Week Ending May 19, 1973

As we enter the sixth? Eighth? Twentieth week of lockdown in 2020 (are we still calling it lockdown? Feels more like probation now) what was happening in 1973's Britain? For a start it was the thirty-third week of Marvel UK. Something I feel probably also warranted a daily briefing by a cabinet minister.

Mighty World of Marvel #33

Blimey, that's a cover! Buckler and Esposito are wielding the pencils and pens to full effect it what has the feel of a soft re-launch. Not only is the cover demanding that you yank it from the newsagent's shelf, it might actually survive the experience as Marvel UK have seen fit to grace it with the staples that it's sister publication has been enjoying for a while.

In the first of our two Hulk stories this week (from Tales to Astonish #80 and #81 respectively) the green goliath is transported underground to face not one, but two subterranean tyrants. If that isn't value, I don't know what is. First up in our cave-dwelling dictator doubleheader is Tyrannus, though fortune finds him in reduced circumstances as the Mole Man has taken control of his fountain of youth. It is for this reason the aged Tyrannus has brought Hulk to the subsurface world, in order to fight the forces of the Mole Man and regain his youth. Strangely Hulk seems to be on board with the idea but insists on a nap first. Tyrannus is not a despot to tolerate such idleness, and wakes his new champion to tell him to get on with it because he has also captured Betty Ross, Rick Jones and Glenn Talbot. Hulk immediately frees the hostages and then goes on to fight the advancing Mole Man anyway. The attacking mole people are quickly scattered and Hulk faces the less than terrifying threat of Mole Man's robotic Octo-Sapian. It turns out less of a threat than expected with its 1960s electronics embarrassingly susceptible to water and the inconveniently placed fountain of youth as both it and Hulk wrestle into its magical depths. 

No waiting seven days to find out what happens next True Believer, as we dive into our next chapter straight away. Well, that's not entirely true as we have a short flash-sideways to introduce the villains of The Secret Empire (imagine a budget Hydra) who are tasking the mercenary Boomerang with the theft of General Ross' Orion missile. Cut back to the underground action where Bruce Banner is transformed from the Hulk after his dunk in the fountain of youth and seeking to find his friends. A convenient run-in with the still decrepit Tyrannus reveals that they have been sent back to the surface, which seems weirdly decent of old Tyrannus. No sooner are they above ground than they run into Boomerang, who in terms of character design looks like an eastern European folk dancer with a Japanese Gundam helmet. Bill Everett's art is great but we really miss Kirby's flair for costumes and technology here. Anyway, Boomerang kidnaps Betty and Hulk escapes the underworld by falling asleep on Tyrannus' transporter. It has been a big week for Hulk's undiagnosed narcolepsy.

Before we address the adventures of the Fantastic Four, I should mention that not only has Daredevil taken a leave of absence from MWOM, but we are also missing the internal colour pages this issue, replaced instead with two pages of letters in black and white. This is no great loss as they were generally squandered on in-house promotions anyway. 

The FF have arrived in the Micro-World, where Dr Doom reigns supreme, so supreme in fact that he takes the time to relate the story of his arrival and rise to power after shrinking our heroes even further. Arch-enemies captured Doom sends the story in an unexpected direction by imprisoning them in a cell within a giant acid filled cave where they will wait to be sold to the lizard men of the planet Tok. Step away from the crack-pipe Victor. During this odd turn of events, Ant Man rides to the rescue, also to be caught like a total amateur. However, Reed goes full MacGyver to free the team, unshrink themselves from really really small to just really small, while Ben literally uses a building to bat the lizard men back to Tok. Dr Doom runs away and the rightful rulers of the Micro-World are restored. If the last paragraph seemed rushed, I feel my review will have really captured the spirit of the closing two and a half pages of this week's installment.

Spider-Man Comics Weekly #14

After the excitement of the MWOM cover, this is a workmanlike effort from Rich and Mike, hopefully the contents will more than make up for it.

Our Spider-Man story this week is a cracker, ostensibly it is the origin of The Scorpion, but the real drama lays in the subtle metamorphosis of J. Jonah Jameson from thorn in Spider-Man's side to something that is more nuanced than an outright bad guy. After recent humiliations at the hands of Spider-Man (if only through his own hubris) J.J.J. seeks the aid of mad scientist Dr Farley Stillwell to create a match for his nemesis. An investigator on Jameson's payroll, Mac Gargan is convinced by a large chunk of money that he is just the guinea pig for the job. Thus The Scorpion is born, and he is an interesting foe in his own right, as he spirals into madness as a result of the process that grants him super strength. However the story really hinges on Jameson as he realises his plan is out of control and costs at least one life, he shows genuine regret, while at the same time trying to evade responsibility or blame. It really is some great, layered character development and a reminder that the quality of a good Spider-Man story is down to the antagonists and supporting cast.

I am really glad I was able to heap praise on the Spider-Man pages this week, because I don't have anything nice to say about the Thor strip. It is another by-the-numbers adventure with a two-dimensional bad guy in the form of Merlin. King Arthur's favourite magician finds himself revived in the modern day and immediately sets out to start taking over the world. Seeking to use the US President as a puppet, which inadvertently provides the stories only interest as JFK is updated to Nixon for UK continuity, we get a pasted in Tricky Dicky that might be better than the original art around it. The bulk of the action centers on Merlin animating various Washington landmarks against the god of thunder, before being suckered by the weakest bluff since the Hulk built that fake gun to scare off the Metal-Master.