So It Wasn't Just Stan Lee by Dave Goode

The other day I happened to be watching an episode of the classic television western Wanted Dead Or Alive starring Steve Mc Queen. The episode titled " Black Belt " featured Robert Kino as Sammy Wong , a Chinese karate expert hunted unjustly for the murder of his employer. The 1960 second season episode was written by John Tamerlin. And was proof that Stan Lee wasn't the only one that got it wrong.

The Invincible Iron Man's arch - foe the Mandarin was introduced in Tales Of Suspense No. 50 ( Feb. 1964 ). And from the get go was depicted as being a " karate master ". Of course in retrospect being Chinese it was more likely that he would have been a master of the Chinese fighting art of kung fu. But back in 1964 most Americans probably thought that kung fu was something you ate with egg roll. You can reason all you want with any fanboy theory you can come up with why the Chinese villain was using a Japanese fighting style. But the simple truth is that when Stan handed the original story over to Don Heck to draw he most likely said to the artist " let's make the bad guy an expert of that new fangled karate stuff everyone is talking about. He's so good at it that he's able to break iron bars with it. "

This is what most people at the time thought karate was. Breaking wooden boards , bricks and blocks of ice with the side of your hand while shouting a popular American greeting. And the Mandarin's tameshiwari ( breaking ) skills were so great he actually posed a threat to an adversary who wore armor that could resist cannon fire. Of course the Mandarin had significant back - up in his 10 power rings. Each one had a seperate super power.

Tales Of Suspense No. 86 ( Feb. 1967 ) featured my favorite throwdown between Iron Man and the Mandarin. The Golden Avenger removes his gauntlets to give his opponent a taste of good old western styled fisticuffs. Pretty cool stuff until you realize that though Iron Man took off his gloves he kept on the rest of his armor. Which of course protected him from the Mandarin's karate chops ( shuto blows ).

SHE MADE EVIL LOOK HOT !!! by Dave Goode

SHE MADE EVIL LOOK HOT !!!

by Dave Goode

I remember watching THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM ( 1961 ) At about twelve years of age and being totally captivated by Barbara Steele. She has less than 20 minutes of screen time. And her voice is dubbed by another actress. But she damn near steals the picture. Not an easy feat considering this Roger Corman production stars a way over the top Vincent Price. In her brief time on screen she is sensual , seductive and more than a little bit sadistic. In short she made evil look hot.

British actress Steele became a cult film star starring in Italian gothic horror flicks beginning with the landmark BLACK SUNDAY  (1960 ). She had a certain look that was hard to describe. So I'm not going to try. But there are film historians who have compared La Steele to both Sophia Loren and fellow B - Movie queen Martine Beswick. Darn good company.

In a lot of her roles she was a seductive temptress using her beauty to entice her victims. But she was also good playing the " damsel in distress ". Sometimes she played both roles in the same movie. Often found chained to walls in a nightmare castle 's dungeon.

The thing I never understood was why while making horror flicks in Europe no peplum movie producer thought to cast her as the female lead in a muscleman movie. There are some publicity pics of her with Kirk Morris preparing for his role of Maciste in THE WITCH 'S CURSE ( 1962 ). It 's just too bad she never got to play the evil queen in a Maciste movie herself. Perhaps in an outfit similar to the one she wore in THE CRIMSON CULT (1968 ).

I STILL SAY HE WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD TARZAN ! by Dave Goode

More than a few Tarzan fans consider Russ Manning to be one of the best Tarzan illustrators. I know that he's one of my Top 5. He drew both Edgar Rice Burroughs' Lord of The Jungle and his own creation , Magnus the Robot Fighter , in much the same manner.

They both seemed to be built along the lines of legendary heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. At his best the Greatest stood about 6 ' 2 " or 6 ' 3 " and weighed about 215 pounds with a bicep that measured less than 16 inches around. You read that right. Less than 16 inches.

Miles O ' Keefe who starred in TARZAN THE APE MAN ( 1981 ) opposite Bo Derek as Jane was also built along the same lines. O ' Keefe and Derek reminded me quite a bit of the Tarzan and Jane drawn by Manning. Super - models of the jungle. But look at O ' Keefe. Is he bigger than Johnny Weissmuller ? Or just more defined ? As I keep saying " Muscular. But not overly bulky ". He looks like a decathlete.

Which brings us to Bruce Jenner. Snicker if you need to. That's right. Get it out of your system. But back in 1976 when he was winning the Olympic decathlon in record setting fashion I thought the 6 ' 2 " 194 pound

Jenner would have made a pretty good Tarzan.

Maybe not the Tarzan of Burroughs. But in the fashion of many of the movie Tarzans. And of course he would have been following in the tradition of other Olympians who played the role like Johnny Weissmuller , Buster Crabbe , Herman Brix and Glenn Morris.

MARVEL'S THREE AMIGOS by Dave Goode

My favorite moment from the second season of the television series AGENT CARTER came in the third episode titled " Better Angels ". It was the scene where Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) , the MCU's answer to Howard Hughes is directing a Kid Colt movie. The Kid is portrayed by Walker Roach who had previously played a voice actor portraying Captain America on a radio show in the season one episodes " Bridge and Tunnel " and " Valediction ".

As a Silver Age kid and fan of B-Westerns and television westerns I always imaginined movies starring Marvel Comics' Top 3 western heroes. Kid Colt , the Two - Gun Kid and the Rawhide Kid. Characters who actually started out in the Atom Age of Comics when Marvel was known as Atlas Comics. But may have had their best run during the Marvel Age of Comics in the swinging 60s.

Stunt casting would have been fairly easy for these flicks. Especially during the 50s. John Ericson as Kid Colt. Or maybe Ty Hardin. And maybe Van Williams or Peter Brown as the Two - Gun Kid. Casting the Rawhide Kid may have been more difficult because of his physical stature. Or lack of. For years I imagined Audie Murphy. But a few years back someone suggested to me Nick Adams as the short in stature gunfighter with a chip on his shoulder. And I thought that would be perfect. One other choice would have been Vic Morrow.

The characters would have been great as stars of Warner Brothers television westerns. They could have appeared on alternating weeks. And the heroes from the Warner Brothers corral were known for their crossover storylines. Much like the Marvel Comics gunslingers.