Dueling Ditko; Bug Bout 4 - Creepy Criminals

We continue our odyssey known as "Dueling Ditko" as we turn back the clock to simpler times for our pair of bugged-out boys, where they fair a pair of cloak-and-dagger hoodlums that lurk in the shadows and cause the guys a moment's pause.

First off, the cover for Fly #2! The coloring of our heroes, the symmetry of our fly friend and his female fly-girl in contrast with the statue and jets behind them. It looks sharp and definitely pulls the reader in that this may be something good. The inside story, however, is a mish-mash, tying up a lose end plot of the Fly against his foe Spider-Spry, wherein the Fly is nearly shot to death then recovers thanks to his pal Turan. To bad he didn't learn his lesson.

The unpublished Blue Beetle #6 also stands out for the shear oddity of the character design for this issue's villains. And, as always, Beetle is in one of his dynamic action-hero poses. This is to have been the beginning of a new chapter in Ted Kord's life, as he finally accepted the fate of his pal Dan Garrett and cleared his name for his premature death. And yet, it was not to be as Charlton moved in a different direction with their publishing efforts. This story saw the light of day years later.

Like I said, Thomas Troy was never accused of being a fast learner. On the way home from the court house, he in fact does get mugged by a thug named Diamond Jack, named after the distinct mask he's clad in during his brazen attacks. Unable to rub his ring in time and transform into the Fly, Troy is once more left for dead. Turan must be shaking his head in the Fly Dimension wondering if he picked the wrong guy.

Meanwhile, Hub City is also plagued by a criminal of a different sort but with the same low cut of morality. Amos Fend comes upon a harness thanks to a criminal scientist named Jacobs, becoming the Spectre. This device, when worn, turns the user invisible. Well, except for the actual harness itself (d'uoh!).  After the confrontation between the two villains, Beetle's intervention seals Spectre's own doom and we are left with another high-tech loon that is turned into a buffoon by our swinging slick scarab!

Back in NYC, MLJ style, Troy adopts his Fly alias to track down Diamond Jack... who has not caused the entire city to languish in fear of this seemingly omnipresent fiend. However, Jack himself crossed paths with a temperamental old broad named Old Abbey who seems to spawn some type of mutant parrot that grows in size and takes down Jack when the Fly is unable to get to him in time. Huh?

Ah nothing like some Ditko waxing the philosophical. At least Blue gets the last word against his spectral foe. Once more, Kord technology is saved from the evil element! Now Ted can retire for seven years.

Dueling Ditko Rating:

1.) Story Drama: This is a tough call. On the one hand you have a fairly linear (for Ditko) plot in Blue Beetle with nary a twist nor turn, and on the other side of the coin you have three tales wrapped up in one convoluted story with the Fly. For the life and death play on matters where the protagonist is concerned, the Fly wins this one.

2.) Imaginative Use of Abilities: The Beetle's mini Bug is "the bomb"! The Fly ain't got nothing on him aside from his fail safe "Turan bailing me out for the upteenth time" deux machina. No thanks, the Bug rules this category.

3.) Adversary: A mugger in a tacky mask, or a thief in an invisio-suit. Just the style of the Spectre gives him one up on his shadowy contemporary Diamond Jack. Although that huge gliding attack bird was creepy, let me tell you what. Still, this is Beetle's win.

4.) Intangibles that Worked: Nothing much aside from general Ditko zannyness. Still the concept for the Beetle's tale shows Ditko in his prime, and the Fly in Ditko's creative decline period. Sorry Tommy, but Ted wins it here too.

So 3-1 in favor of the Blue Beetle for this round! What will our next round reveal for your Dueling Ditko Boys? Stay tuned for more bug action coming soon!

Sideline Sundays: E-nimals Week - The Other Action Heroes

Our focus for "E"-nimals week are Jaguar and E-Man. Huh? What do THESE two have in common. Surprisingly....oodles... which we'll get to tomorrow. For now, let's see some of the characters who are on the periphery of our heroic pair's adventures. See, are red-clad raiders were never all that sociable with the hero set, at least not at first. Still, the pair had some interactions with the Action Heroes.

From this initial outing alongside fellow members of the Terrific Three, Mister Justice and Steel Sterling, it is quite evident that he doesn't have to much respect for Justice and is very defensive of the Man of Steel. Maybe that's why this triumphant triad didn't last nor worked together again (until decades later, with scores of other heroes against a legion of larcenists). While in his solo tales jag seems amiable enough with fellow scientists and damsels in distress, with fellow "Type A" adventurers he didn't seem to play nice. This is evident when he next joins a super-set.

No that's not Jaguar all nice and close with the Web, that's just the weird way he carries his fly-less friend to an assemblage of the Mighty Crusaders. The Web ended up being Jaguar's brother-in-law, since he married Jag's sister Rose. She wasn't partial to Web risking his life in his colorful alias, but didn't seem to care much about brother Ralph prancing around in his feline fashions. And if his mama thought that John "the Web" Raymond" was a double-daring nut, imagine what she would have thought of her own flesh and blood doing far more dangerous stunts... battling wild beast and deadly aliens! We see where Jag got his feisty nature!

While another team mate (and Web's close confidant Doc Reeves) felt some tension between Jaguar and himself, Darkling sensed the animal avenger had the noblest spirit of any man she had ever met in all her dimensional traveling. He felt more at home with the animal kingdom.

In the above picture we see a melding of various Charlton Action Heroes, perhaps the only appearance he ever had with his fellow action aces. Note the impression he made on Blue Beetle, and the one Captain Atom made on him. Alas, in the publishing universe of Charlton, very rarely did any of its characters "play friendly" with one another, especially with E-Man who arrived several years after his fellow heroes (aside from Yang) had already left for comic book limbo. The did operate simultaneously for a brief period in the early to mid 1970s during the Charlton Bullseye's run.

On one other occasion, Mr. Alec Tronn aka E-Man was shown alongside Captain Atom (off panel) and the Blue Beetle (well his Bug, anyway). Okay, they WERE parade floats... but still that cements some acknowledgment that these characters played in the same fictional sandbox. And for Charlton, this was about as good as it got on most occasions!  Unlike Jaguar, E-Man generally had a friendly nature to all whom he met, yet he still preferred operating (with one or two notable exceptions, considered in a couple days) solo. Maybe that was due to being a disembodied sentient manifestation of energy floating through space for aeons? Could be, guess we'd have to ask him when we see him.

That's all for the outer ring of our duo's universe, so to speak. Tomorrow we get into the nitty gritty on what makes these two tick and why they are so unique. We'd love to see more published about each of them at some point in the future!

Dueling Ditkos: Bug Bout 3 - Eccentric Egocentrics

This go around, the bug boys (Thomas Troy, the Fly, and Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle) take on a couple of strange characters while facing their own legal morass. Several parallels immediately become evident in Ditko's use of story telling device: the individuals against society's prejudice, the female protagonist giving the main character an "atta-boy", the grumpy old curmudgeon that befriends the young hero, and of course the eccentric egocentrics...Uncle Jarvis in the Beetle's story and Ivey in the Fly's tale. Let's dissect these mini-masterpieces, shall we?

Our heroes are conforted by the damsel that captured their heart. One stays to comfort, one leaves to do the same. Guess attorney's are made of stronger stuff than scientists.

As the story develops, we learn that Ted had history with bad old uncle Jarvis which caused his problems. And problems are something Thomas wades through without sweating.

Ted is inspired by cranky old Jarvis to spark his own creative ingenity, creating the Bug. Thomas acquaints himself will cranky old Bill who himself is involved with a creative fanatic and his demented domicile.

Beetle battled boatloads of bots bravely. Fly can't seem to handle one wacky looking fiend with foul facial hair. At least we're getting to the bottom of things now that our heroes are at their bases.

An armada of angry androids? No worries if you are our boy in Blue. Superpowered insect taken out by one freaky dude? Obviously brain wins out against brawn when Fly's freak beats Beetle's battling brainless bots.

While Beetle knows how to sweep women off their feet into ecstacy, Fly knows how to sweep cross dressing dames off their feet into anxiety. The latter can do it while upside down...take that Ted.

Dueling Ditko Rating:

1.) Story Drama: Dikto weaves amidst each tale a thread of oppression from Troy's former associate Pete and Kord's favorite primary police police, Lt. Fisher. The former was framed for jury tampering, the latter suspected as to the death of the previous Blue Beetle's civilian alias Dan Garrett. The main portion of the tales involves Ted's eccentric scientific uncle Jarvis and his agenda to create destructive droids to gain unlimited power and of eccentric wealthy recluse Denny Jones and a "crooked house" that was willed to him by an Ivey, a disgruntled man who designed the house to torment his former associates who had betrayed him. Definitely Ditko's latter days, when he chronicled the Fly's adventures, proved how truly eccentric the comic creator himself was. As to story drama, the linear approach of the Beetle's tale, involving the death of his friend and inspiration, definitely has more pull than a tale of characters like Ivey and Denny who we aren't as invested in.

2.) Imaginative Use of Abilities: Hands down the Fly wins with his use of his wings to cause a tempest in a tea pot and expose Ivey as a disguised femme fatale. Those are some powerful wind gusts that dude cooks up.

3.) Adversary: While the imaginative use of Ivey with shoes worn as gloves and guns sticking out of loafers is inventive, the actual Crooked House has a novelty and charm which seems to catch the Fly initially unaware. Whereas the secret Pago Island base and faceless androids of Uncle Jarvis..yawn.

4.) Intangibles that Worked: Again the Crooked House takes this category for setting. However, for a tale of tragedy such as the end of a classic hero like the Blue Beetle...that is truly timeless. And the added flair of having Ted's girl friday Tracey there by his side, while Fly's ex Kim ended up drifting off into character limbo (she did attempt to provide him morale support at the beginning of the story however) helps the Beetle to win this.

So this time it ends in a draw, 2-2 for the bug boys same as in Round 2. Fly is barely ahead...can Blue Beetle battle back? Can Fly pad is slim lead? Find out next time.

Sideline Sundays: Infatuated with Insects

Among the most prolific of those populating the sidelines of heroic adventures are the fair maiden, the love interest that can never aspire to more because the hero's cause is greater than his feelings for her. Two such lassess are the focus today, Tracey and Allison Corelli.

Allison was the daughter of retired Judge Corelli, a personal mentor of attorney Thomas Troy (aka the Fly or Fly-Man, as he was known at this point in his career). Over the course of time, his visits included passing moments with love lorn Allison, always seeking an audience with him.

So as is often the case, she felt maybe a different hair colour might attract her potential suitor. And it seems on this particular occasion, when Troy learns that the world hates his insect identity (through the secret machinations of an imprisoned enemy), he almost gives pause to consider taking Allison's hand in marriage. Ah but how would she view the Fly? Would she also feel the same as the rest of the world or would she accept him as either man?

Alas, she too fell prey to the attitude directed at our hero, and she didn't just stop hurling hurtful words but a flying stone to break his bones (not a chance of happening).

In her last appearence, a mysterious villain known only as the Blockbuster became affair of the Fly's attachment to the judge and his daughter, and attempted attacking them both. By this time she had dyed her roots back and had long since made ammends with the Fly. After a timely save, he flew off and never more graced the presences of his erst-while romance. He would leap into the arms of Kimberly Brand, aka  Fly-Girl .

When we're introduced to Ted Kords future love interest, Tracet is already employed as his long-suffering faithful lab assistant. After a thug breaks into the lab and knocks out the Beetle, Tracey takes matters in her own hands. While she's ineffective and used as a projectile for the Masked Marauder you remember him, don't you, she still shows her compassion for her saviour. However she also begins suspecting in that there is more than it seems where this bug and her boss are concerned.

During this period of time, a pesky officer named Fisher is sniffing around some the disappearence of archeologist Dan Garrett (the previous Blue Beetle) and this caused Tracey's to express concern in her affection for Ted. This causes him torment...does he reveal his secret life and his connection to the man he's suspected of having killed? Or handle this alone?

Ted makes the right call, revealed to Tracey both his love for her and his means of carrying on the legacy left behind by the Blue Beetle. This causes her to draw closer to him and become his most valuable ally (even more so than Bug, whom we last week considered in further detail)!

Years later, a Blue Beetle returned. Turned out to be one of Kord's wacky Uncle Jarvis' crazed bots. Before realizing this, Ted was about to retire as the Beetle until  talked down off the ledge by Tracey.

Unlike most non-superheroic girlfriends of a costumed crusader, Tracey actually hated his though of quitting as seen in this sequence. Would Allison have likewise come to a similar conclusion without the mental haze inflicted on her by an arch-foe of the Fly's? Would she have supported her love's dual nature? Since she was never given the chance we'll never know as she's in comic book limbo now. However, Tracey endured an won out this contest of femme favourites in our heart.

Dueling Ditko: Bug Bout 2 - Mighty Man versus Our Man

This week's duel orginiates from Blue Beetle #5 (November 1965) and the Fly #4 (December 1983), both products of Steve Ditko's legendary pen. Our two aforementioned heroes in their self-titled books faced a pair of delusional anti-socialists, each possessing a creative spark and tapping into "something" unique that provides them tremendous physcial attributes and obsessive psychological profiles. Meet Hugo, alias "Our Man", an artist who recreates a statue that symbolizes man's failures...and Professor James Stoker, the Mighty Man, a scientist who recreates his former superstrong evil alter ego wiped away from history by the Fly's powerful mentor, Turan.

Here we see the two aspiring social deviants remaking the images of their hero destroyers:

For Hugo, its pounding some sheetmetal into a mobile version of the morbid Our Man statue, with the goal of granting mankind happiness by destroying that which he aspires to...greatness. This guy needs hours of therapy! Yet somehow, the frail creator gains mighty inside this new suit of armor he dawns.

For Professor Stoker, he experiences some faint recollections of his costumed alter ego, himself a ravager of noble concepts. As he once more pieces together a formula called Mightium, Stoker quickly fills into his costume...ready to take revenge on the man who stole his once promising career...the pesky Fly!

As events unfold for both anti-heroes, we note Ditko's flair for the tragic idealism that catches so many in the form of individual dispair. He's directly calling out those who would diminish heroes and reduce them to mere mortals, and both "Men" show that the mighty of self and the might of a collective following are not enough to conquer the indominable spirit of true heroes, like our Bug Bouters:

As expected (after all we're not reading Our Man #5 and Mighty Man #4), the intrepid insects get the better of our muscle over message men. Both end up looking frumpy and worn out, the Prof due to an adverse side effect of over exertion while the Mightium was in his system, while Hugo's face always looked that way...that poor sad sack sucker.

Dueling Ditko Rating:

1.) Story Drama: Interwoven in these two tales is the social pressures the befall our heroes. For Ted Kord's Beetle, he must face an unweildy crowd of social malcontents inspired by the destructive cause of their statue, Our Man, brought to life. For the Fly's Thomas Troy, his own repressed memories of a prior battle versus the deadly Mighty Man interrupts his court case, causing the judge to suspect our heroic attorney of having a morning cocktail...a further jab at his professional credibility. The battles themselves displayed true grit on the part of both heroes. However, given lesser to work with against not only a psychotic foe but a hostile crowd of groupies, Blue Beetle's tale tops this category for drama.

2.) Imaginative Use of Abilities: While both incredible insect display apt acrobat manuevers, thanks in no small part to Fly's wings and Bettle's Bug, we see several uses of the Fly's buzz gun including sleep tranquilizers that take out a pair of leopards hungry for their prey, and a thread line strong enough to hog tie his Mighty foe. This gadget tips it towards Fly.

3.) Adversary:  Of the two, Mighty Man had some staying power and he originally appeared in March 1966's Fly-Man #36 (hence the repressed memories). However, Ditko apparently never fully *read* that initial appearence. Otherwise he would have realized that the reason Turan intervened and aided his apprentice the Fly was because the Mightium radiation that Mighty Man dervied his powers from caused the Fly to be stuck in that form. Had this been revisted in the current story, this may've given the Fly the edge in the above Story Drama category. As far as an adversary, Our Man was a conceptual style over substance kind of character, with no explanation as to exactly *how* he can go one-on-one with the Beetle (and with Vic Sage, the Question's alter ego).  MM gives the F-Man this over BB.

4.) Intangibles that Worked: Ditko had a more finely woven theme in his Beetle tale than in the stock story he wrote for the Fly. This issue was just prior to his developing plot line of Attorney Troy losing his license to practice and having to search for the individual(s) who framed him.  Hence the nod goes to Beetle.

And so we end in a draw in this bout. The Fly is still ahead from the previous round but we still have a ways to go to see which character Ditko gave the edge to. See you next time!

Sideline Sundays: Faithful Fake Fauna

Faithful Fake Fauna? Que? Well the silver age of comics was quite literally littered with various animal sidekicks of their heroic masters, yet most times they were actual animals. In the golden age of comics, Robotman created a robotic pet/sidekick named, you guessed it, Robbie the Robot-Dog. The "pets" we consider today weren't typically on the "sidelines", so to speak, like most ficitional supporting characters. Still they never had speaking parts, very rarely displayed any thinking abilities, and were more or less flying devices with cool gadgets that aided their gravity-bound owners. We give you...Blue Bettle's Bug and Black Hood's Nightmare, for your viewing pleasure (or not):

As you no doubt observed, the Bug was a vehicle of vertitable visual delights! Part aircrafter, part laboratory, part lounge for the stressed out scientist needing a break from the anxieties of capturing corrupt criminals.

By way of comparison, Nightmare was rather aaestically dull or outright goofy in its presentation. Looking like a slapped together menagerie of sheetmetal. At least it recovered quickly from attacks before its master went splatts on terra firma below.

In this sequence, after Ted Kord aka the Blue Beetle faces a robotic duplicate of Dan Garrett aka the former Blue Beetle, its the Bug that lashes out using a powerful charge of electricity to destroy the droid. How was it able to accomplish this feet, since it originally operated by remote control? Did Cord accidentally hit the switch activiating it, or did it acquire some rudimentary intelligence?

Nightmare also saw to the preservation of its master, in the only manner it could provide this, by sacrificing itself to save the Black Hood from an alien adversary. And mercifully, despite the Hood's promise to himself, this robotic monstrosity was quickly forgetten. Well..until this post...sorry.