September 7th 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

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They claim that time waits for no man but I've just had a look at the past and it's still sat there, right where I left it, exactly 50 years ago.

Greatness yet again enters our lives, through the medium of a Hulk story, as we encounter the first part of the cosmic melodrama in which Xeron the Star-Slayer visits Earth, in search of the gigantic Klaatu - and launches us into a retelling of Moby Dick.

But set in space!

Elsewhere, it's double trouble for the man without fear when the Masked Marauder breaks the Gladiator out of jail and the two villains agree to combine their mighty intellects.

And that's also trouble for Foggy Nelson because the boneheaded blunderers both think he's Daredevil!

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four finally get to the Great Refuge and encounter the egomaniac menace that is Maximus the Mad. At which point, the Inhumans' introductory story stops making anything that resembles sense, but still remains historically awesome.

With tensions still simmering over that pesky ancient tablet that brings nothing but trouble, Spider-Man has yet another run-in with the Kingpin who, like the Gladiator, has freshly escaped from jail. But, this time, at the crucial moment, a car pulls up, bearing a mysterious driver who whisks Fisk off to places unknown.

It's at this juncture that our hero decides to confront the ranting J Jonah Jameson and manages to give him a heart attack. Can it be true? Is Spider-Man really the menace JJJ always claimed he was?

In a scenario that'll feel very familiar to Iron Man fans, the commies give an agent a gadget-infested costume and send him off to America to slap the armoured Avenger around.

This time, it's the Unicorn who gets set that thankless task.

And, this time, it's the Unicorn who fails miserably.

But a moment of great import arrives in the annals of Thor when not only does he reacquaint himself with the lovely Sif but her abduction by trolls forces the thunder god into combat with Ulik, the one troll who just might be able to make mincemeat of him. 

My memories of this week's Shang-Chi tale are vague but, from that cover, I'm going to assume Fu Manchu and his lackeys have abducted Denis Nayland Smith. I also assume they're going to blow him up.

I also have a feeling that feat will involve blowing up Mount Rushmore because that's where they're holding him prisoner.

I do believe the Avengers wrap up their battle with Diablo. Mostly, courtesy of Hercules defeating Dragon Man, and the villain possibly blowing himself up.

And, to finish off with, still on the hunt for Victoria Bentley, Dr Strange is stuck in the middle when Nebulos and the Living Tribunal clash over a big stick they both want.