Sub-Mariner (1968) #14

Cover by Marie Severin

Cover Date: June 1969

On-Sale Date: March 1969

Synopsis: The Mad Thinker, Puppet Master and Egghead threaten the world with a ray that can cut off all power sources. The Sub-Mariner deals with it, as well as battling the flaming mutant Toro who has been brainwashed by the villainous trio.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES

Page 13

The X-Men are shown here reacting to Egghead's blackmail in their own characteristically self-pitying fashion.  They don't contribute anything else to the story.  The whole team being together (minus Angel, who is not shown) places this somewhere after X-Men (1963) #52.  The machine that Marvel Girl is operating makes it look as though they're at the mansion.

It's probably not all that important to this project, but the last panel of page 13 indicates that Captain Marvel (1968) #14 happens shortly after this story.

Page 7, panel 5

The Thinker, Puppet Master and Egghead teamed up "last month" in Avengers (1963) #63.  That story specifically begins in February, which fits my timeline perfectly.  There's no reason for me not to take the caption's "last month" comment literally, and put this story in March.

Page 9, panel 6

This issue has some flashbacks in it that I might as well add to the timeline.  The android Human Torch doesn't factor into X-Men stories all that much, but with the extreme interconnectedness of the Marvel Universe you never know when and where a character will become significant.  His origin story first appeared in Marvel Comics (1939) #1.  The Marvel Database puts the origin in November of 1939, which works for me.

Page 10, panel 2

Another flashback shows the Human Torch after being defeated by the Fantastic Four, from Fantastic Four Annual (1966) #4.  He had been reactivated by the Mad Thinker and used as a weapon.  This is the same story that gave us the first appearance of Quasimodo, who fought Cyclops and Marvel Girl in X-Men (1963) #48.  So it's important to the X-Men, I guess....?  I already have that annual placed between X-Men (1963) #27 and #28, around July of XY 1.

Page 19, panels 3 to 5

It's mentioned on page 5.4 that the Human Torch and Namor were uneasy allies, and in various other places that the Torch had many adventures with his young partner Toro.  It says above that the Torch disappeared on a lone mission in 1955.  His last solo comic was published in 1954, which fits perfectly (of course it does, this is a Roy Thomas joint).  After this, Toro got married, and was subsequently captured and brainwashed by the Mad Thinker when he attended the Torch's funeral in 1966.  This pretty much sums up the career highlights for the Torch and Toro up to this point in time.

The mention of FF Annual (1966) #4 happening in 1966 is one I'll have to ignore as a reference to  its publication date.  Sub-Mariner (1968) #14 was published in 1969, and I have it set in early XY 3.  I only have a gap of about a year-and-a-half between the two stories, which isn't enough to make the 1966 date for the annual accurate.

COUNTING THE DAYS

This story takes place over one day, probably in March.