Strange Tales #164
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #164 (cover-dated January 1968, on-sale October 3, 1967) earns its place in Marvel history primarily as the debut of Yandroth, the self-styled Scientist Supreme of the otherdimensional planet Yann — a villain whose long shadow would eventually stretch all the way to the formation of the Defenders, since his Omegatron device served as the catalyst that first brought Doctor Strange, the Hulk, and Namor together as a team. The issue also represents Jim Steranko at full creative throttle: his Nick Fury chapter, 'When Comes… Black Noon!', is the sixth installment of an ambitious nine-part Yellow Claw serial that had no real precedent in superhero comics for sustained, cinematically structured serialized action. Together, the two features capture Strange Tales at a precise inflection point — only four issues from the end of its run, when both Doctor Strange and Nick Fury would each spin off into their own solo titles, making this dual-feature format a collector-documentable last chapter of a Silver Age experiment.
"Nightmare!" is a pulse-pounding entry in the Strange Tales series, spotlighting Nick Fury in a high-stakes showdown with The Claw, all crafted with the bold, dynamic flair of Jim Steranko, who wrote, drew, inked, colored, and lettered the issue. As Fury is teleported across dimensions and hunted through the skies aboard the massive Sky Dragon, the tension mounts with every page—especially when he’s trapped beneath the deadly Ultimate Annihilator, poised to destroy New York City. The cover by Dan Adkins captures the eerie, suspenseful mood perfectly, making this 12-cent 1968 classic a standout in Marvel’s early espionage thrillers.
In "Nightmare!", Dr. Strange finds himself stranded on a jungle planet, where a mysterious machine challenges him with a vision of Victoria Bentley and a chilling threat from the enigmatic Yandroth, Scientist Supreme. With the fate of Earth and the cosmos hanging in the balance, Strange must confront a battle not of force, but of mind and magic.
In "When Comes... Black Noon!", Nick Fury races against time when the Claw unleashes the Ultimate Annihilator, forcing Fury to teleport through hyper-dimensional space to safety. As the villain tests his weapon on a satellite, Fury pushes past medical warnings to track a hidden agent, uncovering a deadly plot aboard the massive Sky Dragon airship. Now captured and bound beneath the weapon, Fury faces an unthinkable threat as the Claw prepares to bring New York City to ruin.
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The issue was produced under editor Stan Lee, with the Doctor Strange lead story — titled 'Nightmare!' — written by Jim Lawrence (who co-plotted and provided additional dialogue) and drawn by Dan Adkins, who also supplied the cover art alongside Marie Severin. The Nick Fury backup, 'When Comes… Black Noon!', was entirely the work of Jim Steranko, who wrote, penciled, and is tentatively credited with the coloring, with inking by the veteran Bill Everett and lettering by Artie Simek; Steranko had taken over full creative control of the Nick Fury strip around issue #155 after finishing layouts begun by Jack Kirby. Beginning with this issue, the cover logo design alternated each month to highlight whichever feature was leading that installment, a small but telling editorial acknowledgment that the two features had grown into genuinely co-equal draws.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Yandroth (Scientist Supreme of the planet Yann), created by Jim Lawrence and Dan Adkins — a villain who would later serve as the indirect founding catalyst of the Defenders when his Omegatron device forced Doctor Strange, Namor, and the Hulk to unite.
- The Doctor Strange feature, 'Nightmare!' (written by Jim Lawrence, art by Dan Adkins), introduces Yandroth via hologram as a scientific counterpart to Strange's title of Sorcerer Supreme; despite the story title, Doctor Strange's actual nemesis Nightmare does not appear — the title references the alien 'Nightmare Planet' setting.
- The Nick Fury feature, 'When Comes… Black Noon!', is part 6 of a 9-part Yellow Claw storyline; Steranko wrote, penciled, and is tentatively credited as colorist, with inking by Bill Everett and lettering by Artie Simek.
- James Bond (identified in the Grand Comics Database character list, and in Marvel Comics Index #6 as resembling Sean Connery) appears in cameo in the Nick Fury story — a pop-culture Easter egg fully in keeping with Steranko's deliberate styling of Fury as a Marvel-universe counterpart to 1960s spy-fiction heroes.
- Nick Fury narrowly survives the Yellow Claw's Ultimate Annihilator weapon, saved by Suwan's teleportation through 'Hyper-Dimensional Space'; the issue ends with Fury captured aboard 'The Sky Dragon,' a vast airship high above New York City, with the Annihilator aimed at the city below.
- Stan Lee is credited as editor on both stories in the issue; cover art is by Dan Adkins and Marie Severin.
- Beginning with this issue, Strange Tales alternated its cover logo each month to foreground that month's lead feature — a visible editorial sign that the title was consciously balancing its two stars in its final stretch.
- The Nick Fury story from this issue has been reprinted in multiple collected editions, including Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 2, S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko: The Complete Collection, and Captain Britain #11–12 (1976), as well as in French and German Hachette partwork collections.
Cast · 13 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Eclipso #49 (1975), Vengeur #16 (1975), Giant-Size Doctor Strange #1 (1975), Capitaine America #57 (1976), Captain Britain #11 (1976), Captain Britain #12 (1976), Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #[nn] (2000), Essential Doctor Strange #1 (2001), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #2 (2013), S.H.I.E.L.D. by Steranko: The Complete Collection #[nn] (2013), S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus #[nn] (2015), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #9 (2016), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #126 (2018), Steranko Is... Revolutionary #[nn] (2020), Doctor Strange Omnibus #2 (2021), Doctor Strange Epic Collection #2 (2024), Agente Internacional #30, Nick Fury - Agent för SHIELD #1
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