- "As you all know, I've been working on a synthetic man -- an exact replica of a human being! When I finished, I found I had surpassed anything that any scientist had ever done -- If you'll follow me, I'll show you why. Even I fear the monstrosity which I've created!! In this air-tight glass cage, lives my creation -- I call him -- The Human Torch!"
- ―Phineas T. Horton
| "The Human Torch" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Marvel Comics | |
| Title: | "The Human Torch" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 1 |
| Cover price: | .10 |
| Cover date: | October, 1939 |
| Publisher: | Timely Publications |
| Credits | |
| Writers: | Carl Burgos |
| Pencilers: | Carl Burgos |
| Inkers: | Carl Burgos |
| Cover artists: | Frank R. Paul |
| Cover inker: | Frank R. Paul |
| Letterers: | Carl Burgos |
| Editors: | Martin Goodman |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Marvel Mystery Comics #2 |
Marvel Comics #1 is a comic book issue that contains eight stories of varying genres including superhero fantasy, jungle adventure and Western frontier. It was published by Timely Publications, the precursor to Marvel Comics and shipped with an October, 1939 cover date. The cover price for this volume is 10 cents per copy. Notable comic book superheroes featured in this volume include the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner.
"The Human Torch"[]
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"The Six Big Men"[]
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"Here Is the Sub-Mariner!"[]
| "The Sub-Mariner" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title: | "The Sub-Mariner" |
| Writers: | Bill Everett |
| pencilers: | Bill Everett |
| Inkers: | Bill Everett |
| Letterers: | Bill Everett |
| Editors: | Lloyd Jacquet |
A diver named Rod Nelson from the salvage ship S.S. Recovery explores a sunken vessel in the Southern Ocean. He reports back to his captain that he discovered a vault within the vessel, but there is evidence that it had recently been emptied. The captain sends Nelson and a man named Carley back down to get further information. As they approach the sunken ship, they see that a hatchway has been torn open. They spy a thin young man swimming about under water without the aid of diving equipment. This man, the Sub-Mariner, sees the divers and mistakes them for robots. He cuts off their air hoses believing it to be a power conduit and then stabs one through the chest, while crushing the head of the other. He then attacks the Recovery, breaking it's rudder, thus forcing it to veer into a bed of rough corral, which sheers the ship into two.
The Sub-Mariner then brings the bodies of Nelson and Carley back to Atlantis, where he presents them to the city's ruler, the Holy One. Removing their helmets, it is then that he realizes that they are humans. The Sub-Mariner's mother, Princess Fen, congratulates him on the great strides he has taken in the city's war against the surface world.
The Sub-Mariner asks his mother why the two cultures are at war. Fen explains that the conflict began in 1920 when an icebreaker vessel called The Oracle began dropping depth charges in this area of the ocean, unwittingly destroying large sections of the undersea populace. Fen was sent to infiltrate the crew of the ship as a spy. She met the Oracle 's captain, Leonard McKenzie, and pretended to be an ill stowaway. The two eventually fell in love with one another and were married. Fen reported back to the King that the surface people were too strong to wage war against, so they spent the following twenty years building up an army. Fen instructs the Sub-Mariner to lead the charge against the surface world.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
- None
Minor characters
- Anderson
- Carley
- Karal, an Atlantean
- Rod Nelson
Races
Locations
Vehicles
- The Oracle
- S.S. Recovery
Powers
"Origin of the Masked Raider"[]
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Items
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Powers
"Jungle Terror: A Complete Adventure Story"[]
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
Organizations
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Locations
Items
Vehicles
Powers
"The Adventures of Ka-Zar the Great"[]
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
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Organizations
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
Powers
Notes & Trivia[]
- This is the only issue of the series published under this exact title. Beginning with issue #2 the title of the series becomes Marvel Mystery Comics.
- The Sub-Mariner story from this issue is reprinted from Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1.
- This is the first appearance of Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch. As he is both the cover feature and the subject of the first story, it could be argued that the Human Torch is the first comic book superhero of the Marvel Universe. [1]
- Cover artist Frank R. Paul is credited as F. Paul in this issue.
External Links[]
- Marvel Comics #1 at MDP
- Marvel Comics #1 at Comics.org
- Marvel Comics #1 at Comic Vine
- Marvel Comics #1 at Marvel.com
References[]
- ↑ The Sub-Mariner actually predates the first appearance of the Human Torch by several months in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1, but the character is actually presented as something of a villain in that issue.