Bluestreak's Costumes

Who’s everyone’s favourite blue-haired, fast-talking, impulsive speedster? That’s right! Bluestreak! What, did you think I was going to say Sonic the Hedgehog?! I thought now would be as good a time as ever to take a look at the different costumes worn by Blue Kelso through the years. There’s more than you might think! 

Bluestreak’s most enduring and iconic costume is the one she debuted in alongside her fellow Dream Team members in A-Next #4, following a shadowy cameo in A-Next #3. 

But let’s take a chronological look at Blue’s costumes throughout her career. As I’ve discussed in the past here, Blue was at one point a member of the X-People led by Jubilee. Unfortunately, we don’t have any visuals of what her X-Suit might have looked like, so here’s my terrible photoshop from a while back to give you a very rough idea:

Assuming my timeline of events are correct, after leaving the X-People, Blue becomes Clint Barton’s (formerly the heroic Hawkeye) special students, training to become a new generation of Avengers (American Dream #3). While training, Miss Kelso is seen wearing this training outfit:

Upon graduating, Clint gives Blue Kelso the code name Bluestreak and gifts her the costume we first saw back in the original A-Next series (American Dream #3, A-Next #3-#12).

Blue would continue to wear this costume during her guest appearances in Spider-Girl for several years. However, it is worth pointing out that a new costume debut’s as part of Felicity Hardy’s fantasy in Spider-Girl #52. This costume notably features full-length pants instead of shorts and long sleeve gloves.

Here’s where things get a little confusing. With Ron Frenz as regular artist on the Spider-Girl title, we got a few glimpses of Bluestreak alongside her fellow Avengers. While it’s a bit hard to tell with only background and cameo appearances, Blue seems to be rocking the full-length pants and long gloves look in Spider-Girl #81 with either a short or no-gloves variation in #83. I believe the former (almost certainly miscoloured) appearance is also the origin of the ‘Greenstreak’ joke, for anyone who remembers that!There's also a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance of Blue with the short gloves again in Spider-Girl #86.

Despite apparently switching to the long pants, Blue continues to wear her original Bluestreak costume complete with bike shorts throughout both Last Hero Standing and Last Planet Standing mini-series as depicted by artist Pat Olliffe. This trend continued into the Avengers Next mini series under artist Ron Lim and the American Dream mini-series featuring art by Todd Nauck. Meanwhile, ol’ Blue’s cameo’s in Amazing Spider-Girl weren’t big enough to clarify exactly what get-up she was wearing at the time.

Which brings us to Bluestreak’s appearances in the Secret Wars Spider-Girl tie-in story published in Spider-Island #1-#5. This story actually features a few new costumes for established MC2 characters, but here we see Ron’s design from Spider-Girl #52 make its first full-fledged appearance in all it’s glory, with a few tweaks such as Blue now having grown her hair out longer.

Let me know if I’ve missed anything or if you have any questions. I’m hoping to do more of these costume posts for other prominent MC2 heroes in future. What’s your favourite Bluestreak costume and are you as curious about her time with the X-People as I am?

Until I run out of blue hair dye and an urge to slap Thunderstrike in the buttocks, I remain

frogoat

Wild Thing: Random Appearances

There's nothing earth-shattering or particularly interesting about cameo-appearances in comics. Usually, writers use them as a quick nod to fans or sometimes a character is used as simple canon-fodder to make a threat look more credible. That said, I think the following Wild Thing cameos belong in the first camp....though the first one is probably a little of both?


This first cameo is a weird one. Well, I guess both cameo's are weird, but you'll see what I mean. This story takes place during the massive multiverse-altering event Secret Wars. In a short story printed in Secret Wars: Battleworld #3, Mojo has taken various Wolverine-related characters from across every domain of the patchwork Battleworld and pitted them against one another in a battle royale fight to the death. The story focuses on a pacifist Wolverine who refuses to fight. Wild Thing (or, possibly an alternate-reality version) appears in a single panel of the story....apparently dead or dying after being bitten by a vampiric Wolverine. That's gotta suck.

The second cameo is similarly odd and coincidentally also features various Wolverine-related characters. Deadpool: Too Soon? #3 (which collects Deadpool: Too Soon? Infinite Comic #5 and #6)  presents Deadpool trying to solve the mystery of who is beheading his 'friends'. In an attempt to warn some of them, he pays a visit to Spider-Ham who is in the middle of a baseball game between a team of Spider-Men and Wolverines, the Amazing Arachnids and the Seething Snikters. I am not making this up. Anyway, one of the Snikters is, of course, Wild Thing. What the heck is she doing there? Deadpool does speculate that the team is comprised of clones, so that might go some way toward explaining things....sort of. But not really. The issue is penciled by MC2-alumni Todd Nauck, so it's likely just a fun Easter egg.

There you have it, folks. While the nature of the Secret Wars event has a built-in explanation for why Wild Thing is meeting (and possibly being killed by) alternate Wolverines, the Deadpool cameo just raises more questions. It may be worth mentioning that Wild Thing hasn't made any appearances in MC2-centric stories since before Secret Wars. Maybe she's stranded in another reality? Maybe I'm overthinking....

Until I stop scouring comics for cameo appearances of obscure characters, I remain

frogoat

Alex Ross Loves The MC2

Even without the knowledge that Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema are returning for a new tale featuring the characters of the MC2 Universe (The MC2U? MCU2? Nah, forget it!) I think I would have been at least a little bit placated by the sight of the first Secret Wars image from Alex Ross.

This image was also used as the cover for the Free Comic Book Day Secret Wars #0 issue. Can you see all the MC2 characters? Here, this might help:

That's enough to be getting on with, surely? But there's more! Mr Ross also did a variant cover to issue #1 which features another of our merry MC2 mates:

 

Wild Thing! Don't she make your heart sing?

Yup, Wild Thing takes Wolverine's place in this homage to the original Marvel Heroes Secret Wars #1 cover. This next one I'm not entirely sure about, though some sites seem to identifiy the character below as an MC2 character:

Apparently the 'Thor' in the foreground (bottom left) is the MC2's own Kevin Masterson aka Thunderstrike. While I agree the hairstyle is reminiscent, I don't remember Kevin getting around shirtless nor having wrist bands. And before anyone points it out, I noticed he's holding a hammer, despite Kevin being bonded with his father's Thunderstrike mace in A-Next #1. I guess it could be a stylistic thing, right?The thing that really gets me though, is Mr Ross clearly knows what Kevin's costume looks like, because he's in the first promotional image above in his MC2 costume. Which leads me to believe this is not Kevin Masterson of the MC2. Let's move on.

  Here we have the cover to Secret Wars #7 and if you look above Doom's pinky finger....it's J2! I'm not sure if it's worth pointing out, but ol' Juggie Junior has his father's shirt tied around his waist, something he did during his original series, though when his father returned he took to wearing a pair of shorts. Then again, it's the end of the world, so we can forgive J2 for being sentimental.

All up, that's a lot of MC2 love coming our way from Mr Alex Ross. I'm starting to think he's a fan! What do you think? Have I missed anything? Do you think we are likely to get another MC2 cover cameo appearance before Secret Wars concludes?


Until Alex Ross exclusively illustrates MC2 characters, I remain

frogoat

First Look: Colored Pages for Spider-Island MC2 Story

Once again, Ron Frenz goes the extra mile and shares a first look at the inked and colored pages for the upcoming Spider-Island MC2 story he is working on along side co-writer Tom Defalco, inker Sal Buscema and colorist Andrew Crossley.




Thanks once again to Mr Frenz.

What the Heck, Marvel?!

I realize I haven't put out a post covering my thoughts on the Spider-Girl story in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #8. Due to family health issues, I may be some time getting back to regular posting. I did however feel a need to throw this recent Marvel teaser out for y'all to see:

I'm curious. Even though I know this is probably tied-into the Secret Wars event next year, I know it's probably another gimmick to get me to buy, I know it's probably not permanent, I know it's not what I really want it to be, I can still enjoy the moment right now.

Until I have time to properly cover things again, I remain,

frogoat

A-Next Returning

The major comic news sites are reporting that Marvel will be reprising a classic event title, with 2015's
Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars. The event will  be written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Esad Ribic. It launches in May 2015 and apparently continues on directly from the Avengers storyline "Time Runs Out" running currently in New Avengers and Avengers. But why am I interested? Take a look and see if you can guess:

Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars

Yup, that looks like a bunch of the MC2's own Avengers team and supporting characters: American Dream, Coal Tiger, Earth Sentry, Stinger, Thunderstrike, Mainframe and Darkdevil...wait,what is he doing in there? I mean, apart from fighting Matt Murdock from the 1602 reality, obviously.

Noticeably absent? Spider-Girl. Some site are pointing out that no X-Men or Fantastic Four characters are present in this artwork (by Alex Ross, dontcha know?) nor is there a Peter Parker incarnation of Spider-Man. Yeah, no non-Marvel Studios characters. But still, no Mayday Parker makes me concerned.

Until I stop obsessing over the little ol' MC2, I remain

frogoat