The First Two Adventures Of The Fantastic Four

 

It is easy to see the Fantastic Four now, and their wonderful adventures as a family and as a foundation of the Marvel Universe....

...but what were they like when there was no Marvel Universe?

A quick look at the first two issues of the Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with that thought in mind.

A Timely Preamble

While Timely Comics (the precursors to Marvel) had a few super heroes (mostly notably Captain America), by the early sixties, the publisher that would be Marvel was making monster comics, and the citizens of the world had to deal with alien invaders and horribly mutated creatures that would make their lives miserable, with only random scientists, brave military and occasionally some siblings to save them.

But all that would change with Fantastic Four #1....

The Fantastic Four!

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and George Klein gave us Fantastic Four #1 (November, 1961), and it started with a menacing gathering of four people (first, Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, who sent out the calling, then, the Invisible Girl, Sue Storm, fading out from a society friend, the lumbering Thing, Ben Grimm, smashing his way through a world too small for him, and the Human Torch, Johnny Storm, burning to get to the meeting, and needing a little help from Reed at the end).

But, who were these people?

The four were astronauts, led by Reed, a scientist, who disagreed with his friend, Ben, the ship's pilot, about how safe they would be from the cosmic rays in space.  But, they still wanted to get to the moon, and would include as crew Reed's fiance Sue, who would go wherever Reed went, and mechanic Johnny, who would follow his sister.  Stealing away in their ship to launch early, the four did make it to space, but Ben was smarter than Reed, as their shielding was insufficient, and the four were exposed to strange radiation, manifesting as powers for each of them.  After a brief tussle, the four realized they needed to work together to help the human race.

But, what of the menace they had to face now?

Well, that was the threat of disappearing atomic plants across the world...that were taken by monsters from inside the Earth!  Stretching his incredible brain, Reed calculated where to go to find the source of the problem, and it was Monster Isle.  There, the four searched, faced a dragon like creature, then were separated, with Reed and Johnny meeting the Mole Man....leader of the subterranean world, who had found Monster Isle as he fled humanity, then, falling into this strange underground world, learned to master the monsters there to take revenge on the people who hated him.  The four rallied together to beat him, sealing the tunnel to the island, though they left the Mole Man behind....

...and, on to the next adventure!

The Fantastic Four Meet The Skulls From Outer Space!

With their second appearance in Fantastic Four #2 (January, 1962, by Lee, Kirby and Klein), the four seemed to be famous (likely more from their astronaut fame, as no one other than the team saw their battle against the Mole Man), the four seemed to be an actual menace to the world, with the Thing destroying an oil tower, the Invisible Girl stealing a priceless diamond, the Human Torch destroying a statue, and Mr. Fantastic turning out the lights to a city...

...maybe they weren't heroes after all!

Well, it was really the evil invading aliens, the Skrulls, who were to blame for the misdeeds, as these four advanced soldiers used their shape-changing abilities to impersonate the heroic team, hoping to turn the world against the heroes.  The FF gathered in secret, debating what to do, as the military closed in, taking the Four prisoner.  But, not prison could hold these heroes, and they promptly escaped...

...but what to do now?

Reed came up with the idea of one of them causing more mischief, in the hopes that their evil doppelgangers would then find the mischief maker, and take in the FF member.  Johnny volunteered to be the agent, and was quickly found by the Skrulls.  They could Johnny to their base, where he called in the rest of the team, and they made quick work of these Skrulls.  But, in finding them, the four realized there was a bigger menace, the rest of the Skrull invasion force.  Thinking quickly, Reed decided his four would impersonate the Skrull four, and go back, and report that Earth had too many menaces there for the Skrulls to conquer the world (oddly, using Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery comics as proof).  The invasion fleet left, and the Fantastic Four returned to Earth, convincing the remaining three Skrulls to change into cows, where they were hypnotized to forget their Skrull life, leaving them contented.  (But, what of the fourth Skrull?   A tale for the future....).

Still, these two issues helped found the Marvel Universe, setting up many tales both in and above the Earth...as soon after, the Marvel Universe started to grow with Hank Pym, a man who shrank to the size of ant, and the Fantastic Four got costumes, a headquarters and even a car, as the Fantastic Four became more of a success for Lee and Kirby!

Stan Lee 100

Stan Lee was born 100 years ago on this date.  

Remembering the man and his life (December 28, 1992 to November 12, 2018), with a group of Marvel Comics that he wrote...

...that were one hundred issues!

Strange Tales #100 (September, 1962)

The first of the Stan Lee 100 issues, with a cover drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko (names that would always be there to help Stan Lee reach his heights).

Though there were a few Marvel super heroes at this time, this anthology book was still odd horror tales, with stories plotted by Stan, and likely written by Larry Leiber, with art by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck.

This issue was reprinted in the Marvel: June 1962 Omnibus (2021).

The next issue of Strange Tales would see half the book taken over by the Fantastic Four's Human Torch, with Doctor Strange and Nick Fury to follow in years to come.

Journey Into Mystery #100 (January, 1964)

Here begins a run of stories that Stan Lee would be better known for, this one featuring Thor, the god of thunder!

Under a cover by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky, with interior work by Don Heck, Thor faced off against Mr. Hyde (who debuted in the previous issue).  While successful against Mr. Hyde, Jane Foster did not impress Thor's father, Odin, and thus Odin would not allow Thor to marry the young nurse Thor was infatuated with.

This tale has been reprinted many times, including in Thor's first Marvel Masterworks, and his first Epic Collection.

Tales To Astonish #100 (February, 1968)

This issue features a battle royal between the two characters, Hulk and the Sub-Mariner, that shared the title.

With a cover by Marie Severin and Dan Adkins (who also did the inside, with a little inking assistance from Roger Brand), the two heroes often branded villains battled (though it was the fault of neither...the Hulk was being controlled by the Fantastic Four villain, the Puppet Master).

Among other places, this story was reprinted in the third Hulk Marvel Masterwork and in the third Hulk Epic Collection (and would fit in a second Sub-Mariner Epic Collection whenever Marvel makes one).

Captain America #100 (April, 1968)

Here, Stan Lee returns to a character he had worked on since World War II (as Captain America took over the Tales To Suspense title that he had shared with Iron Man).

Jack Kirby supplied the cover (with inks by Syd Shores and Joe Sinnott), with interiors by Kirby and Shores, where Cap, Black Panther and Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) battle who they think is Baron Zemo in Wakanda, defeating the man, with Cap suggesting to Black Panther to join the Avengers as his replacement (which he would).  The issue also features a bit on Steve Rogers' origin, and his meeting with the Avengers.

This issue was reprinted in Captain America's second Marvel Masterwork as well as in his second Epic Collection (and a few other places).

Fantastic Four #100 (July, 1970)

Stan Lee's great triumphant issue 100, where he had written all the previous issues of as well, along with Jack Kirby.

Here, with Kirby inked by Joe Sinnott, the Fantastic Four, along with Inhuman Crystal (who was a part of the team), battled all the FF foes...sort of.  The Mad Thinker and Puppet Master had made android duplicates of the villains, and set them against the five heroes, in an epic tale, celebrating 100 issues with the same writer/artist.

This issue would be reprinted in the tenth Fantastic Four Marvel Masterwork, as well as in their sixth Epic Collection.

Amazing Spider-Man #100 (September, 1971)

Another Stan Lee triumph, as he had written all of the issues previously, though here, he had a few artists working with him over the decades, including Steve Ditko and John Romita.

Under a cover by John Romita and Frank Giacoia, with interiors by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia (and backgrounds by Tony Mortellaro), Peter Parker struggled with his spider powers (nothing new), faced hallucinations of his old foes (new and old), and, by the end, ended up with six arms (totally new).  Hey, Stan could always put Peter through his paces, and an anniversary issue was no exception!

This issue was reprinted in the eleventh Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Masterwork, and in the sixth Epic Collection of that series.

Truly, a touch of the career that was Stan Lee's, and a nice look at the overall history he created, on this, what would have been his 100th birthday.

Excelsior!

 

Fantastic Four 1 Anniversary

Celebrating the original release of Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated November, 1961), but released on August 8, 1961, with an incredible story detailing the origin and first case of the Fantastic Four as told by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and George Klein....and kicking off Marvel Comics! 

This issue, once considered the beginning of the Marvel Universe (though, later, Timely tales of Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, the Blonde Phantom, Whizzer, Miss America, the Patriot, Venus and more were considered canon, as well as select tales from books like Strange Tales and Journey Into Mystery including tales of gorillas, robots, Zombies and Hydra) , it still is a milestone in Marvel history!

But, back to the Fantastic Four...in this first issue, we see scientist Reed Richards, his best friend pilot Ben Grimm, Reed's fiance Sue Storm and her brother, Johnny, take off in a spaceship (originally to be the first to reach the moon, later "updated" to be the first interstellar flight), wherein the crew is exposed to cosmic rays in their improperly shielded ship, and, after crash landing back on Earth, find they each have gained powers in line with their personalities, becoming the stretchable Mr. Fantastic, strong Thing, faded Invisible Girl and fiery Human Torch!  They gather together in this issue to battle the Mole Man, and his monsters....one of many menaces they face!

So this would continue, with over 100 issues of Lee and Kirby, and so many more after that (partially covered in this early index), helped found the Marvel Universe....and so many more adventures to come!

Remembering Stan Lee

Remembering Stan Lee (December 28, 1922 - November 12, 2018), co-creator (with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby) of the building blocks of the Marvel Universe including Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the Avengers, the X-Men, Black Panther and so much more....

...with this cover of FOOM #17 (March, 1977).

Excelsior!

Remembering Stan Lee

Remembering Stan Lee (1922-2018) on his birthday.  

Stan created the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom and the Inhumans with Jack Kirby, and Spider-Man and Dr. Strange with Steve Ditko.

Excelsior!

'Nuff said.

Stan Lee Excelsior

What do you say about the legend that was Stan Lee?

A man who worked on Simon and Kirby's Captain America?

Co-creator of Groot, Fin Fang Foom and a whole host of monsters for Timely's monster comics of Strange Tales, Tales To Astonish, Journey Into Mystery and Tales of Suspense?

A man who revolutionized the comic industry in 1961 with the creation of the Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics (with Jack Kirby), that led to other creations like the Hulk, Ant-Man, Dr. Doom, Iron Man, Thor, the Wasp, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, the Inhumans, Black Panther and (with Steve Ditko), Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and all their fearsome foes including the Sinister Six!

A man who was there as Marvel properties found their way live on your television set, with shows like the Incredible Hulk (which had movies with Daredevil and Thor), Spider-Man, and made for TV movies Captain America and Dr. Strange?  Not even mentioning the various animated features (including the Simpsons, which Stan more recently lent his voice to as well).

A man whose cameos in recent Marvel movies are legendary?

We say that Stan Lee shall forever remain, "the man".  Excelsior.

Rest in peace, Stan Lee; December 28, 1922 to November 12, 2018.

Happy Birthday to Stan Lee

Stan Lee's contributions to Marvel Comics are many, but one of the biggest of the them all was the "No Prize" idea.


Stan started by just getting readers to write in, promising no prizes for his contests, thus insuring there would be no losers. 

But, as letters to Stan increased, including in those letters were fans asking where their prizes were! 

Then, it changed into getting a "No Prize" for writing in to spot errors in the books (and offering explanations), which you would be credited for in the letters' pages....but again, NO PRIZE.

This still got the Marvel Bullpen letters, asking where their prize was...which resulted in the "No Prize" envelopes, sent to the readers who had sent in what they had noticed (and this caused more problems, as fans would write back, saying their prize fell out of the envelope....).

This even resulted in the Official Marvel No-Prize Book, which they published in January 1983, with a framing sequence by Jim Owsley, Roger Stern and Steven Grant, with art by Bob Camp and Vince Colletta (and a cover by Michael Golden), and various Marvel Comics mistakes and explanations inside in "Lest We Should Goof...!", back in a time when readers could take comics a little less seriously, and wish Stan Lee a happy birthday today!

Happy Birthday Stan Lee

Stan Lee, co-creator of the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man and Thor (with Jack Kirby) and Spider-Man and Doctor Strange (with Steve Ditko) is celebrating a birthday today!

Celebrate Stan with this classic...the Marvel Fumetti Book from April, 1984.

Along with Stan on the cover is the Marvel Bullpen of the day, including Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, John Byrne, Jim Shooter, Denny O'Neill, Paul Smith, Dave Cockrum, Bill Mantlo, Al Milgrom, Mark Gruenwald, Terry Austin...along with Spider-Man and the Hulk, with letters by Tom Orzechowski!

Elliot R. Brown provided photos for some of the stories, as did Vince Colletta, with writers Mike Carlin and Joe Albelo (and an uncredited Peter David as ?), and art (and "special effects" on the photos by Art Adams and Bill Sienkiewicz, and art in places by Terry Austin.

It's a light-hearted look at how comics were made in the mid-1980s.  Check it out if you can!

Excelsior....and thanks to Stan for that as well! 

Marvel's Menace of the 1950s

The title of the article is a bit of a misnomer, as it was technically Atlas Comics (a precursor to Marvel) that published Menace from March, 1953 to May, 1954, but it didn't quite give nice alliteration to a title!

Atlas Comics and Marvel Comics were linked....like your typical two-headed monster!

It Came From the Bullpen

The first issue of Menace had stories by Stan Lee, and art by Bill Everett, George Tuska, Werner Roth and Russ Heath, all under that cover by Bill Everett! 

The second issue continued this trend, adding artist Joe Sinnott on a story called "Rocket to the Moon" (ironic, as it was with the Fantastic Four that Joe Sinnott became famous to the comic world, working on a foursome whose adventures started with the fantastic rocket ride!).

Issue #3 added John Romita for a story on the "Men In Black", which wasn't about aliens, but instead a lesson about bigotry....and with art by Bill Everett, an oddly green werewolf, as well as a story about a man who knows "You're Gonna Live Forever" with art by Joe Maneely (and that immortality might not be a good thing).

The fourth issue offers an odd take on the Cold War...as Stalin was proven to be a creature of the night in "A Vampire Was Born" with art by Fred Kida.

Issue #5 offers the walking dead....a Zombie, businessman Simon Garth, wandering through Louisiana, under the control of Gyps, his former gardener.  But, this zombie still has a little of his humanity left, and comes back to kill his master, then lie back down in his own grave.  Ironic, that this zombie comes back, in the Marvel Magazine Tales of the Zombie, where he is a feature for its first 9 issues, and even continues beyond that....not bad for a 7 page "Zombie!" story by Lee and Everett, whose idea was fleshed out by Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber, John Buscema and Tom Palmer!

Issue #6 sees Gene Colan come on board for a story, issue #7 adds Syd Shores as an artist on "Fresh Out of Flesh!", issue # has all the usual suspects, and a giant lizard monster, issue #9 has more zombie fun with a cover by Gene Colan, and new artists Paul Reinman, Ed Winiarski and John Forte (who drew "The Walking Dead" story), and issue #10...relates to future Marvel tales as it has the first story relating to Hydra (the foes of the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), with art by Robert Q. Sale, as well as stories with art by Tony DiPreta, Al Eadeh, and Shelly Moldolf.

Issue #11 has the premiere of M-11, the Human Robot of the Agents of Atlas in a story drawn by John Romita, as well as stories with art by Seymour Moskowitz and Bob Powell. 

Even better, all 11 issues of Menace are reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Menace, so these old tales of sci-fi horror are available to all!   Seems Atlas and Marvel are a two-headed monster indeed, and great stories, like zombies, will always rise again!

Paranoia, the Destroyer of Thor

With thanks to Ray Davies of the Kinks, who gave us the song, Destroyer in 1979, Thor had faced his own Destroyer before that.

The Destroyer was also in the Thor movie that came out on May 6th, 2011.  You can have no fear, as you’ll get a little of the comic history of the Destroyer, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby right here!

Thor first faced the armored Asgardian construct known as the Destroyer in Journey Into Mystery #118 (July 1965).  The Destroyer is a suit of armor made of uru metal with no will of its own, so it has to have a life force inhabiting it to act.

The suit was created by Odin (the All-Father of the Asgardians, and father to Thor), which does seem like a strange thing, doesn’t it?

The animated Asgardian armor was found in the Temple of Darkness by a hunter, Buck Franklin, who Loki (Thor’s evil magic using step-brother) had manipulated into finding the armor, and then set him against Thor.

Thor tricked the hunter into vacating the armor, and Odin buried the lifeless beneath a mountain of rubble that had been the Temple of Darkness.

This should have been the end of the Destroyer....

....well, it wasn't!

The Return of the Destroyer

The armor returns briefly, thanks to being possessed by the spirit of Loki in Thor Annual #2 (September, 1966).

Odin stops Loki’s evil plan to hurt Thor and his friends, the Warriors Three (Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim and Volstagg…well, the round; these three, like the Destroyer, were additions to the comic mythology that were not a part of Norse mythology) and the All-Father banished the armor.

Karnilla, the Norn Queen, then retrieved the Destroyer, and Sif (a female Asgardian goddess of the hunt who has a thing for Thor) animated the suit and used it to help a weakened Thor battle his nemesis, the Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite, a worker in a demolition crew who got strength and stamina from a crowbar enchanted by Karnilla and with this power thought he was Mr. Big Man).

Sif’s plan to help doesn’t go so well after she defeats the Wrecker while in the Destroyer armor, as Thor ends up attacking the Destroyer.

Still, this all gets resolved and Odin takes the armor away (and this all happens in Thor #150-152 in 1968, still under the sway of Lee and Kirby).

The Destroyer went away for a while, but came back in force!

More Destroyer With Hercules

Thor next encounters the Destroyer with his friend, and fellow Avenger, Hercules (the son of Zeus, and an Olympian demi-god) starting with Thor #224 (written by Gerry Conway, who also teamed Hercules with Thor in the television medium, when the show, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, was on the air, in the episodes “Norse by Norsevest” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bridge” and art by John Buscema).

The Destroyer armor was animated this time by Professor Clement Holmes, who found the armor in South America.  The Destroyer fights Hercules and Thor, and they get the Professor’s soul out of the armor.  Thor and Hercules then end up meeting Firelord (Pyreus Kril, a herald of Galactus), and, after an adventure with Galactus’ herald that convinces them that Firelord wants to be free of Galactus, offer up the Destroyer to be Galactus’ new herald to allow Firelord his freedom.  No one seems to be concerned with the Destroyer’s freedom, but then again, it’s basically just a suit!

Herald the Destroyer

The Destroyer, now animated by a part of Galactus’ life-force, finds High Evolutionary’s Counter-Earth (an Earth duplicate complete with on the opposite side of the Sol system).


Galactus (Galan, a primal force in the universe that desires maximum consumption) must feed, but the Fantastic Four distract him and convince him to look for a new world to feast upon (and, during this, the Thing faces the Destroyer, with Ben Grimm aka the Thing not his usual rocky self, but instead just a man in a Thing exoskeleton armor!

This all happens from Fantastic Four #172-174, written by Roy Thomas and art by George Perez for #172 and John Buscema for #173-174 and covers by Jack Kirby).

Loki Again

Loki uses this opportunity of distraction to take the Destroyer, trick Balder (Thor’s Asgardian friend) into animating the suit, then getting Balder OUT of the armor when the Destroyer tries to kill Loki instead!

Thor briefly inhabits the Destroyer armor at this time, but Odin forces him out and keeps the armor in Asgard (and it all happens in Thor #264-266, by Len Wein and Walt Simonson in 1977).

The Epic of the Destroyer

In an incredible epic by Roy Thomas, we learn the truth behind the Destroyer (after all, it seems the armor has only caused pain and suffering to Thor and his friends and allies…so, why DID Odin create it?).

A time later, when Thor was at odds with Odin (when isn’t he?), Sif inhabits the Destroyer to enforce Odin’s exile of Thor and sends Thor to Earth from Asgard.

In Thor #300 (with art by Keith Pollard, in October, 1980), we learn that Odin created the Destroyer to host the souls of all the Asgardians in Asgard to allow them to battle the Celestials (space gods created by Jack Kirby, who stood in judgment of humanity for eons, and the judgment was coming soon; well soon in god terms).

Odin had enlisted help from other Earth pantheons (like the Olympian Zeus) to power the Destroyer armor.

Sadly, the Destroyer did not fare well against the Celestials (even grown to giant size and wielding the Odinsword), being melted into slag.

(Thor and others stopped the Celestials from destroying Earth and restored the Asgardians, by the way).

And, the rest of the story on the Destroyer will follow next week (after all, just because you’ve been melted down doesn’t end your existence, right?).

Amazing Spider-Man's Sinister Six

True, the Sinister Six are some of the Amazing Spider-Man's most devious villains...but they also had an effect on the rest of the mighty Marvel Universe!


The Sinister Six premiered in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (January, 1964) by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and included 6 of Spidey's biggest, baddest foes (at the time...all also created by Lee and Ditko!).


This was the original gathering of this bunch, and certainly a tough task for Peter Parker to face...


Let's break the six down, one by one...

One of Six: Electro

Max Dillon was an electrical lineman who, due to a freak accident gained electrical powers and set about on a life of crime, starting with Amazing Spider-Man #9 (February, 1964).


Electro quickly branched out as well, fighting Daredevil (even founding his own group of villains, the Emissaries of Evil with Leap-Frog, the Stilt-Man, the Matador and the Gladiator) and he later joined the Frightful Four (a group of villains that gathered together to fight the Fantastic Four including the Wizard and Trapster, as well as some later on this list) as well as battling against Captain America's partner, the high-flying Falcon!

Two of Six: Vulture

Adrian Toomes was an electronics engineer who was cheated out of a fortune by his business partner, and then took his own flying harness to become the Vulture (in Amazing Spider-Man #2, May, 1963)  and avenge the wrongs felt done to him.

The Vulture was a more elderly villain, set in his ways, and stayed in New York to face Spider-Man mostly, though occasionally he fought others like Daredevil and the Punisher, and even facing off against the Beyonder in Secret Wars II and Rusty Collins of the New Mutants!

Three of Six: Mysterio

Quentin Black was a master of misdirection, he worked with special effects and was a stuntman on the side, and started his individual battles with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June, 1964).

Mysterio worked as an unnamed assistant to the Tinkerer (a foe Spidey first fought in Amazing Spider-Man #2), but continued to bedevil Spider-Man over the years using tricks like a fog that nullified Spider-Man's Spider-Sense and other tricks to make Peter Parker doubt himself.  Like most Spider-Man villains, he also ended up facing Daredevil...and the one and only X-Man as well!

Four of Six: Sandman

Flint Marko was his name and he was a thug...or just a good little mama's boy named William Baker, until, while trying to escape the police, he came into contact with sand irradiated from a local nuclear plant, and left his normal problems on the beach (with Amazing Spider-Man #4, September, 1963).

Sandman started his career menacing Spider-Man, but soon branched out, facing the Human Torch alone in Strange Tales, joining the Sinister Six, then being a founder of the Frightful Four (along with the Wizard, Trapster and Medusa).  Sandman even battled the Hulk, and then became friends with the Thing...trying to turn good for a time (even ending up as a provisional member of the Avengers) before going back to crime.

Five of Six: Kraven the Hunter

Sergei Kravinoff was a big game hunter and member of a family of Russian aristocrats who had to flee the country after the Communists took it over, and crossed paths with the amazing arachnid in Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August, 1964).

Kraven the Hunter fought Spider-Man with mucho gusto, and also battled with Iron Man, jungle lord Ka-Zar, Daredevil and the Black Widow, Spider-Man's foe the Man-Wolf, Tigra the were-woman and more, considering most heroes as big game, and it was later revealed Kraven was a member of a 1950s version of the Avengers!  Kraven even took on a nobility in facing Spider-Man in Fearful Symmetry: Kraven's Last Hunt by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck.

Six of Six: Dr. Octopus 

Otto Octavius was a young kid, bullied by those around him, including his father, so turned his attention to science, becoming a respected nuclear physicist, engineer and researcher... ....and while using a creation of his own (mechanical tentacles) to control a reaction, it went wrong in Amazing Spider-Man #3 (July, 1963).

Dr. Octopus became one of Spider-Man deadliest villains, founding the Sinister Six to defeat Spider-Man.  For the most part, the doctor faced Spider-Man, but occasionally fought against other members of the Marvel Universe, like Daredevil (in a pre-Elektra story with plot and art by Frank Miller), Captain America (to get his shield and improve his tentacles) and Mr. Fantastic (of the Fantastic Four, for the life of Sue's baby).  Doc Ock even got recruited for the bad guys team for the original Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars, working with Dr. Doom, the Wrecking Crew, Absorbing Man, the Enchantress, Klaw, Ultron and more!   Dr. Octopus reformed the Sinister Six (having Hobgoblin replace Kraven, who had committed suicide...Chameleon has also been a replacement as well...). 

Doc Ock continues to menace Spider-Man to this very day, having replaced Peter Parker's mind in Spider-Man's body, and lives on as the Superior Spider-Man.

Still, all these villains will come back and face Spidey again, but they have proved their reach expands through the entire Marvel Universe and beyond!