September 6th, 1975 - 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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On September 6th, 1975, all sensible beings were trembling with fear because, that night, BBC Two was showing The Beast With Five Fingers.

Five fingers?

Hold on a minute. I've just checked - and I have ten fingers. Why would I be scared of something that's only got half as many fingers as I have?

For me to be scared of anything, it has to have at least twenty seven fingers.

And toes.

But that film wasn't alone in launching an assault on our sanity. Directly after broadcasting that, the channel then treated us to The Maze, the tale of a Scottish lord who's really a giant frog.

And, speaking of that land, the most celebrated Scotsman ever to have an English accent was having a far happier time of it, as, that very week, Rod's latest platter that mattered Sailing hit the very pinnacle of the UK singles chart.

And he was living it up on the corresponding album chart too, thanks to his LP Atlantic Crossing still holding sway over all others.

I don't know about the Beast With Five Fingers but Spidey's the man with slippery fingers when the Green Goblin enacts his latest diabolical wheeze.

Not only that but the webbed wonder's also mislaid the spider symbol from his back. Can things possibly get any worse for our hero?

Things are pretty bad for Iron Man too. Powered only by whatever electricity he could gather from the cigarette lighter in his cousin's car, he's now in the hands of the Maggia and having to endure a first meeting with Whiplash!

Thor, meanwhile, is on a far-flung future Earth and having to fight the troll-like mutates who live there.

But they're the least of his problems because Pluto's there as well!

And I don't mean Mickey Mouse's dog!

And what's that in that medical establishment?

It seems to be a man-sized cocoon containing who can know what?

As we can see, Kang's well on his way to getting everyone's favourite super-team involved in a game of chess they'll never forget.

Except he's not, because this issue actually sees the gang conclude their battle with an Adamantium Ultron, as the rapacious robot tries to read the mind of the man who created the metal from which he's been forged!

But, before that, we see Conan encounter the Song of Red Sonja, thanks to the Hyrkanian heartthrob recruiting his assistance in pursuit of her secret mission...

And, then, Dr Strange is back and, having defeated Sligguth, he now must endure a tussle with The Shambler from the Sea!

I'm not saying those apes are slow movers but they've been running away from the same scene on every cover for the last three issues and they've still barely advanced by a foot in that period.

Regardless, I do believe this week sees the mind-shattering conclusion of Marvel's adaptation of Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

Not to mention the conclusion of the planet Earth.

And, good grief, Captain Marvel's still battling the sinister Sentry. How many more issues can this fight last for?

But forget all that. We end the issue with far more important struggle, thanks to a one-off tale called Adam... And No Eve in which the last man on Earth dies, unaware that his death will initiate the creation of a whole new world of living creatures.

This is, of course, brought to us by Alfred Bester, Denny O'Neil and Frank Robbins.

I've never read this issue but it's clear Drac's up against a foe whose conversational technique can only be called enlightning.

Elsewhere, Jack Russell must deal with some sort of Hammer pastiche in which he's in Mallet Studios and threatened by actors who may be intended to represent Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt.

We then get a one-page strip which tells us of the North American legend of the Thunderbird.

The Living Mummy's up to something somewhere.

And there's a one-page feature that tells us all we need to know about a thing called the Atomic Monster.

The Leader's still in control of the Rhino's body and still out to cause trouble for our hero.

Daredevil's now in prison - thanks to everyone thinking he's killed the Jester - and trying to find a way to escape before he can be unmasked.

And the Thing's still rampaging around the streets of New York, having been turned evil by the Mad Thinker.

Unless every issue of The Super-Heroes features the Silver Surfer attacking Doc Savage and the X-Men, I must conclude that recent covers of the mag have been very good at giving no representation of what actually happens within.

However, I do know that, inside this one, the Silver Surfer must take action, thanks to the creation of a massively powerful robot called the Doomsday Man!

We encounter the climax of whatever it is that happens when Doc Savage has to deal with The Coming of the Silver Ziggurat.

And the X-Men invade the Sentinels' underground base but are soon captured.

Meanwhile, the Sentinels' Master Mold is out to create an army of robots capable of conquering the world!