Who is the Fast Lane Spider-Girl?!

‘Fast Lane’ was the name of an infamous 4-part anti-drug story inserted into the middle of basically every comic Marvel published every second month between September 1999 and March 2000 including the MC2’s Spider-Girl, Fantastic Five, Wild Thing titles. Created by the Marvel Creative Services in conjunction with the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, the story was written by Glenn Herdling with pencils by Gregg Schigiel (who contributed gorgeous art to Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide by Tom Defalco) with inks by Richard Case.

But why am I talking about this particular story here? Well, you see in Part 4 of the story "Back on Target” there’s an absolutely amazing double splash page featuring various Marvel Heroes all helping out at the site of an accident. The heroes include Thor, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, Storm, Wolverine, Wonder Man, She-Hulk, Captain America and Spider-Girl. Wait… what?!

Obviously, this story doesn’t take place in the MC2 and that’s not May ‘Mayday’ Parker, so what’s going on? This was a mystery that used to bother me as a young reader, but nowadays looking up information is a lot easier. Curiously, both the Marvel Chronology Project and Amazing Spider-Man: Official Index to the Marvel Universe not only identify the character as being the Mattie Franklin incarnation of Spider-Woman but also place it within the Main Marvel Universe after the events of Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #14 and Spider-Woman (Vol. 3) #9. To be fair, the Official Index chooses to err on the side of caution with notes clarifying “If Fast Lane is in continuity, it takes place shortly after that issue” and “Spider-Woman called “Spider-Girl” here” in an attempt to tie up the matter.

While an admirable effort, there are a few problems with this explanation, the first being that Mattie Franklin never used web-shooters such as those visibly worn by Fast Lane’s Spider-Girl. The second issue is why Mattie would even use webbing in the first place, given her ability to fly. Thirdly, Mattie was never seen in the costume depicted. On this occasion, I’m going to have to disagree with the idea that this character is Mattie Franklin and that the story takes place in the Main Marvel Universe.

So, what’s going on? Well, for answers we have to take a look at an article on Comics Alliance about the Fast Lane story, which includes some great insight from the artist himself Gregg Schigiel. Here’s an excerpt:


“Just above that, there's a Spider-Man type girl who's saving a kid…that was a version of Spider-Girl that Marvel's Creative Services was working on at the time, that if memory serves, I helped design. I'm not sure what the endgame there was (clearly something licensing-related), but I only ever drew her here and as a kind of paper doll cut-out type thing, which I think was meant for presentation purposes. In perfect late '90s fashion she has a bare midriff and capri pants”



So that confirms it, then. This is not intended to be Mattie Franklin nor Mayday Parker, though the character does perhaps borrow some elements from both characters, notably the former’s hair style and the latter’s heroic identity. As for what licensed products this Spider-Girl design wound up being used for, I believe these contemporary dress-up costumes were part of the merchandising endgame Mr Schigiel mentioned:

Special thanks to Ron Frenz for providing the above image, because it is now seemingly impossible to find online anywhere in the present day. Mr Frenz would reference this costume design with both the cover and interiors for Spider-Girl #91, showcasing it during a scene centred around the Spider Shoppe, a boutique specializing in Spider-Women-themed apparel.

I guess that brings us full circle back to the good ol’ MC2. If anyone has anymore information about this unnamed Fast Lane Spider-Girl, please let me know! A huge thanks to arias-98105, Ron Frenz and the Comics Alliance website for their various contributions to this post, otherwise I’d have no idea what I’m talking about!



Until I find more obscure, unimportant and largely pointless facts to impart, I remain



frogoat

Mysterio in the MC2

Yes, Spider-Man: Far From Home has just hit cinemas. No, I'm not going to review it. I don't like to be too negative on this blog if I can avoid it. But I will be shamelessly cashing in on it's popularity by talking about Quentin Beck aka Mysterio in the MC2! 

So where is Mysterio in the MC2? Short answer: He's almost certainly dead. Long answer? Well...that requires a little history lesson. As I've previously touched on in my History of the MC2: Daredevil post, it appears that the events of the 'Guardian Devil' arc published in Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-8 unfolded in much the same manner in the MC2 as in the Main Marvel Universe, except for the break up of Foggy Nelson and Liz Osborn in #8 as they remained a couple and eventually married in the MC2. With 'Guardian Devil' playing out in the MC2 as it did in the Main Marvel Universe, that means that Quentin Beck, the original Mysterio also committed suicide as depicted in Daredevil (vol. 2) #7.

But if you aren't convinced, let's take a look at more evidence. The Spider-Man Family one-shot comic published in 2005 features a lengthy flashback to an adventure involving Spider-Man meeting Araña and uncovering a revenge plot by the villainous Jack O' Lantern aka Maguire Beck. So why is this relevant? Because -as Peter explains to May- Maguire Beck was out for revenge for her deceased relative, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio. 

Now here's where it gets a little bit complicated. Maguire Beck was only officially revealed in a mini-series called Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto published in 2001 to address several loose plot threads surrounding Mysterio, including why a Mysterio claiming to be the original was seemingly back from the dead in the Spider-Man titles around that time. As an aside, I should mention that the mini-series retconned Maguire as one of the two people behind the super villainous Jack O' Lantern who first appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man #243, written by J.M. DeMatteis and published in 1997. The mini-series seems to suggest Maguire's partner in crime, Daniel Berkhart was posing as the original Mysterio at the time, a fact clarified in the Official Handbooks.

With all of that out of the way, these various stories support the idea that not only did Quentin Beck kill himself in the MC2 as he did in the Main Marvel Universe, but that at least some version of the events depicted in The Mysterio Manifesto must have occurred for Peter Parker to learn of Maguire's identity and motives as demonstrated in the Spider-Man Family story. Rest in Peace, Mysterio.

On another related side-note, I should mention that both the Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto mini-series and the Spider-Man Family story were written by none other than MC2-alumni Tom Defalco. Despite this, Manifesto seems to imply that Maguire is Quentin's cousin whereas the Spider-Man Family story explicitly states she is Quentin's niece. A small goof, perhaps?

 Mysterio Manifesto also makes reference to Quentin Beck's father and uncle, both of whom were first referenced in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1 (1999) which was written by J.M. DeMatteis. I mention this because it's a nice use of established continuity but also because it helps reinforce the idea that Maguire's father was Quentin's uncle. It's also possible Maguire Beck simply called Quentin her 'uncle' colloquially, as a term of endearment and there's another unseen sibling of Quentin who had a daughter, though there's nothing to support this idea. There are even a few references to the Webspinners story in Daredevil (vol. 2) #7, tying all these Mysterio connections together. 

So there you have it; some version the events depicted in Daredevil (vol. 2) #1-7, Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1-3 and even Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto #1-3 also played out in the MC2 and we know this all because their was such tightly linked continuity across various writers, artists, titles and characters. 

I have to give special thanks to regular reader and frequent co-conspirator arias-98105 for help with this topic as well as to the wonderful Marvel Appendix Profile for Maguire Beck which can be found here.

Until I stop diving down mysterious and complicated rabbit holes, I remain

frogoat

Felicity Hardy Confirmed for Spider-Man Unlimited

Well, after the current Mysterio update for the Spider-Man Unlimited mobile game, I think it's safe to confirm Felicity Hardy, aka the MC2's own Scarlet Spider will soon be a playable character. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself:

The Spider-Man Unlimited facebook page gives her debut event dates:


June 15th – 21st
New Spidey: Scarlet Spider (Felicity Hardy)
Event:  Release Event (Titan)


Well, there ya go then. Who's next, Gameloft? There is a nice trend starting up recently of MC2 characters popping up all over the place in unexpected ways! Mainframe in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Hope Pym appearing in some form in the upcoming Ant-Man movie. Spider-Girl and now Felicity Hardy in the Spider-Man Unlimited game. Maybe there is something to that?

Until the world stops throwing MC2 characters into the fray, 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