875 – Thor, Time Traveller

While testing weapons with the United States Army in Journey into Mystery #86 (Sep 1962), Thor witnesses a time traveller from the future who steals a cobalt bomb and disappears in to the future, leaving only a fragment of strange metal. In desperation, Thor summons Odin, his father in Asgard, who appears and tells him […]

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874 – Hulk Change… Again

After last issue, The Hulk is now mostly mindless and Rick’s to command, right? Well they change the rules on the Hulk again in Incredible Hulk #4 (Sep 1962). After the Hulk is chased across the country and has some fun antics with a movie set, and saves a schoolbus trapped on a railroad, the […]

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873 – The Fantastic Four Go Broke

There must have been a water-cooler discussion after describing all the technical details of the FF headquarters that led to the story in Fantastic Four #9 (Sep 1962). Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four, level 12 intellect, the smartest man on Earth, decided to invest all the profits from his inventions into the stock […]

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871 – The Wizard

The Human Torch continues his solo adventures in Strange Tales #102 (Aug 1962), getting his first recognizable villain in The Wizard. The Wizard’s shtick is that he’s a super-genius, a chess champion, an inventor, and has a long craggy face a bit reminiscent of The Ringmaster. Having proven his “mental superiority”, he decides that his […]

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870 – Loki, God of Mischief

Journey Into Mystery #85 (Aug 1962) begins to build out Thor’s mythology by introducing Asgard, the rainbow bridge Bifrost, and Thor’s biggest nemesis: Loki, god of mischief. Poor Loki has been trapped in a tree until someone sheds a tear. Along comes ol’ Heimdall, Bifrost’s Warder, and Loki is able to manipulate one of his […]

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869 – Alicia and the Puppet Master

The Fantastic Four #8 (Aug 1962) introduces another classic FF villain: the creepy-looking Puppet Master, who moulds radioactive clay into the likeness of a person which then gives him the ability to control that person. He first tests his ability with a “nameless nobody”, commanding him to climb up to the top of a bridge […]

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864 – Torch Goes Solo

As DC did before with its teen heroes Superboy and Robin in the 1940s, Marvel attempted to spin the Human Torch out into solo adventures in Strange Tales #101 (July 1962). The story itself is pretty forgettable, but they do establish a few facts: Johnny Storm is still in high school and is (somehow) still […]

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863 – Me Thor, You Jane

Thor gains a supporting cast member in his next adventure in Journey into Mystery #84 (July 1962): Jane Nelson (not Foster, yet). Jane is Dr. Donald Blake’s sweet, easily-smitten girl who doesn’t have much to do, keeping in that early 1960s Marvel tradition of very poorly written female characters (looking at you, Sue Storm). Donald […]

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862 – The Hulk Is Yours To Command

The Incredible Hulk #3 (July 1962) is an opportunity for the creative team behind the Hulk to completely change the “rules” around the Hulk, presumably for better story-telling. Rick Jones is tricked by General “Thunderbolt” Ross into luring the Hulk into a military rocket that is shot into space. While traveling up into space, the […]

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857 – The Return of the Ant Man!

Hank Pym returns in Tales to Astonish #35 (June 1962) as an official superhero: Ant Man! This time around the scientist has invented a now-recognizable superhero suit, a cybernetic helmet and some powers beyond “shrinking to the size of an ant”. However, at the same time, the government has given Dr. Pym an assignment: Invent […]

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