Welcome to Make Ours Marvel, the weekly show where Michael Kaiser and Jon M. Wilson read chronologically through Marvel Comics’ spandex adventures and discuss their thoughts with little to no authority.
In this episode…
- Tales to Astonish #89
- Daredevil #25
- Fantastic Four #60
- The X-Men #29
- Amazing Spider-Man #46
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Tales to Astonish #89: Namor versus Robot part deux. I’m not loving when the male hero won’t explain himself to his paramour, a la Reed Richards, which Namor totally does in this story to Dorma. “I knew all along the robot was from outer space, and I figured they’d see a bat signal at just this moment.” Because aliens hang out around Earth all the time. Honestly, based on Marvel comics, that’s probably true. If you lose a giant robot, Earth is the first place to check.
Hulk vs the Stranger. I felt like nothing moved forward. Stranger talked at Banner then Hulk, until Hulk agreed to attack humanity at the end, but that was the only progress in the plot. Maybe it was a reminder of the cast, or just to showcase the Stranger. But I was pretty underwhelmed. Sigh.
Daredevil #25: Mike. Murdock. I’ve heard about him before, but oh my Odin, he was the ever-loving end! LOL!
Finally, a villain has found the ultimate superpower: leaping! With that power, a man is unbeatable! A shame no one’s thought of it before. (Batroc looks sad.)
I really liked the Leap-Frog costume having the neck folds to resemble a real frog, because it made him look so bizarre. Nice touch.
Fantastic Four #60: I was going to write about how it was awesome the way Sue got the better of Doom, but I need to interject about the Inhumans here because I guess randomly switching to the Inhumans is a great move. Actually, no it isn’t.
But yeah, the men in the FF are totally getting beaten on by Doom, and Sue shows them how to get it done. Because she’s just smarter than the guys, and she doesn’t get a chance to show it because they (Reed) keep man-splaining over her! Or, they’re not explaining the plan until the end of the comic. (See earlier note about Namor.) Argh!
And I agree, the ending was so rushed. Doom’s had the Surfer’s powers for 4 issues, and his defeat takes place in the last page, mostly off-panel. I would have loved to see the end from Doom’s point of view, alas.
The X-Men #29: Mimic versus Super Adaptoid. All I cared about in this issue is their fight. It was Avengers versus X-Men by proxy. Pretty great, but I would have liked more. Honestly, this called for another artist, like maybe Kirby, to make the fight longer and bigger than life.
As for Angel being able to hide his wings better than Cyclops eye blasts. This doesn’t make sense, and Angel’s story actually gets more interesting when they finally admit his wings can’t be concealed at all. Every time he rides in a car, I wince because that has to hurt.
For Cyclops, he does have a precarious situation in that any slip of his glasses can be disastrous. I mean, look how often Velma loses her glasses in Scooby-Doo. She can’t get thru 30 minutes without them falling off! (Now I’m thinking of the Velma and Cyclops cosplayers losing their glasses and smiling. Check Google images if you haven’t seen that before.)
Amazing Spider-Man #46: A bonus issue? Wow! A bonus comment!
Peter and the gang is the best part of the comic, but maybe that’s because the villains need to be better?
Woo boy, the Shocker. So prison workshops go to great lengths to make sure prisoners don’t make shivs or guns, but are fine with vibro-shock gauntlets. Good to know.
But you know, his name is all wrong. They’re Vibro-shock gauntlets. His belt has a big V for a buckle. Obviously, his name should be… the Vibrator. You’re welcome, Marvel.
Great episode. Until next time, or until the Invisible Girl knocks Doctor Doom’s head off-oh wait it’s a Doom-bot dammit*, make mine Make Ours Marvel.
* See Fantastic Four #259, a storyline which is kind of a sequel to FF #57-60.