Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1967-06-01 00:03:10 |
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Thor #141
Issue(s): Thor #141
Cover Date: Jun 67
Title: "The wrath of Replicus"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Jack Kirby - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker
Review/plot:
This is a pretty bad story. A scientist named Chuda builds a robot called Replicus for a gangster named Slugger Sykes.
The robot is incredibly powerful but Sykes doesn't have to pay for it as long as Sykes agrees that Chuda can also give the robot to other gangsters. Sykes refuses on the grounds that Chuda might be a commie and Sykes may be a criminal but he's still a patriot. Chuda turns out to be an alien and Sykes dies killing him, which disables the robot.
Don Blake, tending to the sickness of an old woman who turns out to be Sykes' mother, sees pictures of Replicus on TV (which is showing photos taken by Peter Parker), and he goes off to fight the robot...
...but it was Sykes' sacrifice that made it possible to defeat it. Kind of a weird "even mobsters are patriots" message.
There were also some police officers in great Kirby-tech armor waiting to shoot bazookas at Replicus if Thor couldn't win.
Quality Rating: D
Historical Significance Rating: 2
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References: N/A
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: Marvel Spectacular #12
| Previous: Fantastic Four #65 | Up: Main 1967 / Box 3 / Silver Age | Next: Tales To Astonish #92-93 |
Comments
The Granny Gardenia part of the plot probably derives from Frank Capra's film LADY FOR A DAY or its remake POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES.
This reminds me of the terrible stories from before Lee & Kirby took over the book.
I ran a search for the characters, and while another Replicus eventually turns up, it doesn't seem that Chuda or Slugger Sykes ever appear again. Should they be tagged?
You're right. I've removed them.
Actually the gangsters are patriot is not as weird as you might think. Several Italian-American gangsters in WWII used their contacts in Italy to supply intel to the Allies that was used in the invasion of Italy.
The Granny Gardenia bit was my favorite part of this story.
