Strange Tales Vol 1 106

Strange Tales Vol 1 #106 March, 1963 Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee Cover Artist Jack Kirby Dick Ayers Stan Goldberg Artie Simek "The Threat of the Torrid Twosome" Writer Stan Lee Larry Lieber Penciler Dick Ayers Inker Dick Ayers Colourist Stan Goldberg Letterer John Duffy Editor Stan Lee "The Recipe" "Man on a Scaffold" Writer Stan Lee Penciler Steve Ditko Inker Steve Ditko Colourist Stan Goldberg Letterer Artie Simek "The Mystery of the Purple Planet" Writer Stan Lee Larry Lieber Penciler Paul Reinman Inker Paul Reinman Colourist Stan Goldberg Letterer Ray Holloway Previous Issue Next Issue Strange Tales #105 Strange Tales #107

The Acrobat	It's a pleasure to meet the famous Human Torch!
Human Torch	Torch!! But how--? How did you know who I was?
The Acrobat	Surely you jest! Everybody knows that Johnny Storm and the fabulous fire-boy are one and the same person!
Invisible Girl	Of course, Johnny! All of Glenville knows of your dual role!
Human Torch	Holy cow! And all this time I thought I was hiding it so cleverly! Well, I'll be--

Appearing in "The Threat of the Torrid Twosome"

Featured Characters:

•  Human Torch (Johnny Storm) 

Supporting Characters:

• Fantastic Four
  •  Invisible Girl (Susan Storm) 
  •  Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) 
  •  Thing (Ben Grimm) 

Antagonists:

• Torrid Twosome (Only appearance)^[1]
  • Acrobat (Carl Zante)  (First appearance)

Other Characters:

• Miracle Man (Joshua Ayers) (Recap)
• Sub-Mariner (Namor) (Recap)
• Dr. Doom (Victor von Doom) (Recap)
• Ben (Human Torch fan) (First appearance)

Races and Species:

• Humans
• Atlantean-Human Hybrids (Recap)

Locations:

• United States of America
  • New York
    • Long Island
      • Glenville
        
        

Synopsis for "The Threat of the Torrid Twosome"

After a training session, Johnny is visited by Carl Zante, the "world's greatest acrobat" to convince the Torch to join him. Convincing him that he is the most valuable member of the Fantastic Four and that he is could make a living working with the Acrobat, the two form a partnership as the Torrid Twosome.

Zante tricks the Torch into breaking into a bank vault telling him that somebody was trapped inside. However, the Torch realizes the truth and when he doesn't want to go along with Zante to rob the bank, the Acrobat uses a hose to douse the Torch's flame. However, as the Acrobat is escaping the bank he is confronted by the other members of the Fantastic Four.

The Torch recovers his flame powers and helps his fellow Fantastic Four members in capturing Zante and turning him over to the police. Realizing that he made a mistake in teaming up with Zante, Johnny rejoins the Fantastic Four and is welcomed back with open arms.

Appearing in "The Recipe"

Synopsis for "The Recipe"

Appearing in "Man on a Scaffold"

Featured Characters:

• Willie Wopper

Other Characters:

• Sam
• Charlie

Races and Species:

• Humans
  
  

Synopsis for "Man on a Scaffold"

A teller of tall tales becomes the butt of some ribbing when he tries to tell his fellow painters that he has acquired some magic paints. When the cable of the scaffold they are working on breaks, the advertising poster the men were painting in comes to life and lowers them to the ground. The amazed painters feel they owe their lives to the magic paint, but our teller of tall tales is smug in the knowledge that the scaffold never really fell but his paint allowed him to hypnotize his coworkers into believing it did and that they were saved by the poster.

Appearing in "The Mystery of the Purple Planet"

Featured Characters:

• Bentley

Races and Species:

• Humans
  
  

Synopsis for "The Mystery of the Purple Planet"

A space expedition is sent to a distant planet when it is suddenly covered with an artificial mist. The team finds gold and takes it, but are transformed into aliens like the inhabitants.

Notes

Continuity Notes

The Threat of the Torrid Twosome

• This story states that Johnny's public identity is secret. This was a pretense that the Torch put up for himself as revealed in Human Torch Vol 2 #1 Johnny did this to cover his bruised ego when nobody in Glenville initially believed he was the Human Torch. The Fantastic Four publicly revealed themselves just prior to Fantastic Four #3 as explained in Fantastic Four #543. This issue reveals that "everyone" in Glenville knows Johnny's "secret" identity.

• Zante mentions a few of the Fantastic Four's past battles:
  • Their fight with the Miracle Man in Fantastic Four #3
  • Their first encounter with the Sub-Mariner in Fantastic Four #4
  • And a battle with Doctor Doom, which could be a reference to Fantastic Four #5, 6 or 10.

Publication Notes

• This issue is reprinted in other comics and books, see references for more info.^[2]

See Also

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