Defalco's opinion of the quality of the mini-series using Spider-Man, a character he was writing at the time. In any event, there's not a footnote. 

Aloysius R. Jamesly makes his debut here. Owsley/Priest called him Aloysius P. Jamesly when writing about him. He was probably recalling the character and didn't want to revisit the specific comic. Here, Jamesly is making them scrap the project and start all over again. Owsley/Priest admitted he used to scrap projects and make his creators start all over or make demands on them that were quite torturous. In his defense, he said he did it to make them better writers and keep them employed. I'm going to guess Owsley/Priest didn't go around proclaiming himself to be a genius in such an oblivious manner. However, he may have had an ego, like many people who work in entertainment. 

Here Jamesly is portrayed as a micromanager who wants to control every aspect of Spider-Man's fight. I probably don't need to get into what that refers to. Seeing every Sylvester Stallone movie does remind me of what Owsley/Priest wrote in that he used to go to martial arts "B" movies with Frank Miller and other staff at Marvel. Jamesly shares the same movie proclivities as Owsley/Priest, apparently. 

Jamesly wants to direct the fight for Spider-Man and feels like things would have gone differently if Spider-Man had deferred to his advice. Spider-Man leaving him hanging upside down with his mouth gagged with webbing is repeated Spider-Man gag where Spidey will gag the mouth or do something petty to an ungrateful person he saved. I can see it's a fantasy of Defalco's and Frenz's to do it to Owsley/Priest.

This is probably the most on the nose or below the belt reference to Owsley/Priest. Jerry Sapristi mentions that Jamesly won't be held accountable for his missed deadline. Defalco claims Owsley/Priest missed a deadline after he fired them. Owsley/Priest denounced that as a lie. However he did admit there were cost overruns. Mostly if he had to pay the staff extra to make a book didn't miss a deadline if it meant finishing up the existing story or starting all over again. Not unlike Jamesly. 

Not much to add for this panel. Jamesly had been absent for nearly two years. Why the team decided to bring him back is anyone's guess. Perhaps Owsley/Priest had annoyed them again somehow. 

As with the previous panel, Jamesly is just shown to be self-centered jerk. 

Two and a half years later, Jamesly gets off easily and just appears at a Christmas party for Eric Masterson. Perhaps, Tom and Ron were infected with the Christmas spirit? 

Until...six months later. Jamesly's last appearance. He closes down a construction site damaged by Thor and the Absorbing Man's fight. He's not reduced to caricature like his other appearances, but is still put in a negative light. 

Christopher Priest, as he now known, did respond to Jamesly in article he wrote about racism about Marvel, although he did not call the character inspired by him racist. I think the anecdote would have been better placed in another article he wrote entitled "Why I Never Discuss Spider-Man", which was his account of what happened when he was the Spider-Man editor. Priest also had an  interview with Dollar Bin Comics where he also discussed his time working on Spider-Man. 

Defalco and Frenz, while not discussing Jamesly, have discussed their working relationship with Priest in a few interviews. They also had an interview with Dollar Bin where they responded to Priest. "They" being mostly Defalco. Frenz tried to be a little more sanguine about the situation. Super Hero Speak had another good interview.   In both interviews, Frenz directed those curious about the situation and what the mystery of the Hobgoblin played a part in that, to Back Issue Magazine 35, which can be purchased here.