Strange Tales #107
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #107 delivers one of the earliest and most elemental hero-vs.-hero clash dynamics of the Marvel Silver Age — Human Torch Johnny Storm going solo against Sub-Mariner Namor, deliberately evoking the celebrated Golden Age battles between the original Human Torch and Namor from the 1940s. It is a foundational piece of the cross-title connective tissue that defined the young Marvel Universe, with the Fantastic Four appearing in cameo and Sue Storm's romantic tension toward Namor woven into the background, demonstrating that Marvel's anthology titles were not isolated curiosities but active threads in a shared-world tapestry. The issue also holds a concrete bibliographic distinction: it is the first Silver Age Sub-Mariner story not drawn by Jack Kirby, marking an early moment when Marvel began distributing its most prominent characters across multiple artistic voices. It sits just three issues before Strange Tales #110 — the debut of Doctor Strange — making it part of the brief but historically charged stretch when the title was transforming from a simple solo-Torch vehicle into one of the most creatively explosive anthologies in comics history.
In Strange Tales #107, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko deliver a thrilling sci-fi adventure set in the year 2100, where a desperate criminal hijacks a spaceship in search of a legendary treasure on Planetoid 12. What he finds instead is a mysterious, seemingly worthless ocean—until a shocking transformation reveals the true nature of the prize. The cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky captures the clash of titanic forces, hinting at a battle between elemental powers that echoes through the story’s mysterious core.
In "The Master of Flame vs. The Monarch of the Sea!!" from Strange Tales #107, the Human Torch challenges the Sub-Mariner to a showdown, driven by a need for recognition. When the Torch lures the underwater king into a trap beneath the ocean floor, the stage is set for a clash of elemental power—flame against sea, pride against principle—before either can rise again.
In the year 2100, a desperate criminal hijacks a spaceship, racing to claim the legendary treasure of Planetoid 12—only to find a barren wasteland of water and mud. When the pilot he forced to accompany him reveals the truth, the criminal’s fate takes a shocking turn, leaving the real treasure hidden in plain sight.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The story was plotted by Stan Lee and scripted by his brother Larry Lieber, who handled scripting duties on the Human Torch feature through issue #107 before handing off to other writers. Interior art was handled by Dick Ayers, who had taken over the Human Torch penciling duties from Jack Kirby; Kirby, however, still contributed the cover, maintaining the high-profile visual identity of the title even as interior assignments rotated among bullpen regulars. The issue was released on newsstands January 10, 1963, carrying an April 1963 cover date — a normal lead-time gap for the era — and was edited by Stan Lee in his concurrent role as Marvel's editor-in-chief.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: April 1963; on-sale date: January 10, 1963. Published by Marvel Comics as part of Strange Tales Vol. 1.
- Main story title: 'The Master of Flame vs. The Monarch of the Sea!!' — Human Torch (Johnny Storm) challenges Sub-Mariner (Namor) one-on-one to earn respect from the rest of the Fantastic Four.
- Story credits: Plot by Stan Lee, script by Larry Lieber, interior pencils and inks by Dick Ayers, lettering by Art Simek; Jack Kirby penciled the cover (with Sol Brodsky and Stan Goldberg also credited on the cover).
- This is the first Silver Age Sub-Mariner story not drawn by Jack Kirby — a bibliographic milestone noted by the Grand Comics Database.
- Namor displays the ability to mimic the powers of various sea creatures (puffer fish, electric eel) in this issue — a short-lived Silver Age power set completely absent from his later appearances, phased out by Fantastic Four #14.
- The Fantastic Four (Thing, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl) appear in cameo; Sue Storm is shown with a photograph of Namor in her room, reinforcing her unresolved romantic interest in the Atlantean king that had been established in Fantastic Four #4 and #6.
- The issue also includes backup reprint material and a short text story, per the standard anthology format of the era.
- The main story has been reprinted multiple times, including: Essential Human Torch #1 (2003, black & white), Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch Vol. 1 (2006 and 2014), The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales — The Complete Collection (2018), and Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Vol. 1: Enter the Sub-Mariner (2021).
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Journey into Mystery #30 (1956)
Reprinted in Creepy Worlds #35 (1964), Marvel Tales #9 (1967), Fantastic! #33 (1967), I Fantastici Quattro #9 (1971), Capitaine America #33 (1974), The Human Torch #7 (1975), Vault of Evil #22 (1975), Star Wars Weekly #117 (1980), Los Vengadores #17 (1981), The Marvel Saga the Official History of the Marvel Universe #8 (1986), Essential Human Torch #1 (2003), Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch #1 (2006), Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch #1 (2014), Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch #1 (66) (2014), L'ère des Comics Marvel 1961-1978 #[nn] (2017), The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection #[nn] (2018), Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus #2 (2019), Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection #1 (2021), Namor the Sub-Mariner Omnibus #1 (2025), Los 4 Fantásticos #29, Seriepressen (Serie-pressen) #2/1971
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