METAL MEN 37 (1969)
by Mike Sekowsky
This is the beginning of a new era: with Kanigher gone, Mike Sekowskly takes over as writer AND editor, while continuing being the artist. It also has a MASSIVE change in the status quo.
As stated before I have a somewhat unique way of classifying the Silver Age: I do it on a character-by-character basis. And this is SO different that I consider the Silver Age to be over for the team.
How successful was this new direction for the series? Well it lasted 5 issues before the title switches to reprints, so… not that great.
Ironically it has one of the THE very best Metal Men covers ever!!!
We begin with the Metal Men crashing back to Earth, continuing the theme of the previous issues of humanity hating them because they suck.
They even get arrested!
Or I guess confiscated?
Worse: they’re executed!!!
Weirdly enough they’re being executed by a compactor. Why would THAT cause them trouble!? They’re shapeshifters!!! They’ve changed into way weirder shapes before!!!
Well this is all kinds of depressing.
Except obviously they’re not dead, because they are saved by Conan!!!
Yep, the guy who saved them is the same guy spearheading their execution.
Who is Conan, exactly? Just your regular billionaire setting up his own private robot army.
But he’s supposedly the good guy.
And here we have the big change in the Metal Men: they’re going to have human secret identities, thanks to the fake skin created by Dr. Pygmalion (yes, really).
And so we get a quick overview of those secret identities.
First is Gold, who will be masquerading as a billionaire genius playboy philanthropist.
Iron takes the identity of Jon “Iron” Mann.
Lead and Tinker will be masquerading as musicians “Ledby Hand” (WTF!?!?) and Tinker.
Because the first thing that comes to mind with Lead was obviously that he’s great with words???
Mercury becomes the painter and sculptor Mercurio (really? That’s the best you have?)
Most shockingly, Tina is now a sex symbol!!!
And so we end with the tease of the newest enemy of the Metal Men: the “Black Coven”.
There’s no letters page this issue, instead a request to comment on the new status quo and the announcement that Sekowsky will also be the editor.
It’s on the same page of the Statement of Ownership, which reveals that in the previous 12 months the book was printing 375,000 copies… and selling just 199,000.
Those are not encouraging numbers for a 1969 comic.
Metal Men significance: 5/10
While extremely important in the short run, it will be shoved aside and forgotten later.
Silver Age-ness: 4/10
The public’s reaction to the Metal Men is somewhat realistic considering how much idiotic they’ve been lately.
Does it stand the test of time? 5/10
The Metal Men getting civilian identities COULD work, if they were given any personality. Unfortunately everything feels very rushed, and we’ve spent so much time maligning the Metal Men that at this point it’s hard to believe why anyone would want to employ them.
Issues when not a single Metal Man dies: 18
Talk about false advertising on the cover!