The Torrent Without — The Tumult Within!

This story continues from Tales of Suspense #99…

Low on power, Iron Man is left to drown aboard a Maggia submarine after it is attacked by Advanced Idea Mechanics. With the pain in his chest growing, Iron Man manages to reach out and grab a wire that was loosed by AIM’s attack and uses it to recharge his power cells.

Above the submarine is the Maggia’s gambling ship which is rocked by another blast from AIM’s sub. Soon a team of AIM soldiers boards the gambling ship. Onboard is SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell who wonders why AIM is suddenly here and why.[1] Not far away, the Big M orders Whiplash and their men to repel the invaders. Sitwell decides to use this battle as cover for his continued search for Iron Man.

Below the gambling ship, Iron Man is fully charged but needs to get out of the lab before it fills completely with water. As Iron Man blasts himself free with his repulsor rays, the crew aboard the AIM sub prepares their vortex-suction device to capture Iron Man. However, this weapon requires some time to warm up. Above deck, the AIM operatives have almost finished looting the illegal casino. In order to try and stop them, the Big M activates a gyro-oscillator to cause the ship to pitch from side to side to disorientate the thieves. With the situation quickly growing out of control, Jasper Sitwell informs all the criminals that he is a SHIELD agent and orders them to surrender.

Whiplash responds by trying to attack the young agent, but luckily Iron Man arrives and blasts him in the face with a repulsor ray. Unfortunately, before Iron Man can do anything more, AIM activates their vortex-suction device and pull the hero into their submarine.

… This story continues in Iron Man #1

Recurring Characters

Iron Man, AIM, Maggia (Big M, Whiplash), Jasper Sitwell

Continuity Notes

1. AIM is attacking the Maggia here to try and restore some of the glory they lost when they were defeated by Captain America circa Tales of Suspense #93-95. The narrative also mentions that Tales of Suspense #95 was when Jasper was assigned as SHIELD liaison to Stark Industries.

NEXT: Iron Man in the 1960s

Call Him Destiny… Call Him Death!

This story continues from Tales to Astonish #101….

Having ventured to Old Atlantis to recover memories of his past, the Sub-Mariner has discovered a man calling himself Destiny living inside a cave.[1] This main claims to know Namor’s forgotten past but seeks to antagonize the Atlantean monarch. However, Destiny is able to evade Namor’s attacks due to the Helmet of Power he wears, which gives him the power to read minds.[2] He then uses the crown to freeze Namor in place, keeping the Sub-Mariner still long enough for Destiny to tell his life story, feeding the images of memories past with his Helmet of Power.

Decades ago, the man who later became Destiny was a carnival mindreading act who called himself Mentallo.[3] While most mind readers were tricksters, this man was truly telepathic. He was dissatisfied making nickles when he could use his natural powers for more power than he ever dreamed. One day he went to the library where he read a book on the history of mind reading and learned about an ancient civilization of telepaths called the Ancients that were fabled to have lived near the arctic circle of Antarctica. Learning of an expedition to this area, the man who became Destiny ended up buying his way onto the USS Oracle to make an expedition into the allegedly home of the Ancients. Among the crew of the Oracle was one Leonard McKenzie, Namor’s human father.[4]

However, when they reached the lost city of the Ancients, they discovered it was sealed in ice. When Destiny insisted on cutting through the ice and learning the secrets, Leonard and his men had enough of his single-minded obsession putting them at risk and left him behind. The man’s digging triggered an avalanche that trapped him inside the frozen city. However, he discovered the Helmet of Power and it would sustain him and keep him young and vital for years to come.

By this time, the Sub-Mariner has managed to free himself, and having grown tired of Destiny’s long-winded tale he attacks again. Destiny fights back with one of the Ancient’s long-abandoned weapon — a sonar cannon. Namor manages to evade the blasts from this weapon and eventually rips it apart with his bare hands. However, the integrity over the cavern has already been compromising and another cave-in happens. Namor is then buried alive under tons of ice. Destiny is disappointed that he won’t get to lord over his foe now that he is apparently dead, but figures this is what happens to those who try to deny Destiny.

… This story continues in Sub-Mariner #1.

Recurring Characters

Sub-Mariner, Destiny, Leonard McKenzie (flashback)

Continuity Notes

1. The Sub-Mariner suffered amnesia for years until most of his memories and personality were restored by the Human Torch in Fantastic Four #4. However, the Sub-Mariner doesn’t remember what happened to him in the decades before then and went to Old Atlantis in Tales to Astonish #101 to find out. We’ll learn in Sub-Mariner #1 that Destiny wiped Namor’s mind. Saga of the Sub-Mariner #6 places this as happening in the mid-1950s.

2. The so-called Helmet of Power is later revealed to be the Serpent Crown in disguise in Sub-Mariner #9. A back-up feature about the Serpent Crown in Daredevil Annual #4 explains that the Crown was encased in metal by a man named Bekkit to dampen the Crown’s power.

3. Destiny’s real name is not identified here. His name is given as Paul Destine in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #17.

4. For more on Leonard McKenzie and the crew of the Oracle see Marvel Comics #1, Fantastic Four Annual #1, and Saga of the Sub-Mariner #1 among other stories. Destiny’s expedition happened prior to Leonard’s first meeting with Fen, Namor’s mother.