Week Ending Oct. 28, 1972
Mighty World of Marvel #4
This week's issue of MWOM is notable for a couple of reasons, firstly; the cover art actually reflects the action in one of this week's stories, and secondly; someone at Marvel was given the keys to the art supplies cupboard and was not going to let the opportunity of unfettered access to a large stock of Zip-A-Tone pass them by...
First out of the gate we have the conclusion of Hulk's battle with the Toadmen. Bruce Banner finds himself imprisoned for careless driving of a spaceship, and the equally awkward charge of treason. The Toadmen themselves are causing havoc while endlessly banging on about their magnetic technology and a plot to crash the moon into the Earth. Needless to say Hulk escapes jail, his transformation at this point still triggered by the sun going down rather than irritation at his wrongful arrest. The alien scheme is undone in a fashion reminiscent of an old Flash Gordon serial or a particularly poor episode of The Outer Limits.
We are treated to our second UK appearance of Stan Lee, promising to publish readers letters next week from a slightly wild-eyed photo.
Not wanting the green goliath to hog all the cheesy sci-fi serial glory, the Fantastic Four go for a full-on Twilight Zone vibe in their showdown with the Skrulls. Doubling down on last week's plan to impersonate the Skrulls pretending to be our heroic foursome, Reed Richards foils the alien invasion with the sheer force of his intellect alone (and some publicity stills from 50s monster movies) the remaining loose ends in the form of the Skrull expeditionary force, are wrapped up in either the most stupid way possible or the darkest comicbook ending ever, depending on how you feel about dairy products milked from shape-shifting extra terrestrials.
A later incarnation of the FF also make an appearance in the pages of Spider-Man this issue, as Peter Parker seeks gainful employment among their ranks. After a fairly catastrophic interview, that could only have got worse if he were asked "So where do you see yourself in five years?", Spider-Man exits to become a pawn in the nefarious plans of the Chameleon. We are treated to a few pages of low stakes action, made marginally more interesting by some unusual applications of Spidey's spider-sense as a shortwave radio and helicopter detector.
Another week of fascinating insights into the embryonic versions of familiar characters. I won't be at all surprised if the next issue informs us that Bruce Banner can transform into a small occasional table on Tuesday evenings and that the Thing has telekinetic control over any orange coloured object in his immediate vicinity. Only one way to find out, tune in next week...
This week's issue of MWOM is notable for a couple of reasons, firstly; the cover art actually reflects the action in one of this week's stories, and secondly; someone at Marvel was given the keys to the art supplies cupboard and was not going to let the opportunity of unfettered access to a large stock of Zip-A-Tone pass them by...
First out of the gate we have the conclusion of Hulk's battle with the Toadmen. Bruce Banner finds himself imprisoned for careless driving of a spaceship, and the equally awkward charge of treason. The Toadmen themselves are causing havoc while endlessly banging on about their magnetic technology and a plot to crash the moon into the Earth. Needless to say Hulk escapes jail, his transformation at this point still triggered by the sun going down rather than irritation at his wrongful arrest. The alien scheme is undone in a fashion reminiscent of an old Flash Gordon serial or a particularly poor episode of The Outer Limits.
We are treated to our second UK appearance of Stan Lee, promising to publish readers letters next week from a slightly wild-eyed photo.
Not wanting the green goliath to hog all the cheesy sci-fi serial glory, the Fantastic Four go for a full-on Twilight Zone vibe in their showdown with the Skrulls. Doubling down on last week's plan to impersonate the Skrulls pretending to be our heroic foursome, Reed Richards foils the alien invasion with the sheer force of his intellect alone (and some publicity stills from 50s monster movies) the remaining loose ends in the form of the Skrull expeditionary force, are wrapped up in either the most stupid way possible or the darkest comicbook ending ever, depending on how you feel about dairy products milked from shape-shifting extra terrestrials.
A later incarnation of the FF also make an appearance in the pages of Spider-Man this issue, as Peter Parker seeks gainful employment among their ranks. After a fairly catastrophic interview, that could only have got worse if he were asked "So where do you see yourself in five years?", Spider-Man exits to become a pawn in the nefarious plans of the Chameleon. We are treated to a few pages of low stakes action, made marginally more interesting by some unusual applications of Spidey's spider-sense as a shortwave radio and helicopter detector.
Another week of fascinating insights into the embryonic versions of familiar characters. I won't be at all surprised if the next issue informs us that Bruce Banner can transform into a small occasional table on Tuesday evenings and that the Thing has telekinetic control over any orange coloured object in his immediate vicinity. Only one way to find out, tune in next week...
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