Is Devil Dinosaur in the MC2?

 

Here’s a fun idea I’ve been chewing over for a while now: What characters could exist in the MC2, but where never seen, referenced or perhaps simply weren’t introduced into Marvel Comics until afterwards? I’ve previously produced a post pondering this proposal when I looked at one of the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy to see if Groot could potentially exist in the MC2. For today, I wanted to take a bite out of another character I’m fond of, to see if Devil Dinosaur could exist in the MC2?

First, we must consider some rules, ironic though it may seem for a thought experiment such as this. Usually the MC2’s 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. With regards to Devil Dinosaur, we have a very different issue to consider.

 

Created by the king of comics himself, Jack Kirby, Devil first appeared in Devil Dinosaur #1 from 1978. Devil is a mutant tyrannosaurus-like theropod dinosaur of the species known as ‘Devil-Beasts’ (Fallen Angels #4). While Mr Kirby’s intent was for Devil and his ‘Small-Folk’ hominid companion Moon Boy to hail from the distant past of the Main Marvel Universe or Earth-616, it’s now firmly established that they originate from an alternate Earth known as ‘Dinosaur World’, which is officially and in-universe designated as Earth-78411 (The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (vol. 1) #3, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #7, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update ’89 #2, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #8,Marvel Monsters: From the Files of Ulysses Bloodstone (and the Monster Hunters) and so on). With all that information as support, it’s safe to say Devil Dinosaur is not native to the 616 Universe. So, does that rule him out of the MC2 Universe also?

 

Fortunately, Devil has traversed the multiverse on multiple occasions, in addition to interacting with visitors to his world from the 616 including Godzilla via Doctor Doom’s Time Platform (Godzilla #21-#22). Devil and Moon Boy have also encountered various others including a Skrull (Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling #1),Lockheed (and nearly Shadowcat) of Excalibur (Marvel Comics Present #174), Ghost Rider and Howard the Duck (Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #81-#83), Wolverine, Namor the Sub-Mariner and Ka-Zar (Wolverine: Global Jeopardy #1) and the Fallen Angels group which included members of the New Mutants team (Fallen Angels #4-#8).

 

One significant story came in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Annual ’98 (aka ‘Annual #31’) written by none other than Spider-Girl co-creator Tom Defalco. This story saw the duo of Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur stranded once again on Earth-616 and this time under the hypnotic influence of the Ringmaster of Crime. After Spider-Man liberated the pair, he suggested their relocation to the Savage Land where they were settled soon after.

 

Not only is this story written by MC2 alumni Tom Defalco, but it was also published in 1998 making it a likely inclusion into our hypothetical pre-MC2-publication cut off point. So, could Devil Dinosaur reside in the MC2? Yes, it is possible Devil and Moon Boy remain secluded in the remote Savage Land of Antarctica. Considering no published MC2 stories have visited the Savage Land, I’d like to think Devil and his friend are still out there…

 

Until we get Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Season 3, I remain

 

frogoat

History of the Latverian Flag

 

Thanks to my delightful younglings and extended family, I have recently been indoctrinated into the cult known as Fortnite. For those who don’t know on the 16^th of August 2024, the popular video game Fortnite’s Battle Royale released its latest narrative update, Chapter 5: Season 4 called ‘Absolute Doom’, which focuses on Marvel’s premier villain and the Fantastic Four’s most fearsome foe, the self-appointed Monarch of Latveria himself, Victor Von Doom aka Doctor Doom.

 

In terms of plot, Doctor Doom has seized control of the current formation of the Battle Royale Island, known as Helios, remaking much of it to resemble his beloved home country of Latveria as his ‘Kingdom of Doom’. This includes new landmarks such as Doomstadt, Doom’s Courtyard and Castle Doom, all adorned in Latverian Flags. Which finally brings me to my extremely belaboured point, the topic for today: the History of the Latverian Flag.

 

The Kingdom of Latveria first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #2, which also presents the first time we see what could be considered a national flag, emblem or regal symbols. We’ll see a few reoccurring motifs in later stories, such as Doom’s stylised capitalised ‘D’ and the emblem with an eagle.

 

Following this is in Fantastic Four #85-#87 we glimpse various more banners and designs with the most notable this time an eagle on a sceptre, and the return of the ‘D’ logo, the latter of which may simply be Victor’s personal mark.

 

Oddly, Incredible Hulk #143 is the first time we get a clear look at what is unmistakeably a flag for Latveria outside their embassy in New York when Doom brings the Hulk there, and it’s also very different from what has come before. Depicted as a red flag with a completely different black eagle-like design in the centre, with a nighttime exception inverting this colour scheme (presumably a simple case of artistic licence) and on the issue’s final page we see the bird as simply a lighter red, notably alongside other flags.

 

In the 1987 Marvel Graphic Novel Emperor Doom, we again see various stylised capital ‘D’ insignia adorning various items after Doctor Doom uses the Daredevil villain Purple Man’s mind control powers to become ruler of the entire planet Earth.

 

In the graphic novel Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment the eagle and sceptre design returns, helping create something of a throughline across the decades.

 

I’ve discussed the significance of both the Onslaught and Heroes Reborn events to the MC2 in the past, and here we have another situation where it might apply as Doctor Doom was among those who apparently perished saving the world from the psychic entity known as Onslaught. It's revealed that Franklin Richards used his amazing abilities to create a pocket dimension to save his parents and all the other heroes. The reborn heroes would awaken in this pocket dimension to live out new lives, unaware of their pasts. In this new world, Doctor Doom again rules Latveria and we see an assortment of flags on display in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #4, including the ‘D’ and eagle designs.

 

We get the first iteration of what has become the most iconic Latverian flag on the covers for Doom: The Emperor Returns #1 and #2. It may be argued this is not a national flag at all, but a flag symbolising the sovereign himself, Doctor Doom. This one is a bit questionable as it first appears on the Counter-Earth created by Franklin Richards at a point after the MC2 branches off or diverges from the Main Marvel Universe. Doctor Doom finds himself back on this Counter-Earth and sets about conquering it, dubbing it ‘Planet Doom’.

 

We’ll see versions of the above design continue to crop up back on the regular old Marvel Earth in Secret War #5, Penance: Relentless #4, Books of Doom #6 and Captain America (vol. 5) #23 right up until the date of this writing. A version of this flag is what appears in the video game Fortnite and sparked the idea for this post, which speaks to its popularity.

 

However, it’s worth mentioning we do get at least one more markedly different Latverian flag in the Marvel Atlas #1 from 2007. This depicts an armoured gauntlet grasping lighting bolts. This design does not appear to have caught on however as I haven’t seen it reused anywhere.

 

There may be many more examples of possible Latverian flag designs I am unaware of, but hopefully this has proven informative. With all this context in mind, I wonder what the MC2’s Latverian flag looks like? The war between Namor, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom left Atlantis destroyed and Latveria’s former capital city Doomstadt in ruins, and in it’s wake Doom was presumed dead for 12 years. We do not know much about its political situation, but the nation’s flag may well have changed to reflect it’s new status. Just something to think about.

 

A huge shout out to the classic Doctor Doom fan site, Doom2099.com for the much-needed obscure fictional vexillological information. I miss discovering such places online and I would encourage you all to seek them out and support them whenever possible while they remain! Major props to arias-98105 as always for the constant support.

 

Until I rescue my beloved mother’s soul from the grasp of the dreaded demon Mephisto, I remain

 

frogoat