MC2 Legacy: Did Mainframe Influence the MCU Iron Man?

 

This will hopefully be the first instalment in a new occasional series touching on the various instances of an MC2 character, concept or…whatever that is later used elsewhere. Basically, a record of the many times the MC2 has influenced the comic’s Main Marvel Universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a variety of animated series, etc.  

Many years ago, I wrote about the MC2’s Mainframe being loosely adapted in the Marvel animated series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. which led to a follow up post and a short video. The episode, ‘Wheels of Fury’, debuted on the 29^th of March 2015 and concludes with the Mainframe Artificial Intelligence taking on a familiar yellow and black armoured form resembling his MC2 design.

 

But this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Iron Man himself in a yellow and black armoured suit. The Iron Man: Armored Adventures episode ‘Fun with Lasers’ which first aired on the 4^th of September 2009 debut’s the teenage Tony Stark’s ‘Space Armor’ when he uses it to reach a hijacked S.H.I.E.L.D. Orbital Station.

 

Some might argue that this is a reference to the ‘Iron Man Armor Model 42’ which was the first Iron Man Armor to feature the yellow and black colour scheme. However, the Model 42 didn’t debut until years later with Iron Man (Vol. 5) #1 in November 2012.

 

One of the dozens of Iron Man Armors seen in the climax of the 2013 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Iron Man 3, the Mark 20 or Mark XX also known by the nickname ‘Python’ is believed to be inspired by the above-mentioned Model 42. Additionally, it also appears in the official Iron Man 3 mobile tie-in video game from Gameloft, thus making the leap to yet another medium.

 

Thus, I’d argue they are all in some way originally inspired by Ron Frenz and Rich Yanizeski’s frankly classic Mainframe designs which debuted all the way back in A-Next #1 from 1998. Here’s an excerpt of what co-creator and artist extraordinaire Ron Frenz had to say about the design of Mainframe on episode 744 of Adam Chapman’s Comic Shenanigan’s podcast:

 

‘We went through a couple of different designs, the early designs still had red and yellow in them and everything. I’ll be perfectly honest with you, what occurred to me about what I like about black and gold is that I’m from Pittsburgh and that’s the colour of all of our sports teams.’

 

Until the MC2 stops being the secret inspiration for the ‘House of Ideas’, I remain

 

frogoat

Spider-Symmetry: Amazing Spider-Man 199 and Spectacular Spider-Girl 6

 

Today’s post is part of an occasional series where I try to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry, I wanted to demonstrate an example of not just homage but reverence from Spidey artists Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema.

 

I’ve briefly touched on Amazing Spider-Man #199 (which has the unlikely pair of Mysterio and the Burglar) while discussing the Parker Family Home but I failed to mention it is features the guest pencils of ‘Our Pal’ Sal Buscema, an unsung icon, stalwart professional and fixture of the Spider-Mythos across his storied career. After decades working on various Spidey titles, Sal eventually became the permanent inker for the various Spider-Girl titles.

 

Here's where we come to the Spider-Symmetry part of the post, because penciller Ron Frenz loves to sneak in various homages and references to past Spider-Man artists and issues. For Spectacular Spider-Girl (vol.1) #6 (as it was initially released digitally before being printed in the pages of Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2) Mr Frenz recreated a few panels of Sal’s work from Amazing Spider-Man #199, evidently knowing full well he’d be inking it!

 

Until I run out of examples of exactly this kind of deep comic knowledge and appreciation, I remain

frogoat

 

  

 

History of the Latverian Flag

 

Thanks to my delightful younglings and extended family, I have recently been indoctrinated into the cult known as Fortnite. For those who don’t know on the 16^th of August 2024, the popular video game Fortnite’s Battle Royale released its latest narrative update, Chapter 5: Season 4 called ‘Absolute Doom’, which focuses on Marvel’s premier villain and the Fantastic Four’s most fearsome foe, the self-appointed Monarch of Latveria himself, Victor Von Doom aka Doctor Doom.

 

In terms of plot, Doctor Doom has seized control of the current formation of the Battle Royale Island, known as Helios, remaking much of it to resemble his beloved home country of Latveria as his ‘Kingdom of Doom’. This includes new landmarks such as Doomstadt, Doom’s Courtyard and Castle Doom, all adorned in Latverian Flags. Which finally brings me to my extremely belaboured point, the topic for today: the History of the Latverian Flag.

 

The Kingdom of Latveria first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #2, which also presents the first time we see what could be considered a national flag, emblem or regal symbols. We’ll see a few reoccurring motifs in later stories, such as Doom’s stylised capitalised ‘D’ and the emblem with an eagle.

 

Following this is in Fantastic Four #85-#87 we glimpse various more banners and designs with the most notable this time an eagle on a sceptre, and the return of the ‘D’ logo, the latter of which may simply be Victor’s personal mark.

 

Oddly, Incredible Hulk #143 is the first time we get a clear look at what is unmistakeably a flag for Latveria outside their embassy in New York when Doom brings the Hulk there, and it’s also very different from what has come before. Depicted as a red flag with a completely different black eagle-like design in the centre, with a nighttime exception inverting this colour scheme (presumably a simple case of artistic licence) and on the issue’s final page we see the bird as simply a lighter red, notably alongside other flags.

 

In the 1987 Marvel Graphic Novel Emperor Doom, we again see various stylised capital ‘D’ insignia adorning various items after Doctor Doom uses the Daredevil villain Purple Man’s mind control powers to become ruler of the entire planet Earth.

 

In the graphic novel Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment the eagle and sceptre design returns, helping create something of a throughline across the decades.

 

I’ve discussed the significance of both the Onslaught and Heroes Reborn events to the MC2 in the past, and here we have another situation where it might apply as Doctor Doom was among those who apparently perished saving the world from the psychic entity known as Onslaught. It's revealed that Franklin Richards used his amazing abilities to create a pocket dimension to save his parents and all the other heroes. The reborn heroes would awaken in this pocket dimension to live out new lives, unaware of their pasts. In this new world, Doctor Doom again rules Latveria and we see an assortment of flags on display in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #4, including the ‘D’ and eagle designs.

 

We get the first iteration of what has become the most iconic Latverian flag on the covers for Doom: The Emperor Returns #1 and #2. It may be argued this is not a national flag at all, but a flag symbolising the sovereign himself, Doctor Doom. This one is a bit questionable as it first appears on the Counter-Earth created by Franklin Richards at a point after the MC2 branches off or diverges from the Main Marvel Universe. Doctor Doom finds himself back on this Counter-Earth and sets about conquering it, dubbing it ‘Planet Doom’.

 

We’ll see versions of the above design continue to crop up back on the regular old Marvel Earth in Secret War #5, Penance: Relentless #4, Books of Doom #6 and Captain America (vol. 5) #23 right up until the date of this writing. A version of this flag is what appears in the video game Fortnite and sparked the idea for this post, which speaks to its popularity.

 

However, it’s worth mentioning we do get at least one more markedly different Latverian flag in the Marvel Atlas #1 from 2007. This depicts an armoured gauntlet grasping lighting bolts. This design does not appear to have caught on however as I haven’t seen it reused anywhere.

 

There may be many more examples of possible Latverian flag designs I am unaware of, but hopefully this has proven informative. With all this context in mind, I wonder what the MC2’s Latverian flag looks like? The war between Namor, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom left Atlantis destroyed and Latveria’s former capital city Doomstadt in ruins, and in it’s wake Doom was presumed dead for 12 years. We do not know much about its political situation, but the nation’s flag may well have changed to reflect it’s new status. Just something to think about.

 

A huge shout out to the classic Doctor Doom fan site, Doom2099.com for the much-needed obscure fictional vexillological information. I miss discovering such places online and I would encourage you all to seek them out and support them whenever possible while they remain! Major props to arias-98105 as always for the constant support.

 

Until I rescue my beloved mother’s soul from the grasp of the dreaded demon Mephisto, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Spider-Symmetry: The Sinister and Savage Six

 

Today’s post is part of a very occasional series where I like to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry, I wanted to demonstrate a great example, this time from MC2 mainstay and Spider-Girl artist extraordinaire Pat Olliffe.

 

Presented for your consideration, Spider-Girl #25, the double-sized anniversary issue which is probably best known for parallelling and referencing the Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, the first appearance of the villainous team, the Sinister Six. The references include the introduction of a new generation of six (or is it seven?!) super villains who come together as the Savage Six, the Spidey of the day losing their powers, the kidnapping of two supporting characters and the use of gorgeous splash pages to punctuate each battle. Certainly, credit must go to both writer Tom Defalco and artist Pat Olliffe for this loving tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original work.

 

What’s less a direct reference or parallel to the first Sinister Six story is the cover to Spider-Girl #25, which doesn’t homage Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Instead, it references the next Sinister Six story. The Return of the Sinister Six is, appropriately, a six-issue story arc spanning from Amazing Spider-Man #334 to Amazing Spider-Man #339. By now, it’s obvious that the cover of Spider-Girl #25 is an homage to Amazing Spider-Man #337.

 

There’s a lot more to breakdown when it comes to this issue, and it’s obviously just a single example of the literally hundreds of references, homages and continuations present throughout the MC2. But that’s it from me for today!

 

Until I lose my powers either before or after fighting a team of six villains whom I’ve faced separately in the past, I remain

 

frogoat