Hurry! When we have finished here we will go to the great city that stands by the water! That is the next step in my plan to conquer mankind!
Appearing in "Grottu, King of the Insects!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #73
Strange Tales #73
Featured Characters:
- Frank (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Lynn Avery
- Kasenga
Antagonists:
- Grottu (First appearance) (Apparent death)
Other Characters:
- Lord (Invoked)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Mentioned)
- Kenya Police
- Unnamed Captain
- Kro (Behind the scenes)
Races and Species:
- Ants
- Deviant Mutates
- Humans
- Demons (Mentioned)
- Geese (Mentioned)
- Elephants
- Giraffes
- Gazelles
- Lions
- Boars
- Donkeys
Locations:
Synopsis for "Grottu, King of the Insects!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #73
Strange Tales #73
The radiation from atomic bomb tests mutates a common ant, increasing his size and strength a thousand fold, and grants him human-level intellect. Calling himself Grottu, he declares himself King of all insects, and sets about on a plan to conquer the world. His efforts are foiled by an adventurer, who succeeds in turning Grotto's ant followers against him, leaving him for dead.
Appearing in "I Fought the Colossus!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #72
Strange Tales #72
Featured Characters:
- Colossus, the Super Computer (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Professor Reynolds (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed people of Earth-60672 (First appearance)
- Johnny (First appearance)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-60672 (First appearance)
- Earthspace (First appearance)
- Earth (First appearance)
- United States of America (First appearance)
- Equador (Mentioned)
- Sun (Referenced)
- Earth (First appearance)
- Heaven (Invoked)
- Earthspace (First appearance)
Synopsis for "I Fought the Colossus!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #72
Strange Tales #72
In the year 2020 the computer that governs the world secretly builds a ten story robot underground and then sends it to the surface. The humans assume that the computer has betrayed them and desires conquest so they use a magnetic device to lure the robot to a sea cliff where it topples off and is destroyed. They confront the computer as to why it betrayed them and it denies doing so. It says that it is aware that many people distrust computers so it built its replacement in a human shape to reassure people. It is growing old and will soon become defective and had to make the robot so large that it could contain all the knowledge required to make capable decisions for governing Earth. "How could you believe that I betrayed you?, when betrayal requires emotion and I, I am...a mere machine."
Appearing in "The Gargoyle"
Reprint of the 4th story from
Strange Tales #78
Strange Tales #78
Featured Characters:
- Gargoyle (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- "Cosmic Carnival" (First appearance)
- Unnamed Alien Queen (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alice (First appearance)
- Charlie (First appearance)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- Unnamed Planet
Vehicles:
- "Cosmic Carnival" Rocket
Synopsis for "The Gargoyle"
Reprint of the 4th story from
Strange Tales #78
Strange Tales #78
An ugly man rejected by society applies for a job at a circus. It turns out to be a ruse by aliens who are uniformly gorgeous, and so want a man with an ugly face they find fascinating to marry their queen.
Appearing in "A Martian Walks Among Us!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #78
Strange Tales #78
Featured Characters:
- Venusian (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Martian Who Walks Among Us (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- CCPD
- WLMI-TV
- Unnamed Newscaster
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Mars
- Earth
- United States of America
- Center City
- United States of America
Items:
- Infra-Red Machine
Vehicles:
- Martian Flying Saucer
Synopsis for "A Martian Walks Among Us!"
Reprint of the 1st story from
Strange Tales #78
Strange Tales #78
A scientist sees a flying saucer land and is overpowered by the larger Martian. Since the creature thinks he's dead, he assumes his appearance and lets slip that only infrared rays can detect his disguise as he gathers information for a planned invasion of Earth. After he departs, our hero, who was only stunned, resolves to alert the authorities but they don't believe him. He builds a device that will alert him to the presence of the creature in his disguise and tracks him to an office building. The device goes off in the presence of the night watchman and the alien shifts into the more powerful Martian form, forcing our hero to flee. He rolls to the side as the Martian charges forward and plunges to his doom down the elevator shaft. Our hero then removes his disguise to stand revealed as a Venusian and affirms their pledge to defend the beloved sister planet Earth from the dangers of outer space.
Trivia
- While most of Marvel's horror anthology stories are commonly regarded as non-canon, Grottu, King of the Insects has made several appearances in Earth-616 continuity as a foil for Ulysses Bloodstone and the Fantastic Four.