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Tales to Astonish #61

Nov 1964
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Tales to Astonish #61 cover

Story Name:

Captured At Last!


Synopsis

Tales to Astonish #61 synopsis by Julio Molina-Muscara
Rating: 4.5 stars

The Pentagon sends Major Glenn Talbot to the Air Force base under General Thunderbolt Ross’ command. Talbot becomes the chief security officer. Like Ross, Talbot suspects Bruce Banner and his relationship with the Hulk.

Talbot gives Ross a very good first impression. And he likes Betty Ross the moment he sees her. Ross asks Betty to show Talbot around.

Meanwhile, Banner created an electronic scanner to find the indestructible robot, and heads for the hills. The unnamed spy, still inside the robot, finds one of Banner’s secret cave labs. There, he stumbles upon a missile, and sets it to destroy the military base.

Riding a helicopter, Talbot and Betty find Banner in the hills. The robot sees the aircraft and throws an enormous boulder at it. Banner turns into the Hulk and breaks the boulder into small pieces. Talbot uses his body to shield Betty, getting hit by a stone. While both ignore the Hulk’s heroics, Betty appreciates Talbot’s bravery.

Hulk fights the robot, reaching to the edge of a deep pit. The missile launches toward the base. Hulk throws the robot into the pit and leaps to the sky, breaking the missile with a blow. The explosion knocks the Hulk out, who falls to the ground. 

Back on the helicopter, Talbot discovers the unconscious Hulk and informs Ross, who delights in the news.

Soldiers lock the Hulk with unbreakable chains of Tony Stark and Banner invention. Hulk wakes up and unsuccessfully tries breaking free. Oh, oh, it seems the strain may turn him back into Banner in front of Ross, Talbot and Betty!

--


 

Review / Commentaries


Tales to Astonish #61 Review by (February 14, 2023)

Review and Comments by Peter Silvestro

Review: Now this is more like it! Even Stan recognizes this in his closing blurb, “this great new series really begins to gather steam!” Yes, the blocky red robot still looks a little silly and the Hulk NOT being the strongest there is is startling but things are cool. Glen(n) Talbot makes his debut as a dude out to prove Bruce Banner is a bad guy while putting the moves on Betty. And the story works itself out in a natural fashion with Betty and Talbot looking for Bruce, who is hunting the robot and can only fight him as Hulk, leading to the Hulk being captured and falsely accused of throwing the rock that almost killed Betty and Talbot. And General Ross no longer sounds like a monomaniac but a commander with a reasonable distrust of the hero. The big shortcoming is that the big robot spy guy is kicked out of the series when it looked like he was going to be developed more—and why can’t he climb out of that hole? And “bottomless pit” is not to be taken literally.  

As for the Giant-Man tale, Egghead’s scheme makes sense on the face of it: create a giant android and have it beat up Giant-Man. But with his inventions of a living-cell ray, a vibrator gun that can alter an object’s weight, an ultra-beta ray and more, one would think he would find it much easier to start a tech company and soon be rivalling Tony Stark. The video-game possibilities alone with that mental control of the android thing would make him a millionaire with a Wii that actually lives up to its promise. It’s also the basis for an AVATAR thing that the epic Cameron movie showed us the potential for.  And for once Giant-Man, who was stressed at the beginning of the story to have overcome the clumsiness which hurt him against the Human Top, can hold his own against a formidable foe. If only he really could swing the android in a circle without having to spin himself as well. Hmmm, maybe he picked up a trick or two from the Human Top.

Comments: Hulk story: First appearance of Glenn Talbot, though it would alternate between “Glen” and “Glenn” for a while. Talbot makes a good impression on Thunderbolt Ross. Inker George Roussos credited as George Bell. Giant-Man story: First appearance of the converti-car which return in issue #64.  Hank mentions having defeated Egghead three times before: that was in TTA #38, 45, and 57. Hank compares Janet to actress Tuesday Weld, a real person (born 1943), popular in the 1960s though her career has extended into the 21st century. According to the Grand Comics Database, this story was originally penciled by Joe Orlando but extensively revised by Steve Ditko who receives sole credit. This issue debuts a letters page, “Mails to Astonish.”




> Tales to Astonish comic book info and issue index

Elektra

This comic is in the following collection:
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Collecting INCREDIBLE HULK (1962) #1-6, TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #100, INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #102, and material from TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #59-99 and #101.

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Steve Ditko
George Bell
?
Jack Kirby (Cover Penciler)


Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Betty Ross
Betty Ross

(Elizabeth Ross)
Bruce Banner
Bruce Banner

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Giant-Man
Giant-Man

(Hank Pym)
Hulk
Hulk

(Robert Bruce Banner)
Thunderbolt Ross
Thunderbolt Ross

(Thaddeus Ross)
Wasp
Wasp

(Janet Van Dyne)
Plus: Egghead (Elihas Starr).

Thor

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