sonotadream

Strange Tales (1951) #120-125 - Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers/Carl Burgos (creator of the original Human Torch)

Time for more Human Torch solo adventures.

First, a team up with Iceman. They're both in a cruise around Manhattan - apparently, the place to be for teenagers at the time. Johnny is miffed about being compared to Iceman in the newspaper; Bobby is miffed because the only girl he managed to talk to was Johnny’s date.

Then the boat is attacked by pirates and they have to work together to defeat them, which they manage after a couple of misshapes and despite a fairly competent pirate captain. Bobby leaves and Johnny laments the fact that the X-Men have secret identities and he can't just call Iceman up.

Next up, the return of the Plantman - Johnny’s girlfriend's father's former gardener who has the power to control plants, now with upgraded costume. The costume is cool, but mist of his plans consist of getting Johnny wet so he can't burn his plants.

After that, the return of Doctor Doom’s henchmen - remember them? Doom gave them powers, then send them to another dimension, from where they returned after Doom was sent hurling through space. Wanting to impress them when he returns, the three (they don't have a group name 😐) decide to capture the Fantastic Four one by one. They start with the Human Torch, thinking he'll be the easier target. Well, joke's on them, because they get soundly defeated. Although, to their credit, not because they turned on each other.

A new bad guy gets introduced: the Beetle (not the musical sensation). His shtick is his helmet, that augments his strength, a pair of wings and a pair of suction gloves. His plan is to rob the World Fair and to become famous by defeating the Fantastic Four. He only gets the Human Torch and the Thing - in the middle of a double date with Dorrie and Alicia - and he doesn't get famous.

It also announces the start of the Thing/Human Torch team-up adventures.

After helping the Avengers (in Avengers #6), Paste Pot Pete got paroled and decided to return to his life of crime, but with an upgraded suit and gadgets.

Ben goes to Johnny’s place to warn him. Since Johnny doesn’t answer the door right away, Ben decides the best way to wake him up is to pick the house up and slam it back down. Johnny finds this method a tad unnecessary and they fight.

Johnny is more concerned with his date with Dorrie than with Paste Pot Pete, so Ben washes his hands of the situation. However, Pete's plan is to kidnap the Thing to attract the Human Torch into a trap. The first part goes well and Pete drags the Thing with a glue rope behind the Fantasticar.

The second part fails because the Fantasticar has a silent alarm in case someone unauthorized takes control of the wheel and Johnny is able to arrive in Pete's lair - an abandoned glue factory - before he's expected.

In the end, Pete's glue is no match for the Thing's strength and the Human Torch's flame. And Johnny doesn’t even get in trouble with Dorrie for abandoning their date!

Next issue, finds Ben and Johnny hanging out at the Baxter Building, engaging in their favourite pastime - fighting each other!

They're interrupted by a couple of reporters from Life magazine, but they're here to interview Sue and Reed, so they get kicked out.

Next interruption comes when their security system detects Namor on the surface. Fearing he might be leading another invading army - and not wanting to give Sue and Reed more media attention - Ben and Johnny go after him by themselves.

They fight in the middle of the ocean, where Namor is stronger, but they still manage to overcome him. Both Namor and Johnny get knocked out, so Ben has to drag them to a little island. He’s holding Johnny by his uniform, but it’s unclear how he’s dragging Namor along…

Reed and Sue finally track them and Namor uses the distraction to escape. Reed reveals Namor wasn’t leading another invading army. He had come to the surface to meet with Reed in hopes of making peace, but, now, thinking himself betrayed, who knows if peace is possible?

Also, the journalists wanted to interview Sue and Reed for a story about Ben and Johnny…