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

 

MC2 Influences in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

 

I have just watched Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and naturally, instead of a review, my mind leapt at the notion of discussing the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s adaption of Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Lang, particularly as I feel many of these influences can be linked to her counterpart in the MC2. Spoilers ahead, though only mild ones, I promise!

 

I am sure by now readers already know that Hope Pym was lifted directly from the pages of the MC2’s A-Next #7 when the first Ant-Man film adapted her into Hope Van Dyne, complete with matching hairstyle and something of chip on her shoulder. Of course, instead of a villainous role, the Marvel Cinematic Universe made Hope a heroine as the present-day Wasp rather than the Red Queen. This on-screen version in turn was adapted back into the comics in the form of Nadia Van Dyne/Pym, the daughter of  Hank Pym and Maria Strovaya, introduced as the Main Marvel Universe's answer to Hope Pym from the MC2 after the release of the first Ant-Man movie (Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II). What a tangle, but regardless, we have touched on Hope quite enough for now. Let us instead look at the Cassie Lang.

 

Many years ago, I mentioned that it was too early to tell where the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Cassie would be headed in terms of influences; would she be closely modelled on the Young Avengers iteration known as Stature or take cues from the MC2’s Stinger? Well, as it turns out, it is a bit of both, with the usual adaptational differences of all MCU characters.

 

Let’s talk visuals: Kathryn Newton’s Cassie has longer hair which recalls the Main Marvel Universe’s Stature. However, Cassie’s apparently self-designed suit is very much inspired by her Stinger identity with it’s purple colour scheme. I have mentioned before that even the Main Marvel Universe Cassie now uses both the codename and costume of Stinger as of Astonishing Ant-Man #6. An obvious case of brand synergy, sure, but the costume and codename Stinger all originates in the MC2 with A-Next #1 by Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz.

 

Speaking of Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz, both gentlemen received a ‘With Special Thanks To’ in the end credits for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is consist with the previous two films in the trilogy. Quite right, too. Presumably this time it is not only for Hope but also the as-yet-without-a-codename Cassie clad in purple. I wonder if they got a cheque in the mail?

 

Another MC2 influence, and one I think is quite important, is Cassie Lang’s great intelligence, demonstrated in the film by her development of a device which can make contact with the Quantum Realm. Unless I am mistaken, the Main Marvel Universe Cassie has not demonstrated any scientific skill or interest. Meanwhile the MC2’s Cassie is an established scientist with at least one doctorate who runs a think tank at Lang Labs, improved on the original Ant-Man and Wasp designs with her father Scott Lang including implanting wings in herself and was working on a cure for diabetes using insect DNA (A-Next #1-#2, #7).

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Cassie Lang also demonstrates a passion for social activism, defending the homeless and has a strong desire to help those around her, inspired by her father, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. While it is not a 1:1 parallel, I think MC2 Cassie’s scientific efforts show a similar passion for selflessly helping others. Furthermore, Scott and Cassie first teamed up as superheroes in A-Next #7, much as they do on the big screen. Still, I must concede that Quantumania does not give Cassie her wings and does show her growing to giant-size, which is most certainly more akin to the Young Avenger’s Stature.

 

I look forward to seeing Cassie Lang develop into her own unique hero in future film (and possibly television) appearances. It seems almost inevitable that some form of the Young Avengers is coming in the years to come, but it would be a mistake to ignore the MCU Cassie’s ties to the MC2. I have not found any official merchandise that gives Cassie a codename, Stinger, Stature, or something else entirely, but I am sure they will acknowledge her MC2 roots eventually.

 

Until I find Marvel merchandise calls Cassie Lang ‘Stinger’ and feel validated, I remain

 

 

 

She-Hulk in the MC2

 

It’s that time again; there’s a new Marvel series about to release on Disney+ and I’m scrambling to provide a tangentially related post about the protagonist. For today’s entry, we’ll be looking at the Bruce Banner’s favourite cousin: Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk just in time for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. This is She-Hulk in the MC2.

 

Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk is seen alongside various other major Marvel female heroes in Spider-Girl #60 on both the issue’s cover and within the thoughts of May ‘Mayday’ Parker as the latter reflects on her place amongst the other superheroines who came before her. 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 none other than Sensational She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass this, reaching issue 100, a feat still unbeaten to this date.

 

Jennifer is not seen among the gathered Avengers who travelled to an alternate earth for the original team’s final mission. So at least we can likely rule out her dying on the mission. Either way, no specifics are given, and as such her status remains unknown (A-Next #7).

 

In terms of where the MC2 version of She-Hulk potentially branches off from the Main Marvel Universe, my best guess estimate is after Fantastic Four #416, most likely around Heroes For Hire #8-#9 based on their publication date. Events following this point may have played out much the same up to an unknown point, but there is simply no information available to say one way or the other. 

      

 

Jumping around a bit, when we first meet Jennifer’s cousin Bruce, we learn that he's retired to Denver, Colorado and has a son named David. Bruce indicates he is finally rid of his alter ego for good and hasn't seen Doctor Strange in years. When Strange appears unexpectedly to reform the Defenders, he takes complete mental control of Banner and forces Bruce to once more transform into the Hulk (A-Next #3).

 

Much later during the events of the Last Hero Standing mini-series, Bruce Banner aka the Incredible Hulk is enthralled by Loki's spell and goes on a rampage against several of the Earth's heroes. Finally freed when Captain America breaks Loki's connection, Hulk narrowly avoids death at Thor's hands. Devastated by the fresh destruction he has wrought after his years rebuilding his life, the Hulk joins Loki as he is exiled to Limbo by Thor.

 

Hulk's exile leaves it up in the air who is looking after his son, David Banner. Perhaps Betty Banner (formerly Betty Ross) is alive and well in this reality? Or if not, perhaps Aunt Jennifer is raising her young nephew? We may never know!

 

Until I figure out I’m just a character in a work of fiction, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

Stinger in the MCU

This is a different kind of post, just something quick to talk about the news coming out of the San Diego Comic Convention. During the convention, Marvel Studios have released the first official look at upcoming movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The piece of concept art was produced by Andy Park and features not only the titular Scott Lang’s Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne’s the Wasp but also provides a glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Cassie Lang, depicted for the first time in full super heroic attire.

 

 

 

While it is not confirmed at this point what moniker Cassie will adopt in the film, judging by her costume’s purple colour scheme I think it is safe to venture a guess this is a version of the Stinger identity. The Stinger codename and costume first appeared in the MC2 with A-Next #1 and, many years later, the Main Marvel Universe version of Cassie would adopt both starting with Astonishing Ant-Man #6.

 

While all the Ant-Man related characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are required to wear a helmet that encases their head as mentioned in the first Ant-Man film, it is nice to see Cassie wearing one that retains at least some of the elements of her comic counterpart such as the coloured eye-pieces. Additionally, the costume also integrates the gauntlets used for offensive attacks. It is not comic accurate, but I must note the footwear, too.  I mean, look at them!

 

Since I started writing this post, it has apparently been confirmed Cassie’s heroic identity will in fact be Stinger, not Stature. I am going to be paying this movie more attention than other recent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I find it amusing that the Ant-Man movie of all things was the first big screen adaption to use an MC2 character, and now its sequel is continuing the theme.

 

Until I stop giving a massive multinational corporation that does not care about my existence my disposable income, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

Thena: Who's Your Mama?! (Part 2)

 

A while ago, I took a stab at figuring out just who the Asgardian goddess Thena’s mother could be in the MC2. Well, now is probably the best time to dust off the topic and discuss another option, given that the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Eternals is in cinemas right now. Why? Let’s jump straight in and find out!

 

While we never saw any of the Eternals in the MC2, we nearly saw prominent member Thena in a perhaps less than unexpected place. If you’ve read the title, you may already know where this is going. Here are some extracts from Comic Shenanigans Episode 744: Interview with Ron Frenz on A-Next:

 

‘I was not lucky enough to be a part of the later A-Next mini-series and stuff. That was always something that I was all for, the roster changing just like it did in the original Avengers, you know. That there would be new characters introduced and all this kind of stuff. I played a much smaller role behind the scenes. I had originally conceived of a daughter for Thor in some of my sketches. So, when she finally did show up, Ron Lim was working off of those sketches. He made adaptations of his own which is only right since he was the one handling the character. Originally the name I had for her was Thera, T-H-E-R-A, which I thought was a nice kind of sort of Thor-sounding-but-not. Tom ended up going with Thena and I don’t know if at the time he realized that was already the name of a character in the Eternals. But in my head now I have this story we could tell at some point, if anybody cared, where Thor actually named his daughter after the leader of the Eternals upon the signing of some peace treaty or something like that.’

 

This idea could have made for a fun story and if it was canon, would have worked as a nice detail to add to the lore of the MC2. But Mr Frenz goes on to further add the following even more intriguing notion:

 

‘So when Tom did that, my brain immediately went to ‘now, why would he name his daughter after the leader of the Eternals?’ and there’s a story there. If you really want to be dirty about it, maybe Sif wasn’t her mother, I don’t know. Maybe Thena is her mother, I don’t know. I don’t know exactly how much we were committed to because as I said I wasn’t involved directly in Last Hero Standing or Last Planet Standing or any of those mini-series so I don’t remember what has exactly been established or not.’

 

So Thena, the Asgardian goddess and child of Thor, was nearly or could potentially be the daughter of Thena of the race of Eternals. I would love to see these story ideas explored in someway in the future, one way or the other.

 

Until I find more time to write these little tie-in posts, I remain

 

frogoat

Sony VS Marvel: How it affects the MC2

Some of you may recall that back in November 2014, Sony Pictures were the target of hackers, resulting in a large amount of confidential data being leaked online. Amongst the documents released were several detailing the Amazing Spider-Man film series and correspondence with Marvel Studios. It's fairly well known the backlash to the concepts and opinions leaked resulted in Spider-Man appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Which brings me to today's post. I hadn't given much thought to the exact details of Sony's contracts and agreements to produce films based on Spider-Man, which characters they could and couldn't use or anything like that until I saw this recent video by the YouTube channel Midnight's Edge:

Spider-man: The uncertain future with either Marvel's MCU or Sony's Venom

It was while watching that I noticed a familiar name in one of the screenshots of the Sony documents: Meagyn Brady. I'd always figured May 'Mayday' Parker was included in the package of characters for the film rights to the Spider-Man franchise, but it never really occurred to me such minor characters would be mentioned. So I did some digging through the leaked documents.

As it turns out, I found a lot of original MC2 character's names mentioned under various categories. I may have missed a few within this document which appears to be a more finalized version of these prior documents but I've attempted to include even some which may not, just for the sake of completeness. Let me know what I've missed or omitted. Here's the list of the characters quoted as presented under the various sub-headings in the document:

Alternate Versions of Spider-Man include all of the following

Spider-Man (IV)/Gerry Drew

Schedule 6

Named Characters

Black Tarantula (II)/Fabian LaMuerto
Buzz, The/Jack Jameson
Crazy Eight
Daze
Goblin God/Peter Parker
Green Goblin, The (VI)/Norman "Normie" Harry Osborn
Killerwatt
Misery/Melissa Carsdale
Mr. Nobody
Scarlet Spider (VII)/Felicity Hardy
Spider-Girl (I)/ May "Mayday" Parker
Spider-Girl 2020/May Parker
Spider-Man (IV)/Gerry Drew
Spider-Venom
Spider-Woman/ May "Mayday" Parker
Venom/Spider-Girl, May "Mayday" Parker

Teams/Groups/Gangs

Team Spider

Supporting Characters

Aftershock
April (first appearing in Spider-Girl #75)
Babbit, Mr

Barney – agent of Hobgoblin (first appearing in Amazing Spider-Girl #2)
Bitter Frost
Brady, Meagyn
Canis
Carlo, Mona
Claw
Desantos, Simone
Diana - Black Cat's love interest in MC2 Universe
Dragon King/Carlton T. Hackmutter
Drasco, Det. Vinnie
Duran, Courtney-May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Funny Face
Fury the Goblin Queen/ Elan DeJunae
Golden Goblin
Grief Machine
Groote, Leonard
Hardy, Felicity (daughter of Felicia)
Healy, Gus
Healy, Joyce
Healy, Sandra
Hicks, Ralphie
Hingle, Duane
Hingle, Cindy
Hingle, Sarah
Impact
Jade, Dr. Sonja
Kirby, Davida - May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Kodiak
Kurkle, Charlie
La Fantome
Ladyhawk/Regina Morgan
Ladyhawk/Rosetta Morgan

Lieber, Caitlyn
Lu, Nancy - May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Mansfield, Billy
Mansfield, Katy
Mansfield, Moose
Mansfield, Mr. - father of Moose
Miller, Brad
Mr. Abnormal
Parker, April - clone of May Parker
Parker, Benjamin "Benjy" Richard Parker
Phillip, Charlie
Pirouette
Quickwire
Ragone, Theodore "Turtle"
Raptor/Brenda Drago

Reverb / Rudolf
Spyral
Thompson, Gene (son of Eugene "Flash" Thompson and Felicia Hardy)
Tyne, Reilly
Weadon, Arthur
Westin, Wes
Yama, Jimmy
Yi, Spike

Business and Other IP

Café Indigo
Deacon's Den
"EVERYBODY'S HAPPY" - program
Hotel Caprice
Humanity First
Kingsley International
Spider Shoppe
Spidera
St. Andrew's -women's shelter
Zebra Patrol

SCHEDULE 7A

Frozen Characters

Hero or Villain

Spider-Man appearing as a member of the Fantastic Four (e.g., as a member of the Fantastic Five or Fatal Force)
Reilly Tyne as an alias for Darkdevil

Anthropomorphic Variations

Mary Porker

Schedule 8

Marvel Reserved Characters

Hero or Villain

Bluestreak (III) (first appearing in A-Next)
Coal Tiger/T'Chaka
Darkdevil
Dragonfist
Freebooter/Brandon Cross
Mad Dog Rassitano
Magneta
Stinger/Cassandra "Cassie" Lang
Stormtrooper/Eric Masterson
Thunderstrike/Kevin Masterson
Wild Thing

Teams, Groups, and Gangs

Sons of Serpent/Soldiers of the Serpent

There were many, many other characters that appear in the MC2 who I didn't included in the above list because I only transcribed characters who hadn't appeared anywhere prior to their MC2 appearances. So Phil Urich isn't listed above because he debuted beforehand, meanwhile Normie is listed only as a version of the Green Goblin. Make sense? Good. You'll have noticed a few odd spellings and the occasional character that might not be from the MC2, but I've listed some (such as 'Mary Porker') because I believe they may be typos, misreading or similar mistakes.

The most fascinating discovery was that a character named Reilly Tyne could be used by Sony, so long as he wasn't linked to Darkdevil, and Marvel Studios appears to be able to use the design and name of Darkdevil so long as his secret identity isn't Reilly Tyne. This is attributed to the Daredevil-related elements of the character's super hero identity. Being the son of Ben Reilly -a literal clone of Peter Parker- means he's a Spider-Man character while his super hero moniker, appearance and origin link him to Daredevil as well as Ghost Rider who's film rights were previously held by Sony.  In early versions, Sony Pictures recommended 'Darkdevil' be frozen, likely due to the aforementioned conflict of rights. The use of 'Reilly Tyne as an alias for Darkdevil' appears on the list of 'frozen' characters while 'Darkdevil' appears under 'Marvel Reserved Characters'. Poor Reilly, even in the real world he gets a raw deal, split between so many 'fathers'.

(This might also explain why The Buzz was licenced for the Spider-Man Unlimited mobile game but Darkdevil never appeared, despite actually having spider-powers and being directly related. Not strictly relevant, but I did often wonder!)

It's also worth noting that in earlier versions mentioned above, Meagyn Brady, Magneta and Dragonfist were among the list of characters Sony Pictures wished to have included in their licence agreement, in addition to requesting the spelling of 'Mona Carlo' be corrected. Sony Pictures also felt 'Bluestreak' had 'clear associations with Spider-Man and/or a subsidiary character' enough to request a rationale for exclusion. Regardless, other than Meagyn, all these characters appear on the Schedule 8 list for 'Marvel Reserved Characters'.

It's simple enough to see how and why Stinger, Thunderstrike, Coal Tiger and even Magneta and Dragonfist and other aren't considered a part of the film right for Spider-Man, and are listed as 'Marvel Reserved Characters'. With characters like Hope Van Dyne in the MC2 based on Hope Pym, it's safe to assume the MC2 characters are on the radar for Marvel Studios to mine for future films. My money is on Stinger being the next MC2 character!

I do wonder where a character like Bluestreak falls in the eyes of a legal team. Blue is a former member of the mutant team X-People who first appeared in the Avengers related title A-Next, which is mostly associated with the MC2, primarily known for Spider-Girl, a Spider-Man character. Presumably she counts as either an X-Men character or an Avengers character or both like her predecessor in speed, Quicksilver. This stuff is messy!

The introduction of Spider-Man into Marvel Studios' MCU while Sony Pictures retains several related characters such as Venom for their own 'Sony Marvel Universe' further splits up the available characters within the MC2. For example, would a symbiote character like April Parker aka Mayhem be retained by Sony for their Venom film series or would her clone nature mean she is loaned to MCU?

It would seem that Mayday and her family are all free and clear to appear in a future production (such as a Into The Spider-Verse related movie, for example) but only some of her rogues gallery, supporting cast and fellow heroes are free and clear to make appearances alongside her. Personally, I'd settle for a great Spider-Girl appearance in a future animated film from Sony if it was as well produced as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
I could cover this a bit more in future, if there's any interest. Let me know!

Until I stop being far too excited by legal documents, 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