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Tales to Astonish #66

Apr 1965
Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Tales to Astonish #66 cover

Story Name:

The Power Of Doctor Banner


Synopsis

Tales to Astonish #66 synopsis by Julio Molina-Muscara
Rating: 4.5 stars

The Soviet Commander shoots the Hulk with the powerful Vaporizer weapon. But the European scientist stands in the way, sacrificing his life for the green goliath.

Furious, Hulk tears the place apart, looking for the killer. But tension turns Hulk into Bruce Banner. Fortunately, it was not for long, as Jade Jaws returns to proceed his rampage among the Red Forces.

--


 

Review / Commentaries


Tales to Astonish #66 Review by (May 3, 2023)

Review: More Commie bashing! Hulk is caught in the Soviet Union and spent the last issue beating up soldiers. Here, a person who has befriended him dies saving Hulk and the Big Green Guy takes that very personally. And Talbot indulges his monomania in trying to prove Bruce Banner is a spy in his hopes of romancing Betty Ross, enabled as he is by General Ross. And then there’s the Leader who proves to be manipulating the Reds for his own ends, hoping to solve the Banner/Hulk riddle when all he had to do was look at the story title, revealing that it’s Banner who has the power of the Hulk. And, of course, everyone misses the most obvious clue: after every rampage of Hulk, Bruce is found wearing torn purple stretch pants and it’s obvious he’s not merely cosplaying Hulk. And after another set of transformations, Hulk remembers the guy who died for him and grows even more testy, knocking a couple of planes out of the air and then marching menacingly out of the comic book itself! 

Giant-Man now has the ability to grow to twenty-five feet or higher without an explanation when he couldn’t do it before without becoming too heavy to move. Madame Macabre knows that Giant-Man has the power to enlarge and shrink living things but how? So far as I can see he has never used that power in public and most people are apparently unaware that Ant-Man and Giant-Man are the same person, despite being in the Avengers and always hanging around with Wasp. But then Hank doesn’t catch on to the fact that MM can only affect items she brought with her and if that is her only power, there are a few steps missing in this plot to conquer the world. And how does she square this with her benefactor, the Mandarin’s, plot to do the same thing? Since Hank was listening to this tale rather than reading it in a comic book, he never learns about the Mandarin’s (indirect) involvement—and apparently Mandy can’t be bothered to bail his educated ward out of jail. Anyway, she’s a real drama queen: look at how often she waves one hand in the air while working her powers with the other. And her vows of revenge ring hollower than most as she is never heard from again; there must be some stiff penalties for robbing art galleries in NYC.

Comments: Cover by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone (Hulk and Giant-Man) with Bob Powell and Frank Giacoia (Madame Macabre part) See GCD. Hulk story: The killing of the enslaved scientist marks the first time a person dies in a Hulk comic. Giant-Man story: Wasp’s headpiece changes from black to blue. Only appearance of Madame Macabre and her evil assistants. Final appearance of Hank’s cat Tabby, who still isn’t colored like a tabby, introduced last issue. A note in the last panel reveals that this story was for readers who thought the Wasp didn’t have enough to do. Inker Frank Giacoia credited as Frankie Ray. Letterer Sherigail has been identified as Morrie Kuramoto (see GCD).




> 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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Steve Ditko
Vince Colletta
Unknown
Jack Kirby (Cover Penciler)
Sol Brodsky (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Art Simek.

Characters

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)



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