Iron Man's Armory in the MC2: Model 3

 

I’m going back to the workshop for another entry in the occasional series of posts detailing the various armours of Tony Stark, focusing on those that appear in the MC2. Today’s entry is Iron Man’s Armory in the MC2: Model 3.

 

 For consistency, I’ll be using the designations for the various Iron Man armours provided by to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe team’s most recent version of the All-New Iron Manual, updated and corrected as part of the Iron Manual trade paperback.

 

There is some debate as to when exactly Iron Man’s Model 3 armour debuted, with some tweaks to the Model 2 helmet seeing a rivet design and a smoother face plate starting in Tales of Suspense #54.

 

In the pages of Tales of Suspense #56, Iron Man first gains his hip-mounted pods which would soon become standard. Finally, in Tales of Suspense #66 the rivets disappeared from the face plate. Whichever issue you’d prefer to attribute this armour incarnation to, the Iron Manual TPB states Tales of Suspense #56 was the first appearance of the Model 3. Perhaps we can assume some of these modifications weren’t enough to constitute a whole new ‘model’ to Tony, being instead, for example, ‘Model 2 Mark II’ etc as some have proposed.

 

In the MC2, we get a very brief glimpse of the Model 3 during a flashback in the pages of Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #1 to the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm from Fantastic Four Annual #3.

 

It’s possible we also see a photograph of the Model 3 armour in the pages of American Dream #2 but it’s difficult to tell from just a headshot. This nebulous identification of Iron Man Armor Models will be a continuing issue as we’ll see next time, too.

Anyway, that’s all for today folks! The next instalment in this series will prove more substantial.

Until I can positively identify every nut, bolt and transistor to determine which Model armour Iron Man is wearing in any given comic panel, I remain

 

frogoat

Magneto's Magno-Ship in the MC2

 

Here’s another fun little post about a random vehicle from the Marvel Comics which returns, in some form, within the pages of an MC2 story. Today, Magneto’s Magno-Ship!

 

With a whole Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to transport, is it any wonder Magneto introduced the Magno-Ship in X-Men (vol. 1) #5. While it was introduced in issue #5, it wasn’t named until X-Men (vol. 1) #6 while the similar Magna-Car debuted in X-Men (vol. 1) #7.

 

The Magno-Ship would make a few more appearances within the pages of Avengers #48 and #49, while the general design of the Magna-Car would go on to inspire Magneto’s strange mode of transport seen in the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series known colloquially as The New Fantastic Four.

 

In the MC2, major Magneto mega-fan and magnetic-manipulator Magneta utilized her own escape vehicle in J2 #6, potentially a version of her self-styled ‘Magnojet’ which she unveils to J2 and Wild Thing in J2 #8. I wonder if Magneta watched an in-universe Fantastic Four cartoon?

 

Until I can afford a vehicle that doesn’t require gas, I remain

 

frogoat

How I Made My First Marvel Legends Custom Figure

Something different for today! I’ve had a recent desire to get back into a childhood hobby of mine: Marvel Legends! With the march of time, the toy line of Marvel figures has changed hands from Toy Biz to Hasbro and there’s been many improvements in how these toys are made. With that said, I found a bunch of heavily discounted Marvel Legends figures, many of them X-Men related, and on a whim, I snapped them up with one goal: make custom MC2 Marvel Legends figures!  Here’s my first attempt, making the leader of the Uncanny X-People; Jubilee as she appears in the MC2.

 

To start off with, I had purchased the X-Men ’97 series Jubilee figure which has a great head sculpt and detailing. Normally Jubilee figures portray her rocking her iconic 90’s clothing with the blue gloves, rolled up yellow jacket, pink shirt and blue shorts, but the figure here reflects her costume change from seen at the end of X-Men ‘97’s first season. Fortunately, I also picked up the Husk figure from the Nemesis Build-A-Figure series, which has the now-classic Generation X red body suit I needed. I learned as a kid that hot water and Marvel Legends don’t mix, and thus with a ‘boil and pop’ I hit what I thought was my first stumbling block.

 

Oh no! Are the heads not interchangeable? Turns out the pegs are designed the same, and with a little adjustment I was able to swap them over. Some blue tack was required as one head socket was bigger than the other. The boil and pop let me take Jubilee’s coat and arms out and re-place them on the Husk figure’s torso.

 

The second problem, and again it was very minor, was the hands. Jubilee in the MC2 wears yellow gloves, the 90’s version had blue gloves and neither of these figures had either. Enter the Age of Apocalypse Rogue figure which was part of the Colossus Build-A-Figure series. Marked down a ridiculous 80%, I got this and several others in a bundle very cheap. And she has yellow gloves. Everything came together and all is right with the world, folks!

 

Anyway, I’m extremely happy with how this turned out and how easily the parts came together. I’m looking forward to making more in the (MC2) future so stay tuned!

 

Until I figure out how to paint figures, manufacture my own accessories and make my own dollies, I remain

 

frogoat

Spider-Symmetry: Tombstone

 

Certain recent leaked images from the set of Sony and Marvel Studios upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film production Spider-Man: Brand New Day -purported to be real- featuring the original wallcrawler Spider-Man (as portrayed by Tom Holland) and notorious crime boss and hardman Tombstone (Marvin Jones III) in a very familiar scene.

 

And by familiar, I mean a direct homage to beloved and sorely missed comic book legend Sal Buscema’s work as seen on the cover of Spectacular Spider-Man #142, which depicts Lonnie Lincoln aka Tombstone dangling Spider-Man by one hand over the edge of a towering construction site.

 

Fittingly, long-time collaborator Ron Frenz pays homage to this iconic image in the pages of the digital-first Spectacular Spider-Girl (vol. 1) #2 which saw physical release in Amazing Spider-Man Family #6, featuring Tombstone dangling Spider-Girl aka May ‘Mayday’ Parker by one leg-in-hand over the edge of a towering construction site.

 

I love the craft and the respect paid to Mr. Buscema, who contributed directly to the Spider-Girl homage, having performed inking duties over Ron Frenz’s pencils. If the leaked image proves authentic, it will be bittersweet and for me melancholic joy to see a piece of Sal’s extensive iconography make it to the big screen.

 

Until I run out of praise for Mr Silvio ‘Sal’ Buscema (which will NEVER happen), I remain

 

frogoat

Mutant Spotlight: Daze

 

The mutants of the MC2 present a tantalizing glimpse at days of future present, allowing us to see how the mutant minority is treated in an overall brighter reality from most X-Men stories. Let’s take a brief look at one of the most obscure mutants to originate in the MC2niverse: Daze.

Not to be confused with the Main Marvel Universe character nor the 2099 character both also coincidentally known as Daze, the MC2’s Daze made her first (and at time of writing only) appearance in the pages of J2 #10. Daze’s real name is unrevealed, though she may be a native of the island nation Madripoor, given her welcome greeting to Zane Yama aka J2 and Logan aka Wolverine.

Daze appears to be around Zane’s age, certainly the two are nearly the same height. Daze also appears to be of African descent, and though some online databases claim she is African American, I cannot see any indication she’s from the United States. That said, Daze is a fan of the Avengers, quickly recognizing J2. Recruited by the enigmatic magnetically powered Magneta to join a potential super-team alongside Rina Logan aka Wild Thing and J2 (unbeknownst to the Avenger himself), Daze was evidently selected for her ability to transform into various gaseous vapours.

 

Beyond the fact she was being tested and evaluated by Rina and Magneta as prospective team member, we don’t learn anything further including the potential finalized line-up of Magneta’s team, nor what became of Daze following Magneta’s turn to the dark side in later stories.

 

I submit Daze for your approval, faithful readers. In a just world, she’d be part of an ‘All-New, All Different X-People’ relaunch book and we’d know far more about her. What say you? Anyone interested in a Madripoor post?

 

Until I stop thinking of Jimi Hendrix while reading about this purple Daze, I remain

 

frogoat    

Spider-Symmetry: Sal Buscema

 

Since learning of the passing of Mr Sal Buscema, I’ve struggled to find an adequate way to show my respect for one of comics’ true legends. I’m deeply saddened and at a loss as to how to convey how much of an impact Sal has had upon the industry and myself personally. That said, I think the best kind of tributes come from fellow artists in the field, so here is just one example of Spider-Symmetry which demonstrates the impact of and sincere reverence for Our Pal Sal from one such comic book artist, Mr Ron Frenz.

 

From the pages of the fantastic ‘The Child Within’ story which ran through Spectacular Spider-Man #178-#183 (with an epilogue in #184) by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema, we get this wonderful full-page splash to end issue #173:

 

As penciller on Spider-Girl, Amazing Spider-Girl and the Spectacular Spider-Girl eras, Mr Ron Frenz would pay homage several times to long-time Spider-Girl inker and good friend Mr Sal Buscema, with today’s example coming from the final issue of the Spectacular Spider-Girl mini-series, issue #4:

 

Sal’s contributions to the comic book industry cannot be overstated, from his extensive runs across various titles, to his famous and dynamic ‘Sal Buscema Punch’ pose, to his dedication and kindness, not to mention inspiring entire generations of comic book fans and aspiring artists. We have lost a major pillar of the MC2 Universe, someone who chose to essentially come out of retirement to work on Spider-Girl and for that I will be forever grateful. Thank you, Sal.

 

 

Until I manage to better find the words to express myself, I remain

 

frogoat