Strange Tales #120Issue(s): Strange Tales #120 Dr. Strange Review/plot: Human Torch meets the Iceman. "It had to happen". We are seeing a lot more guest appearances as the Marvel Universe is solidifying. Johnny Storm reads the newspaper which has an article on the X-Men while Sue... helps the Thing test a gigantic telephone, maybe? It mentions that the Iceman is like "A frozen version of the Human Torch", which was probably a fan comment/criticism at the time. Johnny is a bit upset by the comparison, but he is heading out with Doris Evans for a cruise around Manhattan Island. Meanwhile Bobby Drake wanted to ask out Jean Grey but Warren beat him to it. He professes to Xavier that whenever he gets up the nerve to ask Jean for a date, the Angel or Cyclops or somebody beats him to it. Professor X suggests heading to NY city to see the sights, and Iceman decides to go on the Manhattan cruise. There's an odd scene of Bobby transforming back to human form and complaining of being cold. Bobby doesn't have any luck on the boat. There are lots of girls, but they all seem to have dates. He tries to hit on Doris until Johnny shows up. He secretly messes with Johnny's soda but Johnny just heats them back up again, which is a little reckless after what he did in Strange Tales #114. Then a silly pirate named Barracuda shows up... ...and tries to take over the ship but the Torch and Iceman Team-Up and stop him. Quick question: If you were fighting the Iceman for about 8 pages and suddenly your boat got caught up in an ice jam, would your first comment be "Wha...?? An ice jam!! But.. it's impossible! The temperature is way above freezing!! How..??" If not, you're too smart to be a modern day pirate. Also in this issue Doctor Strange, who seems to be somewhat famous... ...helps a reporter out of a seemingly haunted house. It's not actually haunted, though. The house is actually a demon from another space-time continuum. Crazy stuff. It's worth noting that at this point Strange's amulet is still just referred to as an amulet. This is not yet the Eye of Agamotto. And Strange almost nails the "Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth" phrase this issue. Quality Rating: C- Chronological Placement Considerations: The newspaper article Johnny reads is about the X-Men battling the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but of course that happened just about every issue of the X-Men starting with issue #4. Also, the X-Men are on leave, which fits well with them having just graduated in Uncanny X-Men #5. References: N/A Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (9): show 1964 / Box 2 / Silver Age CommentsThe Dr. Strange story is probably the last time we see a standard Marvel pre-hero plot: "The INANIMATE OBJECT is the INHUMAN WHATEVER!" Posted by: Mark Drummond | July 31, 2011 9:52 PM Iceman's starting to look less like a snowball. he's still a little fluffy, but he's sleeker and has an actual face. Posted by: min | June 24, 2012 3:45 PM Oh, so that was the first appearance of the House Demon that Rom met much later on (in 1980's Rom #5, as you point out). Posted by: Luis Dantas | October 12, 2013 9:55 PM Between modeling this phone and that weird helmet a while back, is Sue pretending she's just some advertiser of Reed's super-science? Posted by: Ataru320 | September 3, 2014 4:44 PM Having just read the first 10 issues of X-Men, it's strange to see Stan Lee writing Bobby as if the stuff in X-Men doesn't happen. Who asks Jean for a date? Certainly not Scott as those first 10 issues have a lot of Scott and Jean pining for each other without saying anything. Posted by: Erik Beck | December 23, 2014 3:01 PM First off I think that Iceman trying to ask Jean out puts a dent in the Bobby is gay idea. This Torch story fits between FF#26 and 27 in my reading order. The house being a living creature that eats people was used in the first of Simon R. Green's Nightside series. Posted by: Bobby Sisemore | October 28, 2016 10:16 PM Between Captain Barracuda and Parneval Plunder, you have to wonder who the greatest Marvel pirate is. (the answer: The Thing...he was Blackbeard) Posted by: Ataru320 | November 15, 2016 8:15 PM Agreed not don't forget Red Lucy Keogh Posted by: Bobby Sisemore | November 20, 2016 1:11 AM Comments are now closed. |
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