An arrogant man makes threatening demands of some obscure figure who is on the fringes of — or entirely outside — society, and comes to regret it dearly.
Endless variations on that theme were played out in those little five-page fantasy tales published by Marvel in the 1950s and early 1960s, many of them drawn with characteristic tension by Steve Ditko.
All of the stories could have ended with a narrator intoning “Be careful what you wish for.” Children might be puzzled by that warning, but people who have some life experience are not.
“There’s a reason many lottery winners wind up depressed, broke, or suicidal,” observed psychologist Denise Fournier. “We might have a clear idea of what we want, but if we don’t consider how our lives will change when we get it, we could end up less happy than when we started.”
Marvel’s fantasy stories underlined that point in symbolic melodrama.
For example, in Never Threaten a Witchman! (Tales of Suspense 35, Nov. 1962), Ditko and Stan Lee tell us about a bald European actor named Cozo who thinks his lack of hair, rather than his lack of talent, has kept him from starring roles on stage. Cozo corners Zamoff, a Romani sorcerer, to demand help.
Zamoff admits he has a portion he could use, but warns Cozo that it wouldn’t be safe. Cozo pulls out his handgun.
“You dare threaten a witchman?” asks Zamoff.
“I dare!” replies Cozo.
The potion is brewed, and Cozo’s hair grows overnight. The actor is delighted until he realizes it’s growing with relentless supernatural speed.
Ironically, Cozo does end up starring in a show — a carnival freak show where he appears as an ape man.
Examples of this plotline are plentiful. Two other stories by Ditko and Lee in Tales to Astonish — 1961’s For Whom the Drum Beats and 1962’s Man of Iron — feature a corpulent, white-haired Romani sorceress who grants the wishes of abusive men in ways that boomerang against them. A jazz drummer must bang the drum ceaselessly, and a weakling gains the muscles of iron he wants, becoming so heavy he sinks into the earth.
By the way, you’ll note that the same dramatic springboard was retooled for the origin of Dr. Strange in Strange Tales 115 (Dec. 1063). And in Stephen Strange’s first appearance in Strange Tales 110 (July 1963), a man troubled by dreams seeks the sorcerer’s help, ultimately pulling a gun on him because Strange’s mystical solution to his problem reveals his guilty secrets.
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