#071: September 1966 (w/Jamie Wenger) - "Overkill!" / GIANT-SIZE MBTM #2

Are you the sort of masochist who wants to follow along with this
insane thing? Be careful what you wish for! 
THEM / AIM / Secret Empire backstory:

October 1965: SHIELD seemed to have defeated
Hydra in Strange Tales #140


December 1965: The shadowy organization of
super-scientists known as THEM appears for the first time in
Strange Tales #142. In Tales of Suspense #75, THEM
hires Batroc the Leaper to help them steal Inferno-42


March 1966: In Tales of Suspense #78,
Nick Fury recruits Cap to help him take down THEM.


April 1966: In Tales of Suspense #79, the
Red Skull returns, having been awoken from suspended animation by
THEM/AIM. In Strange Tales #146, Count Bornag Royale
arrives on the SHIELD helicarrier to demonstrate AIM’s technology
and encourage SHIELD to get rid of Nick Fury.


May 1966: In Strange Tales #147, AIM
(still calling themselves THEM) launches an unsuccessful raid on
the barbershop that serves as a front for SHIELD HQ. In Tales
of Suspense #80, the Red Skull steals the Cosmic Cube from
AIM.


June 1966: In Strange Tales #148, AIM
blows up SHIELD’s captured prisoners and launches a raid on their
Life Model Decoy lab. In Tales of Suspense #81, Captain
America defeats the Red Skull, who sinks to the bottom of the
ocean along with the Cosmic Cube
While all of this is going on...

April 1966: In Tales to Astonish #81, the
Secret Empire reviews footage of the Hulk escaping from General
Ross’s missile base.


May 1966: In Tales to Astonish #82, we
see that the Secret Empire is all about assassinating your way to
the top.


June 1966: In Tales to Astonish #83,
Number One of the Secret Empire watches Namor and starts plotting
how to use him against the Hulk. Also in Tales to Astonish
#83 (Hulk story), at a secret meeting of the Secret Empire,
Number Nine blows up Numbers Two, Three, Four, Six, Seven, and
Eight — now the only members left are Number Nine and Number One!
And Here’s Where It All Comes Together:

July 1966: In Tales of Suspense #82, an
AIM android called the Adaptoid imprisons Cap in Avengers Mansion
and impersonates him. In Tales to Astonish #84, Number One
brings Namor to New York City to find the Hulk, and the Hulk
heads to New York City, because he remembers the Avengers and
thinks they might be able to help him find Betty.


August 1966: In Strange Tales #150, Hydra
returns! In Tales of Suspense #83, the Adaptoid fails to
defeat a new jobber villain named the Tumbler. In Tales to
Astonish #85, Number One accidentally blows himself up in his
safehouse.


Comics Released This Month (ones we discuss are in
bold): Amazing Spider-Man #43,
Avengers #34, Daredevil #22, Fantastic Four #57,
Sgt. Fury #36, Strange Tales #151, Tales
of Suspense #84, Tales to Astonish #86, Thor
#134, X-Men #26, 1966 Marvel Comics. 


"Marvel by the Month" theme by Robb Milne, sung by Barb Allen.
All incidental music by Robb Milne. Visit us on internet at
marvelbythemonth.com and follow us on Instagram
at @marvelbythemonth.