Super Sunday Special: In Search of Steve Ditko

Today, let's take a break from reviews and break the mold with something special for the first Special Sunday Study. In Search of Steve Ditko is a 2007 documentary by the BBC hosted by Jonathan Ross. It follows the career of the legendary Spider-Man co-creator and features many comic talents and their thoughts, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.

Due to Youtube length constraints, the documentary has been split into seven videos. They are all embedded down below and come from the channel of TheSteveDitko. 

Avengers: "Even An Android Can Cry"

Avengers #58 (1968)

By Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Klein

Background: Despite being largely unaware of his own history, Vision has rebelled against Ultron and sided with the Avengers. The current Avengers roster is Black Panther, Wasp, Goliath and Hawkeye.

So, What Happens? Captain America, Thor and Iron Man briefly return to the Avengers to discuss what to do with the Vision, who wishes to join the team. Cap stages a short fight so that Vision can prove his powers, and the synthozoid is so impressive that it takes Thor to bring him down. Despite his obvious usefulness, the Avengers are wary because too much is not known about the origin of the Vision, whose only memories are of having been created by Ultron to destroy the Avengers. Hank Pym has identified the Vision as a sun-powered synthozoid, something he himself had been working on, but now realizes he doesn't remember what happened to his own experiment. The Avengers go to Hank's house and lab, where his once-destroyed machines have somehow been rebuilt some time ago. Using his electronic memory bank, Hank finally remembers creating the Ultron prototype, who referred to him as father and attacked immediately, eventually hypnotising Hank into forgetting everything and moving to Avengers Mansion. Iron Man notices that the memory tape with the brain patterns of their erstwhile foe Wonder Man is missing, and the team realize Ultron must have used them as template for the Vision. Returning to the mansion, the Avengers welcome Vision into their ranks, explaining they don't consider him anything less than a man. Touched, the Vision walks out of the room to hide the tears in his eyes.

Avengers: "Behold... the Vision!"

Avengers #57 (1968)

By Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Klein

Background: The current Avengers roster is Black Panther, Wasp, Goliath, Hawkeye.

So, What Happens? During a rainy night, a mysterious, red-skinned character enters Janet van Dyne's apartment and terrifies her. Describing him as an unearthly, inhuman Vision. Janet manages to shrink down and escape, but the intruder is capable of walking through walls and of shooting heat rays from his eyes. Wasp is in trouble, but the intruder suddenly collapses in pain, and moments later Hank Pym is there too. They decide to take him to Avengers Mansion, where they are eventually joined by Hawkeye and Black Panther. By studying their mystery man, Hank determines him to be an artificial human, or a synthozoid, something he himself had been unsuccessfully working on. The creature awakens and names himself the Vision after Wasp's remark when she first saw him. He says his mission is to destroy the Avengers and attacks, revealing the power to alter his own density from intangible to hard as a diamond. Eventually however he calms down, realizing he doesn't know why he was sent to kill the Avengers, nor how he came to be. Feeling he and the Avengers should be allies, he remembers being created by the robot called Ultron-5 and offers to take the team to him. Despite some uncertainty, the Avengers agree to follow the Vision, unaware that Ultron had both caused him to collapse at the Wasp's and programmed him to lead the Avengers to his lair, where he could destroy them himself. Upon entering Ultron's secret base, Hank is captured and the rest of the team falls into a trap. Vision phases through the walls and meets Ultron, revealing he really wants to help the Avengers and challenging his creator, who admits the Vision's power may be greater than his own but refuses to explain why the synthozoid possesses human memories, thoughts and emotions. Eventually, Ultron is tricked into jumping against the wall and explodes. With his destruction the traps stop and the Avengers reunite, unaware that Ultron's head has survived. The Vision rues the missed chance to learn the full story behind his creation.

Captain America: "Death, Where is Thy Sting?"

Captain America #249 (1980)

By Roger Stern, John Byrne, Joe Rubinstein

Background: Over the past few weeks, Captain America has been attacked by mysterious robots, and is now fighting the bestial Dragon Man.

So, What Happens? Prisoner in the bone-crushing grasp of Dragon Man, Captain America throws his gauntlet at the creature's eye, causing DM to release him. The hero takes advantage of the moment's respite to destroy the flying metal ball responsible for Dragon Man's aggressive behaviour and tries to calm him down. Remembering who did this to him, Dragon Man takes flight, but Cap manages to hold on to him with a makeshift lasso. Eventually, Dragon Man lands in the countryside and smashes through what looks like a barn, but is actually the entrance to a massive underground laboratory. With Captain America a short distance behind, Dragon Man finds and attacks the maker of the flying metal ball, a scientist named Machinesmith, but is quickly taken down by his gadgets. Cap confronts the man, only to discover Machinesmith is himself a robot, capable of jumping from one body to another. With the hero busy fighting an onslaught of half-finished robot replicas and spare parts, Machinesmith gradually reveals that he fell to his death some time ago in a battle against Daredevil, only to be found by his robots, who could only save him by transferring his consciousness into a mechanical body. Now facing an army of Machinesmiths, Captain America notices they seem to be protecting a central computer and destroys it in the hope of identifying the real Machinesmith. Unfortunately, they all collapse as the central computer was Machinesmith. Made suicidal by this mockery of a life, and yet unable to go against his programming and destroy himself, Machinesmith had essentially manipulated Cap into killing him. Despite the dying villain's gratitude, Cap, who considers freedom the only thing worth dying for, is aghast at what he was made to do.

 

Daredevil: "The Owl, Ominous Overlord of Crime!"

Daredevil #3 (1964)

By Stan Lee, Joe Orlando, Vince Colletta

So, What Happens? An accountant framed by the unscrupulous businessman known as the Owl suicides. Having found papers connecting the Owl to the illegal proceedings, the police arrest the man, who randomly chooses Nelson and Murdock to represent him in court. Intrigued by the Owl and his reputation, Matt accepts and arranges for him to be set temporarily free, making sure to memorize the man's distinctive traits with his special senses. The Owl never comes back to court so a warrant for his arrest is issued. Daredevil scours the city to pick up his trail, but the Owl has left by boat and moved to a fortress across the Hudson, where he is testing two new underlings known for their strength and skills: Sad Sam and "Ape" Horgon. Having been exposed, he has decided to openly become a criminal. Satisfied by the two men, the Owl keeps them in line by showing off his ability to glide thanks to his special cape. He then decides to hire Matt as a front for his operations and goes to NY to get him, but Matt senses his scent and has time to change into Daredevil and get the drop on the Owl and his men. Daredevil's skills and agility are too match for Sad Sam and Horgon, but before he can tackle the Owl, Karen Page accidentally enters the room and is taken hostage. With no other choice, Daredevil surrenders. He and Karen are taken to the Owl's fortress, where the mobster wants to show his prisoner to every gangster in town in order to be acknowledged as their boss. Left alone, Daredevil quickly escapes his cage and frees Karen. He then sends her to call the police whilst he finally faces the Owl, who's no match in a physical contest but still manages to escape thanks to his traps and gliding cape.

Iron Fist: "The Fury of Iron Fist"

Marvel Premiere #15 (1974)

By Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Dick Giordano

So, What Happens? Danny Rand, the martial arts master carrying the title of the Iron Fist, undergoes his final trials under the watch of Yu-Ti, lord of the mystic city of K'Un-Lun. First he battles four warriors called the Dragon Kings in hand-to-hand combat and easily wins. Then it's the turn of the champion Shu-Hu, who proves to be a much tougher challenge. During the fight, Danny reminisces about his past: ten years ago, as a kid, he took part in an Himalayan expedition with his parents Wendell and Heather and his father's business partner and best briend Harold Meachum. Their goal was to find the mystic and legendary city of K'Un-Lun, but Harold betrayed them and caused Wendell to fall and die. Left alone and lost, Danny and Heather wandered in the snow until they found a rope bridge, but before they could both cross it they were chased by a pack of wolves and the woman had to sacrifice herself to save her child. Danny was then rescued by the monks of K'Un-Lun, who took him in and trained him to become Iron Fist, the Living Weapon. Back to the present, Danny lets his mother's memory motivate him to overcome Shu-Hu and finally defeats him by focusing his inner energy - his chi - into his fist and deliver a mighty finishing blow. Shu-Hu is revealed to be a robot, while Danny is asked to choose between immortality and death.

Thor: "The Miracle of Storms"

Thor #303 (1981)

By Doug Moench, Rick Leonardi, Chic Stone

Background: Thor has returned to NYC after a prolonged period in Asgard.

So, What Happens? Thor saves a local priest named Father Coza from two thugs. With no time for an ambulance, he turns into Donald Blake and performs emergency surgery to save his life. After mistaking him for a miraculous apparition, Father Coza regains consciousness and explains that his attackers were hired killers paid by a local crime boss bent on purchasing and demolishing his church. After five years of putting up with vandalism, harassment and threats, Father Coza is now tempted to give up since the church appears to be dying down anyway and there isn't enough money for essential repairs. More importantly, the priest is experiencing a crisis of faith, his beliefs numbed by the constant presence of evil and apathy around him, by the lack of proof of good. Don Blake argues that he might be an instrument of God and offers to help. With a couple of phone calls, he learns the name and address of Angelo Simoni, the man behind the attacks on Father Coza, and pays him a visit as Thor. Simoni and his men are no match for the Thunder God, but the terrified mobster confesses to having arranged an arson attack to burn down the church and everyone inside. Thor flies to the rescue, but is too late to prevent the arson and the church starts to burn, With a pregnant woman trapped in his office, Father Coza is torn between saving his own life and running back through the fire to get her out. His prayers for strength are answered when he sees Thor summoning rain and lightning to douse the flames. Inspired and mindless of his own injuries, Father Coza runs to his office and starts dragging the woman out, being once again saved by Thor from a toppling wall. Seeing a different deity upsets the priest, but the Odinson briefly explains that there are many gods across the universe, all originating from the same universal higher force and given truth by their worshippers' faith. His beliefs renewed, Father Coza later tells Donald Blake he has been given the proof he had asked for and will carry on. The next day, whilst numerous volunteers are helping cleaning up, Father Coza is visited by Angelo Simoni, who, prompted by the watching Thor, makes a "large donation" to rebuild the church and begs for forgiveness.

Spider-Man: "The Enforcers"

The Amazing Spider-Man #10 (1964)

By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Background: Aunt May has been hospitalized after surgery.

So, What Happens? A new masked crime lord called the Big Man appears on the scene and quickly takes control of the NYC gangs thanks to his three Enforcers: judo master Fancy Dan, Ox the strongman and lasso expert Montana. He soon starts a seemingly unstoppable crime wave across the city, unknowingly aided by the fact that Spider-Man is preoccupied with aunt May's health following her recent surgery. During a hospital visit, Peter is asked to donate his blood to her and reluctantly complies, worried that the radioactivity from his old spider bite might affect her somehow. However it all goes well and aunt May is quickly on the mend, being discharged and going away on holiday with her next door neighbours. As the Big Man's grip on the city strengthens, J. Jonah Jameson orders his columnist Foswell to prove that the crime lord is really Spider-Man in disguise. After seeing the Enforcers threaten Betty Brant for some borrowed money, Spider-Man finally is on their trail, but the first encounter is inconclusive as Peter is still recovering from his transfusion and needs to get away. Seeing Jameson near the scene makes Peter suspicious JJJ could be the Big Man, so he prepares a trap and arranges things to get kidnapped by the Enforcers. Imprisoned, he quickly escapes as Spider-Man, right in the middle of a meeting between the Big Man, the Enforcers and "every top mobster in the city". A battle royale ensues, with Spider-Man's skills, agility and inventiveness keeping him ahead despite being vastly outnumbered. He eventually manages to call the police and all the criminals get arrested, except for the Big Man. Now certain that the crime lord is JJJ, Spider-Man goes to the Bugle, just in time to see the police arrest... Foswell, who confesses to wearing a disguise and to being the Big Man. Later on, Peter muses his complicated relationship with Betty, whilst Jonah reveals to himself why he really hates Spider-Man.

Iron Man: "Ultimo Lives"

Tales of Suspense #76-78 (1966)

By Stan Lee, Adam Austin*, Gene Colan, Gary Michaels

Background: Iron Man battles his friend Happy Hogan, accidentally turned into The Freak. 

So, What Happens? A nearly depleted Iron Man manages to turn the Freak back into Happy, who suffers from amnesia and appears to have forgotten Shellhead's secret ID. Tony Stark is forced to travel to Washington in order to testify under oath and reveal the identity and secrets of Iron Man, but en route is kidnapped and teleported away to China by the Mandarin. The villain wants revenge against Iron Man following his last defeat and has created Ultimo, a gigantic android so big and powerful he had to build and hide it inside a sleeping volcano. Obeying his master's wishes, Ultimo awakens and attacks the Chinese army trying to invade the Mandarin's fortress, easily cutting through them. Unaware that Tony and Iron Man are one and the same, the Mandarin attempts to kill Stark, who survives thanks to his chest plate and wears his armor just in time to face Ultimo. Iron Man is completely outclassed by the massive Android but thanks to his superior manoeuvrability manages to stay alive  long enough to figure out a plan. He tricks Ultimo into firing his eye beams against the volcano, reawakening it and causing an explosion that seemingly destroys the Android. Too low on power to fly back to the States, Iron Man steals a military plane and gets back home, only to discover that in his absence his factories have been shut down by government order.

What have I stumbled upon?

"What's this?" I hear you asking. To answer this more than legitimate question, I need to digress. 

Once upon a time, the internet was home to many a great website on Marvel Comics. Fantastic Four Plaza, the Leader's Lair, Samruby's Spider-Man page and several more pages offered us great insights, behind the scenes info and reviews of old Marvel Comics.

Unfortunately, as time went by, the new direction of Marvel disaffected older fans. Eventually, most of these websites either stopped adding new material or ceased to exist altogether.

This new "Age of Marvel Comics" blog will try to recapture those days and offer a place where to discuss classic and not-so-classic Marvel tales. I'm your host, Shiryu, a (very) small-time contributor to the great "Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe" website and past moderator of the Avengers Assemble Message Boards, and for the foreseeable future I will be reviewing and discussing old Marvel comics. I should add that I'm not against what Marvel is currently publishing, and I'm a big fan of the MCU, but by reading classic reprints, at times for the first time, I realized current stories tend to lack the sheer fun of the old days.

So, how is this going to happen? A post will review either a single story or a longer arc, and include credits, a short summary, notes and a longer discussion, with a final mark on a 1 to 5 scale. Comments are more than welcome. I won't follow any specific order when choosing what to review, and my main source is the Epic Collection series of reprints. Despite the title, I may occasionally review not-so-old stories, the cutline being around the year 2000 for most titles. My favourite characters are Spider-Man, Thor, the Avengers, Captain America and Iron Man, so this will probably be reflected in the number of stories reviewed, but I'm also buying a few reprints of characters whose solo books I had never read (looking at you Black Panther, Ant Man, Iron Fist and Doctor Strange) so I'm hoping to publish a wider array of articles. As you may have realized, English is not my first language, so please feel free to point out any spelling/grammar mistake or line needing a clarification.

Aaaand that's all for now, folks. Next time no more prologuing: the reviews start!