Journey Into Mystery #107 (August 1964)

 

Reading Number: 00228

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby

Synopsis: Donald Blake feels as though he’s lost Jane after the events from the previous issue. He transforms himself into Thor and arrives at Blake’s office. He demands to know where Blake is so that he can get his revenge for betraying him.  Jane pleads with Thor not to seek revenge because she loves Dr. Blake. Thor agrees and leave elated. He flies around the city content in the fact that she loves him. Unknown to him a Frenchman arrives on a plane. He is the only passenger to leave the plane. Inside everyone is stone. It turns out he is a chemist who accidentally turned his hand to stone and now everything he touches turns to stone temporarily. He calls himself the Grey Gargoyle. Having used his power to steal, he now arrives in New York City hoping to steal Thor’s immortality. He turns Thor to stone but is unable to lift Thor’s hammer. Then the stone Thor falls. When the hammer hits the ground, he transforms back into Donald Blake. Dr. Blake knows he cannot turn back into Thor for fear that he will again be stone. He enlists the help of a local television crew and a device made by Tony Stark and rides around on a motorcycle with a special projector on it. Soon the Grey Gargoyle sees Thor flying in the air and tries to stop him, but it’s just a projection. He finds that Blake is responsible and chases him off a pier. Being stone, the Grey Gargoyle is unable to resurface. Blake has succeeded in defeating him.

The Tales of Asgard Story has Loki plotting against Balder.

Notes: The first appearance of the Grey Gargoyle.

Tales of Suspense #56 (August 1964)

Reading Number: 00227

 

Writer: Stan Lee

 

Artist: Don Heck

 

Synopsis: Tony Stark is frustrated with his situation. He hates having this thing attached to his chest that could kill him at any time. As he rages about his problem, he suddenly decides that he needs to simply embrace his playboy persona and forget all about Iron Man. He tells Pepper that Iron Man is on vacation. Tony asks for his little black book. Stark heads off for the date just as the Avengers call. Pepper says Iron Man is unavailable. At the Stark facility, a guy calling himself the Unicorn with a ray on his forehead demands to battle Iron Man. Unicorn blasts a hole in the wall. Happy goes to protect Pepper, Unicorn seriously injures Happy. At the hospital, Happy calls Tony Stark. Stark abandons his date. He battles the Unicorn but then the Unicorn reveals he has stashed a bomb somewhere in the facility. Iron Man agrees to surrender and get on a plane bound for Unicorn’s homeland of Russia. Unicorn defuses the bomb. On the plane Iron Man escapes, destroying the plane. Unicorn quietly escapes. Tony Stark realizes as long as threats like Unicorn exist, he MUST be Iron Man.

 

Notes: The first appearance of a guy named Unicorn who actually is seen again.

 

Tales To Astonish #58 (August 1964)

Reading Number: 00226

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Dick Ayers

Synopsis: Hank Pym discovers a way of using mental energy in his cybernetic helmet to change size without the use of capsules. Captain America asks Hank Pym and Wasp to investigate a report in Africa of a large being called the Colossus who is now asking local villagers for a human sacrifice. Pym and Wasp arrive in Africa where their plane is snatched out of the air by the 35 foot Colossus. Pym attempts to grow to Colossus’ size but finds himself too weak to fight. He learns that he can grow no larger than 12 feet tall. After an extended battle sequence, the Colossus is perplexed by Pym continually changing size and seemingly disappearing. Colossus runs off to his craft and flies off into space. It turns out Colossus was an alien. 

In the back up story, Wasp defeats the Magician

Notes: Finally Hank Pym and Wasp no longer rely on the use of pills to change sizes.

Journey Into Mystery #106 (July 1964)

Reading Number: 00225

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby

Synopsis: Continued from the previous issue Thor faces Cobra and Mr. Hyde with hammer stuck inside an industrial machine. Realizing he doesn’t have time to get the hammer back before he reverts to Dr. Blake, Thor rips a piece of flooring out and tosses it towards the villains and hides in the crowd as he turns back into Dr. Blake. Police surround the building. The villains lock everyone inside but cannot find Thor. They threaten to start killing hostages if Thor does not reappear. Dr. Blake comes out of the crowd and says that he will help them get Thor if they return his cane that was stuck in the machine. Cobra attempts to get the cane but can’t reach it. Mr. Hyde rips the machine apart and returns the cane. Then Dr. Blake again disappears in the crowd, reappearing as Thor. Thor manages to defeat Cobra, but Mr. Hyde uses a potion to return to his normal state. Quietly he follows Thor. Again, Mr. Hyde manages to get Thor’s hammer away from him, but rather than run, this time Thor fights. He soundly defeats Mr. Hyde and retrieves his hammer before the minute is up.  Dr. Blake returns to his office, but Jane is angry with him because she heard on the news how he helped Cobra and Hyde find Thor.

The Tales of Asgard story is a story of Balder. Odin demands an explanation as to why Balder retreated in a battle. He says he went to save a bird. Odin orders that he be executed. An archer launches an arrow but a hawk stops the arrow. Then someone throws a spear but branches stop it. Odin summons Thor and announces that Balder is invincible and to be commended as a warrior after these trials.

Notes: The conclusion of the battle from #105.

Journey Into Mystery #105 (June 1964)

Reading Number: 00224

Writer: Stan Lee

Aritst: Jack Kirby

Synopsis: Thor finishes a meeting with the rest of the Avengers. On his way home, he sees the Cobra. He attempts to chase him, but Cobra escapes into a nearby open window where he encounters the villain Mr. Hyde. Hyde and Cobra initially fight but soon realize that they have a common enemy in Thor. Using a device that Mr. Hyde created, they discover Thor’s headquarters to be the office of Dr. Donald Blake. Meanwhile Dr. Blake’s nurse asks to get off early so that she can go on a date. Blake is in love with her but is forbidden to say so. He lets her go and decides that maybe he can love her…if he never again transforms into Thor. Wanting to see if he can go even a day without becoming Thor, he locks the cane that transforms him in a locker in his office. Just then Cobra and Mr. Hyde arrive. They demand that Blake tell them where Thor is. He refuses. Then Jane arrives, having skipped out on her date. They take her hostage. In order to save her, Blake tells Hyde to take the cane in the locker, tap it on the floor and look out the window. They do just that and Blake becomes Thor while everyone is looking the other way. The villains escape. Jane asks where Blake is. Thor says he ran to call the cops. Jane is impressed with Blake’s heroism. Thor chases after Cobra and eventually corners him at a show displaying heavy machinery. Once there, he finds that Hyde is there as well. Using one of the machines, Cobra steals Thor’s hammer, proving that the hammer can be taken from Thor by mechanical means. Cobra and Hyde close in on Thor not knowing that in less than a minute he’ll be forced to reverse into Blake without his hammer.

In Tales of Asgard story, Heimdall fails to stop an air entity known as Vanna from entering Asgard. He feels as though he failed, but because he warned Odin, Odin tells him his loyalty is true.

Notes: A good super-villain team-up complete with the two guys fighting then joining forces.

Strange Tales #125 (October 1964)

Reading Number: 00223

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Dick Ayers

Synopsis: The Thing and Human Torch are having their typical fight at the Baxter Building when two reporters from Life Magazine arrive for an interview. However, it turns out that they want to interview Reed or Sue. Thing and Torch kick them out and feel like they’re being overshadowed by Reed and Sue. Just then they hear on the news that Namor has been sighted nearby. They decide to take on Namor without the help of Reed and Sue. They battle Namor to a stalemate and just as the battle seems to be turning, Reed and Sue arrive. Namor dives into the ocean, angry. Reed explains that Namor wasn’t planning on attacking. Reed had convinced him to come and talk. Now Namor feels betrayed as if it were a trap.

Notes: An amusing issue with a good fight.

Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964)

Reading Number: 00222

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Steve Ditko

Synopsis: Spider-Man stops a group of thieves from attacking a blind man. Little does Spider-Man know that the blind man is Matt Murdock otherwise known as Daredevil. Matt Murdock returns to his office where his partner Foggy Nelson tells him that he and their secretary are going to the circus. He asks if Matt wants to go along. Matt turns him down. At the circus, the villainous Ringmaster readies his plan to hypnotize the audience that night. To entice people to arrive, he’s announced that Spider-Man will be there. Peter Parker sees the advertisements and decides to check out the Circus. He asks for the night off from Jameson. As he’s leaving, Betty Brant asks to cook him dinner but he turns her down and drops his circus ticket. She is upset thinking he’s taking another girl to the circus. Peter doesn’t know what to say since he’s really going as Spider-Man. At the offices of Nelson and Murdock, Foggy mentions to Matt that Spider-Man is going to be there. Matt decides to join them after all. At the circus, Spider-Man makes a dramatic appearance but is soon hypnotized by the Ringmaster. The Ringmaster also hypnotizes the rest of the audience. The one person unaffected is the blind Matt Murdock. He changes into his Daredevil costume but is forced to fight the hypnotized Spider-Man. Eventually Daredevil gets the Ringmaster’s hat and releases Spider-Man from the trance. Spider-Man makes short work of the Ringmaster and his circus of crime. Meanwhile Matt Murdock changes back into his regular clothes and on the way out offers Ringmaster his card.

Notes: The first meeting of Daredevil and Spider-Man. This was a fun issue. Though one wonders how vigorous a defense Matt Murdock might actually give theRingmaster.