Hardy/Thompson Family Tree *Redux*

Now's as good a time as any to put out a new-ish family tree. This time we'll be revisiting and expanding on my previous entry to cover the Hardy's and Thompson's extended family. Both Felicia Hardy and Flash Thompson play significant roles in the Spider-Man mythos so it would be a disservice not to cover them with a bit more detail, even in this MC2-centric series.

First we have Eugene Thompson, better known as Flash who first appeared way back in Amazing Fantasy #15. Flash's initial role in early Spider-Man stories was that of an antagonist to Peter Parker and Number One Fan to Pete's alter ego Spider-Man. Over the years, Thompson's character would grow in depth, becoming a good friend to Peter. We'd learn much more about who he was and why he behaved the way he did.

We'd learn about Flash's family life for the first time in a backup story from Amazing Spider-Man #372. It's here that Flash tells Peter that his father was an intelligent and studious man who was always disappointed in his son and didn't care for his athletic talents. According to Flash, his father died of a heart attack years prior.

The issue with this backup lies in the subsequent stories that feature Flash's family. In the Untold Tales of Spider-Man #19, we see a young Peter Parker meet Sergeant Thompson who kindly takes Peter to socialize with his son Flash.

 So, Mr Thompson seems to be not only different from how Flash described him, but very much alive. Over in Spectacular Spider-Man #248-250 and Spectacular Spider-Man #-1 we learn that Flash's father, Harrison Thompson was an alcoholic who abused his children -Flash and Jesse- while his wife, Rosie Thompson struggled to keep up the pretence the family was supportive and happy in an attempt to prevent Harrison doing further harm to himself and his children. Spectacular Spider-Man #-1  shows Harrison in a somewhat more well-rounded if not sympathetic light, with his alcoholism clearly causing self-loathing after his violent outbursts.  We also learn that Flash would act out as a result of both his father's violence and self-pity and his mother's inability to address the family's problem.

Lining up with this story, we get another appearance of Sergeant Harrison in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #24, this time demonstrating his drinking habits, which coupled with Spectacular Spider-Man #-1 also integrated the police sergeant aspect into Harrison's story, combined the two separate series' depictions into one.

Through these far more extensive appearances in two separate series, both separated in-continuity by around a decade, it seems obvious the backup story from Amazing Spider-Man #372 was either cast aside or unknown to both subsequent writers to cover the Thompson family. Either way, the initial information Flash recalls about his father appears to be a continuity error. Or perhaps Flash was lying?

Let's move on to the far more straightforward Hardy family. Felicia Hardy, also known as the Black Cat first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #194. In the same issue, we meet Walter Hardy, a former cat burglar who has been in jail for several years following his capture. Learning that her father was now terminally ill, Felicia conceived a plan to break her father out of prison so that he could be with his family before he died.

Despite interference from Spider-Man, Felicia (as the Black Cat) succeeded in delivering Walter to his family home. Having never wanted his daughter to follow in his footsteps, Walter is distressed when Felicia reveals her criminal identity to her father. We learn that Felicia's mother Lydia Hardy had concealed Walter's criminal activities and subsequent imprisonment, telling Felicia her father had died in a plane crash instead (Amazing Spider-Man #195).

Before Walter can tell Felicia his wishes, she leaves so that her mother Lydia can be with him. Due to Spider-Man's arrival and interference, Felicia does not see her father before he dies.

Beyond this, the only other member of the Hardy family I can find is a Lou or Louise Hardy, apparently Felicia's niece, though I can not find any appearances for this character. Just a mention in Black Cat's handbook entry. Anyone with more information, please feel free to let me know.

Now for the MC2 part of this entry. We meet Felicity Hardy in Spider-Girl #37 and we soon discover she has not only stolen May's Spider-Girl costume and figured out her secret identity, she dons her own costume and quickly adopts the Scarlet Spider identity in an attempt to become her...'partner.'

Despite a throwaway reference much earlier (which actually foreshadowed his later behaviour) we don't meet Eugene 'Gene' Thompson Jr until Amazing Spider-Girl #1. When we do finally meet him, he's already in a relationship with Mayday. Throughout the Amazing Spider-Girl series we discover Gene has a problem with May running for student council. I'm probably going to go in-depth on Gene at some point so I'll save that discussion for later.

Finally, Diana is Felicia's current partner, who first appears in Spider-Girl #47. We don't have a known last name for Diana but we learn that she met Felicia six years prior in the role of a contract operative in Felicia's detective agency. It's unclear if the two are married- at the time of publication it would not have been possible for real world same-sex couples to wed- as this is both a fictional universe and an alternate reality all bets are off. Regardless, I've chosen to include her on the family tree.

There are several interesting dynamics the combined Hardy/Thompson family presents, both implemented and untapped, that I feel it deserves more coverage than this post can do justice. I may touch on some in the future. For now, I just hope I've improved over the original family tree post.

Until I find more time to dedicate to this blog, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Girl by Erundel

Something a little different this time. I was pleasantly surprised to receive this wonderful piece today from up and coming artist and close friend Erundel: May 'Mayday' Parker aka Spider-Girl.

A huge thank you to Erundel for putting in all the hard work. It turned out Amazing and I'm extremely grateful! You can find Erundel here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Erundel/

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/erundel

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/user/XXLEONLEO

Tumblr: http://erundel.tumblr.com/



Until I learn to produce digital art, I remain


frogoat

Iron Fist in the MC2

I figured with Iron Fist Season 2 hitting Netflix, now was the time to talk about Danny Rand aka The Iron Fist in the MC2 Universe. Unlike Luke Cage and Misty Knight, Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai actually makes not only one appearance, but a whole handful of appearances across various MC2 titles.

Iron Fist makes his first MC2 appearance in J2 #11, which I've briefly discussed in another post. Seen only briefly, Iron Fist is among many other fellow martial artists who were invited to a small island to participate in a tournament. When it is revealed the tournament was a death trap orchestrated by the mercenary Deadpool, Iron Fist and the other combatants promptly team up to end his plan. It's worth noting that this initial MC2 outing for Danny is seemingly contradicted by his next appearance.

When we next encounter Danny Rand in Spider-Girl #24, we learn a great deal about him. He married his beloved Misty Knight only to later lose her to cancer. When Misty died, Danny ceased using his Iron Fist and withdrew from the public eye. Opening up a dojo to teach a new generation martial arts, Danny trained many students including Spike Yi. 

After a new super villain calling himself Dragonfist begins committing robberies wielding what appears to be the chi of the Iron Fist while adorned in a tattoo resembling Shou-Lao, the legendary dragon of K'un-Lun. Implicated in the crime, Rand is drawn out of his self-imposed isolation. Believing his former pupil Yi - now a major action movie star - is responsible, Danny confronts him only to learn that Spike has instead chosen to squander his martial prowess making movies and selling merchandise.

When Dragonfist attempts another robbery, Spider-Girl confronts him but has no success, finding his entire body impervious to her attacks. Danny finally dons his Iron Fist gi and, believing Dragonfist unworthy to wield the power of the Immortal Iron Fist, battles the criminal in an effort to strip it from him by force.

The effort proves fruitless until Spider-Girl, using her spider-sense, directs Iron Fist to aim for Dragonfist's belt. Doing so, the heroes discover Dragonfist was merely Spike Yi's assistant using a personal force field to simulate the power of the Iron Fist. Safe in this knowledge, Danny returns to his dojo.

After this we get a few more appearances from Iron Fist in the form of cameos in Last Hero Standing #3-5. Danny is among the many heroes captured and corrupted by Loki in a plot to bring about the end of the Age of Heroes. He is eventually freed from Loki's spell by Captain America and witnesses the super soldier's death shortly thereafter.

Iron Fist's last appearances are also cameos in the pages of Avengers Next #4 and #5. When Loki's daughter Sylene attempts to restore the devastated Asgard by recreating it on Earth, she creates energy duplicates of various super humans to serve her purposes. Danny Rand is among those rendered comatose in the process of creating these duplicates. When Sylene is defeated, Iron Fist's duplicate dissipates and Danny is presumable restored.

Sadly that's all we see of Daniel Rand in the MC2. As I mentioned above his first appearance in the MC2 canon seems like a contradiction, with Danny in-costume and wielding his trademark Iron Fist. Perhaps that's a discussion for another day? For now, I'm off to marathon Iron Fist Season 2.




Until I stop pointing out continuity errors like a giant nerd, I remain




frogoat

Stinger Action Figure Review

As a recent birthday gift, I received the Marvel Legends Ant-Man and Stinger 6-Inch Action Figures 2-Pack which was initially intended as an exclusive release for Toys R Us but apparently saw release through Entertainment Earth after the formers collapse. Not only did I receive the 2-Pack, I also received a loose Stinger figure for display purposes. Today I'll be solely focusing my  review on the Stinger figure.

The Stinger figure comes bundled with a Scott Lang Ant-Man who wears his most recent comic costume. This makes it clear that - despite the MC2 originating the Stinger identity for Cassie Lang and her Main Marvel Universe counterpart recently adopting a version of the MC2 Stinger costume - this particular figure is modelled on the Main Marvel Universe Cassie Lang. This is further supported by one minor difference between Cassie's MMU and MC2 Stinger costume; shoulder pads.

The MC2's Stinger does not wear a costume that feature metallic shoulder pads. In relation to the figure, you'll notice it is barely visible in the picture above, owing to a lack of pain on the shoulder joint. It's a minor issue, but still worth mentioning. More noticeable is the different coloured purple paint on Stinger's legs when compared to the rest of the figure. 

I've checked elsewhere online and this appears to be the case for all Stinger figures, not just mine. It's even visible on the box art. Again, it's not a major issue, but still worth mentioning.

 Much like the Toy Biz Marvel Legends series of old, Hasbro's Marvel Legends are known for their super articulate figures and attention to detail. As for Stinger, the figure boasts amazing articulation, including poseable wings and a head joint that can tilt all the way up, allowing for fun flying poses.

Finishing on a positive note, this figure is a drastic improvement over the Marvel Comics 2 First Appearances set's Stinger figure released in 1999. Not only in size, but in proportions and articulation. The best figures are those that stand under their own power in various poses and that's something the old figure simply cannot do, whereas the new Stinger can be placed in many dramatic poses. The attention to detail is clear, if sometimes unevenly applied. All in all, I'm pleased to see another MC2-related figure following Hasbro's Marvel Legends Spider-Girl figure in 2015.

Until I have another opportunity to talk about a new MC2-related action figure and play like a child again, I remain

frogoat