Luke Cage in the MC2 *Update*

So, sometimes I get things wrong. When I first wrote about Luke Cage in the MC2 I said we only got one mention of the real (meaning not a magical zombie duplicate) Hero for Hire, and it was Avengers Next #1. I pointed out that the same issue made it canonical that Luke Cage was a former member of the Avengers, despite the MC2's history branching off from the Main Marvel Universe before he joined Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Well, as I said, I make mistakes at times. I was re-reading the Roger Stern penned Captain America Corps mini series recently and I discovered a detail I'd never noticed before. Throughout the series we see instances of American Dream using her extensive knowledge of Avengers history, such as recognizing Tath Ki aka The Contemplator from the Avengers Database and recalling critical points in the team's history. But the most intriguing piece of information Shannon Carter demonstrates is from this page in Captain America Corps #2, when the team find themselves on an altered reality surrounded by various imprisoned super-powered heroes and villains:

'Sam Wilson...The Falcon? And Luke Cage? Peter Parker. So very young...In my world's past, these men were heroes--Avengers.'

 
So, I think that further supports the idea of Luke Cage being a former member of the Avengers prior to the team re-forming in A-Next #1. The fact that American Dream recognizes Peter Parker as a hero and Avenger also raises other questions...but those are for another time!

Until I stop finding more threads to pull at, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Girl HeroClix

Despite my lack of knowledge on how to play, I've always appreciated the HeroClix tabletop game. Today I'll be taking a very brief look at the current and upcoming Spider-Girl miniatures available for the game. 

The first Spider-Girl miniature for HeroClix was released in 2008 as part of the Secret Invasion series. Figure 041 here is actually the only one I own myself, and is apparently rare.

The next time a Spider-Girl miniature released was as figure 008 of 2016's Superior Foes of Spider-Man series. The first image below is the computer render from the official site. A black and white painted 'sketch variant' is also available, but I think the best part of this piece is the attention to detail on the abilities card.

Finally, we have the newest figure which is due for official release February 6 this year. From the Earth X series, we have figure 001a. Apparently this version of May 'Mayday' Parker is a variant of the Earth X Venom miniature which would explain the costume inaccuracies somewhat.

I really love the attention to detail with the nod to A-Next and May's strength in comparison to her father. Nice touches. I'm considering tracking these figures down just so I can have them for my collection. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll even learn how to play!

Until I master the tabletop game format, I remain

frogoat

History of the MC2: The Punisher

I'm working on making a complete 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.

Today's focus will be a short companion piece to my previous post about The Punisher in the MC2 because we only have a small amount of information to examine regarding Frank Castle's history in the MC2. We get all the relevant MC2-exclusive history on The Punisher in the Spectacular Spider-Girl mini series. In issue #1 Frank notes in his War Journal that the 'masks' have kept the streets clean for 'nearly a decade', giving us a rough idea of how long it's been since The Punisher ended his war against the mob. 

Continuing his journal entry, Frank also mentions he stationed himself near drug traffickers in South America when he 'retired' so that he could keep relatively active (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #1). 

It's in the next issue, Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #2, that we get the final piece of information. We learn from Normie's research that Don Silvio Barraca was the last of the criminal organization known as the Maggia. Castle shot Silvio in the spin, crippling him; choosing to leave the mobster alive as a warning to others. Considering his mission complete, Frank faded into the background, his war over.

Based on Frank's statement that it's been 'nearly a decade,' we can assume this is when The Punisher ended his war on the mob and left New York. So with all of these facts, we can construct a rough timeline of events:

•  The Punisher war reaches it's end when he shoots the last of the Maggia leaders Don Silvio, crippling the mobster as a warning to others.

• Frank Castle retires to South America, positioning himself near drug traffickers to stay sharp over the following decade.

That's all we have regarding The Punisher's history, unless I've missed something vital. In which case, please reach out and let me know.

Until I get a gnarly facial scar and retire to South America, I remain

frogoat

The Punisher in the MC2

With the second and very likely last season of The Punisher now out on Netflix, it's as good a time as any to take a look at the character's appearances in the MC2 Universe.

Frank Castle makes his MC2 debut in the final pages of the Spider-Girl story published within Web of Spider-Man Vol. 2 #7 (or more accurately, the story was first released on the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service as Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 1 #11).

In the Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #1 we learn what old man Frank has been up to. This is a back-to-basics pared-down version of The Punisher, as Frank notes himself in the opening pages.

This direction is particularly interesting because it allows readers to ignore some of the more outlandish or over the top adventures published over the years. Frank narrates via his War Journal that he was never the psychopathic vigilante who sought to eradicate crime, merely a soldier who declared war on the mob. It's an important distinction. With his mission finished, Castle had retired (more or less) to South America, stationing himself near drug traffickers to keep himself sharp. When news reaches him (thanks to a tip off from a certain crime lord) that the last of the mob, Silvio Barraca aka Silverback is attempting to become the new Kingpin of crime, Frank makes his return to New York (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #1).

We learn more about Frank's past with the Maggia (Marvel's answer to the real world Mafia) in Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #2. Castle finished his war with the mob by crippling Silvio Barraca as a warning to others. With the Maggia finished, The Punisher disappeared. With the news of Silvio's return to power (thanks to his new exoskeleton) Castle makes his presence known to the seedy underbelly of New York, attempting to learn of Barraca's whereabouts.

When Spider-Girl finds herself staring down the barrel of The Punisher's gun, the two do battle until the fight is interrupted by Wild Card (more on him another time) and Castle is forced to change opponents. Knocking out Wild Card, Frank tracks down Silvio's enforcer Man Mountain Marko and engages him in hand-to-hand combat (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #3).

Having gained the advantage, Castle is attempting to 'convince' Marko to give up Silvio's location when he is stopped by The Black Tarantula, Silvio's rival for Kingpin. The Black Tarantula offers to trade Marko's life for Silvio's by giving Frank his target's location. When Frank offers instead to kill both Marko and The Black Tarantula, the crime lord reminds the old soldier of his mission's main objective (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #4).

However, upon arrival at Silvio's mansion, Frank finds himself in the midst of a full blown war between Silvio 'Silverback' Barraca, his men and his puppet master The Hobgoblin and the combined forces of the NYPD, The Warriors, American Dream, The Buzz and Spider-Girl. Castle once again finds himself in conflict with Spider-Girl before she is snatched up by the Hobgoblin, leaving Frank webbed to a chimney as the villains turn the tide in their favour (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #4).

Assessing the situation, Frank determines that the assembled heroes are outmanned and outgunned and, using a flash-bang grenade to free himself, launches a final assault on Barraca by lunging at the mob boss with a combat knife. Easily stopped by Silvio, Castle is mocked for bringing a knife to a super-fight as the crime lord begins to choke the life out of Frank. Castle inaudibly utters his last words as Barraca leans in closer to hear his enemy's dying words. Suddenly realizing, Barraca snaps Castle's neck as The Punisher shoots the last of the old mob dead. The Punisher has completed his mission and ended his war (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #4).

The MC2 depiction of The Punisher is honestly one of the best, giving us a straightforward and down to earth take on Frank Castle and his mission. I love his scarred, grey and haggard appearance, his stripped down iconic uniform complete with knee brace and his single-minded focus on completing his mission. This is one of my all-time favourite story-arcs. The art is gorgeous on all counts, the writing is sharp and on-point and the whole thing just culminates so perfectly.

Until I run out of pages in my War Journal, I remain

frogoat

The Carpenter Family Tree

It's been a while since I've done an MC2 Family Tree entry, hasn't it? Today, I'll be covering The Carpenter Family Tree. No, not the musical duo! This post, we'll be taking a look at Marvel's second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter.

First appearing in 1984's Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 in shadow and making her first full debut in the following issue, Julia Carpenter was introduced as the second Spider-Woman. Born Julia Cornwall in Los Angeles, California to Elizabeth and Walter Cornwall, Julia befriended fellow college student (and later federal agent) Valerie Cooper before she met, fell in love with married Larry Carpenter. Julia dropped out of college, working to support Larry as he studied for a career in public relations (Avengers West Coast #84). 

After graduating college, Larry Carpenter (who first appeared in Iron Man #214) often focused his time and attention on his work and extra-marital affairs, rather than Julia despite the two having a young daughter- Rachel Carpenter-together. Rachel Carpenter (who also made her debut in Iron Man #214) was five years old when Julia divorced Larry and the courts granted custody of Rachel to Julia. Now a single mother struggling to make ends meet, Julia moved Julia to Denver, Colorado. 

Unbeknownst to Julia, a seemingly chance meeting with Val Cooper would lead to Julia gaining her spider-powers. Val hired Julia as a test subject for a secret government project, telling Julia it was for exercise research when in reality the experiments were to create government-controlled super humans for the Commission of Superhuman Activities (CSA). After being subjected to weeks of intense athletic training, Julia was secretly injected with a large dose of a special spider-serum. While Dr Napier claimed this was an accident, in actuality the researchers had been dosing Julia with higher and higher amounts over time. The 'accident' yielded the desired results and Julia quickly discovered she had developed her own unique set of spider-powers including the ability to generate psionic 'webbing' (Avengers West Coast #84).

Despite appearances, Val Cooper had not encountered Julia by mere luck. Julia would learn much later that the story she had believed was fabricated. In reality, the CSA's ambition to have government super-agents had led to them hiring lead scientist Dr Carter Napier. Napier and his team of scientists had sought out rare plants and spider venoms only found deep in the Peruvian Amazon. The expedition had been led by jungle guides Elizabeth and Walter Cornwall, Julia's own long-absent parents. It was through this connection that Val Cooper learned of Julia's financial struggles and, combined with her prior knowledge of Julia's athletic prowess, found the perfect candidate for the experiments (Spider-Woman Vol.2 #2).

After the events of Secret Wars, Julia spent time working for the CSA, being assigned to work alongside Freedom Force in battling the X-Men and later capturing the Avengers. Feeling it was not right, Julia freed the Avengers and was declared a fugitive by (Uncanny X-Men #206, X-Factor #8-9, Avengers Annual #15). With Julia absent for long periods of time, Larry successfully sued for custody of Rachel. Aided by Iron Man, Julia turned herself in to the CSA, working as an undercover agent under the orders of Mike Clemson, a man who was openly hostile toward her. Meanwhile, the general public continued to believe she was a wanted criminal (Iron Man #214).

Julia encountered the Avengers in California after moving there to be close to her daughter again. After aiding the team in their battle with the Pacific Overlords, Julia joined the West Coast Avengers team, finally allowing Julia to officially clear her name and quit the CSA. Around this time, Julia revealed her superhero identity to Rachel. Julia would serve with the Avengers West Coast branch until the team was disbanded. (Avengers West Coast #70-102). 

Larry Carpenter continued to share custody of Rachel with Julia during her tenure with the Avengers. Learning of Julia's super hero identity as Spider-Woman when Rachel was kidnapped by The Manipulator and his arachnid-powered team Deathweb, Larry died of a heart attack while saving Rachel from the villain. During this plot, Mike Clemson was exposed as a double agent working for a shadowy government group called the Conclave (Avengers West Coast #84-86).

 

Not long after, Elizabeth and Walter Cornwall make their first appearance returning to the United States to visit their daughter and granddaughter. It's here that we first learn that Walter and Elizabeth run the 'Junglerama Lodge' in the Amazon (Spider-Woman Vol. 2 #1). When Dr Napier is found dead after attempting to reach Julia's parents, Elizabeth and Walter's unwitting connection to the CSA is revealed. Julia learns the true details of her origin and saves her parents and daughter from The Manipulator and Deathweb with some assistance from Mike Clemson. It's also revealed that decades ago, Mike pursued a relationship with Julia's mother, when she was still known by her maiden name of Elizabeth Wesselman. Elizabeth ultimately married Walter, causing Mike to resent the entire Carpenter family (Spider-Woman Vol. 2 #2-4).  

When the West Coast branch of the Avengers disbanded, Julia joined the newly formed Force Works alongside with several other former-West Coast team members. Rachel moved into the teams headquarters- The Works- alongside her mother. However, in the wake of the events of The Crossing, the Force Works team disbanded (Force Works #1-22). After this, Julia next appears in a back up story in Sensational Spider-Man Annual '96, which takes place after the events of Onslaught. In this adventure, Julia is operating solo in Los Angeles when she encounters the animated Spider-Woman costume of Jessica Drew. It leads her into an encounter with Shadowoman and Lindsey McCabe where they save Jessica Drew from the other dimensional Void-Eater. The story concludes by implying Jessica may want her old super hero moniker back, and an editorial box tells readers to look for a follow up story in the pages of Spider-Man Team-Up. Sadly this would never come to pass as this story was writer Mark Gruenwald's final published work before his death.

Following this, Julia Carpenter next shows up post-Heroes Return for cameo appearances in Avengers Vol. 3 #1-4 and Captain America Vol. 3 #3. As I've mentioned in prior posts, it's unclear what parts of this era occurred or did not occur in the history of the MC2. Around this time in the Spider-Man books, Doctor Octopus' Spider-Woman (Charlotte Witter) was taking the powers of the various other Spider-Women. However, things appear to have played out differently in the MC2...

Julia Carpenter makes her MC2 debut in Spider-Girl #37 where she seeks out Peter Parker for assistance finding the original Spider-Man's family so she can bring in Jessica Drew's son, Gerry Drew aka the new Spider-Man before Gerry comes to harm as a result of his rare blood disease. In Spider-Girl #39, Julia mentions that Jessica, herself, Mattie Franklin and Cassandra Webb had all previously used Peter to get messages to Spider-Man. Julia also appears to have detailed knowledge of Jessica and Gerry's history, implying the two Spider-Women have maintained contact until recently.

 In a flashback seen in Spider-Girl #40, Julia is seen in her Spider-Woman costume meeting with a costumed Mattie Franklin and a plain clothed Jessica Drew. Julia and Peter track down Jessica at her home and confront her, with Jessica telling the two that Gerry won't stop his reckless behaviour as super hero without a good reason. Peter approaches Gerry in costume as Spider-Man and convinces him to retire until he can get treatment from Reed Richards. Julia notes that despite being believed dead, the original Spider-Man returned when needed (Spider-Girl #42-43). 

Unfortunately that's all we see of Julia in the MC2 and we don't get a mention of her daughter Rachel at all. The various Spider-Women in the MC2 are a topic that warrants further exploration. Hopefully this look at the Carpenter Family Tree has been informative. 

Until I figure out how to synthesize spider-powers from Peruvian spider venom, I remain

frogoat