How Vibranium Gave Us The Coal Tiger

 

 

Here’s a question you may not have asked: How does T’Chaka II aka the Coal Tiger transform into a big cat man or ‘were-panther’? That is what we will be exploring today. How Vibranium gave us the Coal Tiger.

 

First, some history for context. Let’s start with the fantastic fictional metallic substance Vibranium. First appearing in Daredevil #13, this form of Vibranium (popularly known as ‘Anti-Metal’ or ‘Antarctic Vibranium’ as codified by the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (vol. 1) #15) is found only in the region of Antarctica known as the Savage Land. Antarctic Vibranium emanates vibrations which cause the atomic and molecular bonds of other nearby metals to weaken and liquify.

 

The most well-known form of Vibranium is named Wakandan Vibranium due to it being found almost exclusively in the African nation of Wakanda. First appearing in the pages of Fantastic Four #53, Wakandan Vibranium absorbs and stores vibratory energy such as soundwaves and mechanical energy in its vicinity, growing increasingly more durable as it does so. Should a piece of Vibranium reach its capacity, the Vibranium would explosively release its absorbed energy (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (vol. 1) #15).

 

By now, most people are aware of Marvel’s the small African isolationist nation called Wakanda. The Kingdom of Wakanda first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 when Marvel’s First Family the Fantastic Four first meet King T’Challa aka the Black Panther. The nation’s history with Vibranium is further explored in Black Panther #7 where we learn that Vibranium is extraterrestrial in origin, having crashed as a meteor in the region that later became the nation of Wakanda. During early attempts at mining, stories spread of men turning into ‘evil spirits’ and attacking their friends and neighbours, with the radiation from the unprocessed raw Vibranium ore causing mutations among the people. These mutagenic properties were also seen in other species such as the White Gorillas (Avengers #62, Jungle Action (vol. 2) #13, Wakanda #1) and even the plant life within Wakanda, most notably the Heart-Shaped Herb which grants the powers of the Black Panther (Fantastic Four #53, Avengers #87, Jungle Action #8, Black Panther: Panther’s Prey #2, Fantastic Four Unlimited #1, Marvel Atlas #2).

 

Through the decades of published Black Panther stories, the nature, importance and depths of the Right of Ascension and the rituals associated with ruling Wakanda has grown and changed, though the Heart-Shaped Herb and Vibranium remain constant elements. Which brings us to the MC2’s Prince T’Chaka II and the nature of his ability to transform in to a ‘were-panther’. While we don’t get an origin story for the Coal Tiger in published works, fortunately co-creator Ron Frenz appeared on Adam Chapman’s Comic Shenanigans Podcast Episode 744, where he had this to say:

 

 ‘We also were going with the idea that the panther root has started to have more and more of an impact over the generations. The fact that T’Chaka is named after T’Challa’s father but that T’Challa spent most of his life using the panther root and having the powers…that it’s starting to cause a mutation or an evolution of the panther power in the offspring. That’s what we were trying to suggest.’

 

From this we can infer that the intention was that T’Challa’s (and presumably his ancestors) continual exposure to the Heart-Shaped Herb which was itself mutated by the raw Wakandan Vibranium in the region resulted in his son T’Chaka II’s ability to transform into a ‘were-panther’ form. This is a pretty neat and novel expansion on the existing Black Panther mythos which I would love to see explored further.

 

 

Special thanks to Jesús Arias for his indefatigable dedication to assisting me with various posts on this blog through the years. A big shout out to the fantastic Black Panther Blog for being the only accurate, well-researched and referenced source I could find online regarding the Heart-Shaped Herb and its history. Please check them out here: Black Panther Discussion and Appreciation

 

Until I can figure out if this science paper is right about the Heart-Shaped Herb, I remain

 

frogoat

Spider-Symmetry: Rock Reflections

 

For today’s post we have a brief entry in the occasional series where I endeavour to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry of Spider-Symmetry, we are taking a leap outside the comics. But don’t worry, the other half of this mirror is once again delivered by MC2 co-creator, artist extraordinaire and friendly fella, Ron Frenz.

 

Released in 1975 by Lifesong Records and featuring vocals from members of Crack the Sky and Brooklyn Bridge with (unusually flat and dull) narration by Stan Lee came ‘Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero’, a rock opera which retells Peter Parker’s story from his origin through to the death of Gwen Stacy. Not only did it feature Stan Lee but iconic Spider-Man artist John Romita provided the art for the album’s front cover.

 

 Meanwhile in the MC2, tucked away in the pages of 2007’s Amazing Spider-Girl #4, we have sneaky Ron Frenz slip in a subtle homage to John Romita’s gorgeous work with a panel featuring May ‘Mayday’ Parker standing in front of a very familiar mirror which has been in Mayday’s Room for quite some time prior! I wonder if Mr Frenz owns that rock opera album?

 

Until I stop contemplating my life choices in front of large reflective surfaces, I remain

 

frogoat

Symbiote-Symmetry

 

Yes, it’s that time once again! For today’s post we have a brief entry in the occasional series where I endeavour to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry, a look at another example of Symbiote-Symmetry, once again delivered by MC2 co-creator, artist extraordinaire and friendly fella, Ron Frenz. And yes, it’s another Venom Symbiote post too so consider this a sort of  Venom: The Last Dance tie-in!

 

First up, we have the trippy one-shot Carnage tale, Carnage: Mind Bomb. Specifically, this gnarly cover by artist Kyle Hotz, who’s unique rendition of the psychotic red symbiote inspired the look of Carnage in the Spider-Man Unlimited animated series:

 

And here’s an interior page from Spider-Girl #83 depicting the Venom symbiote bonded with Normie Osborn (after receiving a hellfire burn from the vigilante Darkdevil) as drawn by Ron Frenz:

 

 

Until I stop seeing the systematic similarities of symbiotic and spidery symbolism, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

MC2 Legacy: Did Mainframe Influence the MCU Iron Man?

 

This will hopefully be the first instalment in a new occasional series touching on the various instances of an MC2 character, concept or…whatever that is later used elsewhere. Basically, a record of the many times the MC2 has influenced the comic’s Main Marvel Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a variety of animated series, etc.  

Many years ago, I wrote about the MC2’s Mainframe being loosely adapted in the Marvel animated series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. which led to a follow up post and a short video. The episode, ‘Wheels of Fury’, debuted on the 29^th of March 2015 and concludes with the Mainframe Artificial Intelligence taking on a familiar yellow and black armoured form resembling his MC2 design.

 

But this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Iron Man himself in a yellow and black armoured suit. The Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode ‘Fun with Lasers’ which first aired on the 4^th of September 2009 debut’s the teenage Tony Stark’s ‘Space Armor’ when he uses it to reach a hijacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Orbital Station.

 

Some might argue that this is a reference to the ‘Iron Man Armor Model 42’ which was the first Iron Man Armor to feature the yellow and black colour scheme. However, the Model 42 didn’t debut until years later with Iron Man (Vol. 5) #1 in November 2012.

 

One of the dozens of Iron Man Armors seen in the climax of the 2013 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Iron Man 3, the Mark 20 or Mark XX also known by the nickname ‘Python’ is believed to be inspired by the above-mentioned Model 42. Additionally, it also appears in the official Iron Man 3 mobile tie-in video game from Gameloft, thus making the leap to yet another medium.

 

Thus, I’d argue they are all in some way originally inspired by Ron Frenz and Rich Yanizeski’s frankly classic Mainframe designs which debuted all the way back in A-Next #1 from 1998. Here’s an excerpt of what co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz had to say about the design of Mainframe on episode 744 of Adam Chapman’s Comic Shenanigan’s podcast:

 

‘We went through a couple of different designs, the early designs still had red and yellow in them and everything. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, what occurred to me about what I like about black and gold is that I’m from Pittsburgh and that’s the colour of all of our sports teams.’

 

Until the MC2 stops being the secret inspiration for the ‘House of Ideas’, I remain

 

frogoat

Spider-Symmetry: Amazing Spider-Man 199 and Spectacular Spider-Girl 6

 

Today’s post is part of an occasional series where I try to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry, I wanted to demonstrate an example of not just homage but reverence from Spidey artists Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema.

 

I’ve briefly touched on Amazing Spider-Man #199 (which has the unlikely pair of Mysterio and the Burglar) while discussing the Parker Family Home but I failed to mention it is features the guest pencils of ‘Our Pal’ Sal Buscema, an unsung icon, stalwart professional and fixture of the Spider-Mythos across his storied career. After decades working on various Spidey titles, Sal eventually became the permanent inker for the various Spider-Girl titles.

 

Here's where we come to the Spider-Symmetry part of the post, because penciller Ron Frenz loves to sneak in various homages and references to past Spider-Man artists and issues. For Spectacular Spider-Girl (vol.1) #6 (as it was initially released digitally before being printed in the pages of Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2) Mr Frenz recreated a few panels of Sal’s work from Amazing Spider-Man #199, evidently knowing full well he’d be inking it!

 

Until I run out of examples of exactly this kind of deep comic knowledge and appreciation, I remain

frogoat

 

  

 

Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man '67 and Spider-Girl

For today’s super-quick post we have another entry in the shamelessly swiped Spider-Symmetry series. Ron Frenz presents Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man ’67 and Spider-Girl.

 

Spider-Girl and MC2 co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz is an admitted lifelong fan of the original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon and he once again took the opportunity to slip several direct references into Amazing Spider-Girl. I’ll let Ron’s own Facebook post provide the explanation:

99% Inspiration!

Remember the 1967 Spider-man cartoon? Every frame is pretty much burned into my frontal lobe!

As the show changed production teams they would spend(waste?) several minutes of any given episode with a traveling montage of the web-spinner web-swinging through the concrete canyons of New York City accompanied by some of the coolest soundtrack music known to man IMHO!

We've spoken before of my cartoon-addled brain and my tendency to indulge it in my comics work, well here's another example from the pages of The Amazing Spider-Girl!

Mayday Parker is desperately searching the city for her missing Father and infant Brother who have been taken by Carnage! (I know!)

Inks by Mr.Sal Buscema, colors by Gotham, letters by Mr.Dave Sharpe and words by The Legendary Tom DeFalco!

This calls for a traveling montage! Cue the music!!

 

For anyone wondering, the issue referenced is Amazing Spider-Girl #11 and an example of previous ’67 homage would be La Fantome aka Staci Smythe. Mr Frenz has even talked about some unused concepts such as a Halloween story idea ‘Night of Evil’.

 

Here’s the page and referenced shots for comparison:

 

Until I stop appreciating the deep love the Spider-Girl creative team has for all things Spidey and more, I remain

 

frogoat