Marvel Mystery Comics #13
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMarvel Mystery Comics #13 marks one of the most significant single additions to the Timely Comics roster: the debut of the original Vision (Aarkus), a dimension-hopping alien law enforcer conjured through smoke from a parallel realm, making him one of the earliest non-human, interdimensional protagonists in the American superhero genre. Created by the pre-Captain America partnership of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character directly inspired Roy Thomas and John Buscema's android Vision introduced in Avengers #57 (1968), giving this 1940 issue a clear line of creative ancestry into Marvel's Silver Age. As a dense anthology, the issue also showcases the full breadth of Timely's Golden Age ecosystem — Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, The Angel, Ka-Zar, Electro, and Terry Vance — in a single package that captures the publisher at peak Golden Age ambition. The Vision's debut story, titled 'Enter: the Vision,' also served as an early narrative laboratory for Simon and Kirby, with scholars noting structural parallels between its origin scene and the soon-to-follow Captain America origin.
In "Terror in the Subway," a groundbreaking 1940 issue of Marvel Mystery Comics, a visionary professor's radical theory about parallel worlds is put to the test—literally—when his experiment draws the attention of villainous forces led by "Brains" Borelli. With Jack Kirby and Joe Simon at the helm, this early tale of science, spirit, and unseen dimensions unfolds in bold, dynamic art, while Alex Schomburg's striking cover captures the eerie tension of the moment.
In "Terror in the Subway," a grief-stricken subway builder, haunted by the deaths of his sons in tunnel collapses, descends into madness, vowing to destroy trains to protect their graves buried deep within the city's underbelly. Trapped by those he once trusted to carry out his twisted plan, he becomes a prisoner of his own obsession—until the Torch arrives to stop him.
In "Smashing the Island Invasion," Namor and Dorma, clad in new gas-resistant suits and en route to Europe to support the war effort, find their brief respite on a remote island shattered by a sudden double threat—arrest by local authorities and a surprise Nazi assault. The duo must now navigate treacherous waters and enemy fire, testing their resolve and partnership in a crisis that threatens to derail their mission.
In "Enter: The Vision," a determined professor’s bold experiment to prove the existence of parallel worlds unleashes an otherworldly force when his lab is attacked by thugs sent by the villainous "Brains" Borelli. Drawn from a realm beyond our own, the spectral entity Aarkus, the Destoyer of Evil, emerges to protect the professor and his daughter from danger.
In "Mystery of the Moon Robots," the professor and the Cranes journey to the Moon, only to find their mission interrupted when Electro is captured by mysterious moon robots. With courage and quick thinking, Zog and the Cranes launch a daring assault to rescue their comrade and confront the enigmatic lunar defenders.
In "The Murder of Happy Norton," the sudden death of a former mobster who’d turned his life around ignites a vengeful fire in the Angel, who vows to track down those responsible—no matter the cost. Set in the gritty streets of 1940s New York, this tense, noir-tinged tale follows the Angel as he delves into a web of old debts and betrayals, where loyalty is a currency and redemption is a dangerous gamble.
In "In the New York Jungle," Ka-Zar, now in America and under police custody, finds himself caught between two worlds—his wild past and a city that doesn’t understand him. With the help of the Wilsons, he breaks free, driven by a growing need to rescue Zar, the lion he once called brother, trapped behind bars in a zoo.
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Published by Timely Comics with a cover date of November 1940 (on-sale September 17, 1940), issue #13 was produced under the editorship of Joe Simon, who had recently joined Timely alongside his creative partner Jack Kirby. Simon wrote and Kirby penciled the Vision's debut feature, with the Grand Comics Database noting that Kirby's contribution to the inks was later researched and reassessed by historians Greg Theakston and Harry Mendryk. The cover was rendered by Alex Schomburg, the Puerto Rico-born illustrator who would become the defining visual voice of Timely's covers throughout the 1940s; the remaining interior features were handled by the anthology's regular stable — Carl Burgos on Human Torch, Bill Everett on Sub-Mariner, Paul Gustavson on The Angel, Steve Dahlman on Electro, Bob Oksner on Terry Vance, and Ben Thompson on Ka-Zar.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the original Vision (Aarkus), an interdimensional alien law enforcer from the 'Smoke World' dimension, in the story titled 'Enter: the Vision' — created by writer/editor Joe Simon and penciler Jack Kirby.
- The Vision is depicted as a being who materializes through smoke and can generate extreme cold; his debut story involves a professor named Dr. Enoch Mason whose dimensional experiment inadvertently summons Aarkus to battle a criminal gang led by 'Brains' Borelli.
- The Vision feature ran as a regular backup in Marvel Mystery Comics from this issue (#13) through issue #48 (October 1943), a run of roughly three years.
- Cover by Alex Schomburg; interior art credits include Carl Burgos (Human Torch), Bill Everett (Sub-Mariner), Paul Gustavson (The Angel), Steve Dahlman (Electro), Bob Oksner (Terry Vance), and Ben Thompson (Ka-Zar).
- Joe Simon served as editor of the issue, making this one of his and Kirby's earliest collaborative contributions to the Timely superhero lineup — predating their landmark Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) by several months.
- The Sub-Mariner story 'Smashing the Island Invasion' features Namor and Dorma in newly designed suits engineered to resist poison gas, en route to Europe; the Electro story sends Professor Zog's robot to the Moon, where it battles an army of alien robots led by Gnorr, Emperor of the Moon.
- The Vision's 1940 debut directly inspired the Silver Age android Vision introduced in Avengers #57 (1968), with the Wikipedia article on Marvel Mystery Comics explicitly noting this creative lineage.
- Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics Vol. 4 (collects issues #13–16) and included in the Golden Age Marvel Comics Omnibus Vol. 2 (collects issues #13–24); the Vision debut splash page and selected panels were also reprinted in Complete Jack Kirby (Pure Imagination, 1997) #2.
Cast · 11 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Golden Age of Marvel #2 (1999), Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby #1 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics #4 (2009), Marvel Firsts: WWII Super Heroes #[nn] (2013), King-Size Kirby #[nn] (2015), Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby #[nn] (2019), Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Sub-Mariner by Bill Everett - The Pre-War Years Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Simon & Kirby Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Timely's Greatest: The Golden Age Human Torch by Carl Burgos Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Golden Age Marvel Comics Omnibus #2 (2020), Marvel: The First 80 Years #[nn] (2020), Marvel Comics - La collection #204 (2022)
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