Madripoor in the MC2

 

The latest Marvel game developed by Insomniac is Marvel’s Wolverine has been officially released. In lieu of a more comprehensive post I (still) have in the works which life is slowing down progress on, please accept this much simpler entry. As it features prominently as a location in the Wolverine video game, let’s take a quick look at Madripoor in the MC2. 

The Principality of Madripoor made its debut in New Mutants #32 by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha. Located south of Singapore in the Indonesian archipelago, the small island nation became a frequent haunt of the Canadian mutant adventurer and X-Man, Logan aka Wolverine aka Patch, particularly the Princess Bar, of which he would become a part-owner (Marvel Comics Presents #1-#10). Madripoor was also the first meeting place of Logan, Captain America and the child Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) during World War II, as seen in the iconic Uncanny X-Men #268.

 

Even in the far flung present of the MC2, Logan can’t keep away from Madripoor. In J2 #10, Logan receives a message that his daughter Rina Logan aka Wild Thing is in Madripoor and instruction to bring the Avengers own powerhouse J2 aka Zane Yama. Believing Rina has been kidnapped, the pair face off against (potentially The Hand) ninjas in the streets of Madripoor’s Lowtown before heading to the Princess Bar where Wolverine applies his foolproof disguise as ‘Patch’. It’s not very effective.

 

Zane and Logan retire to Sovereign Hotel in Hightown where they receive further instructions from the mutant Daze. The next day they head into the jungle and encounter Robot Guards (who resemble repurposed Mandroid armours) protecting their meeting location. After making short work of the Robots, the pair of heroes are scolded first by Daze, then by Magneta and Rina. As it turns out, Rina had not been kidnapped. Instead, J2 and Wolverine were invited to evaluate Daze as a potential recruit for Magneta’s new team.

 

As we sail away from this far flung foreign land, let’s reflect on the importance of reading comprehension and avoid strenuous exercise such as jumping to conclusions.

 

Until I figure out if Daze remained in Madripoor or will be recruited into the X-People some day, I remain

 

frogoat

 

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

Mutant Spotlight: Daze

 

The mutants of the MC2 present a tantalizing glimpse at days of future present, allowing us to see how the mutant minority is treated in an overall brighter reality from most X-Men stories. Let’s take a brief look at one of the most obscure mutants to originate in the MC2niverse: Daze.

Not to be confused with the Main Marvel Universe character nor the 2099 character both also coincidentally known as Daze, the MC2’s Daze made her first (and at time of writing only) appearance in the pages of J2 #10. Daze’s real name is unrevealed, though she may be a native of the island nation Madripoor, given her welcome greeting to Zane Yama aka J2 and Logan aka Wolverine.

Daze appears to be around Zane’s age, certainly the two are nearly the same height. Daze also appears to be of African descent, and though some online databases claim she is African American, I cannot see any indication she’s from the United States. That said, Daze is a fan of the Avengers, quickly recognizing J2. Recruited by the enigmatic magnetically powered Magneta to join a potential super-team alongside Rina Logan aka Wild Thing and J2 (unbeknownst to the Avenger himself), Daze was evidently selected for her ability to transform into various gaseous vapours.

 

Beyond the fact she was being tested and evaluated by Rina and Magneta as prospective team member, we don’t learn anything further including the potential finalized line-up of Magneta’s team, nor what became of Daze following Magneta’s turn to the dark side in later stories.

 

I submit Daze for your approval, faithful readers. In a just world, she’d be part of an ‘All-New, All Different X-People’ relaunch book and we’d know far more about her. What say you? Anyone interested in a Madripoor post?

 

Until I stop thinking of Jimi Hendrix while reading about this purple Daze, 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