Psylocke in the MC2

 

Gee, that X-Men ’97 Season 2 sure is shaping up to be a phenomenal bit of television. Among the multitude of mutant plotlines, teams and characters vying for screentime is none other than Psylocke. While there’s some confusion of which incarnation of the character is appearing in animation, today we are going to look at a Psylocke who never appeared at all: Psylocke in the MC2.

 

Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock first appeared  in the pages of Marvel UK’s Captain Britain #8 in 1976 before briefly assuming her sibling’s eponymous mantle in Captain Britain (vol. 2) #12 in 1985. Betsy would make the jump to Marvel’s American comics line with the New Mutants Annual #2 in 1986, taking on the codename Psylocke for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I am not dipping into the ocean of X-Men retcons that surrounds the whole body-swap narrative. Perhaps at another time for a deep dive? Let’s jump into the MC2, shall we?

 

As I mentioned above, Psylocke doesn’t appear on-panel in the MC2. Heck, she doesn’t even get name-dropped -not directly at least- but she is referenced. In Rina Logan’s aka Wild Thing’s debut in J2 #5 where, during a scrap with J2, Rina reveals her ability to manifest psychic claws which she was taught by her godmother. The whole ‘manifest pink-purple psychic energy in the form of a weapon’ modus operandi certainly suggests Psylocke, doesn’t it?

 

Wild Thing co-creator Tom Defalco did throw some doubt into the mix in the pages of the Wizard Magazine Wolverine Special 1999:

 

One familiar X-Character readers will definitely be seeing in the near future is Wild Thing’s mysterious godmother, the mutant who taught her to wield her psychic claws. Only problem is, the powers-that-be can’t agree on who she is. Most people -including Hama- think it’s Psylocke. But Defalco thinks otherwise.

“Everyone’s guessing Psylocke mainly because the claws are purple,” says the cagey Defalco. “I think Psylocke would be a boring choice now.”

 

While the article also mentions Rina’s godmother’s identity would be revealed soon, as we all know by now, the Wild Thing series was cancelled prematurely with #5. All future storylines remain unpublished and unresolved.

 

However, in the pages of both the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #12 and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #13 Hardcover, the profile for Wild Thing has this to say:

 

‘Rina Logan was trained to be a hero from a young age by her parents. She was also taught how to manifest psychic claws by her godmother, Betsy Braddock (Psylocke).’ 

 

 

 

Whatever the truth is, it remains tucked away in a Marvel office drawer under psy-lock and key. Psylocke. Psyche. You get it.

 

Until those unseen MC2 issues see the light of day, I remain

 

frogoat

Iron Man's Armory in the MC2: Model 3

 

I’m going back to the workshop for another entry in the occasional series of posts detailing the various armours of Tony Stark, focusing on those that appear in the MC2. Today’s entry is Iron Man’s Armory in the MC2: Model 3.

 

 For consistency, I’ll be using the designations for the various Iron Man armours provided by to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe team’s most recent version of the All-New Iron Manual, updated and corrected as part of the Iron Manual trade paperback.

 

There is some debate as to when exactly Iron Man’s Model 3 armour debuted, with some tweaks to the Model 2 helmet seeing a rivet design and a smoother face plate starting in Tales of Suspense #54.

 

In the pages of Tales of Suspense #56, Iron Man first gains his hip-mounted pods which would soon become standard. Finally, in Tales of Suspense #66 the rivets disappeared from the face plate. Whichever issue you’d prefer to attribute this armour incarnation to, the Iron Manual TPB states Tales of Suspense #56 was the first appearance of the Model 3. Perhaps we can assume some of these modifications weren’t enough to constitute a whole new ‘model’ to Tony, being instead, for example, ‘Model 2 Mark II’ etc as some have proposed.

 

In the MC2, we get a very brief glimpse of the Model 3 during a flashback in the pages of Fantastic Five (vol. 1) #1 to the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm from Fantastic Four Annual #3.

 

It’s possible we also see a photograph of the Model 3 armour in the pages of American Dream #2 but it’s difficult to tell from just a headshot. This nebulous identification of Iron Man Armor Models will be a continuing issue as we’ll see next time, too.

Anyway, that’s all for today folks! The next instalment in this series will prove more substantial.

Until I can positively identify every nut, bolt and transistor to determine which Model armour Iron Man is wearing in any given comic panel, I remain

 

frogoat

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

Iron Man's Armory in the MC2: Model 2

 

The release of the Ironheart series on Disney+ has got me in the mood to make another entry in my recent and occasional series (as if I haven’t got enough of those running) looking at the various armours of Tony Stark. This is Iron Man’s Armory in the MC2: Model 2.

 

 For consistency, I’ll be using the designations for the various Iron Man armours provided by to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe team’s most recent version of the All-New Iron Manual, updated and corrected as it appeared in the Iron Manual trade paperback.

 

Iron Man’s second armour made its debut in the pages of Tales of Suspense #48 wherein Tony Stark builds a brand new, sleeker and lighter suit. This basic outline and the addition of red to the colour scheme (thanks to artist Steve Ditko, no less) would define Iron Man for decades.

Now, in the MC2 we see Tony’s original Model 2 armour in the pages of Spider-Girl #57 in the form of a portrait hung on the walls of Avengers Compound when May ‘Mayday’ Parker aka Spider-Girl comes calling on the Avengers for their assistance.

 

I’ve not spotted any other appearances of this specific suit, but it’s entirely possible I’ve overlooked another sneaky cameo somewhere in the MC2. If you find one, please let me know.

 

Until I decide to throw a little hot-rod red into the mix, I remain

 

frogoat

Iron Man's Armory in the MC2: Model 1

 

Today I wanted to launch a new occasional series (as if I haven’t got enough of those running) looking at the various armours of Tony Stark. This is Iron Man’s Armory in the MC2: Model 1.

 For consistency, I’ll be using the designations for the various Iron Man armours provided by to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe team’s most recent version of the All-New Iron Manual, updated and corrected as part of the Iron Manual trade paperback.

The very first and famously low-tech armour made its debut in the pages of Tales of Suspense #39 wherein Tony Stark built it alongside fellow prisoner Ho Yinsen while held captive as a means to keep him alive and eventually escape. But I’m sure you all already know that. Shortly afterwards, Stark would add a gold finish to better appeal to the public (Tales of Suspense #40).

 

Now, in the MC2 we see Tony’s original Model 1 armour in the pages of Spider-Girl #95 during a flashback to events which took place directly following Tales of Suspense #39 as shown in Iron Man #144 which depicts Stark’s first meeting with James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes.

 

We can also see  a replica of the golden version of the Model 1 in Avengers Next #5 when Kevin Masterson pulls it out of the Avengers Headquarters armory and uses it as a brief distraction against Ulik and Sylene.

 

Unless I’m mistaken, that’s all the appearances of the original tin can suit in the MC2. Next time, we’ll move on to another Stark designed Iron Man Armor, one with a little hot-rod red thrown in…

 

Until I’m able to build one of these in a cave WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS, I remain

 

frogoat