Issue(s): Strange Tales #121
Cover Date: Jun 64
Title: "Prisoners of the Plantman!" / "Witchcraft in the Wax Museum!"
Credits:
Human Torch
Stan Lee - Writer
Dick Ayers - Penciler
Dick Ayers - Inker

Dr. Strange
Stan Lee - Writer
Steve Ditko - Penciler
Steve Ditko - Inker

Review/plot: Plantman catches the Human Torch by surprise by controlling a houseplant...

... and locks him in his closet.

Plantman then robs a hotel in Glenville and winds up with more treasure, including a stack of gold bars, than most small countries have.

The Human Torch fights the Plantman, and wins with the help of the Thing, even though Plantman is more powerful than he was in his first appearance.

Here's Mr. Fantastic wearing the headset that min mentions in the comments.

Dr. Strange is fooled once again by one of Baron Mordo's prank phone calls, and gets stuck outside of his physical body, but wins by possessing a wax statue.

Beautiful and strange mystical art by Steve Ditko.

  

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Important Notice: Dr. Strange guest-stars in the fabulous Fantastic Four #27, on sale now!!

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

in the Human Torch story, there's a shot of Reed wearing a crazy thing on his head that i'm going to pretend is the same giant telephone thing Sue's got on the first page of Strange Tales #120 because i can.

between common thieves breaking into his house (Strange Tales #119) and Mordo just walking in and stealing his body, Dr. Strange really needs a better home security system.

it's later revealed that Mordo literally carries Strange's body away, like some kind of henchman. plebe.

as punishment, Strange decides to keep Mordo's ethereal self out of his physical body for 23 hours, 1 hour less than the limit before his physical body dies from being separated from his spirit. this, more than anything, proves why Dr. Strange deserves to be the Sorcerer Supreme. i defy the average human to remember anything for longer than it takes to walk from one room to another.

Did plantman rob the hotel of the still at large nazi war criminals carrying the Reich's gold? lol

That wax figure Strange possesses looks a little like Unicron from Transformers.

There's a somewhat amusing slip at the climax of this Doc Strange tale. Whether it was the fault of Stan Lee or Art Simek (the redoubtable letterer), I have no idea. As Mordo and Strange duel in "ectoplasmic" form, the former attempts to deliver the coup de grace with an imposing burst of magical energy and declares, "Farewell, Doctor Doom!"

Nah. Magneto stole the Third Reich's gold from Hydra.