Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man '67 and Spider-Girl

For today’s super-quick post we have another entry in the shamelessly swiped Spider-Symmetry series. Ron Frenz presents Spider-Symmetry: Spider-Man ’67 and Spider-Girl.

 

Spider-Girl and MC2 co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz is an admitted lifelong fan of the original 1967 Spider-Man cartoon and he once again took the opportunity to slip several direct references into Amazing Spider-Girl. I’ll let Ron’s own Facebook post provide the explanation:

99% Inspiration!

Remember the 1967 Spider-man cartoon? Every frame is pretty much burned into my frontal lobe!

As the show changed production teams they would spend(waste?) several minutes of any given episode with a traveling montage of the web-spinner web-swinging through the concrete canyons of New York City accompanied by some of the coolest soundtrack music known to man IMHO!

We've spoken before of my cartoon-addled brain and my tendency to indulge it in my comics work, well here's another example from the pages of The Amazing Spider-Girl!

Mayday Parker is desperately searching the city for her missing Father and infant Brother who have been taken by Carnage! (I know!)

Inks by Mr.Sal Buscema, colors by Gotham, letters by Mr.Dave Sharpe and words by The Legendary Tom DeFalco!

This calls for a traveling montage! Cue the music!!

 

For anyone wondering, the issue referenced is Amazing Spider-Girl #11 and an example of previous ’67 homage would be La Fantome aka Staci Smythe. Mr Frenz has even talked about some unused concepts such as a Halloween story idea ‘Night of Evil’.

 

Here’s the page and referenced shots for comparison:

 

Until I stop appreciating the deep love the Spider-Girl creative team has for all things Spidey and more, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Addendums and Errata (May 2024)

 To err is human and so, despite rampant rumours I’m robotic, I can prove my humanity every now and then! Today will be a collection of quick corrections or elaborations on previous posts, in no particular order.

 

Rhino in the MC2

 

This first correction is actually really embarrassing. Growing up I pawed over my copy of 2003’s Marvel Encyclopedia Vol. 4: Spider-Man so much many of the pages have come out. So, I have no excuse for misattributed the reveal of the Rhino’s real name of Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Hulk 2004! This name was likely conceived by members of the www.spiderfan.org who contributed profiles, with my best guess being Mike Fichera who worked on the Rhino’s profile for that website and gets a mention in the ‘thanks’ for the Encyclopedia.

 

Aunt May in the MC2

 

Another slightly humiliating error on my part as it’s another I should have caught relatively easily. I spent the entirety of my post about Aunt May trying to differentiate between the various ‘May’s’ present in some stories when I could have simply called Peter’s aunt by her full first name ‘Maybelle,’ which we learned back in 1997 in Amazing Spider-Man #-1 written by none other than MC2 co-creator Tom Defalco himself!

 

Hank Pym in the MC2

 

In Hank Pym’s profile post I stated he was first referenced and seen in flashback in A-Next #2. While he does make his first on-panel appearance in A-Next #2, he’s mentioned first briefly in A-Next #1 in an exchange between Scott and Cassie Lang.

 

As I re-visit previous posts or discover new information, I’ll likely put together another ‘Oops’ post. Let me know if you have come across any mistakes I’ve made!

 

Until I attain my perfect form after absorbing two sibling cyborgs, I remain

 

frogoat

 

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

 

Star Wars in the MC2

 

This might be a little late (it’s already the 5^th of May here) but I did want to put out something to celebrate Star Wars Day while, as always, trying to tie it back to the MC2. So here is a smattering of references to Star Wars in the MC2.

 

First for today, and probably the most well-known and oft-cited reference to Star Wars in the MC2 comes in the pages of J2 #12 where Doc Magus mentions he has tickets to ‘the new Star Wars movie.’ Given the issue was released in July 1999, it’s presumed this is a reference to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace which was released mere months before. However, if we apply the Marvel sliding timescale rule, this could refer to a more recent film, perhaps even an upcoming future film.

 

Next up, on the cover for Spider-Girl #33 which features our heroine May  ‘Mayday’ Parker in a battle with the mysterious new Spider-Man accompanied by hyperbolic cover copy ‘Spider-Girl VS. Spider-Man!?! (That’s not true, that’s impossible!)’ This is an obvious reference to the iconic scene in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader reveals himself as Luke Skywalker’s father, with Luke responding ‘No. No. That’s not true. That’s impossible!’

 

The last few for today are sneaky ones slipped into the background of Spider-Girl #92 while the Avengers are being briefed about the apparent return of Magneto. I’ll present the original pages first and you can try and spot the references.

 

Here, I’ve adjusted the colour saturation to help. While I was not able to identify all of the shots hidden in on the viewscreens, the image seen center-left is taken from Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones depicting the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett’s patrol and attack craft called the ‘Slave I’ on the planet Kamino.

 

Next to it we have another image lifted directly from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones this time depicting a shot of the Senate Apartment Complex on the planet Coruscant.

 

If anyone wants to try and work out where the rest of the images are lifted from, please let me know!  Other than those mentioned above, it should go without saying that the brilliant Ron Frenz worked on the Marvel Star Wars comics during their original run. I’m sure there are more references to Star Wars in the MC2, but I’ll save them for a future date.

 

Until I work out the how in ‘somehow Palpatine returned’, I remain

 

frogoat