STRANGE TALES 124 (1964)
by Stan Lee & Dick Ayers
You might think that the ridiculousness of costume Paste-Pot Pete wore in his first appearance would be hard to top… and you’d be right, but his new costume is a close second!
We begin with a badly drawn Thing visiting the Torch…
…and WRECKING HIS HOUSE in order to get inside!!!
Honestly, it’s a wonder the Torch managed to survive in the suburbs for that long.
These two are no strangers to goofing off between superhero fights, but usually they’re far more dignified than this.
The reason why the Thing wanted to see him is to inform him that Paste-Pot Pete is out on parole, after helping the Avengers in the first appearance of the Masters of Evil. That’s pretty cool continuity.
Paste-Pot Pete is out for revenge on the Human Torch, acknowledging that his first costume was absolutely ridiculous.
He’s also FINALLY adjusting his costume with some interesting gadgets.
Okay… his new costume is ridiculous on the cover, but sometimes it’s just the cover.
How does he look in the story itself?
Like an extremely cheap action figure.
Remember when in his first issue he caught a freaking plane with his glue gun? Turns out he’s STILL doing that!
See people? This is why safety belts are important: to avoid losing to Paste-Pot Pete.
Now that’s just embarrassing.
While this is happening the Human Torch is out bowling, but he gets the alarm thanks to his emergency ring. Wait, his what?
That’s actually a pretty neat invention! Too bad we’ll never see it again.
Though it might’ve been better to, you know, program the Fantasticar to fly back to the Baxter Building or something.
Sometimes I wonder why Dorrie Evans never really took of as a character despite being the Torch’s girlfriend for so long. Then I remember she was just awful.
Once he changes his codename to Trapster, Paste-Pot Pete will turn into a somewhat competent supervillain. There are hints of that here, but very minor.
I’m amazed we had to wait for the THIRD Paste-Pot Pete before getting asbestos glue!
Remember that the glue is too strong for the Thing to break? Well apparently he didn’t realize he could break the wall until the Torch told him!
OH COME ON, the Thing is not that dumb!!! That’d be the SECOND thing he tries to do!!!
There’s also no consistency: if the glue is so strong that the Thing can’t break it… how can he move when he’s completely surrounded by it? Does it need THAT much time to harden!?
Paste-Pot Pete (well Trapster by then) will eventually get rid of the weakness of having his glue gun be connected to a tube… IN THE NINETIES.
Paste-Pot Pete is arrested, Dorrie forgives the Torch for stopping a crime (???) and we are reassured that the Thing will co-star in all future stories.
There are only 9 issues of Strange Tales with the Human Torch left, so I’m guessing the Thing didn’t help much.
Historical significance: 0/10
As if the new Paste-Pot Pete costume could be important.
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
Not quite as over the top as the previous Paste-Pot Pete stories, but it’s up there.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
This sucked. The Thing is uncharacteristically dumb, the Torch is barely there and Paste-Pot Pete really fails to make an impression.
Cancer count: 22
Adding asbestos glue.