Copper Age Spider-Man Key Comics Part 6

SILVER AGE

BRONZE AGE

COPPER AGE

• Pt 1
• Pt 2
• Pt 3
• Pt 4
• Pt 5
• Pt 6

 MODERN AGE

Finally, we are at the last and 6th part to this Copper Age Spider-Man key issues section. Yep, I'm gonna cut it off at Part 6 for now.

Maybe I'll return to it at a later date. Who knows?

I've been trying to stay away from extremely minor keys and 1st appearances, but I've let some slip. If you're looking for sleepers, there will be plenty, and there's only really one key on here that's pretty sought-out currently.

I put in quite a bit of information in this part and it did take me a while. Not that I had much time to spare to begin with.

Alright, if you just newly stumbled upon this, that navigation menu over to the right will take you to any part of this series you wanna go to. If you're good to wrap this up, here's the next and final batch of Spider-Man keys from the Copper Age.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #337

2nd full appearance of Sinister Six

Hmmm...alright, despite the popularity of the Sinister Six in Spider-Man lore, they don't have that many appearances since their failed attempt on Spidey and debut issue in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. This story line that sees their return is simply titled "The Return of the Sinister Six" and was a six part story arc that ran through issues #334 to #339.

Amazing Spider-Man #334 begins the lead up to the return of the Sinister Six and the 2nd time the team fully appears (not in issue #334 though). What do I mean by fully appear?

From ASM #334

Well, issue #334 through #336 sees Doc Ock trying to reform the group. Basically, he's recruiting his old allies again and the first is Electro as seen in the panels to the left.

This lead up in these issues absolutely shows Doc Ock recruiting members individually throughout the story arc. As mentioned before about recruiting, he recruits Electro and then Sandman in issue #334.

Sandman, he blackmails into doing what he wants and joining up. Here's how that goes down and I love this scene at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #334.

From ASM #334

By issue #335 and as you can tell from the last page and panel shown above this paragraph, Doctor Octopus recruits Mysterio and yet another mystery member. Mysterio, Electro, and Sandman are members of the original Sinister Six as shown in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1.

Who is this "brand new recruit"? Well, it's none other than the demonic Hobgoblin (Macendale), and because Doc Ock is a badass, he pretty much forces Macendale to join up. 

From ASM #335

Apparently demonic powers aren't working all that great for Macendale as Hobby and Doc Ock can hand him his ass as well. Gotta love Doc Ock.

From ASM #335

Then it's Mysterio's turn, and this pick up is less dramatic. No battle of wits or brawn, just some ole fashion logical convincing in the form of never having to worry about going to jail again if Doctor Octopus' scheme is successful.

Hey, it's a crook's ideal scenario, right? Who wouldn't take that chance on other side of the fence?

Mysterio is another original member, but Hobgoblin is definitely the newb. So Doctor Octopus picks up two more members for the eventual reformation of the Sinister Six.

Doesn't quite happen yet by the end of issue #335, and the Vulture is the next target. Doesn't actually show Vulture being recruited though in issue #336.

Instead, Spidey and Vulture brawl for most of the issue, and by the end of the issue when Vulture is in trouble of getting caught, who shows up to aid the winged thief to escape but none other than Doctor Octopus. Scene of this happening near the end is shown below:

From ASM #336

Finally, all of the six make a total and collective appearance as the Sinister Six in issue #337, and it is clearly stated in the scene that it is finally an official reformation. Doc Ock: "The Sinister Six! At last!"

From ASM #337

So, they are now fully formed and some of the members do go up against Spidey. In their debut in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, the team oddly takes on Spider-Man one-on-one or individually, which defeats the whole team purpose.


In this issue, they take on Spidey in teams of two. Well, actually Electro is the only one who briefly tangles with Spidey solo, and Doc Ock doesn't mess with the Web-Head in this issue whatsoever.

Here's some panels of the members that tangle briefly with the Wall-Crawler.

And then it's Vulture and Sandman's turn. You can see Sandman is highly reluctant to join up with the Sinister Six.

All around fun issue and good stuff. Story is by David Michelinie, and by this time, artist Erik Larsen had taken over for a departed Todd McFarlane. I know, I remember it was a sad day when I learned that McFarlane had left the title.

I seriously doubt this is an in-demand comic, and I think it's pretty over-looked. Actually, I'd get the entire story arc as it is a good read.

As for "spec", I'm not really thinking about that except that it is the 2nd appearance of the Sinister Six after all that time. Not noted by Overstreet nor CGC yet. Doubt it's noted by CBCS either.

So pretty much under the radar and don't think this one is overtly expensive in the market just yet. Once again, purely up to you to consider if you're a Spidey and Sinister Six fan.

As usual, newsstand editions do exist for this issue. Amazing Spider-Man #337 has the cover date of August, 1990.

SPIDER-MAN #1 

1st issue to new on-going Spider-Man series

Why this image isn't considered a classic cover is beyond me. The intricate webbing had many geek out back in the day.

This comic was a huge deal when it was first released. Lots of fanboys got this comic, and it's no surprise whatsoever that it's got a really bad rep for being overprinted.

And that's probably true if you include the other variants or editions printed up a long with the regular cover. Actually, this comic sold over 2 million copies.

Holy, over-printing, Specubator-Man! Yep, this comic definitely was over-printed, and there are newsstands of the regular cover also.

OPG has an estimated print run for the regular cover but polybagged at 125,000. They also have the estimate print run of the silver polybagged edition at 125,000 as well. 

Kevin Erickson of the SIC G+ group reminded me that there are silver edition error copies in which the color was messed up. On one of the pages, the Lizard is blue instead of green.

I think both the regular and silver covers had copies distributed that were not polybagged also.

Spider-Man #1 REG   unbagged

Spider-Man #1 REG polybagged

Spider-Man #1 REG   newsstand bagged

Spider-Man #1 Platinum

Spider-Man #1 Silver polybagged

Spider-Man #1 Silver   unbagged

Take this with a grain of salt here, but if the regular bagged cover was at 125,000 and Marvel's newsstand distribution was at 15% in 1990, the regular bagged newsstand edition just may have a print run estimate of around 18,750.

Anyway, there are a bit more well-known and rarer options. The Platinum Edition of this particular issue is definitely sought-out and it was actually a retailer incentive book.


Recalled Comics has the Platinum Edition estimated at or around 10,000 copies and a bit more information about the comic is at their site. Pretty interesting, yeah? 

There's also the Gold Edition and that's a 2nd printing. It also has one with a UPC as well and is considered the Wal-mart variant and Recalled has that bad boy at an estimated 10,000 as well but OPG says less than that estimate.

There's also the silver edition of this comic and that was direct sale only. By this time, McFarlane was a huge name and well-known for his run on Amazing Spider-Man. Definitely considered a comic artist superstar then and now still.

Here's all the CGC Census screen shots for the various different covers. 

I actually wonder how many if any of the UPC newsstand of the regular cover are mixed in with the census for the regular Spider-Man #1 cover or even how many polybagged editions were just put in with the regular unbagged totals only but a few years ago. I dunno, and dunno exactly how on the ball CGC was with all these different bagged, unbagged, UPC newsstand back in the 2000s.

I actually see more slabbed or CGC Gold UPC Wal-Mart variants on eBay a hell of lot more than slabbed regular UPC newsstand editions currently. 

Should we do some GoCollect data on these? Hell, might as well! Below is the screen shot for Spider-Man #1 regular cover...no difference between polybagged or not since the grading companies have to take them out of the bag anyway. Only 9.9s and 9.8s are shown.

REGULAR COVER

Bear in mind that I only showed a small snippet of the 9.8s. There are 196 recorded sales for 9.8s of this comic on eBay alone in just the last 2 years.

PLATINUM VARIANT

  

SILVER EDITION

Once again, the 9.8s data is just a snippet. There were a total of 222 whopping sales on eBay in just a 2 year period for 9.8 graded Silvers.

2ND PRINT GOLD EDITION

2ND PRINT UPC GOLD EDITION

REGULAR COVER UPC NEWSSTANDS

The regular UPC newsstand covers did not have any recent data, but there were 3 sales in the last 4 years. The 9.8 sale was in 2014. The 9.4 was in 2013 and there were two sales for 9.2s. First was in 2014 for $34.99 and the the most recent was in 2015 for $10.49.

Cover date for the 1st printings of Spider-Man #1 is August, 1990.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #338

3rd appearance of Sinister Six
1st time Spidey battles Sinister Six together

Okay, together or as a unit...whatever. As mentioned earlier, Spidey fought members of the team individually in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Why that happened is beyond me, but even Vulture mentioned that they should fight the Wall-Crawler as a cohesive unit in Annual #1.

They decided to go another route and were beaten one by one. This time it is different.

In the previous issue of #337, he tangled briefly with pairs of them and one solo Electro. Doc Ock didn't get into the mix in that issue.

So, this is the 3rd official appearance of the Sinister Six and the very first time Spidey battles them as an actual team or full unit. Pretty exciting, huh? 

Not talking up this comic...it just is. I mean the cover to this issue clearly says, "At Last! Battle Royal!"

Here's how the team takes on Spider-Man in this epic and first battle...

And right when Doc Ock is about to completely exact revenge on our web-slingin' hero, Sandie goes and messes it all up. Well, at least, the Sinister Six fought together as a team for a brief moment in this comic.

Fun read, and I love that splash page with Mysterio and Spidey. Definitely cool! Here's the how the CGC Census looks at the time of this writing.

Eh, didn't expect it to be huge, and this comic is definitely over-looked in the meanwhile. When Erik Larsen took over the title back in the day, I didn't care for his art then.

Now, I do greatly appreciate it a lot more. Not a heavy hitter key whatsoever and probably not even considered a key just yet. It is the 3rd appearance of the Sinister Six and 1st battle Spidey has with the team as a...well, team.

Amazing Spider-Man #338 has the cover date of September, 1990.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #66 & #67

Green Goblin as a superhero (#66)
Tombstone gets powers (#66)
New powers revealed (#67)

Yeah, I'm gonna lump these two together as the origin of how Tombstone becomes super strong and highly durable is told in issue #66. Before then, Tombstone was just a regular dude but extremely tough.

Not enhanced, but tough. I highly doubt this is on the radar for most. Tombstone's 1st full in Spectacular Spider-Man #138 is barely on the radar or just being ignored collectively.

Either way, they are key issues for the character of Tombstone and Spidey keys as well. How minor or major is up to the market to decide or for someone to continually campaign or push hard for these issues.

Me? I'm just letting who ever still reads this know about them. Don't even have these two issues, but Lonnie Lincoln is supposedly going to be introduced live-action in the Silver and Black movie.

Overstreet does not note that Tombstone obtains powers for these issues but they do note Green Goblin attempting to be a superhero. I think Tombstone getting powers or becoming enhanced is a lot more significant since Harry doing the Green Goblin superhero thing is stopped in issue #67.

CGC does not note this yet either, but they do have some registered on their census already. So the first screenshot is of issue #66 and the one after is of #67.

Alright, so here's how Tombstone gets his powers as shown in Web of Spider-Man #66. It has to do with a raid on the Osborn Chemical Company to steal a certain Diox-3.

Panels and pages from Web of Spider-Man #66

I might as well throw in a panel of Green Gobby as a superhero and helping out Web-head. The panel below is from Web of Spider-Man #66 also.

Panel from Web of Spider-Man #66

So, he gets dosed with that chemical and nobody knows what happened to him. What happened to him is revealed in the next issue or issue #67 of Web of Spider-Man.

And then at the very end of the issue, Tombstone goes back to confront Hammerhead.
 

Panels and pages from Web of Spider-Man #67

So there it is. Once again, definitely a sleeper. 

Newsstands exist for this issue and Marvel's newsstand distribution was around 15% during 1990. So, not sure how to label these: Gets new powers, Origin of powers, Reveals new powers?

Whatever and take your pick. Cover dates for Web of Spider-Man #66 & #67 are July and August, 1990.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #342

1st brief appearance of Dr. Elias Wirtham

Dr. Elias Wirtham only appears on one single page in this issue. He does end up being Cardiac.

Only problem is that his next appearance is in the next issue and it's only in 4 panels in Amazing Spider-Man #343. Jeez, so hard one to call.

Anyway, here's how his debut goes down in this very issue of Amazing Spider-Man #342.

So Elias Wirtham's deal is that he is a vigilante anti-hero. Created by David Michelinie and penciller Erik Larsen as stated in the old wikipedia, Elias had a brother named Josh who died of what he thought was an incurable disease.

In his brother's memory, Elias dedicated himself to saving lives and became a doctor and a brilliant one at that. He befriended Kevin Trench (Nightwatch) in medical school and also Gerald Stone (Styx & Stone) and Tony Stark early in his career.

When he learned that there was an actual drug that could save his brother's life, things went a bit in the red for Elias. Actually, when he discovered that this drug was around when his brother was still battling the disease and the drug company withheld release due to greed, Elias lost his shit and went all vigilante, targeting several corporations who were doing shady crap.

I like this guy. In order to fight crime, however, some adjustments had to be made. Elias surgically implanted a
a compact beta-particle reactor to replace his heart. 

This gives homeboy his power. Not all either, and a vibranium-mesh was implanted into his skin that channeled beta particles into his muscles and gave him increased strength, faster reflexes and agility, regeneration, and endurance.

He can also channel these beta particles through his staff, which can fire concussive pulses. Anyway, here's the CGC Census on this minor key just for the hell of it.

Pretty much a minor character and not that all well-known. Then again, I didn't hear too many talking about Mendel Stromm before news leaked that the villain would be in the Silver and Black film.

Who knows? Starting to see quite a bit more obscure or C-list characters getting into films, but are films still affecting comics strongly? December, 1990 is the cover date for Amazing Spider-Man #342.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #344

1st full Elias Wirtham as Cardiac
1st appearance of Cletus Kasady

This one was already discussed in the Carnage key issues not done too long ago. I've already discussed Cletus Kasady, and as speculated on for quite a while now, it seems he will be the big bad in the Venom movie.

The issue is where we meet Cletus Kasady as Eddie Brock's cell mate at Rykers Island. It's noted by Overstreet as a 1st appearance and then the next issue as a 1st full appearance.

Here's how he appears in this very issue:

Back when I first wrote about this issue in 2014, the most recent CGC 9.8 in August sold for $125 Buy It Now.

No longer a sleeper anymore for sure. What's the damage now? Did this fizzle or did it gain more heat from the most recent of news, which is basically a regurgitation?


Slabbed 9.8s have definitely been on move up since June of this year. 9.6s are so far pretty janky.

If you catch this in the dollar bin right now, consider yourself lucky. Anyway, the issue does have double the goodness and holds the 1st full appearance of Cardiac.

Yes, Cardiac is pretty much a minor villain. His debut doesn't really add any value to the comic as of yet.

Anyway, most are obviously gunning for this issue because of Cletus Kasady, not Cardiac. I'm well aware of that.

Amazing Spider-Man #344 has the cover date of February, 1991.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #345

1st full appearance of Cletus Kasady

Origin of Carnage
1st Mark Bagley on Spider-Man
2nd Cardiac

Toted as the first full appearance of Cletus Kasady, it's in this issue where we see the alien symbiote rebond with Eddie Brock. Also, and more importantly, we see residue of the symbiote drip onto Cletus Kasady's hand, setting him up for his eventual transformation into Carnage later. 

Here's how Cletus' full appearance plays out, and he's in a total of 7, minus two of his hands, panels on 2 pages in this issue.

 
Here's how the CGC Census looks currently, and even though Overstreet labels #345 as a 1st full, CGC has still held out on that since 2014:

Pretty interesting, but who knows what's going on? This is the origin of Carnage also, although not really noted or well-known currently by Overstreet nor CGC or CBCS. I think CBCS but not 100% sure.

Here's a look at how this one has been pretty much ignored in the market for the last few years. Only going to show the 9.8s and 9.6s. The 9.8s I've sectioned off by year and reaches back to 2014:

And then there's the 9.6 eBay sales for the last few years below as well.

Over-looked Carnage key for sure, and the money is definitely on #344 now. February, 1991 is the cover date for Amazing Spider-Man #345.

THE DEADLY FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #1

1st Spider-Man limited or mini series?
1st appearance of Leila Davis

This is a weird one. While characters that I grew up with that started getting their own titled series like Wolverine and Punisher, they started off with a mini or limited series and then went in with a full on-going series. Spidey had four on-going titles - Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, and Web of Spider-Man - before possibly getting his first mini series.

Is that really a big deal? I'm surely not trying to make it a big deal but I do think it is interesting. It is what it is.

This issue does have the first appearance of Leila Davis. She does become one of the Beetles, the 2nd one to be exact and took on the Thunderbolts.

In this issue, she is the girlfriend of Speed Demon (debut as Speed Demon in Amazing Spider-Man #222).

Just for the record, she does appear more throughout the issue and is shown more clearly. No problem with a 1st appearance concerning her civilian debut.

Her first appearance as Beetle is in Thunderbolts #48. She did appear as Hardshell first and we most likely will see that issue in the Modern section of this beast.

If a Thunderbolts movie is ever made, I do wonder if the Redeemers will appear also. If so, this version of Beetle may show up, but if you're actually a fan of the Thunderbolts, this might be one to consider. Little known Copper Age sleeper so far. CGC Census is not that impressive at the time of this writing.

Once again, a pure sleeper and most likely a minor key currently, Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #1 has the cover date of August, 1991 and is a four issue mini or limited series.

This one is another minor key for a pretty minor character so far. Web of Spider-Man #81 has the debut and origin of Bloodshed. He is Wyndell Dichinson and a mercenary for narcotic traffickers in Asia. In true comic book fashion, they did subject him to operations that enhanced him physically.

In his origin, he and his 16 year old younger brother Ricky were caught in an automobile theft. Ricky cooperated and stayed for his trial but Wyndell took off and left the country.

Looks like he went to Asia and became a baddie over there. This is the end of the Copper Age key comics section for Spider-Man for now. 

Here's Thunderbolts #48, Leila becomes Beetle II or debut as Beetle II. May as well show the cover to that issue too since I already mentioned it.

If you feel like hard specin', Thunderbolts #48 has an estimated print run of 37,675 according to Comicchron.

If you've got any suggestions for Spidey keys during the Copper Age, feel free to comment below. I am trying to focus less on the really minor ones but apparently let a few slide by.

Next up is the Modern Age, and I'm dreading that one a bit. Until then, happy hunting, collecting, investing, reading, etc.

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<< SILVER AGE | BRONZE AGE | COPPER AGE | MODERN AGE >>

Plastic Man Key Comics Part 2

Stretchin' into Part 2 of this Plastic Man key comics series, and we have finally got to the DC side of things with this character. You are going to have to bear with me now since this isn't such an easy transition.

If you haven't read up on other characters like Captain Marvel (Shazam) who originally came from a different publisher and how he integrated into DC Comics, this might be even more confusing for ya. If you've been following this site for a while, it might make more sense.

Click this Part 1 link if you missed that and want to see his Golden Age keys, or continue reading if you're ready for more Plastic Man.

HOUSE OF MYSTERY #160

1st Plastic Man in DC Comics

Okay, the OPG notes this, and this is a strange one here. Well, at least for me and probably a few others.

The Plastic Man presented in this issue isn't technically Plastic Man really. It's actually the featured character of House of Mystery, Robbie Reed, who turns into Plastic Man.

As most comic fans know, Robbie Reed can turn into any superhero just by dialing H-E-R-O. Most of the time these heroes are completely new, but this issue has Reed turn into Plastic Man who is an already known super-hero.

So, not really Plastic Man or a character all that associated with the stretchy one. It gets a bit complicated concerning Plastic Man when we get into the DC stuff. 

So what's correct? Is a character just a costume with certain abilities or is there more like personality, motivation, etc?

Plas definitely has a unmistakable look and personality like most comic characters. This issue will probably be debated for years to come on it's validity.

Going by what DC wiki has with Plastic Man's 1st comic series and how that Plastic Man is suppose to be the son of the original Plastic Man of Earth-12, it does all get extremely whacky. Then you have all the multi-verse stuff, right?

I may just skip trying to understand and explain all that together. We'll see what I am able to uncover, but until then here's the CGC Census for this bad boy.

Ah, I might as well since this is a pretty important moment for Plastic Man during the Silver Age. Here's how the "character" of Plastic Man kinda enters the world of DC Comics. 

Clearly states that Robby Reed turns into Plastic Man and he knows of the character. I don't know if there's a point I'm trying to make or what.

Then he fights some baddies in this Dial H for Hero story using Plastic Man's abilities and powers. Should we do some Overstreet values? Alright, but just for the 46th Edition.

9.2 - $160

9.0 - $108

8.0 - $56

6.0 - $24

4.0 - $16

2.0 - $8

Real Plastic Man or not, the comic character enters the world of DC Comics even if it's really Robby Reed. Apparently, the next time Plastic Man is in DC Comics, it's a different version of the character as well.

First artist under the DC Comics banner to draw Plastic Man is apparently Jim Mooney. Next would be Gil Kane. July, 1966 is the cover date to House of Mystery #160.

PLASTIC MAN #1 VOLUME 2

1st Real Appearance of S.A. Plastic Man
1st appearance of Doctor Dome
1st DC Plastic Man comic series
1st Gordon K. Trueblood

Oh, man, the hairiness of when these other characters from other publishers cross into DC Comics after they acquired the rights. So Overstreet says this is the "Real" 1st appearance of Silver Age Plastic Man in DC Comics.

I suppose that's technically true. This is not the original Plastic Man though, but it's Eel O'Brien Jr. as Plastic Man. Yep, this is the son of the original Plastic Man, but these stories in the volume 2 series happened on Earth-12.

The series was written and drawn by legends Gil Kane and Arnold Drake and this, of course, is all explained in a later issue. This Plastic Man makes his Earth-12 connection by associating with the Inferior Five comic team and apparently existing in their realm.

Plastic Man is mostly unnamed throughout the comic series except for issue #2 in which he is referred to as "Eel" in the story "The 3 faces of Plastic Man". This issue deals with 3 different origins and one of them is suppose to be the true origin as the beginning splash states.

From Plastic Man #2 volume 2

Like the original, Plastic Man is seen as a crook but immediately is identified as an undercover agent of sorts. Note that the origin is changed in issue #7 of this comic series.

Doctor Dome is the closest thing that Plastic Man has to an arch nemesis. He makes his debut here in this issue. Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped out the existence of Earth-12 and it's inhabitants, but then Convergence retroactively saved all these other realities.

Oi! One hot mess when it comes to some DC stuff, at least to me. 

So, 1st "Real" appearance of S.A. Plastic Man (whatever that means, but at least he's related to Plastic Pops), 1st appearance of Doctor Dome, and 1st DC Plastic Man comic series. I am just sticking to that, and this is supposedly the Earth-12 Plastic Man.

Plastic Man did appear in Inferior Five #2, and the comic that reveals all the Inferior Five adventures to have taken place on Earth-12 is in Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew: The Oz–Wonderland War #3 in 1986. 

Guess I'll throw in some Overstreet values for this one. This is the 46th Edition:

9.2 - $210

9.0 - $138

8.0 - $66

6.0 - $30

4.0 - $20

2.0 - $10

Recently a CGC 9.2 sold and it was a Best Offer. Original price was $225. 

GoCollect hasn't logged that CGC 9.2 in yet, but it obviously sold for less than $225. The sale happened June 4th.

Gordon K. Trueblood is this Plastic Man's sidekick for some of the series and debuts in this issue. November, 1966 is the cover date for Plastic Man #1 volume 2.

PLASTIC MAN #7 VOLUME 2

True origin of Earth-12 Plastic Man II
1st appearance of Earth-12 Plastic Man I

Did I mention that issue #2 of the series basically rehashed the original Plastic Man origin? Well, it did and here's where it gets all changed around.

So it's revealed in this issue of #7 that Plastic Man has played around with Gordon K. Trueblood when it came to revealing his real or true origin. Here's how this strangeness unfolds:

The mother of this Earth-12 Plastic Man is so far unnamed. In actual DC mainstream continuity, Plastic Man does have a son and the mother's name is "Angel" McDunnagh.

Then we finally see poppa Plastic Man and he calls the Plastic Man starring in this comic series "Junior".

And there it is! Plastic Man II is junior and issue #10 would actually be the last appearance of this Earth-12 Plastic Man. Yes, the series does continue after issue #10, but there was an 8 year gap between issue #10 and issue #11.

Anyway, here's the CGC Census for this DC Comics key issue.

 
Should we see how Overstreet looks? Hell, might as well! 46th Edition values below:

9.2 - $60

9.0 - $44

8.0 - $27

6.0 - $12

4.0 - $8

2.0 - $4

Overstreet notes this as the 1st Silver Age appearance of Golden Age Plastic Man and Woozy Winks. I am not sure if that notation is all that correct but CGC notes this as the first S.A. appearance of G.A. Plastic Man also.

It would be established later that most of the original Quality Comics' characters were from Earth-X but then retconned to have been originally from Earth-2. That's in DC Comics lore.

November, 1967 is the cover date for Plastic Man #7 of his 2nd self-titled comic.

BRAVE & THE BOLD #76

1st Earth-One Plastic Man
1st meeting of Plastic Man & Batman

Just to be clear that the number #10 issue of the 2nd but first DC Comics Plastic Man series has the cover date of June, 1968 and this comic has the cover month of February of the same year. That means that this comic came out before Plastic Man #10 volume 2, and that Plastic Man from the Plastic Man volume 2 comic series is from Earth-12 from issues #1 through #10.

When it picked up again after #11, that issue starred the Earth-1 or this Plastic Man? How do we know? Robbie Reed is in issue #13.

So let's try to break this down again. Logic says that since the Inferior Five was from a different Earth (Earth-12) and that Plastic Man is from the same world as that goofy and zany team, this Plastic Man that appears in this 76th issue and first meets and teams up with Earth-1 Batman has to be the Earth-1 Plastic Man, right?

I suppose, so. This may very well be the first Plastic Man in actual DC mainstream continuity, and it's very much like Shazam or Captain Marvel or even Harley Quinn's first debut outside continuity in comics and then in DC's mainstream continuity. 

If you're new here, that might confuse you if you don't know DC Comics all that well or how that works. May want to read the Shazam key issues series on here as it details how the Marvel characters were designated to be on Earth-S before they entered DC mainstream continuity.

So, let's see how Batman and Plastic Man meet in this here issue:

It's looking like Bats might just be the first DC super-hero that Plas meets and teams up with in mainstream continuity also. Could be a big deal for Plas fans or something they might want to consider a bit more.

The two would have another strange story in Brave and the Bold #95 in 1971. Don't think that Earth-1 Plas would have that many appearances in the Bronze Age or during the 70s, but the Earth-1 version had his own comic feature in the pages of Adventure Comics beginning with issue #467.

As mentioned prior, his 2nd self-titled series would restart again with issue #11 in 1976, and apparently that is the Earth-1 Plas. We shall get to that.

An Earth-2 version of Plastic Man was a member and supporting character of the All-Star Squadron team and comics during the Bronze Age also. Confused yet? Welcome to the club.

Still, it's fun to know about. Brave and the Bold #76 has the cover date of February, 1968.

PLASTIC MAN #13 VOLUME 2

Plastic Man vs Plastic Man
2nd Robbie Reed as Plastic Man

We already covered Robbie Reed turning into Plastic Man in House of Mystery #160. In that issue, the real Plas wasn't in it.

In this issue, Steve Skeates thought it might be fun to revisit that concept of Robbie Reed turning into Plastic Man but having the real Plastic Man in the story also. Well, this time Reed turns into an evil version of Plas, and the real one just has to lay a smack down on the pretender.

And a fight ensues between the "real" Plastic Man and the fake one that Robbie Reed turned into.

Robbie Reed in this issue is the only indicator that this Plastic Man is the Earth-1 version. In his stories in Adventure Comics, there is an indicator of which universe those Plastic Man stories are set in.  

Sources say Earth-1, and apparently the Earth-1 Plas was an agent of the National Bureau of Investigation instead of the FBI. Earth-2 Plas is still an agent of the FBI.

Working for the NBI instead of the FBI is an indicator of Earth-1 Plas during this time. This Plastic Man series would ultimately last until issue #20 before it was cancelled.

Fun issue and fun read. Only 22 total submissions in the CGC Census currently and not gonna bother with the screen shot. There are six 9.8s and thirteen 9.6s if you're curious. Only one 9.4 so far.

Artist Ramona Fradon penciled the remaining issues of this Plastic Man volume 2 series and issue #13 has the cover date of July, 1976 with a really cool Ernie Chan cover as well.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #107

1st appearance of Earth X
1st appearance of Freedom Fighters
Cameo of Earth-2 Plastic Man

Okay, bear with me here and let's see if I can explain this or fail miserably. So some other Quality Characters were bought by DC Comics and the task was introducing them into DC Comics that somehow made sense.

How is this done? Alternate Earth, of course. This alternate Earth is Earth-X and supposedly Nazi Germany won World War II on this parallel Earth.

The Freedom Fighters are a group that started out battling Nazi Germany on this Earth-X. I mean, "started out" in terms of DC Comics.

As usual shiz gets messed around with when the multi-verse collapses. I'm not going to get into that because things change from Earth-X to New-Earth and whatever. No expert on how many different Earths these cats crossed over into.

So these Freedom Fighters were all Quality characters such as Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Doll Man, Human Bomb and the Ray. Plastic Man is seen in Uncle Sam's telling of events that happened on Earth-X, and here's how that goes down.

Supposedly, all this is retconned and Quality's characters such as this version of Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters were later written to have originally come from Earth-2 and migrated over to Earth-X. Jeez, man!

Hell, I think I'll just have Roy Thomas explain it,  

"The Rod Reilly (Firebrand) introduced in ALL-STAR SQUADRON is, of course, not the one from Earth-X who appeared in FREEDOM FIGHTERS, nor is our Plastic Man the same as any other who has appeared in comics since his original title folded in the mid-50's. In our view, all 1940's DC and Quality Comics Group stories occurred on Earth-Two, even though some of these events were duplicated on Earth-One." 

On that note, this Plastic Man was a member of the All-Star Squadron. I suppose this counts as a debut cameo of Earth-2 Plastic Man and in flashback.

Why important? Well, Freedom Fighters set up the All-Star Squadron stuff in DC Comics. Plastic Man was a member of All-Star Squadron, and thus had an Earth-2 counterpart.

Going by what Roy Thomas said (other writers have also confirmed the notion of Golden Age heroes existing on Earth-2), this means that the Earth-2 Plastic Man is actually the Golden Age Plas from Quality Comics.

Earth-2 Plas does have another cameo in a Justice League of America issue before making a full appearance. As usual, we shall discuss that a tiny bit later.

Justice League #107 has the cover date of October, 1973.

SUPER FRIENDS #36

Super Friends meet Plastic Man

So far we have Earth-12, Earth-1, and Earth-2 Plastic Man, why not room for one more, right? Obviously, the Super Friends cartoon and accompanying comics are not set in the mainstream continuity of DC Comics.

In the comics, they are set in the Super Friends universe. Well, in this universe, this is the first appearance of Plastic Man and his first meeting with the Super Friends.

Huge key? Not really, but a fun one to know about if you grew up on this cartoon or love the character. So many Plastic Men!

Eh, I suppose you could say this is the first Super Friends Universe Plastic Man. Why not, the first appearance of Supergirl of this universe shows up in the next issue. 

Not gonna bother with the CGC Census on this one. It's very low and only has 2 over-all submissions at the time of this writing. 

1 is a 9.8 and the other a 9.4 copy in the census. Super Friends #36 has the cover date of September, 1980.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #193

1st appearance of All-Star Squadron
Cameo Earth-2 Plastic Man
Real origin of Red Tornado

This is considered the 1st appearance of All-Star Squadron, although they really don't form anything just yet in this preview, but the story is entitled All-Star Squadron. Oh, yes, this story was a preview story in this comic and it leads up to issue #1 of All-Star Squadron.

It's not part of the Justice League of America story contained in this issue. It's a Special Preview as shown in the beginning splash page below.

As for Plastic Man in the 2nd story to this comic? It's another one panel deal but homeboy is clearly in shadow as shown below and is still connected to the FBI.

While Plas is only seen in one panel in this issue, it's an important set up as Plas gets instructions from the President and then is later seen in All-Star Squadron #1 tracking down Hawkman. The 1st issue of that comic series is where things really heat up and come together concerning the All-Star Squadron team.

Not hugely or remotely in-demand at the time of this writing and would say it's pretty under the radar currently. How's it look on the Overstreet values? Well, they only list 9.2s as having any value and that is $6 whole whopping dollars. 

This issue has direct market copies for those interested in that kind of stuff. No idea if there's a hint of rarity between either or of the editions concerning high grade copies. Slabbed copy amount is too low and not enough sales on GoCollect to somewhat gauge it.

Overstreet notes this as debut of All-Star Squadron and so does CGC. August, 1981 is the cover date for Justice League of America #193.

ALL-STAR SQUADRON #1

1st full Earth 2 Plastic Man in DC Comics
Origin of All-Star Squadron

Okay, some say this should be the first full appearance of All-Star Squadron. Don't know about that, but it's clear that the All-Star Squadron do form in this issue. CGC pegs this as the origin of the team which is true and they do form at the end of issue.

Dunno if Overstreet clearly states whether this is an origin issue or not. Oh, well, it is though.

With that in mind, Plastic Man is a liaison for the team, and I do think this could be considered the 1st full appearance of Earth 2 Plastic Man, as the All-Star Squad stories take place on Earth 2 and clearly stated by creator Roy Thomas.

So clearly continuing from the Special Preview seen in Justice League of America #193, Plas takes the Presidents instructions and goes to find Hawkman. Here's how it plays out.

What did F.D.R. want? Well, it's revealed at the end of this issue and the All-Star Squadron is officially formed.

 

Pretty neat. CGC Census is a bit more impressive but not hugely impressive. One thing to note though: For the amount of total submissions, this comic does already have a pretty high amount of 9.8s.

Late Bronze Age comic and may not be exactly rare. However, this comic doesn't really seem to be on the radar of most collectors at large, and there are direct market copies and newsstands for this issue. 

Not hypin' up or anything for sure and just makin' some simple observations is all and that's all. I guess, I'll throw in the direct market cover for reference purposes, and I'll list the 46th Overstreet values for those interested in some possible over-looked Plastic Man keys in the DC realm of the character.

9.2 - $9

9.0 - $7

8.0 - $5

6.0 - $3

4.0 - $2

2.0 - $1

Take from that data what you will, but this comic was a pretty fun read over-all. Is this the 1st full Golden Age Plastic Man in DC Comics, since it is considered that the events in Quality Comics happened on Earth-2 in DC Comics continuity?

Not too sure, but Roy Thomas did imply they were with his statement about 1940s DC and Quality stories happening on Earth-2. All-Star Squadron stories were on Earth-2, but whatever. 

I'm sure that could be a fun debate for some comic fans out there. That was written with sarcasm as well. September, 1981 is the cover date for All-Star Squadron #1.

Okay, so let's iron some things out in a more compact manner. So, Earth-1 Plastic Man worked for the N.B.I. instead of the F.B.I. He is the first version to actually meet Batman or step inside mainstream continuity.

Earth-1 Plas had his own self-titled comic, beginning with issue #11 of that series. The first 10 issues were Plastic Man in the Earth-12 realm and was the son of Plastic Man in that world.

Adventure Comics also had Earth-1 Plas in a comic feature that ran for a little bit. It started with issue #467 for the character and clearly shows him working for the National Bureau of Investigation like issues #11 through #20 of his self-titled DC Comics Plastic Man series.

Earth-2 Plas in DC Comics lore would be a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Freedom Fighters. Some sources say that the original Quality Comics Group Plas is not the Earth-2 Plastic Man in DC Comics and never met nor joined the All-Star Squadron or Freedom Fighters.

However, "In our view, all 1940's DC and Quality Comics Group stories occurred on Earth-Two," said by Roy Thomas, and that sounds like to me that the Golden Age Plas' adventures published by Quality Comics happened on Earth-2 in DC Comics' continuity. Not sure why some sources say the Earth-2 Plas is not suppose to be the original Golden Age Plastic Man.

I believe in DC's "view", he is suppose to be. I dunno, though? Perhaps there is something I don't know about concerning that.

Not a big deal to me really. There will be a Part 3, since there is New-Earth. Yes, that means there is a New-Earth Plastic Man as well.

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