Namor in the MC2

 

The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas and with it we mark the big screen debut of Namor the Sub-Mariner. As has now become a tradition for this blog, today we will be taking a look at his MC2 counterpart. This is Namor the Sub-Mariner in the MC2.  

 

The Main Marvel Universe’s Namor McKenzie was created by comics Bill Everett for Motion Picture Funnies Weekly but the character went unpublished until 1939’s Marvel Comics #1. The Sub-Mariner made his MC2 debut in A-Next #3 where we first learn that his Kingdom of Atlantis was long ago destroyed by Doctor Doom and (most of) his people killed. Namor’s actions left him an ‘international criminal after what he did to Latveria’ following the war with Doctor Doom. Found on a small islet off the coast of Molokai, Hawaii, Namor was recruited by Doctor Strange alongside the Incredible Hulk as part of a re-formed Defenders team.

 

Having apparently foreseen a world-threatening tragedy that will unfold in the near future, Doctor Strange takes matters into his own hands in an apparent attempt to save the day using extreme measures. Doc Magus attempts to warn off Strange and when this fails, he takes his mentor Deacon’s advice and approaches the newly formed Avengers team for help. Soon enough the two teams clash in Arizona until Dormagus uses the Eye of Agamotto to uncover Doctor Strange’s true motives were three-fold: to ensure the Hulk is able to fulfill his destiny, provide the team a ‘baptism by fire’ and to make Namor proactive once more (A-Next #3, J2 #3).

 

We next catch glimpses of the war between Namor the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom in both A-Next #5 and later Fantastic Five #5 and learn a few details of the events that transpire. More on this later.

The Sub-Mariner appears again when Doc Magus summons Zane Yama aka J2 and informs him he has found his father being held in a small, unexplored pocket dimension for years. Ignoring a warning from Doctor Strange to wait for reinforcements, Dormagus and Zane make their way to the pocket dimension to rescue Cain Marko aka Juggernaut. Despite reuniting Zane with his father, the villainous Nemesus appears and reveals Doc Magus had fallen into his trap and closed the heroes gateway home, trapping them. Fortunately, Doctor Strange appears alongside his fellow Defenders the Hulk and the Sub-Mariner and aid in escaping from Nemesus’ dimension before they are all swarmed by legions of Darklings (J2 #12).

 

Namor does not appear for quite some time, only making a cameo appearance on a screen in Avengers Headquarters which provides a perhaps curious ‘STATUS: UNKNOWN’ (Spider-Girl #71). Following this, the Sub-Mariner is again teamed with the Incredible Hulk against Apox the Omega Skrull, but does not fare well (Spider-Girl #86).

Shortly afterwards, the Sub-Mariner is again glimpsed with the Incredible Hulk, however this time it they are opponents thanks to the latter’s mind-control by the Asgardian Loki (Last Hero Standing #5).

 

Finally, we learn the truth of the end of the war between Namor and Doctor Doom; the latter was not killed but instead held prisoner deep beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ocean within the Great Atlantis Trench. There, Namor makes his monthly journey to the grotto wherein he kept Doom captive, only to this time learn that the dictator has escaped. The Sub-Mariner is knocked out and taken captive by Doctor Doom (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).

 

Having imbued himself with the power cosmic, capturing members of the Fantastic Five and declaring himself Emperor of the Earth, Victor Von Doom continues his torture of Namor the Sub-Mariner (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #4). When fellow captive Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic challenges Doctor Doom to a mind-duel via the Infinity Device which will send the loser’s mind to the Crossroads of Infinity, Namor warns Reed not to accept the challenge. After Reed and Victor are left apparently comatose, Namor attempts to relay what occurred and comfort Sue Richards aka the Invisible Woman (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #5).

 

That is the last we see of Namor the Savage Sub-Mariner in the MC2. Who knows, maybe the on-screen attention for the character will mean we see a return of his MC2 counterpart…but I am not exactly hopeful. Still, stranger things have happened. Either way, I may compile all we know about the war with Doctor Doom someday, as it is one of the most interesting elements of the MC2’s history.

 

Until I grow a beard and ponytail as part of my depressive exile, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Orbital Defense Grid

This is something somewhat different today, because unlike many of my recent posts which usually tie-in or are in someway tangentially related to upcoming and current movies and films or comic events....this one doesn't have much to do with anything outside the MC2. Unless I'm mistaken (and feel free to correct me) this is a wholly original MC2 concept: The Orbital Defense Grid.

 A collection of satellites positioned in orbit around the planet Earth, the Orbital Defense Grid comes equipped with long-range sensory instrumentation and offensive weaponry capabilities allowing it to detect and destroy incoming space debris, extraterrestrial spacecraft and various other threats to the planet from outer space (A-Next #2, Spider-Girl #34, #46, #86).

We learn a little history behind the Orbital Defense Grid in A-Next #2 when Mainframe off-handedly mentions the Orbital Defense Grid was erected years prior when the government was convinced by the events of the mysterious 'Skrull Incident'. We also learn in Last Planet Standing #2 that Reed Richards helped design the Orbital Defense Grid.

It's worth mentioning that on occasion the Orbital Defense Grid seems to be referred to using different names  and there is also one instance where the speaker may, in fact be referring to an entirely different satellite. The only potential reference to appear in either Fantastic Five series comes from Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #1 when Johnny Storm mentions having downloaded images from the team's 'new Safeguard Satellite'. However, aside from this one example, I believe all other mentions to defensive satellites protecting the Earth are referring to the Orbital Defense Grid.

With all of that out of the way, let's take a look at the various appearances and mentions of the Orbital Defense Grid throughout the MC2. The Orbital Defense Grid first appears to in A-Next #2 when it detects the approach of a Kree spacecraft and fires upon it, resulting in the craft splitting into two before crashing into the Washington National Park.

Following the return of hero spider-powers, May 'Mayday' Parker and her father visit the Fantastic Five for a full check-up. The check-up is interrupted when Lyja spots an alien vessel on long-range space scanners. Lyja calculates the unidentified alien spacecraft will be within range of the planet's Orbital Defense Grid. The team sets out to determine the alien's intentions and potentially avoid a misunderstanding (Spider-Girl #34).

The Fantastic Five are again involved when the Orbital Defense Grid destroys the meteor swarm concealing Apox the Omega Skrull on his approach to Earth. However, the Grid isn't powerful enough to prevent the Skrull from reaching the Fantastic Five Headquarters on his mission to destroy the team (Spider-Girl #46).

The Orbital Defense Grid detected the Skrull High Command's coherent energy beam as it passed on it's way to restore the Power Cosmic to Apox the Omega Skrull so that he could play a part in their revenge plans against the Fantastic Five (Spider-Girl #86).

In Last Planet Standing #2 we not only learn that Reed Richards helped design the Orbital Defense Grid but we also see it's destruction when the latest Herald of Galactus Dominas the Wavemaster uses his phenomenal power upon his approach to Earth.

The destruction of the Orbital Defense Grid is referenced in Avengers Next #1 by American Dream when she mentions Mainframe being called to Washington to consult on a 'new Space Defense Program'. The situation is also referenced by Nova and Earth Sentry when they recall their near deaths during the events of Last Planet Standing (Avengers Next #2). Notably, on both occasions Nova doesn't use the term 'Orbital Defense Grid', instead calling it 'Earth's Satellite Defense Program' in Last Planet Standing #2 and 'Space Defense Perimeter' in Avengers Next #2. Perhaps these are colloquialisms, as we see the likes of the more formal and intelligent Reed Richards, Mainframe and Vision use the term 'Orbital Defense Grid'.

This is the last time the Earth's Orbital Defense Grid is mentioned or seen in the MC2. It's unclear whether Mainframe's meeting in Washington yielded productive plans for a new and improved Orbital Defense Grid and related program. In the meantime, the MC2's Earth remains just a little more vulnerable.

I like the idea of an Earth that's frequently combated alien incursions and invasions developing a defense, particularly because it shows the veteran heroes are competent and didn't leave the world defenseless in their absence. It's a nice plot device.

Until I figure out a way to expand the 'Skrull Incident' into a full post, I remain

frogoat

History of The MC2: The Fantastic Four

I was inspired recently to make a timeline of events covering the history of the MC2, spanning the nebulous 15 year stretch of time after the Main Marvel Universe (or Universe-616) split off and became the MC2 (or Universe-982) and before the next-generation of heroes began to emerge in J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105.

Given that Marvel's First Family are being relaunched with a new #1, I decided for the second installment of this series I would look at the MC2's Fantastic Four team. The events surrounding the rebranding of the team from the Fantastic Four to the Fantastic Five is a major mystery from the team's first cameo in What If #105, through their guest appearances in Spider-Girl, A-Next and in the pages of their own series. Parts of the mystery unravel within the pages of Fantastic Five #1-5 but some aspects were left unresolved when the series was prematurely cancelled. These lingering mysteries would be addressed in the Fantastic Five mini series years later.

While we don't know the exact point at which the history of the Main Marvel Universe Fantastic Four stops being the same as that of the MC2 Fantastic Four/Five, we do know a few things about the teams past history. At some point, the Skrull called Lyja joined the Fantastic Four and married Johnny Storm (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1). Reed and Susan's own son Franklin Richards would also join the team afterwards, despite the group still officially being known as the Fantastic Four (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, #4). While it's unclear exactly when, Ben Grimm and Sharon Ventura married and had twins Alyce and Jacob Grimm (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, #3, #5).

Approximately 11-12 years prior to the dawn of the second generation of heroes (the beginning of the MC2 as seen in J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105) a war broke out between Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Hearing a war was brewing, Doom's former ward Kristoff Vernard had returned to his native Latveria (A-Next #5). During the war, Latveria was devastated, Atlantis was ravaged and most of Namor's people were slaughtered (A-Next #3, A-Next #5, Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).

In the war's aftermath, Doctor Doom went missing and was widely believed to have been killed by The Sub-Mariner, Namor himself was branded an international war-criminal and went into exile and Latveria was hotly disputed with various nations vying for control of the secrets and weapons within Castle Doom (A-Next #3, Spider-Girl #3, A-Next #5). S.H.I.E.L.D. is placed in Latveria's capital city Doomstadt by the United Nations (A-Next #5). Unknown to everyone else, Namor held Doom prisoner in a grotto deep under water within the Great Atlantis Trench, returning to torture him once a month as punishment for the destruction of Atlantis and it's people (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).  With his intimate knowledge of Doctor Doom's extensive arsenal, and aware that he himself could be exploited by those seeking to gain access to the weaponry, Kristoff went into hiding within the remains of Castle Doom which was now a disputed no-man's land protected by S.H.I.E.L.D. (A-Next #5, Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #5).

During a battle with the villainous Terrax, Ben Grimm aka The Thing had the rock-like hide torn from much of the left side of his body by a miniature black hole. Reed Richards created bionic armour to cover the exposed tissue but explained it could take years to regenerate his missing hide. As a side effect of his bionics in situ, it would be impossible for Ben to revert to his human form (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1-2).

*I think I should point out the slight continuity error in the flashback above: Other flashbacks depicting events occurring after the one above clearly show the team wearing F4 uniforms and operating under the name Fantastic Four. Likely, the F5 uniforms are a simple artistic error*

At an unknown point, the long-time F4 foe The Wizard lost the use of both his legs in unrevealed circumstances. Blaming Reed Richards for his disability, The Wingless Wizard went unseen for years while plotting his revenge. To achieve his goal, he began recruiting people for a new team dubbed The Wizard's Warriors (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #2).

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Lyja was pregnant at this time and did not join the team on their mission (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the rip in reality still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in suspended animation.

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone ( Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

The team formally changed their charter, membership and name, finally re-branding themselves as the Fantastic Five, with John Storm aka The Human Torch leading the team of Ms. Fantastic aka his wife Lyja Storm; Ben Grimm aka The Thing; Reed Richards as Big Brain and Franklin Richards now known as Psi-Lord (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).



Based on various comments throughout both Fantastic Five series and other MC2 titles, we can work out a (very) rough timeline of events. Despite vague comments in A-Next #3 and #5 and Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #5 stating the war between Doctor Doom and Namor occurred 'years ago' or 'a few years ago' it's not until Fantastic Five Vol. 2 that we get a fairly definitive statement regarding when the war took place: 'Almost 12 full years' ago. Given that the MC2 has seemingly had a year elapse (judging by Mayday aging from 15 to 16 years of age) since it began publication, we can place the war at around 11 years prior to the MC2 era. Apart from that, we only get one other fairly definitive statement to pieces together the timeline: it was 'About five or so years ago' that the team lost Reed and Sue Richards fighting Hyperstorm.

This last piece of information actually raises a bunch of questions about the age of John and Lyja Storm's son, Torus Storm...but we'll have to address that another day. So, to recap the timeline of events:

• Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-Mariner go to war, ultimately causing the destruction of Atlantis in addition to leaving Latveria in political turmoil. Doom is imprisoned by Namor for over a decade.
• Following the war, Kristoff Vernard goes missing in action, secretly protecting and preventing Doom's arsenal of weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
• Ben Grimm loses the rock-like hide from most of his left side during a battle with Terrax. Reed Richards provides him with bionic armour for protection.
• The Wizard blames Reed Richards for the lose of the use of both his lower limbs following an unrevealed event. The Wizard is not heard from for years afterwards as he plans his revenge.
• Hyperstorm is defeated by the Franklin Richards who loses much of his power. Reed and Susan Richards are permanently incapacitated, with Reed partially melted and Susan in suspended animation holding a tear in reality.
• The Fantastistation is constructed around Susan Richards in the Negative Zone. Reed Richards chooses to stay with his wife, attempting to repair the tear in reality.
• The Big Brain robot is built by Reed allow him to continue to aid the team, being controlled remotely from the Negative Zone.
• The team officially renames themselves the Fantastic Five, with John Storm as their leader.

Hopefully this helps straighten out the timeline for the MC2's own Fantastic Four...er….Five? If you feel I've missed something or made a mistake, please feel free to let me know.

Until I run out of Fantastic Family Members to count, I remain

frogoat