Howard the Duck in the MC2

 

Howard the Duck just keeps showing up on-screen! From his own self-titled film to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 to Avengers: Endgame and most recently the What If animated series, you can’t keep a good duck down! Here is Howard the Duck in the MC2.

 

Marvel’s most famous mallard makes his only appearance in the MC2 in J2 #11. When American Dream of the Avengers turns down an invitation to participate in a martial arts contest, J2 aka Zane Yama takes it upon himself to attend in her place. Travelling via mystical amulet to a small island, J2 meets the (apparently) blind Howard the Duck, the self-proclaimed Master of Quack-Fu.

 

From Howard we learn that a few dozen of the world's greatest martial artists were invited to the contest, but only a few of the previous generation's 'old fogies' showed up. Among these ‘old fogies’ is Shang-Chi, sparring with Shen Kuei aka Cat. Other characters glimpsed include Iron Fist, the Sons of the Tiger and White Tiger.

 

 Suspecting a trap, Howard had hoped to stack the deck in his favour with American Dream, Stuck with J2 instead, Howard attempts to train the big lug to defend himself but has no success. When J2 reverts back to Zane Yama after his powers temporarily wear off, he encounters Blind Al. Concerned for Zane's well-being in the upcoming contest, Al attempts to get past Weasel to talk to the mystery person who organised the contest: Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.

 

 

Having followed Blind Al, Zane learns the contest will have a deadly ending. Encountering Deadpool, Zane turns back into J2 to duke it out with the mercenary. Deadpool reveals he set up the contest to alleviate his boredom. Having overheard his plans, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Cat and the Sons of the Tiger proceed to kick Wade’s butt off-panel. Howard knowingly comments 'Everyone will keep fighting until--at the critical moment--they suddenly discover it's all been a big misunderstanding. Then, we bow... say pithy farewells... and follow our separate paths. Such is the way of the true martial artist!'

While I thought this was the only appearance of the MC2’s Howard the Duck, I recently learned this was incorrect. In the pages of S.H.I.E.L.D. (vol. 3) #10 the Main Marvel Universe’s well known Howard the Duck is sent on a mission with  to repair damage done to the fabric of existence  by the events of Spider-Verse and thus ‘mend the omniversal zipper’ which was causing various anomalies.  Alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Leo Fitz and various alternate reality versions of himself, Howard found the ‘omniversal zipper’ on the being known as The Liverer. As the zip closed, Howard caught a glimpse of various alternate versions of himself, including the MC2’s own Master of Quack-Fu.

 

Well, that’s it for Howard the Duck in the MC2. Never thought he’d show up again, but it was a nice surprise!

 

Until I wind up as beloved as the frustrated fowl, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Iron Man in the MC2

With all the build up for Avengers: Endgame, I've elected to cover some of the MC2 incarnations of the films main cast. For this entry, we'll be taking a look at the golden Avenger, the genius, billionaire, former playboy philanthropist: Iron Man. 

Making his first appearance in the MC2 in the A-Next #7 in a flashback to the last days of the original Avengers team, we learn that not only did Iron Man join the team on their final mission, he was among the few to return alive. After mourning their fallen comrades, Iron Man and the Scarlet Witch worked tirelessly for months to seal the portal permanently against future attacks. Unfortunately, to achieve this the Scarlet Witch was sealed within a stasis pod, holding the aperture shut. Tony Stark retired as Iron Man, but continued to work to help the world. 

We also learn through flashbacks that around this time Tony Stark developed Mainframe, a sophisticated robotic armour with Tony's own brain patterns, designed to ensure there would always be someone to answer the call to assemble (A-Next #7, Spider-Girl #95).

Jumping around a bit for context: Tony Designed and built a Nanite Agenda in an attempt to aid the Scarlet Witch. However, Tony discovered too late that his best friend James Rhodes aka War Machine had tested it on himself to protect Tony. The Agenda proved harmful, causing a slow erosion of Rhodes' humanity, making him less and less human over time whilst also gifting him increasing superhuman abilities (Spider-Girl #95).

Stark makes his first present-day appearance in A-Next #10 when the new Avengers team venture to the alternate world. When Tony learns of this news, he confronts Edwin Jarvis only to be stopped by Clint Barton aka Hawkeye who argues with him about their last mission. 

The three men were taken hostage by the Red Queen and her Revengers team prior to A-Next #12. While held captive, Stark manages to get a signal to Mainframe's satellite, enabling the robotic Avenger to return with reinforcements. Despite Tony's initial misgivings he is soon impressed with the team's performance, giving the new Avengers his blessing.

Next showing up in Spider-Girl #30-32, Tony warns Spider-Girl about interfering with the Avengers pursuit of The Buzz following her encounter with Stark's 'bodyguard,' the now super powered nanite-puppet James Rhodes. Refusing to stand down, Spider-Girl finds herself in conflict with the Avengers when she attempts to defend the wrongly-accused Buzz. During the battle, we learn that Stark contributed technology to the Human Fly Project which created the suit now worn by The Buzz and wishes to take  it back. Things are resolved when the Stark-controlled Rhodes strips the technology from the Buzz and allows him to go. Due to his manipulations of the team behind the scenes, the Avengers clash with Tony soon afterwards.

Despite most other retired super heroes being drawn back into costume during the events of Last Hero Standing, Tony Stark does not don his trademark suit of armour. In fact, we only see him in Last Hero Standing #1 visiting the comatose Wanda Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch. When she is abducted, Stark alerts the Avengers. Notably, there is a brief exchange between Tony and Captain America, the only interaction we see the two old friends share before Cap's death.

With so many members of with injuries or otherwise absent, Stark takes it upon himself to recruits some 'experienced pros' to fill out the Avengers roster. 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. Forced out of retirement, Stark reluctantly dons an old suit of Iron Man armour to help end Rhodes' rampage (Spider-Girl #93-#95). 

When we last see Tony, he's discussing the grave threat posed by the newly-returned Doctor Doom with the President of the United States G.W. Bridges, Mainframe and the Vision. After the crisis is ended, Tony concludes they have Reed Richards to thank.

Tony Stark is an interesting character in the MC2. I get the impression he is quite lonely, considering he lost many of his closest friends in short span of time. Several colleagues perished on their final mission, Captain America stayed behind, the Wasp died soon after returning home, Hercules was driven insane and the Scarlet Witch fell into a coma as a result of sealing the dimensional portal with Tony. Not to mention Tony's best friend Rhodey becoming trapped in a state living-death due to his invention. All that loss most definitely weighs on Tony. I'd love to see more of him.

Until I build myself a high-tech suit of armour in a cave--WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS, I remain

frogoat