What's the Deal with Deacon's Den?

 

Every now and then I like to shine a light on some of the more obscure MC2 characters. In that tradition, today’s post we will be taking a look at the mysterious and magical mentor of Doc Magus, the man known only as Deacon.

 

First appearing alongside the young Sorcerer Supreme, Doc Magus in A-Next #3, Deacon is the one to suggest Doc Magus aka Dormagus recruits the recently reassembled new team of Avengers to counter Doctor Strange and his Defenders team comprised of the Incredible Hulk aka Bruce Banner and Namor the Sub-Mariner. While it’s not identified in this issue, we can presume this location is Dormagus’ ‘Sanctum Sanctorum’.

 

The following month over in the pages of J2’s own title, we learn that Deacon too possesses magical ability when he aids Doc Magus by casting Zane Yama aka J2’s astral form into a strange nightmare dimension. He is relieved when the pair of heroes return unscathed, having seen their unconscious bodies spasm while they were in peril (J2 #4).

 

It’s not until J2 #12 we learn that the Doc Magus operates out of his ‘Sanctum Sanctorum’ which is really just the back room of Deacon’s Den, a comic book store owned and operated by Deacon. When J2 and Doc Magus ignore Doctor Stange’s warning and journey into a pocket dimension via the Crossroads of Infinity to rescue Cain Marko aka The Juggernaut they discover it’s a trap too late and become trapped when their gateway back to Earth is destroyed by Nemesus. Notably, the energy backlash from this is shown to surround Deacon and his eyes glow red as he senses what has happened.

 

Found and assisted by Zane’s curious school associates, Deacon reveals he instinctively raised a protective shield around the gateway. With the help of the highschooler’s they manage to create a trail for the heroes to follow home…using Dormagus’ comic book collection. The bizarre events are explained away by Cain Marko as a temporal anomaly, and we learn via Zane’s closing monologue that Deacon’s Den closed down within a week and was replaced by a dry cleaner business (J2 #12).

 

While Zane believes Deacon’s Den to have closed down, it’s possible it makes an off-panel appearance as a target of Mr. Abnormal’s crime-spree. The super stretchy criminal notably steals a complete collection of Police Comics from a comic shop, so perhaps it was Deacon’s Den? Either way, Mr. Abnormal is defeated by the combined efforts of Speedball and Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #15).

 

Deacon’s Den is definitely open and running again by the time the events of Spider-Girl #71 take place, with a ‘New’ sign and different appearance. Deacon is seen working the counter when J2 and Spider-Girl come seeking Doc Magus, who is once again using the store’s back room as his Sanctum Sanctorum. The three heroes thwart an invasion of invisible Darklings sent by Nemesus, though Deacon, sadly, isn’t an active participant in events this time around.

 

A little while later, during the events of Last Hero Standing, we get a confirmation that Deacon’s Den is located in Manhattan when Doctor Strange unsuccessfully attempts to recruit his son Doc Magus to his Defenders team so they can find the growing number of missing heroes. Deacon tells Dormagus he shouldn’t have turned down the assistance but gives up when the young Sorcerer Supreme brushes him off too. Shortly afterwards, Doc Magus is captured by the mastermind behind the plot, the Asgardian god of mischief Loki, leaving behind nothing but a smoking crater in the ground for the intestinally distressed Deacon to discover (Last Hero Standing #2).

 

When up and coming comic creators Jimmy Yama and Reynard ‘Wes’ Westin approach Deacon in the hope he’ll stock their Spider-Girl comic in his store, he initially declines but is convinced when Jimmy promises an appearance from the super heroine (Amazing Spider-Girl #4).

 

Of course, Jimmy asks his girlfriend Heather Noble to dress up as the fictional version of Spider-Girl from the comic he and Wes developed together. The promotional event at Deacon’s Den is advertised in the newspaper which draws the attention of the villainous Hobgoblin (Amazing Spider-Girl #5).

 

Sure enough, with Heather in costume as Spider-Girl, the Hobgoblin descends on Deacon’s Den (which also stocks MC2 comics, dontcha know) and kidnaps her. The Hobgoblin uses Heather as bait to draw out the one, true Spider-Girl. While the promotion had a good turn out, Deacon picks the perfect moment to ask if Jimmy and Wes obtained Spider-Girl’s permission to use her in their comic which, of course, they did not. Spider-Girl manages to save Heather and fight off the Hobgoblin with some unexpected assistance (Amazing Spider-Girl #6).

 

This next one isn’t an appearance of either Deacon or his Den but I’ve included it for the sake of completeness. Wes is seen with a newly bought comic (complete with carry bag) heading for a bus stop before a surprise encounter with April Parker. Does Wes frequent Deacon’s Den and why does he fold his precious comics? (Spectacular Spider-Girl vol. 1 #4/Amazing Spider-Man Family #8).

 

We get our last glimpse of Deacon in a fleeting cameo many overlooked in the MC2 story published as a back-up feature in the Secret Wars: Spider-Island mini-series. Yes, that’s Deacon carrying a sign decrying this Battleworld of Doctor Doom’s as a lie. So, once again, Deacon can see things beyond those of normal men. Thanks to Ron Frenz for confirming this appearance! (Secret Wars: Spider-Island #1)

 

Deacon is something of an enigma, he appears to live a mundane existence as a lowly comic book store owner, while displaying mystic abilities and being involved with events that are far more bizarre. Perhaps we’ll learn more about him someday? Thank you to arias-98105 for help with this post!

 

Until I buy a comic book store rather than buy from them, I remain

 

frogoat

Kaine's Costume

 

Kaine is one of those characters I could probably talk about a lot more. Specifically, I find his MC2 incarnation fascinating for various reasons. Today I wanted to take a look at something I’ve always found under utilized in his original Main Marvel Universe and only touched upon lightly in the MC2: Kaine’s weird costume during the Clone Saga.

I’ll let writer and editor Glen Greenberg explain Kaine’s suit in his own words from the brilliant Life of Reilly Part 9 (which can be found here and here):  

And here's a few things you probably didn't know about Kaine. First, that weird costume of his was actually a life-support outfit that stabilized the debilitating effects of his cellular degeneration. Kaine lived in constant pain, and that would only get worse as time went on, but the outfit slowed down the degeneration and prolonged his life. That's why Kaine wore the costume in most of his modern-day appearances, and why he didn't have it in the LOST YEARS limited series, which took place years earlier.

 

Glen continues:

 

Ironically enough, as Mark Bernardo - even to this day - has never failed to point out, NONE of the Spider-writers ever managed to work any of this information into the actual stories! Mark and I both felt that these were some of the most interesting aspects about Kaine - but as it turned out, the people in our little group would be the only ones who ever knew about them!

So, the writers had a logical explanation worked out for why Kaine was wearing the suit during the present-day parts of the Clone Saga and not the flashbacks seen years earlier in the Lost Years mini-series, this information apparently never made it’s way into the stories that were published at the time.

 

Now in both the Main Marvel Universe and the MC2-niverse we see Kaine on the loose shortly after the infant Mayday Parker is kidnapped by agents of Norman Osborn, leading to him pursuing Alison Mongrain and becoming directly involved in the events that follow. One area where things differ is after his apparent escape from prison in the Main Marvel Universe, Kaine is still somehow rocking his life-support suit that slows his clone degeneration. How he got access to it is unclear and makes little sense (Amazing Spider-Man #435).  Meanwhile what we see in the MC2 around the same time seems somewhat more likely: Kaine is wearing plain civilian clothes which evoke his attire during the events of Spider-Man: The Lost Years, the kind of thing he would have easy access to while on the run from authorities and trying to remain incognito (Spider-Girl #48-#49 and Amazing Spider-Girl #25).

It's only later on in the MC2’s history, during the time a young Reilly Tyne and later the body of the deceased Matt Murdock aka Daredevil are brought to Kaine’s secret laboratory, that we see Kaine rocking a new shiny metallic suit or armour (as seen in flashbacks from Darkdevil #1-#3). This is appears to be the same design in which he made his MC2 debut in Spider-Girl #12 and would continue to wear for the next few issues until his imprisonment at the end of Spider-Girl #17. Subsequently Kaine is shown in prison without this metallic suit and upon his release, only returning to it when he reappeared in the pages of Spider-Girl once more with Spider-Girl #45-#47, #48-49. From this point on, Kaine is seen alternating between either civilian clothing, his metallic suit, or a combination of the two. This brings us to the next point.

 

Kaine no longer seems to require his regeneration suit, a fact made clear in the Darkdevil mini-series not just through his prison stay without any special suit, but in the aforementioned flashbacks. Specifically, one which mentions Kaine mastered ‘arcane skills’ years earlier to prevent his degeneration. This apparently involved acting as a servant to the living spirit of vengeance known as Zarathos, and a mention by the spirit implies Kaine still suffers physical torment. However, Kaine notes in Spider-Girl #14 that after years of constant agony, his nerve endings simply stopped functioning, suggesting he can no longer feel anything.

 

This raises the question of why Kaine wears the metallic suit at all if he doesn’t have to rely on one to stave off his cellular degeneration and no longer seems to experience pain? We don’t have a definitive answer, but I have a theory that’s quite straightforward and deceptively simple: If Kaine can’t feel pain and has already been ravaged for years prior by his imperfectly cloned cells degenerating, he’s far more vulnerable to severe injury. Kaine has experienced severe physical trauma throughout his years and would probably have died years ago had he not used arcane methods to cheat death. Kaine remains mortal and is now at an advanced physical age, hence why he often relies on his metallic suit for protection: should he sustain a life-threatening injury, he would not even feel it and may not realize until it is too late.

 

Kaine wears the metallic suit less as time goes on, eventually wearing civilian clothing exclusively in his later appearances in Amazing Spider-Girl and beyond. While it does humanise him, it also leaves him vulnerable. Perhaps that is by choice? Anyway, let me know what you think or if you have any alternative suggestions. Kaine is such a great character and ripe with such potential for future stories should the MC2 ever make comeback.

 

Until I figure out Kaine’s whole Caribbean detour thing, I remain

 

frogoat

Felicia Hardy in the MC2

Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat has been a prominent and important figure of the Spider-Man mythos since her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #194, so her being the focus of today’s post should come as no surprise. Let’s take a look at Felicia Hardy in the MC2.

Felicia Hardy makes her MC2 debut in the pages of Spider-Girl #36 where she visits Mary Jane and reveals she got back into town a few weeks prior and mentions her kids, who unlike her, are not doing fine.

 

It’s in the following issue when Felicia accompanies Mary Jane to an appointment that we get more details. Felicia believes Felicity blames her for divorcing the children’s father, Eugene ‘Flash’ Thompson. When Mary Jane enquires about Felicia’s son Gene, however, we don’t get a straight answer (Spider-Girl #37).

 

Felicia visits Mary Jane at the Parker family home and is sorry to hear she didn’t get to see May as she hadn’t seen her since she was a baby. Felicia also discloses to Mary Jane that Felicity barely speaks to her. Before Mary Jane can finish their conversation, she collapses to the ground (Spider-Girl #39).

 

Felicia calls the ambulance and at the hospital meets with Peter and May. Felicia remarks she hasn’t seen May since she was a toddler. After learning Mary Jane is doing well, Felicia leaves to allow Peter and Mary Jane privacy with the doctor (Spider-Girl #40).

 

During another visit to Mary Jane, once more at her home, Felicia discusses concerns about her daughter Felicity. Felicia believes that not only has Felicity not forgiven her for divorcing her father, but also disapproves of her current lifestyle. Mary Jane assures Felicia she’s entitled to live her own life regardless of how her daughter feels about it. Meanwhile, Felicia just want’s her daughter to open up and communicate with her (Spider-Girl #45). If Ms. Hardy only knew what her daughter was up to…

 

In Spider-Girl #47, Mary Jane invites both Felicia and her partner Diana over for a cup of tea. Diana mentions the couple were previously living in Paris but have moved back so that Felicity can reestablish a relationship with her father. When Mary Jane asks how long the two have known each other, Felicia states ‘it’s going on six years now’ and mentions that Diana used to be a contract operative for her detective agency. While Felicia’s detective agency isn’t named here, it’s presumably Cat’s Eye Investigations, which she first formed in Felicia Hardy: Black Cat #4 way back in 1994. Diana thinks one of the reasons Felicity ‘doesn’t approve’ of her is because she believes her to be ‘some kind of opportunist’.

 

When Felicia learns of her daughter’s superhero antics, she confronts Felicity about putting herself in jeopardy and humiliating her in the eyes of an old friend aka Peter Parker. It doesn’t go down well, with Felicity angrily responding that she isn’t crazy about Felicia’s own decisions including leaving her father, quitting as the Black Cat and beginning a relationship with Diana. Felicity departs with a parting shot questioning if her mother is angry about her endangering her life or because she patterned herself after the Scarlet Spider instead of the Black Cat. Despite Diana’s attempt to comfort her, Felicia remains convinced her daughter hates her (Spider-Girl #48).

 

After Felicity skips school, Felicia walks her daughter in to the school despite her daughter’s protests, informing her that she needs to stop acting like a child unless she wishes to be treated like one and reminds Felicity of her appointment with the school guidance counsellor within earshot of other students, inadvertently causing more of a scene. Felicia has made this appointment for her daughter because she believes she may be depressed; a fact Felicity throws in her face afterwards when she arrives home and interrupts Felicia and Diana in a loving embrace (Spider-Girl #53).

 

As I have noted previously, this storyline unfortunately never saw completion, apparently for one or more real-world reasons including multiple attempted cancellations of the Spider-Girl title at the time. It would be over 20 issues before we saw Felicity again in the series and Felicia and Diana were lost in the lurch almost entirely, with Felicia making only a brief appearance years later in Amazing Spider-Girl #3. It appears by this point the relationship between Felicia and Felicity has improved, with the pair heading off for lunch together happily.

 

That’s all for the actual MC2 appearances of Felicia Hardy, but perhaps one day I may get a chance to detail one or two untold stories involving the Black Cat in the MC2.

 

Until I find out my parent is a cat burglar and I take up the family business, I remain

 

frogoat