Tales to Astonish #9
In "Return of the Genie!", a mischievous supernatural force returns after being accidentally freed from a swamp bottle, only to find himself powerless beyond Earth's atmosphere. With Jack Kirby's dynamic art and Stan Lee and Larry Lieber's sharp scripting, this 1960 Marvel classic sees the genie's grand ambitions thwarted by a single, quiet moment of human indifference—leaving him trapped once more, watching from within the bottle as a man walks away. Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
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The genie from last issue's Kirby story returns again when a man uncorks his muddy bottle from the swamp and discards it because he cannot see the genie inside. Since the genie has no master, he is free to do whatever he wishes and he enslaves the Earth. Growing bored, he sets his sights on the stars, but finds once he passes Earth's atmosphere, his powers fade and he winds up back in the bottle again watching the man approach. This time, the genie thinks, he knows his mistake and won't overreach, but the man turns away and leaves without uncorking the bottle.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).