Aftershock in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur *Update*

 

This is just a quick update to two prior posts: Is the MC2’s Aftershock in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur?! and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Episode 1 Review. Both posts discuss the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur animated series and its potential adaption of the MC2 version of the character Aftershock aka Allison Dillon.

 

In my review post, I mentioned that the animated Aftershock uses the name ‘Ms. Dillon’ while temporarily working as a teacher at Lunella Lafayette aka Moon Girl’s school. This seemed to concretely establish this version of Aftershock was adapting the MC2 iteration of the character and not the one seen in the Main Marvel Universe, Danielle Blunt.

 

Just to further reinforce this notion, an interview with the animated show’s Executive Producer, Steve Loter on entertainment site Beautiful Ballard had this to added incite:

 

The first villain Lunella faces is Aftershock, was that always the plan?

Steve Loter: “Being that Aftershock is the first villain in the series, it’s the first real formidable villain that Lunella faces as Moon Girl, we really did wanna encapsulate a lot about what the mission statement was of the series is the one girl makes a difference storyline which is super important. That to have this character coming into the Lower East Side sapping it of its energy, there’s a lot of proverbial notions there to make statement about gentrification. It’s a statement about losing community and neighborhood and connection. It was really important for Aftershock to be the conduit—no pun intended—for that kind of story. But yeah, it was totally intentional. And it’s the daughter of Electro, so that’s always fun, too. But that was the reasons why Aftershock definitely had to be our first villain.”

 

So, there you have it, the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur production team even refers to her as ‘the daughter of Electro’. The matter is settled. Ironically, even though the series borrows a few visuals and elements from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it does not actually take place within that continuity. Which means it is free to have a second-generation villain show up ahead of their parent’s MCU debut.

 

Before I power down again, I wanted to also give a quick shout out to this YouTube video from the channel WhitneyVision which provides a great in-depth look at the first six episodes of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur with comparisons and changes from the comics along with easter eggs and references. Check it out.

 

Until I stop adoring this great cartoon, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Is the MC2's Aftershock in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur?!

 

I do not usually like to do these sorts of posts because of how poorly they tend to age, but with recent rumblings surrounding the new Disney animated series Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, I figured I might as well take the time to quickly lay out what we know about the potential appearance of an MC2 character within the show: Aftershock.

 

With the release of a few clips from the upcoming tv series, we have seen glimpses of the villainous Aftershock, voiced by Alison Brie along with a few officially released images. Visually, the electrifying character bears some resemblance to a few iterations of Electro, such as the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series and elements of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics which itself inspired the live-action version portrayed by Jamie Foxx in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie. I have also seen some making comparisons to the DC Animated Universe’s Livewire.

 

 

 

 

But none of that ties Brie’s character to the MC2’s Allison Dillon aka Aftershock and there is another shocking alternative to consider: the Main Marvel Universe has its own version of Aftershock also known as Danielle Blunt who first appeared in Young Allies (vol. 2) #1 and originally believed herself to be the daughter of Electro despite the age discrepancy. Interestingly, both versions of Aftershock were created by writer Sean McKeever, though the MC2’s went unnamed in her initial appearance and her familial connection to Max Dillion was not established until later.

 

I should also mention there is a third candidate for the identity of this animated version of Aftershock, though somewhat less likely: Francine Frye who assumed the mantle of Electro in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 4) #17. On the other hand, it is just as likely this iteration of Aftershock’s secret identity will go unidentified within the show, given it is a show intended for children and other similar programs do not focus on this sort of thing.

 

 

Anyway, we will find out soon enough when the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur cartoon debuts next year. Until then, let me know what you think! Either way, we are getting a big red dinosaur teaming up with a young genius girl, what is not to love?

 

Until we get a nice slice of MC2 in our media adaptions, I remain

 

frogoat

Electro in the MC2

 

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. For the third entry in this little series, we are taking a look at Maxwell ‘Max’ Dillon aka Electro in the MC2.

 

Maxwell ‘Max’ Dillon first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #9 but makes his MC2 debut in the pages of Spider-Girl #81 where he once again dons his classic Electro costume for an expected reason. For those who might be interested, I’ve previously detailed the Dillon Family Tree, which can be found here.

 

But first, an unnamed female villain clad in an Electro-inspired costume makes an appearance in Spider-Girl #51. The aforementioned Electro-styled villainess who briefly appears goes unnamed, though Spider-Girl does point out the apparent connections to Electro and jokingly refers to her opponent as 'Electra', quipping that it's already taken.

 

We wouldn't learn anymore about this character until she was re-visited in Spider-Girl #81 in what has to be one of the best stand-alone issues of the series. Showing up at the Avengers front door and asking to speak to Spider-Man, Dillon eventually meets with the original webhead face to face and explains the situation.

 

We learn that years ago Max fell in love with a woman named Marilyn, though the two never married. They had a daughter together named Allison Dillon who was born with similar electrical powers. Sadly, Max and Allison were never able to make physical contact due to their 'electrical auras' causing one another extreme pain. Marilyn told Max to stay out of Allison's life and he obliged, later winding up in prison. While there, Marilyn died, leaving Allison to be shuffled between foster homes, eventually donning a costume and starting a life of crime like her father before her. Which is why, having only recently learning of Allison's situation, and apparently having served his time, Max reaches out to the Avengers to obtain help from his old enemy Spider-Man.

 With the assistance of the Avengers, Spider-Man and Spider-Girl, father and daughter are reunited after Max shows Allison he wouldn’t give up on her nor himself. The pair fight through the pain of their electrical auras, finally overcoming the barrier between them, with Max promising they will go through whatever happens next together.

 

It’s not known what happens for the two after this, though Peter does speculate that given Allison is a minor, she’ll either get a light sentence or be paroled into Max’s custody. Either way, Max Dillon has proven he’s grown and is perhaps ready for parenthood.

 

Until I figure out how to travel along power lines using electrical fields, I remain

 

frogoat

The Evolution of Earth X Venom (May Parker) in Other Media

Having recently tracked down the necessary elements needed, I decided to finally put together this long-overdue video demonstrating the Evolution of Earth X Venom aka May Parker in Other Media.

The years noted are the year the original media was released and, where different, the year the character appeared (has far as I've been able to ascertain). Here is a list of the appearances in this video:

Earth X Hardcover Book Clamshell by Graphitti Designs: A Music Video included with the release animated by David Riske (2001)

Activision's Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro as an Alternate Costume for Spider-Man as voiced by Rino Romano (2001)

Gameloft's Spider-Man Unlimited mobile game (2014) though the character wasn't added until January 2017. The voice actress remains uncredited. If anyone has any information, let me know!

Music: 'Tangled Web (Peter & May Parker)' from the Earth X Soundtrack by Scott Vladimir Licina

I don't claim to own any of the trademarks or copyrights on the characters, concepts or music featured in this video. It was made purely out of love of the character and I make no profit from this video. Please support the media and games featured in this video by buying a copy. Made under 'Fair Use' as the video does not affect the copyright and trademark holders from profiting and promotes their works.

Until I get more time to put into these things (maybe when I retire a millionaire), I remain

frogoat

The Dillon Family Tree

Here's another family tree I was inspired to pump out after completed my last post: The Dillon Family Tree! Electro is one of Spider-Man's most iconic enemies and has always been a personal favourite of mine. So, as you can imagine I was pleasantly surprised when not only did we get an Electro-themed MC2 character, but we also learned she was indeed related to the original.

Maxwell 'Max' Dillon first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #9 but we didn't get much insight into his life or personal history until Amazing Spider-Man #422. It's in this issue that we learn pretty much everything we could want to know about what makes Max the man he is: a man with great potential who never really tried to push himself. Max was born in Endicott, New York but his father Jonathan Dillon made them move frequently as result of being fired often. Jonathan was a tightly wound man prone to violent outbursts who abandoned his young family when Max was around 8 years old. This event caused Max's mother, Anita Dillon to become overprotective of her son, actively discouraging him from taking risks even when he reached adulthood. When Max announced his plans to go to college to pursue a career as a scientist or electrical engineer, Anita discouraged him, insisting he lacked the intelligence and discipline. Clearly, Max never stood a chance.

Just three weeks before Max's twenty-fifth birthday, Anita passed away. Six months later, Max married Norma Lynn, a secretary he met working at the local electric company. Max went from job to job until he became a lineman, and rather than pursue a management position or his dream of being an engineer, he stayed where he felt safe. Refusing to settle for a man with no ambition, Norma left Max who threw himself into his work-the only thing he had left. It was while (selfishly) doing his lineman job that Max would gain his electrical powers.

Fast forward to the MC2 and an unnamed female villain clad in an Electro-inspired costume makes an appearance in Spider-Girl #51. This particular issue has the distinction of being the only one written by someone other than Tom Defalco and the gang. Written by Sean McKeever with art by Casey Jones, the issue was commissioned as a fill-in issue in the event a deadline couldn't be met but after sometime, it was published regardless. While this issue was published directly after the big anniversary issue #50, it obviously does not follow these events with the collected digests placing the story between Spider-Girl #35 and #36. None of this is strictly relevant, but I felt a little context might help. The aforementioned Electro-styled villainess who briefly appears goes unnamed, though Spider-Girl does point out the apparent connections to Electro and jokingly refers to her opponent as 'Electra', quipping that it's already taken.

We wouldn't learn anymore about this character until she was re-visited by Tom and Ron in Spider-Girl #81 in what has to be one of the best stand-alone issues of the series. We learn that years ago Max fell in love with a woman named Marilyn, though the two never married. They had a daughter together named Allison Dillon who was born with similar electrical powers. Sadly, Max and Allison were never able to make physical contact due to their 'electrical auras' causing one another extreme pain. Marilyn told Max to stay out of Allison's life and he obliged, later winding up in prison. While there, Marilyn died, leaving Allison to be shuffled between foster homes, eventually donning a costume and starting a life of crime like her father before her. Only recently learning of Allison's situation, and apparently having served his time, Max reaches out to the Avengers to obtain help from his old enemy Spider-Man. With Spider-Man and Spider-Girl's help, father and daughter are reunited and fight through the pain of their electrical auras, finally overcoming the barrier between them.

As a sidenote, I found references to Max having a sister but this seems to ignore established continuity.As near as I can tell this 'sister' only appears in the Spider-Man: Web of Shadows video game.The last thing left to mention is the unusual instance of Allison being mistakenly referred to as Samantha Dillon in Spider-Girl #100. Or maybe Samantha is her middle name?!

That's about it for this one. Hopefully we'll see more of this electrified family someday. Until I can maintain a regular schedule for this blog, I remain

frogoat

Building a Rogues Gallery

One of the biggest challenges of any superhero comic is building up the rogues gallery. If Spidey didn't have such an impressive array of villains to trounce every story, he wouldn't be nearly as interesting. Yes, the character of Peter Parker is fascinating,  but think: without the dynamics of his and Norman Osborn's relationship wouldn't he be a little less? Without the Green Goblin to torment Spider-Man, life just wouldn't be as flavorful. Doctor Otto Gunther Octavius', with all his plans and arms, and Electro with his electricity, Venom with his dark-Spidey-analog schtick. Cruel old Vulture, cold-blooded and cold-hearted Lizard, stinging Scorpion, Cunning Hobgoblin, tricky Mysterio. The list goes on and on. I may not be knowledgeable about DC Comics, but honestly, Batman's rogues gallery are notoriously notable. The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, so many long-running titles and characters have developed many varied and fascinating villains through the years.

But what are all these new heroes supposed to do? Sometimes, borrowing from other characters works wonders. Daredevil doesn't have many truly great bad guys, but Kingpin fits so well amongst DD's assorted rogues, it's like he was made for the part. Spider-Girl utilised a few of daddy dearest's villains in her adventures. Notable amongst them are the Hobgoblin and Carnage. In fact, I'd go so far as to say ol' Kingsley worked better against Mayday, the cunning older man against the youthful hero. A new twist on an old villain then, is that the answer?

A mix of new villains unique to the character has to be included, surely. Otherwise, isn't it just wholesale theft? Okay, so Spider-Girl has some nice villains too: Dragon King and Mr Nobody are personal favorites of mine. They have a nice visual and both pose a genuine threat when written appropriately. Any villain can become iconic. By tossing a loved one off a bridge, for example. But a good villain shouldn't have to resort to killing cast members. That's cheap. In the case of the Green Goblin, his and Peter's war was personal. The death of Gwen Stacy was a direct result of it, but I don't believe it's the crux of what makes Norman Osborn infinitely re-usable. Osborn himself is interesting: A ruthless businessman with a lot of personality before he ever put on a garish green mask.

I love this art by John Romita Jr

Maybe that's the answer then: A mix of the old and new, the borrowed and true-blue with a lot of character depth and a great visual thrown in for good measure. What do you think?

Until Hypno Hustler gets his own series, I remain

frogoat

The problem with recurring villains

I've been hanging around tv tropes lately and, aside from loosing several hours I'll never get back, I've learned a few things. Case in point: Villain Decay. It goes a little something like this; the hero defeats the villain once, twice, thrice...why take the baddie seriously after it becomes clear they no longer pose a threat?

Electro is a good example: He robs a bank, Spidey defeats him using 'shock-proof gloves' (rubber gloves...I'm not making this up), Electro teams with the Sinister Six, Spidey stops him again. Eventually, Electro becomes something of a one-trick pony, he get's a power boost or upgrade, suddenly he might be a credible threat again....and then Spidey takes him down once again. *sigh*

There are bunch of ways to avoid falling into this trap, as I see it, but here are a couple to consider: The villain wins. Not all the time, just occasionally. This works best with your major crime bosses and villains who normally sit back and pull strings, the behind-the-scenes players, like the Kingpin, even Doctor Doom. It lets the reader suspend their disbelief, instills faith and credibility in the villain, and  adds to the drama stakes if the hero has to lick their wounds and come back and try again, or escape the life-or-death predicament in front of them.


The second option means cleaning house, in some respects, because *gasp* the villain has had a change of heart and decides to reform. Yes, this can become just as much of a cliched and hackneyed plot as the constant re-matches OR can lead to all sorts of story telling opportunities. Ever hear of the Thunderbolts, Marvel's team of villains-posing-as-heroes-becoming-genuine-heroes? Yeah, that. Not to mention all the fertile character exploration reforming can mean. MC2's Normie Osborn only became such an enjoyable, fleshed out character after the classic Spider-Girl #27 in which both May, our hero, powerless and tied to a chair talks Normie out of his planned suicide-by-way-of-hero. Now, he's a supporting character, fully fleshed-out with a long storied history of rehabilitation, reform, atonement, romance and marriage. By choosing the reformation option, the series gained both a great supporting character in Normie, and a defining direction for the series star, Mayday, who often attempts to talk her villains out of the crooked life.



I'd love to here your thoughts on this, especially if you'd like to see the other options.

Until one-trick pony stops making me giggle, I remain

frogoat

Supanova approaches...

Australia's pop culture expo/convention/gathering of like-minded individuals is nearly upon us, and for once, I'll be apart of it. Yes, I'm heading to Brisbane Supanova 2012! I did have plans to blog about a global re-read of all things MC2, or an in-depth look at some favorite characters in the universe, maybe even talk about attracting young readers to comics, but instead, next week you're going to have deal with me tell you about my latest acquisitions. Sorry, there's just no way around it. I'll have to re-schedule that meeting with the Queen too, hopefully she won't be to busy later. Cosplayers, comics and celebrities, oh my!



Okay, I'll through my millions of adoring fans a bone with this MC2 fun fact: The electrically-powered super villain Electro first appears in Amazing Spider-man #9 (way back in '64, kids!) while, in the MC2, Killerwatt (a similarly-powered super-baddie) shows up in Spider-Girl #9. Don't you just love parallels?

Until I think of better exit line, I remain

frogoat

(feels good to type that again)