Dragon King: Custodial Engineer

After listening to the Mayday Mondays podcast, I've decided to make another post, this time about the huggable and loveable Dragon King, one of Spider-Girl's rogues gallery.

 History 

 

Spider-Girl #4

 

Carlton T. Hackmutter was just a lowly janitor 'Custodial Engineer' who'd been working for decades at Midtown High School . A bitter and curmudgeonly old man who's only passion in life seemed to be collecting and maintaining his large assortment of dragon memorabilia, at least some of which Carlton kept in the basement beneath the school. At some point Hackmutter acquired a Dragon Medallion originating from Ancient China. Carlton was sold this particular Medallion by a deal who said it possessed mystical properties, though Carlton didn't believe such stories. Unhappy and frustrated with his job, Mr Hackmutter would have quit years earlier, if not for his expensive hobby.

While cleaning up some broken glass, Carlton cuts his hand and rushes to the basement to find himself a bandage, angry at the students, the teachers and his place in the world. When some of his blood spills onto the Dragon Medallion he is transformed into the huge Dragon King and decides to use his new found power to terrorize the students and faculty of Midtown High. His rampage does not last very long due to Spider-Girl threatening his dragon collection causing the Dragon King to lunge at her, hitting the electrical main and knocking himself out. He is taken away by the authorities.

Spider-Girl #25

Apparently escaping prison, the Dragon King is recruited into Funny Face's team: The Savage Six.While Face claims the group all want revenge, Hackmutter makes it clear he is only in it for the money. Battling Spider-Girl again, the Dragon King is swiftly defeated when Spider-Girl drops a five-ton boxcar on top of him.

Spider-Girl #80

The last time we see the Dragon King, we find him hiding out in the old basement beneath Midtown High School. Seeking his missing Dragon Medallion to return him to his human form again, Hackmutter has taken to breaking into antique stores in search of it, briefly battling Spider-Girl on one such occasion.

 Unbeknownst to Carlton, a student who had befriended him named Kevin Hartman had possession of the medallion. Having grown tired of being trapped in his monstrous Dragon King body, Hackmutter disliked being called by his villainous name and lamented the loss of his former life. When Mayday (in her civilian identity) and Davida stumble upon Dragon King in the basement, she revealed Kevin had the medallion and was manipulating him for his own purposes. Taking the medallion back, Carlton was transformed back into his original human form before he and Kevin were escorted away by police.

Thoughts

I really like the character of Dragon King. I genuinely think he has a place in Spider-Girl's rogues gallery. Dragon King is visually interesting and intimidating with the strength to back it up. Carlton as a person is also appealing to me. I mean, the guy is a cranky, bitter and nasty old man when we first meet him. I love his random and pointless rampage through Midtown High simply because the kids annoy him and the teachers aren't much better. He's angry and hates his position in life but by the time we see him in Spider-Girl #80 he's grown weary and disheartened at the thought of being stuck in the form of the mythological Dragon King. See, he's even got a character arc!

 Plus the grumpy Mr Hackmutter loves his dragon collection, something any comic fan can relate to on some level. Speaking of his dragon memorabilia, why is it still down in the basement months later when he returns to the school to hide? Unless his collection was split up and sold, or confiscated and what we are seeing in the basement is what he's been taking from his antique shop heists? And how does that four-ton bundle of fun fly?!

I've had this idea in my head for years that a mastermind-type villain would blackmail/coerce/manipulate or otherwise force Carlton T Hackmutter into his Dragon King form once more, giving us an opportunity to see more of Carlton's bitterness and resentment and perhaps even sympathize with him as he seeks his retribution. Then, maybe the mastermind takes on the mantel of the Dragon King, giving us a new character to work with. It's just an idea, but I'd love to see it someday.

One final note, for anyone who cares about the silly MC2 dating non-controversy; In Spider-Girl #4 you can see a poster on the wall amongst Carlton's collection that clearly reads 'Dragonfest 2006'. Spider-Girl #4 was published in late 1998 with a January 1999 cover date. Even back then, Pat Olliffe (or possibly Al Williamson) were making in-jokes. I love it.

I hope we see the Dragon King again someday

Until the Dragon King hides out in the circus, juggling small puppies and singing 'Kids in America' I remain,

frogoat


Another MC2 Villain Blog:

Spyral

Spyral

My last blog about MC2 and reality-jumping got me to thinking about one particular cause of  some of those trips across time and space: the time-traveling, dimension-hopping, grey haired fellow known as Spyral.

There's not much known about him, so let's go over what is known about Spyral:

• Spyral first appears in Spider-Girl #3 were he emerges from a portal in the Fantastic Five Building's museum area, attempting to steal a power cell originating from the Negative Zone. Hoping to harness the power cell to 'generate a warp spiral powerful enough to return home'
• Spyral claims to originate from another reality, one where the Fantastic Five are the Fantastic Four and the resident Spider-Person is male....hmmm sounds familiar.
• The Fantastic Five have encountered Spyral prior to these events. Thing even refers to him in jest as 'Charlie', something Spider-Girl will also do later on.
• Spyral uses 'warp fields' and generally attacks with spiral blasts that cause concussive damage or send things spinning and spiraling....well, I suppose that makes sense. Utilizing these powers (and boosted by outside sources and artifacts) Spyral can open portals to other dimensions and even across time.
• Spyral escapes prison in Spider-Girl #10 and again attempts to get home, harnessing another unknown power source. Spider-Girl arrives to late to stop Spyral and the two are accidentally sent back in time (possibly across alternate-realities?) 
• In Spider-Girl #11 he claims to have first met the Human Torch and Spider-Man (who are still teens when we see them here) in their future, when they are 'older, wiser and far more experienced'. Spyral blames the unplanned trip through time on Spider-Girl's weight, and receives a swift kick to the face for his troubles.

And that's it, we never encounter Spyral again in any of the MC2 series, apart from a dream sequence here and there. So, let's review: Spyral claims to be from another world, one with a Spider-Man and a Fantastic Four, travels dimensions and his only goal is to return home. I wonder if Tom Defalco created him with the regular 616 Marvel Universe in mind as his point of origin? I guess we'll never know for sure, unless he appears in a 616 Marvel title sometime in the future. Wouldn't that be cool?!

Spyral was my first MC2 villain, and so I've become quite attached to the old guy. Personally, I'd have loved to have seen more of him, especially considering he's supposed to be a regular F5 baddie.  But looking at his motivation, and the fact that both times he showed up he was little more than a plot device. Case in point: Spider-Girl met the F5 thanks to Spyral's arrival, and Spider-Girl meets her parents in the past thanks to Spyral, who doesn't even appear in the issue after doing so, only reemerging just in time to return Mayday home in the next issue!

What with Spyral and that portal to other worlds in the Avengers basement, it's a wonder we haven't had more crossovers with the 616 Marvel Universe! It practically writes it's self.

Until Spyral is revealed as Nathanial Richards -Reeds father- I remain

frogoat

The problem with recurring villains

I've been hanging around tv tropes lately and, aside from loosing several hours I'll never get back, I've learned a few things. Case in point: Villain Decay. It goes a little something like this; the hero defeats the villain once, twice, thrice...why take the baddie seriously after it becomes clear they no longer pose a threat?

Electro is a good example: He robs a bank, Spidey defeats him using 'shock-proof gloves' (rubber gloves...I'm not making this up), Electro teams with the Sinister Six, Spidey stops him again. Eventually, Electro becomes something of a one-trick pony, he get's a power boost or upgrade, suddenly he might be a credible threat again....and then Spidey takes him down once again. *sigh*

There are bunch of ways to avoid falling into this trap, as I see it, but here are a couple to consider: The villain wins. Not all the time, just occasionally. This works best with your major crime bosses and villains who normally sit back and pull strings, the behind-the-scenes players, like the Kingpin, even Doctor Doom. It lets the reader suspend their disbelief, instills faith and credibility in the villain, and  adds to the drama stakes if the hero has to lick their wounds and come back and try again, or escape the life-or-death predicament in front of them.


The second option means cleaning house, in some respects, because *gasp* the villain has had a change of heart and decides to reform. Yes, this can become just as much of a cliched and hackneyed plot as the constant re-matches OR can lead to all sorts of story telling opportunities. Ever hear of the Thunderbolts, Marvel's team of villains-posing-as-heroes-becoming-genuine-heroes? Yeah, that. Not to mention all the fertile character exploration reforming can mean. MC2's Normie Osborn only became such an enjoyable, fleshed out character after the classic Spider-Girl #27 in which both May, our hero, powerless and tied to a chair talks Normie out of his planned suicide-by-way-of-hero. Now, he's a supporting character, fully fleshed-out with a long storied history of rehabilitation, reform, atonement, romance and marriage. By choosing the reformation option, the series gained both a great supporting character in Normie, and a defining direction for the series star, Mayday, who often attempts to talk her villains out of the crooked life.



I'd love to here your thoughts on this, especially if you'd like to see the other options.

Until one-trick pony stops making me giggle, I remain

frogoat