LGBT+ Representation in the MC2

I've been somewhat short on free time lately, but I wanted to put out something to commemorate Pride Month before it's too late. So, today I'm going to take a look at LGBT+ representation in the MC2 comics.

While today it's well known that Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat is bisexual in the Main Marvel Universe as revealed in Kevin Smith's Spider-Man and Black Cat mini series 'The Evil That Men Do', it's far less commonly known that the idea originates from her MC2 counterpart. First appearing in Spider-Girl #36, we learn that the MC2's Felicia Hardy married Eugene 'Flash' Thompson and had two children, Gene and Felicity. Later, the two would divorce and Felicia began a relationship with a contract operative from her detective agency; Diana. 

Diana first appears in Spider-Girl #47, where we learn about her and Felicia's relationship. The two had been together for six years when Felicia decided to leave Paris and return to New York so her daughter Felicity could re-establish a relationship with her father Flash Thompson. 

Unfortunately, the relationship is not without issues. Felicity, apparently angry toward her mother about the divorce, often lashes out at Felicia. Felicia mentions on more than one occasion that her and Felicity do not get along. Felicia confides to Mary Jane that she believes Felicity does not approve of her relationship.

The best part about Felicia and Diana's relationship is the way it's as a normal, loving relationship, complete with it's problems. Notably, the idea of Felicia being anything but heterosexual is introduced in a regular panel on a regular page without any big dramatic reveal. Mary Jane already knows, it's a long-term thing and nobody makes a big deal about it. Except for Felicity....

Though, as mentioned above Felicity has a lot of mixed up emotions including her depression, unresolved anger and resentment about her parents divorce, with Felicity believing her mother considers her a burden.

Keeping in mind the storyline played out between 2001 and 2002, it's worth mentioning the real-world reaction to the subplot. Spider-Girl #47, which depicted nothing more salacious than Felicia and Diana holding hands, prompted one reader to send a letter into the series' letter page, published in Spider-Girl #54:

There were no letters pages for a few issues, until Spider-Girl #57 saw two letters published in response to the original letter:

Meanwhile, on the Alvaro Spider-Girl Message Board, fan reactions were mostly positive:

Mostly likely as a result of two near-cancellations with issues #38 and #50 followed by an impending cancellation with #61, many of Spider-Girl's subplots were streamlined, promptly resolved or fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, the plotline revolving around Felicia, Diana and Felicity wasn't resolved and, following the series un-cancellation, it would be over 20 issues before Felicity would be seen again, with Felicia and Diana seemingly being lost in the lurch entirely.

Mainly because of some fan circles online it would be remiss of me not to mention the widely believed that the character is struggling with her own sexual identity. I think perhaps this topic deserves it's own post, so I might touch on it in-depth at a later date. Needless to say, Felicia certainly mentions wanting to be Mayday's 'partner' an awful lot. 

While the depiction of a regular same-sex couple might seem fairly commonplace nowadays, keep in mind this was nearly 20 years ago. I commend the creative team Tom Defalco, Pat Olliffe and everyone involved because this type of representation was sorely lacking at the time. It certainly meant a lot to a confused late-bloomer growing up. I hope everyone had a wonderful Pride Month and continues to hold their heads high until next year!



Until the flags stop flying, I remain


frogoat

Cyclops in the MC2

Because I'm desperate for page views and I'm shameless about tangentially tying into the X-Men: Dark Phoenix, I figured we could take a quick look at the stalwart leader of the X-Men, Scott Summers aka Cyclops.

It appears that the newer team of mutants, the uncanny X-People, is overseen by members of the original X-Men, including Cyclops, who makes his first appearance in the MC2 during a training exercise in the Danger Room. Not only does Cyclops take out the whole team in mere seconds, he also gives J2 a much needed info-dump about the Juggernaut's past including his last mission where he was lost at the Crossroads of Infinity.

Next up, we see Cyclops overseeing Wild Thing's tryout initiation for the X-People in legendary writer Larry Hama's first story for the MC2 (J2 #11). On an unrelated note, Cyclops rocks a unique costume in these two stories for the first time which looks to be a combination of some of his previous costume designs.

We don't see ol' Scott for quite some time, only learning through Jubilee that Cyclops is among those heroes captured by Loki's forces in Last Hero Standing #2. Jubilee later reports Cyclops unexpected return to Stinger and we glimpse him along side other Loki-corrupted heroes facing off against an assemblage of various heroes.Cyclops is last seen in this series attempting unsuccessfully to stop the Loki-controlled Hulk (Last Hero Standing #3-#4).

Cyclops makes a few brief appearances in the follow up mini series Last Planet Standing, attempting to stop Galactus alongside many other heroes. It's worth pointing out that in both these mini series, Cyclops dons his classic costume instead of his MC2-exclusive outfit (Last Planet #4-#5).

For his final appearances in the MC2, we don't actually see Cyclops, but merely a energy duplicate created by Loki's daughter Sylene in her attempt to restore the devastated Asgard by recreating it on Earth. Cyclops is among those rendered comatose in the process of creating duplicates of various super humans. When Sylene is defeated, Cyclops' duplicate dissipates and he is presumably restored (Avengers Next #4-#5).

That's it for Cyclops in the MC2. We don't learn any personal details about him apart from the fact he was on sabbatical when the Juggernaut joined the X-Men and that he still clearly has ties to the X-Men and the newer X-People. Keeping in mind my previous post about the History of the X-Men in the MC2, Wolverine's comment about Scott and his 'final missions' suggests perhaps he drags his former teammates out of retirement a little too often (J2 #5).

Until I suffer a head injury rendering my ability to control my powerful optic blasts, I remain

frogoat

History of the MC2: The X-Men

I was inspired recently to make a timeline of events covering the history of the MC2, spanning the nebulous 15 year stretch of time after the Main Marvel Universe (or Universe-616) split off and became the MC2 (or Universe-982) and before the next-generation of heroes began to debut starting with J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105.

The X-Men of the MC2. Colour artwork by Erundel.

Given that X-Men: Dark Phoenix is hitting cinemas, for the sixth installment of this series I've chosen to examine the history of the oft-forgotten team of mutants, the MC2's X-Men. Following a few references to the original mutant team in the series, we get our first glimpse of the X-Men in J2 #7 via a flashback to 'The Last Days of the Original Juggernaut'. It's here we learn Cain Marko aka the Juggernaut reformed and joined the X-Men, eventually being lost on a mission while at the Crossroads of Infinity though some details would remain unrevealed.

We get hints of the Juggernaut's final mission as early as J2 #1 with mentions of him being lost in a 'weird alien dimension' when Cain's son -Zane- has a recurring nightmare about his father. It's also in this issue we first learn that Cain met, fell in love with and married Sachi Yama a few years prior to his disappearance. Zane also mentions his parents were married 'a few years' before his disappearance and recalls his father taking him to Central Park or the movies when he was 'only a kid' which gives us a vague order of events.

We get hints and mentions throughout the J2 series until #12 reveals that Cain's final mission with the X-Men was to save the Earth from the Overlords Eight. While on their way back from the Crossroads of Infinity, the X-Men ran into an army of creatures called Darklings and Cain was imprisoned and tortured by one of the Overlords Eight, Nemesus. Cain would spend many years trapped in Nemesus' dimension, eventually inadvertantly transferring much of his powers as Juggernaut to his son, Zane.

The X-Men team that Cain Marko joins is led by Wolverine and other teammates included Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), Synch (Everett Thomas), Siryn (Theresa Cassidy) and 'Hopper' (J2 #7, J2 #12 and Wild Thing #5). Notably, Cyclops mentions he was on a sabbatical at the time the Juggernaut joined the X-Men (J2 #7) and the latter made peace with his stepbrother, Charles Xavier (Wild Thing #5).

In addition to the mystery of original Juggernaut, we have a few other bits and pieces of information which help us assemble a very loose order of events surrounding the X-Men. At some point in the past, Wolverine regained his adamantium which at the time the issue was published, had not occurred in the Main Marvel Universe (J2 #10). Cain Marko's and his former partner in crime, Black Tom Cassidy, had a falling out, possibly as a result of Cain dating Sachi Yama (J2 #7).  Cassidy Keep, the ancestrial home of Black Tom has been seemingly uninhabitated following Tom's disappearance 'years ago' (J2 #9).

Wild Thing aka Rina Logan mentions growing up in a super hero team (Spider-Girl #½), and learning how to manifest her psi-claws from her 'Godmother' (J2 #5), most certainly a reference to the X-Men and Psylocke respectively.

In Wild Thing #3 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 the Sleeper 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 on believing they were ordinary humans (Wild Thing #3).

As noted in my History of the MC2: The Avengers post, Jubilee was active as a member of the Avengers interim team that formed following several losses during a mission to an alternate world (What If #105, A-Next #1 and #7 and Spider-Girl #32). Based on that information, we know this was around 10-11 years prior to the present-day in the MC2 seen in What If #105. 

Zane notes that thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the X-Men, anti-mutant sentiment has been on the down-swing for the past few years and that the X-People currently operate from a mansion in Saddle River, New Jersey (J2 #2). Additionally, Rina seems to imply that both the X-Men and X-People teams currently exist (J2 # 10). The continued existence of the X-Men team is confirmed by Mainframe in Spider-Girl #92, in which we also learn Magneto hasn't been seen in years and is believed by some to be dead. 

With all that covered, we can piece together a very rough outline of events for Marvel's Merry Mutants, the X-Men during the approximately 15-year span prior to present-day events in the MC2 starting with What If #105:

• Cain Marko falls in love with Sachi Yama and reforms

• Cain has a falling out with Black Tom Cassidy, possibly over Sachi

• At some point Black Tom Cassidy disappears

• Wolverine regains his adamantium under unrevealed circumstances

• Cain joins the X-Men led by Wolverine. Cyclops is on a sabbatical around this time.

• Sachi and Cain are married and their son, Zane Marko is born.

• A few years later, Cain is lost on a mission with the X-Men and is imprisoned and tortured by Nemesus of the Overlords Eight
• Jubilee joins the Avengers following the loss of many of their members. 

• Several people are transformed into Sleep Sentinels including Mr Woodhill. 

• Dr Hank McCoy and Forge devise a method of neutralizing the Sentinel programming, allowing the Sleepers to lead normal lives unaware they are cyborgs. However Woodhill and others remain undetected.

• Following several sacrifices by the X-Men, anti-mutant sentiment is reduced. 

• At some point, Magneto disappears and is thought dead by some.

• Working from a mansion in Saddle River, New Jersey, the X-People team is formed and named by Jubilee. 

• The X-Men team continues to operate and oversee the newer team in some capacity.

While much of the dating of events remains extremely unclear, and certain events (such as Zane's birth or characters disappearances) could easily be placed elsewhere, I believe this is a pretty good summation of the available information. As there are still several plot threads left unresolved and more than a few X-Men teammates' whereabouts unaccounted for, I'd sincerely love the X-Men of the MC2 to get some more page time one day. Perhaps in an X-People mini series?

Until I develop mutant powers, don a yellow a blue skin-tight outfit and fight for equality in world that fears and hates me, I remain

frogoat