Got Milk?

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.

Adam Kubert

This first example comes from a somewhat odd place. A series of nine trading cards were released as part of the 'Got Milk?' marketing campaign by America's National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board in 1999. They feature milk-moustachioed depictions of Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Venom and Daredevil in addition to the set we are covering here. (Sources are linked here.)

Yes, that's right! We get the obvious set of three MC2 cards featuring next generation characters such as the cast of A-Next, Spider-Girl and....er....Doctor Doom?! What the heck is he doing in there? I can't post this without pointing out the obvious error of Thunderstrike aka Kevin Masterson wielding a hammer. Considering the MC2 imprint was new at the time this was released, I can forgive Adam Kubert's slip-up, especially since it's honestly such a nice piece and I really like his take on the characters, particularly Spider-Girl. Unless I'm mistaken, the colours are by Paul Mounts, who does a great job making those colours pop out at you. I wonder if there exists a version of this artwork without the slogan and milk-moustaches? 

For completeness' sake let's look at the back of the cards, shall we?

I guess that's it for now. Remember to drink your milk, kids, so you grow up big and strong! 

Until I stop trying to find these on eBay, I remain

frogoat

The Hulk's Destiny

Reading and re-reading the various MC2 comics sometimes yields small and unexpected nuggets, facts and tidbits. For example, when Doctor Strange reforms the original Defenders in A-Next #3, we learn a little about what's happened to Stephen Strange, Namor and the Incredible Hulk in the past 15 years. Doctor Strange has been stripped of his role as Sorcerer Supreme under unrevealed circumstances and replaced by the youthful Doc Magus. Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner has seen his kingdom Atlantis destroyed by Doctor Doom, whom Namor is believed to have killed soon after in a fierce battle. Meanwhile Dr Bruce Banner, better known to the world as the monstrous Hulk has settled down in the suburbs to raise his son, David. That is, of course, until Doctor Strange shows up...

After the Defenders clash with the new Avengers team, Doc Magus questions why Strange orchestrated the encounter. Despite giving his reasons and explanations for everything else, when it comes to the Hulk Doctor Strange simple says 'He has a destiny to fulfill.'

 

Nothing really comes of this statement for several years until Last Hero Standing #5 when the Hulk- after wreaking havoc while mind-controlled by Loki in the latter's attempt to bring about an end to the 'Age of Heroes'- takes out his revenge on the Asgardian god for ruining his formerly happy life. 

So, was this the Hulk's destiny: being banished to everlasting Limbo with good ol' Loki? Or perhaps this prophesized destiny has yet to be completed? Was there more to Doctor Strange's  machinations than we know? Maybe it's nothing and I'm simply overthinking things...again.

Until I find run out of things to love in the MC2, I remain

frogoat

Mayday's Diary

While re-reading through some MC2 comics, I realized I hadn't talked about a small narrative device that actually plays a small part in the plot years later. As we learn in a short back-up story from Spider-Girl Annual '99 (written by editor Bill Rosemann, instead of Tom Defalco himself) May 'Mayday' Parker keeps a diary.

In this first appearance of Mayday's Diary, it's used to recap readers on the events of the past year's-worth of published Spider-Girl stories, presented in May's own words.

Mayday's Diary is again used as a framing device when the series was relaunched with Amazing Spider-Girl #0, providing a more plot-relevant recap of the events of the previous Spider-Girl series.

Finally making the leap to a physical in-story appearance, Mayday's Diary shows up in Amazing Spider-Girl #25 when 'April Parker' uses it to catch herself up on recent events in 'her' life.

  

Probably apropos of nothing, but the diary looks different here, though there is still a flowery-theme.

Perhaps May's old dairy simply ran out of blank pages and this is a new one she started in Amazing Spider-Girl #0?



I realize this is nothing earth-shattering or exciting, but it helps ground a fictional character like Mayday in the real-world when she uses such a mundane, everyday item like a diary. A nice touch. I may be mistaken but I believe these are the only instances we see Mayday's Diary. Please do let me know if I'm wrong.

Until I get replaced by my symbiote-clone hybrid, I remain

frogoat

The Brady Family Tree

I'm going to try to turn in a post every week at least for the foreseeable future. Fingers crossed, people! Today's post covers the Brady Family Tree. That's the family of the MC2 supporting character Meagyn Brady, before anyone mistakes this blog for one about the Brady Bunch or something.

Meagyn Brady first appeared in the fan favourite story An Invisible Girl! from Spider-Girl #53. In the issue we are introduced to Meagyn, a lonely girl with low self-esteem and very little confidence in May's year who goes unnoticed by her peers and has no friends or admirers. The only person in Meagyn's life who truly saw her for who she is was her father, who encouraged her to have faith in herself and fostered her love of superheroes, fantasy and role-playing games.

Unfortunately, Mr Brady (first name unrevealed) became ill and died. Mrs Brady (first name also unrevealed) sank into depression after burying her husband, and stopped acknowledging her daughter. Left with no one, Meagyn began to feel as though nobody saw or noticed her, losing her self-esteem in the process.

Meagyn sensed a kindred spirit in Felicity Hardy so after overhearing a conversation between Mayday and Hardy, attempted to join in with what she assumed was a role-playing game. In actuality Felicity was helping Mayday with some Spider-Girl-related business. Following the pair, Meagyn ended up at the scene of a super-battle. Believing the fleeing villain Quickwire would pass her without noticing, as most people did, Meagyn did not move, inadvertently preventing Quickwire's escape when he collided with her. 

Praised for her apparent act of heroism, Meagyn went home reinvigorated. Excited to tell her mother of her adventure, Meagyn began to energetically recount her story, only to lose confidence and become invisble again when her mother continued to not notice her.

Although Meagyn's story ended there, she does appear a few times in later issues, usually with useful information overheard covertly. While it's obviously used as a metaphor in the issue, it is also entirely possible Meagyn also has genuine super powers which manifested after the loss of her father.

Until I run out of interesting characters from the MC2 to explore and discuss, I remain

frogoat

The Blue Wail

A quick little thing I'd like to share. The MC2 introduces a lot of new 'lore' to the established characters of the Main Marvel Universe, much of which is only referenced or hinted at. One such piece of lore is Phil Urich's alter ego after he was forced to hang up the mantle of the 'good' Green Goblin. I'm referring, of course, to his least loved  super hero identity (even by him, it would seem): The Blue Wail! *crickets* Oh, just look at this...

Spider-Girl #3 is the first and to date, only appearance of this costumed identity. Yup. Not only do we never see this identity of Phil's again, unless I'm mistaken it's never mentioned again either. Interesting to note that when he lost his Goblin gear, Phil still seemed to have an affinity for the sonic motif. This would help to explain how Phil appeared to have his Lunatic Laugh sonic abilities in Spider-Girl #5 without the use of any equipment. Did Phil gain sonic scream powers in the unseen years between giving up the Green Goblin role and his present day civilian self in the MC2? Or did he always have them?


On a side note, the Blue Wail costume design bares more than a passing resemblance to another MC2 sound-based super: Reverb. Reverb was the name one of the Hobgoblin's henchmen -Rudolph- gave to himself when donning the high-tech sound-based suit (Amazing Spider-Girl #2).

At first I thought the resemblance must be more than mere coincidence. However the origin of the tech appears to be the Brotherhood of Scriers, who gifted a sonic device to the Hobgoblin when he was tasked with killing Spider-Girl. The sonic device would be utilized to fatal effect when Hobgoblin killed the former Venom symbiote when she -the symbiote- defended the recently wounded Mayday in Spider-Girl #100.

Still, it's possible a connection could exist between the Blue Wail suit worn by Phil Urich and the sonic technology the Scrier's possess which the Hobgoblin later repurposes. There's a potential story in there somewhere, I'm sure. The untold story of Phil Urich's failed attempts at playing hero.


Until I figure out where Phil got that scar, I remain


frogoat

Luke Cage in the MC2

With more recent years, Luke Cage has gained a great deal of exposure and recognition, with both his own self-titled Netflix series and the crossover mini-series The Defenders being notable examples. Much of the recent surge in popularity can likely be attributed to the Brian Michael Bendis run on the Avengers, during which Luke first joined the team in 2005 with New Avengers (vol. 1) #3.
Despite his long-time crime-fighting partner and friend Danny Rand aka the Iron Fist appearing on a few occasions, Luke Cage has only had one brief appearance in the MC2 and it's not even really him...let me explain.

In Avengers Next #1 (January 2007) the MC2's current roster of Avengers are unable to stop the theft of various Avengers blood and tissue samples by the teleporter known as Warp. These samples are delivered to Sylene, a sorceress and the daughter of Loki, who uses the samples to create 'magical clones' to attack the Avengers as a diversion.  

Logically, if these were samples from past and present Avengers members and Luke Cage's 'magical clone' appears amongst the shambling monstrosities, Cage was at some point a member of the team in the MC2. This is likely a nod to Cage's longstanding membership over in the Main Marvel Universe. We get the only mention of the real Luke Cage shortly after, when American Dream points out that the monstrosities can't be actual corpses, 'Not with duplicates of Haweye, Cage and the rest of us who are alive.'

And that's about all we know of the Hero for Hire. He's still alive in the MC2 and he was a member of the Avengers prior to the current team founded in A-Next #1. It also seems Luke is known simply as 'Cage', in the same way he was referred to in the 90's. To stray into the world of wild speculation, the most likely placement for Luke's time on the team would be at some point between the (admittedly vague) divergence point between the Main Marvel Universe and the MC2 before the original team was almost entirely wiped out on their last mission. Alternatively, Cage may have served as a member of the interim team that existed for some 18 months afterwards alongside members such as Speedball, Nova, Jolt, Jubilee and the Steel Spider.

Possibly completely irrelevant, but I felt I should point out that Cage's copy is wearing a version of his original costume, complete with tiara. Whether this indicates when the sample was collected from the hero or that he returned to his original costume at some point is unclear. Considering other 'magical clones' aren't wearing their heroic counterparts current costumes, this is probably nothing more than an artistic choice.

If anyone has any insight on this, admittedly very minor point of continuity, please let me know! Until I stop picking apart the very fabric of the MC2-niverse, I remain

frogoat

The Harkness Family Tree

I had a lot of fun with this one. It was mostly straight forward and who doesn't like reading about witches?! So here we have the long and unbroken line of The Harkness Family Tree!

Agatha Harkness made her first appearance way back in Fantastic Four #94 as the governess employed by Sue and Reed Richards to look after their young son, Franklin Richards. It became apparent that there was more to Agatha than it first seemed and in time the Fantastic Four learned Agatha was indeed a witch. Agatha also became a tutor to the Scarlet Witch. Later, it is revealed that Agatha was far older than she appeared, apparently encountering a powerful being known as Scrier some five centuries before the fall of Atlantis and much later having governed the witches of Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. Eventually, she led them into the mountains of what became Colorado where they built the town of New Salem in seclusion.

At some point, Agatha bore a son to an unidentified (though apparently evil) man. Nicholas Scratch first appeared in Fantastic Four #185 wherein he led the people of New Salem in a plot to execute his mother for exposing the existence of the town. The Fantastic Four revealed Agatha had never spoken of New Salem and Scratch's own hand in revealing the existence of New Salem to them (Fantastic Four #186). Scratch's evil was revealed and he was banished to the Dark Realm, though as I'm sure you can guess it wasn't the last we'd see of him.

Agatha reveals Nicholas is her son (Fantastic Four #186)

During the events of Fantastic Four #186, the Fantastic Four first encounter Scratch's enforcers, the Salem Seven, a group of skilled magic users who can transform themselves to gain powers and who collectively were capable of great magical feats. Brutacus, became a leonine creature; Gazelle gained enhanced hearing, agility and gymnast skills; Hydron gained a fish-like appearance and projected high pressure water blasts; Reptilla became a serpentine creature with snakes for hands; Thornn grew sharp spines capable of exploding or releasing neuro-toxins; Vakume could become intangible, absorb energy and create vacuums and Vertigo had the ability to disrupt others equilibrium.

Curiously, the Salem Seven only refer to Nicholas Scratch as their master in their early appearances. It's not until Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3 that we learn Scratch is the father to all of the Seven, by way of various unidentified wives, also making Agatha their grandmother. It's also here that we learn the little that we know of Nicholas' own father. During this story, Agatha is burned at the stake and apparently killed, though this was apparently only temporary because she resurfaced sometime later very much alive, an ability her entire family seem to have inherited.

The only other potential family member I came across in my research for this Family Tree was a witch named Abigail Harkness from Salem, Massachusetts in the 17th century. However her first (and only) appearance is in in X-Men: Hellfire Club #1 which was cover dated January 2000, beyond the usual MC2 divergence point, so I have not included her in the Harkness Family Tree above.

Aerika Harkness, also known as the Crimson Curse first appeared in A-Next #3 and was fully revealed in A-Next #4 as a member of the Dream Team. A sorceress who used elemental powers, we learn that Aerika is descended from an unbroken line of highly skilled practitioners of the magic arts, the Harknesses of Salem in A-Next #8. We don't have any specifics about how Aerika is related to the Harkness family at this time. The Crimson Curse apparently dies during an encounter with an alternate reality Dr Doom in A-Next #11, however she does make an appearance during the 2015 Secret Wars event very much alive.

I spoke to co-creator Ron Frenz about this and he revealed that this was due to the nature of the reality of the Battleworld aka Doomworld. The event established that the Main Marvel Universe/616 Victor Doom made the Battleworld reality with him as the sole existing Dr Doom in existence, meaning the Crimson Curse couldn't have been killed by an alternate Doom in this version of reality. A big 'Thank you' to Ron Frenz for talking with me and clarifying this point.

I'll be damned if I can figure out who Scratch's dad could be. Until then, I remain

frogoat

The Rambeau-Freeman Family Tree

After some tedious computer repair, I'm back to present the latest MC2 Family Tree: The Rambeau-Freeman Family Tree! This particular family tree presents us with a case of 'Word of God' rather than a solid on-panel confirmation. Let's get to it.

The obvious place to start is with Captain Marvel herself. Or... Photon? Or perhaps Pulsar? Or maybe I should call her Spectrum? Monica Rambeau is only the second person to assume the title of Captain Marvel in Marvel Comics publication history, as well as the first woman to do so. Following her introduction in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16, Monica became a major character during her time as a member (and leader) of the Avengers. Soon, Monica would fall prey to the greatest foe in comics history: marginalisation. Monica would leave the Avengers after being depowered and left as a near-dead husk (Avengers #294).

After regaining powers, Monica made mostly guest appearances apart from two single-issue Captain Marvel comics in 1989 and 1994 before relinquishing the heroic identity to Genis-Vell, the son of the original Captain Marvel. Monica also takes on the name Photon in the same story (Avengers Unplugged #5) before next appearing in Avengers (vol. 3) #1-3. So, presumably she's still called Photon in the MC2. If you've been keeping up with these MC2 Family Tree entries, you already know the usual point that the Main Marvel Universe diverges into the MC2 Universe is.....somewhere around 1998, maybe. Oh, boy. This stuff is confusing. We'll come back to it later.

Monica's parents both make their debut in  Avengers (vol. 1) #246. Maria Rambeau is a seamstress and Frank Rambeau is a retired fire chief for the New Orleans Fire Department. While Frank is supportive of his daughter's super heroics, Maria had difficulties letting Monica risk her life after years spent worrying about her husband in his dangerous occupation.

Derek Freeman is an FBI Agent who encountered Monica several times during her time with the Avengers as Captain Marvel, at first in an official capacity but soon in a romantic context. Derek first appeared in Avengers (vol. 1) #263 and at some point prior to Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #2 had deduced Monica's duel identity. It's also in the latter issue that we are introduced to Derek's nephew, Raymond Washington.

Raymond Washington is a 21 year old student at Empire State University majoring in Political Science. Ray is also a campus activist and student counselor. During a series of racial-motivated attacks by members of the Sons of the Serpent, Ray attempts to form a coalition between the various minority groups on campus to provide protection. Using his contacts in the FBI, Derek arranges for Monica to investigate the attacks while undercover at ESU. Ray organises a counter-demonstration to stand up to the hate-group while Monica defeats the leader of the Serpent group (revealed to be the super-powered Skinhead).

Duane Freeman (brother of Derek Freeman) was the Federal Security Liason assigned to the Avengers who first appeared in Avengers (vol. 3) #4. As anyone who's read previous MC2 Family Tree's knows, the usual 'cut-off' point for characters and events from the Main Marvel Universe existing in the MC2 is generally at some point around late 1997-1998, roughly coinciding with the beginning of the MC2's own publication history. Though Duane Freeman dies off-panel and behind the scenes in Avengers (vol. 3) #49, it is entirely possible the events leading to his death did not occur in the MC2. I'll definitely have to do another post someday covering my theories of how much of the Main Marvel Universe post-divergence can be included in the MC2's own history.

Given that Derek is Raymond's uncle and Duane is never stated to have children, in addition to Raymond already being 21 years of age in Captain Marvel (vol. 2) #2, it's logical to assume that Derek and Duane have another as-yet unseen older sibling.

And now for the character that ties these two families together: Blacklight. First appearing in A-Next #9, we learn little about Blacklight during her fight with the Soldiers of the Serpent. However, in the same issue we are also introduced to Kendra Freeman, a young woman on the committee for the Neighborhood Pride Street Festival which was attacked by the Soldiers of the Serpent. While it's not established on-panel, 'word of god' from co-creator Tom Defalco here confirms the familial relationship. Additionally, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 lists Blacklight's real name as Kendra Freeman. As Tom's original answer doesn't specify which Freeman brother is the Kendra's father, I reached out to Ron Frenz, the characters co-creator who clarified that it was in fact Derek Freeman.

So there you have it! Two families brought together in the Might MC2 Manner! Hoo-Ha!

Until I run out of characters to mine for MC2 Family Tree's, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Girl's 20th Anniversary

Despite technically already missing the real 20th anniversary of May 'Mayday' Parker's first appearance in What If #105 by a few months (publication dates being earlier than the cover dates) I'm pleased to jump on the bandwagon in celebrating this momentous occasion!

Unfortunately I am currently experiencing laptop-related technical issues so the extent of my posting will be linking to other peoples wonderful work. So, apologies for that! A good friend of mine and all around prolific poster on tumblr has made a series of posts to celebrate May's anniversary. They can be found here: https://hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger.tumblr.com/

and here: https://mrsspidermanmaryjanewatsonparker.tumblr.com/

The wonderful comic-fan-turned-professional Kat Calamia has conducted a great interview with the series creators Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz and Pat Olliffe over on Newsarama:
https://www.newsarama.com/38572-happy-20th-anniversary-mayday-parker-spider-girl.html

As I come across further celebrations, I'll try to post them. Hopefully my laptop won't give it's last gasp before then!

Until we get an announcement of a new series by the original team, I remain (hopefully)

frogoat

Wild Thing #6: The Untold Story

So, as I mentioned in my last MC2 Family Tree post, I had a possible theory about Cameron Bryce-Jones. To recap, Cameron is a spoiled rich girl at Upper Saddle River High who first appeared in Wild Thing #1. Cameron was identified as a 'Dormant Class 'A' Mutant Designate' by a newly awakened sleeper Sentinel in Wild Thing #3.

For reference, the Sentinel identifies Wild Thing as 'Class 'B' Mutant Designate' and engages her in combat, only to change objectives once Cameron is detected.  This suggests that she is more of a priority, presumably possessing greater power. 

Cameron does not appear in Wild Thing #4 and only makes a brief appearance in Wild Thing #5, the series' last published issue. This means any powers that Cameron may have possessed remained a mystery. However, comic writers usually have plots written months before the issue's publication, allowing the artists to complete the art work in time. It would appear this was the case with Wild Thing #6. 

Wild Thing's entire series was collected into a single volume digest as Spider-Girl Presents Wild Thing: Crash Course in 2007. Tucked away in the back of this digest was the unpublished cover to Wild Thing #6- pencilled, inked, coloured and even lettered. And what does it say on that unused cover? 'There's a New Mutant in Town!' Judging by the cosmic-style background, the glowing and the look of awe on the faces of both Wild Thing and X-People leader Jubilee, I'd say that's a Class 'A' Mutant, wouldn't you? The hair style even looks like Cameron's! Tell me I'm wrong!

Until I unearth every scrap of information about this wonderful fictional universe, I remain

frogoat

The Bryce-Jones Family Tree

Okay, this time I've done it. I've actually found a simple MC2 Family Tree to pump out with ease. Sue me. This time around, our subjects hail from the very short-lived Wild Thing series: The Bryce-Jones Family.

Cameron Bryce-Jones first appears in Wild Thing #1 and it's obvious from the beginning that she isn't a nice person, bullying Upper Saddle River High's new student Rina Logan by slamming a locker door into her head and making negative comments about her family.

Cameron appears to have no qualms using underhanded methods to achieve her goals either, as she ceases an opportunity to steal test answers and mentions using her position as office monitor to look at student records.

In the same issue, Cameron is kidnapped by the villain Thrash Bandit in an attempt to extort twenty-five million dollars from Brooks Bryce-Jones, Cameron's wealthy father. Brooks attempts to talk down the price, offering Thrash Bandit a mere ten thousand with stock options for the safe return of his daughter. While it's not strictly relevant, it's worth mentioning that the Offices of Bryce-Jones Investments was located within the World Trade Center, something that would now be impossible. Curiously, this was not altered or changed for the 2007 digest collection.

While never seen, Cameron seems to have a mother in her life as she calls for her 'mommy' while in peril in Wild Thing #3. In the same issue, a newly-reawakened sleeper-Sentinel seems to identify Cameron as a 'Dormant Class 'A' Mutant Designate', suggesting that there may be more to Ms Bryce-Jones than meets the eye. I may post a theory about that soon.

Until I commit to another huge MC2 blog project, I remain

frogoat