Marvel Database
Marvel Database

Appearing in "'Tis the Season"

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Synopsis for "'Tis the Season"

During the Christmas season, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four have a snow ball fight in Central Park. Spider-Man enters the fray and dumps a huge drift of snow on a mortified Ben Grimm. Grimm refuses to lose his temper with Spider-Man as he recalls one of their previous adventures. Similarly, Yellowjacket recalls the time the Vision joined the Avengers. The Silver Surfer flies by Central Park and later Stephen Strange's Mansion where the Hulk recalls their first meeting. Later that evening at the Storefront Law Office of Nelson and Murdock, Matt Murdock recalls one of his early adventures with the Black Widow. Finally, in Los Angeles, the Black Widow is enjoying a rare snowy Yuletide with her Champion Team mates.

Appearing in "...As Those Who Will Not See!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Team-Up #6

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Synopsis for "...As Those Who Will Not See!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Team-Up #6
Following his battle against the Puppet Master within the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building, Spider-Man is startled by the sudden arrival of the Thing who has returned home with his girlfriend Alicia Masters. The Thing demands to know why Spider-Man is in his headquarters and to explain the damage caused. The wall-crawler explains his battle against the Puppet Master with the Vision. Wanting to have a talk with the Puppet Master, the Thing picks up his unconscious body and shakes him awake. Hearing the voice of her stepfather, Alicia tries to rush to his side but is stopped by Spider-Man. However, when Alicia explains who the Puppet Master is to her, explanations are needed. The Thing then drags the Puppet Master into another room to interrogate him. He then returns to tell them that their foe has offered to take them back to his old hideout that he shared with the Mad Thinker. There, the Puppet Master claims, exists a cure for Alicia's blindness.

Deciding to look into this, Spider-Man, the Thing, Alicia and the Puppet Master head to this old hideout in the Fantasti-Car. Along the way, Spider-Man and Alicia ask why the Puppet Master suddenly has a change of heart. He explains that he feels guilty for the death of Alicia's biological father, Jacob Reiss. He explains how they were experimenting with the radioactive clay he would later use as a criminal in order to discover the "building blocks of life." Jealous of Jacob's marriage and daughter, the man who was once known as Phillip Masters began plotting against his partner. One night he tricked Jacob into coming to the lab where Phillip struck Jacob. The fight caused an unstable reaction in the radioactive clay and it blew up, destroying the facility and killing Jacob. Surviving unscathed, Phillip emerged from the rubble and see that Alicia and her mother had also come along and were caught in the blast. Checking on Alicia he discovered that she was stricken blind and vowed to do whatever it took to restore her lost sight. He concludes by telling them that his guilt led him to marry Alicia's mother and try and find a cure. However, when Alicia's mother later died, it pushed him further over the edge, leading to his becoming the Puppet Master. With his story explained, Phillip breaks down into tears, telling them that he is a weak man.

When they arrive on the island where the Mad Thinker's lab is located, a defense device springs out of the ground and stuns the Thing and Spider-Man. This allows the Puppet Master the chance to escape through a ground hatch. When the two heroes come to, they break through the ground and gain access to the facility. With no sign of the Puppet Master, the pair split up to find him. Meanwhile, the Puppet Master has located that his sometime ally, the Mad Thinker, is currently hiding out in the facility. He explains that he had no choice but to lure the two heroes to their secret hideout. Although the Mad Thinker is unimpressed, the evil genius believes he can easily destroy these two menaces. He activates a series of traps to try and kill their foes. Spider-Man finds himself falling down a deep shaft with walls that are greased enough to prevent him from clinging to them. While the Thing finds himself trapped in an airtight room to suffocate. Seeing that Alicia is still waiting in the Fantasti-Car, the Mad Thinker sends out one of his androids to recover her.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man narrowly avoids a spiky death by slowing his descent by rebounding off the walls and slowing him down enough to cling onto the bottom portion of the shaft, that isn't oiled before he can hit the spikes. Outside, the android approaches Alicia who begins screaming in fear. Demanding that the Mad Thinker stop tormenting his step-daughter, the Puppet Master is easily knocked aside. When he tries to knock out the Thinker with a wrench, Spider-Man arrives and gives him the extra boost he needs by forcing down the wrench harder thanks to a web-ball. Outside, the Thing destroys the android, Spider-Man emerges from the hidden facility and learns how the Thing survived his death trap. As they are comparing notes, the facility suddenly explodes, seemingly killing the Puppet Master and the Mad Thinker. Alicia mourns the loss of her stepfather, but tells the two men that they could never understand the length of the Puppet Master's insanity.

Appearing in "Even An Android Can Cry"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #58

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  • Ultron-5 (Only in flashback) (Origin revealed)

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  • Avengers Aero-Car (Mentioned)

Synopsis for "Even An Android Can Cry"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Avengers #58
The Vision wishes to become an Avenger, so Captain America, Thor and Iron Man all attack him to test his power. He passes the test and they make him one. Vision remembers he was created by Ultron to kill the Avengers. They go to Goliath's lab and Goliath remembers how he created Ultron, but was attacked by it and made to forget the entire incident. They also notice that Wonder Man's memory tape is also missing and they realize that the Vision is made up of Wonder Man's memory and brain patterns.

Appearing in "He Who Strikes the Silver Surfer"

Reprint of the 2nd story from
Tales to Astonish #93

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  • NYPD
    • Unnamed Police Chief
    • Numerous unnamed police officers

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Synopsis for "He Who Strikes the Silver Surfer"

Reprint of the 2nd story from
Tales to Astonish #93
Tales to Astonish Vol 1 93 - 1

The Hulk demands the Silver Surfer to take him away from Earth, to find a new home where he won't be hounded. Unaware that the Surfer is unable to leave the Earth, the Hulk attacks when the Surfer refuses to help the Green Goliath.

The police soon show up as the Surfer makes his escape and try to keep the Hulk at bay with flamethrowers until the military arrives. The Surfer returns to fly the Hulk to safety. However, the two again end up in battle with the Hulk trying to gain control of the Surfer's board. The attempt is futile, and nothing he does can get the Surfer's board to follow his commands.

The battle ends with the Hulk being knocked unconscious. Using his Power Cosmic to probe the Hulk's mind, he learns of Banner's curse. Attempting to use his Power Cosmic to cure the Hulk, the Hulk awakens and believes that the Surfer is attacking him and fights him off. The Surfer leaves in frustration and the Hulk vows to one day make him help him escape this planet.

Appearing in ""Once Upon a Time -- The Ox!""

Reprint of the 1st story from
Daredevil #86

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Synopsis for ""Once Upon a Time -- The Ox!""

Reprint of the 1st story from
Daredevil #86
With the opening of Karen Page's new movie in New York, Matt, Karen, Natasha, Ivan and Foggy are all in attendance and speak to the media. Also as part of the news broadcast is word that "Karl Stragg" (who is really Raymond Bloch who has been stuck in Stagg's body since Daredevil #15 is released from prison.

Wishing revenge on those who trapped him in a weak body, "Stragg" suddenly undergoes a transformation that changes him back into his original form of the Ox. Wracked with pain and building up with radiation, the Ox blames Matt Murdock for putting him in jail to begin with, and so goes on a rampage across the city.

Battling Daredevil, the Ox's radiation builds up to such a degree that his body explodes seemingly killing him. After the battle, Karen admits to Matt that she still cannot handle him being Daredevil, and leaves him to return to L.A. Matt then rekindles his romance with the Black Widow.

Notes

  • Each sequence of story one frames and introduces a reprinted adventure.
  • Wraparound cover.
  • Cover art: Romita penciled Giant-Man, Wasp and Hawkeye on the back half of the cover.[1]
  • In "'Tis the Season" Saladino credited as Gaspar.

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