Tales of Suspense #78 Values

Publisher: Marvel, 1966

About Tales of Suspense #78

Nick Fury, Ultimo, and Mandarin appearances. Jack Kirby cover and art. Gene Colan art.

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COVER DETAILS

Title: Them!

Characters: Captain America [Steve Rogers]; Nick Fury; Chemical Android (A.I.M.)

Pencils: Jack Kirby

Inks: Frank Giacoia

Colors: Stan Goldberg

Letters: Sam Rosen

Reprints: Marvel Double Feature (Marvel, 1973 series) #2 (February 1974)

STORY DETAILS

(3 Stories)

Title: Crescendo!

Characters: Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Ultimo; Mandarin; Senator Harrington Byrd

Synopsis: Iron Man defeats Ultimo by tricking the monstrous android into setting off a long-dormant volcano! The Mandarin believes Tony Stark is dead, and vows Ultimo will live again. Shellhead steals a Commie jet and narrowly avoids getting shot down by US fighters. But on returning home, he discovers to his horror that Senator Byrd has not taken his failure to show at the sub-committee investigation lightly. Not only has Stark Industries been closed down, but there is also a warrant out for Tony Stark's arrest!

Pages: 12.000

Script: Gene Colan (co-plot); Stan Lee (co-plot, dialogue)

Pencils: Gene Colan

Inks: Jack Abel [as Gary Michaels]

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Marvel Super-Heroes (Marvel, 1967 series) #30 (April 1971)

Notes: Part 3 of 3. The Mandarin would return 7 months later in TALES OF SUSPENSE #84 (December 1966); Ultimo would eventually return in IRON MAN #69 (August 1974), though his true origins would not be revealed until IRON MAN #23-25 (December 1999-February 2000).

Title: Them!

Characters: Captain America [Steve Rogers]; Nick Fury; THEM (secretly A.I.M., really a division of HYDRA)

Synopsis: While Cap is in the middle of training, Nick Fury turns up looking for info on a secret organization known as "THEM". A strange flying craft lands outside Avengers Mansion, and a chemical android attacks. In a remote lab, members of "THEM" observe by remote camera, while watching over a "battalion" of androids growing like plants in a glass-enclosed hydroponic garden, due to experiments with D.N.A. Cap and Fury barely manage to stop the android. Fury tells Cap it's SHIELD's job, and to stay out of it. But he gives Cap a SHIELD "Priority A-1" badge to make getting in touch easier in the future.

Pages: 10.000

Script: Jack Kirby (plot); Stan Lee (co-plot, dialogue)

Pencils: Jack Kirby

Inks: Frank Giacoia

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Marvel Double Feature (Marvel, 1973 series) #2 (February 1974)

Notes: Part 1 of 5. 2nd-ever meeting of Cap and Fury, following the story in SGT. FURY #13 (December 1964). 1st on-camera appearance of "THEM", following mentions in STRANGE TALES #142-143 & 145 (March-April, June 1966). The hooded outfits worn by the evil scientists appear inspired by the ones worn in the 1st James Bond film, DR. NO (1962). Identity of "The Imperator" would not be revealed until STRANGE TALES #156 (May 1967). Cap and Fury team-up to battle mysterious invaders in the flashback in STRANGE TALES #160-161 (September-October 1967), apparently shortly after this episode. Meanwhile, this story continues directly into STRANGE TALES #146 (July 1966), while "THEM" also continue to appear (peripherally) in the next several issues of TALES OF SUSPENSE. The android-growing tanks appear to pay tribute to THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951). Thanks to Jack Kirby, D.N.A. experiments would play a large part in SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN #133-148 (November 1970-April 1972). The "flying shock rollers" are identical to the ones used by Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Luke Skywalker in the film STAR WARS (1977)!

Data Courtesy of Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license

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CGC Census Report*

Grade	NG	PG	CVR	0.5	1.0	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.5	3.0	3.5	4.0	4.5	5.0	5.5	6.0	6.5	7.0	7.5	8.0	8.5	9.0	9.2	9.4	9.6	9.8	9.9	10.0	Total
Universal	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	3	2	5	6	13	12	11	15	21	23	32	32	39	19	21	5	5	0	0	269
Qualified	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Signature Series	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	1	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	12
CGCxJSA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Restored	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Total	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	3	3	5	6	13	13	14	16	24	24	32	34	40	21	21	5	5	0	0	284

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