LIZARD versus SPIDER-MAN

Face-to-Face With... The Lizard! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #6 When: August 1963
Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
When a walking, talking lizardman emerges from the Florida everglades to threaten the local citizenry -- news quickly spreads to New York City and the pages of the Daily Bugle, which run with a headline challenging none other than Spider-Man to bring an end to the creature's terror!

Even Editor-in-Chief J Jonah Jameson doesn't really believe there's a seven foot half-man, half-lizard stalking the swamp, but when Spider-Man swings into his office to personally accept the challenge, he finally agrees to send ace photographer Peter Parker on the paper's dime -- setting up a showdown between arachnid and reptile!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Lizard 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Lizard 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Lizard 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Spider-Man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Dr. Curt Connors is a brilliant geneticist and biologist, but the price of the formula that regenerates his missing arm using lizard DNA is his genius -- gone when he's transformed into a stalking human-reptile hybrid!

The Lizard is known to occasionally access the remnants of Connors' scientific knowledge and acumen, but he's typically a wild and volatile creature, utilizing animalistic agility, strength, jaws, and tail to pursue base desires and instincts.

Through the fog of his lizard-brain is often a desire for companionship, leading him to value the lives of his wife Martha and son Billy, and occasionally seek out means to transform other humans into similar lizard-people.

The Lizard has even been known to collaborate with others, participating in a gathering of the Sinister Twelve until he was dispatched by Iron Man!

Spider-Man is obviously the hero who shares the most history with Connors, earning the ire of the cold-blooded alter-ego for thwarting his many grand schemes.

We saw the rivalry adapted to animation for the third episode of the MTV Spider-Man series, but our most noteworthy comics example is a retroactive tale pitting The Lizard against the X-Men in one of their early adventures.

The Lizard effortlessly man-handled Beast and Angel in the Florida everglades, but was pacified by intense cold introduced by Ice Man. Spider-Man is similarly out-muscled, but also has the intelligence to find a tactical solution -- even if he might find it difficult to find anything cold enough to pull the same stunt!

Today we're looking back at Spider-Man's first encounter with The Lizard, and as we've seen in early battles against The Vulture and Mysterio -- that often means tasting defeat before devising a better strategy. How will it go? Let's find out!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-0)

The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

A police blockade bars the public from entering the suspected "Lizard Area", but Spider-Man effortlessly descends upon the everglades, avoiding the attentions of local law enforcement by swinging overhead -- where he's spotted by The Lizard!

Stalking through long grass - Spider-Man begins to sense a lurking danger, but he fails to see the ripples in the nearby water -- until a scaly hand grabs his ankle!

The Lizard drags his challenger into the murky waters of the swamp.

It becomes a desperate struggle as Spider-Man is suddenly submerged, but he can clearly see his opponent through the water. Something that can't be said for The Lizard when a fistful of mud and silt is slung straight into his face!

The web-spinner turned mud-slinger crawls out of the pool to take a desperate gasp for breath -- but The Lizard emerges on the bank in equal time!

Lizard stakes a claim to his territory, marking Spider-Man doomed for entering his domain in the swampland. The reptile strikes!

Spidey narrowly avoids The Lizard's whipping tail -- surprised by his speed, and apparently authentic scales, as he jumps clear of the swinging appendage.

Looking to "knock some of the fight out of him", Spider-Man grabs hold of the end of the tail, but he has dramatically under estimated The Lizard's strength!

A mighty swing of The Lizard's tail turns the tables on Spider-Man -- launching him over a tree and across the everglades!

The branches break his fall, leaving Spider-Man to regroup after a dead rubber.

The Hammer...

I thought we might be in for the customary first-round setback for Spider-Man's inaugural battle with The Lizard, but it turns out he gets off a little lighter than that, merely thrown from the battlefield while Lizard disappears into the growth.

Fight fans might argue that Lizard initiated the separation, but it's still ultimately a moot result. The combatants go their separate ways with no real conclusions or advantage.

The stalemate will continue with a couple more run-ins throughout the issue, until a more substantial issue-ending face-off at The Lizard's lair.

We might take a look at more of their conflict another time -- but for now, let's just take a moment to appreciate the classics. I know I am!

Opinions on the definitive Lizard may vary, but I think this is very close to it. I'm partial to a less round head, more in keeping with common lizard varieties and a hint of crocodile jaw, but most of the iconic trademarks are here from the outset.

The influence of Universal Monsters, particularly The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and other science fiction of the era, is very evident, but it's always wonderful the way classic Marvel Comics artists and Stan Lee create something self-sustaining and original, either in conception of the character, the details of their life, or through the mere relationship to the hero Spider-Man.

Steve Ditko's best panels efficiently tell the action-packed story, showing the Lizard's menace as he lurks in the periphery, the shadows, or the unassuming waters. I particularly enjoy the first panel featured in today's article, with the Lizard merely observing intruders in his environment, and the underwater sequence -- the crocodilian Lizard in his element, ala; the "Gill-Man".

If you can't get on board with a seven foot half-man/half-lizard wearing a lab coat -- I really don't know how to help you. I worry for your soul, your heart, your mind -- the very core of your being. What's not to like? It's a freaking lizardman in pants and pristine white lab coat! That you don't see that every day is its glory!

I write this knowing Spider-Man 2 has just hit PlayStation 5, bringing The Lizard into the world of the rather tedious video game series, with a variation inspired by the even larger, more exaggerated mutation of 2010's Shed storyline.

Drawn by Chris Bachalo and written by Zeb Wells, it was actually a story I rather enjoyed at the time. Part of a back-to-basics run of Amazing Spider-Man that put a fresh twist on classic villains returning to the series as part of The Gauntlet.

In the case of The Lizard, Curt Connors is devoured by his alter-ego, who takes on a more spiny, animal quality as his humanity drifts into the background behind something else. I struggle to consider it a good introduction to the character, as the video game may ultimately be for some, but it's another story I'd like to revisit sometime on the site. The Gauntlet is really a very good time!

If you'd like to see that and more future updates - consider supporting the site on Patreon. Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has served superhero smackdown and comic book enthusiasm to millions of viewers, with more than 700 featured fights and well over 1,000 iconic comic book characters ranked!

Dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of every battle recorded, in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Or follow links throughout this and every other post to discover more from your favourite characters & topics!

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter, Patreon & Discord!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#1072 (+3) Lizard

SPIDER-MAN versus MYSTERIO

The Menace of... Mysterio! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #13 When: June 1964
Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
When Spider-Man suddenly turns to a life of midnight robbery: J. Jonah Jameson touts his scathing editorials as vindicated. With the public turning against him, and no way to safely consult a psychologist without risking his secret identity -- even Peter Parker is beginning to doubt his own wall-crawling alter-ego's innocence!

Enter - Mysterio: A strange, bubble-domed individual who arrives unannounced at the Daily Bugle!

Mysterio claims to be a hero who's disguised himself to prevent threats to his family from the criminal underworld. He aims to use his incredible powers to stop Spider-Man's crime wave -- asking only that the newspaper print an invitation to the Brooklyn Bridge before he disappears in a puff of smoke!

Spider-Man answers the rendezvous in the hopes of learning the truth about his sudden crisis of identity. Mysterio has no interest in talking, though. This eerie new "hero" is only interested in using his "powers" to destroy Spider-Man!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-Man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-Man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Mysterio 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Based on the stat readout you're probably expecting a cakewalk for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man -- but the numbers only tell part of the story!

Mysterio is Quentin Beck: A Hollywood master of special effects and stunt work who turned his trade into an elaborate career creating crime!

His knowledge of electronics, chemicals, and practical effects means he's a villain who attacks the mind as vociferously as the body! Deception in his greatest tool, but make no mistake -- his illusions are often a deadly reality!

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4 we saw Mysterio team with The Wizard to create: a deadly gas chamber, lifelike holographic doubles, and a giant-sized animatronic gorilla! Alone, Spidey might've been defeated, but he tag teamed with the Human Torch to narrowly escape the various perils.

Mysterio's illusions range from the disorientation of a living funhouse mirror, to elaborate death traps. In theory, Spider-Man can rely on his unique "spider-senses" to navigate visual decoys. However, Mysterio's deceptions have been known to be quite convincing!

In the alternate reality of Old Man Logan it was Mysterio who helped beat Wolverine's keen senses, tricking him into eviscerating the X-Men while under the belief they were his deadliest enemies. Mysterio has also been able to fool his way past the highly enhanced senses of Daredevil!

What ultimately lets Mysterio down is a combination of ego and lack of fighting skills. His personal suit provides some physical armoring, levitation, as well as an arsenal of special effects gimmicks, smoke projection, mind-altering gasses, holograms, and controls for various electronic aids. Once these are bypassed he's typically ripe for defeat, though.

This is pretty early in Spider-Man's career, so he's at least vulnerable to the pretense of Mysterio's claims of strange powers. He's also still getting to grips with his own powers. We saw the Vulture use simple diversionary tactics to get the drop on Spideya few months earlier, in Amazing Spider-Man #7.

The proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider should typically be enough to best Mysterio, but it's about time we find out what happened!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
Walking a tightrope along the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, Spider-Man seeks answers from the man who summoned him. As if appearing from nowhere in sudden burst of smoke -- Mysterio arrives to carry out his challenge!

Spidey immediately dives at his hostile host -- but Mysterio effortlessly avoids the attack! As if by magic, his smoking feet carry him over his adversary in a graceful backwards arc -- and into a returning dive kick to the back!

The blow staggers Spider-Man for a moment, but the proportionate strength and agility of a spider helps him recover quickly. He takes a return swing at his newest nemesis, but swipes open air as Mysterio steps onto the sheer face of the bridge brickwork -- and stands on it in defiance of the laws of gravity!

Designs to pull Mysterio back up top go by the wayside when his smoking feet again glide him out of the wall-crawler's reach!

Issues of reach are quickly remedied with some quick fire web-slinging, but Mysterio appears to have an uncanny answer for that, too! With a simple gesture of his hand the webs appear to freeze in mid-air and vaporize!

With another wave of his hands Mysterio disappears into a blooming cloud of smoke. Undeterred, Spidey jumps into the fog with his keen spider-sense at the ready -- but for the first time in his amazing career it fails him!

With his preternatural danger sense jammed, Spider-Man resorts to swinging wildly through the cloud, but it does him no good. Mysterio stays hidden, avoiding his attacks while unleashing a barrage of his own!

Pummeled by invisible strikes, Spider-Man's disoriented situation grows desperate! With options dwindling, and Mysterio's blows testing his enhanced resolve, he opts for a drastic measure -- jumping from the Brooklyn Bridge!

Spidey hits the water relatively unharmed, weaving a web ball of air to evade police helicopters. He swims away submerged beneath the waves, while Mysterio basks atop the bridge in victory!

The Hammer...
The first career outing for Mysterio goes into the books as a success!

His mighty "powers" lived up to their claim, earning a tactical victory against a young and unprepared Spider-Man. The reader, of course, knows all is not as it seems, but in this first outing, Spidey only has fleeting suspicions about the true nature of Mysterio, and his talent for simulating super-powers.

It's a fairly standard introduction for a classic Spider-Man villain. Even in his second appearance, we saw Vulture get a similar win in 1963's Amazing Spider-Man #7. It's the dramatic set-up for a tense rematch later in the issue.

I'd like to think readers of the time may not have had absolute certainty Spidey would come out on top in the end, but they probably did, and had fun seeing how he did it, any way. I sure did!

It's been much tougher for Quentin Beck to get respect in the intervening decades. His defeats have had a way of overwhelming his fleeting successes.

Fans of a certain age seem to have either loved the fantastical fish-bowled felon - or hated him. Like a lot of dyed in the wool fans, I've always come down on the side of affection. I love the classic Steve Ditko design, and the core concept.

Mysterio may be best associated with smoke and mirrors, but his penchant for deception and false realties only seems to lend itself to growing relevance.

The way we consume media should easily be reflected on the way Mysterio distributes it. Smart phones and virtual reality headsets are the kinds of ever present vehicles that invite Mysterio into all of our lives.

False narratives of so-called "fake news" and the growing concern of gullibility and confusion among average consumers plays directly into the schemes and means of Mysterio as a super-villain. These concepts don't even need to be pushed into the realm of science-fiction to exploit the concept of Mysterio as a very real, very dangerous character, perfectly suited to our times.

Of course, smoke and mirrors are still pretty fun, too.

Jake Gyllenhaal brings plenty of smoke to the big screen with his version of Mysterio appearing in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It looks like the movie appears to be paying some homage to the original story seen in Amazing Spider-Man #13, which is nice to see. Especially with the dome on!

Mysterio's deceptive skill has been extended to marketing for the movie, which presents Gyllenhaal as a powerful inter-dimensional hero accidentally brought to the MCU by Thanos, and the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We can all assume much of what Mysterio claims will be a lie, but I'm sure moviegoers will enjoy seeing how Spidey comes out on top in the end.

If you'd like to see how they did it in the classics, and reconnect with the original (and best) Mysterio, you can do so by checking out the collected Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2! Using the Amazon purchase link provided will get you a top deal on paperback and help support Secret Wars on Infinite Earths at no extra charge! That's no illusion!

Find more Spider-Man smackdown by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive! There you'll find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue! You can also get daily links to featured fights by following on Twitter and Facebook! Be sure to throw a like or share this way!

Winner: Mysterio
#377 (+264) Mysterio
#2 (--) Spider-Man

SPIDER-MAN versus VULTURE

The Return of The Vulture (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-man #7 When: December 1963 Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
The Vulture has built a new flight harness and flown the coop from prison to again spread terror from above!

His new and improved magnetic mechanism flies rings around police helicopters, and effortlessly takes Vulture anywhere in the concrete jungle! An open window is all that's needed to pick a jewelry showroom clean of its extravagant riches!

Fortunately for the citizens of New York City, Spider-man knows the way to beat the Vulture at his own game! He still has the anti-magnetic inverter he built to clip the Vulture's wings. He's ready to do it all again -- or so he thinks!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Spider-man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Meta-human)

The stat sheet paints a pretty one-sided picture, but you can never completely count out the lethal foes of Spider-man! His opponent makes the sky his home and when the bird comes a-swoopin' that spider's gonna hope he has cover!

Vulture is Adrian Toomes: a genius inventor and electrical engineer who discovered a method for personal flight through the use of an electronic harness. The device allows for levitation and propulsion which he steers using a winged suit. The harness is also said to increase his strength and vitality.

Toomes was initially inspired to a life of crime when his business partner absconded with embezzled funds. He quickly became one of Spider-man's earliest arch-villains, defeated in Amazing Spider-man #2 by an invention designed to incapacitate his flight harness.

A wingless Vulture was able to escape Spider-man while he fought Electro in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #3. A later gathering of the Sinister Twelve saw Vulture targeting Spider-man and Black Cat, before the Avengers intervened to bring about the team's defeat, in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #11.

Spidey's swinging solo in today's fight, and although Toomes is essentially just an old man in a fancy flying suit -- his aerial acrobatics negate one of Spider-man's most unique advantages: his maneuverability!

Human Torch almost used his aerial advantage to panfry Spider-man in Fantastic Four #543! The web-head only got the better of a gliding Green Goblin after grounding him in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #1! If it wasn't for the cosmic powers of Captain Universe giving him flight of his own: Spidey might've met his match fighting Magneto way back in Amazing Spider-man #327!

Versatility is the key difference between our two foes. Spider-man's spider-sense, web-slinging, strength, speed, agility, and wall-crawling give him a gamut of skills to call upon, not to mention his smarts. Vulture exclusively controls the air.

Like the bird that snatches the spider from its web - Vulture's dangerous - but if Parker can capitalize on the city environment, and any of his other skills, he can ground the Vulture. Something he's done many times later in his career! Will he do it in this - their second major encounter? Let's find out!

History: Spider-man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...
A web-swinging search of the New York City skyline uncovers the Vulture fresh from a jewelry showroom heist! Spider-man's danger senses alert him to the aerial villain's proximity, but he has no way of knowing Vulture has taken counter-measures for the "anti-magnetic inverter" that defeated him last time!

Spidey sticks to a nearby building, waiting for Vulture's swooping attack to bring him close enough for the hi-tech gizmo's deactivation range.

The overconfident wall-crawler also draws his camera, aiming to get Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker the perfect snapshot of Vulture's moment of defeat! Everything appears to be going to plan as Vulture plays along -- perfectly timing his sudden downward spiral towards the pavement!

As he makes chase, Spidey isn't sure if he noticed a smile creep across the face of Adrian Toomes. The speed of Vulture's descent sends the leaping hero on a course of ledges -- obscuring his vision to his winged foe's convenience!

Vulture pushes his wings down, hugging the side of a building as he turns his trajectory upwards! Even the pang of spider-sense fails to warn Spider-man of the oncoming threat just below his feet! The Vulture strikes!

The winged warrior knocks Spider-man from the building ledge and follows his aerial assault with a flying kick! The blows throw Spidey tumbling into open space! He desperately shoots a web towards the nearby buildings -- but misses!

Fast reflexes and a powerful core give Spider-man his only back-up plan -- an attempt to ease the impact of his fall by twisting in mid-air!

The web-slinger still hits hard when he crash lands onto a nearby roof space!

The Vulture proclaims victory as he soars the New York skies above a horrified crowd. Perched upon a flag pole he contemplates his newfound notoriety, while a prone Spider-man lies motionless -- surviving only by the grace of a radioactive spider that imbued him with its proportionate strength!

The Hammer...
That means Vulture registers a victory as we finally expand upon his profile with a meaningful spotlight! I only wish it were under more joyous circumstances...

Sadly, the world has lost legendary co-creator of Spider-man (and Vulture): Steve Ditko. News of his passing on June 29th only reached the wider world late last week. He was ninety.

As the originator: Ditko was both lauded for the inventive quirks he instilled in Spider-man, but also all too easily overlooked. Followed by generations of subsequent iconic artists, Ditko provided the foundation upon which many built.

I've been guilty of taking Ditko for granted at times, and even glossing over the charms that made him a great comic book artist. There's a simplicity in some of his work that doesn't always jive with me, but that's not the whole story.

Truth be told, I've been enjoying Steve Ditko's work for nearly the entirety of my life! It's been working its way further into my mind in recent months, with Amazing Spider-man #7 on the docket for quite some time. I was eyeing a Ditko Marvel Masterworks the night before the unfortunate news.

I think back fondly to the Ditko t-shirt I prized as a youngster: White, soft, with the cover of Amazing Spider-man #14 on the front. The blacks were raised with smooth stitching that gave the art an interesting tactile element. It was pretty great. Which was probably why I'd occasionally stuff it in my backpack in the 2nd and 3rd grades, switching shirts once I was safely embedded in school. That was probably the dual 'bad influence' of Ditko and Degrassi, but I digress...

Readers of a certain age defined their Spider-fandom by the Ditko or John Romita years. I'm grateful to have been exposed to both. Romita's vivid pop sensibilities age better, but there's simply no denying the fantastic canon of characters established during the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run.

Vulture is just one of many classic villains defined by Ditko's rendering, but he's a fine example! Hovering with arched-eyebrows, and a wicked grin that curls beneath prominent nose and cheekbones, he's a fully realized character. I buy wholeheartedly into the cranky old man in fur-lined green bodysuit. Which is probably a big reason the character endured in the face of modern disbelief.

Ditko's Spidey is stiff and awkward, still new to his powers. At times it seems a trait of the artwork, but there are immediately available exceptions throughout this very issue. The graceful, leaping contortionist would evolve out of these early, gawky examples of wall-crawling.

Page 5 of Amazing #7 is a personal favourite. It shows Vulture gliding over the city, rooftops, street, and gracefully into a vulnerable jewelry showroom. The six panel array is masterfully economic in creating its sense of motion and storytelling. Vulture's character is on display throughout. A pleasure to behold!

Ditko was responsible for creating and co-creating some great characters. My favourites might be the Spidey rogues gallery, but there are many contenders!

While not perfect, I'd say the atmosphere and world of Doctor Strange also ranks among his best [see; Strange Tales #114]. The great Mike Mignola shared a fun story about Al Milgrom pulling him aside to see Ditko flashing Strange's hand gestures during an animated conversation with Bill Mantlo [about ROM].

By all accounts, Ditko himself was a pretty interesting guy. A man of firm held beliefs and philosophies that weren't necessary congruent with the praise he's now to be heaped with. John Siuntres (of Word Balloon) made note of his vocal disdain for the cult of personality, while various fans shared special memories of the meaningful, hand written correspondence he was known to send.

I came across a letter shared by one Scott Mills, with particular resonances for the present day. It struck me as a fine read, and reflection of the man I've largely known only through second-hand descriptions.

I hope Mr. Ditko wouldn't mind, too much, an appreciative fan reflecting on some of his much enjoyed work.

Naturally, Spidey is down but not out at the end of Amazing #7! No doubt we'll be back some time in the future to follow up on the rematch!

If you'd like to enjoy the same issue featured today, you can do so by picking up one of several collected editions from Amazon!

By using the embedded links provided, you'll ensure Amazon supports the site at no extra cost to your order!

You can also follow on Twitter and Facebook to share daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Go deeper by diving into the Secret Archive for all featured fights indexed by publisher, series, and issue number. You can also find more by following tags linked throughout this post. Be sure to share finds with friends!

Winner: Vulture
#319 (+222) Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
#2 (--) Spider-man

BARON MORDO versus DOCTOR STRANGE

The Return of The Omnipotent Baron Mordo! (Marvel)
Where: Strange Tales #114 When: November 1963
Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
Dr. Stephen Strange is a master of black magic, wielded in the service of protecting the realm of Earth! His skills were learned from the great Tibetan master of magic known to the mortal world as: The Ancient One!

Though Strange is the most favoured of The Ancient One's students, he is far from the only man to have learned to wield his arcane techniques. Among his most powerful students is another, more senior sorcerer known as Baron Mordo!

In Mordo's blackened heart is a desire to be the greatest sorcerer in all the world. In this fool's quest, he once attempted to destroy his master and claim the final secrets unknown to him. He was thwarted by Dr. Strange and thus the two become sworn enemies! A hatred that motives an unexpected call to Strange's Greenwich Village sanctum from Sir Clive Bentley - an old English acquaintance with a desperate request for help! A siren's call issued in truth by Karl Mordo with the intent of staging a horrible plot for revenge!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 2 (Average)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Dr. Strange 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 2 (Average)
Energy: Draw 6 (Mass Destruction)


It's not often that we have an as-published sequential rematch on our cards, but that's exactly what we're looking at today! The villainous Baron Mordo debuted in Strange Tales #111, where he used his mastery of the mystic arts to vex his former master, The Ancient One, and Earth's Sorcerer Supreme: Dr. Strange!

In that original contest, Mordo used astral projection and powers of suggestion to see The Ancient One poisoned by a trusted aid. When Dr. Strange intervened, he relied on cunning to outwit Mordo, making him believe his material body was in mortal danger, thus leading Strange to it! The Master was healed while Strange entrapped the Baron in the body he raced to save.

Three issues later: Baron Mordo makes his second appearance to come for revenge against Doctor Strange - the man who replaced and defeated him!

We've seen Dr. Strange combat many magical opponents in the decades that followed. He and The Avengers prevented Dormammu entering our dimension through mystic charge The Hood [New Avengers #54]. In a lesser skirmish, he used to spells to reduce Hand ninja to sleeping, crying children while ferrying the group into and out of the battle [New Avengers #27]. He's a confident mystic, but not infallible or all powerful.

In New Avengers #2, we saw a Strange who was no longer Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, and became a possessed puppet for the awesome Agamotto! The wholly non-magical intervention of Wolverine snapped him out of it, but he was still unable to prevent the entity abducting Iron Fist!

Baron Mordo studied extensively with The Ancient One before Strange's arrival and ascension. His mastery of the black arts is extensive - possibly even greater than Dr. Strange's at this early stage of his career! Indeed, had Mordo not led Strange to his body in that original battle, the Sorcerer would not have been able to locate or effect it!

All of this adds up to a serious threat to Strange, who can at best intuit the presence of danger -- but not predict its source! He knows this, just as he knows he cannot rely on The Master to fight this battle for him. This awareness and determination to hone and improve his mastery is a good sign!

In all respects they are the classic yin and yang of the mystic id! Good and evil, evenly matched and equal in profession!

Can the Doctor triumph over his sinister other - or will Mordo have his revenge?

Let us cease the fruitless supposing of these hypothetical incantations and gaze upon a realm of reality where the confrontation has already become history!

History: Dr. Strange (1-0-0)
The Tape: Dr. Strange Ranking: Dr. Strange (#67)

What Went Down...
Lured to the darkened castle of one Sir Clive Bentley -- Dr. Strange pierces the English gloom with a sense of danger. Though he can detect the lingering menace of a powerful evil, he notices the vapor of occult candles too late!

The gloating figure of Baron Mordo emerges from the shadows to survey his wicked work! Just as Dr. Strange had held the villain prisoner in his own body during their last encounter -- now Mordo's sinister candles paralyze the sorcerer as the flickering flame burns toward his ultimate doom!

At that moment, The Ancient One reaches out from far off Tibet to convene with his favored student through the realm of the mind! In telepathic conference, Dr. Strange rejects The Master's offer for help - vowing to prove himself against Baron Mordo's dark magicks!

Though he rejected The Master, Strange is no fool and not above accepting help! As his limbs fail him, Strange summons fading energy to wield his mystic amulet -- using its magic to call to a nearby home. There, a young woman receives the sorcerer's command -- Sir Clive's daughter: Victoria Bentley!

Succumbing to his beckoning order, the young lady enters a trance-like state -- racing to her father's castle! There, she dutifully snuffs the flames that hold Strange prisoner and threaten his very life!

As power returns to the sorcerer's limbs, the woman snaps to her senses -- unaware of how she came to be in his ominous presence. Strange detects an untapped talent for sorcery within the woman, who feels a great sense of trust, and reveals the shocking truth - that Lord Bentley died ten years ago!

Baron Mordo returns to discover Strange freed from his death trap. He attempts to take advantage of his sudden arrival, using magic to sap The Doctor's will, but soon discovers the undetected ruse that lured Strange to the castle has also been turned against him!

Mordo's threats have been leveled at a mere mental projection! Having arrived by jet, the true Dr. Strange enters to merge with his other self and assume full power in the struggle against his nemesis!

The sinister sorcerer Baron Mordo slings insults as he dives into an epic ethereal battle with his eternal nemesis! He is stronger, older, greater - but Strange will not accept defeat! While they stare intently in the mortal world, they project on the arena of the mystic plane astral warriors of immense power!

The unwitnessed war is waged with the fury of a storm! Like the raging tempest - it ends as suddenly as it began! One "nerve-shattering impact" sufficient to defeat Baron Mordo. In a burst of smoke - he disappears from Bentley Castle!

Once again, incredible strategy has given Dr. Strange the advantage. Baron Mordo lives to fight another day, more desperate than ever to wield his superior power in the ultimate defeat of The Ancient One's future successor!

The Hammer...
What more is there left to say? Once again good has triumphed over evil thanks to the wit and determination of Dr. Strange!

If I were to take a critical eye to this story, I might look twice at the method of Strange's third act switcheroo. Maybe candle vapors can have a paralyzing effect on a mentally projected doppelganger, but it reads a little like "yeah, but" in its sudden execution.

I wouldn't hold it against the story as an unearned twist. Much more could've been made of it being a deliberate redirection of Mordo's page one deception. That's a conceit I would certainly expect of a modern script, dwelling on the irony and hubris of the villain's own method turned against him.

The lack of form is actually one of the real charms of these early Dr. Strange stories, which read like a Stan Lee scramble to give constant meaning to sometimes ambiguous Steve Ditko panels. The legend of the "Marvel Method" precedes the comics of the sixties, but the two-prong storytelling production may be more exposed here than when Jack Kirby is drawing. Gentlemanly posturing doesn't always lend itself to visual intuition.

Ambiguity is rife in the magic of these early issues, as well. Most of the go-to affectations fans associate with Dr. Strange aren't here yet. He isn't cursing hoary hosts, nor exclaiming the Vishanti in vain. The finger bends and classic spells have a while to come, but it isn't unrecognizable. The iconography of ghostly white astral projections is a fast favourite. I quite like it when we start seeing steel traps manifest in subsequent stories.

Perhaps the most interesting element to remember is that The Ancient One is still alive and kicking as a mentor, and ally in these original stories.

Modern retellings may have a tendency to skip The Ancient One's presence, relegating "The Master" (as he's known in the first issue) to the role of doomed teacher, whose mysterious teachings are cut short just as the hero gains enough power to avenge him.

I don't necessarily have an issue with a condensed, conventional origin story, but I think it's fantastic that Dr. Strange was created imperfect. It becomes so easy to think of him as an almost omnipotent loner, kept away from the Marvel Universe to avoid difficult questions. In 1963, he's still trying to prove himself in a world where he isn't even guaranteed second banana!

The decision to switch to the iconic red cape was a good visual call that came later. The explanation that his blue cape was a less powerful version of the cloak of levitation - a nice in-fiction explanation. When changes like these are given logic they become useful pieces of mythology. I particularly liked it when Strange gifted the blue cape to a new apprentice in the eighties: Rintrah.

I've written before about not having a lot of affection for Baron Mordo. As a pure evil counterpart of Dr. Strange, it's been easy to sometimes view him as a meat headed stock villain. A thinly characterized stooge weighed down by the many decades of his defeats. Some may see that interpretation in the revenge quest featured today, but I've gained a real appreciation for these early stories.

As a character, Karl Mordo may never be more interesting than in these early issues, when he's a plausible rival to an incomplete Strange. At this point, the depth of Strange and Mordo's association as short-lived contemporaries under the teachings of The Ancient One isn't known. That comes next issue, and when it does, we also get to see what we've been told: Mordo is a stronger mystic.

It's a perfect recipe for a great, natural, early nemesis. A seemingly genuine threat, especially as long as The Ancient One lives to represent the next level of mystic authority. The level each student waits to claim when the time demands.

These are some of the themes that will no doubt play in theatres with the now global release of Doctor Strange. We're celebrating the release of the film by dedicating November to venturing into the comic books of Dr. Strange!

Want to take a journey of your own? Use the Amazon links provided [right] to venture into a dimension of infinite possibility by purchasing this story in collected edition! By doing so, you help charge future entries into the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!

If your occult curiosity persists, you can find many more adventures starring Dr. Strange and the mystics of the multiverse by following links throughout this post (and below). You can also the horizontal and vertical of reality by scouring the Issue Index for all previous feature fights!

Stay tuned for more Strange tales next!

Winner: Doctor Strange
#42 (+25) Dr. Strange
#503 (new) Victoria Bentley [+1 assist]
#820 (-206) Baron Mordo

WHIRLWIND versus IRON MAN
The Awesome Origin of Mrs. Arbogast (Marvel)
Where: Iron Man Annual #11 When: 1990
Why: Carrie Barre How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
Injured in a warfield, Tony Stark is forced by terrorists to design weapons of mass destruction. With a piece of shrapnel lodged inches from his heart, Stark instead builds a suit of armor capable of maintaining the life threatening metal whilst also turning him into an invincible Iron Man!

Iron Man returns with Stark to the United States, where he employs the superhero identity in an effort to atone for the violence purveyed by Stark Industries weapons. Posing as his own hi-tech bodyguard, Stark soon becomes a golden beacon of justice, trusted and adored by the public and government alike, earning him founding status with Earth's mightiest heroes - the Avengers.

Though many of Iron Man's greatest enemies would emerge through corporate malfeasance against Stark Industries and it's playboy executive; Iron Man's status as an Avenger would also earn him his fair share of villains. Once such fellow is Whirlwind, who's taken the fight to Stark Industries, where his battle with Iron Man threatens to unhinge Tony Stark's search for a new secretary!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Whirlwind 5 (Super)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Whirlwind 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Iron Man 4 (Trained)
Energy Power: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)


- David Cannon, a lifelong tearaway and thug, would elevate himself to the status of career criminal when he discovers he is a mutant capable of achieving fantastic speeds. He develops his powers through a variety of schemes that benefit from his speed, before debuting in the guise of the Human Top, an identity swiftly foiled by the likes of Giant-Man and the Wasp!

Upgrades in Cannon's arsenal would allow him to become the armored menace, Whirlwind! In this guise he would continue his long running feud with Hank Pym, developing an obsession with the hero's ex-wife, and Cannon's foil, the Wasp. A desire for revenge keeps Whirlwind in constant conflict with the Avengers, lending to his many memberships with groups such as the Masters of Evil.

Whirlwind is capable of moving at incredible speeds, allowing himself a means of propulsion, by which he commonly launches himself as a human missile. Also in his arsenal is a suit of armor equipped with wrist-mounted blades, and projectile weapons. His armor also provides greater defense and proection from his own wanton attacks.

- While on a field tour to observe the effects of weaponry designed by his corporation for the United States military; billionaire industrialist, Tony Stark, soon finds himself face-to-face with the bold consequences of his actions.
Caught in a rebel booby trap, Stark suffers a near fatal wound that lodges a piece of shrapnel inches from his heart. The rebels take Stark hostage to demand he apply his genius to the design and construction of weapons built from their limited resources. In doing so, they provide Stark the means to construct a suit of armor that preserves his heart, and turns him into an invincible Iron Man!

Stark's mastery over technology allows him to bring his designs home, where the availability of rapidly upgrading technologies allow him to continue to refine the build to become increasingly mobile and efficient. Stark soon dons the Iron Man armor on a regular basis, not only as insurance against his life threatening injuries, but as an opportunity to atone for the wanton destruction delt by his weapons of death. Stark protects his secrets through the duality of a secret identity, projecting to the world the image of Iron Man as a hi-tech bodyguard.

Advancements in Stark's arsenal have advanced to a point where he has now undergone cybernetic synthesis on a genetic level. The armor now not only provides him with superhuman strength and an array of offensive weapons, but also gives Stark full wireless control over the armor and other peripheral devices, as well as access to information databases, including SHIELD resources under his control as Director of SHIELD. Iron Man remains a staple of the Avengers roster.

The Math: Iron Man Ranking: Iron Man (#5)

What Went Down...
While secretarial applicants mill about in the Stark Industries offices; outside an aerial showdown is going on between Iron Man and armored villain, Whirlwind! The pair make their presence felt when they careen toward the office, smashing through the window in a spectacular tangle of armored fists!

A disgruntled Whirlwind takes the upperhand as the battle moves inside and he channels the vengeful rages of countless defeats at the hands of other Avengers! While Whirlwind pushes his dominance with the threatening leer of wrist mounded buzzsaws, one of the secretarial candidates shows tremendous dedication to clerical work by attempting to protect threatened paperwork!

Reluctant to unleash his repulsor rays with a civilian nearby, Iron Man attempts to evade his foes assault with unconvincing results.

Suffering the mutant speed and agility of his opponent, Iron Man looks for an intellectual edge in the fight. While Iron Man grapples with a lunging Whirlwind, Mrs. Arbogast is once again summoned to fullfil her secretarial duty, this time to answer Mr. Stark's phone! A seemingly insignificant feat, but just as Mr. Stark's desk falls before Whirlwind's buzzsaw blade, Mrs. Arbogast makes her move!

Stunned by the disarming affects of an unexpected phone call -- Whirlwind is a sitting duck as Iron Man charges in with the safely contained energy of a gauntlet fist! With a mighty swing, the invincible Iron Man scores his first successful hit against the mutant menace -- a knock-out blow!

"I'm sorry, you'll have to try your call again later from behind bars!"

The Hammer...
Yesterday we talked a little bit about the importance of characters in superhero comics, and it's in follow-up to that that I take great pleasure in inducting the 485th character into the Infinite Wars cumulative rankings! Sure, he's initiated with a loss, but hey, he's not called the invincible Iron Man for nothing! [With the all important assist coming from Mrs. Arbogast, of course!]

Now, just in case you're wondering, yes. Iron Man had a word with Mr. Stark on his way out, and told him to forget about interviewing any of the other applicants. Afterall, why interview someone who's already started work? So ends another dubious chapter in Mr. Anthony Stark's on-going adventures, because let's be honest... Given his reputation, it's hard to imagine Stark ever passing up some skirt for an old woman in a pink blazer and bow-tie. At least, not sobre...

Lately we've been talking a bit about the importance of characters and characterization; [Phantom #1, Superman/Batman #43]; and given the many recent misadventures of Iron Man, it's probably a particularly pertinent subject heading into a mainstream feature film (in May).

You would've had to have been living in a cave to have missed hysteria surrounding Marvel's polarizing franchise event, Civil War, wherein Iron Man leads a renewed case for superhero registration after a New Warriors reality TV show results in the deaths of hundreds of school children. The situation cast Iron Man as antagonist, and revived 1950's flavoured issues of mistrust in the superhero community and the desire to see them unmask as an act of good faith. Further attached were conotations of responsive law making, and issues of privacy and freedom, setting Captain America up in staunch opposition to Iron Man's corporate takeover of civil liberties. Thus; the Superhero Civil War.

Fans were quick to attack Civil War's writers [chiefly; core title wordsmith and Infinite Wars favourite; Mark Millar] for failing to properly depict characters, like Iron Man, who they now felt resembled something closer to a villain than one of Earth's mightiest heroes. From here, assumptions are perpetuated by the online community, and Iron Man continues to suffer the indignities of his actions even a couple of years after the event, and in the lead-up to mainstream exposure.

I suppose there are two issues to raise here.
On one hand, we question whether or not Iron Man's actions ever truly deviated from what should be expected of the character. On the other, a much broader question that connects to the on-going topic, of whether or not characters and characterization are of particular importance.

I think my stance on the latter has already been answered.
In the last review, we talked about the greater context of the issue reviewed, and justified it's general insignificance in terms of character investment. This is something we alluded to with a character like Steel Serpent, whose significance is rivalled only by the number of appearances he's made, but only lends to the potential and allure of the character. Steel Serpent makes for a particularly good example, given the way Matt Fraction [and Ed Brubaker] have been able to build upon that character's brief history as an enemy of Iron Fist.



Top 25 Shell Heads#1 Spider-man (Marvel)
#2 Batman (DC)
#3 Hulk (Marvel)
#4 Iron Man (Marvel)
#5 Captain America (Marvel)
#6 Daredevil (Marvel)
#7 Steel (DC)
#8 Hawkman (DC)
#9 Red Hood (DC)
#10 Dr. Doom (Marvel)
#11 Robin (DC)
#12 Nightwing (DC)
#13 Warmachine (Marvel)
#14 Wonder Woman (DC)
#15 Nova (Marvel)
#16 Black Widow (Marvel)
#17 Black Panther (Marvel)
#18 Lethal (DC)
#19 Destroyer (Marvel)
#20 Zauriel (DC)
#21 Crimson Dynamo (Marvel)
#22 Dr. Polaris (DC)
#23 Captain Atom (DC)
#24 Franklin Richards (Marvel)
#25 Superboy-Prime (DC)

The Infinite Wars Rankings
rate these as the top armored
heroes, but they haven't all
kept their shells. Got opinions?
Drop a comment!I feel there's a tendency in comics to strive to over justify the medium with efforts to tell very contrived and singular stories. Though the Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns out there do well to portray a matrue filter of the superhero genre, they fail to really represent one of the exotic charms of the medium, which is, of course, it's long running history and prospect for continuous growth within the canon.

Regularly produced entertainment has an association with poor quality, which certainly remains a topic prevelant to today's comics, but isn't necessarily representative of even the average issues of a superhero comic book series.

One looks to this review's Iron Man Annual back-up story, which incidentally includes the declining work of Steve Ditko, as a model for the utterly disposable in superhero fiction. To the benefit of the point I hope to make, some of you are going to have at least eagerly scrolled through the panels provided, demonstrating the potential intrigue of any chapter in a character's history. This is comics! This is the fiction in action!

One need only look around the blogosphere any Bastille Day to observe the currency so-called inconsequential issues command. Sure, everyone mills around for the weekly comic review, but it's lesser known issues, ten years and older, that really bring something special to the table: the characters.

The medium is well and truly at the age now where the harsh truth of the power of the character will become self-evident. The recent deaths of Steve Gerber and Dave Stevens will tragically not be the last. Comics are slowly entering an age where it's most public legends; the 1960s progenetors of the Modern Age; are reaching their twilight years, and the legacy of the characters they helped create and define becomes more important.

As new readers become increasingly distanced from that old guard, question of the importance of characterization becomes increasingly filtered.
Longtime readers will know I have a healthy distain for the reluctant and frightened reading habits of today's readers. I joined comics in my childhood with little regard for the 'sequential nightmare.' Quite happy to randomly spot back issues and out-of-sequence chapters, I was more interested in the joy of the tri-colour characters, and their on-going exploits.

On reflection, I suppose characterization has always been as important to me as the characters, because it's there that I found my constant. Modern readers, with their many peculiarities, seem to be more concerned with the trinkets of storytelling rather than the investment in what makes these stories enduring.

Stan Lee describes the creation of Iron Man as a challenge to present an establishmentarian war monger as a likeable hero. This comes off the back of the Korean War, and directly connects the hero to growing unrest in Vietnam, which fast leads to one of the United States' darkest periods.

Lee [and Lee's brother and early IM writer; Larry Lieber] weren't stupid, but while they quickly distanced Iron Man from his involvement in military weapons manufacture, they never really removed that facet from the character!

Over the decades Tony Stark has gone through various identities of corporate enterprise and public service, often representing facets of justice mutually beneficial to the public and corporate sectors. If Captain America embodies the selflessness of super heroism and the American ideal, Iron Man has always been the flipside, and arguably more representative of America's reality.

The conceptual strokes of each character are broad enough to easily justify their motives. As 'the dream', Cap represents ideals of freedom arguably long since forgotten in the USA, and a strength built on spirit and determination, more than the 'lightning bolt' that gave him his powers. Tony Stark, on the other hand, is a more realistic depiction of corporate powers gained from the economic destruction of others, and the use of technological shortcuts that do the hard work for him.

Though not always an admirable fellow; Stark typically does his best to balance his own interests with a sense for the greater good. As seen in Civil War, the edict of the alcoholic remains intact, remorseful after the fact.

One could argue Stark's perspective has always been skewed toward his own experience. Tony Stark is probably one of comics' rare examples of a hero who's debatably dragged an entire support network into his own gravity, rather than having overwhelming support of volunteers.

Having successfully lived with a public identity, it's not unreasonable to think Iron Man would inflect his own perception on the situation. The superhuman registration act, a response to public outcry in the wake of disaster, is also in keeping with Stark's corporate sense for quick fix solutions.

We're letting the original question get away from us, but I think we've been successful in highlighting, through Iron Man, two perspectives.
What some fail to appreciate is that rules and boundaries imposed within fiction are what contribute to the strength of stories, and consistency within those parameters are key to maintaining and enjoying characters for years to come. Of course, as with Iron Man, we're reminded how much traits of humanity are crucial to a character like this, and therein we recognise the potential for many outcomes and opinions, even from one individual.

We're running long, so I'd better wrap this one up!
I hope everyone enjoyed a great Easter! Annual events like Easter are always a great landmark for a person to reflect on the past. Have your traditions or attitudes to Easter changed at all? How consistent is your characterization?

The Fight: 3 The Story: 3

If reflecting on the past only leads you to heartbreak, try this one on for size: A standard twenty-two page comic today costs $2.99 - a tag I cannot possibly afford to pay. Measure that against Marvel's sixty-four page 1990 annuals, which were just $2 even! Oh the humanity!!! Fortunately, the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shop is always on hand to provide you with a good deal. Hey! With Amazon's prices you not only save a buck, but also buy yourself a piece of mind, knowing that karma will smile upon you for supporting your favourite comics blog! Now that's a reason to make a benevolent return from the dead!