Iron Fist in the MC2

I figured with Iron Fist Season 2 hitting Netflix, now was the time to talk about Danny Rand aka The Iron Fist in the MC2 Universe. Unlike Luke Cage and Misty Knight, Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai actually makes not only one appearance, but a whole handful of appearances across various MC2 titles.

Iron Fist makes his first MC2 appearance in J2 #11, which I've briefly discussed in another post. Seen only briefly, Iron Fist is among many other fellow martial artists who were invited to a small island to participate in a tournament. When it is revealed the tournament was a death trap orchestrated by the mercenary Deadpool, Iron Fist and the other combatants promptly team up to end his plan. It's worth noting that this initial MC2 outing for Danny is seemingly contradicted by his next appearance.

When we next encounter Danny Rand in Spider-Girl #24, we learn a great deal about him. He married his beloved Misty Knight only to later lose her to cancer. When Misty died, Danny ceased using his Iron Fist and withdrew from the public eye. Opening up a dojo to teach a new generation martial arts, Danny trained many students including Spike Yi. 

After a new super villain calling himself Dragonfist begins committing robberies wielding what appears to be the chi of the Iron Fist while adorned in a tattoo resembling Shou-Lao, the legendary dragon of K'un-Lun. Implicated in the crime, Rand is drawn out of his self-imposed isolation. Believing his former pupil Yi - now a major action movie star - is responsible, Danny confronts him only to learn that Spike has instead chosen to squander his martial prowess making movies and selling merchandise.

When Dragonfist attempts another robbery, Spider-Girl confronts him but has no success, finding his entire body impervious to her attacks. Danny finally dons his Iron Fist gi and, believing Dragonfist unworthy to wield the power of the Immortal Iron Fist, battles the criminal in an effort to strip it from him by force.

The effort proves fruitless until Spider-Girl, using her spider-sense, directs Iron Fist to aim for Dragonfist's belt. Doing so, the heroes discover Dragonfist was merely Spike Yi's assistant using a personal force field to simulate the power of the Iron Fist. Safe in this knowledge, Danny returns to his dojo.

After this we get a few more appearances from Iron Fist in the form of cameos in Last Hero Standing #3-5. Danny is among the many heroes captured and corrupted by Loki in a plot to bring about the end of the Age of Heroes. He is eventually freed from Loki's spell by Captain America and witnesses the super soldier's death shortly thereafter.

Iron Fist's last appearances are also cameos in the pages of Avengers Next #4 and #5. When Loki's daughter Sylene attempts to restore the devastated Asgard by recreating it on Earth, she creates energy duplicates of various super humans to serve her purposes. Danny Rand is among those rendered comatose in the process of creating these duplicates. When Sylene is defeated, Iron Fist's duplicate dissipates and Danny is presumable restored.

Sadly that's all we see of Daniel Rand in the MC2. As I mentioned above his first appearance in the MC2 canon seems like a contradiction, with Danny in-costume and wielding his trademark Iron Fist. Perhaps that's a discussion for another day? For now, I'm off to marathon Iron Fist Season 2.




Until I stop pointing out continuity errors like a giant nerd, I remain




frogoat

Stinger Action Figure Review

As a recent birthday gift, I received the Marvel Legends Ant-Man and Stinger 6-Inch Action Figures 2-Pack which was initially intended as an exclusive release for Toys R Us but apparently saw release through Entertainment Earth after the formers collapse. Not only did I receive the 2-Pack, I also received a loose Stinger figure for display purposes. Today I'll be solely focusing my  review on the Stinger figure.

The Stinger figure comes bundled with a Scott Lang Ant-Man who wears his most recent comic costume. This makes it clear that - despite the MC2 originating the Stinger identity for Cassie Lang and her Main Marvel Universe counterpart recently adopting a version of the MC2 Stinger costume - this particular figure is modelled on the Main Marvel Universe Cassie Lang. This is further supported by one minor difference between Cassie's MMU and MC2 Stinger costume; shoulder pads.

The MC2's Stinger does not wear a costume that feature metallic shoulder pads. In relation to the figure, you'll notice it is barely visible in the picture above, owing to a lack of pain on the shoulder joint. It's a minor issue, but still worth mentioning. More noticeable is the different coloured purple paint on Stinger's legs when compared to the rest of the figure. 

I've checked elsewhere online and this appears to be the case for all Stinger figures, not just mine. It's even visible on the box art. Again, it's not a major issue, but still worth mentioning.

 Much like the Toy Biz Marvel Legends series of old, Hasbro's Marvel Legends are known for their super articulate figures and attention to detail. As for Stinger, the figure boasts amazing articulation, including poseable wings and a head joint that can tilt all the way up, allowing for fun flying poses.

Finishing on a positive note, this figure is a drastic improvement over the Marvel Comics 2 First Appearances set's Stinger figure released in 1999. Not only in size, but in proportions and articulation. The best figures are those that stand under their own power in various poses and that's something the old figure simply cannot do, whereas the new Stinger can be placed in many dramatic poses. The attention to detail is clear, if sometimes unevenly applied. All in all, I'm pleased to see another MC2-related figure following Hasbro's Marvel Legends Spider-Girl figure in 2015.

Until I have another opportunity to talk about a new MC2-related action figure and play like a child again, I remain

frogoat

X-People: Blue (Concept)

As you may recall, I discussed Blue Kelso aka Bluestreak, in particular pondering what her codename was -if any-before joining Clint Barton's group of special students later known as the Dream Team. Prior to this, Blue was a member of the X-People led by Jubilee. While we know nothing about this point in Ms. Kelso's life, it's fun to imagine her in a trainee X-Costume. With that said, here's my cruddy first attempt at photoshop:

Please be kind. Apologies to Ron Frenz.




Until I get better with Photoshop, I remain




frogoat

Mike Wieringo and the MC2

Recently I've been thinking about well-established artists in the comics industry who's take on the MC2 characters we've yet to see. Then I remembered there are a bunch of artists outside of MC2 mainstays such as the wonderfully talented Ron Frenz, Pat Olliffe, Paul Ryan, Ron Lim or Todd Nauck who've in some way worked on my favourite fictional universe. Every so often I'll try and dedicate a short post to each artist's brief foray into the MC2 Universe.

Mike Wieringo

Despite the passage of time, I still find myself missing the inimitable artist Mike Wieringo. I first encountered Mike's unique art style while still in school when I picked up Tellos from the local library and instantly fell in love with his work. It's truly a tragedy that he died so suddenly in 2007 of an aortic dissection. Today, I'll be looking at Mr Wieringo's affection for and contributions to the MC2.

Mike Wieringo first provided covers for the Last Hero Standing mini-series in 2005, specifically issues #2 and #4.

I personally love seeing Mike's rendition of MC2 characters, so it was wonderful when he returned as cover artist for the 2006 Avengers Next mini-series, this time for all five issues. Here's the cover to #5:

 Sadly, these would be Mike Wieringo's last published contributions to the MC2. However, over on his own website, Wieringo posted a sketch of Spider-Girl to accompany a heartwarming entry about the series:

I’ve never quite understood why SPIDER-GIRL isn’t just as popular and successful as ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN.

Sure, May “Mayday” Parker isn’t a young Peter Parker– she’s the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane in a book set in the M2 Universe of the not too distant future. But to my eyes, that just makes her cooler. Instead of a ‘reboot’ of the SPIDER-MAN mythos, SPIDER-GIRL is an exciting extension of that concept. Like ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, there are re-imaginings of the classic villains from the parent book (as well as lots of heroes)…. but in my opinion, these characters are a lot more imaginative and fun than they are in ULTIMATE. I think that if you’re a fan of straight-out superhero comics, SPIDER-GIRL is just about a perfect book. Not only is it a comic you can enjoy yourself (if you’re anywhere NEAR as old as I am), but it’s also a comic you can give to children without fearing that it’s too dark and adult for them to understand or enjoy. In today’s comic world, that’s a rarity.

SPIDER-GIRL has had a tumultuous ride during its run…. to say the least. The book’s been on the chopping block more than once, and now, it seems, it’s in peril of cancellation once again. I don’t understand the rationale for this, personally. I know that Marvel has had immense success with sales of SPIDER-GIRL digests in places like TARGET. And why is that…? Because SPIDER-GIRL is something that will appeal to such a wide audience. Boys, girls, women, men… they can all enjoy this comic as much as I do. That’s a cash cow, really… so this is kind of puzzling to me. SPIDER-GIRL has a very loyal and vocal fanbase, so perhaps if we all pull together, we can stop this cancellation from happening, because if you ask me, we can’t afford– as an industry– to lose a book like SPIDER-GIRL; a book that has the potential (and seems to be realizing that very potential) to reach a wider audience outside of the direct market.

I recently bought issue #11 of WRITE NOW!. from TOMORROWS PUBLISHING. It’s got a wonderful interview with Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz inside… and they talk extensively about their collaboration on the creation of SPIDER-GIRL and their recent work on the book. These guys love working on SPIDER-GIRL. It’s a concept they both enjoy immensely… and it shows in every issue of the book. If you want any proof of a couple of comic book creators who are at the height of their powers and loving what they’re doing, then seek this magazine out, read the interview, and perhaps it’ll make you a believer and prompt you to try SPIDER-GIRL. Some fans need to be convinced (for some reason) to even try a new book…. so maybe that would do the trick. Barring that– Marvel just released a trade paperback of the recent LAST HERO STANDING miniseries (written by Tom D. and drawn by the talented Pat Oliffe). It’ll give you a taste of what the M2 Universe is like. That, or one of the several recent SG trades that you can also find on AMAZON.COM will give you a sense of the thrill ride that is SPIDER-GIRL.

Let’s keep fun and imagination alive, shall we…?

OK.

This is Entry 186.

Mike

You are sorely missed, Mike.


frogoat

Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

A few days ago I received my copy of Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 and I'd like to talk about it! I won't be going into too much detail about the stories reprinted in this collection, but it comprises What If #105 (not Spider-Girl #0) and Spider-Girl #1-15 as well as Spider-Girl Annual '99 and Spider-Girl #½.

Read as a whole, the individual issues really flow well together and form an overarching narrative, without feeling like they need to be read one after the other like the standard made-for-trade six issue arcs made commonplace in modern comics. This is most evident in the supporting characters and subplots, which weave through several issues and resolve at their own pace instead of being shoved into a set number of issues. In sharp contrast, it has sadly become standard practice nowadays to simply remove supporting characters and their storylines in favour of superheroes talking to other superheroes.

While I am a big fan of the series and I am admittedly bias about the series quality, I was more than happy to purchase this collection. Why? Because even though I own the individual issues and tracked down all the digests that were released, this will be the first time any issues of the Spider-Girl series have been collected in trade paperback form beyond the initial 8 issues. I consider it a major misstep that Marvel didn't release the series in this format until now; 20 years after the series began publication.

Much of the appeal of this release lies in potentially having the entire series sitting on my bookshelf in all it's glossy-paged glory someday soon. In addition, the last 16 pages are dedicated to various 'extras' such as variant covers, concept art and contemporary promotional materials. The most interesting of these for me was an article from the Marvel Catalog: August 1998. I'd never seen this piece before and found it fascinating to read through the article, which includes an interview with Tom Defalco and mentions the creative teams early plans for the nascent trio of titles that birthed the MC2 imprint.

If I had to make a negative comment, it's that the cover's card stock is rather flimsy when compared to other similar recent Marvel collections. While this doesn't really bother me much, it did mean my copy arrived in the post a little worse for wear, complete with a few marks and bends on the front cover. However, the blame for that surely lies with Amazon's frankly abysmal packaging, which consisted of nothing more than a brown envelop without bubble-wrap. Cheers Amazon!


Until I can gleefully announce the next volume of Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection, I remain

frogoat

Before Bluestreak

Here's an MC2-related question I would never have thought to ask before:

What was Bluestreak's codename when she was a member of the X-People?

Confused? Let me explain. When we are first formerly introduced to Blue Kelso aka Bluestreak in A-Next #4, we learn that she was formerly a member of the X-People before joining the next generation Avengers alongside her fellow Dream Team members.

Yes, I had to include the previous panel. Obviously. Anyway, Blue mentions it again in A-Next #6...

Bluestreak spent some time working in 'the X-People's Danger Room with Jubilee.' Flash forward (or backwards?) to the American Dream mini series where we learn not only the titular character's origin but we see Blue's time under Clint Barton's tutelage (American Dream #3).

Here's where it get's interesting. We see Clint not only giving the team their costumes but also their codenames.

Finally, in American Dream #4 we see the formation of the Dream Team, which seems to take place soon after the events of A-Next #1.

 So, for those not paying attention, it might appear as though there is a continuity error regarding Blue's time with the X-People. However, I think there is a simple explanation: Blue Kelso had another codename when she was a member of the X-People. If I may slip into the realm of wild speculation, perhaps Blue was merely a trainee ala Nancy Lu as Push in Spider-Girl #92, which could also explain why she only ever mentions Jubilee and her hours of training.

Perhaps there is more to the story than we know? Maybe we'll never find out. Just something to think about. Let me know your thoughts or yell at me for making a rookie mistake!

Until I figure out how to switch off my fan-brain, I remain

frogoat

History of The MC2: The Fantastic Four

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 emerge in J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105.

Given that Marvel's First Family are being relaunched with a new #1, I decided for the second installment of this series I would look at the MC2's Fantastic Four team. The events surrounding the rebranding of the team from the Fantastic Four to the Fantastic Five is a major mystery from the team's first cameo in What If #105, through their guest appearances in Spider-Girl, A-Next and in the pages of their own series. Parts of the mystery unravel within the pages of Fantastic Five #1-5 but some aspects were left unresolved when the series was prematurely cancelled. These lingering mysteries would be addressed in the Fantastic Five mini series years later.

While we don't know the exact point at which the history of the Main Marvel Universe Fantastic Four stops being the same as that of the MC2 Fantastic Four/Five, we do know a few things about the teams past history. At some point, the Skrull called Lyja joined the Fantastic Four and married Johnny Storm (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1). Reed and Susan's own son Franklin Richards would also join the team afterwards, despite the group still officially being known as the Fantastic Four (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, #4). While it's unclear exactly when, Ben Grimm and Sharon Ventura married and had twins Alyce and Jacob Grimm (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, #3, #5).

Approximately 11-12 years prior to the dawn of the second generation of heroes (the beginning of the MC2 as seen in J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105) a war broke out between Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Hearing a war was brewing, Doom's former ward Kristoff Vernard had returned to his native Latveria (A-Next #5). During the war, Latveria was devastated, Atlantis was ravaged and most of Namor's people were slaughtered (A-Next #3, A-Next #5, Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).

In the war's aftermath, Doctor Doom went missing and was widely believed to have been killed by The Sub-Mariner, Namor himself was branded an international war-criminal and went into exile and Latveria was hotly disputed with various nations vying for control of the secrets and weapons within Castle Doom (A-Next #3, Spider-Girl #3, A-Next #5). S.H.I.E.L.D. is placed in Latveria's capital city Doomstadt by the United Nations (A-Next #5). Unknown to everyone else, Namor held Doom prisoner in a grotto deep under water within the Great Atlantis Trench, returning to torture him once a month as punishment for the destruction of Atlantis and it's people (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).  With his intimate knowledge of Doctor Doom's extensive arsenal, and aware that he himself could be exploited by those seeking to gain access to the weaponry, Kristoff went into hiding within the remains of Castle Doom which was now a disputed no-man's land protected by S.H.I.E.L.D. (A-Next #5, Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #5).

During a battle with the villainous Terrax, Ben Grimm aka The Thing had the rock-like hide torn from much of the left side of his body by a miniature black hole. Reed Richards created bionic armour to cover the exposed tissue but explained it could take years to regenerate his missing hide. As a side effect of his bionics in situ, it would be impossible for Ben to revert to his human form (Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1-2).

*I think I should point out the slight continuity error in the flashback above: Other flashbacks depicting events occurring after the one above clearly show the team wearing F4 uniforms and operating under the name Fantastic Four. Likely, the F5 uniforms are a simple artistic error*

At an unknown point, the long-time F4 foe The Wizard lost the use of both his legs in unrevealed circumstances. Blaming Reed Richards for his disability, The Wingless Wizard went unseen for years while plotting his revenge. To achieve his goal, he began recruiting people for a new team dubbed The Wizard's Warriors (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #2).

Approximately five or so years prior to the events of Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, the Fantastic Four prepared to battle Hyperstorm, a cosmically powered warlord from an alternate future who had built a doomsday weapon in the Negative Zone (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Lyja was pregnant at this time and did not join the team on their mission (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4). Franklin engaged Hyperstorm in a 'mind-war' on every plane of existence which ultimately left Hyperstorm comatose and apparently stripped Franklin of much of his god-like power (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4).

 Unfortunately, the doomsday device had already begun to tear a hole in the fabric of reality. When Reed Richards was forced to overload the device to stop it, Susan Richards attempted to shield him from the radiation with her force field. Caught in the blast radius, half of Reed's body was left in a melted and deformed state. With the rip in reality still widening, Susan used her powers to hold the tear in place, with the strain leaving her in suspended animation.

In the wake of the tragedy, The Fantastistation was built in the Negative Zone around the tear in reality. This allowed Reed to keep Sue company while she remained in suspended animation as he worked to slowly repair the hole in the fabric of reality (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #4, Spider-Girl #87). Over the next few months, while the Fantastic Four remained in seclusion, rumours and speculation spread about the fate of Susan Richards despite the team never releasing details to the public. Reed developed the Big Brain robot to allow him to remain on the team by remotely controlling it from the Negative Zone ( Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1).

The team formally changed their charter, membership and name, finally re-branding themselves as the Fantastic Five, with John Storm aka The Human Torch leading the team of Ms. Fantastic aka his wife Lyja Storm; Ben Grimm aka The Thing; Reed Richards as Big Brain and Franklin Richards now known as Psi-Lord (Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #1, Fantastic Five Vol. 2 #1).



Based on various comments throughout both Fantastic Five series and other MC2 titles, we can work out a (very) rough timeline of events. Despite vague comments in A-Next #3 and #5 and Fantastic Five Vol. 1 #5 stating the war between Doctor Doom and Namor occurred 'years ago' or 'a few years ago' it's not until Fantastic Five Vol. 2 that we get a fairly definitive statement regarding when the war took place: 'Almost 12 full years' ago. Given that the MC2 has seemingly had a year elapse (judging by Mayday aging from 15 to 16 years of age) since it began publication, we can place the war at around 11 years prior to the MC2 era. Apart from that, we only get one other fairly definitive statement to pieces together the timeline: it was 'About five or so years ago' that the team lost Reed and Sue Richards fighting Hyperstorm.

This last piece of information actually raises a bunch of questions about the age of John and Lyja Storm's son, Torus Storm...but we'll have to address that another day. So, to recap the timeline of events:

• Doctor Doom and Namor the Sub-Mariner go to war, ultimately causing the destruction of Atlantis in addition to leaving Latveria in political turmoil. Doom is imprisoned by Namor for over a decade.
• Following the war, Kristoff Vernard goes missing in action, secretly protecting and preventing Doom's arsenal of weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
• Ben Grimm loses the rock-like hide from most of his left side during a battle with Terrax. Reed Richards provides him with bionic armour for protection.
• The Wizard blames Reed Richards for the lose of the use of both his lower limbs following an unrevealed event. The Wizard is not heard from for years afterwards as he plans his revenge.
• Hyperstorm is defeated by the Franklin Richards who loses much of his power. Reed and Susan Richards are permanently incapacitated, with Reed partially melted and Susan in suspended animation holding a tear in reality.
• The Fantastistation is constructed around Susan Richards in the Negative Zone. Reed Richards chooses to stay with his wife, attempting to repair the tear in reality.
• The Big Brain robot is built by Reed allow him to continue to aid the team, being controlled remotely from the Negative Zone.
• The team officially renames themselves the Fantastic Five, with John Storm as their leader.

Hopefully this helps straighten out the timeline for the MC2's own Fantastic Four...er….Five? If you feel I've missed something or made a mistake, please feel free to let me know.

Until I run out of Fantastic Family Members to count, I remain

frogoat