Tales to Astonish #38

 "The ants will not be able to resist the temptation I offered! For I have appealed to their greed, and their vanity!"

Yep, ants. Definitely known for their, er, greed and vanity... 

That said, if you accept the sheer bonkersness of it all- which we shall certainly get to- this is rather good. Moderately important villain Egghead is introduced, and he's a surprisingly decent character- his genius undermined by his careless arrogance. It's a nice touch that the story occurs from his point of view as he tries to set his trap for Ant-Man, with Henry Pym not even appearing until page five. 

I love how he's introduced- it's known, but can't be proved, that he's tried to sell atomic secrets to the highest bidder. I assume he could just deny it and keep his job, but nope, arrogance it is, so he's forced to use his apparent genius for criminal purposes.

And so Egghead learns, as Pym did before him, to communicate with the ants. And, er, yes, it's all electronic, but he communicates with them in rather nuanced and abstract concepts which, I assume, would require some kind of language. That's a stretch in itself. But, er, how come he, and indeed Pym, seems to speak fluent ant? Best not to ponder such things. Or indeed how ancient his car looks from the vantage point of 2026.

It's a rather neat and fitting resolution- Egghead defeats himself by his own arrogance, not realising that the ants are Pym's willing friends... although he does rather make them do things that are not great for their wellbeing. But, again, perhaps not dwelt on. By the standards of 1962, this medium hardly being seen as great art (I know: Marvel will get better), this is one of the better Ant-Man offerings. 

Journey into Mystery #87

 "Imbecile! You will pay for this blundering!"

This is... well, it's an utterly inconsequential placeholder with Thor versus, you guessed it, Soviet communists. Eminently skippable, as there are no wider implications as to Marvel lore and there only so many ways one can comment on the use of communists as crude, one note cartoon villains. 

So we get another outing for the Donald Blake / Jane /Thor ironic love triangle. We also get strong indicators, once again, that Thor is basically just Donald Blake wielding the powers of the ancient thunder god. Although, despite the strong early indications that this is the case, with Don being the one who decides to use himself as bait to investigate the scientists disappearing behind the Iron Curtain, we end with Thor asking Odin to destroy the Soviet fortress in what must be the most literally deus ex machina scene yet.

We do, it must be said, have a pit of sharks, which is splendid. But, unless you happen to be a fellow completist, this is eminently skippable. 

Fantastic Four #9

 "I like a woman with spirit!"

I must admit, this issue is bloody good. It's a quirky and intriguing central concept, and there's some good characterisation- particularly with regards to the Sub-Mariner, a very nuanced character.

From the very start, the FF are broke, bankrupt, selling all their stuff and dissolving what seems to be their business partnership. At first I thought this would be a ruse- but no. They genuinely are broke. Their once colossal wealth (at last it's confirmed where it came from- Reed's patents) is all gone, thanks to Reed's bad investments. And this is a nice touch, I think. Reed may be a genius, and may plausibly have been overconfident in his investments.

We also find that Alicia, only introduced last issue, is already a regular character, with a nicely nuanced relationship with the Thing. This sort of thing really adds depth and nuance. And yes, it may be silly that the issue starts with Sub-Mariner watching telly in his solitary undersea home... but the framed picture of Sue is a nice visual touch.

Namor, of course, is plotting to get Sue for himself, so he offer the FF... ahem, one million dollars(!), no doubt a princely sum in 1962, for a film. But the three men are all lured into traps and, well, Johnny's is vaguely racist! I love how Reed's trap seems to literally be the actual Cyclops (no, not that one, not yet) from The Odyssey. 

The ending is... well, Namor's behaviour towards Sue is more than a little #MeToo from the perspective of 2026, but it's a satisfying conclusion, with the Sub-Mariner feeling honour-bound to pay up, ending the team's financial woes.

After all the bonkersness I've trawled through... well, this is still very Silver Age but it's genuinely good. 

Strange Tales #103

 "Guess again, Zemu! I have a lot of powers you don't know about..."

These Human Torch stories seem to be very simple, formulaic and reek of Saturday morning cartoons... and this is no exception. Interesting that the Torch still seems to be of school age, but otherwise there's little of wider relevance here. Oh, and it is, of course, utterly bonkers.

A load of new houses are sinking, but not from something like running sand. Indeed, there seem to be rumours of "swamp demons". Johnny investigates... and, yep, it's aliens from the Fifth Dimension, no less, whose generic dictator Zemu wants to invade the Earth, because that's what alien baddies do.

Not much really happens- the Torch is captured and placed in a liquid tank, but in a bloody jammy stroke of luck he's freed by rebels, and is able to take the fight to Zemu by using a series of obscure powers he has which are highly convenient to the plot. Oh, and he incites a rebellion by sky writing... they read English in the Fifth Dimension then? But let us not open the "how come these aliens all speak English" can of worms.

So... yeah, thirteen formulaic and eminently skippable pages that I'm blogging only for the sake of completeness.

Tales to Astonish #37

 "I'm caught inside a vacuum cleaner!"

And so we turn again to Tales to Astonish, and Ant-Man. What can we do other than to embrace the bonkersness? 

I know this happened last issue, but... well, Ant-Man hears of trouble via his ant agents, has himself transported to the scene of the crime by miniature catapult, with ants on top of a shop awning breaking his fall. Shall we just pause here and marvel at the sheer magnificent insanity of this>

Then we have the villain, the Protector. He is, essentially, just a bog standard protection racket, but nonetheless he has a supervillain costume and name, because of course he does. Oh, and a disintegrating ray, although to be fair the Scooby Doo ending makes clear that this is just an elaborate conjuring trick, so that's all perfectly sensible then.

Oh, and before Ant-Man can save the day he has to face the twin perils of a water pistol and a vacuum cleaner. That is not a sentence that I expected I'd be writing when I woke up this morning, to put it mildly.

Embrace the bonkersness. What more is there to say? Are all these Ant-Man stories going to be like this? 

Fantastic Four #8

 "Sufferin' snakes... what's that?"

I'm happy to say that, while being utterly mad as one would expect for 1962, this issue was a rather fun read, even if I did raise an eyebrow at Reed being able to use his elasticity to absorb bullets... and fire them back!

This is the first appearance of long-running FF villain the Puppet Master, whose bonkers voodoo abilities have come about because of... radioactive clay. Of course. What else? His puppetry skills are highly impressive, though, to say the least. He even makes a little model prison governor grab a key ring from a little model desk drawer, which is positively superhuman/

We also meet Alicia, shown here as a very naive damsel. From her first appearance she likes Ben, but (Yet again, Reed briefly turns the Thing human again) prefers him on the rockier side. a surprising amount of their eventual dynamic is here already.

Puppet Master himself is surprisingly one note here, and his apparent death makes it seem as though he may not necessarily have been intended as a recurring villain at this point. But it's a good, solid story with lots of set pieces and the team feeling very well-established at this point. A huge improvement from last issue. 

The Incredible Hulk #4

 "Wow, was that cat for real?"

These early issues of The Incredible Hulk are, while variable in quality, strangely thoughtful and philosophical at times. Yet it's also fascinating to see how they take so long to settle on the rationale for the Bruce Banner changing into the Hulk. It's no longer a day/night thing, but even by the end of the issue they're far from sure of what they ought to be doing.

After a nicely non-linear start we get back to Betty Ross and a nice character moment- she pines for Bruce, she's noticed he's been a bit off ever since the Hulk... and, more to the point, Bruce is missing. So Betty tells her rather dim father that, juuuuust perhaps, Rick Jones might have some connection to Bruce and the Hulk. So Thunderbolt Ross grabs Rick and demands answers- a tricky situation as Rick could find himself in trouble here.

 The format of the series at this point is so very interesting. Rick can command the Hulk. The Hulk seems stuck in that form, unable to change to Bruce. Rick ultimately uses the machine to change the Hulk to Bruce... and at this point there's no other mechanism for doing so.

Then we have another twist, as Bruce uses the machine to become the Hulk but keep his intellect... but there are interesting hints of personality changes. And these continue into the second story, which had me laughing out loud. So many of these early Marvel issues have throwaway one-off aliens or communists as villains, so of course we get an alien who is really a plane full of Soviet communists in disguise.

We end with some scenes of the Hulk saving people but still being feared and hunted, something I suspect won't be changing... and Bruce and the Hulk can still only change bodies via the machine! 

Strange Tales #102

 "I... I challenged the Human Torch and I lost! I am beaten!"

Oh dear. I know Marvel will get good fairly soon, but still... 

We get the introduction of long-running FF baddie the Wizard here but... he's rubbish. This is a genius, wealthy inventor, home full of his own futuristic inventions, chess champion, escape artist, celebrity... yet he can't even work out the Torch's blatantly obvious secret identity, what with his sister Sue openly being the Invisible Girl...?

The opening immediately dates this, with cinema newsreel footage(!) recounting the events of last issue. But we then devolve into the Wizard's rather dull attempt to frame the Torch (why?) in a typically lacklustre script from Larry "Nepotism" Lieber. I did chuckle, though, at the fake Torch writing "Down with law and order" in the sky.

But... well, not much else to say about this throwaway bit of rubbish which, despite all else, at least introduces a baddie with staying power. And (not for the first time) featuring a disturbing quantity of asbestos. 

The Ten Doctors: Chapter 1

 "Too many Bakers spoil the crust."

Firstly... I've started blogging this, but I'm still only two days after my operation, I need to recover a bit before properly blogging something so crammed with character and lore moments, so bear with me. Love the metatextual nature of the above line between the Fourth and Fifth Doctors though.

While there are hints of a complex overall plot, the events here are fairly straightforward. It's just after The Runaway Bride, so we ought to disregard everything screened after that- including Time Crash. The Tenth Doctor is pining for Rose in the Eye of Orion, when all the past Doctors, plus companions turn up, except Eight, who is in a particularly complacent era on Gallifrey. The Master has plans for him. Meanwhile the Galactic Federation is concerned about mysterious mass deaths, for which an uninvited Sontaran blamed the Daleks, and accuses the Time Lords of arrogant indifference.

But, of course, this is about far more than plot. It's about character and... well, yes, fan service, but of the superior kind. It's about the perfectly judged, part-cartoony artworks, and the little visual Easter eggs outside the panels at the edges. It's about the many monsters amongst the Federation- including the Foamasi and the Mentors of Thoros Beta. It's about Maxil working, it seems, for the Master.

But mostly it's about the Doctors and companions- and  I particularly like the subtitles in which Rich Morris explains his reasoning. While I have to frown at his embrace of the whole Season 6B nonsense, the characterisation is exquisite. I love Rose's increasing exasperation to Nine at his long string of attractive female companions, prefiguring School Reunion. I love Three's concern at Nine's relationship with her, cue Seven's reference to Nine's "second midlife crisis", and when asked about the first- Six gets the perfect entrance!

It's a nice touch to have Five, Tegan and Turlough arrive just after the events of The Five Doctors, and for Four to have Romana do all the exposition for the "not-mes". Overall, yes, this is necessarily set-up, but it's a very strong start. 

It'll probably be a few more days of recovery from the op before I continue with this, but I've started! 

Surgery Update

 I've had my surgery and all is well- the problem has been dealt with. I'm in a bit of pain and will need to be careful not to strain myself too much for a bit... but I'm able to consume media and blog, plus I'm off work for a bit. I'm back!

Journey into Mystery #86

 "I'm happy to play a part in keeping the free world strong and secure against the forces of tyranny."

Yes indeed, those are Thor's words as he happily helps the US military test out a "cobalt bomb". Welcome to 1962, folks. 

This is, I suppose, a pleasingly early introduction of a lasting villain, albeit a lasting one, so a welcome relief from all these one-off alien and communist baddies we seem to be getting at the moment. But, I mean, it's not actually very good. Basically, the year 2262 is some kind of generic peaceful utopia but Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man, is an evil scientist with a lust for war and conquest as his only personality trait. He travels back to 1962 (and yes, it's explicitly 1962 here, and I'll be commenting on the "Marvel Time" theory as we go) to nick the cobalt bomb, uses it to conquer the Earth of 2262, but Thor time travels to stop him, after a few ho-hum set pieces. That's it. Not much cop, really.

Some potentially interesting things, though. Zarrko has "Earth's only time machine", so either Doctor Doom's time platform has been forgotten or this isn't all quite meant to be a shared universe yet. Thor summons Odin so he can time travel, our first extended look at the All-Father... and appears, at this point, to be the actual Thor of Norse legend. Is he just Don Blake with Thor's powers? Is he actually Thor? Is this a case of dissociative identity disorder? Things are getting confusing. Donald Blake certainly pops up at the end, and the sixty second rule is in play...

Not a great comic, then, but arguably an important one. 

Update

 Tomorrow I'll be having surgery. I may be pretty much fine after a day or two, but there's a possibility I may be groggy and on painkillers for a bit, so you may not see me for a few days. I don't know which way it will go.

 After that, though, I'll be off work for an indeterminate number of weeks to recover from the op. And that will hopefully mean a lot of blogging! 

Tales to Astonish #36

 "Welcome, yankee! I have been expecting you!"

Not a bad story from Larry "nepotism" Lieber here, with a nice twist at the end about the identity of our latest communist baddie, the rather unimaginatively named Comrade X. But crikey, this is bonkers. 

We fully explore the expansive and increasingly absurd ways that Henry Pym can get ants to do his bidding. He ends up trapped in a glass jar, not the most dignified of situations. And he ultimately saves the day by... untying the villain's shoelaces. I kid you not.

Not only is the plot bonkers, though, we get some extra background here, and it's utterly mad. Ant-Man always knows when he's needed, because the ants tell him... best not to think too hard about the details there. 

Even madder, though, is his lab, which is equipped with an "ant sized elevator" as well as a catapult(!) to transport him to his situation, with ants breaking his fall. Ok then...

Not sure what to say about such levels of bonkersness as this. What can I do other than just go along with it? 

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

I don't, personally, know a lot about drugs. Yes, and without commenting on whether I ever indulged or not, like every forty-something I've been in circles where hash and weed were a thing, but beyond that I've never knowingly interacted with actual drug culture beyond, well, popular culture. I've read some William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, I've read and seen Trainspotting, that sort of thing.

But, well, I drink, so at least I have that experience of altered states of conscience as recreation. I consume caffeine too. Beyond that I cannot go, because that way potentially lies madness, death or worse, and I want to live a long and happy life. But such experiences are fascinating to read about, this extraordinary novel especially.

This novel really shows the lived reality of a junkie, the hopelessness, the squalor, yet also the philosophical musings. It shows the fickle and double-crossing nature of human relations in a world always defined by one's next fix. It's a truly compelling glimpse into a fascinating nightmare. 

Yet this is also a novel of ideas... and of irony. The irony of the novel's final twist, and the irony of protagonist Bob Arctor's situation: a narc who is forced by the circumstances of his job to himself become an addict. The result is tragedy, yet perhaps with an ambiguous note of hope. But this novel will linger in the mind for a good while. Philip K. Dick, whose own life was blighted and no doubt shortened by addiction, poured his soul into it. More so even than Infinite Jest, this is one of the truly great novels about addiction.

Strange Tales #101

 "A commie sub!"

So now we have a regular solo instalment for the Human Torch in the pages of anthology book Strange Tales... and it begins with the Torch racing, rather alarmingly, an "atomic powered guided missile". What could be more atomic age than that?

And yet... it's quite good. We have a one off villain called the Destroyer who, given the nature of his dastardly scheme, has absolutely no reason to wear a supervillain costume, but let's go with it. Because the plot, while not completely free of bonkersness (we are, naturally, facing communists), is actually pretty solid, and I was impressed by the twist at the end.

But that's about it- a nice little one-off tale. What's interesting is the set-up, though- Johnny is living with Sue in the small town of Glenville. Hilariously, and alarmingly, he has an asbestos room to sleep in, and we even get a plan of it. And... Johnny has a secret identity, which he spends much of the story frantically trying to hide from his friends... why? Sue doesn't have a secret identity, they're siblings, so surely it's obvious that Johnny is the Torch?

 Still, overall, this is fine.

Fantastic Four #7

 " A portable self-contained TV receiver! Amazing!"

This issue is... well, as silly as any in the surprisingly disappointing run of Fantastic Four up until now. I mean, Kurrgo, Master of Planet X? Another random alien, who begins the issue with some old-fashioned "as you know, Bob" style exposition? Even so... there have been worse issues. Like, say, the last one.

I suppose there are a few interesting points, like the probable influence of The Day the Earth Stood Still on the robot (with its "atomic scanner") sent to collect the FF. But the over-the-top horseplay between the Thing and the Torch is just too much. And we have a highly advanced alien civilisation which faces imminent doom but can't flee their planet because they literally couldn't be arsed to build more than two spaceships. Yes. literally. This plot makes zero sense.

But then the ending becomes truly bonkers. Reed saves the population by shrinking them to fit inside the two existing ships... so how will they pilot them now? And then Kurrgo just randomly dies of hubris, and Reed decrees he never actually created an antidote but just lied about it. Er... 

I'm sure Fantastic Four will get good fairly soon. Right? 

Journey into Mystery #85

 "Well, eh, it's all in your point of view!"

After last issue being a fairly dull story about Communists while setting up the dynamic further between Donald Blake and Jane Nelson(?), this time things are pretty damn good. And seem to be heralding a significant change in the status quo.

Thus far, Thor has just seemed to be Blake inheriting the powers and form of the ancient Norse god, with no suggestion that the Thor we see here literally has the mind of the actual deity. I don't think that unambiguously changes here by any means, but things start to blur.

And that's right from the start. Because we suddenly see the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar. And we behold with breathless wonder... a tree. Loki has been trapped there for a very long time by Odin, and naturally the consequences of this in terms of mental health are just handwaved away, as this is ruled by the logic of myth. But he plays a clever trick on a freshly introduced Heimdall, and he's off to Earth for revenge on Thor... whom he seems to believe is his actual stepbrother.

And... the contest between them is very wacky but huge fun. Loki turns three New Yorkers into, er, negatives. Thor resolves this by using his hammer (said for the first time to be made of uru) to create. er, "anti-matter particles", which in no way swells like a one-off power for convenience. Loki hypnotises Thor, but he's saved by the hammer's sixty second rule. And... well, Thor, or Blake as Thor, which ever he is, says Loki is "According to the ancient legends, the most cunning and wicked of all the gods". So... does he know of Loki only by legend? Does Thor, at this point, have only the mind and memories of Blake? At this stage, I still think so.

We end with Loki (water is his weakness, apparently) returned to Asgard, with cameos from Odin, Balder and Tyr. This is a rather good issue, and the world of Thor suddenly feels much bigger.

Tales to Astonish #35

 "But they'll be stopped... by a mere rubber band and some thread, among other things!"

Right after Fantastic Four #6, in this story we get a second mention of unstable molecules- a possible first hint of a shared universe?

This, as with previous issues of Tales to Astonish, is one of several tales in what is an anthology book. Henry Pym is back, after an initial appearance that I suspect was intended both as a one off and not really as a superhero concept. This time, though, he has a costume, and a headset that lets him control ants(!) to the point of actually riding the things.

I won't say much about the actual threat- yep, it's communists- but, well, the newly coined Ant-Man is not exactly an alpha superhero, simply being able to shrink and control ants. Some of the consequences of this are well thought through, though, such as a character instinctively trying to rub him off his skin, feeling that unpleasant sensation we all do when we've an insect on our arm.

There isn't much to this, really, the character feels a bit generic, and I'm not sure how much mileage there is in the concept. Still, we'll see. And the cover is simply great.

Fantastic Four #6

 "Hahahaha! Who can doubt the genius of Doctor Doom now?"

This is... well, very silly indeed, just like all previous issues of Fantastic Four. There's some very bad science- a magnetic "grabber" that attracts all objects, not just those containing iron; the Baxter Building being lifted up, taken into space and yet returned afterwards as though nothing had happened; the Sub-Mariner bounding from meteor to meteor in space... this is completely mad. Also, oddly familiar, as I was halfway through reading this when I realised I'd seen it before. In 1966 there were several short-lived and very cheaply animated cartoons based on Marvel characters, including the Sub-Mariner, and it turns out this issue was adapted. It was bonkers there and its's bonkers here.

So the less said about the plot the better. Surprisingly, despite some strong characters and solid potential, Fantastic Four so far has been very silly and, well, not that good, really. We can only plod on and hope things improve, as they seem to be doing with The Incredible Hulk.

There are some interesting things to note in terms of lore, though. The Baxter Building is named for the first time, and we get a rather cool diagram of what all the secret rooms contain, various vehicles and so forth, including a "long range passenger missile" capable of reaching anywhere on Earth... once again, though, how can the FF afford this, as surely many nation states could not?

Other firsts include the mention of unstable molecules, out of which the FF's costumes are made. And the first hint of the Thing's rivalry with the Yancy Street Gang! But... well, at this point, Fantastic Four just isn't very good.

The Incredible Hulk #3

 "If I make one false move now, it'll be curtains for this cat!"

After a so-so second issue, this one is pretty damn good. It introduces the Ringmaster and his circus (not yet the Circus of Crime) who are pretty solid minor villains who we'll see a fair amount of over the years. Yet the key strength of the issue is the thoughtful way it looks at the title's status quo and makes some changes for the better.

We begin with Rick Jones supervising as the Hulk languishes in the stone undersea prison that he and Bruce built for him- with Dr Banner turning into the Hulk as night falls. Yet, with a rather underhanded ruse, General Thunderbolt Ross tricks Rick into helping send the Hulk into outer space. This little ruse is soon rather conveniently undone, but the point is clear: Stan and Jack had realised that the whole night/day thing just wasn't going to work. Hence the Hulk receiving an extra dose of space radiation... and Rick discovers, to his surprise, that the Hulk can now exist in the daytime. And he has to obey Rick, for good measure. 

Not only that: the Hulk is beginning to look more like the iconic image we know, with those purple trousers with holes in the knees. His speech is getting less articulate. And, by the end of the issue, it's unclear when, or if, the Hulk will change back to Bruce Banner.

If I have a criticism it's the retelling of the origin story- we really don't have to do this every other issue! But it's both amusing to reflect that, er, Bruce just shoving Rick into a crevice in the ground apparently gives him total protection from the gamma rays(!) and interesting to see that the Hulk, in this flashback, is shown as grey. The change of colour is actually diegetic. Unecessary retelling of the origin aside, though, this is pretty damn good.

Journey into Mystery #84

 "We will test your courage as you face my firing squad!"

After Thor gets an exciting debut... well, this second instalment is very ho-hum. And I rather suspect that this noticeable downturn in quality may be down to the fact that the script is not by Stan Lee but wholly by his younger brother: nepotism is not the most solid of hiring practices. But we'll see, over time, if Larry Lieber does in fact get to impress me.

The plot is very silly. A fictional Latin American country called San Diablo is facing civil war between two factions, one of them a bunch of commies and the other pro-American supporters of democracy because those are, of course, the only two ideologies that could possibly exist in 1962. There's a very silly communist villain, the Executioner, whose USP is his penchant for sending people to the firing squad at the drop of a hat.

This is a very perilous situation, but nevertheless an American medical mission is somehow sent to help, all volunteer doctors and nurses who agree to head towards what must surely be certain death as the Executioner wants them dead. That'll do for the plot: let's just say that Thor saves the day.

There are some interesting bits of lore, though. Again there's no suggestion that this is the actual Norse god Thor. It's revealed that Donald Blake was holidaying in Norway last issue, and that he's a doctor. He and his nurse, Jane Nelson (not Foster?) both fancy each other, but neither will ever reveal it through lack of confidence. Yes, that trope. But, oh irony of ironies... Jane comes to fancy Thor more.

Still, this is frankly a bit rubbish. They can't all be good, I suppose, but this is still early days.

Journey into Mystery #83

 "Well, it's a cinch that skinny gent isn't Earth's secret weapon!"

At first, it seemed this issue (or, rather, short 13 page story) was going to be very silly indeed. I mean, the Stone Men from Saturn? Evoking the Toad Men from Incredible Hulk #2, with their "atomic" force fields and Easter Island faces?

And yet... with allowances made for the fact that this is fairly early in the Silver Age, I find this to be a rather good comic. Yes, it's annoying that Donald Blake is described as being on vacation in "Europe", as though our diverse continent were an undifferentiated mass, and it's very silly Blake should fail to see the alien ship just behind him. Beyond that, though, this is all good stuff. The costume design and initial splash page are particularly good.

Fascinating, after finding the cane, which becomes the hammer (unnamed at this point, at least in the comic), Blake still remains himself as he explores and discovers the powers he's been given by the hammer. There's no indication that he's literally the Norse god in question, simply a worthy man who's discovered an artefact giving him the powers of Thor, whom we would naturally infer at this point was a figure from the deep past. Indeed, as he turns back into Blake after spending sixty seconds not touching the hammer, there's more than a whiff here of Bruce Banner and the Hulk.

But this is all good fun, with the exposition around Thor's powers and the way he defeats the, er, Stone Men from Saturn. A solid start.

Enola Holmes 2 (2022)

 "You really are a nincompoop!"

It's been a while, but I've finally got round to seeing the sequel, in large part due to the pleasure of some truly exquisite company last night! And not only was it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but I noticed in the credits that the writer was one Jack Thorne, whose distinguished career has included Adolescence among other things (must get round to that!) and who is, rather interestingly, rumoured as a possible new showrunner for Doctor Who... but we'll see.

The script is superb, working perfectly both as a murder mystery with twists and turns which all makes perfec sense at the end but also as a fun, watchable drama with a light touch, lots of fun and lots of wit. It's also, as last night's exquisite company remarked last night, based on the match girls' strike, a very real historical event, and the scandal with white phosphorus was a very real thing.

But Millie Bobby Brown yet again carries the whole thing with aplomb, a truly talented leading lady despite her youth, carrying the whole thing with wit, charisma and those delightfully quirky asides to the camera. To say that she carries the whole thing means a lot given the cast we have here- Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes and Helena Bonham Carter as their mother Eudoxia, in particular. I love the little Sherlockian moments, and it's clear from fairly early on that the film will end with Holmes meeting Watson.

In the end, then, a splendid film. A pedant may observe that the film is set in 1885, too late for Holmes meeting Watson and too early for the match girls' strike (Sarah Chapman is a historical figure), but I'm learning to be better with my pedantry. A hugely enjoyable film.