Adamantium in the MC2

 

Let’s rip into yet another X-Men ’97 related topic today, with a quick look at the nigh-indestructible Marvel metal alloy: Adamantium, as it relates to the world of the MC2. Prepare for an injection of information about Adamantium in the MC2.

 

Before I jump into the history of the amazing alloy, I have to address Captain America’s shield. Prior to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was for commonly held ‘wisdom’ that the virtually indestructible shield of Captain America was composed of Adamantium. However, this is not the full story. The shield is a unique combination of ‘Proto-Adamantium’ (apparently even stronger than its successor) and Wakandan Vibranium. Even that account was retconned or disputed in the Avengers (vol. 3) Annual 2001. But that’s a story for another time and another post all its own!

 

True Adamantium first appeared in the Main Marvel Universe or Universe-616 in Avengers (vol. 1) #66 as the creation of a Dr. Myron Maclain who has invited various Avengers including Thor and Iron Man and Goliath (Clint Barton) aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to test their abilities against it in order to confirm it’s durability. Against his will, The Vision steals the Adamantium and uses it to rebuild his creator, Ultron.

Most notably, Wolverine is the poster boy for Adamantium. First appearing in a single panel of Incredible Hulk #180 and making his first full appearance in Incredible Hulk #181, where Wolverine reveals to the Hulk his claws are ‘forged of diamond-hard Adamantium’. But it’s not until X-Men #98 that the X-Men (and the readers) learn the claws are a part of his body rather than attached to his gloves. Mention is made of Wolverine’s ‘unbreakable bones’ in X-Men #124 before X-Men #126 has Logan outright state he has ‘a skeleton made of about three million bucks worth of Adamantium’. And that’s not adjusted for inflation!

 

We see this ‘Weapon X’ experiment play out in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents #72-#84. Logan survives the experiment due to his mutant healing factor but loses his memory. Writer Larry Hama addressed a significant issue fans had with Logan having Adamantium bonded to his skeleton in Wolverine (vol. 2) #80. There it was explained that Logan’s own mutant physiology had caused a molecular change in the metal- creating what was identified as ‘Adamantium Beta’ -allowing it to bond directly into his skeletal material without inhibiting the living nature of his bones.

 

Now we come to the X-Men storyline known as Fatal Attractions, during which Magneto returns to his villainous ways and uses his powers to rip the Adamantium from Wolverine (X-Men (vol. 2) #25), nearly killing him and shortly afterwards revealing Logan had bone claws beneath the Adamantium the whole time (Wolverine (vol. 2) #75).

Logan would spend several publication years without Adamantium which brings us to the MC2. While on an apparent rescue mission in Madripoor with Wolverine, Zane Yama asks the Canadian former X-Man when he got his Adamantium back. Amusingly, the MC2 predicted and pre-dated the restoration of Wolverine’s Adamantium-coated skeleton, which didn’t occur until Wolverine (vol. 2) #145, published several months later (J2 #10).

 

Jumping back a few months, in the pages of A-Next #6, while helping the hero Argo to find his father Hercules, the Avengers find themselves in the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility within Mount Athena. There they learn 'The Merchandise' (actually Hercules himself) is buried several miles within the mountain in a special Adamantium cell. Agent 33 receives orders from 'The Top Man himself' to allow the Avengers to take custody of Hercules.

The following month in J2 #7 we have a one-panel appearance from the mainstay Daredevil villain and assassin Bullseye. I mention this as Bullseye received Adamantium-laced bones to some degree after his spine was shattered in Daredevil #181. This took place in Daredevil #197-#198 at the hands of Kenji Oyama (Lord Dark Wind), the man who originally conceived the method of bonding Adamantium to bones which was stolen and used on Wolverine. Of course, the MC2 Bullseye might instead be a descendant, as was once humorously suggested by Ron Frenz…

 

Back in J2 #8 we get the first appearance of Sabreclaw aka Hudson, the half-brother of Rina Logan aka Wild Thing and the son of Wolverine. While it doesn’t appear to be explicitly referenced in the comics unless I’ve missed something, the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #3 confirms that Hudson’s claws have been reinforced with Adamantium sheaths. Additionally, while the Avengers are preparing for a conflict with the Adamantium-bodied Ultron Extreme, Sabreclaw quips that he has ‘experience against Adamantium.’ (Avengers Next #3).

 

 I hope this slice of MC2 history helped provide some context and insight into Adamantium. Let me know if I missed anything as it relates to the MC2!

 

Until I survive a horrific experiment that laces my body with an indestructible metal, survive its removal and then willingly agree to undergo the same experiment again, I remain

 

frogoat

 

History of the MC2: Operation Zero Tolerance

 

Continuing with our run of X-Men ’97 tie-in content, today I’d like to turn your attention to the 1997 X-Men comic crossover event storyline Operation: Zero Tolerance and examine its effect and connections to the MC2 Universe. This entry is called History of the MC2: Operation Zero Tolerance.

 

At the conclusion of the massive 1996 Marvel crossover event Onslaught, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Dr. Bruce Banner and even Doctor Doom apparently perished saving the world from the psychic entity known as Onslaught, a massively powerful psionic manifestation of the combined consciousnesses of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto (Onslaught: Marvel Universe One-Shot). In the fallout of this seismic event, Xavier voluntarily surrendered himself (X-Men (Vol. 2) #57) and was placed in a secret facility run by the mysterious Bastion (Onslaught: Epilogue).

 

Having allied himself with various well-placed government figures and anti-mutant groups, Bastion had quickly position himself into a place of power. To cover-up mutant-hating presidential candidate Graydon Greed’s history from the public, Bastion killed Daily Bugle reporter Nick Bandouveris (Uncanny X-Men #339).Shortly afterwards, Creed would be assassinated (by Mystique, as we learn in X-Men Forever), stoking anti-mutant sentiment and fast-tracking the implementation of Operation Zero Tolerance (X-Factor #130).

 

During the Operation Zero Tolerance event itself, Bastion captures and tortures Jubilee, orders his forces to shoot down a team of X-Men and invades the Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning where he gains access to sensitive information on various mutants. With his government supported mutant-targeted initiative, Bastion had converted numerous humans into Prime Sentinel sleeper agents throughout the world using cybernetic nanotech implants, set to hunt down mutants when activated. During a confrontation with Iceman, Bastion is finally stopped when the government figures who approved Operation Zero Tolerance back out of their course of action and authorize S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrest Bastion and shut down the operation.

 

This brings us to the MC2, where we learn that Mr Woodhill, the social studies teacher at Upper Saddle River High was involved in a crash ten years prior, spending a year in the hospital as a result. While there Woodhill was transformed into a Sleeper Sentinel, including suppression implants to ensure he remained unaware he was a cyborg. Jubilee explains that the X-Men had years ago attempted to find all these Sleeper Prime Sentinels but some -such as Mr Woodhill- had gone undetected. Using a program devised by Dr McCoy and Forge, the Sleeper Sentinels would have their Sentinel activation nullified, allowing them to continue living out their lives believing they were ordinary humans (Wild Thing #3).

 

This acts to fill in more information about the history of the MC2. The most notable implication being that in the MC2, Bastion likely continued producing more of his Prime Sentinels using unwilling patients well after the events of Operation Zero Tolerance.

 

Furthermore, this could mean the fleshed-out (pun intended) origin for Bastion depicted in Cable/Machine Man Annual ’98 and Machine Man/Bastion Annual ‘98 is also valid in MC2.  After the strong hints in X-Men (Vol. 2) #69, we learn that Bastion is an amalgam of the Sentinel Master Mold and the future Sentinel prototype Nimrod resulting from a journey through the mystical portal known as the Siege Perilous during the events of Uncanny X-Men #247.

 

Operation Zero Tolerance also provides a few other connections to the MC2, with the Wolverine tie-in issues being the last written by MC2-alumni Larry Hama’s, bringing to end a nearly hundred issue run. The Generation X series tie-ins were followed by a fill-in issue written by MC2 co-create Tom Defalco. This adds some credence to the notion that these are the point at which these series diverge into the MC2’s own timeline. Notably, Jubilee continues to wear a version of her Generation X-era red costume beneath her iconic yellow coat in the MC2. 

It's always fascinating to me to look back and consider what elements from the Main Marvel Universe comics of the 90’s have an unexpected or surprising impact on the MC2. A huge thanks to arias-98105 for all the help on this and many other posts!

 

Until I go through a mystical aperture, merge with another being and emerge as something different, I remain

 

frogoat