The nightmare creatures of Tales of Suspense - Part One!

Tales of Suspense might be best-known as the comic that launched Iron Man on the world but, before that, it was home to yet more of those monsters Stan Lee and company loved to inflict on us as though they were going out of fashion.

That can only mean one thing.

It's time to revive that ever-popular feature where I ramble on about the pre-super-hero monsters of Marvel. Will they be a match for the menaces of Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish and Journey Into Mystery?

There's only one way to find out.

Get ready to hide behind the sofa - as Steve Does Comics goes where wise men fear to tread.

Forget that big metal bloke in the X-Men. It's time for the real deal as Colossus busts loose.

Forget that weedy villain from Spider-Man. It's time for the real deal as Elektro busts loose.

Hmmn. Am I spotting a pattern here?

Behold Goom!

Behold indeed. I seem to remember him returning to fight the Hulk later on.

Apparently he's from Planet X. Whether this means he's a friend of Kurrgo, I'm not sure.

Metallo. Does what it says on the tin.

I don't know who he is but I know he's up to no good.

Hooray! It's Sporr, the amoeba that walks like... ...erm... ...an amoeba!

I remember reading this tale reprinted in one of Marvel's 1970s monster mags - and also one of Marvel UK's mags (possibly Star Wars but don't quote me on that).

We've had Colossus. Now it's Cyclops' turn.

At this rate, we'll soon have all the X-Men in one place.

It's another of those variations on the word, "gorilla," that Stan seemed so keen on.

What do you get if you cross the Molten Man with the Man-Thing?

Why, you get the Molten Man-Thing, of course.

Here he is, doing his best to get the part of Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served?

Sadly, he failed the audition, and the rest was history.

The part of Miss Brahms was of course famously given to Monstro; the Menace from the Murky Depths who, disappointingly for a Marvel monster, can't even be bothered to misspell his name, like all the others can.

Is it that cheeky Alchemist of menace?

Nope.

Like Goom, I seem to recall Diablo returning years later to fight the Hulk. Like Goom, he didn't get very far with it.