MC2 Legacy: Did Mainframe Influence the MCU Iron Man?

 

This will hopefully be the first instalment in a new occasional series touching on the various instances of an MC2 character, concept or…whatever that is later used elsewhere. Basically, a record of the many times the MC2 has influenced the comic’s Main Marvel Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a variety of animated series, etc.  

Many years ago, I wrote about the MC2’s Mainframe being loosely adapted in the Marvel animated series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. which led to a follow up post and a short video. The episode, ‘Wheels of Fury’, debuted on the 29^th of March 2015 and concludes with the Mainframe Artificial Intelligence taking on a familiar yellow and black armoured form resembling his MC2 design.

 

But this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Iron Man himself in a yellow and black armoured suit. The Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode ‘Fun with Lasers’ which first aired on the 4^th of September 2009 debut’s the teenage Tony Stark’s ‘Space Armor’ when he uses it to reach a hijacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Orbital Station.

 

Some might argue that this is a reference to the ‘Iron Man Armor Model 42’ which was the first Iron Man Armor to feature the yellow and black colour scheme. However, the Model 42 didn’t debut until years later with Iron Man (Vol. 5) #1 in November 2012.

 

One of the dozens of Iron Man Armors seen in the climax of the 2013 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Iron Man 3, the Mark 20 or Mark XX also known by the nickname ‘Python’ is believed to be inspired by the above-mentioned Model 42. Additionally, it also appears in the official Iron Man 3 mobile tie-in video game from Gameloft, thus making the leap to yet another medium.

 

Thus, I’d argue they are all in some way originally inspired by Ron Frenz and Rich Yanizeski’s frankly classic Mainframe designs which debuted all the way back in A-Next #1 from 1998. Here’s an excerpt of what co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz had to say about the design of Mainframe on episode 744 of Adam Chapman’s Comic Shenanigan’s podcast:

 

‘We went through a couple of different designs, the early designs still had red and yellow in them and everything. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, what occurred to me about what I like about black and gold is that I’m from Pittsburgh and that’s the colour of all of our sports teams.’

 

Until the MC2 stops being the secret inspiration for the ‘House of Ideas’, I remain

 

frogoat

Does Groot Exist in the MC2?

 

Here’s a fun idea I’ve been batting around in my brain for a little while: What characters could exist in the MC2, but where never seen or weren’t introduced until afterwards? I wanted to start by looking at some of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy to see who could one day appear in the MC2. I’ll focus on one Guardian member per post, with the subject of today’s speculation and examination being Groot.

 

First, we must consider some rules, ironic though it may seem for a thought experiment such as this. Usually the MC2 point of divergence, ‘cut off point’ or ‘branching point’ is comics published after 1998, when the MC2 imprint began publication. There have been exceptions to this, with some characters who were created after this point appearing in the MC2, such as Anya Corazón aka Araña but we’ll stick with some of the individual characters who would go on to form the Guardians of the Galaxy in the Main Marvel Universe. As you’ll see, this itself poses its own challenges.

 

Going in publication order, our first would-be Guardian is everyone’s favourite Flora Colossus from Planet X, Groot. First appearing in the pre-Marvel era Tales to Astonish #13 in 1960, the Groot introduced is of a very different temperament, declaring he is the monarch of Planet X and plans to take an entire town back to his people for study. Proving impervious to fire and weaponry, Groot controlled the nearby forest to ensnare the town, only to be defeated and seemingly killed by specially grown termites.

While this story occurs before the start of the so-called ‘Marvel Age’ (pre-Fantastic Four #1) Groot’s existence in the Main Marvel Universe is confirmed when the Defenders and Hulk foe Xemnu duplicates various monsters that had visited earth in the past and sends them against the Hulk to wear him down. This Groot dupe was destroyed decisively by the Incredible Hulk, but now we can be certain the events of Groot’s first appearance did happen canonically within the history of the Main Marvel Universe (Incredible Hulk Annual #5).

Remaining obscure for decades, we don’t see Groot in print for a long time, and when we do it’s in a very odd publication. In the pages of Marvel Swimsuit Special #2, which believe it or not has a narrative (shallow and sketchy though it may be) that involves the heroes of the Marvel Universe being summoned to Monster Island by way of the Infinity Gems for a party at the behest of Pip the Troll. While there, twin siblings Aurora and Northstar of the Canadian super team Alpha Flight are observed by Groot and various Moloids while the pair…relax in swimwear. So, Groot is now confirmed to be alive and residing on Monster Island, too.

 

Amusingly, Groot makes another pre-MC2 appearance of sorts, in Sensational Spider-Man #-1. Having read various monster comics before bed, a young Peter Parker dreams he and his Uncle Ben are attacked while on a fishing trip by the monsters, including Groot, until awakening and realising it was all a bad dream. Unbeknownst to him, the dream was the work of the being known as Nightmare.

 

It’s worth mentioning that there is some disagreement, retroactively, about whether the Groot who would go on to meet and join other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy is the same as the one that terrorised the town in Tales to Astonish #13. Fortunately, that’s outside the purview of this blog. Thank goodness!

 

There are some later published stories set during the period we are considering but even if they were included, they certainly do not preclude Groot from existing in the MC2. That is about it for appearances that were published before the MC2 saw publication, but it’s enough to confirm that Groot existed and thus has the potential to appear in a future MC2-set story someday. As a favourite of mine, I’d love to see this wooden titan make an appearance in the MC2, in some, shape or form. Probably in the form of a tree, I guess.

 

Until I manage to work ‘I am Groot’ into my daily lexicon, I remain

 

frogoat 

 

Wolverine in the MC2

It’s been a good year to be an X-Men fan with the animated revival series X-Men ’97 and the upcoming third Deadpool movie in the series with Deadpool & Wolverine due for release in mere days. As you’d expect by now, today’s post will be focused on the MC2 incarnation of the mutant who’s the best there is at what he does: Wolverine in the MC2.

 

The short, hairy, Canadian mutant known as Wolverine first appeared in a cameo on the final page of Incredible Hulk #180 before making his first full appearance in Incredible Hulk #181, where Wolverine reveals to the Hulk his claws are ‘forged of diamond-hard Adamantium’.. We first see Wolverine without his mask in X-Men #98, which is also where we first learned his claws came from within his body, not his gloves. His current name ‘Logan’ was first used by a leprechaun in X-Men #103, as odd as it might seem.

 

Logan clarifies he has a healing factor in X-Men #116 and mention is made of his ‘unbreakable bones’ in X-Men #124 before X-Men #126 has Logan outright state he has ‘a skeleton made of about three million bucks worth of Adamantium’. We see this ‘Weapon X’ experiment play out in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents #72-#84. Logan survives the experiment due to his mutant healing factor but loses his memory.

 

Then we come to the X-Men storyline known as Fatal Attractions, during which Magneto returns to his villainous ways and uses his powers to rip the Adamantium from Wolverine (X-Men (vol. 2) #25), nearly killing him and shortly afterwards revealing Logan had bone claws beneath the Adamantium the whole time (Wolverine (vol. 2) #75).

 

The final major point I need to touch upon is the fact that despite the mini-series Wolverine: The Origin being published after the MC2 universe branched from the Main Marvel Universe, it’s revelations can or may be considered canon to the MC2 version of the character as it is the resolution to a pre-existing and long-running plot about Wolverine’s origin and past. The main take away for now, barring any future implementations from ‘Origin’, is Logan’s real name was James Howlett and he really is Canadian (The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005).

 

Now let’s get our claws into Wolverine in the MC2! With the introduction of Rina Logan aka Wild Thing we also saw the arrival of her father, Wolverine in J2 #5. Here we learn that Logan is in a relationship with to Elektra Natchios when he heads to New York to find their daughter after she targets J2 to learn what he knows about the fate of the original Juggernaut. Logan arrives to end the fight in his full classic yellow and blue costume (notably without his X-Belt) and tells J2 that Jubilee has vouched for him.

 

 

 

The next time we see Wolverine is in a flashback where, after a few references to the original mutant team in the series, we get our first glimpse of the X-Men in J2 #7 via a flashback to 'The Last Days of the Original Juggernaut'. It's here we learn Cain Marko aka the Juggernaut reformed and joined the X-Men, eventually being lost on a mission while at the Crossroads of Infinity though some details would remain unrevealed. Wolverine leads the X-Men team that Cain Marko joins and other teammates included Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), Synch (Everett Thomas), Siryn (Theresa Cassidy) and 'Hopper'. As Rina mentioned in J2 #5, Logan feels responsible for the disappearance of Marko.

 

Aside from single panel flashbacks to his early X-Men adventures, Wolverine next appears in a fun two-page story from J2 #9 where he spars with Wild Thing, demonstrating just how proud he is of his little girl.

 

We get a great issue featuring J2 on the road with Wolverine when they journey to Madripoor seeking Logan’s daughter Rina after receiving word she was there and assuming she’d been kidnapped. Zane, a huge Wolverine fanboy, gets a very different experience than he bargained for teaming up with his idol. The pair eventually learn Rina is safe and sound with the mutant Daze and the mistress of magnetism Magneta, with the latter attempting once again to recruit other mutants in hopes of forming a super team (J2 #10).

 

In J2 #11, alongside Cyclops, Logan and Elektra watch on Rina runs the gauntlet against Jubilee’s team, the X-People. After Wild Thing proves herself, Jubilee declares she has passed the initiation and may join the X-People as a probationary member. Rina declines, stating she only did it because her father asked her to which Cyclops remarks she reminds him of Logan.

 

In Wild Thing #1 briefly appears after Rina as Wild Thing stops the kidnapping of her classmate Cameron Bryce-Jones. Picking Rina up on his Harley Davidson bike, he assures her that if she were ever kidnapped he would track her down himself and let nothing stop him.

 

Around this time, Wolverine made an appearance in Wild Thing #0 where in he calls upon Doctor Strange to attempt to remove the cure of the Wendigo from the land around Hudson Bay. With the aid of the Hulk, Wolverine and Wild Thing, Doctor Strange successfully lifts the curse.

 

Rina and Logan spend some quality father-daughter time together embracing their animal instincts until they encounter a member of the other-dimensional demon race the N’Garai in the middle of Central Park. The two manage to drive it back and destroy the cairn it used to arrive before they head home (Wild Thing #4).

 

While bonding with his daughter Rina by tracking her through the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Logan is the first super hero to be abducted in a plot secretly masterminded by the Asgardian Loki (Spider-Girl #85, Last Hero Standing #1-#2).

Under the dark influence of Loki’s enchantment, Wolverine is among the super heroes who are returned to Earth and filled with malice, engage their fellow heroes in battle. When Loki enthralls and enrages the Hulk he fights the various assembled heroes including Wolverine. In the end the sacrifice of Captain America ultimately saves the day and Wolverine is among those present to witness his death (Last Hero Standing #3-#5)

 

With Galactus enacting his final solution to resolve his hunger and in the process destroy the universe, the combined forces of the super hero community working to penetrate his force field and combat his doomsday weapon’s launch. Wolverine is among the heroes who inadvertently inspires The Vision to finally join the fray, going against orders from President G.W. Bridge. This issue also appear to be the only time Logan interacts on-panel with his son, Hudson aka Sabreclaw (Last Planet Standing #4). Wolverine soon after witnesses the birth of a new entity composed of the Silver Surfer and Galactus which could harness a new form of energy known as The Power Essential (Last Planet Standing #5).

 

Wolverine’s last appearances are also cameos in the pages of Avengers Next #4 and off-panel in #5. When Loki's daughter Sylene attempts to restore the devastated Asgard by recreating it on Earth, she creates energy duplicates of various super humans to serve her purposes. Logan is among those rendered comatose in the process of creating these duplicates. When Sylene is defeated, Wolverine’s duplicate dissipates, and Logan is presumably restored.

 

I know I’m not alone in hoping we see more from the MC2 incarnation of Canada’s favourite son, especially given the Wild Thing series was abruptly cancelled so we never got to see Sabreclaw, Wild Thing and Wolverine together.

 

Until I can get early tickets to see Deadpool & Wolverine to get ahead of spoilers, I remain

 

frogoat