Kree in the MC2

As there isn't a huge amount to cover this time around, this post should be relatively brief. Let's take a look at the Kree in the MC2.

Members of the Kree race makes only one major appearance in the MC2 way back in A-Next #2. When the Earth's Orbital Defense Grid shoots down and splits in two a Kree vessel, the two sections crash in the Washington National Park. With the Avengers on the scene thanks to Bill Foster, the team organise into two groups to seek out the remnants of the crashed vessel. Investigating the first crash site, Thunderstrike and Mainframe learn the Kree's robotic Sentry 666 separated from the Kree vessel when attacked by the Orbital Defense Grid. Mainframe surmises the Kree have sent Sentry 666 and his Mission Commander to assess Earth's current military capabilities.

Meanwhile Stinger, J2, Bill and John Foster explore the inside of the meteor-camouflaged Kree ship and discover the Kree Mission Commander has died in the crash. When Bill's leg is caught in the ships bulkhead door as it tetters over a cliff top, John accesses the ships system, inadvertently merging his DNA with that of the Kree Mission Commander and downloading all the ship's data into his brain.

Transformed, John Foster saves his father and the Avengers from Sentry 666, destroying the Kree ship in the process. Dubbing himself the Earth Sentry, John heads off to decipher the Kree's plans for planet Earth.While the Earth Sentry would go on to make several more appearances, we never learn what the Kree were planning. Presumably off-panel the Earth Sentry saved the planet from this Kree plot, but so far we haven't been privy to how things unfolded.

Notably, earlier in the issue Mainframe mentions that the Earth hasn't had an attempted invasion since 'The Skrull Incident' some years prior. This tells us that the Kree likely haven't made contact with the Earth in some time, a fact also supported by their attempt to assess the planet's military capabilities using Sentry 666.

On a side note, two researches working for Bill Foster are named Carol and Walter, almost certainly a reference to Carol Danvers and Walter Lawson, the identity assumed by the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. I nice nod to other Kree-related heroes!



Until the Kree stop making their technology so compatible with Humans, I remain

frogoat

Nick Fury in the MC2

So, my last post about Carol Danvers in the MC2 made me wish I had more to talk about. So today, I'm going to talk about Carol's co-star in the Captain Marvel movie, by discussing his counterpart on Earth-982: lets talk about Nick Fury in the MC2.

To begin with, Nick Fury does actually appear in the flesh in the MC2, but isn't mentioned by name for several years. Fury is first alluded to in A-Next #5 when, following the unconfirmed appearance of Doctor Doom in Latveria by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, the Fantastic Five are tasked with investigating. When Cassie Lang aka Stinger requests the Avengers conduct the investigation instead, Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch is initially reluctant, saying 'The Big Guy himself' had asked them.

A few issues later, while helping the hero Argo to find his father Hercules, the Avengers find themselves in the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility within Mount Athena. There they learn 'The Merchandise' (actually Hercules himself) is buried several miles within the mountain in a special Adamantium cell. Hercules identity as 'The Merchandise' is kept strictly need-to-know and none of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents at Mount Athena are privy to this information. However, Agent 33 receives orders from 'The Top Man himself' to allow the Avengers to take custody of 'The Merchandise.'

Unless I'm mistaken, we don't get any more mentions of Fury until Amazing Spider-Girl #9 when Maria Hill mentions her 'Superiors' tasking Special Agent Arthur Weadon with securely transporting 'Specimen 297' (actually a piece of the Carnage symbiote) through New York City. When the transport convoy is attacked by a faction of  S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents led by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and the Specimen accidentally let loose in the city by Spider-Girl, Carnage is reborn.

Nick Fury makes his first on-panel appearance - albeit shrouded in shadow-when he assures President G.W. Bridge the situation would be resolved despite the complications (Amazing Spider-Girl #10).

It's in Amazing Spider-Girl #12 that we finally see Nick Fury in full and learn the entire plot. As the United States was unwilling to destroy the Carnage symbiote despite the United Nations stance on the use of bio-weapons, G.W. Bridge and Nick Fury organised for the team of disguised S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to 'steal' the Specimen, setting up Weadon's team to fail.

 This was all to demonstrate the dangers to the congressional committee wishing to keep the symbiote for bio-weapon research under the guise of finding a cure for cancer. Despite the operation not going as planned, the situation was salvaged thanks to Spider-Girl's intervention, providing the President with a sound rationale to convince the congressional committee to destroy the remaining Specimen.

As you can see, Fury is still up to his classic spymaster shenanigans, though he appears to prefer to remain in the shadows (both literal and figurative) more than before.

Until I find a nice fitting eyepatch and retire to the darker corners of the MC2, I remain

frogoat

Carol Danvers in the MC2

So I was lucky enough to see the Captain Marvel movie last night and I had a great time. It got me thinking I should do a little post about Carol Danvers in the MC2. That's where my trouble began.

For those who don't know, Carol Danvers first appeared in the Main Marvel Universe in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and eventually gained powers, becoming Ms. Marvel in Ms. Marvel #1. The MC2's Carol Danvers presumably shares the same published history as her Main Marvel Universe counterpart up to a point...more on that shortly.

The only time we see Carol Danvers in the MC2 is Spider-Girl #60 where she appears in her classic black Ms. Marvel costume on the cover amidst other superpowered women of Marvel (including the first female Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau- see here). However, Ms. Marvel only appears alongside various other previous superheroines in the thoughts of May 'Mayday' Parker as she compares herself to her predecessors. The real world reasons for these cameos was to acknowledge prior female heroes as the Spider-Girl title reaching it's 60th continuous issue, something only one other solo female superheroine title at Marvel had achieved, that being Sensational She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass this, reaching issue 100-a feat still unbeaten today.

Jumping into the world of speculation now, let's look at what we can guess at from other established facts. During her career as a superhero, Carol was known first as Ms. Marvel, then Binary during her time in space with the Starjammers team and -most relevantly- as Warbird following her return to the Avengers (Avengers vol. 3 #4). As this Avengers run was running concurrently with the first MC2 titles published in 1998 and 1999, some elements carried over into the flashbacks seen during A-Next #7, such as the costumes and team roster. Despite this, Carol does not appear. What this means is anyone's guess.

It's possible that if Ms. Danvers never rejoined the Avengers, she may not have taken on the moniker of Warbird, leaving it up in the air as to whether she stuck with Binary, went with Warbird or reverted to her Ms. Marvel identity or perhaps adopted the Captain Marvel title of her predecessor as in the Main Marvel Universe. Then again, as noted in my History of the MC2: Heroes Reborn/Heroes Return post, anything beyond Heroes Reborn: The Return #4 is completely up in the air!

Perhaps Carol is alive and well, albeit retired or elsewhere as she remains unseen. Alternately, given the large number of casualties during the Avengers final mission, it's also entirely possible that Danvers perished alongside so many of her teammates. Personally, I'm hoping for the former! Someone should ask Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman, as the two used to be friends...


Until I recover all my missing memories and piece together my damaged psyche, I remain

frogoat

Skrulls in the MC2

What a coincidence, I'm writing a post about Skrulls in the MC2 shortly before the release of the Captain Marvel movie which features Skrull prominently! In all seriousness, this post and a few others have been in the works for a while now. Without further ado, let's get started.

While the shape-shifting Skrulls have been menacing the Earth since they first appeared way back in Fantastic Four #2, the first time we see a Skrull in the MC2 is...the first appearance of the MC2 in What If #105. It's here we get a glimpse of the Fantastic Five, who's members include the Skrull Lyja Storm aka Ms. Fantastic.

We learn in Spider-Girl #3 that Lyja is married to Johnny Storm and in Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #2 we are first introduced to the couple's son, Torus Storm, a Human/Skrull hybrid. Torus possesses both his mother's Skrullian ability to shape-shift and his father's pyrogenic powers. Despite his (very) young age, Torus often attempts to aid his family in battle by altering his form into that of a muscular adult male while utilizing his flame-blasts.

Both Torus and his mother Lyja require far more attention than this write-up on the Skrulls as a whole can do justice, so look forward to me giving the them more focus in another post in the future. Needless to say, they are Skrulls and it would have been remiss of me to leave them out of this post.

We don't encounter any other members of the Skrull race until Apox the Omega Skrull is introduced in Spider-Girl #46. Apox a Skrull servant who was turned into a cyborg with the ability to access the Power Cosmic via a power nodule on his back. Apox killed the Skrull Genetech's who granted him this ability when they refused to worship him as a god. Making his way to Earth under the cover of a meteor swarm, making it past the Orbital Defense Grid and destroying the top of the Fantastic Five Headquarters on his mission to destroy the former Fantastic Four. When Spider-Girl removed the power nodule regulating Apox's Power Cosmic, the Omega Skrull nearly exploded due to the overload. Apox was defeated when the nodule was restored after Big Brain (Reed Richards) had made modifications to it (Spider-Girl #47).

Imprisoned within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s  secret Mount Athena maximum security prison, Apox is freed by a beam of 'coherent energy' sent by the Skrull High Command which restores him to power and eliminates the need for a command nodule. After leaving a trail of defeated heroes in his wake, Apox attacks the F5 Headquarters only to be delayed by the team's children and Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #86-87). Meanwhile, a Skrull Worldship traps the F5 Headquarters within an 'extermi-field' which draws energy from the sun to create a bomb large enough to destroy the Island of Manhattan. It transpires Apox is merely a pawn for the Skrulls to exact their revenge on Earth, as they do not care if he succeeds or fails or even lives or dies (Spider-Girl #87).

Making his way into the Negative Zone via the Fantastic Five's portal, Apox heads to the Fantastistation to take out the original Fantastic Four, only to be defeated by the team when Reed Richards uses the Omega Skrull's Power Cosmic to seal the rift in reality and restore Susan Richards (Spider-Girl #87-88). Spider-Girl makes her way back out of the Negative Zone to deliver Reed Richard's solution to the solar bomb-reversing the polarity and sending the energy back to the Skrull Worldship. With the Skrull Worldship disabled and the mission a failure, the Skrulls chose imprisonment on Earth alongside Apox rather than face the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl #86).

Finally, the Shaper of Worlds, the sentient Skrull-made original Cosmic Cube makes appearances in Last Planet Standing #2 and #3 alongside other Great Powers of the Universe who gather to discuss the threat to reality Galactus' final plan poses. Ultimately deciding they must destroy Galactus using a combined destructive bolt strong enough to wipe out the Earth and the entire Milky Way Galaxy, the Great Powers are halted in their attempt when Reed Richards is forced to use his Transdimensional Cannon's single shot on the cosmic beings.

As mentioned in my previous post the Orbital Defense Grid was commissioned following the events of the mysterious 'Skrull Incident' (A-Next #2) which was some years prior. This alongside Apox the Omega Skrull's out of date references to heroes such as Thor, Captain America and Iron Man strongly suggests the Skrull Empire has not had contact with Earth since - a fact the marvunapp entry for Apox pointed out (Spider-Girl #47). It's also worth pointing out that apart from Apox, no one from the Skrull Empire approached Earth directly, as evident from the Skrull Worldship's position far away from the planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy (Spider-Girl #87-88). It's also suggested that Apox may have attacked the Fantastic Five against orders as a result of his delusion of godhood. While we don't know much about the state of the Skrull Empire, we do know that it is currently led by an Emperor (Spider-Girl #88) who presumably presides over the Skrull High Command (Spider-Girl #86-88) in a regime that Lyja refers to as 'virtual slavery' (Spider-Girl #88).

And that's it, that's all I have to share about the Skrulls in the MC2. Clearly, there is an untold story in the history of the MC2 involving the 'Skrull Incident' and I believe it played a part in keeping the Skrull race from openly attacking Earth. Perhaps one day I'll expand on it in it's own post?

Until I can uncover Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz's unpublished scripts and plot ideas, I remain

frogoat

The Rambeau-Freeman Family Tree

After some tedious computer repair, I'm back to present the latest MC2 Family Tree: The Rambeau-Freeman Family Tree! This particular family tree presents us with a case of 'Word of God' rather than a solid on-panel confirmation. Let's get to it.

The obvious place to start is with Captain Marvel herself. Or... Photon? Or perhaps Pulsar? Or maybe I should call her Spectrum? Monica Rambeau is only the second person to assume the title of Captain Marvel in Marvel Comics publication history, as well as the first woman to do so. Following her introduction in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, Monica became a major character during her time as a member (and leader) of the Avengers. Soon, Monica would fall prey to the greatest foe in comics history: marginalisation. Monica would leave the Avengers after being depowered and left as a near-dead husk (Avengers #294).

After regaining powers, Monica made mostly guest appearances apart from two single-issue Captain Marvel comics in 1989 and 1994 before relinquishing the heroic identity to Genis-Vell, the son of the original Captain Marvel. Monica also takes on the name Photon in the same story (Avengers Unplugged #5) before next appearing in Avengers (vol. 3) #1-3. So, presumably she's still called Photon in the MC2. If you've been keeping up with these MC2 Family Tree entries, you already know the usual point that the Main Marvel Universe diverges into the MC2 Universe is.....somewhere around 1998, maybe. Oh, boy. This stuff is confusing. We'll come back to it later.

Monica's parents both make their debut in  Avengers (vol. 1) #246. Maria Rambeau is a seamstress and Frank Rambeau is a retired fire chief for the New Orleans Fire Department. While Frank is supportive of his daughter's super heroics, Maria had difficulties letting Monica risk her life after years spent worrying about her husband in his dangerous occupation.

Derek Freeman is an FBI Agent who encountered Monica several times during her time with the Avengers as Captain Marvel, at first in an official capacity but soon in a romantic context. Derek first appeared in Avengers (vol. 1) #263 and at some point prior to Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #2 had deduced Monica's duel identity. It's also in the latter issue that we are introduced to Derek's nephew, Raymond Washington.

Raymond Washington is a 21 year old student at Empire State University majoring in Political Science. Ray is also a campus activist and student counselor. During a series of racial-motivated attacks by members of the Sons of the Serpent, Ray attempts to form a coalition between the various minority groups on campus to provide protection. Using his contacts in the FBI, Derek arranges for Monica to investigate the attacks while undercover at ESU. Ray organises a counter-demonstration to stand up to the hate-group while Monica defeats the leader of the Serpent group (revealed to be the super-powered Skinhead).

Duane Freeman (brother of Derek Freeman) was the Federal Security Liason assigned to the Avengers who first appeared in Avengers (vol. 3) #4. As anyone who's read previous MC2 Family Tree's knows, the usual 'cut-off' point for characters and events from the Main Marvel Universe existing in the MC2 is generally at some point around late 1997-1998, roughly coinciding with the beginning of the MC2's own publication history. Though Duane Freeman dies off-panel and behind the scenes in Avengers (vol. 3) #49, it is entirely possible the events leading to his death did not occur in the MC2. I'll definitely have to do another post someday covering my theories of how much of the Main Marvel Universe post-divergence can be included in the MC2's own history.

Given that Derek is Raymond's uncle and Duane is never stated to have children, in addition to Raymond already being 21 years of age in Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #2, it's logical to assume that Derek and Duane have another as-yet unseen older sibling.

And now for the character that ties these two families together: Blacklight. First appearing in A-Next #9, we learn little about Blacklight during her fight with the Soldiers of the Serpent. However, in the same issue we are also introduced to Kendra Freeman, a young woman on the committee for the Neighborhood Pride Street Festival which was attacked by the Soldiers of the Serpent. While it's not established on-panel, 'word of god' from co-creator Tom Defalco here confirms the familial relationship. Additionally, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 lists Blacklight's real name as Kendra Freeman. As Tom's original answer doesn't specify which Freeman brother is the Kendra's father, I reached out to Ron Frenz, the characters co-creator who clarified that it was in fact Derek Freeman.

So there you have it! Two families brought together in the Might MC2 Manner! Hoo-Ha!

Until I run out of characters to mine for MC2 Family Tree's, I remain

frogoat

Marvel NOW!

Ever since Marvel announced there intention to shake things up across the board, changing creative teams, relaunching major titles and generally giving everything a spit-shine, I've been keenly waiting for things to slip in quality. Not because I wanted the initiative to fail, far from it; it's just that these kind of things never go as well as planned for very long. That said, so far I've been entirely wrong. I couldn't be happier.

Of the titles I'm currently reading, I understand Hawkeye is the critical darling of the comics-press. To be sure, it's an excellent book, with it's continuity-lite, single-issue-for-the-most-part story telling and unique look and tone. Not to mention the dialog is fantastic, to say nothing of the plots themselves. But to be fair, Young Avengers can boast all of the above with aplomb, such a feast for the senses it is. And what is it lately with writers inserting playlists into comics?! It's wicked-cool and I want more of it. Please and thank you.

Avengers Assemble is making it's own way in the world of Avengers titles (and there are quite a lot, aren't there?) with a heapin' helpin' of humor and snark. Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick kills it every month, while still finding the right balance of pathos. Which brings me to Captain Marvel: brilliant art every month, nothing quite like it on the shelves today, and finally (finally!) Carol Danvers is given the respect she deserves. That's not to disregard all that's come before, I very much enjoyed the previous Ms Marvel series, but it was missing something this title isn't.

Speaking of Avengers, Rick Remender and John Cassaday's Uncanny Avengers is hard hitting goodness every month while Captain America by Remender and John Romita Jr (my first comic-artist-crush, people!) is mad, mad, mad excitement and gravitas. I've never seen such bonkers fun on a Cap title, it's a welcome change from all the espionage and spy-fare stuff of the past decade.

Superior Spider-Man is ludicrously well endowed when it comes to the art department, and I love Dan Slott. Not every issue has been a winner, but with the kind of tale being spun, I can forgive it. Plus *SPOILERS* sweeties: Miguel O'Hara, Spider-Man 2099 is making an appearance soon. I'm still holding out for a Spider-Girl appearance, naturally.

Just to touch on a few more titles before I wrap this up; Journey into Mystery has gone from strength to strength,Fantastic Four is...well, fantastic: back to it's roots of adventurers in unexplored places and times, A+X is simple Marvel Two-in-One meets Marvel Team-Up concept title that really works.

And finally, Avengers Arena. What can I even say about this book that hasn't already been said? I thought it was a gimmick title to grab sales, 'Which one of your favorite young characters will bite the dust this issue?!' Only it wasn't. Dennis Hopeless wants to hit you right in the gut with every agonizing decision these poor characters make, he wants you to love these characters, really love these characters before he ends their short, sad lives in the most horrible way possible. And with art by Kev Walker, you can't help but feel every blow, every last breath escaping another lost soul caught up in Arcades twisted Murder World. It's high-stakes drama, not cheap thrills and sales-spikes this team is after, oh no! They want you to wish this wasn't happening, because the characters wish this wasn't happening. That's the sign of a great title with a great hook and a great creative team.

Until Squirrel Girl gets her own feature film, I remain

frogoat


    

Captain Marvel

I am forever a month behind the rest of the world, so let's kick off with a review of the new Carol Danvers starring title, Captain Marvel. It's an excellent first issue that really gets right to the center of the character and introduces new elements to the established mythos, which justify the new direction the book is heading in straight off the bat. Loved it. Go check it out. It's that good.






What are you waiting for? Go pick it up!