Wow, you guys answered fast!
Now, some of you might be wondering why I waited another twenty-nine days to post my Answers column. After all, I’m not on a regimented schedule here at Commander Benson’s Deck Log. I can post four entries in one month, or one entry every four months, if I want. Well, there are two reasons why I give it the full allotted month (or more).
First, it gives any stragglers who discover the Challenge later in the month a chance to play before I post the answers.
Second, for that one question in the quiz that seems to elude everybody, almost always, somebody comes up with the correct answer in the eleventh hour. I remember on one occasion, someone posted the right response literally the day before I was set to post the answers, and I had to re-write that entry.
That’s right, gang, this Challenge had one question that defied a correct answer, but this time, there was no last-minute save. Nobody found the right answer---but it sure wasn’t for lack of trying.
I liked my questions, most of them, anyway, this time around. There were a couple of good feints that sent you scouring the wrong titles, or at least the wrong issues of a title. And there were a couple posers with “Hey, I didn’t know that!” answers, which, to me, is the gold standard for a Challenge question. Still, you managed to properly answer all of them, but one, in less than three days after I posted them. That’s remarkable, folks.
So, let’s get on with it and make the answers official. As always, in the rare instance when one isn’t answered correctly, I’ll save that question for last.
1. After being held captive by Doctor Octopus, the worst part of the experience for May Parker was missing that night’s episode of what television series?
I was afraid that the reprint of “The Sinister Six” in Marvel Tales # 150 (Apr., 1983) would make this question easier to nail. Because I, too, recalled the lettercol discussion over the topical reference change to The Dukes of Hazzard. And if I remembered it, I was pretty sure that you folks would, too. That’s a pity because it’s a fun question.
The answer, of course, is The Beverly Hillbillies, as seen in “The Sinister Six”, from Spider-Man Annual # 1 (1964), as virtually all of you knew. (The Baron didn’t take a stab at it. Doc photo said he knew the answers to questions # 1, #3, and # 6, and I believe him, so he gets credit.)
2. Who was the parish priest in the neighbourhood of Hell’s Kitchen where Nick Fury grew up?
I knew this one would be tough to get, unless you knew the history behind Nick Fury and his boyhood pal, Red Hargrove. In the mid-1930’s, Fury and Hargrove were a barnstorming act, and while touring in England, they were recruited to teach low-level parachuting techniques to the British commandos. As told in Sgt. Fury # 34 (Sep., 1966), they were pressed into service by then-First Lieutenant Sam Sawyer on a mission to rescue a British agent. (Red was the one who gave Sawyer his nickname of “Happy Sam”.) This made Fury and Hargrove aware of the grim seriousness of the Nazi threat, and upon their return to the U.S., they enlisted in the Army. Their first posting, after basic training, was the garrison at Schofield Barracks, in Oahu.
Red Hargrove was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and that’s why it was an emotional moment for Nick Fury when Chaplain Lewis Hargrove, Red’s older brother and the parish priest who’d mentored Fury when he was a boy in Hell’s Kitchen, testified as a character witness for Nick in “The Court-Martial of Sergeant Fury”, from Sgt. Fury # 7 (May, 1964). The Baron was the first to come up with this, and Jeff of Earth-J chimed in on it, too.
3. After being suspended from professional baseball, this star pitcher used his throwing skill to become what costumed villain?
This one was pretty cut-and-dried, except for a bit of a trap in that the description recalls the Daredevil foe Bullseye, who lies outside of the Silver Age. But none of you fell into it. Jeff, Philip Portelli, Dave Palmer (what does it say about my peculiar memory that, whenever I see Mr. Palmer’s name here, I immediately recall that “Dave Palmer” was the uncle of Diana Walker, the wife of the Phantom?), doc photo, and Fraser Sherman knew that the answer was disgraced professional baseball pitcher Fred Myers, who became the villain the Boomerang, as first seen in “The Stage is Set”, from Tales to Astonish # 81 (Jul., 1966).
4. Who is the only living relative of Rick Jones to appear in a story?
I was hoping her obscurity would make this one a tad difficult, and maybe it was, because only my pal Jeff knew right off that it was Rick’s Aunt Polly, who we met briefly in The Incredible Hulk # 3 (Sep., 1962).
5. In the story of her only solo adventure, the Wasp defeated what super-villain?
I had to word this one carefully because the Wasp appeared in a brief back-up series in which she narrated science-fiction tales. That’s where Jeff got his “Wobbow” answer. But Jan van Dyne’s chance to shine came when she took over the Giant-Man half of Tales to Astonish # 58 (Aug., 1964). Henry Pym appears in only a couple of panels, leaving the Wasp to tackle their old foe the Magician on her own. She does quite admirably too, as Mr. Portelli and Mr. Palmer and Mr. Sherman knew.
6. What must Odin, king of the Norse gods, do for one day each year to maintain his immortality?
Jeff, Philip, Dave, doc, and Fraser knew right off that it was the Odinsleep, or the Sleep of Life, as shown in “To Kill a Thunder God”, from Journey into Mystery # 118 (Jul., 1965). (I do an Odinsleep lots more than once a year, but I doubt it’s going to make me immortal.)
7. The Mandarin saved this woman’s life when she was a child and oversaw her education. She grew up to become what villainess?
Aye, this one was tricky for as Philip discovered, she wasn’t an Iron Man foe like her mentor. Her only Silver-Age appearance was buried in the pages of the Giant-Man series. But I couldn’t fool Dave Palmer or Fraser Sherman, who knew she was Madam Macabre, as seen in “The Menace of Madam Macabre”, from Tales to Astonish # 66 (Apr., 1965).
8. Who was the first scientist hired to replace Dr. Bruce Banner as the chief scientist on Lieutenant General “Thunderbolt” Ross’ staff? (NOTE: it didn’t work out.)
Dr. Konrad Zaxon was the first scientist hired to replace Dr. Bruce Banner, as seen in “The Hulk Must Die”, from Tales to Astonish # 78 (Jan., 1966). The government really needed to improve its vetting process, for Zaxon intended to conquer the world by using his access to Banner’s equipment to build a super-weapon. He needed the Hulk’s energy to power it, though. He was able to acquire it when he confronted the Emerald Behemoth, only to have his super-weapon blow up in his face. Jeff and Fraser got this one.
10. Apparently, the Ancient One had set himself up well financially. Who managed the Ancient One’s wealth?
The obscurity of this one stymied you guys for a while. Jeff and Philip raced to get the right response, and Jeff just edged Philip out with Sen-Yu, as seen in “The Defeat of Dr. Strange”, from Strange Tales # 130 (Mar., 1965).
And now for the one that had many of you working so intensely, but nobody got right . . .
9. What super-hero story was the first to show Stan Lee’s face; in other words, not in shadows or turned away from the readers or otherwise obstructed? (NOTE: “super-hero story” means a standard adventure; humorous tales or informative back-up pieces about the Marvel Bullpen don’t count.)
I really liked this question. Whether somebody answered it correctly or not, it had that “Wow! I didn’t know that!” factor that I seek when I put my list of posers together. The right answer had always been a novelty to me because I had never seen it on any list of Stan Lee’s appearances in Marvel Comics. I vetted it again while preparing this year’s Challenge, wording the phrase “Stan Lee’s appearances in Marvel Comics” as many different ways as I could. On the fourth permutation, aye, I did find it on someone’s list, in an entry deep on the second page of results. That was Google-proof enough for me.
I had to be careful in the phrasing of the question, in order to fairly steer you toward the right response. Stan Lee had made a couple of full-face appearances in Millie the Model early in the Silver Age, and there were a couple of back-up “life in the Marvel Bullpen” parodies in which he did, as well. I worded the question to negate these so you folks would concentrate on Stan’s appearances in the conventional Marvel universe. That’s where, if and when any of you found it, it would make that “Wow!” impression.
Aye, I knew it was tough because Stan didn’t promote himself in the stories nearly as much in the 1960’s as he would in the decades to come. I was impressed as all get out when Jeff and Philip found Stan’s appearance in Daredevil # 29 (Jun., 1967). I didn’t know about that one. I was also relieved---because it came after the actual first appearance of the Smilin’ One’s unobscured face.
That came four years earlier . . .
. . . in the last panel of “The Birth of the Beetle”, from Strange Tales # 123 (Aug., 1964). Here, the story’s final remarks come from Stan, who wrote it, and Carl Burgos, who penciled it.
What’s interesting about this comic-book appearance of Stan Lee is that it’s the only one that I’ve ever seen that shows his balding pate.
That’s it, fellows, for another year. Once again, you’ve proven yourselves to be sharp Silver-Age experts. I’m two years ahead on quizzes so, unless a house drops on me, we’ll be doing it again next summer.
Replies
I must admit I was certain Philip and I had that Stan Lee one nailed.
Both our answer and the real answer are notable because without being identified as Stan Lee, who could tell? He looks so...un-Stan Lee like!
Even though I only knew three of ten, I always enjoy searching through my memory banks for answers.
Stans first full face appearance was certainly the biggest challenge. Weren't there legal hassles with Carl Burgos a couple years later over ownership of the Human Torch?
doc photo said:
Weren't there legal hassles with Carl Burgos a couple years later over ownership of the Human Torch?
Carl Burgos was in the process of claiming ownership of the original (android) Human Torch. Martin Goodman told Stan that he wanted a new story involving the character to reestablish Marvel’s ownership. This was the story in Fantastic Four Annual #4 (NOV66), “The Torch That Was!” This derailed Burgos’ ownership claim. Sadly, he was so angered by this that he destroyed all of the comics and original art her possessed.
#3 One of the eternal mysteries is why a guy named for one of the world's most visually distinctive weapon relied primarily on those little discs all over his costume.
#7 I got that one too.
#8 Dr. Zaxon's career is weird — half his first appearance sets up his Big Evil And Diabolical Plan, then he goes down in two pages of the next story. A few years later I'd assume it was a deliberate comics self-parody but I don't think so.
#9. Darn I didn't get DD#29 or the true answer even though I've read/reread them both relatively recently. On the plus side, it's always a pleasure to know even if I'd tried the brute force approach (look through every possible issue I think might have the answer) I wouldn't have found it. No kicking myself. Also interesting to read how you worded it to weed out alternatives.
A fun quiz, as always.
#7 I got that one too.
So you did, sir. Correxion made.
Thanks. It was the first Hank-and-Jan story I ever read. It's less impressive on rereading than I found it as a kid.