WC: STRANGE TALES #128

This was one of the better issues of STRANGE TALES that I got in my Windfall comics purchase of 1988. While typically the series felt like something of an afterthought, here editor Stan lee appears to be trying to bring a bit more attention to the Human Torch feature by having Johnny and the Thing go up against Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch from over in the pages of X-MEN. The pair were played sympathetically in that title and were clearly garnering some fan support, leading Lee to investigate the possibility of maybe turning them into full-time good guys or even headliners. He’d do so a few months later during the big Avengers line-up switch in issue #16 of their magazine, so this experiment must have proved fruitful.

Also, in general, this particular Torch and Thing story isn’t quite as silly as most of the recent escapades in the strip. Yes, it turns on a central Marvel theme, that of characters fighting when they should be talking, but it’s nonetheless a better outing than the strip was typically fielding. It opens with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch hoping to get out from under the thumb of Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, who once saved Wanda’s life and now forces the pair to work with him. They’ve got a moment to run while the rest of the brotherhood is occupied, but they know that they’ll need allies if they’re going to defy Magneto. They don’t trust the X-Men…but there is another team of super heroes whose address is publicly known: the Fantastic Four.

So the pair make their way to the Baxter Building, and when they’re denied entrance, they simply use their powers to force their way in. Meanwhile, by total coincidence, Ben and Johnny have just seen a news report about the evil mutants, and are in the midst of a conversation about how easily they’d mop them up, unlike the X-Men. That’s the moment that Quicksilver chooses to make his arrival–and without even giving him a chance to reveal what he’s there for, the Torch and the Thing launch themselves at the intruder and his sister. because this is a Stan Lee story, the Scarlet Witch is knocked unconscious after only a few pages, leaving it to Quicksilver to hold off the FF duo for the remainder of the adventure.

A quick pause here for a House Ad, one that you can see beginning to evolve into the Bullpen Bulletins page in real time. It not only shows upcoming covers for DAREDEVIL #5 and AVENGERS #11 but it also carries the Mighty Marvel Checklist plugging all of the books in the line, and also a short memo about the just-formed Merry Marvel Marching Society.

Back at the battle, the Torch eventually manages to contain Quicksilver within a barrier of flame. Pietro is so incensed by the reception the pair has received that he’s ready to believe the worst of humanity in general and throw back in with Magneto. Wanda revives at this point, and frees her brohter with her Hex power. But the two mutants now intend to leave, and Ben and Johnny simply stop fighting and watch them go, oblivious to the fact that they just turned a pair of potential allies back into enemies through their actions. You two goofs! Still, it’s clear to see how this was a showcase for Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch as individual characters, and they do come across well in it (apart from Wanda going to sleep for six pages or thereabouts so that the menfolk can fight in peace.)

As usual, the back-up feature was even better than the lead thanks to the awesome artwork and plotting skills of Steve Ditko. Over the past two issues, Doctor Strange had fought his most desperate battle ever against the demoniac Dormammu. As a reward for his service, the Ancient One gifted Strange with a new amulet and cloak–one whose red color made him look more overtly like a super hero, which was the whole idea. This issue’s story wasn’t anywhere near as cataclysmic as that, but it was gripping and beautifully drawn. Returning to his Sanctum Sanctorum, Strange is petitioned for aid by a young man who claims that he was the apprentice of an evil sorcerer called the Demon.

But before the man can say too much, he is mystically teleported away by the Demon. This turns out to be a mistake, because now Strange is curious and wants to know more about his new opponent. He’s able to track the Demon back to his lair by means of his sorcery, making the man’s discarded clothes get up and retrace their steps. The Demon, though, is nonplussed, he’s overconfident in his sorcerous skills, even against such a master as Dr Strange. And so the battle is joined between the two mages.

The whole thing is colorful and epic, even if there’s never really a moment where you get the sense that Dr. Strange is in any real peril. Having overcome his foe’s strongest spells, Strange rescues his apprentice and then mesmerizes the Demon into a mystic coma. Strange indicates that the Demon will one day come out of it, which feels like a sop to the Comics Code to me, but that on that day the Demon must renounce sorcery or else Strange will return. And that’s about the size of this one.

And the book closes out with a single page letters page, which also includes a shortened version of the usual Special Announcements Section.