At this point in Marvel History, Hercules is still an emerging character with largely a one-note personality: Bragging about how strong he is. And this issue gives us one of his most famouspanels of all time, in which he literally tows Manhattan Island back into its proper place after some bad-guy deviltry that’s not worth getting into.
The unintended consequence of moving Manhattan is a scene that clearly recalls Gwen’s death. Plus, a science lesson: Earthquakes are more powerful than strong winds!
Manhattan is often lifted from the ground and brought into space (yet the electricity and plumbing still seem to work), so I’m not gonna laugh at how dumb this is (and even the editors of the issue did that, in the last panel…)
Instead, I’m saying this is where they establish the unique mobility of Manhattan. And it makes sense.
An island where there are more superheroes, and supercrimes, per square foot than any other place on Earth, should be renovated to have special properties. And when Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Reed Richards, etc., all live there, they could easily create the kind of structural innovations necessary to make this plausible.
So, where’s my No-Prize?