She-Hulk in the MC2

 

It’s that time again; there’s a new Marvel series about to release on Disney+ and I’m scrambling to provide a tangentially related post about the protagonist. For today’s entry, we’ll be looking at the Bruce Banner’s favourite cousin: Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk just in time for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. This is She-Hulk in the MC2.

 

Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk is seen alongside various other major Marvel female heroes in Spider-Girl #60 on both the issue’s cover and within the thoughts of May ‘Mayday’ Parker as the latter reflects on her place amongst the other superheroines who came before her. The real-world reasons for these cameos was to acknowledge prior female heroes as the Spider-Girl title reaching it's 60th continuous issue, something only one other solo female superheroine title at Marvel had achieved, that being none other than Sensational She-Hulk. The Spider-Girl title would go on to surpass this, reaching issue 100, a feat still unbeaten to this date.

 

Jennifer is not seen among the gathered Avengers who travelled to an alternate earth for the original team’s final mission. So at least we can likely rule out her dying on the mission. Either way, no specifics are given, and as such her status remains unknown (A-Next #7).

 

In terms of where the MC2 version of She-Hulk potentially branches off from the Main Marvel Universe, my best guess estimate is after Fantastic Four #416, most likely around Heroes For Hire #8-#9 based on their publication date. Events following this point may have played out much the same up to an unknown point, but there is simply no information available to say one way or the other. 

      

 

Jumping around a bit, when we first meet Jennifer’s cousin Bruce, we learn that he's retired to Denver, Colorado and has a son named David. Bruce indicates he is finally rid of his alter ego for good and hasn't seen Doctor Strange in years. When Strange appears unexpectedly to reform the Defenders, he takes complete mental control of Banner and forces Bruce to once more transform into the Hulk (A-Next #3).

 

Much later during the events of the Last Hero Standing mini-series, Bruce Banner aka the Incredible Hulk is enthralled by Loki's spell and goes on a rampage against several of the Earth's heroes. Finally freed when Captain America breaks Loki's connection, Hulk narrowly avoids death at Thor's hands. Devastated by the fresh destruction he has wrought after his years rebuilding his life, the Hulk joins Loki as he is exiled to Limbo by Thor.

 

Hulk's exile leaves it up in the air who is looking after his son, David Banner. Perhaps Betty Banner (formerly Betty Ross) is alive and well in this reality? Or if not, perhaps Aunt Jennifer is raising her young nephew? We may never know!

 

Until I figure out I’m just a character in a work of fiction, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

Kaine's Costume

 

Kaine is one of those characters I could probably talk about a lot more. Specifically, I find his MC2 incarnation fascinating for various reasons. Today I wanted to take a look at something I’ve always found under utilized in his original Main Marvel Universe and only touched upon lightly in the MC2: Kaine’s weird costume during the Clone Saga.

I’ll let writer and editor Glen Greenberg explain Kaine’s suit in his own words from the brilliant Life of Reilly Part 9 (which can be found here and here):  

And here's a few things you probably didn't know about Kaine. First, that weird costume of his was actually a life-support outfit that stabilized the debilitating effects of his cellular degeneration. Kaine lived in constant pain, and that would only get worse as time went on, but the outfit slowed down the degeneration and prolonged his life. That's why Kaine wore the costume in most of his modern-day appearances, and why he didn't have it in the LOST YEARS limited series, which took place years earlier.

 

Glen continues:

 

Ironically enough, as Mark Bernardo - even to this day - has never failed to point out, NONE of the Spider-writers ever managed to work any of this information into the actual stories! Mark and I both felt that these were some of the most interesting aspects about Kaine - but as it turned out, the people in our little group would be the only ones who ever knew about them!

So, the writers had a logical explanation worked out for why Kaine was wearing the suit during the present-day parts of the Clone Saga and not the flashbacks seen years earlier in the Lost Years mini-series, this information apparently never made it’s way into the stories that were published at the time.

 

Now in both the Main Marvel Universe and the MC2-niverse we see Kaine on the loose shortly after the infant Mayday Parker is kidnapped by agents of Norman Osborn, leading to him pursuing Alison Mongrain and becoming directly involved in the events that follow. One area where things differ is after his apparent escape from prison in the Main Marvel Universe, Kaine is still somehow rocking his life-support suit that slows his clone degeneration. How he got access to it is unclear and makes little sense (Amazing Spider-Man #435).  Meanwhile what we see in the MC2 around the same time seems somewhat more likely: Kaine is wearing plain civilian clothes which evoke his attire during the events of Spider-Man: The Lost Years, the kind of thing he would have easy access to while on the run from authorities and trying to remain incognito (Spider-Girl #48-#49 and Amazing Spider-Girl #25).

It's only later on in the MC2’s history, during the time a young Reilly Tyne and later the body of the deceased Matt Murdock aka Daredevil are brought to Kaine’s secret laboratory, that we see Kaine rocking a new shiny metallic suit or armour (as seen in flashbacks from Darkdevil #1-#3). This is appears to be the same design in which he made his MC2 debut in Spider-Girl #12 and would continue to wear for the next few issues until his imprisonment at the end of Spider-Girl #17. Subsequently Kaine is shown in prison without this metallic suit and upon his release, only returning to it when he reappeared in the pages of Spider-Girl once more with Spider-Girl #45-#47, #48-49. From this point on, Kaine is seen alternating between either civilian clothing, his metallic suit, or a combination of the two. This brings us to the next point.

 

Kaine no longer seems to require his regeneration suit, a fact made clear in the Darkdevil mini-series not just through his prison stay without any special suit, but in the aforementioned flashbacks. Specifically, one which mentions Kaine mastered ‘arcane skills’ years earlier to prevent his degeneration. This apparently involved acting as a servant to the living spirit of vengeance known as Zarathos, and a mention by the spirit implies Kaine still suffers physical torment. However, Kaine notes in Spider-Girl #14 that after years of constant agony, his nerve endings simply stopped functioning, suggesting he can no longer feel anything.

 

This raises the question of why Kaine wears the metallic suit at all if he doesn’t have to rely on one to stave off his cellular degeneration and no longer seems to experience pain? We don’t have a definitive answer, but I have a theory that’s quite straightforward and deceptively simple: If Kaine can’t feel pain and has already been ravaged for years prior by his imperfectly cloned cells degenerating, he’s far more vulnerable to severe injury. Kaine has experienced severe physical trauma throughout his years and would probably have died years ago had he not used arcane methods to cheat death. Kaine remains mortal and is now at an advanced physical age, hence why he often relies on his metallic suit for protection: should he sustain a life-threatening injury, he would not even feel it and may not realize until it is too late.

 

Kaine wears the metallic suit less as time goes on, eventually wearing civilian clothing exclusively in his later appearances in Amazing Spider-Girl and beyond. While it does humanise him, it also leaves him vulnerable. Perhaps that is by choice? Anyway, let me know what you think or if you have any alternative suggestions. Kaine is such a great character and ripe with such potential for future stories should the MC2 ever make comeback.

 

Until I figure out Kaine’s whole Caribbean detour thing, I remain

 

frogoat

Stinger in the MCU

This is a different kind of post, just something quick to talk about the news coming out of the San Diego Comic Convention. During the convention, Marvel Studios have released the first official look at upcoming movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The piece of concept art was produced by Andy Park and features not only the titular Scott Lang’s Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne’s the Wasp but also provides a glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Cassie Lang, depicted for the first time in full super heroic attire.

 

 

 

While it is not confirmed at this point what moniker Cassie will adopt in the film, judging by her costume’s purple colour scheme I think it is safe to venture a guess this is a version of the Stinger identity. The Stinger codename and costume first appeared in the MC2 with A-Next #1 and, many years later, the Main Marvel Universe version of Cassie would adopt both starting with Astonishing Ant-Man #6.

 

While all the Ant-Man related characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are required to wear a helmet that encases their head as mentioned in the first Ant-Man film, it is nice to see Cassie wearing one that retains at least some of the elements of her comic counterpart such as the coloured eye-pieces. Additionally, the costume also integrates the gauntlets used for offensive attacks. It is not comic accurate, but I must note the footwear, too.  I mean, look at them!

 

Since I started writing this post, it has apparently been confirmed Cassie’s heroic identity will in fact be Stinger, not Stature. I am going to be paying this movie more attention than other recent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I find it amusing that the Ant-Man movie of all things was the first big screen adaption to use an MC2 character, and now its sequel is continuing the theme.

 

Until I stop giving a massive multinational corporation that does not care about my existence my disposable income, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

Lady Sif in the MC2

 

With Thor: Love and Thunder now in theatres I’d be foolish not to make a post or two tangentially related to a character or two from the film. So today, let’s take a very brief look at Lady Sif in the MC2.

 

Lady Sif first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comic’s Journey in Mystery #102 in 1964. As for the MC2, Lady Sif makes her first and only appearance on-panel in Last Planet Standing #2. It’s there that we see Sif assisting with the evacuating of Asgard just prior to its destruction at the hands of Galactus.

As I’ve discussed previously Thena, the daughter of Thor states she is the ‘daughter to the most honored Lord and Lady of Asgard’ and that during the events of Last Hero Standing she was on a quest with her mother and thus not present in Asgard when Earth’s heroes ended up there (Avengers Next #2). Furthermore, during the events of Last Planet Standing, Thena attempted to join her father against Galactus but was commanded by her mother to aid those fleeing the destruction of Asgard (Avengers Next #3).

Naturally, one of the major candidates for Thena's mother was Thor's long-time off-and-on love interest Lady Sif. The strongest evidence for this becomes clearer when the relevant pages and panels from both Last Planet Standing #2 and the flashbacks in Avengers Next #3 are viewed in sequence:

 

So, Sif was given the job of overseeing the evacuation of Asgard's most vulnerable subjects, the same task Thena was entrusted with by her mother. This strongly suggests Sif is Thena's mother, but obviously we don't have any definitive answers.

 

Anyway, sadly that’s all we have for Lady Sif in the MC2. I’d love to see her return, especially paired with Thena on an epic quest.

 

Until I stop thinking about the stories still yet untold in the MC2, I remain

 

frogoat

 

MC2 Untold: Valkyrie

 

Today I’m going to try something a little different and talk about something we didn’t see in the MC2. This will be the first in an occasional series looking at some of the Untold Tales of the MC2: costumes, concepts, story ideas and characters that never saw the printed page. For our inaugural instalment, let’s look at Valkyrie.  

 

As per Thunderstrike and A-Next co-creator, artist extraordinaire and all-around nice guy Ron Frenz’s own facebook:

When The Time Is Right!

Below left is an incomplete sketch of a character I intended to introduce in the MC2 title A-NEXT had the book continued.

Obviously, an Asgardian Valkyrie, she would have been charged by Thor, now the ruler of Asgard to train and watch over the MC2 version of Kevin Masterson as Thunderstrike.

As I said, the title was dis-continued and the idea stored away.

Next to that sketch is an early conceptual drawing of Gruenhilda, an Asgardian Valkyrie charged by the Lady Sif to train and watch over the 616 version of Kevin Masterson as Thunderstrike in the 2011 THUNDERSTRIKE mini-series.

Weird.

So there you have it, the MC2’s Kevin Masterson aka Thunderstrike could have had a similar arc with an Asgardian Valkyrie mentor and trainer. Seeing this story concept and character adapted to the Main Marvel Universe does at least mean the idea eventually saw print in some form. For anyone wondering, the name Gruenhilda is a nod to dearly missed writer and protector of Marvel Comics continuity Mark Gruenwald.



An interesting foil to the story regarding the published appearance of Gruenhilda, also directly from Mr Frenz’s facebook:



That Was Weird!

Back in 1994 in an issue of THUNDERSTRIKE I had The Lady Sif wearing a variant of a Kirby design which showed a bit more skin.

(Sue me, it was the '90s!)

Nobody blinked.

In the 2010 THUNDERSTRIKE mini-series we introduced an Asgardian Valkyrie character and I thought it would be consistent (and cool!) to repeat elements of the same design to demonstrate their common origins.

Skin included.

The original colors for the character Gruenhilda were shown in the solicitation for the issue.

But at the eleventh hour Editorial blinked big time and re-colored the cover and eliminated the exposed epidermis.

Anyway,1994 nobody blinked.

2010, blink!

That was weird!

Anyway, there you have it, we nearly had a Gruenhilda -or similarly designed- Asgardian Valkyrie character in the MC2, but she did eventually see the light of day thanks to the 2011 Thunderstrike mini-series set in the Main Marvel Universe.

Until I stop stalking Ron Frenz’s facebook for content, I remain

 

frogoat

Felicia Hardy in the MC2

Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat has been a prominent and important figure of the Spider-Man mythos since her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #194, so her being the focus of today’s post should come as no surprise. Let’s take a look at Felicia Hardy in the MC2.

Felicia Hardy makes her MC2 debut in the pages of Spider-Girl #36 where she visits Mary Jane and reveals she got back into town a few weeks prior and mentions her kids, who unlike her, are not doing fine.

 

It’s in the following issue when Felicia accompanies Mary Jane to an appointment that we get more details. Felicia believes Felicity blames her for divorcing the children’s father, Eugene ‘Flash’ Thompson. When Mary Jane enquires about Felicia’s son Gene, however, we don’t get a straight answer (Spider-Girl #37).

 

Felicia visits Mary Jane at the Parker family home and is sorry to hear she didn’t get to see May as she hadn’t seen her since she was a baby. Felicia also discloses to Mary Jane that Felicity barely speaks to her. Before Mary Jane can finish their conversation, she collapses to the ground (Spider-Girl #39).

 

Felicia calls the ambulance and at the hospital meets with Peter and May. Felicia remarks she hasn’t seen May since she was a toddler. After learning Mary Jane is doing well, Felicia leaves to allow Peter and Mary Jane privacy with the doctor (Spider-Girl #40).

 

During another visit to Mary Jane, once more at her home, Felicia discusses concerns about her daughter Felicity. Felicia believes that not only has Felicity not forgiven her for divorcing her father, but also disapproves of her current lifestyle. Mary Jane assures Felicia she’s entitled to live her own life regardless of how her daughter feels about it. Meanwhile, Felicia just want’s her daughter to open up and communicate with her (Spider-Girl #45). If Ms. Hardy only knew what her daughter was up to…

 

In Spider-Girl #47, Mary Jane invites both Felicia and her partner Diana over for a cup of tea. Diana mentions the couple were previously living in Paris but have moved back so that Felicity can reestablish a relationship with her father. When Mary Jane asks how long the two have known each other, Felicia states ‘it’s going on six years now’ and mentions that Diana used to be a contract operative for her detective agency. While Felicia’s detective agency isn’t named here, it’s presumably Cat’s Eye Investigations, which she first formed in Felicia Hardy: Black Cat #4 way back in 1994. Diana thinks one of the reasons Felicity ‘doesn’t approve’ of her is because she believes her to be ‘some kind of opportunist’.

 

When Felicia learns of her daughter’s superhero antics, she confronts Felicity about putting herself in jeopardy and humiliating her in the eyes of an old friend aka Peter Parker. It doesn’t go down well, with Felicity angrily responding that she isn’t crazy about Felicia’s own decisions including leaving her father, quitting as the Black Cat and beginning a relationship with Diana. Felicity departs with a parting shot questioning if her mother is angry about her endangering her life or because she patterned herself after the Scarlet Spider instead of the Black Cat. Despite Diana’s attempt to comfort her, Felicia remains convinced her daughter hates her (Spider-Girl #48).

 

After Felicity skips school, Felicia walks her daughter in to the school despite her daughter’s protests, informing her that she needs to stop acting like a child unless she wishes to be treated like one and reminds Felicity of her appointment with the school guidance counsellor within earshot of other students, inadvertently causing more of a scene. Felicia has made this appointment for her daughter because she believes she may be depressed; a fact Felicity throws in her face afterwards when she arrives home and interrupts Felicia and Diana in a loving embrace (Spider-Girl #53).

 

As I have noted previously, this storyline unfortunately never saw completion, apparently for one or more real-world reasons including multiple attempted cancellations of the Spider-Girl title at the time. It would be over 20 issues before we saw Felicity again in the series and Felicia and Diana were lost in the lurch almost entirely, with Felicia making only a brief appearance years later in Amazing Spider-Girl #3. It appears by this point the relationship between Felicia and Felicity has improved, with the pair heading off for lunch together happily.

 

That’s all for the actual MC2 appearances of Felicia Hardy, but perhaps one day I may get a chance to detail one or two untold stories involving the Black Cat in the MC2.

 

Until I find out my parent is a cat burglar and I take up the family business, I remain

 

frogoat