Today I present another MC2 Family Tree, this time a
smaller one but still one directly connected to both of the most recent
entries, the Allan Family
Tree and the Osborn
Family Tree. For this entry, we take a look at the Drago Family Tree.
Let’s start at the beginning with Raniero “Blackie” Drago
who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #48. As a fellow inmate and
cellmate of Adrian Toomes aka The Vulture, Blackie Drago
failed to uncover the location of Toomes’ hidden set of Vulture
wings so instead arranged an accident to try to force Toomes to
divulge the location on his seeming deathbed. The ploy worked and Drago
quickly made his escape from prison and made use of the Toomes’ wings to
begin a crime spree. Defeating a sickly Spider-Man, Drago was quickly
trapped by Kraven the Hunter, who resented this new Vulture for
defeating the web-head before him. Defeated when a recovered Spider-Man
tricking the two foes, Blackie was arrested and returned to jail (Amazing
Spider-Man #49).
Blackie wouldn’t stay in jail for long though as in Amazing
Spider-Man #63, a very much alive Adrian Toomes busts him out of
jail, forces him to suit back up in the wings just so they can battle it out to
determine who kept the mantle of the Vulture. Soundly defeated by Toomes,
Drago was captured by police and swore off using the wings ever again.
This turned out to be true as Blackie Drago hasn’t been seen as the Vulture
since.
It’s worth noting
that despite only having his real first name revealed in the Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover years after the MC2’s
divergence from his 616 counterpart, I can include ‘Raniero’ in
the Drago Family Tree due to its inclusion in Raptor’s own
profile entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update
#3. Which brings me to the next family member…
Brenda Drago is the daughter of Raniero ‘Blackie’
Drago, first appearing in Spider-Girl #18 wherein the Daily Bugle
dubbed her the ‘Sky Bandit’ following a score of robberies and
burglaries. At the time Brenda was in an abusive relationship with her
boyfriend Tony, who had converted the Vulture technology to
enable Brenda to follow in her father’s footsteps. During her crime
spree as Raptor, Brenda dropped a courier from several stories up
in an attempt to obtain a case of gemstones he was transporting, leaving the
man crippled. Brenda was captured by the combined efforts of The Buzz
and Spider-Girl.
On her way to court, Brenda was freed on the orders
of the villain Funny Face and recruited into his Savage Six team.
Sent to defeat Spider-Girl as Raptor, instead Brenda found
herself quickly defeated and left webbed up for the police (Spider-Girl #25).
Escaping, Brenda attempted to make amends for her past deeds by stealing
food and leaving it for the family of the courier she had previously disabled (Spider-Girl
#28). Alongside Spider-Girl and The Buzz, Brenda came
into conflict with the Avengers. It’s here we learn about Brenda’s
childhood: ‘Her father was a career criminal who clothed himself in lies.
Her mother was an alcoholic who could only be depended on to be undependable.’
(Spider-Girl #30-31)
Realising she was
genuinely trying to make amends, Spider-Girl with the encouragement and
assistance of the recently reformed Normie Osborn helps Brenda to
navigate the legal system with an aim of getting a pardon (Spider-Girl #34).
During this time, Normie and Brenda grew close and began dating,
but the District Attorney seemed determined to have Brenda do jail time
(Spider-Girl #34, #37, #44, #49-#50).
Brenda also joined a new version of the New
Warriors organised by Spider-Girl to end a deadly crime war between The
Kingpin and Canis (Spider-Girl #42). However, when Spider-Girl
allowed Angel Face and Funny Face to escape in exchange for promising
to stop their criminal activities, the Warriors decided to go on without
the webhead, with Raptor herself letting Spider-Girl know she’d
screwed up (Spider-Girl #43-#44). Despite her loyalty to Spider-Girl,
Raptor continued to serve with Warriors (Spider-Girl #46) until
turning herself over to the authorities (Spider-Girl #50).
Once taken to prison, Brenda was recruited by Special
Agent Arthur Weadon to join an experimental team of reformed supervillains
employed as agents of the government to earn their freedom rather than serving
jail time (Spider-Girl #52) Initially unable to make contact with Normie,
Brenda alongside her new teammates was mistaken for participants in a
new crime war by Spider-Girl. When Normie is targeted and nearly
killed, Brenda is devastated that she is unable to visit him in hospital,
convincing Spider-Girl of her intent and sincerity when she professes
her love for him (Spider-Girl #65). After helping to end the crime war, Brenda
is finally able to visit Normie during his recovery up until his discharge
when she realizes she wants to ask him to marry her (Spider-Girl #66-#67,
#72).
Unfortunately, Normie calls things off without
explaining his reasons to Brenda and shortly after Elan DeJunae announces
herself as Normie’s wife (Spider-Girl #73). While it’s soon
revealed that the marriage was arranged by the late Norman Osborn while
the two were children and not legally binding, Brenda’s team is caught
up in a conflict involving the Black Tarantula and Lady Octopus
alongside Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #77-#78). When Elan as Fury
the Goblin Queen kidnaps Normie and attempts to expose him to the Goblin
Formula, Brenda teams up with Spider-Girl to save him (Spider-Girl
#79). Shortly afterwards Normie and Brenda announce they are
engaged to be married (Spider-Girl #81).
At the couple’s engagement party, Brenda witnesses
the return of Fury the Goblin Queen, who forces the Venom Symbiote
to bond to Normie, transforming him into a new Venom. Caught by
surprise, Brenda is unable to do anything to prevent Fury and Venom
escaping. Brenda rallies with the Avengers to launch a manhunt,
only to learn that Spider-Girl has saved Normie. Normie
tells Brenda the symbiote has been dealt with, secretly keeping the surviving
alien bonded to himself (Spider-Girl #82-#84).
Brenda is happy to have
Normie back but is not
told the details of his plan to move up their wedding date and secure their
financial independence (
Spider-Girl #85). Brenda is impressed by
Normie’s
newfound confidence as he assumes an active role at his family’s company,
Osborn
Corporation, but becomes somewhat concerned witnessing him order the
creation of new
Goblin equipment -actually intended to empower friend
Phil
Urich (
Spider-Girl #86).
These two things come to a head when Weadon orders Brenda
to spy on her fiancé due to concerns his reason actions mean he’s considering a
return to crime. Upset about being placed in this position, Brenda
attempts to talk to her teammate Kaine but ends up witnessing him having
a precognitive vision about Spider-Girl. With Kaine’s belief she
is in danger he is motivated to find Spider-Girl, with Raptor accompanying
him. When the symbiote-disguised Normie appears on the scene, Raptor
attacks him believing him to be the Venom who attacked Normie.
When Normie reveals he is in control of the symbiote, Brenda
becomes distraught at the thought the two of them will never again be free (Spider-Girl
#93).
The situation causes conflict between the couple, but the arrival
of the Avengers on the orders of Tony Stark
quickly escalates matters. The Scarlet
Witch, Ant-Man and Hawkeye are
joined by Stark's 'personal bodyguard' James
Rhodes on a mission to investigate and apprehend Normie Osborn.
Things go awry when Rhodes (now more
machine than man) is inadvertently hit by a hex bolt from the Scarlet
Witch, triggering a violent rampage. As Raptor, Brenda is
among the gathered heroes who attempt to stop the nanite-driven Rhodes’ rampage.
Ultimately, Normie and the symbiote play a vital role in saving the day before placing
himself into Raptor’s custody (Spider-Girl #93-#95).
Meeting with Special Agent Arthur Weadon, Normie
makes it clear he is willingly volunteering the symbiote and himself to Weadon’s
super-team in exchange for Brenda’s pardon (Spider-Girl #96). While
Brenda is angry about this turn of events, Normie promises they will
ensure he has more freedom than she had working for Weadon and that they
also need to plan for their wedding (Spider-Girl #97).
Things take a dark turn when the Brotherhood of Scriers
hire the original Hobgoblin to kill Spider-Girl. Aiming to remove
her support structure, the Hobgoblin targets Spider-Girl’s
closest allies, including Raptor who is brutally beaten and left tied to
a fence (Spider-Girl #98). Brenda is rushed to hospital for emergency
surgery after which Normie asks Brenda to stop being Raptor and
the two move up wedding ceremony to later that same night (Spider-Girl #99).
Learning he has an opportunity to avenge Brenda, Normie joins the
fight against a team of Scriers and the Hobgoblin, eventually losing
the Venom symbiote when it dies protecting Spider-Girl. Fortunately,
Normie returns in time and he and Brenda Drago are wed in
a small ceremony at the hospital (Spider-Girl #100).
Brenda and Normie go on an extended honeymoon
in Europe, only returning to New York in Amazing Spider-Girl
#15, where they learn the news of Benjy Parker having lost his
hearing following an attack by the Carnage
Symbiote. Brenda suggests Normie try and help using his
connections through medical research at the Osborn Corporation, which
eventually results in Benjy’s hearing being restored through an experimental
process.
Later, Brenda noticed Normie has been stressed
since returning from their honeymoon, often disappearing to his basement
laboratory. While Brenda believes he is concerned about Fury’s
escape from prison, he assures her he isn’t worried and that he is simply
working on a project with Peter Parker. In fact, Normie is
troubled by a recently discovered clone of May found while abroad. The lie
doesn’t last long, as the clone May escapes and Brenda finds Normie
knocked unconscious in his lab after which he comes clean and admits it’s part
of a mad plan by his grandfather (Amazing Spider-Girl #23-#24).
Working with Kaine and Darkdevil, Normie
and Brenda learn that Peter Parker was kidnapped by Fury the
Goblin Queen on his way to meet them. With the situation dire, Brenda
suits up as Raptor once more to help the others, teaming with the Green
Goblin to confront Fury, only for her to escape. Normie decides to
exchange himself for Peter, but finds he is too late: Peter Parker is now inhabited
by the mind of his grandfather Norman Osborn. With the Norman-possessed
Peter bonding with the hybrid symbiote-clone May to become Goblin
God, Brenda and the others desperately try to save Mary Jane
and Benjy from his clutches, holding him off long enough for Peter,
Spider-Girl and her clone to break free and defeat Norman once
and for all (Amazing Spider-Girl #25-#30).
After this, we don’t see Brenda Drago again beyond a
cameo or two, effectively ending her chronicled journey and with it, the Drago
Family Tree. If you feel I’ve missed anything or have any comments please
let me know. I very much enjoy producing these Family Tree posts, but
they are extremely time consuming so some feedback is always appreciated.
Until I find another excuse to write the name ‘Drago’
without referencing Rocky, I remain
frogoat
