Speedball in the MC2

 

Now that I’ve started, I can’t stop. After covering Justice in the MC2 and Firestar beforehand, I’ve gotten a taste for covering the former members of the New Warriors, so today I wanted to show some love for everyone’s favourite heroic bouncing ball of energy, Robert ‘Robbie’ Baldwin aka Speedball in the MC2.

 

While he made his first published appearance in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22, Speedball’s origin is depicted in his solo title with Speedball #1 wherein Robbie is accidentally exposed to energy from an other-dimensional source while working at a science lab which gifts him his kinetic energy abilities. Eventually, Speedball teams up with other young heroes Marvel Boy (later known as Justice), Nova, Namorita, Firestar and Night Thrasher as the New Warriors beginning with their formation in Mighty Thor #411.

 

Now let’s jump ahead to the look at Speedball in the MC2. While Robbie’s first MC2 appearance is in What If #105 as a cameo which depicts Speedball as member of the new Avengers when Peter Parker comes seeking aid.

 

However, in terms of chronology this brief cameo of Robbie would seem to take place shortly after the events of A-Next #1, wherein we see the formation of this next generation of Avengers. Robbie is revealed to have been a former member of the Avengers, but now mostly prefers to be a solo act and so declines membership in this nascent team. While he’s not actually seen in the pages of A-Next #7, we learn that following the tragic final mission of the original Avengers (which claimed the lives of Robbie’s fellow former New Warriors Firestar and Justice) a new team formed and operated in their wake before eventually falling apart.

 

Next showing up in Spider-Girl #15, Robbie teams up with the titular web-head to battle the malleable villain (and avid DC Comics collector) known as Mr Abnormal. While we don’t learn a great deal about Robbie in this issue, we do get to see him in action solo and learn that he is a well-respected superhero by this point in his career.

 

Later, we learn from the Steel Spider (Ollie Osnick) that he had been a member of the team of Avengers who assembled after the aforementioned original team’s membership was nearly all killed. In addition to the Steel Spider, this ‘interim’ Avengers team included Jolt, Jubilee, fellow New Warrior Nova and, of course, Speedball (Spider-Girl #32).

 

We don’t see Robbie again on-panel in the MC2 until the events of Last Hero Standing, when Speedball is one of the many heroes who gather at Avengers Compound to investigate the disappearances of various other super heroes.  Here, he and former team mate Nova are briefly seen as they prepare to head out on a mission to rule out former New Warrior foe Terrax, joined by Bluestreak and Argo in the process (Last Hero Standing #2). Off-panel their mission is a dead end and at some point Nova is captured and ensnared by the dark magical influence of Loki, before being sent to stir up conflict between the assembled heroes. Despite this, no other members of this team appear to have been influenced by Loki, including Speedball (Last Hero Standing #3-#4).   

Speedball doesn’t actually appear on-panel for his final cameo appearance, instead his energy matrix duplicate created by the magic of Sylene makes an appearance in Avengers Next #4-#5, indicating that Robbie Baldwin fell victim to this spell before the Avengers managed to save the day.

 

 It’s nice to see that some of the younger heroes of the Marvel Universe like Speedball rose to prominence in their later careers within the MC2 even if others like Firestar and Justice met an untimely end. I like to think that Robbie joined the ‘interim’ Avengers team alongside Nova in honour of their fallen friends. It’s very interesting to me that Speedball generally shies away from working in a team in his adult life, almost certainly a reaction to this loss and perhaps additional unseen events which led to the collapse of this Avengers team.

 

Until I master the art of throwing myself violently at objects without doing any harm, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justice in the MC2

As part of my endless delving into the obscure and wonderful characters of the MC2, today I’m going to take a look at the leader of the New Warriors and the Avengers teammate, the long-time love interest of Firestar. Yes, this post is about the telekinetic mutant hero Vance Astrovik aka Justice in the MC2.

While the older alternate reality 30^th century future Guardians of the Galaxy counterpart to Justice known as Major Vance Astro first appeared in Marvel Super Heroes #18, it wasn’t until Giant-Size Defenders #5 that the Main Marvel Universe Vance Astrovik debuted as a teenager. Due to encountering his older time-travelling self (twice!), not only did Vance’s life take a different path, but his telepathic abilities emerged earlier (Marvel Two in One #69).

 

Eventually, Vance becomes his own hero as Marvel Boy and later Justice, joining the New Warriors along the way. But it was his eventual membership as an Avenger that we will be discussing today, particularly as it relates to the History of the MC2 Avengers. As I’ve detailed in previous posts, it appears the events surrounding Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return unfolded in the MC2 just as they had in the Main Marvel Universe. However, with the start of the third volume of the Avengers series, it becomes less clear how closely the two worlds mirror each other after this point. What is likely is that in the MC2, the Avengers team reformed much as they had in Avengers vol. 3 #1-4 with Justice and his fiancé Firestar joining the group officially in Avengers vol. 3 #4.

 

 

 I mention all this to lend context to the limited information we have available regarding Justice in the MC2. In the Main Marvel Universe, Justice (alongside Firestar) received a new costume designed by fellow Avenger Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp in Avengers (vol. 3) #8.

 

As I’ve discussed previously, we know the original Avengers team’s last mission was nearly 12 years prior to the events of A-Next #1, as mentioned by Jarvis when he recounts the details to the new Avengers. Both Firestar and Justice are seen amongst the assembled Avengers during the flashback where it is decided the team must venture through the portal to the alternate world to halt Doom’s multiversal threat. While it is difficult to discern from this cameo, Justice appears to be wearing the Van Dyne-designed Avengers-era costume mentioned above, so we know he was by that point in time a well-established member, either one who was on the then-current roster or simply returning for this major emergency summons (A-Next #7).

 

 

Justice was among the first who agreed to embark on the grave mission which saw only seven members return through the portal. While we don’t get a 100% confirmation, it’s assumed Vance Astrovik died along with almost all of the Avengers who went on this final mission, including his lover Firestar. Despite the sobering tragedy of such a massive loss, the team did succeed in saving their Earth from the threat of Doom (A-Next #7).

 

While I believe it’s extremely unlikely that either Justice or Firestar are somehow alive on the alternate Earth ruled by Doom, it should be noted that the reports of Captain America’s death were greatly exaggerated as revealed in A-Next #10. It’s such a huge tragedy that both these young heroes gave their lives for the cause, especially as they were engaged or had even married by this point. Sadly, we’ll probably never know.

 

Until I meet my future self who has not only been in suspended animation for centuries but also travelled back in time, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Firestar in the MC2

I’ve recently had the opportunity to watch through the entirety of the 1980’s classic animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. This experience, combined with the knowledge that it’s a favourite of arias-98105, has prompted me to take a quick look at a character who originated on the show: Angelica Jones aka Firestar in the MC2.

The character of Firestar was created for the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series, from an initial sketch by comic artist extraordinaire John Romita Sr that was refined and finalized by Rick Hoberg. Making her debut in animation with the first episode ‘Triumph of the Green Goblin’ in September 1981 which was followed shortly after with her first comic appearance, an adaption of the episode in December 1981’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends #1. But as for the first appearance of Angelica Jones as Firestar in the Main Marvel Universe, that took a few years with Uncanny X-Men #193 in May 1985.

While Firestar would have a superhero career alongside teams including the X-Men, Hellions and most notably the New Warriors, it was her eventual membership as an Avenger that we will be discussing today, particularly as it relates to the History of the MC2 Avengers. As I’ve detailed in previous posts, it appears the events surrounding Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return unfolded in the MC2 just as they had in the Main Marvel Universe. However, with the start of the third volume of the Avengers series, it becomes less clear how closely the two worlds mirror each other after this point. What is likely is that in the MC2, the Avengers team reformed much as they had in Avengers vol. 3 #1-4 with Firestar and her main squeeze Justice joining the group officially in Avengers vol. 3 #4.

 I mention all this to lend context to the limited information we have available regarding Firestar in the MC2. In the Main Marvel Universe, Firestar received a new costume designed by fellow Avenger Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp. This costume was not well received by Angelica, who found it too revealing and soon made modifications to better suit her tastes (Avengers vol.3 #8). Here’s the original costume as well as the first (Avengers vol. 3 #8), second (Avengers vol. 3 #9) and third (Avengers vol. 3 #13) modifications made to it:

As I’ve discussed previously, we know the original Avengers team’s last mission was nearly 12 years prior to the events of A-Next #1, as mentioned by Jarvis when he recounts the details to the new Avengers. Both Firestar and Justice are seen amongst the assembled Avengers during the flashback where it is decided the team must venture through the portal to the alternate world to halt Doom’s multiversal threat. While it is difficult to discern from this cameo, Firestar appears to be wearing the second or third modified variation of the Avengers-era costume mentioned above, so we know she was by that point a well-established member, either one who was on the then-current roster or simply returning for this major emergency summons (A-Next #7).

Along with her fellow assembled Avengers, Firestar agreed to and embarked on the grave mission which saw only seven members return through the portal. While we don’t get a 100% confirmation, it’s assumed Angelica Jones died along with almost all of the Avengers who went on this final mission, including her lover Justice. Despite the sobering tragedy of such a massive loss, the team did succeed in saving their Earth from the threat of Doom (A-Next #7).

While I believe it’s extremely unlikely that Firestar is somehow alive on the alternate Earth ruled by Doom, it should be noted that the reports of Captain America’s death were greatly exaggerated as revealed in A-Next #10. So that is something to consider, if you are so inclined! A huge thank you to arias-98105, who is a big Firestar fan and provided invaluable help with image research, costume information and fact checking!

 

It’s a shame so many of the Avengers died, but it’s an even bigger shame we never got to see younger heroes like Firestar and Justice reach their full potential in the MC2. At least Speedball made it!

Until I become Amazing Friends with Iceman and Spidey and rent a room from Aunt May, I remain

frogoat