Let’s say you’ve introduced your super-powered heroes and had them face and overcome their first challenge.
So, what the heck are you going to do with them in their second appearance?
Well, if you’re Stan Lee and company in the early 1960s, you’re likely going to pit your heroes against a foe who can disappear — either literally, or into a disguise. Disguise often intersects with invisibility, as superheroes with secret identities discovered long ago.This thematic solution, probably unconscious, was repeated for at least four second appearances. It offers some storytelling advantages.
Sure, your superheroes are powerful, but even they may be helpless against an enemy who can disappear instantly, turning the public against the heroes and the heroes against each other. After all, what good is all the power in the world if you don’t know where to direct it?
Then too, the fear of infiltration was much on American minds during the Cold War. The elusive enemy was sneaky!
So the Fantastic Four faced the shape-shifting Skrulls in January 1962 (Fantastic Four 2). “As far as we know, it’s their second adventure,” noted comics historian Don Alsafi. “And yet, the story begins with the FF already famous for their superheroics, both to the general populace and would-be alien invaders — hence the Skrulls’ elaborate plot to discredit them by committing crimes disguised as the FF.”
And in March 1963, Spider-Man faced that master of disguise, the Chameleon (Amazing Spider-Man 1 — Spidey’s first issue, but his second appearance). Like the Skrulls, the Chameleon also sought to turn the authorities against the superhero by committing crimes disguised as him. To make matters worse, the thieving quick-change artist was in league with the Reds!
In November 1963, the Avengers were attacked by the shape-shifting trans-dimensional Space Phantom (The Avengers 2). Instead of turning the public against the team, he turned the Avengers against each other, resulting in the embittered Hulk’s permanent exile.
“On the surface, (the Space Phantom) seems all too familiar, as he’s yet another alien scout spearheading yet another alien invasion, in yet another allegory for American fears of the Communist threat,” observed Alsafi. “But it has to be said that in this case the analogy is more successful than usual, because the Space Phantom operates by stealing someone’s identity and then infiltrating their life. In other words: Look around you! The invader could be anyone!”
That same month, the X-Men faced the Vanisher, a foe who could instantly disappear through teleportation (The X-Men 2). The villain expressed his superhuman contempt for “homo sapiens,” an attitude that helped turn the public against mutants.
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