All Comments #3 ---August 28, 2016 4:26 PM Alpha Flight #87-90 Legion appears on page 22, panel 1. StevenAugust 28, 2016 9:07 AM Avengers #181-182 This is the first time that Wasp is on the team and Hank Pym isn't. They previously came and went as a pair. The writers have realized that you can have Wasp without Hank, and that Wasp is probably better off without her loser husband. Anthony DurrantAugust 28, 2016 7:33 AM Invaders #10-15 A few years ago, shortly before my mom had her accident, l looked up Carl Pleuffer's name in a database and learned that he was apparently still alive and living in lllinois, aged 107. SnowkattAugust 28, 2016 3:07 AM Avengers #252-254 That is Jupiter actually, a miscolored Jupiter but Jupiter, all the same. You could say its Neptune which also has a massive cyclone, and is blue, but it doesnt have any of the distinctive banding. So it's either a miscolored Jupiter or Neptune. ChrisAugust 27, 2016 10:44 PM Captain America #371 This is also where the "man out of time" aspect comes into play. Cap is a man of the 1940s. His stance on relationships should reflect that. This does not mean he is simply a prude or incredibly naive. He's lived through World War II and saw everything from the US homefront to Britain as a staging ground for millions of GIs, occupied Europe, and liberated Europe. He knows about horny GIs wanting to get laid before going into a battle they may not return from, war brides, "horizontal collaborators", and what happens when an enemy army marches through the land. He's also seen how women went from domestic wives to workers in the factories and as military auxiliaries. He's witnessed a lot of changes. His life experiences in the 5 years he was Cap during the war is more experience than most Americans will have in a eighty year lifespan. He has seen a lot. But he does come from a different age, one before the sexual revolution. He's also had two serious relationships in the comics - Sharon Carter and Bernie Rosenthal. When writers protray Cap as some kind of clueless naif, it doesn't make sense. He knows what is going on. He just has different values. MichaelAugust 27, 2016 5:54 PM Captain America #371 But some writers don't just limit Steve's awkwardness to women throwing themselves at HIM- in Avengers 372, Harras had Steve confused as to what was going on between Dane and Pietro- and Natasha had to explain to him that they were angry at each other over a girl (Crystal). Ben HermanAugust 27, 2016 5:47 PM Captain America #371 I think it makes a certain amount of sense that Cap is not very comfortable around sexually assertive women like Diamondback. Steve Rogers spent the first two decades of his life as a sickly 98 pound weakling. Even though the Super Soldier Serum eventually gave him a peak human body, psychologically & emotionally Steve probably still sees himself as that skinny, socially awkward kid with who had very few friends and who spent most of his time alone working as an artist. So it has got to be at least a bit disconcerting for Cap when incredibly beautiful women like Diamondback or Sersi start throwing themselves at him. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 4:30 PM Avengers #28-29 The other Avengers really just string Hank along so they can get Janet back on the team. Wanda really just made that costume for the first person who came along needing a costume. It doesn't have any antennae. It could have fit anyone because it's stretchy like that. About a year or so after these comics were published, I bought a paperback novel about the Avengers that had no interior art, but the cover was a painted version of Kirby's cover to #28, showing Goliath towering over and behind the 4 musketeer Avengers (Cap, Hawkeye, Witch, and Quicksilver). I can't recall if the Wasp was in the painting. It was the first painted version of any Marvel super-heroes I had ever seen, and I was awed. The text story was okay, but a bit out of continuity. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 3:12 PM Tales To Astonish #90-91 You can tell that Abomination is stronger than Hulk because he has fewer toes. I liked him as a kid but I think it must be hard to write a character who's basically the same as the Hulk but stronger, sort of going against the premise of the title. I like Gil Kane's imaginative imagery, but it's easy to see why DC didn't want him to do his own inking. Sorry Gil. It's also easy to see why Gil didn't want DC staff to ink his stuff either. Comme ci comme ca. Gil's pencils look pretty good with someone like John Romita Sr. on inks, as per Amazing Spider-Man #120, 1973. JeffAugust 27, 2016 2:28 PM X-Men #17-19 I also had a problem with Beast saying he was "30" even when I read this the first time at age 13. Cyclops, Jean and Archangel are the same age as the Human Torch, Rick Jones and (roughly) Spider-Man. Beast is only supposed to be a year or so older. With the sliding timeline since Franklin's birth acknowledged by most Marvel editors as roughly real years to one Marvel-time year, the original teens of the MU should be just pushing 30 in current (2016) comics. Anyway: When I was a kid I hated the art in this story but loved that the X-Men blue and gold squads were beginning to trade off members as needed permission (see Colossus here and Gambit in "Uncanny" 298). As an adult, I mostly stand by that, although I have a better appreciation for Kubert's art now. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 1:59 PM Tales To Astonish #88-89 BTW, Gil Kane also did a LOT of work for Tower Comics on THUNDER Agents, UNDERSEA Agent, and related Tower titles during the period 1965-69. Steve Ditko also did some good work on the NoMan character of that Tower line. Other notable Tower artists include Reed Crandall, Wally Wood, and Larry Ivie. Ben HermanAugust 27, 2016 1:34 PM Avengers #59 In the seconds Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes miniseries, Joe Casey retcons events so that the Avengers realize that Yellowjacket is Hank Pym the instant he shows up. A psychiatrist at SHIELD ask the team to play along with his delusion that he's a completely different person who killed Pym because supposedly revealing the truth to him might cause him to become even more unbalanced. Yeah, it doesn't make much more sense than the original story by Roy Thomas, but Casey gives it his all. In any case, despite the fact that Thomas is still very much writing in what I refer to as "San Lee Lite" mode, with the plots often being propelled along by the characters acting like idiots or seriously misunderstanding what's going on, this is still pretty good. I like Don Heck a lot more than fnord does, but I will agree that many of the Avengers issues he penciled were average and unremarkable. John Buscema coming onboard as penciler seems to really have inspired Roy Thomas to bring his A game. Throughout the late 1960s and early 70s, working with either Big John and his brother Sal, Thomas introduces a number of brand-new characters who went on to become central elements of the Avengers mythos: the modern-day Black Knight, the Grim Reaper, Ultron, the Vision, Yellowjacket, the Squadrons Sinister and Supreme, Arkon, the Zodiac, and so on. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 1:33 PM Tales To Astonish #88-89 Gil Kane's art is... different. Gil is probably best known as co-creator/designer of DC's Silver Age characters Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and the Atom (Ray Palmer). "His Name is... Savage!" was published in 1968, still in Gil's future. Archie Goodwin scripted it under the pen name of Robert Franklin. It was too bloody for comic books and only lasted for 1 issue, which I bought and loved at age 12. Savage looked JUST like Lee Marvin on the cover, and the splash page was a great early homage to Will Eisner's Spirit, as you can see in this wiki link. There's an interesting overview at that same link about Kane's problems with printing and distribution on this book. Also notes that Marvel put out a "Spectacular Spider-Man" black and white magazine comic right on the heels of "Savage." My snot-nosed friends and I all agreed that Marvel swiped the idea at the time, but who knows? It might have been coincidental. fnord12August 27, 2016 1:26 PM Tales To Astonish #78-81 Thanks James, i think i had the Kirby credit mixed up with the Hulk portion. fnord12August 27, 2016 1:23 PM X-Men #17-19 Thanks Michael. Added Nyoirin and a few references from Skinner of Souls' illusions. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 12:53 PM Tales To Astonish #84-87 Funny how Everett's Namor started out in the Golden Age as a relatively skinny, normal-looking character design, but later in the 40s and 50s, the Sub-Mariner gradually morphed into a big-muscled weightlifter type. Then in the Silver Age reboot/revival, Kirby's take on Namor also started out as a skinny guy, but then Gene Colan inflated him out to have basically the same body type Colan used for Iron Man and Daredevil. As Marvel marches on in these early years, all the skinny guys like Namor, Peter Parker, and Reed Richards, gradually get more and more muscular-looking. Dynamic tension exercises? Creatine? Steroids? Comic art stereotypes? James HoltAugust 27, 2016 11:38 AM Fantastic Four #48-50 A short summary of the resolution of the Inhumans story at the beginning of #48: Black Bolt smacks down Maximus contemptuously, and then switches off the atmo-gun which Maximus and the Seeker were trying to use to destroy all the humans. Maximus then "reverses the charge" on the atmo-gun, thereby making it create the impenetrable barrier dome which will separate the Great Refuge from humanity for the next several issues. The FF narrowly escape being trapped in the Great Refuge, with Ben dragging Johnny kicking and screaming away from Crystal, who remains behind with her fellow Inhumans. Johnny mourns that he and Crystal will be separated forever. Maximus and Reed repeatedly refer to the barrier dome as a "negative zone" although this usage of the term will be dropped after Reed starts using the term exclusively to refer to his favorite region of "subspace" starting with FF #51. Mark DrummondAugust 27, 2016 11:34 AM Namor #34-40 Some full-face pages do bring to mind the work of French artist Philippe Druillet. Then again, Druillet had some storytelling problems of his own eventually... DermieAugust 27, 2016 11:29 AM Sub-Mariner #58 I think she was a love interest back then--it just wasn't a relationship that got fleshed out very much. But there are references sprinkled in here and there about love between them, etc. Its probably just as well for Tamara's sake that they didn't develop the relationship in greater depth on-panel...she likely would have wound up facing the same fate as Dorma and Marrina. James HoltAugust 27, 2016 9:35 AM Fantastic Four #44-47 Just noting the definition of "quixotic" from The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce... [quote] QUIXOTIC, adj. Absurdly chivalric, like Don Quixote. An insight into the beauty and excellence of this incomparable adjective is unhappily denied to him who has the misfortune to know that the gentleman’s name is pronounced Ke-ho-tay. When ignorance from out of our lives can banish –Juan Smith [end quote] Max_SpiderAugust 27, 2016 9:06 AM Marvel Two-In-One annual #1 My No-Prize for Ben deciding to go back in time without the rest of the Fantastic Four is that the Watcher waited until they all split up before approaching Ben on his own, as opposed to simply appearing while they were all in the same room. Ben might have figured that the Watcher, with all his omniscient knowledge, may have seen a reason the rest of the Fantastic Four wouldn't be required or wanted. JTI88August 27, 2016 8:34 AM Daredevil #110-111 fnord12, for your list of "missed opportunities to dignify heroines", there's Shanna that fails to link "jail metal bar misteriously sliced" and a guy that cut walls with his katana, who she fought the night before. And her uncle who declares "A detective you'll never be, red". Max_SpiderAugust 27, 2016 8:00 AM Fantastic Four annual #11 Gregory Gideon's time machine, you say? Well, this wouldn't be the first time Reed Richards has been accused of plagiarism... kvetoAugust 27, 2016 5:22 AM Iron Man #54 Iron man and Namor seem to duke it out more often than any other heroes. kvetoAugust 27, 2016 5:17 AM Cat #3 its great that you include letters from the period some times. It shows just how our modern perceptions can't evaluate these comics fairly. kvetoAugust 27, 2016 5:06 AM Sub-Mariner #58 Tamara is a background character who hung around and you had no idea what plans any writer had for her. I can only think "Namor love interest" was in someones plans at some point. kvetoAugust 27, 2016 4:57 AM Marvel Team-Up #8 Man-killer appears to have three sets of breasts. kvetoAugust 27, 2016 4:36 AM Werewolf By Night #9-10 You know, Ive been thinking about getting esential Werewolf by night vol 1, just cause these stories are all new to me. And I likes some 70s craziness. But not sure if Ill be able to put up with Jack's forced hipness. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 27, 2016 1:45 AM Fantastic Four #133 Ramona did a great job with Ben. The Thing isn't easy to draw. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 27, 2016 1:38 AM Defenders #6 Maybe Englehart should have written World War Hulk! Jay GallardoAugust 27, 2016 12:15 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 The guardsmen are the most incompetent people ever. MichaelAugust 27, 2016 12:00 AM Amazing Spider-Man #186 Avengers 206-207 featured a couple of inventory stories not the "Man Who Stole Tomorrow" adaptation. MichaelAugust 26, 2016 11:32 PM Wolverine #60-65 Yeah, issue 60. MichaelAugust 26, 2016 11:22 PM Wolverine #66-68 No, the explanation at this point is that the Weapon X program tampered with his memories at the same time they put his adamantium skeleton and claws in him. Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 11:14 PM Defenders #31 "It's 'goodbye', Charles." And that, my friends, is art. Andrew FAugust 26, 2016 11:12 PM Wolverine #66-68 At this point, is it canon that Wolverine's memories are supressed by trauma due to his healing powers, or is it just unexplained? James HoltAugust 26, 2016 9:53 PM Tales To Astonish #78-81 Jack Kirby doesn't do pencils on the Sub-Mariner stories listed here. He does do pencils on the Hulk covers for #79 and #81, with Bill Everett inks. Jack is credited with layouts only for the Hulk stories listed, with Bill Everett on finished artwork (finish pencils if any, plus inks). Bill Everett is also the 1939 creator of Namor the Sub-Mariner, the first Timely/Marvel super-hero. Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 9:52 PM Avengers #179-180 Such utter drek. I don't think I've ever re-read them since the original publication. "My shock…and my sting!" And this utter nobody defeats all of the Avengers. Who are only saved by the bird-brain Bloodhawk. Yeesh. It's actually the third "Avengers chained to a wall" sequence, after #155 (by Dr. Doom) and #159 (by Graviton). Dr. Doom…Graviton…and the Stinger. One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong… Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 9:32 PM Amazing Spider-Man #186 Marvel must have really been salty about the Superman/Ali comic; as I just wrote, there's another slam at it in MTiO 45. The Avengers novel "The Man Who Stole Tomorrow" is also in continuity, but of course that's because it was adapted into comics form in Avengers 206-207 (just as was the novella "This Evil Undying" in 201-202). Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 9:11 PM Marvel Two-In-One #45 I'm guessing the "Mohammed Ali" line was a jab (haha) at Ali's tussle with a certain Mild-Mannered Reporter's alter-ego? DC can do their Ali crossover, but Ben's got a full dance card. Thanos6August 26, 2016 7:49 PM Wolverine #60-65 Who was Wildcat on the list? Also, Wraith has one of my favorite scenes: riding the subway, he sees some thugs hassling someone, and he just throws a bullet at them. It bounces harmlessly off them, then he pulls his gun and says "the next one's coming a lot faster." They wisely flee. Was that in this story? Jon DubyaAugust 26, 2016 7:49 PM Punisher/Black Widow: Spinning Doomsday's Web For what it's worth, at least from Fury's perspective, it's a "for her own good" kind of manipulation. But that what he always says abou his actions. Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 7:04 PM Fantastic Four #269-270 Ha, I'd forgotten this little gem from these issues (well, I've tried to actively repress Byrne's entire run, so that's understandable), but here's "Alicia", quoted in the scans above: "[Ben and I] were two people drawn to each other by mutual needs, mutual dependencies" And you know, the best way to end a co-dependent relationship is to hook up with your ex's closest co-worker. Holy facepalm… (OTOH, it makes a lot of sense if you're a spy looking for a new way "in" to the group, I'm just saying.) Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 6:58 PM Fantastic Four #269-270 Not to pile on here, as I've already made my pro-retcon feelings known, but I'd like to point out that when Alicia was introduced, she was a mature woman, legal age and able to date Ben…and Johnny was 16 years old. Now maybe she'd always been a cougar waiting for Johnny to reach dateable age, but still… Although, to be fair, she was blind, so it's not as if she saw Johnny still growing into his body, I suppose. (However, I think she did feel his face, for sculpting purposes, and of course she heard his voice, so she knew he was not exactly her peer, I'd imagine.) MichaelAugust 26, 2016 6:41 PM X-Men #17-19 Speaking of the above sequence, the Skinner refers to the deaths of Mariko and Silver Fox and Bobby's troubles in his relationship with Opal, so I don't know if you want to include those as references. MichaelAugust 26, 2016 6:40 PM X-Men #17-19 Several readers complained that Psylocke was wearing a parka over her skimpy costume instead of dressing conservatively when it was freezing. david banesAugust 26, 2016 6:21 PM Wolverine #66-68 Reading this summary gave me a headache. I'm like this with Wolverine's memory like I am wish Song Of Fire and Ice/Game of Thrones "I DON'T CAAAAARE ANYMORE!" Wolverine's memory stuff looks to be done to death and the 90s have only begun. James MAugust 26, 2016 6:13 PM X-Men #17-19 After watching the X-Men cartoon, this (or a British reprint of it, at least) was the first comic I ever read, at the age of six. I didn't have a clue what was going on whatsoever. Darren HoodAugust 26, 2016 4:30 PM Wolverine #66-68 What the H-E- double hockey sticks was going on in Marvel editorial, the story was ok, but that art was just atrocious. Look at how small Cyclops' head is compared to his body. Piotr WAugust 26, 2016 3:46 PM Namor #34-40 Am I the only one who thinks that Jae Lee's art here is indefensible? It has some superficial coolness factor, but it also has zero storytelling capability, the characters are nearly unrecognizable and the enviroments are non-existant. McFarlane has been bashed around here (and with good reason), but compared to this, his storytelling was crystal-clear! Seriously, this is just awful. Andrew BurkeAugust 26, 2016 2:16 PM Fantastic Four #269-270 I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Lyja, so I was happy with the Alicia retcon. Even more than that, I HATED Alicia getting together with Johnny. You don't go after your best friend's ex-girlfriend, nor do you date your ex-boyfriend's best friend. To me, that's betrayal, and betrayal to me is worse than any other crime imaginable because it's a crime committed by someone who claims to love you. Someone betrayed me once, and five years later they still couldn't understand why I wrote them off forever. And the Thing being away on the original Battleworld doesn't matter, either. I miss Lyja. She's shown up a few times, but Duggan or Soule should bring her back and use her. I wouldn't mind seeing a Johnny/Medusa/Lyja triangle,and putting her on a team with humans, mutants, and an Inhuman would add to the unity the Avengers are trying to promote. StevenAugust 26, 2016 1:00 PM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) Wasp returned in the last issues of Avengers written by Bendis. She was trapped for a long time in the Microverse. She then became part of Uncanny Avengers. Havok and Wasp survive the destruction of the Earth in Uncanny Avengers #17, live for eight years on Planet X, get married and have a child named Katie, and then have their minds sent back in time by Kang to stop Earth's destruction. Kang keeps their kid. Erik BeckAugust 26, 2016 12:21 PM Avengers #212 Ironically, while using a wet-vac to clean up a flood at work this morning, I was thinking of this issue and Tony telling Mrs. Arbogast "Sand blasting will not be necessary. It wasn't that kind of party!" Amazing what you still remember about a comic that you haven't owned in almost a decade. Brian C. SaundersAugust 26, 2016 11:33 AM Namor #34-40 I can't prove "Howard Rourke" is Bill Sienkiewicz, but there's a couple art sites selling a Blaze miniseries cover and a pin-up as being inked by Sienkiewicz under the name of Rourke. Take that for you will. Omar KarinduAugust 26, 2016 8:15 AM Avengers #329-331 Sorry, the incomplete sentence above should read "seem inspired by the success of the X-Men." Omar KarinduAugust 26, 2016 8:14 AM Avengers #329-331 The "X-ification" thing has more to do with the tone of the team's adventures under Harras, where the Avengers were suddenly a band of embattled and bunkered, beset by mysterious foes with long-range plans they couldn't understand and caught in an ongoing guerilla war with the Kree. Villains aren't definitively taken down and captured, but rather have one plan thwarted (sometimes not even fully) while continuing to pursue their long-range goals. It's rather far from the concept of the Avengers as the big guns you call in when a world-shaking threat shows up. It's probably unfair to drop that on Harras, however; most comics were going through something similar, both at Marvel and DC. But it does seem inspired by the . That said, Harras brings in some fairly X-Men-like team dynamics. Dane and Sersi's "gann josin" bond and Sersi slowly going mad aren't a million miles away from Jean and Scott's "psychic rapport" and Jean's turn to Dark Phoenix, for example. More broadly, every single issue of Harras's run, with the exception of a one-off Arkon story, involves either the Gatherers, Exodus and the Acolytes, or the Shi'ar. This only ends witht he Crossing, when Terry Kavanagh comes aboard as co-plotter. fnord12August 26, 2016 8:07 AM Mighty World of Marvel #14-16 David, your issues are covered in a separate entry. Any clarity on the credits would be appreciated (or we can wait for your new intro!). Thanks for stopping by. fnord12August 26, 2016 8:01 AM Namor #34-40 @Michael, thanks regarding Dara. I've added him and found a few more appearances as well thanks to the Marvel Appendix and Marvel's Wiki. And since i didn't mention him in the entry: Lord Dara is Warlord Seth's twin brother and a member of the Atlantean court. Towards the end of this story, Dara attacks Artys-Gran, but he's killed by an enthralled Atlantean, and his death is actually what triggers the prophecy that would have brought back the Old Ones. @Walter, i don't know if it's a pseudonym or not, but Howard Rourke also will get an inking credit on all four parts of the 1993-1994 Blaze miniseries. MichaelAugust 26, 2016 7:49 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) Dan, it wasn't a retcon- it was a complicated time travel story where the Earth is destroyed, Havok and Wasp (two of the survivors) are married and have a kid, their consciousnesses are sent back in time to prevent the Earth's destruction but Kang kidnaps their kid. Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 7:05 AM Avengers #343-344 The first step in Harras's restoration of the true Vision is when he's clearly pissssssed about somebody impersonating the Swordsman, which is ironic considering how far they were from being buds. But, of course, it can't be Jacques! No mustache! (Did they ever explain why Phillippe and Jacques look identical, aside from that, thought?) David ThorpeAugust 26, 2016 7:01 AM Mighty World of Marvel #14-16 This is a very good summary. It would be nice if you acknowledged my role in creating many of these characters. I began the sequence which Alan Moore took over in MWOM. I am currently writing the introduction to a new 40th anniversary collection of Captain Britain stories. James HoltAugust 26, 2016 6:36 AM Tales Of Suspense #72-74 (Captain America) Almost simultaneously with Larry Ivie's and Wally Wood's work on this story, Larry Ivie also collaborated with Wally Wood and Len Brown on THUNDER Agents #1, published by Tower Comics with a cover date of November 1965. That series continued until 1969. Previously, Ivie and Wood both had art published in the sci-fi anthology digest, Galaxy Science Fiction. Brown and Wood worked together in 1962 on the Topps trading card series Mars Attacks!, which later inspired the 1996 movie of the same name. Mars Attacks! was originally inspired by Wood's cover art for Weird Science #16, published by EC Comics in the 50s, prior to the Wertham scourge. Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 5:12 AM Avengers #329-331 I guess Hama's run wasn't technically just another 6-issue bi-monthly stunt…but it sure felt like it. No flow, with yet another extra-dimensional set of baddies. As much as Harras gets flak for the "X-ification" of the team, he gave them a stable line up (nearly 20 issues of Widow/Knight/Sersi/Herc/Crystal/Vision and that's it, period!) and while Proctor requires alternate timelines, things don't get actively silly until the Flossing. And stories only took however long they needed to take, not this "let's make a TPB" drek. And how Spidey is a reservist when it's been a whopping 11 issues since he and Cap agreed that he really didn't have an interest in going into space at the drop of a hat, so thanks-but-no-thanks, I haven't a clue. Sigh. And word to Jeff's point about how the WCA are treated as secondary when they've got pretty much every core Avenger except Thor and Cap… Dan SpectorAugust 26, 2016 3:37 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) Wait, what? I didn't even know Jan was alive again (glad of it, Secret Invasion being such utter crap), but she's been retconnned into some bizarre off-panel marriage to Havok? Who has Lorna been with, Bobby? No, wait, Bendis decided that wasn't possible… I swear, it's as thought I owe Bendis a debt for making sure I stopped reading these (for the most part) after Disassembled. AlluAlluAugust 26, 2016 12:06 AM Amazing Spider-Man #47 Ok, thanks! Makes sense. ChrisAugust 25, 2016 9:26 PM Namor #34-40 When this fantasy-horror theme first showed up, I was intrigued enough to pick up the title again. I liked the build up, but I was disappointed that there were no footnotes explaining any of these characters. However, the actual story and denoeument were disappointing. I think this should have been more of an ongoing subplot for a while, with Namor doing other things, and then a final revelation when the bad guys make their move. A bigger mistake is to completely jettison what Byrne built instead of integrating other Namor/Atlantean mythos elements back into the title. What this book has always needed was a good rogues gallery with ongoing villains who could return. Desmond Marrs doesn't count because he was more an ongoing story and villainous foil, a much more wicked JJJ, than a true villain. The failure to use Roxxon Oil effectively as a corporate villain was a big disappointment. Super Skrull was just a long term story. Namor needed villains who would show up once sometime in issues 1-10, then a second time somewhere in 12-18, and a third time during 24-30 for example. That is how you build engagement with the title. Namor does have some good villains with interesting personalities and motivations (although rarely a variety of powers). Tiger Shark, Attuma, Krang, and Orka spring to mind. If you take those, add some other existing villains looking for a good home, plus some new ones then that would be a good start to an effective rogues gallery. Walter LawsonAugust 25, 2016 8:03 PM Namor #34-40 Is Howard Rourke a pseudonym--a riff on "Howard Roark" in Ayn Rand's Fountainhead? MichaelAugust 25, 2016 5:54 PM Namor #34-40 I think the Dara in this story is supposed to be the same Dara as in the 1984 Sub-Mariner series- if that's the case he should be listed as a Character Appearing. fnord12August 25, 2016 3:57 PM Amazing Spider-Man #182-183 I think i just couldn't bring myself to list him as a character, but i've done so now. :-) Thanks D09. D09August 25, 2016 3:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #182-183 Jackson Weele will later pop up during the 3rd volume of Spider-Man Unlimited and make sporadic appearances since then while his counterpart in Spider-Man: The Animated Series not only has a gang of high-tech thieves working for him, but he's a lot more effective and dangerous in using his vehicle properly. kvetoAugust 25, 2016 3:18 PM Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #1 bleh. putting this tripe in the middle of the master planner plotline is annoying. Its a "What if?" kvetoAugust 25, 2016 3:15 PM Amazing Spider-Man #31 These issues, up to 33, Ditko brought his A-game plotwise. After this arc, his plots became aimless. but these are all beauts. fnord12August 25, 2016 1:19 PM Amazing Spider-Man #47 That story has a framing sequence taking place circa publication date (Peter talking into a tape recorder and talking to MJ, who is his wife at the time). So i'll cover it somewhere around the 2002 category. And i guess the retcons, at least relating to sequence, could be dismissed as coming from an unreliable narrator (Peter is upset at the time). AlluAlluAugust 25, 2016 12:05 PM Amazing Spider-Man #47 How does this site consider something like Spider-Man: Blue? It is kind of a retelling of these past few issues and retcons a lot. James HoltAugust 25, 2016 11:26 AM Daredevil #10-11 Wally Wood went on to create the popular characters Dynamo, the Iron Maiden, and the Warlord, among many others, for the Tower Comics series THUNDER Agents. Rights to THUNDER Agents later became the property of DC Comics, and in 2012 were transfered to IDW, where I believe they still remain. For Marvel, Wood later penciled and inked the early issues of the Dr. Doom series in Astonishing Tales, among other assignments. He did a lot of work for Warren Publishing on their Creepy and Eerie magazine-sized black & white comics, and did some off-and-on work for DC. In 1968 he and Jim Shooter collaborated on DC's Captain Action comic book, which was based on the popular action figure/doll. Working for DC's All-Star Comics, Wood redesigned the Golden Age Superman and created the controversial big-breasted look for Superman's cousin Power Girl. He created Sally Forth, a serviceman's strip published in Overseas Weekly and Military News between 1968 and 1974. In 1966, he launched the groundbreaking independent magazine Witzend! which ran nonstop until some time in the 1980s. Wood was at his most prolific during the 1950s, creating works far too numerous to list here. Although 5 years younger than Lee, Wood became a legend in the comics industry during a time in which Lee was practically an unknown, although he worked continuously throughout. Bob Powell, the layout artist on Daredevil #10-11, had collaborated with Wood on the 1962 Topps trading card series Mars Attacks! AlluAlluAugust 25, 2016 10:53 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I remember reading Marvel Masterworks of these issues as a kid. My honest, unbiased opinion was, and is, that the best issues were those that had Ditko plot credit. fnord12August 25, 2016 10:48 AM Journey Into Mystery #114-119 Jeff, you are correct. See the Considerations on this entry. fnord12August 25, 2016 10:48 AM Secret Wars II #1 Thanks Mizark. I guess i granted them a commonlaw status. I've corrected it in a few places. If you see any more, please let me know in the Thread of Shame. JeffAugust 25, 2016 10:41 AM Journey Into Mystery #114-119 The panel of the original Avengers meeting looks almost like the panels just before they announce the new team to the press and part ways in "Avengers" 16. I'm wondering if that part was meant to take place simultaneously. Doesn't "Avengers" 16 also have a word balloon to the effect of "Too bad Thor isn't here."? MizarkAugust 25, 2016 10:14 AM Secret Wars II #3 I am not sure whether the mobster is based on Colleta.Seems like college wouldn't appreciate that and he doesn't look like any of the pictures that I have seen of him. He does seem to resemble Stan Lee.Personally I prefer it that way especially because of the strong satiric streak in this series. MizarkAugust 25, 2016 9:58 AM Secret Wars II #1 It's a minor point but I've seen it on at least a couple of entries: Volcana and Molecule Man were never married. Andrew BurkeAugust 25, 2016 9:27 AM Fantastic Four #181-184 My favorite Fantastic Four story ever, the saga of the Brute, from #177-183. #182 was my first FF issue ever, and I always loved the Brute vs the Invisible Girl cover. I got #183 next, of course, but it wasn't until I was older when I got the rest. The Brute throwing Sue out the window at the end of #182 wowed me. Couldn't wait to see what happened next. Later, I made sure to get the Brute's first appearances in POWER OF WARLOCK #6-7 to round it out. I still wonder why no one thinks of using evil Reed/Brute in a Masters of Evil team or something. I mean, he's Reed! Evil Reed! Of course, now we have the Maker. Not sure if anyone knew this, but the Brute popped up as a resident of Pleasant Hill in ALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #8, but it was just a one-panel appearance. I believe he also made a cameo in ASSAULT ON PLEASANT HILL OMEGA #1, too, not just on the cover. fnord12August 25, 2016 7:34 AM Cage #11-13 Yeah, Toy should have been tagged. Thanks. There's no reference to him being destroyed in his last appearance, but he's a robot so his return probably doesn't require much of an explanation. AlluAlluAugust 25, 2016 6:50 AM Amazing Spider-Man #5 ^Doom has to entertain himself somehow on the long way down. :D Thanks for today's best laugh. HaydnAugust 25, 2016 12:11 AM Amazing Spider-Man #25 I wonder if Eric Stanton (who shared a studio with Ditko) did some of the inking? There is some evidence that Stanton and Ditko helped each other out during deadline crunches. Luis DantasAugust 25, 2016 12:00 AM Darkhold #5-7 Such a nice concept, such abysmal handling. It could be a far better history with better art and, most of all, without such a deluge of guest stars that serve no good plot function. Doctor Strange, particularly, comes out looking somehow both manipulative and ineffectual. Instead of adding to the story, those guest stars erode their credibility and take valious pages for no good reason. HaydnAugust 24, 2016 11:52 PM Amazing Spider-Man #17 James, a lot of the Marvel fans of the '60s became Marvel writers and artists in the '70s. Part of the fun of reading the Marvel Omnibus editions is seeing some familiar names in the letter pages. Thanos6August 24, 2016 11:23 PM Cage #11-13 Yep, he is. It's a surprisingly enjoyable GN. MortificatorAugust 24, 2016 11:21 PM Cage #11-13 The Agent is the Tinkerer's son? I think I need to check out Rick Mason's graphic novel. Luis DantasAugust 24, 2016 11:05 PM Spirits of Vengeance #9-10 "I realize that the 90s were a low point for American mainstream comics, but I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Marvel published such a crap book." Yeah, that is what I typically think when I remember this Ghost Rider series. Thanos6August 24, 2016 10:46 PM Cage #11-13 fnord, should Toy be tagged? (Also, I'm genuinely surprised to see him again; I thought his appearance in PPSSM was the last of him. Is this a "new" Toy, or the old one repaired, or does it even say?) And, I'm surprised to see Mr. Miracle and (one of the) Kangaroo on the videoboard. I can't help but notice they're not marked as DECEASED... fnord12August 24, 2016 3:30 PM Cage #11-13 Yeah, i got Genetech mixed up with Mys-Tech. Thanks. clydeAugust 24, 2016 3:21 PM Cage #11-13 Perhaps you meant Mys-Tech. They are featured in the Marvel UK line. clydeAugust 24, 2016 3:19 PM Cage #11-13 FNORD - you wrote - "Note the rare reference to the Marvel UK corner of the Marvel universe, with the Corporation comparing themselves to Genetech." I thought Genetech was the corporation featured in the New Warriors. Piotr WAugust 24, 2016 3:19 PM Spirits of Vengeance #9-10 Eli is... an absurdly good mechanic. The carnival gets attacked and... he manages to whip up high-tech guns for the carnies. Coupled with what we'll see in the futher issues, this guy seems to be at Forge's level. Which begs the question, what is he doing working as a carny... The story, just like Fnord said, it as total mess. Steel Vengeance got killed, even though she was introduced only a few issues ago. Hag and Troll get captured by Centurious and just vanish. There's no sign of Heart Attack, even though she was abducted by Centurious, too... And isn't that just convenient that, somehow, all of the surviving carnies turn out to have superpowers? I realize that the 90s were a low point for American mainstream comics, but I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Marvel published such a crap book. James HoltAugust 24, 2016 11:41 AM Fantastic Four #39-40 @fnord12, I've lost count of how many variations on this theory I've seen over the years. My most recent favorite is the theory you gave us at the end of your review for FF #1-10... that all Doom appearances since Vic was lost in space at the end of FF #6 have been Doom robots built by Reed! xD I didn't think you meant it too seriously but it got my mind working on the idea again... The idea that any appearance of Doom could be a robot adds a lot to the overall appeal and intrigue of the character IMO. The idea that ALL appearances are robots is a bit shaky though, and I've always thought of this story as my favorite counter-argument to that idea. Lov this site, thanks for publishing it! I wouldn't take the time to go over all these early Marvels again, except for the great fun of reading these reviews and comments, and all the new-to-me ideas that go with that experience. fnord12August 24, 2016 10:38 AM Fantastic Four #160-163 Yes, the recurring Earth-A characters should be listed. Thanks. fnord12August 24, 2016 10:33 AM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 Thanks ira13. fnord12August 24, 2016 10:31 AM Fantastic Four #39-40 @James, if you're referring to the theory from FF #350, that story has the "real" Doom explicitly mention this story as having happened to him. TuomasAugust 24, 2016 9:23 AM Darkhold #5-7 I wonder how seriously we're supposed to take the claim that the Punisher killed a 13-year old just for drug running. Since something like this happened in the Frank Miller DD story featuring Punisher, it seems quite likely to be true. It's not like we see him pausing in firefights to check how old his victims look like before he shoots them. MichaelAugust 24, 2016 7:58 AM Darkhold #5-7 Steven, it was explained in Avengers West Coast Annual 7 that Agatha restored Wanda's memory of the kids. Bendis ignored that. StevenAugust 24, 2016 1:02 AM Darkhold #5-7 How can this story be reconciled with Disassembled, in which Wanda can't remember her children. She can clearly remember them here. James HoltAugust 24, 2016 12:07 AM Daredevil #8 Stilty's sense of balance stepping over that bridge is almost as whimsical as Green Goblin's on his original flying broomstick! Adds to the case that these early Marvel Age comics were still being written mainly for kids; the science is just too fantastical. Tony LewisAugust 23, 2016 10:39 PM Alpha Flight #31 I think Mantlo is confused, as World War I ended in 1918, so Ernest St. Ives couldn't have been drafted and sent to fight in 1919. Issue #8 makes it clear that his origin story occurred during WWI, so maybe it's a typo and should really read 1914. Dan SpectorAugust 23, 2016 10:39 PM Fantastic Four #160-163 Yes, but if Ross-A is counted separately from 616-Ross (and Counter-Earth Ross, for that matter) and doesn't merit a citation because he's a once-off, wouldn't that mean that Reed-A (the Thing) should be tracked separately from 616-Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Counter-Reed (the Brute) and thus Reed-A would be listed, since he's also in #118? (Ditto for Ben-A and "Sue Grimm".) That said, it's your site and you can do how you like. A foolish consistency, and all that… Ataru320August 23, 2016 10:25 PM Fantastic Four #39-40 Despite the fact he's wearing a metal mask, the way Doom's expression changes as he gets angry realizing that he didn't win just really gives a lot of emotion. It at least is nice that his people care enough to remind him that he got screwed over by Reed again. ira13August 23, 2016 9:30 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 Very minor correction, fnord: inker for ASM #238 was John Romita Sr, not Jr. James HoltAugust 23, 2016 8:58 PM Fantastic Four #39-40 Does this disprove the theory that Doctor Doom never personally appears in any story but only uses robots? Does a robot feel pain and take time to heal when its gauntlets are crushed? Can a robot be hypnotized? Would Doom program a robot to act in ways that will only humiliate Doom? Red CometAugust 23, 2016 8:10 PM Spirits of Vengeance #9-10 You know it's 1993 when even Ghost Rider is tame and you need to bring in an edgier version. James HoltAugust 23, 2016 8:02 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #2 @Ben, The cover as published arguably better represents the content of this annual, which contained 20 pages of a Spider-Man/Dr. Strange team-up story, plus 50 more pages of pin-ups and Amazing Spider-Man reprint stories. The splash page is a beautiful drawing but Spider-Man himself almost gets lost in all the dazzling Dr. Strange imagery. Would have made a great cover for a Dr. Strange book but maybe not so great for Spider-Man. As a 10 year old I traced those two main cover images again and again on my Draw-N-Tell lightboard until I could draw a passable Spider-Man freehand and learned to trace drawings by eye. It's a poster-quality cover and the standing image of Spider-Man later got reused for promotional material plus probably a poster or two. Ditko & Kirby posters and black-light posters were very popular in the 60s and 70s and could be found in just about any store where posters were sold... dime stores, gift shops, head shops, drug stores, almost everywhere. Posters were a big pop fad and Marvel posters invariably used comic book images for which the artists were never paid royalties. Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer in particular were hugely popular and probably made godzillions of dollars for lots of people who weren't named Ditko or Kirby. MichaelAugust 23, 2016 7:50 PM Spirits of Vengeance #9-10 Note that it's not clear that Badilino is Vengeance in this story. MichaelAugust 23, 2016 7:48 PM Darkhold #5-7 "Scarlet Witch is apparently wrapped up in a prophesy relating to the Darkhold, which is called the Malachy Prophesy and will result in Ch'thon returning to Earth. Even the children she gave birth to were fulfilling elements of that prophesy. Harkness and Strange were both part of those births, so you'd think they might have noticed this before now." Ataru320August 23, 2016 6:46 PM Darkhold #5-7 The idea of a group of investigators trying to stop the problems involving the Darkhold with a creepy dwarf spurring things on should be a cool idea as you said. But yeah...you start throwing in Dr. Strange and Wanda in there and there goes the neighborhood. Somehow if this was an indie book instead of integrated into the Marvel universe, maybe it could work for some sort of pseudo-Vertigo story. fnord12August 23, 2016 8:40 AM Iron Man #118-119 Thanks Matthew. fnord12August 23, 2016 8:37 AM Fantastic Four #160-163 Fixed the #161 typo. As far as i know, this is Ross-A's only appearance, so i wouldn't list him. Dan SpectorAugust 23, 2016 6:41 AM Fantastic Four #168-170 As I've mentioned elsewhere, #170 was what got me hooked on Marvel. I'd been landing on random bizarre issues (MoKF #42 with the flash-forwards, Defenders #34 which was the height of the Headman madness, Dr. Strange #16 set in Colan's hell) and was completely lost…but the accessible storytelling here (all the details of Alicia and the Puppet Master's relationship are deftly and economically covered) and Perez's slam-bang art, with Ben and Cage fighting it out on two careening FantastiCars, hooked me immediately. Great fun. Dan SpectorAugust 23, 2016 6:28 AM Fantastic Four #160-163 Making Rockefeller the President was mostly convenient shorthand to indicate that this was an alternate Earth; the original Squadron Supreme story had Hubert Humphrey running things in place of LBJ, IIRC. Ben meets Gaard at the end of #162, not 161. If you're not tracking Earth-A variants separately, then Thunderbolt Ross should be listed as "appearing"; Ross-A is in 162. VancelotAugust 23, 2016 2:06 AM Thor #283-301 The disgusting behavior of Odin and Frigga ruined this arc for me. Odin is running around giving away women to giants as payment for services rendered, and otherwise being the biggest villain in the Marvel universe, while Frigga makes him kill his own son in retaliation for him rescuing her from the man who kidnapped her as a child. A couple of sociopaths are running Asgard. Gary HimesAugust 22, 2016 11:31 PM Amazing Spider-Man #193 Of minor note is that Spidey's pulp predecessor, The Spider, also had a reoccurring nemesis called The Fly. I guess it's just an obvious match-up ... CecilAugust 22, 2016 10:27 PM Defenders #66-68 You're right, I was thinking about him only in relation to Barbara. James HoltAugust 22, 2016 9:47 PM Amazing Spider-Man #26-27 Stan stole part of his #26 splash page patter by booglerphrasing Winston Churchill's quote, "...It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma..." To be fair, Stan may have actually stolen it from Allen Dulles, who stole it from Winnie over and over all the time. ira13August 22, 2016 7:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 To be fair, this was just the start of the Hobgoblin mystery, so any clues should be subtle. You don't want anyone guessing Roderick Kingsley right off the bat. And if the clothes modification was too subtle a clue, it's not like the only one Stern dropped in this set of issues: (1) the man behind the mask claims he knows how to wield power, implying he already has some; (2) he has underworld connections; (3) he has no personal grudge against Spider-Man, at least not yet (Spider-Man is mentioned only as an after-thought; this should be enough of a clue to eliminate any of his older enemies); (4) seems to be a public figure of some sort (his thoughts as Spider-Man approaches to unmask him: "He mustn't discover who I am! The disgrace would be too great!" Granted, anyone might think this, but it sure seemed like a clue the man was some sort of celebrity); (5) has the capacity to murder someone in cold blood (sorry, but that's not you Ned Leeds). As fnord indicates above, though, you had to have read Stern's run on PPTSM to even begin to guess Roderick since he hadn't made any appearances in Amazing yet. Ben HermanAugust 22, 2016 4:52 PM Fantastic Four #350-354 @Dan Spector - As I mentioned in my comment above, pretty much everything Doctor Doom tells Kristoff in FF #350 should be taken with a grain of salt. He's a lying liar who lies. JPAugust 22, 2016 4:05 PM Thor annual #17 God fucking damn it, Roy Thomas. Matthew BradleyAugust 22, 2016 2:25 PM Defenders #66-68 Not to nitpick, Cecil, but Jack Norriss was hardly "gone with Gerber," being an integral part of the Scorpio arc culminating in #50. Matthew BradleyAugust 22, 2016 2:19 PM Iron Man #118-119 I think you have the penciling credits scrambled. Per the lettercol in #118, “we’d like to thank our old buddy John Byrne, X-MEN penciler supreme, for lending a helping hand with the ol’ layouts this issue, whilst J.R. was off drawing our latest and greatest KISS magazine.” The published credits reflect this, attributing "finished art" to Layton, so the Helicarrier shot and abortive death-plunge in that issue were the work of Byrne, and not JRJR. JTI88August 22, 2016 10:39 AM Fantastic Four #147 I guess that I prefer a dark-haired Greer too, but I still have to arrive there (I am reading in pubblication order). Well, a brunette turning redhead further corroborates the theory. If Moondragon will ever buy a wig, we have a hint about the color. fnord12August 22, 2016 9:24 AM Captain America annual #11 Thanks Mizark. I've updated the entry a bit. fnord12August 22, 2016 8:34 AM Fantastic Four #350-354 Corrected Sharon "Carter". Thanks. fnord12August 22, 2016 8:27 AM Fantastic Four #151-153 Added Mooney. Thanks. Ataru320August 22, 2016 8:18 AM Fantastic Four #147 @JT188: don't forget another catlady becoming a redhead about this time too. (sadly I actually appreciate Greer as a raven-haired female) JTI88August 22, 2016 6:42 AM Fantastic Four #147 Between Medusa movin' on after-Susan Reed, MJ on after-Gwen Peter and Pepper on Tony Stark, one could imagine that at Marvel someone was obsessed with redheads. Dan SpectorAugust 22, 2016 6:32 AM Fantastic Four #350-354 You refer to Sharon Ventura as "Sharon Carter" in the placement section. 350 and its "any story the writer doesn't like can be a DoomBot story! Screw continuity!" is such lazy garbage. Just because Byrne had Yet Another Pissing Contest with Claremont ("Doom would NEVER let Arcade strike a match! Fuck you, Chris!") is no cause for Simonson to validate JB's tantrum so broadly. And if "only you have ever seen my face, Kristoff!" WAS true…then what did Don Blake see in Thor 182? Do DoomBots come with plastic skin? So advanced that it can fool 616's greatest surgeon…who happens to be a god and might not be fooled by some latex, I'm just saying? This all-purpose retcon is a far greater insult than the one coming up, IMO. Dan SpectorAugust 22, 2016 6:10 AM Fantastic Four #357-360 I, of course, loved it. It's fine for Johnny to graduate to a mature relationship, but grabbing onto Ben's girl while Ben's away sure isn't the way to do it. 4,000,000 women in NYC (not to mention commuters, etc.) and this douche latches on to the one woman most likely to (in-story) fuck up his relationship with his teammate/best friend and (metatextually) pile on the Ben-angst that we're allegedly sick of. And then Johnny can be all "wah wah wah, we couldn't help it, we're IN LOVE!" as if he had no control over his actions. Character-destructive crap, and while seven years to undo it may have been six too many, that's no reason to let the wound fester any longer. And it's odd to cite Engelhart's anti-"recycling" arguments to defend Johnny/"Alicia", given that Steve wanted to have Johnny dump his wife for Crystal… Clumsily executed, but a joy to behold. Now can we do something with other Byrne-crap, like "Ben always had the power to regain human form, but he was afraid Alicia only loved him as the Thing, so he subconsciously kept himself a monster for her"? Gee, if Alicia makes Ben essentially self-mutilate, then maybe she's not the best "mature relationship" for Johnny…but Byrne's OFCs suck (Julie Angel? Seriously?), so he has to leech off the work better writers have done with Alicia, instead. Blech. Dan SpectorAugust 22, 2016 3:01 AM New Warriors #3 "Rather than suddenly have a black Nick Fury, why not create a brand new character specifically to take his place? He could just happen to be black." As, in fact, they already have done. GW Bridge, remember? Dan SpectorAugust 22, 2016 2:44 AM New Warriors #1 "Since most teen super-types are mutants, it did make sense for them to be referred to Professor X, as Mr. Fantastic did for Karma and (less successfully) Willie Evans." And Jamie Madrox, wayyy back in the day. Excellent series during the Bagley run, meandering thereafter, but with the occasional high point. Still love/hate Evan Skolnick so much for #73; that's bordering on BtVS "Passion" territory, there. And yes, Dwayne is a dick. But every team needs one. Dan SpectorAugust 22, 2016 2:07 AM Avengers #347 "I'm the only original Avenger present…and I'm pulling rank, Cap." Dude, shut up. 1. You were an "original Avenger" for all of three issues before Cap joined. I think he's earned his way of the kids' table by now. 2. You know damn well that if Hank and Jan hadn't been conveniently left behind on the Earth team, you'd be outvoted, 2-1. Let Cap cast their proxies. 3. What are Clint and Wanda? Chopped liver? Of the eight Avengers who put the team on its feet early on, made it what it is (not counting the cameo memberships of the Hulk, Wonder Man, and the Swordsman [a total 4 issues between the 3 of them]), two are unavailable, and Tony is outvoted 5-1 among the remaining six. Insufferable that he's "pulling rank" here. Grrr. James HoltAugust 22, 2016 12:41 AM Tales To Astonish #70-76 (Sub-Mariner) Namor has gained a lot of weight. Here we've totally lost the look and feel of Kirby's Atlantis. Wish they could have put Wood on this. His Namor looked great in Daredevil #7. MizarkAugust 22, 2016 12:24 AM Captain America annual #11 James Brock is an African-American. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 11:58 PM West Coast Avengers #32 So creeped out when Moon Knight tells Ham Slade not to report Bobbi's assault on him and adds "Few would believe you, anyway." Oh, the things the "heroes" could get away with, were they inclined. Of course, in-story, it's an analogue for how Bobbi has (thus far) gotten away with murder… Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 11:28 PM West Coast Avengers #29 I'm really surprised that Van Lunt has stayed dead; I would have thought the crash was survivable. ("I was laid up in the hospital for months, but this bull is too stubborn to stay down…") Likewise the Linke twins' dual-life force power (which J. Fury never knew about) could have seen them through the ambush in #26; team them up with Van Lunt and Brandt and you've got enough of a core to re-build the team around. Oh, well. Maybe someday. James HoltAugust 21, 2016 10:04 PM Tales Of Suspense #65 (Iron Man) At one point I think still in the future, Stark had a lightweight chestplate which was not part of any armor, that he could wear under his shirt. It must have been the case, that he had developed it earlier than shown, in that later story, and was using it Behind The Scenes, in this story. Do I get a No-Prize?(: James HoltAugust 21, 2016 9:53 PM Daredevil #7 If nothing else, Wood was giving the Marvel Age the best INKING it had ever had, up to this point in time. And there was a whole lot else. JMHO The dense scratchy fog of hasty rush deadline dirty brush inking jobs was finally starting to lift. In addition to Wood's legendary experience and talent, other inkers had been gradually improving. New inkers had been slowly coming on board. Money was begrudgingly being spent. A higher bar was being set. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 8:55 PM West Coast Avengers #6 "You have to love Hank's pose on the splash page, as if to say 'Okay, this is all ridiculous.'" He can't be that thrilled with the chant about "the false god, science", either. Good thing Tony isn't there; he'd totally flip over that. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 8:40 PM West Coast Avengers #5 "Greer Nelson was explicitly created as a feminist character, and her transformation to Tigra was an attempt to keep her in publication (at a time when Marvel's monster line was growing, she was turned into a were-woman) and increase her powers beyond "acrobat in a suit", not turn her into a sexy cat girl. Since Englehart's series began, she's been a weak victim not even in control of her own urges."—fjord " I…take the Tigra stuff as intentionally disturbing at this point rather than just misguided." —Benway My thoughts exactly. Greer's feminist beliefs (and her still mourning her husband) were in conflict with the "Hey there, big boy" way she'd been written too often of late. So, by having the "sex kitten" aspect get out of control, Engelhart sets an arc in motion that resolves the conflicting characterizations. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 8:18 PM West Coast Avengers #3 Not that Kraven would necessarily recognize her, but wasn't Bobbi actually a part of the whole "Gog Takes Manhattan" plot, as Agent 18? And given that Kraven once made her his (sex?) slave, I'm not shocked Tigra gets rattled by him. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 7:41 PM Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1 As everyone has noted, the "evening gloves" bit involves a then-quasi-obscene gesture. As the Comics Code would probably have banned a straightforward "get stuffed" panel, the "gloves" reference was a way for Englehart to slip it through. James HoltAugust 21, 2016 7:28 PM Strange Tales #132 (Human Torch) The GCD database gives Stan Lee and Bob Powell plotting credits on this issue, and Larry Ivie gets only a dialogue credit. GCD gives no explanation as to where they get this extra information. The splash page gives full writing credits to Larry Ivie, as per the review. It reads like Ivie aped Stan's dialog style without copying it directly. "Overtoasted marshmallow" and "walking kumquat" read like original insults but they're still true to character. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 6:57 PM Hulk annual #14 Hmm, I'd remembered the fat-shaming of St. Johns, but hadn't put it together with the later creations to realize this is yet another possible "Byrne the Bully" issue. I was far more disgusted by the "die, you pathetic abortionist bitch!" treatment of Kelloway. But I guess I'm up to what, six separate beefs with him at this point? Yeesh. And that's not even counting the general comics complaints… Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 6:33 PM West Coast Avengers annual #1 Really silly, with Quicksilver running across the Pacific, which is way beyond his powers at this time. I do like Clint standing up for Whitey, though, and the "Kooky Quartet" days. Likewise, good consistency with Thor still being a dick to Pym, which is in line with his "yes, take his woman!" insane advice to Tony in #224, where Stark wants to make Jan a notch on his jock and Cap is like, "dude, grow up!" instead. But yes, if you "eliminate suspects" just on their say-so and the villain has to actually show up to confess, not exactly great forensic skills on display here. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 5:55 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 Yeek! You're not going to make me scan through *that* to dig out the evidence, are you? SCARY thought… IanAugust 21, 2016 5:18 PM Defenders #15-16 How did Magneto survive being trapped within that be bubble for months, with no access to food nor water?? James HoltAugust 21, 2016 4:23 PM Amazing Spider-Man #22 Stan turned 10 years old in 1932. The circus was one of the most colorful things a kid could see in 1932. That and the Sunday newspaper comics section. No color TV, no video games, few if any Technicolor movies even. Joe Shuster based Superman's costume on a circus strongman's suit. Stan's boyhood hero was Errol Flynn. Different times. MichaelAugust 21, 2016 3:45 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 No, the Crossing doesn't specify that Kang and Mantis are from alternate timelines- everybody talks like its the same Kang and Mantis the Avengers knew. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 3:36 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 " I e-mailed Kurt Busiek and asked him why he had decided to retcon of nearly the entirety of 'The Crossing.' I no longer have the response he sent me, but as I recall he justified is by arguing that it was such an unpopular and convoluted storyline, and he felt it would just be better to put as much of it aside as possible rather than having to devote a significant chunk of his run resolving all of the unanswered questions and tying up all of the dangling subplots." Jesus. I hate "The Crud-Thing" as much as anybody, but it does specify that "Kang" and "Mantis" are from an alternate timeline, so this doesn't damage 616-Mantis at all. Just specify that the "Iron Man" running around since, say, AWC 102 is the Stark from that timeline, that they've been holding 616-Tony as a hostage "back home" and that Franklin brought him back when he made the "Heroes Reborn" world, sending Teen Stark back to *his* native timeline. The attempted retcons during the battle (Kang was responsible for Hank Pym's breakdowns!) are just alt-Kang lying for future advantage, of course. See? Simple, doesn't affect anything pre-Bob Harras and requires exactly zero Space Phantoms. Sigh. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 2:21 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #42-44 Of course, Hickman's series has a bunch of other problems of its own, like its account of the creation of LMDs utterly contradicting decades of prior stories. Fury doesn't even seem to know quite what LMDs are in the first SHIELD story from Strange Tales #135, and stories klike Iron Man #11 have Tony Stark taking credit for inventing the LMD. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 1:57 PM Amazing Spider-Man #374-375 Some writers and editors didn't like the deal either- it's brought up during the Clone Saga to cast doubt on Peter being the real deal. Beyond that, Ben Reilly actually defeats and captures Venom, which is meant as part of the case for him being the "real" Spider-Man. MichaelAugust 21, 2016 1:48 PM Fantastic Four #261-262 Also it should be noted that the idea that an alien race is *inherently* evil is still used even in modern times- Mark Waid had Neron remark that the souls of the Khundians aren't as sweet as those of humans because the Khundians are predisposed to evil. Thanos6August 21, 2016 12:23 PM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 @AlluAllu: I don't think Roderick had told Daniel he was the Hobgoblin yet. He just said, "I'm not putting myself at risk. Daniel, you take care of this blackmail thing." Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 10:14 AM Hulk annual #7 Byrne seems to be someone whose views of homosexuality evolved quite a bit in a short amount of time, but also someone who is very comfortable with the attitudes that were popular when he was much younger, and prone to "boys will be boys" attitudes about stuff like cheesecake and the male gaze. Maggie Sawyer, for the record, is definitely a Byrne creation; she debuted in the books when he wad the sole writer and artist, and was clearly portrayed as a gay woman virtually from the start. And she's invariably portrayed a tough, smart, and right in Byrne's work. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 10:10 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 A big part of Byrne's problem as a writer has always been that he doens't think of the fantastica;l stuff ashaving much "real-world" applicability. And so he doesn't think through its applicability. Instead,m he tries to stay true to his received notions of the "core concepts" of various characters. With the Skrulls, he picks up on some dialogue from the old FF comics -- especially the "Skrulls of Krall" series -- that already said outright that Skrulls were inherently wicked. This isn't a million miles away from Roy Thomas and Steve Engelhart declaring them evolutionary dead ends and spent, ancient cultures over in the Avengers comics. Because Byrne read that Skrulls are always bad in a 60s Marvel comic, that is what Skrulls are; that is [part of their concept, never to be diverged from. And his Galactus is in a similar boat. But staying true to those concepts means that if they are read as metaphors, if they are interpreted, something very nasty comes through at base. But I see this less as Byrne harboring racist attitudes -- and I say this as someone who thinks his work*is* pretty explicitly sexist in many ways, especially by 2016 standards -- and more as Byrne being limited as a writer because he seems to dwell entirely within the genre conventions and inherited concepts rather than working on and interpreting them further. (Sorry for the multiple posts; for a while, I kept hitting some kind of word count limit in the text boxes.) Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 10:05 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 So Byrne is left here trying to square the circle: he does a story that's about the "heroes don't kill" ethic, another well-established chestnut by this point (if a little inaccurate to the earliest days of the Marvel Universe of the 1960s), and then he does another that's meant to show us the uncomfortable fallout of that story. FF #257 is about Galactus nearly letting hismelf die, only to be told by Death herself that this isn't an option. And it's the story of Frankie Raye, having left humanity and human morality behind, becoming the kind of being who can write off a species and who dares to dream of loving Galactus, himself a creature meant to be far beyond "mere mortals." What Byrne does there, and here in FF #261-262, is an abandonment of sorts of the humanist morality of the usual FF stories, one that decides the universe is *bigger* than anyone. It's not just the alien survivor who chickens out who can't handle Galactus, it's the whole courtroom, every alien there, even Byrne himself. Galactus's true purpose is known and felt, but too *big* for mortal minds. Byrne writes himself in as someone who can't wrap his head around it either. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 10:00 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 Much as I have real issues with Byrne on a lot of things -=- West Coast Avengers springs readily to mind -- I'm marginally more sympathetic to the cop-out he pulls here than some commenters. Galactus was, in lot of ways, a fundamentally untenable character: Kirby and Lee had established in his very first appearances that he was "above good and evil," beyond mere mortal judgment. The dialogue in the original Galactus trilogy is very much about the idea that Galactus treats "us" the way "we" treat, say, cattle or poultry. He's part of the3 cosmic food chain, a sapience and a lifeform one step over us. But at the same time, by definition, he exterminates sentient races in order to feed, and, comics being the products of mere mortals, Galactus doesn't really *seem* like he's that different than the living beings he wipes out. So it's easy to miss this idea, for it to fall flat on the page. And, of course, Galactus is quite popular as an antagonist; he keeps being brought back because readers want to read stories of heroes fending him off. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 8:38 AM Hulk annual #7 Well, I see there's been more research on the Byrne/homophobia issue since I first posted. I'll just say that given that I was already side-eyeing Byrne's politics on a number of fronts (the racism I find implicit in his treatment of Galactus's crimes/the Skrulls in general; the bigotry that i feel his denial of the Vision's humanity shows; that awful Hulk Annual where Bruce Banner's old friend "deserved to die" because she performed abortions…), I was very unsurprised to find him yet again on shaky ground here. To be fair, I haven't read enough of the Superman run to know how much credit to give him for Maggie Sawyer, but that Layton quote is just horrid. ALL Bob's men look "queer", John? Really? And that bit where he's trying to deflect his father's bigoted disdain onto the inker ("No, he didn't look queer in the pencils, Dad.") is just sad. Especially as Byrne Sr. seems ti be taking issue with the pose, not the facial inking. And thus presumably not Layton's "fault", after all. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 8:10 AM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 Do think Arrested Development was inspired by Hobgoblin Lives? Now, the story of a rich fashion designer who stole everything, and the twin brother who had no choice but to keep it all a secret. Omar KarinduAugust 21, 2016 7:51 AM Avengers #200 The problem is that Marcus does tell them he had a "subtle boost from his machines, and Carol's pregnancy was, for the Avengers themselves, visibly non-consensual, unexpected, and unwanted. Even before Marcus is born and reveals himself, they handle the surprise, superfast pregnancy really poorly, treating it like a joyous event despite their teammate's obvious, vocal fear and discomfort. And it's rather odd that none of the Avengers find the situation essentially creepy, given that Carol gives birth to someone who ages up and then claims to be her romantic partner. And Carol's final word on the subject is, as shown above, uncertainty; not very long before, she was repulse4d by everything that was happening to her, so this is not only a shift, but a rather incomplete one. Even in the original comic, there's a lot of shadiness going on, right on the page. It speaks poorly of the writers that they didn't seem to notice. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 7:05 AM X-Men/Spider-Man #1 Thanks, Vin! Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 5:53 AM Fantastic Four #151-153 Jim Mooney does the inking for #152, as seen on the famous "Reed turns his foot into a hand" splash page, reproduced above. He should be credited as such. And for the record, I'm cool with the foot-hand. Reed's used to thinking fast, I'd say. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 5:26 AM Avengers #200 "I think Claremont is arguing that since Marcus admitted to using mind-control on Carol earlier, the Avengers should have restrained Carol until someone like Xavier or Strange could have determined whether she was acting of her own volition. That's a perfectly legitimate position to take in a universe with mind-control." The trouble is, that there's no in-story way to guarantee that Marcus couldn't deceive Xavier/Strange/whomever on the issue as well. Given his (potential) power level, it's just as plausible that the Avengers could have had Moondragon scan for mind-control, find none, and then (after a story that's IMO *meant* to be ambiguous gets attacked by Carol Strickland et al) have Claremont/Prof X show up later and pull the same "you should have known!" second-guess. In the end, all the Avengers could do was trust and hope. They weren't in Limbo. Marcus didn't appear to be using any machines. Carol wasn't some glassy-eyed love slave as she was in the flashbacks (which, admittedly, the Avengers hadn't seen)…she'd processed her emotions and made her decision, as far as they could tell. You either trust her…or you don't. And as bizarro as her choice appears to be, I have some real issues with a bunch of guys saying, essentially, "You're not making the decision we think you should be making…it must be mind control." That's way too chauvinistic for me. JMO. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 4:38 AM Avengers #155-156 To be fair, the only Avengers taken down by "Hydrobase scrubs" are Yellowjacket and the Vision. And with Vizh unable to shift density due to the slave collar, it makes sense that he's prey for the super-gun. YJ should be embarrassed, though. But I can't complain about Namorita (near enough to her cousin) being able to catch the Wasp or a tough Tamara Ran shaking off a weak, half-powered hex from Wanda (still recovering from her wound) and knocking her out. Doom had the stronger women on his side, IMO. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 3:55 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 " To suggest that Reed should divorce Sue over that kiss, when Namor kissed her is, I would say, a fairly weak argument" Well, I was mostly joking, to be fair. Still, I wouldn't say that a wife (or a husband) engaging in passionate snogs with an ex-beau who has tried to repeatedly break up the marriage is a GOOD thing, exactly. Nor do I suspect that Reed would (or should) take the kiss with much equanimity, were he there to see it. Which makes Sue all the more dubious for allowing it, behind Reed's back. But JMO. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 3:44 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 Again, quoting myself: "So Galactus, whose crimes Byrne excuses by claiming 'it's just a test of entropy, don't blame me!' is actually beatable by pudgy lamprey-tongued uglies who ultimately got wiped out of the Marvel Universe by fucking Rom. Gee, I guess beating Galactus isn't actually an impartial test of a race's cosmic fitness to survive, huh, JB? Maybe he's just a big mass-murderering bastard, and if you get a chance to let him die, you let him fucking die. But John 'Genocide is really cool as long as no white people get hurt' Byrne disagrees, and pretty much ruined the character of Reed Richards, once my favorite hero, by making him his apologist for slaughter." As for his denial of the Vision's humanity (he's Simon Williams in a full-body prosthesis! What part of "Love is for souls, not bodies" doesn't JB get, exactly?), it too seems pretty racist, given the attitude displayed in these issues. Plastic red guy gets no credit from writer who slaughters green alien creeps? Doesn't look so good, from my pov. And if Byrne really was responsible for that One Lone Dissenting LOC seeing print (among two pages of gushing praise), that makes him even sketchier, to my mind. Who knows what the real ratio was, then? Maybe the mail ran 50/50 and JB rigged the columns? Blech. (Nah, most mail is positive, even for utter crap. But i'd still trust an editor's picks over the author's, for obvious reasons.) Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 3:25 AM Fantastic Four #261-262 Well, I hadn't been monitoring this conversation since 2014, but wow. Some of Byrne's "champions" are as kindly as the man itself, it seems. And sorry, but a man with a history of depicting non-humans as perfectly good Galactus snacks but the 95% (at this time)-white Marvel-Earth as "worthy" because they beat Galactus so easily it's a cliche by now seems pretty racist. Especially when the longtime aliens that G nearly devours aren't the cute bird-chicks that Claremont has hooked Prof X up with, but those icky green ugly Skrulls, who cares if they die, right? To quote myself from elsewhere: "Byrne pulls this nonsense trial that's like 'well, entropy has to exist, Galactus is a test, too bad if you failed it, nanny-nanny-boo-boo.' Yeah, well, entropy doesn't have to be personified in Galactus, per se, though. You could let the big killer die, and eventually there would be another personification of entropy in the cosmos, but in the meantime billions and billions of innocent lives would be saved. But, y'know, the Skrulls are green and ugly, so who cares how many of them die?" The idea that surviving Galactus is some cosmic meritocracy is silly since, as Ben Herman notes, Earth only survived the first time through outside help, but the other races we know that "passed the test" include Zenn-La, seen as a bunch of worthless layabouts bar Norrin Radd, and the Dire Wraiths, who fought off the Entropic Hand of Fate, but were ultimately expunged by…Rom. JFC. AlluAlluAugust 21, 2016 2:44 AM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 There's something I don't understand. If Daniel saw Hobgoblin at the blackmailing event, why does he think he is out of town? AlluAlluAugust 21, 2016 2:21 AM Captain America #291 Since Otto did not know Stunner at that time, my guess is that Otto took the policy in case he ever had to fake his death. Which was a likely scenario, lol. AlluAlluAugust 21, 2016 1:58 AM Hulk #292 That gradual corner icon change was a great idea! Thanks for the gif. Dan SpectorAugust 21, 2016 1:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #99 And Johnny also makes West Coast appearances, as well. For example, in WCA 4, Wonder Man admits to his past embezzlement (which he'd previously let his brother take the rap for) on The Tonight Show, live from Beautiful Downtown Burbank. CecilAugust 20, 2016 5:56 PM Defenders #66-68 Argh, obviously with Perez around, Dave the Dude did the writing, and George Perez drew the issues- as if longtime fans didn't auto correct that. Ha ha! And I did mean, the yellow underlined names posted here will lead you back to the blogs and websites of those posters. Barbara was already set up for a status quo as a college student, which added significantly to the story engine, so Sometimes in this period, it's hard to tell how much of the story reflects what the readers loved and wanted and how much lay with the creative teams' whims. I think what the writer wants is generally prime throughout Marvel history, and then sales and certainly fan mail might create speculation as to which parts of the "formula" could be refined to greater success. CecilAugust 20, 2016 4:58 PM Fantastic Four #191 LOL Mark Drummond's right about the cabbie. You've found me out! was Kraft's reply. Thanks for the observation. Kraft picked Perez for his Creatures On The Loose stint, as I understand (Perez also drew E. Hoffman Price, sci-fi novelist, into their first collaboration, Creatures #33.) Perez also gave Comics Interview his previously-unpublished JLA/Avengers pages to print, broken up, so they shared a fairly warm regard, reflected by the funny cameo. CecilAugust 20, 2016 4:26 PM Defenders #66-68 Oh! Just as a point of order, Fictioneer was something Dave Kraft created while still in high school, when he became a literary estate executor of Otis Adelbert Kline, though it is correct that he published Comics Interview through Fictioneer. So technically, he was the 2nd Marvel guy to start his own publishing company- he just hadn't started at Marvel yet. His first work there was drawing George Perez's first full-color gig, Creatures On The Loose. Mark DrummondAugust 20, 2016 2:20 PM Defenders #66-68 Steranko's Comixscene/Mediascene/Prevue started in either 1972 or 1973. Omar KarinduAugust 20, 2016 12:24 PM Defenders #66-68 When did Steranko start his magazine? fnord12August 20, 2016 11:18 AM General Comments Thanks Jeff. A while before i get there, ofc! fnord12August 20, 2016 11:18 AM Defenders #66-68 Thanks Matthew. Andrew BurkeAugust 20, 2016 9:15 AM Marvel Team-Up #147-148 And then the Black Abbott was brought back to life by the Hood during Remender's PUNISHER run. As far as it is known, he's still out there...somewhere...bidding his time, MWAHAHAHAHAHA! ZeilsternAugust 20, 2016 8:32 AM Avengers #43-44 Chris, I disagree with your contention that Americans saw the USSR and the PRC as essentially being on the same side. Below is a link to a TIME magazine article from October 21, 1966 discussing LBJ's meetings with Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko. The US is lifting certain export restrictions to central Europe and hopes that in return the USSR can help pressure the North Vietnamese to negotiate a peace deal. China is seen as being the stubborn one on that issue - and it is noted that China, during the Cultural Revolution, is accusing the USSR of "colluding" with the West. I've always perceived TIME magazine to be pretty "middlebrow" fare. I think the discrepancy between the plot of this comic and the reality of world affairs reflects just how lowbrow and disposable comics of this era were seen as, by both their consumers and creators. Here's the TIME magazine article from October of 1966: JTI88August 20, 2016 6:34 AM Avengers annual #2 I think that this issue was well ahead of its time. The Avengers (even considering their alternative version) becoming tyrants, a group of super-villanis becoming "the Resistance"... pure fresh air in the mid of the "hearts and flowers" Silver Age. And of course, as you've pointed out, the first glimpse on a parallel unvierse. D09August 20, 2016 1:44 AM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 Here's a link to a section of the Spidey Kicks Butt website that proposes an unseen link between the first Clone Saga and the brief reign of terror of the 3rd Green Goblin that helps to smooth out a couple questions that pop up like "How was Prof. Warren able to sneak up on Spider-Man?" and "How did Dr. Hamilton know about the clone of Spider-Man?": Mark DrummondAugust 19, 2016 10:45 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 Something I missed: In G-S Avengers #2, Rama-Tut has a court wizard called "Shamaz", obviously referring to a young version of the old wizard Shazam in the Golden Age Captain Marvel stories. ChrisAugust 19, 2016 10:13 PM Avengers #43-44 Until Nixon went to China, the PRC and USSR were still seen as being on the same side. That was still four years away. And they did cooperate on limited issues when both had the same interests - such as sending supplies to North Vietnam. In 1967, this still seemed like a squabble between two anti-American countries trying to determine who would be the leader of their anti-American coalition. Not that the Cold War had become a three party struggle. While it is highly unlikely for them to work together on such a high value project, we can imagine a scenario where they would. Let's say China has one of those comic book geniuses who build these types of devices. However, China can't provide the technology and equipment to work. The Soviet Union could so the two work together on a limited basis because both are obviously falling behind the US in superpowered metahumans. China provides the genius while the Soviets provide the equipment. They agree to some sort of ridiculous treaty in order to make it work, knowing it'll all blow up in their faces because just maybe they may get something useful out of it. Ataru320August 19, 2016 9:58 PM Tales To Astonish #62 (Hulk) I think the words of David Byrne works best regarding Betty: "I've changed my hairstyle so many times now, I don't know what I look like." James HoltAugust 19, 2016 9:55 PM Tales To Astonish #62 (Hulk) Maybe Betty Ross was coloring her hair gray in these issues to cut down on people confusing her with Betty Brant. Only her hairdresser knows for sure. James HoltAugust 19, 2016 7:27 PM Amazing Spider-Man #17 There's a letter from a Douglas Moench of Chicago in this issue. Chicago born in '48, Doug Moench would have been 18 in 1964. Looks like it might have been his letter. Jay GallardoAugust 19, 2016 7:18 PM Daredevil #100-101 Maybe the Svastika headband is a reference to Charles Manson... James HoltAugust 19, 2016 5:41 PM Tales Of Suspense #59 (Iron Man) Does Tony REALLY put a cocklebur under Pegasus' saddle? TSK! I mean, this guy is a real jerk! Omar KarinduAugust 19, 2016 5:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man #127-128 The Green Goblin probably wins at this point; there've been at least five (if you don't count brainwashed Peter Parker of or the Headman using the costume in the Dark Reign issues of Thunderbolts), plus the many, many spinoff Goblin villains. Heck, there've even been something like four Hobgoblins and four Jack O'Lanterns at this point. Past that, it depends on how you count all the "new Kingpin" replacements over the years whenever Fisk falls from grace. But the Vulture identity does seem to be passed around a lot. We've had three or four Mysterios, too. Matthew BradleyAugust 19, 2016 4:08 PM Defenders #66-68 For what it's worth, the spelling of Barbara and Jack's last name, which varied a little at first, was standardized as "Norriss" pretty early on. Ben HermanAugust 19, 2016 3:58 PM Avengers #43-44 @Zeilstern - Thanks for the info. I guess Roy Thomas might not have felt like having to address complex geopolitical issues within a superhero story. Or, as Michael points out, perhaps he was sort of backed into the corner of having to explain why the USSR and China would be working together due to Stan Lee having previously shown the Black Widow being brainwashed by the Chinese. Of course, it is never specifically stated by either Lee or Thomas that the villains are Chinese. Yes, it's very heavily implied, but if you want to make this story work within the real-world events of the 1960s, you could say that the Psychotron was actually being built by North Korea, which was very closely allied with the USSR throughout the Cold War. Omar KarinduAugust 19, 2016 2:56 PM Hulk #159 Though this story also shows the drawbacks of having the Hulk's powers with a full human intellect; it cans crew you up to realize just how messed up your life is as a giant green monster. Peter David did a lot more with the idea of the Abomination as a version of the Hulk who laments his loss of humanity, where PAD's Hulk got in to trouble by exulting in how far he was from "human." AlluAlluAugust 19, 2016 1:16 PM Amazing Spider-Man #246 Indeed! :D Andrew BurkeAugust 19, 2016 1:02 PM Marvel Team-Up #102 I'm not sure where, but I recall reading somewhere that the Deliliah in this issue might be the same one who worked for the Rose during DeFalco's second AMAZING SPIDER-MAN run. Wherever she got her powers may have fixed her paralysis. HaydnAugust 19, 2016 12:46 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Any Kirby enthusiasts have an opinion about the writing style in #6? It sure reads differently from #5 (Dr. Doom's first appearance), in my opinion. (And what an interesting decision---to bring back Doom and Subby almost immediately after their first appearances in the title!) HaydnAugust 19, 2016 12:43 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Everett once said he used the hyphen to encourage the correct pronunciation. Subby's name was inspired by Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. (Not surprising that a descendant of William Blake would be well-read!) clydeAugust 19, 2016 11:56 AM Avengers #56 This was posted on the entry for Fantastic Four 271-273 - Posted by: Don Campbell | May 18, 2016 3:06 AM" clydeAugust 19, 2016 11:53 AM Fantastic Four #271-273 The Wikipedia entry on Nathaniel seems to imply that they're the same person. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_characters:_R James HoltAugust 19, 2016 1:28 AM Avengers #8 Something about the time machine that I can't fathom is that Doom's and Nathaniel's time machines are "virtually identical" as described by Reed in FF #271-273. Each is implemented as a rectangular rising "time platform" with a separate remote control console that remains behind in the time period of origin during the time trip. If Doom developed his time platform independently, it seems implausible that he'd come up with a virtually identical design. Also worth noting is that Kang's first time machine, purportedly based on his unnamed ancestor's blueprints, doesn't follow this same design, but rather it's implemented as a self-contained space-faring vehicle, shown in flashback above, which was originally fitted inside of a flying stone sphinx monument in FF #19. I haven't read all the different parts of this "time platform mystery," and specifically, haven't read a story in which Doom's "first" invention of the time platform is shown. Maybe such a story has not yet been published? Isn't it still within the range of possibilities that Doom did in fact invent the first time machine, and Nathaniel later copied Doom's design? It's been stated that Nathaniel built his time platform about 3 years prior to FF #1. One can readily assume that Doom also built his time platform at some time prior to FF #1. Nothing that I've seen firmly establishes the origin of either man's design. D09August 18, 2016 10:40 PM Fantastic Four #271-273 @Andrew: Are you sure that there are two different Nathaniel Richards that the Fantastic Four have met? D09August 18, 2016 10:37 PM Avengers #56 Isn't it possible that Doom made a second time machine to replace the one that was taken away from him while the Fantastic Four now have two time machines of the (relatively) same design, one for actual use and the other for spare parts/experimental enhancements on it? Chris ZAugust 18, 2016 10:20 PM Avengers #8 Your comparison of Kang and Darkseid is eye-opening, Ataru. And mind-opening! It made me realize Kang's similarity to another Superman villain: Brainiac, who also had an impenetrable force-field and a green-and-purple color scheme. The fourth panel above (Kang with arms akimbo deflecting Thor's hammer) is very reminiscent of Curt Swan's cover for Action Comics 242 (linked below), Brainiac's debut issue; the interior art by Al Plastino has Brainy in a tunic with loose-fitting sleeves. Both characters sport complicated belts with weaponry control studs. What do you think? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/Action_Comics_242.png Of course, nobody conveys power and drama like Kirby: I love the panel above where Kang looks like he's fighting an oxygen tank. His whole art job on this issue exudes power and menace, to an even greater degree than usual. ChrisAugust 18, 2016 9:45 PM Avengers #8 Kang to me looks like one of the cavalry soldiers of the early modern era. The long cavalry boots to protect you from the mud and billowly shirts remind me of that. As for the helmet depiction I don't know, but the idea of some kind of flexible armor - as opposed to Iron Man's more harder kind - make it look very futuristic. ChrisAugust 18, 2016 9:40 PM Avengers #8 I believe it was revealed somewhere that Doom learned about the secrets of time travel during his contact with the netherworld, and thus learned such forbidden knowledge. Can't remember where I learned that though, or if I just made it up. I always considered that all future time travel machines are essentially based on Doom's machine. If Nathaniel invented it separately though, then that theory is wrong. Ataru320August 18, 2016 9:07 PM Avengers #8 There does seem to be a rather similarity regarding a lot of these types of more "temporal/cosmic" characters Kirby comes up with, like he wants to make them look futuristic but with this Kirby appearance that makes them look rather foreign with their costumes and power suits. Similar can probably be said about the Rigellians and, later still, Darkseid. (heck, reduce the size of the helmet and change the colors around and you can see a proto-Darkseid appearance in Kang) Chris ZAugust 18, 2016 8:58 PM Avengers #8 Kang is one of Kirby's most eccentric designs: immediately memorable, and obviously durable. Even after all these years I still have questions about it. For example, I used to think that his face was blue; but of course we're shown that's not so in the flashback and via his former identity of Rama Tut. But I still don't understand what the vertical seams running through his eyes and mouth represent--any more than I do the billowy sleeves and pinstrip boots, or the vaguely TV-set shape of his outer helmet. In the '90s, Busiek cleverly rationalized the look as an expression of Kang's baroque, futuristic fashion sense. But I can't imagine that was Kirby's intention in 1964. Does anyone have any thoughts about where the design might have come from? Is there an antecedent either in Kirby's prior work or elsewhere in popular culture? MichaelAugust 18, 2016 7:50 PM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 Do think Arrested Development was inspired by Hobgoblin Lives? MichaelAugust 18, 2016 7:49 PM Avengers #43-44 The Official Handbook explains the USSR and China working together as the Chinese having invented the Psychotron but lacking the necessary submarines and thinking that the USSR would be more likely to help them conquer the US than vice versa. cullenAugust 18, 2016 6:34 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Also, controversially pronounced "Submareener" HaydnAugust 18, 2016 6:29 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Also (and I'm not sure what to make of this), Sub-Mariner is referred to as Submariner (no hyphen) throughout #6. HaydnAugust 18, 2016 6:24 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 According to a Mike Breen article in The Jack Kirby Collector #61, Kirby dialogued #6 himself. The script does feature one of Kirby's quirks, his use of "quotation marks" in unusual "places." cullenAugust 18, 2016 6:20 PM Avengers #43-44 "Why do you think Khruschev and Mao can't get their heads together?" - Malcolm X, 1963 mikrolikAugust 18, 2016 5:43 PM Marvel Team-Up #138 Maybe future stories could have fleshed out Harrison and Marston's personalities a little. Or maybe they could have showed how the two new members working in conjunction with the original three improved (or hampered) their effectiveness. But sadly, no. The Enforcers are in a hibernation that lasts over a decade. Omar KarinduAugust 18, 2016 5:30 PM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 Following the later reveal that Daniel is bald and wears a toupee to masquerade as Roderick, I can't help thinking of them as George and Oscar Bluth. Omar KarinduAugust 18, 2016 5:06 PM Marvel Team-Up #138 Also, the original three members have distinct personality traits: Dan's the little guy with a big ego, Montana's the laconic rural type, and oX is a big dumb brute. Marston and Harrison are just standard-issue thugs. ZeilsternAugust 18, 2016 5:04 PM Avengers #43-44 I'm currently working my way through all the TIME magazines from 1966 and I can tell you, the Sino-Soviet split was common knowledge. Not a week goes by in '66 without an update on the Cultural Revolution and how China and the USSR are growing further apart, both ideologically and diplomatically. By January of 1967, the Soviet embassy in Peking will actually be attacked by the Red Guards. Maybe Thomas was "dumbing it down" for a perceived audience of teenagers? Or maybe he just didn't follow current events very well. Omar KarinduAugust 18, 2016 5:03 PM Marvel Team-Up #138 Harrison and Marston seem sort of redundant, though; Harrison hits hard, but the Ox is there already; Marston tangles you up, but Montana does that with more range. Omar KarinduAugust 18, 2016 5:01 PM Tales Of Suspense #57 Hawkeye's popularity is hardly a mystery; he was, for years, the smartass Avenger, the one who got to be salty and down-to-Earth and a bit of a raffish outsider even within the respectable institution the team becomes. On a team that includes a god, a billionaire, ad a living legend, that stands out. He's also one of the few Avengers in the team's early years who's a blue-collar type. There's a reason Denny O'Neil essentially cribbed his personality for Green Arrow. Omar KarinduAugust 18, 2016 4:56 PM Avengers #43-44 Though it should be noted that the story participates in one of the big tropes of Western media after the Sino-Soviet split, in which the Soviet characters sometimes possess a sense of personal honor while the Chinese Communists do not, a product of casual racism. Ben HermanAugust 18, 2016 4:25 PM Avengers #43-44 Reading this story nowadays, it's weird to see the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China depicted as being so closely allied that they are working together to build a devastating super-weapon, and with former sendinging some of their top personnel over to the later to be trained as super-powered agents. In reality, the Sino-Soviet Split had occurred several years earlier, with the two countries formally severing relations in 1962. Tensions between the two countries eventually became so bad that the Sino-Soviet border conflict took place in 1969, and for a short time it seemed a very real possibility that nuclear war would break out between them. I guess the severely-deteriorated relationship between the USSR and China was not really common knowledge in 1967, and to the Average Joe here in the States it undoubtedly seemed like Communism was instead a monolithic entity. I'm sure most people imagined that Khrushchev and Mao were best buds or something. So I guess it made sense for Roy Thomas to write a story depict the Soviets and Chinese as colluding to overthrow the Western world with the Psychotron. Matthew BradleyAugust 18, 2016 3:12 PM Captain America #229-230 The Steve Rogers identity was always one of the worst-kept secrets in the Marvel Universe (ditto Cap's sidekick, Bucky, whose real name was...Bucky). But I suspect the framed photo of himself with the Buckster that Cap was keeping in Steve's apartment in #229 didn't help. JPAugust 18, 2016 3:09 PM Bizarre Adventures #34 Agreed, Vin. And the above scans made me notice something that probably should have been obvious for years: Smith has a lot of Dave Sim's aesthetic going on. I never caught that before. JeffAugust 18, 2016 2:26 PM General Comments So just a thought fnord, and not sure where else to comment it but here... when you get to 2000 you have to push ALL the X-related titles after a certain point back after all the rest of the year's Marvel titles to just before Maximum Security, because those books have a "six-month gap" (I never trust specific numbered gaps when dealing with comic book time but there IS a gap. Once you hit Maximum Security the X-books are synched back up with the rest of the Marvel U again because the X-Men participate in that crossover. Andrew BurkeAugust 18, 2016 12:36 PM Hulk #212-213 He got an upgrade in INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #3, and I just read he returned in CIVIL WAR II: SPIDER-MAN #2 last month. I'll have to check that out. Andrew BurkeAugust 18, 2016 12:33 PM Marvel Team-Up #48-51 I like the Wraith. I was a bit miffed when he was killed by Scourge, but I was happy to see him come back as a disembodied intelligence in MORBIUS. As far as I know, he's still that way, despite his resurrection by the Hood and subsequent (and foolish, since it happened so quickly) death once again by the Punisher. Ataru320August 18, 2016 11:53 AM Hulk #212-213 Seriously with the Big Hero 6 series coming, I'd love to see an updated modern version of the Quintonic Man mech. (or a mecha like just called "Quintonic") Doesn't matter if it's an ally or enemy, having that with all the other obscurities the movie mined (Orca, Black Talon) would definitely fit that series. Oliver_CAugust 18, 2016 9:55 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #9-10 You wanna see a tiger suit? Do a Google image search for Lance Ikegawa Ralkor (no quotes), now THAT'S a tiger suit -- albeit rather impractical as a superhero costume. Andrew BurkeAugust 18, 2016 9:11 AM Marvel Team-Up #23 I always liked Equinox. When I was younger, I loved it when his fire and ice parts switched, and with him shooting fire when his hands were ice and shooting ice when his hands were fire. He recently showed up in ANAD AVENGERS #5-6, but the artist didn't switch the fire and ice parts panel to panel as originally shown; however, it was still great to see the character again. It's obvious to me, though not to the heroes, that Equinox needed the Atomic Clock in his plans to fix his condition, or at least help regulate it. MichaelAugust 18, 2016 7:57 AM Avengers #8 I think the idea was that Doom and Nathaniel independently invented similar time machines- not that Nathaniel invented Doom's time machine. James HoltAugust 18, 2016 1:28 AM Avengers #8 According to the John Byrne FF retcon, if I remember right, Nathaniel Richards, Reed's father, was established as the true inventor of the time machine, previously claimed to have been invented by Von Doom. How did Doom get his hands on it? Never figured that part out. ChrisWAugust 18, 2016 12:58 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 I don't have the issues handy for an in-depth examination. Yeah, I would chalk it up to Stan and Steve pointing out that 'this doesn't make any sense' and the other guy says 'dude, it's a comic book. Fifty years from now, nobody's going to care.' Trust Stan and Steve! They know what people will care about in fifty years! Sucks to be Betty though. :) James HoltAugust 17, 2016 10:40 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Peter seems to somehow trust that Doc Ock isn't going to hurt Betty. In #11, on the boat after Bennett gets shot, he leaves her in the tender care of Blackie's henchmen while he goes off to fight with Blackie and Ock. Then he bails out on Ock in mid-fight because "Now I've got to find Betty and make sure she's all right!" Wait, what? Meanwhile, Blackie's thugs predictably decide to re-grab Betty as a hostage, but Ock beats Spidey back to Betty's side, knocks out the two thugs, and retakes Betty as his hostage instead. Betty faints from all the rough manhandling she's subjected to by these criminals, leaving Spidey free for another extended fight scene with Ock. Like the scene you described from #12, these scenes couldn't readily be interpreted any other way, Lee's dialog and narrative notwithstanding. Maybe we should just chalk it up to a couple of overworked comic creators and their overall disregard for comic book women's safety? After all these are only characters on paper, and Stan and Steve already know how the story will turn out anyway... James HoltAugust 17, 2016 10:04 PM Tales Of Suspense #57 Thanks Ataru320. I wasn't a big fan of Roy Thomas' work on the Avengers. I liked his later stuff in DC's All-Star Squadron but most of his Marvel stuff sort of left me cold and was part of what led me into a long comicless period in the 70s. I liked Hawkeye more than my comic-reading contemporaries did when I was a kid growing up in the 60s. They called him a copy of Green Arrow but to me he was a different character altogether. Green Arrow was a rich guy like Batman with an Arrowcave, but Hawkeye was a circus performer who flirted with crime, fell hard for the Widow, and eventually wound up being a full-time superhero. I could relate to Hawkeye. Hawkeye had a spin-off character of his own: the Swordsman. Stan Lee and Don Heck spent a lot of time on Hawkeye. HaydnAugust 17, 2016 3:08 PM Marvel Feature #1 According to roommate (and comics writer) Mike Friedrich, "Wild Bill" Everett gave up drinking around the time of this story. So it was "Sober Bill" that gave us that great run on Sub-Mariner in 1972-73 before his untimely death. Groove25August 17, 2016 1:50 PM Captain America #135-138 Wow! I was really knocked out by #137. For one thing, the fight scenes between Falcon and Spider-Man were genuinely excellent and reasonably well-scripted. But I also liked the way the issue focused on a few simple ideas: Falcon deciding to go off on his own for a bit after dealing with a moody Captain America, then Cap later trying to apologize on the roof and Falcon choosing to continue his pursuit of Spider-Man on his own (also taking down a local hood), ultimately getting in over his head. I thought the relationship aspects were well-played. I also liked how a few key plot elements were introduced at the very end, like Spidey's tracer and the return of Stone Face, leading towards the next issue. I like watching superheros store their motorcycles, let in the neighborhood cat, and fight insomnia. This issue came as a relief after so many issues featuring off-the-wall plotting and barely decipherable action sequences. Throughout, I was impressed by the quality of Gene Colan's artwork, the realism and depth he was able to create in so many panels, and his strong use of black. Previous issues had some amazing panels, but this one had better flow. This was the last issue of his extended run. I'm looking forward to some John Romita Sr., but dreading the Sal Buscema issues to come. Matthew BradleyAugust 17, 2016 1:31 PM Iron Man #117 Is it worth noting the office marked "S. Lang" in the first panel of your second scan? fnord12August 17, 2016 1:14 PM Marvel Two-In-One annual #3 I don't know if we can prove that the Monitors here are the same ones that appear in the Quasar story? I think tagging them here would be like having a tag for "The Skrulls". I think the Inbound Reference from the Quasar story is all that is needed here. By the way, Marvel's Wiki page says that the Monitors are from a race called the Marvanites from planet Marvan, which is pretty funny. fnord12August 17, 2016 1:12 PM Avengers #111 She'd been an associate of the Avengers since much earlier, and her stint as a team member lasts all of one issue, so i don't know if it really merits a bump in the rating. If someone familiar mainly with the cinematic universe were looking for Black Widow's first appearance with the team, for example, this wouldn't be the issue to get. But thanks for the comment, it's good data that the OHMOTMU considers this her officially an Avenger at this point. mikrolikAugust 17, 2016 12:11 PM Marvel Team-Up #138 As I write this message in August 2016, fnord12 is about to start up 1993. It seems strange that the Enforcers get two new members, suggesting they're upgrading their team, and then the new lineup disappears for years,. You'd think with five members instead of three, they'd start to be more of a match for Spidey, but nope; hiatus. clydeAugust 17, 2016 11:47 AM Marvel Two-In-One annual #3 FNORD - I brought this up earlier - I believe the Monitors turn up again on the Stranger's homeworld during Quasar #13-16. Ataru320August 17, 2016 8:52 AM Tales Of Suspense #57 @James Holt: Clint became Goliath in Avengers 63 in 1969 and remained in that guise until the Kree/Skrull War in '71, more or less becoming Hawkeye again after that. Lord_PengallanAugust 17, 2016 8:19 AM Marvel Two-In-One annual #3 Hey! That guys, the monitors, are the Hickman´s builders!! ChrisWAugust 17, 2016 6:11 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 I also don't have a good explanation for why Peter waits until JJJ tells Spider-Man what Spider-Man already knows before he goes looking for Betty. If Ditko was doing the plotting, was he trying to give his editor something that would make him say 'this is stupid, let's do something else'? Did he just give his boss what the boss wanted? Did he intend something radically different [although the mind boggles at what else could be interpreted on that page, when Spidey confronts JJJ about what Spidey already knows, and the villain is getting further away every second that Spidey wastes with JJJ, when he was physically present for the kidnapping.]? "Blame it on Stan" doesn't work either, because Ditko had to do the plot, pencils and inks. Mistakes and all, I would say #12 is when Ditko took over the plots for Spider-Man. ChrisWAugust 17, 2016 6:00 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Interesting. My impression is the opposite. In #11, Stan had built up the soap opera that he wanted, including the villain's henchman [Bennett] sacrificing himself at the last moment. As awesome as Stan is, he's never been good at plotting more than a couple issues ahead, and once he's revealed Betty's deep dark secret [her brother] I don't think he had any idea where to go from there. Ditko learned what Stan wanted and did his best to give his boss what the boss wanted. None of this explains why Betty had done such a 180-turn between #11 and #12 - that's a change that will be lost to the ages - but I think starting from #12, the stories are much more Ditko and much less Stan. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Stan casually mentioned there was an annual coming up and Ditko came up with the Sinister Six, even though it sounds like a total Stan Lee creation. I would say this is where Ditko took charge. James HoltAugust 17, 2016 1:27 AM Tales To Astonish #59 Giant-Man failed to report his encounter with the Hulk to the Avengers? Egregious dereliction of duty! 7 day suspension! 10 demerits! James HoltAugust 17, 2016 12:59 AM Tales Of Suspense #57 "I don't understand [Hawkeye's] longevity or how he came to be an Avenger." Hawkeye's early popularity might have been largely due to his association with the Black Widow, an association which still supports his character nowadays in the movies. Any character can last as a plaything of Natasha's; they could have used Jughead and few would have cared. He's a decent foe for Iron Man because they both use gimmicky technology and have no super-powers. Post-Natasha, Hawkeye serves for many Avengers issues mainly as an arguing partner for Captain America. He became an Avenger partly (mainly?) because he fit the same anti-hero character mold used for the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, in a story where all of the original Avengers left, leaving only Captain America and three anti-heroes. The Avengers became a book in which Marvel tried to breathe new life into its second-string characters, sometimes more successfully than others. At one point, in the 70s I think, they took Hawkeye's name and bow away, gave him some Pym particles, and made him into a successor of Goliath (Giant-Man). This period lasted for quite a while. Apparently the Hawkeye persona wasn't too popular at the time. Hawkeye didn't really seem to get popular until the 80s, circa the West Coast Avengers era. Austin GortonAugust 17, 2016 12:53 AM X-Men #4-7 @Bob: Why would a gritty, street level character want to be brightly pineapple colored? In a contemporaneous Wolverine story in which he first switches the costume, he says the change is motivated by a desire to embrace his more human side, at the expense of his animalistic side. So he wants to wear the brighter, more traditionally superheroic costume, instead of the one that is darker and more animalistic. Obviously, Lee just liked the blue-and-yellow one better, but they did at least work in an in-universe explanation for the change, one which specifically addressed fans complaints that the blue-and-yellow costume wasn't dark enough. James HoltAugust 16, 2016 11:40 PM Fantastic Four #29 Kirby's use of photo backgrounds made a huge hit at the time. This particular photo didn't reproduce at all well in my Marvel Masterworks reprint. There, it's almost completely black. Standard comic book printing methods in the mid-60s weren't much better, but readers still loved the photos, especially on the covers where the reproduction was a little better. James HoltAugust 16, 2016 11:27 PM Daredevil #3 The Owl strikes me more like a lame version of Batman's Penguin. Lov the sequence where DD plays parkour basketball with his rolled-up civvies-ball. I like Joe Orlando's art overall but DD doesn't really get good IMO until Wally Wood redesigns the character a few issues hence. Arguably Stan Lee can't create good characters unless he has a highly creative design artist like Kirby, Ditko, or Wood to polish up their looks. Lee might say the same thing in a weaker moment. Wood does for Bill Everett's Daredevil what Ditko did for Don Heck's Iron Man... gives the character his iconic look. James HoltAugust 16, 2016 10:34 PM Tales To Astonish #58 @kveto - I'm not sure if it was a first, but Janet used the ear attack at least once earlier, on the Hulk in Fantastic Four #26. RickAugust 16, 2016 7:22 PM Avengers #111 Hi fnord You might want to consider raising the historical significance of this issue due to Black Widow officially becoming an Avenger here, albeit for two issues. The Avengers group entry in OHOTMU Deluxe Edition #1 lists her as an official member as of this issue. Omar KarinduAugust 16, 2016 5:55 PM Eternals #1-12 You're not entirely wrong; the story that had the X-Men to move to San Francisco, where the Dreaming Celestial had been left in Gaiman's Eternals miniseries, was set up by an arc co-written by Brubaker and Fraction. James HoltAugust 16, 2016 4:53 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 It was in #12, just like you described it. Keeping his identity secret seemed more important to Peter at that moment than any concerns about Betty's safety. He's just a high school kid with a lot on his mind and he's in way over his head with all this super-hero biz. That he can't keep his priorities straight fits right in with his character development to date. Thinks he knows everything but still has a lot to learn. Stan and Steve at this time have little or no experience doing continued stories together. They work out plots together, Steve storyboards the plots one at a time as finished art, and Stan fills in the narrative and dialog, reserving final approval on everything. My sense of these two issues is that with #11 Steve wanted to go in a different perhaps deeper or darker direction than Stan did, and maybe went off the reservation a bit, and so with #12 Stan pulls it back to the soap opera style status quo he's been trying to build all along. Betty was moving towards becoming an interesting star character here, but next issue she gets crammed back into being JJJ's secretary, lovestruck with Peter and jealous of Liz... airheaded, petty, girly-girl, stereotyped, bit player, supporting cast. Andrew BurkeAugust 16, 2016 4:32 PM Spider-Woman #50 I like these little plots like the Locksmith where we find out a bunch of characters we haven't seen in a long while had been kept prisoner the whole time. Pleasant Hill and the Stranger are two others like this. You think it'd drawn some attention to the characters used, although it did in the Stranger's case with some of them. This was a case where the series/story ends with the main villain winning. A rarity now, but it happened from time to time back in the day. D09August 16, 2016 2:04 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 I don't know why, but I seem to chuckle a little bit everytime I see that speech bubble containing the line, "Expletives deleted". JeffAugust 16, 2016 1:36 PM Eternals #1-12 Pardon my gaffe, I meant Matt Fraction not Ed Brubaker. JeffAugust 16, 2016 1:35 PM Eternals #1-12 This dreaming Celestial is the same one that's been featured during Brubaker's late 2000s "Uncanny X-Men" run, correct? cullenAugust 16, 2016 12:29 PM Avengers #295-297 I agree, Dave77. Fnord, that appears to be more modeled on a Zoid than a Dinobot: http://zoids.wikia.com/wiki/Gojulas Zoids were also licensed by Marvel, though maybe only in the UK? They split a weekly comic with Spider-Man, and it featured some of Grant Morrison's earliest Marvel work. http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/24027/revisiting-marvels-spider-man-and-zoids clydeAugust 16, 2016 12:02 PM Contest of Champions #1-3 IIRC, the second time he invoked the curse, he didn't turn into a literal statue. He had issues with mobility and needed an exo-skeleton. From the wiki entry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Knight_(Dane_Whitman)#The_Blood_Curse "When the Sub-Mariner used the sword to kill his wife Marrina, who had become a monster, the blood curse was revived. The curse began to transform Whitman's body into the same mystic metal as the blade.[20] He was forced to don an exo-skeleton when the curse's creeping paralysis began to affect his mobility." cullenAugust 16, 2016 10:01 AM Avengers #34-37 Hahah, Ben! TVTropes calls that "Cut Lex Luthor a Check" Omar KarinduAugust 16, 2016 6:05 AM Contest of Champions #1-3 The Black Knight was restored in Avengers #225-226, then re-petrified in the 290s issues of Avengers. This is inside that gap. ChrisWAugust 16, 2016 4:02 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Is it in #12 or the Annual, which directly follows this [for those of us reading "Marvel Tales"] where Ock kidnaps Betty right in front of Peter and JJJ, saying to put a notice in the paper for Spider-Man, and Peter waits until the notice is in the paper, and then goes to ask JJJ what it's about, instead of, you know, following Ock and Betty on the spot and maybe rescuing her from the villain? "This and the next issue should read like a two part story but they don't." That's exactly how I've always felt about #11 and #12. I love #12, I think it's the most awesome "Spider-Man" comic to that point, in a series which has had no shortage of awesome "Spider-Man" comics so far, but the mood-whiplash is seriously disturbing. You're absolutely right, the Doc Ock visuals are awesome, but not enough to distract us from actually questioning the stories. CradicusAugust 16, 2016 3:24 AM Contest of Champions #1-3 Shouldn't the Black Knight still be a statue at this point? I thought the mini-series where they unfreeze him wasn't until 1990? James HoltAugust 16, 2016 2:21 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 It's crazy, it's like she suddenly did a hairpin turn and completely accepted that her brother was irredeemable and had to die violently. Then she completely forgave Spider-Man, again reversing her character's direction in the story. This and the next issue should read like a two part story but they don't. That plus all the character inconsistencies suggest that Lee and Ditko were at loggerheads over this story. Plot threads are dangling all over the place. Doc Ock re-kidnaps Betty yet again next issue, and Peter just lets him carry her off without even trying to follow. Gets overly distracted by other concerns while the villain runs off with his ladylove to do Heaven-knows-what to her, and Peter could hardly care less. The Doc Ock visuals are great, iconic. ChrisWAugust 16, 2016 1:51 AM Dazzler #1 Here's Jim Shooter's version of the same events. In the comments, someone has a link to JR SR redrawing JR JR's splash page. Yeah, the final version looks better, but this must have been one of the most heavily-edited comics series of all time for its first year or two. ChrisWAugust 16, 2016 1:36 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Well it doesn't help that Betty showed up the following issue with a sexy new hairdo and absolutely no emotional baggage whatsoever about her dead brother that Spider-Man is totally responsible for killing. Just picks up her job at the Daily Bugle like she never left it, and even JJJ doesn't notice the transition. Spidey trashed the Bugle offices? [fighting the Vulture in #7] No problem, she'll go right back. She doesn't like Spider-Man? No problem, she still likes the guy whose only job is taking pictures of Spider-Man. Sexy new hairdo? Chicks, amiright? It would be many issues before she even remembered her dead brother whom she raised since childhood. These are superhero comics and we can expect characters to have massive personality changes from one issue to the next, but this is ridiculous. Spidey's inability to handle a hostage situation is almost comical by comparison. Yeah, he could have done a better job, but his priority was to find Betty and save her, which he did. Betty's brother was simply not important to him. Stopping Doc Ock was, but still not as important as Betty. And I still have to ask, was this the first time in a Code-approved comic that a villain simply escaped to continue his plans without being sent to jail? James HoltAugust 16, 2016 12:53 AM Fantastic Four #28 At the end of this story the FF seem to have gained possession of the Awesome Android whose next appearance seems to be Tales of Suspense #72, 1965. How does the Mad Thinker manage to get his android back? ...or does he just build another one from scratch? What will Mr. Fantastic do to the now-mentally-paralyzed android? Do androids enjoy any protections like animal anti-cruelty laws provide? Who would mourn for an awesome android? James HoltAugust 16, 2016 12:20 AM Amazing Spider-Man #14 The Enforcers remind me of Hoss, Little Joe, and Adam on Bonanza. Magic how Green Goblin keeps his balance on that broomstick, with his crotch suspended 6 inches in the air above it about half the time, and even with Spidey hopping around on it rocking the boat. MichaelAugust 15, 2016 11:39 PM Avengers #83 But it wasn't really the early issues that muddled Valkyrie's origin- the problem was when Defenders 66-68 revealed she was a real Valkyrie and not just one of the Enchantress's conjurings. Ben HermanAugust 15, 2016 10:49 PM Dazzler #1 Here's a good run-down by Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern & Louise Simonson of the behind-the-scenes difficulties that Marvel had in putting together the first issue of Dazzler... http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2006/04/27/comic-book-urban-legend-revealed-48/ Ben HermanAugust 15, 2016 9:28 PM Avengers #34-37 One of the odder aspects of the Silver Age is when somebody would invent a death ray or a suit of armor or an antigravity device or a new source of energy and, rather than doing the sensible thing and selling it to the government or Con Ed or somebody for a ton of money, decides to embark upon a career as a super-villain. The Living Laser is a nice subversion of this because it's established right of the bat that while Arthur Parks is a genius, he's also completely off his rocker. As Stan Lee's narration from issue #34 announces, "If you feel that the Living Laser is hardly the most well-adjusted of humans, we'd be inclined to agree with you!" Ben HermanAugust 15, 2016 9:11 PM Avengers #83 I agree that the Valkyrie's eventual origin was *very* muddled indeed. But I suppose that Roy Thomas must have decided that John Buscema's design for the character was so striking & effective (which it is) that it would have been a waste to just have it as a one-off disguise for the Enchantress, and so brought back Valkyrie as a separate character less than a year later in Incredible Hulk #142. And that, of course, led to Steve Engleheart introducing yet another incarnation of the character in Defenders. Convoluted backstory aside, Val is a good character. InstantiationAugust 15, 2016 8:29 PM Moon Knight #13 Still hoping that one of these days you'll fill in Moon Knight #s 14-28. It was one of my fave Marvel mags during that period, with a very distinctive atmosphere, although it's true the quality was quite variable issue to issue and on the low side here, as in #13, agreed. But three installments during that run (#s 14, 24, and 25) actually rank among my all-time fave standalone issues. Needless to say, YMMV. Sienkiewicz was doing terrific work at this time, deservedly picking up Eagle Awards as Best Artist for '82 and '83, as well as evolving and experimenting (particularly in #26). And the cover of #20 is a real stand-out. There are three issues in this gap, tho, for which he didn't do at least the interiors (16, 21, 27). Not badgering; just expressing a hope. I'm patient, and there's sure plenty on the site to explore. Omar KarinduAugust 15, 2016 7:12 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #9-10 Who in the world looks at the White Tiger's costume and sees a "tiger suit?" Omar KarinduAugust 15, 2016 7:02 PM Defenders #52-56 Welll...sort of. Giffen came back and created a character named Lunatik, and had him kill one of the Defenders "Lunatiks" for using the same name as him. The Giffen Lunatik was essentially like his co-creation Lobo over at DC, but who knows of that was Giffen's plan back in the 1970s. Lobo was veery different when he first showed up in Omega Men, to the point that Giffen later disavowed that version of the character. Omar KarinduAugust 15, 2016 6:55 PM Amazing Spider-Man #344 A lot of Michelinie's Spider-Man villains seem like repurposed Iron Man baddies. George LochinskiAugust 15, 2016 4:36 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #41 The Simpsons got a lot of mileage out of the "Ray...Jay" thing in the Krusty Komeback special episode, which is where I first encountered it James HoltAugust 15, 2016 4:29 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Complicated moral questions? Here's another angle: Bennett was morally compromised. His main purpose in the story was to show that black is black and white is white and there is nothing in between, so he had to die. Unwitting, Spidey under Ditko's brush guided Blackie's gun hand unerringly for an on-the-spot execution, in what would later be know as Mr. A style justice. Spidey could have easily webbed up everybody's gun, or approached stealthily and taken them out quietly one by one, but this was a different type of story. Dropout Betty was allowed to live compromised because her reasons for being Doc Ock's accomplice were nobler; she was only trying to protect her brother, whereas Bennett was a sinful gambler and corrupted lawyer. Or maybe it's just because Spidey's inexperienced and hasn't quite mastered all the aspects of super-heroing yet. It's still early days. He can make it up to Betty in the next ish.xD Ben HermanAugust 15, 2016 1:49 PM Amazing Spider-Man #344 Given the fact that Cardiac is sort of a Punisher-type who goes after corporate criminals who he believes have used their money & influence to escape prosecution, and that he was co-created by David Michelinie, it's very surprising that he's never met Iron Man. It's such a natural fit. I could definitely see Cardiac either fighting with Iron Man due to some questionable business decision made by Stark Enterprises, or teaming up with him to take on Roxxon, which in the Marvel universe is the textbook definition of corporate evil. ChrisAugust 15, 2016 1:48 PM Spider-Woman #46 Claremont has some very strange ideas about Japan! "Good Yakuza" is in the same category as "Good Mafia." And how the notoriously insular Japanese would ever allow a Westerner (much less a Western woman!) into such an organization is unknown to me. I know it is just a comic book, but I wonder how much Claremont actually knows in this time period. It is easy to see that he must have read James Clavell's Shogun, but did he have any other knowledge? I'm thinking not. In 1982, Japan was still very mysterious and unknown to most Americans whose knowledge was limited to the Pacific War plus Clavell's book. Some people at Marvel probably knew about Japanese manga and it is possible Claremont picked up some additional "knowledge" that way. Andrew BurkeAugust 15, 2016 12:53 PM Ms. Marvel #11-13 I loved how Busiek brought back Sapper and Golden-Blade during his IRON MAN run. Talk about pulling from obscurity! He tied them in with Ultimo, but Claremont intended them to be tied to the Shi'ar. Likely they were after Deathbird. SharAugust 15, 2016 12:49 PM Amazing Adventures #5-8 (Inhumans) In the opening splash of #8 Wanda asks Cap who Black Bolt is. I guess she wasn't paying attention during the Lady Liberators meeting in Avengers #83 when Valkyrie (Enchantress) accused Medusa of "hanging on [her precious Black Bolt's] every non-syllable." ;) Mark DrummondAugust 15, 2016 11:04 AM Defenders #52-56 In Comics Journal #236, David Kraft stated that Keith Giffen made the initial proposal for the Lunatik character, but left the book before he could do anything artwise with it. When it came time to debut him, Kraft had to design Lunatik's appearance himself and provide it to the artist. Apparently Giffen came back to Marvel at some point during 1993-2001 and totally revamped him, which Kraft considered "disrespectful". Andrew BurkeAugust 15, 2016 9:24 AM Spider-Woman #40 I think the Flying Tiger was a fantastic villain for Jessica. I mean, he nearly broke her back, and she had to spend weeks on recovery. This was a serious setback for her,so it must have been very satisfying to her to finally defeat him when she was ready to take him on again. Andrew BurkeAugust 15, 2016 9:20 AM Spider-Woman #42-43 I think it's possible that Jessica is a "Childe of the Darkhold" because perhaps Chthon could somehow be her true father? Perhaps he possessed Jonathan Drew, in addition to the Viper? What's of note is, at the time, it was never shown what happened to Jessica's mother,so Claremont decided to fill in the gaps with his Viper story. fnord12August 15, 2016 7:52 AM Amazing Spider-Man #267 @Kveto, there's no continuity consideration regarding the costumes. As you can see, Spidey wears both in this issue. One idea around this time was that he would wear the red and blue costume during more traditional daytime stories in Amazing while wearing the black one at night for darker themed stories (like the death of Jean DeWolff) in Spectacular, but it was never implemented so rigidly. And for placement purposes it's not a factor. fnord12August 15, 2016 7:48 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #63-64 Yes, thanks. ChrisWAugust 15, 2016 12:42 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Well if you go that far, it was Blackie's fault for working with Doc Ock, and Bennett's fault for defending the criminal Blackie, and Betty's fault for helping her up-to-no-good brother. Yeah, it's also Peter's fault for running off to help Betty before he knows about any of this, and I agree that he didn't choose the smartest method of helping Betty or Bennett, but those are the complicated moral questions Ditko "Spider-Man" asked of the reader. Get Betty off the boat. When she whines, get Bennett off the boat. Then focus on Blackie and Doc Ock. Makes much more sense, but not as good of a "Spider-Man" story. ChrisWAugust 15, 2016 12:32 AM Dazzler #16 They probably all got the lecture. Shooter doesn't strike me as the kind of editor who would let people slide just because they were already giving him what he wants. You send the attendance sheet around and note who didn't show up that day and make sure to give them the lecture next time they're there. "Vinnie's been inking comics all day and couldn't be there? Ok, send him to my office and I'll deliver it personally." And then sum up a two-hour lecture in ten minutes because Vinnie knows what he's doing. I've been there. Sometimes it's genuinely entertaining to watch people deliver a two-hour lecture in ten minutes just so we can all check the block and say we "legally" attended our mandatory briefings. Like I said, I think Shooter made sure everybody went through them. For that reason alone, I'd bet Springer got the lecture. But that doesn't explain the "boobs" splash page. Yes it's fun to infer their motivations, and it's also infuriating to think of how much better a job they could have done. Show Ali in her underwear, putting on her bra, arching her back, and suddenly being told she's fired from tonight's gig. Sexy, exploitative, and makes sense for the story. Now that's a splash page! cullenAugust 14, 2016 9:36 PM Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #10 We know from later appearances in She-Hulk, etc. that Santa Claus is canonical to 616, you'd think "the Man On the Wall" wouldn't have to guess about it. James HoltAugust 14, 2016 7:09 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 I'm sympathetic to Peter but will keep playing devil's advocate for Jonah for the sake of airing that point of view. What does Betty say to Spidey on p. 14 panel 5? "If you hadn't interfered... if you hadn't tried to be a hero... it might not have happened!!" Isn't that true? Instead of taking due precautions, Peter just waltzes onto the ship in broad daylight wearing his bright red and blue Spider-Man costume. Couldn't be more obvious, or more risky, but he'd already committed to this rash move even before Betty screamed. Then he stumbles like a klutz, injures his ankle and gets himself caught. He has no training nor aptitude at handling a hostage situation. Then the guns come out, but even then nobody starts shooting 'til Spidey starts fighting. His first concern should be to safeguard Betty and Bennett, but instead he starts dancing around with the goons and attacking Doc Ock. He fecklessly tries to grab Blackie's gun hand but somehow Bennett still gets shot protecting Betty. Betty's still in danger, but does Spidey try to protect her? No. His next thought is "Blackie's escaping... and Dr. Octopus is still at large! I've got to move!!" Predictably enough, while he's chasing after Blackie and Ock, Blackie's thugs quickly take Betty hostage, again, threatening her life, yet again. Spidey's just plain got his priorities wrong. He means well but he's brash, impulsive, and out of control. Costumed vigilantes... threat or menace? Read the Bugle to find out! Omar KarinduAugust 14, 2016 6:01 PM Captain America #105 I dunno. Both of them appeared in the Avengers as solo threats, but they didn't really take on the whole team by themselves. The Swordsman stalemated Cap in one-on-one battle in his first appearance, then fled from the Kooky Quartet int heir other two fight scenes even *after* getting the Mandarin's gadgets in his sword. Thereafter he was a henchvillain, regularly losing to single Avengers, sometimes losing even in tandem with his frequent partner Power Man (as when Hawkeye takes them both out himself in Avengers #30, with an assist from the Black Widow). Heck, Cap had already beaten Swordsman and Power Man all by himself in Tales of Suspense #88. As to the Laser, his first appearance is him *losing* a one-on-one fight with Goliath. The rest of his debut story is mostly him either escaping the Avengers or luring them into traps, and he only battles the whole team once he's got his own rebel army backing him up. It's really not until the 1970s that the Laser gets upgrades that make him a major threat tot he team, and arguably he's still not really a powerhouse villain until he turns into living light energy in the 1980s. Omar KarinduAugust 14, 2016 3:36 PM Marvel Super Heroes #15 Medusa's appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #62 is also pretty clearly a trailer for a solo series. And when Marvel does launch the Black Widow, it'll also be with a guest-shot in Spidey's title. Clearly it was already seen as a launchpad for other books thanks to its high sales kvetoAugust 14, 2016 1:56 PM Captain America #105 Both the Swordsman and the Living Laser had taken on the whole team of avengers. Here they lose to cap in a few panels. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 14, 2016 1:50 PM Silver Surfer #15-18 That gesture of reproach really reminds me of Right Said Fred! Vin the Comics GuyAugust 14, 2016 1:41 PM X-Men/Spider-Man #1 Dan, that was ASM #282, by DeFalco, Leonardi and Layton. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 1:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #43-45 A green school bus. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 14, 2016 1:23 PM Captain America #121-126 Sam in Cap's uniform! That should be noteworthy in itself! Vin the Comics GuyAugust 14, 2016 1:14 PM Bizarre Adventures #33 It never made sense that Varnae wasn't around. Beautifully rendered by the horror team supreme of Bissette and Totleben. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 14, 2016 1:02 PM Bizarre Adventures #34 Paul Smith is so bloody good! kvetoAugust 14, 2016 1:00 PM Daredevil #26 I'm surprised we didnt see more scenes of Matt in the courtroom with villains trying to escape. IanAugust 14, 2016 11:18 AM Amazing Spider-Man #174-175 I loved this story, so I have to take umbrage with the lack of depth comment! Mark DrummondAugust 14, 2016 10:50 AM Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #10 Dean Latimer, a future National Lampoon writer, had this to say in a November 1968 issue of the East Village Other:" Steranko has left this book for the (ecch)X-Men...this has got to be the worst thing Marvel has ever done. Springer the artist, who used to do Phoebe Zeit-Geist...he must be a real creep." Mark DrummondAugust 14, 2016 10:38 AM Dazzler #16 I can see Fingeroth getting the lecture, but I'm not sure if Springer ever even visited the Marvel offices during the Shooter era. He'd been in comics more than 20 years at this point, probably mailing all his work in, and I suspect that he didn't care if his art received disapproval from anyone(except for licensed properties). It's also likely that his art had deteriorated a bit by this time, resulting in incorrect body proportions among other things. His career could be paralleled with Frank Robbins, who started out with a decent Caniffish style, but by the 1970s had been reduced to drawing rubber Bendy toys passing for humans. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 9:30 AM Strange Tales #109 (Human Torch) hard to believe nobody brought back the sorcerer. MichaelAugust 14, 2016 9:18 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 What happened was this- Betty screamed, so Peter hurried to get on the boat, and a couple of the goons wound up getting the drop on him and taking him to Blackie and Ock. Then he makes his move at the first opportunity. It's a tragic series of events but it's on Blackie and Ock, not Peter. ZeilsternAugust 14, 2016 9:00 AM Dazzler #16 My best guess: Springer and Fingeroth get the infamous "storytelling" lecture from Shooter, including the maxim that every book needs to begin with the hero demonstrating their powers. Springer draws the splash, featuring what he considers to be Ali's "powers". He draws her in proportion, with her head cut off, not fully fitting into the page which further emphasizes her giant (ahem) "powers". The editor or the inker catch this and do a quick redraw. To get Ali's head fully into the page, they have to shrink it. Resulting in the infamous watermelon boob splash page. I have absolutely no evidence for this of course, but it's fun to try to infer the motivations of these creators three decades later. ChrisWAugust 14, 2016 5:07 AM Dazzler #16 Zeilstern, are you agreeing with me that it wasn't a mistake, considering most of Springer's other drawings of Ali? Mark, I didn't know about Springer's career [He drew the "Transformers" miniseries? He is one of the greatest human beings to ever live!] I'd heard of Phoebe Zeit-Geist but never actually saw the comics, and certainly didn't know he was the artist, nor that he had anything to do with National Lampoon. I'd assumed he was one of the generic Marvel artists that did a few titles during the early Shooter era and that was about it. I could see Springer drawing that splash page because he felt like it and figured Shooter/the art department would fix whatever problems they had. I could also see him not wasting the time to draw that page if it was just going to be changed anyway. Sure, pencillers had a long history of adding explicit details that they knew editors would catch and inkers would remove. It's just that this splash page is so dependent on Ali having gigantic breasts and a small head that the amount of redrawing would make it pointless unless he'd already cleared it with the editor to avoid the hassle. He might have had the idea, but at the very least, he'd have talked to say, Vinnie Colleta, who would say 'don't worry kid, I'll talk to Shooter and fix everything.' Yogi, what can I say? Some topics are so interesting that you want to jump in with both hands, grabbing everything and wrestling with it until you're satisfied. "Go For It!" James HoltAugust 14, 2016 4:19 AM Tales To Astonish #55 (Giant-Man/Wasp) I think Stan & Jack believed termites were ants. No really, a lot of ppl did. "Wood ants" and "white ants" were common names for termites, misnomers leading to misunderstandings. James HoltAugust 14, 2016 4:04 AM Tales To Astonish #54 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Note that Hank's pill-dispensing utility belt looks remarkably like a Twist-O-Flex watchband, (tm) Speidel, 1959. A similar look was already seen on the Legion Of Super-Heroes' anti-gravity belts in DC's Adventure Comics. James HoltAugust 14, 2016 3:37 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #12 Most of these retcon stories don't fit well for me. They disrupt the original creator's pacing to no good purpose, often. New readers would be much better off reading the original ASM series straight through, and without trying to fit these implants into the sequence. Otherwise they would be totally confused past the point of distraction. Better to save the retcons to read afterwards. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 3:35 AM Tales Of Suspense #57 And Don Heck could draw one thing well: pretty girls. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 3:35 AM Tales Of Suspense #57 the early version of the Black Widow does a better job of living up to her name. A seductress who uses her wiles to gain what she wants. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 3:33 AM Journey Into Mystery #107-108 there's a reason Thor was unimpressed by Storm's powers in the Secret Wars. Anything she can do, he can do better (with the weather). James HoltAugust 14, 2016 3:09 AM Journey Into Mystery #101-103 The Enchantress = Kirby's Nordic Venus. Since Norse legends had no obvious equivalent to the Goddess of Love, Lee and Kirby just invented their own. I wonder how long it was before Marvel gave her the name Amora? I don't recall it being used in these early tales, but I could be mistaken about that. Lov the idea that Odin conspiring with Loki here is all just part of an act, in his overarching efforts to manipulate Thor into becoming a "worthy" future monarch of Asgard (in Odin's patriarchal eyes). kvetoAugust 14, 2016 3:04 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #12 This is kinda the purpose this series should have served. Filling in forgotten plot holes. Spidey having encounters with lesser known Silver age villains and inconclusive encounters. Just without Bluebird and other inserted characters. kvetoAugust 14, 2016 2:54 AM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 I agree with milkrolik. It's a pretty lame clue if every hero and villain in the MU makes their own costume. It's not like anyone read that scene and went "Aha! Roderick Kingsley! It must be!" any more than they thought it was the Gladiator. James HoltAugust 14, 2016 2:19 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #10 The general style and appearance of the Enchantress got spilled all over Commanda too: long blonde hair, tiara, low cut green pant suit with long cape... Coincidentally odd that this story is retrofitted in right before Amora's own first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #103? James J. J. HoltAugust 14, 2016 1:48 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Here's an angle, Spider-Man totally IS a dangerous clown, and Betty and Jonah are completely justified in hating him 'til the days they die. Betty might just as easily have been the person who got shot and killed, y'know. If Peter really gave a shit about her, or had half a brain, he could have arranged things so as to get Betty and Bennett out of harm's way before charging in, dodging bullets and exchanging insults with Doc Ock. That should have been his main priority, but, no. What Peter really cares most about is having fun throwing wisecracks at villains while running circles around bozos with guns. It's super-easy for him to dodge their bullets, because he's super-fast. Betty isn't. Peter still hasn't got his priorities straight, even 11 issues after allowing his uncle to be shot by that armed robber he should have caught. StevenAugust 13, 2016 8:22 PM Avengers #69-71 Black Knight is the last new Avenger for forty issues. No one new would join the team until Black Widow in Avengers #111. StevenAugust 13, 2016 8:14 PM Avengers #75-76 Hank Pym leaves the lineup, and doesn't return to the regular lineup again until issue #151. In 75 issues he has gone through four different costumed identities. I think that he was best in the first issue. Matthew BradleyAugust 13, 2016 7:14 PM Marvel Two-In-One #46 I'm not buying that Waddles really is Howard; if so, his dialogue about the makeup would make no sense whatsoever. ZeilsternAugust 13, 2016 5:02 PM Dazzler #16 I think we all agree that Frank Springer was good at drawing naked women - and Phoebe Zeit-geist is a very good illustrative example. What stands out is how badly he drew the splash page in question here. After an exhaustive examination of Frank Springer's naked (or nearly-naked) women, I can tell you that like any professional artist, Springer understood basic rules of proportion and human anatomy. Phoebe Zeit-geist has large breasts - but as you might expect, they are always smaller than her head. For Dazzler #16 to happen, I think someone like Springer had to be told to override those basic rules of proportion. And if it was indeed a mistake - how did it get past both the editor and the very detail-oriented EIC? Thanos6August 13, 2016 4:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 The clue isn't that he modified the costume, the clue is that he did that FIRST before trying to modify or improve any of the other more important stuff like the weaponry or glider. InstantiationAugust 13, 2016 3:56 PM Fantastic Four #289-292 The last part of this crazy-fun arc called to mind the classic "Star Trek" episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" (written by Harlan Ellison). Both involve time travel to pre-WWII Earth, a character who may change history because he's not in his right mind (Bones/Fury), and potential divergent realities involving the Nazis. Beyond that, the details are pretty different, but it doesn't seem improbable that that episode may have been an inspiration, as Byrne is clearly a huge "Star Trek" fan and went on to create quite a few "Star Trek" comics for IDW. Mark DrummondAugust 13, 2016 2:15 PM Dazzler #16 What nobody seems to consider here is Frank Springer's rather long history of drawing naked ladies. He was first noted for this while drawing the "Phoebe Zeit-Geist" comic for the intellectual/leftist magazine Evergreen Review from roughly 1966-68. It featured the title character usually completely naked and large(though not Watermelon)-breasted and undergoing tortures from various villains. It was written by Michael O'Donoghhue, so it was overtly satirical and silly. The nudity was most likely added to provide a substitute for the reprinting of the first French "Barbarella" strip from 1964-66(anyone who thinks the Angel/Callisto issue of X-Men was original doesn't realize it was lifted from a blind angel Pygar/Black Queen page here). Springer and O'Donoghue did a subsequent strip called Captain Something-Or-Other from 1968-70 that featured much female nudity, and Springer later drew his share of naked ladies for National Lampoon. So, I find it very likely that Springer gave Dazzler Watermelon Boobs entirely on his own just because he felt like it. Of course, Shooter would have seen it afterwards, and you can certainly put blame on him for obviously not having a problem with it. mikrolikAugust 13, 2016 12:50 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 I hate to say this, but the "clue" that Hobgoblin modified and dyed the costume, so he must be skilled with clothes, i.e. a fashion designer, kind of falls apart when looked at the scope of Marvel Universe characters' propensity for making their costumes. Peter Parker designed and sewed his Spider-Man costume, despite being a science major who wasn't shown to possess sewing skills previously. Likewise, Daredevil. Guys like Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, the original Green Goblin, the Shocker, heck, even the Looter of all people apparently made their own costumes. So while it could eventually be interpreted as a clue once you know Roderick Kingsley is Hobby, in the context of the Marvel Universe it doesn't really stand out. MichaelAugust 13, 2016 9:10 AM Avengers #75-76 The implication in Amazing 86 was that she felt guilty over her involvement in her husband's death and decided to cut ties with everything that reminded her of that day, including Hawkeye, who was involved in that battle. MichaelAugust 13, 2016 9:04 AM Amazing Spider-Man #267 He also appears in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 5. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:29 AM Amazing Spider-Man #86 Was O'Neil in DAREDEVIL the only writer who ever made Natasha's English stiff, formal, and a little clumsy? She's so smooth and colloquial above, even making pop-culture references, and comics scripters in general had her speaking no differently from the other characters. Then it was weird when she turned up in O'Neil's DAREDEVIL, mid-1980s, and she was all "The things Daredevil tells you, you will find to be true," and asking "How do you say?" when she couldn't think of a word. He heightened the Russian-emigre quality. Given that she was a spy, Natasha should be about as good with American accents and Americanisms as, say, Keri Russell in The Americans. Of course, the point here was to revise Natasha as a slick, up-to-date character, so of course she's going to use modern slang and colloquialisms. Her dialogue here is also quite different from her formal and melodramatic Stan Lee/Roy Thomas speech in her earlier appearances. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:25 AM Fantastic Four #23 The ":ionic dust" thing is pretty clearly a case of Kirby coming up with a brilliant visual -- a room dissolving away to reveal the gaping void of outer space! -- but he and Stan having no real way to justify the visual and just tossing in some random gibberish instead. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:23 AM Tales Of Suspense #51 Sometimes it felt like the random villain created each month was not created for a specific hero but for whichever book needed a villain. thats actually realistic, as I like the underpowered Scarecrow meeting IM first. Stan was also fond of two other plots: in Iron Man's book, he liked villains who targeted Stark or Stark Industries more than Iron Man himself, which makes sneak-thief types a reasonable villain; and he really likes the idea of a fast-moving, agile type taking on a powerhouse, as with the similarly rubber-jointed Cobra taking on Thor or the Human Top battling the massive, lumbering Giant-Man. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:20 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 It occurs to me that Stern will use the same "mistaken sibling identity" gimmick for Belladonna in issues #47-48; he's using one mystery villain who let's a sibling take the rap to set up an entirely different mystery villain who uses a sibling as an alibi. Of course, the fashion world in the MU is full of this kind of thing. That's why Stan Lee was always mentioning Christian Dior; he just never got the chance to introduce his evil twin Heretic Dior, the Deadly Designer! Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:16 AM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 The Hobgoblin was always going to have an uphill struggle, though, since he was pretty much *defined* as "successor to the Green Goblin." Eventually, someone was gonna come along and say, "if the successor villain is good, what about the original, the guy in all those *classic* stories?" and have the GG displace Hobby. But yes, Hobgoblin has a better angle, a better codename, and a better visual. What he lacks, at least in Stern's conception, is something that would make him a genuinely personal foe for Spider-Man and complicate their conflicts. That was something built into the Norman and Harry versions of the Goblin. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:11 AM Amazing Spider-Man #267 The cab driver will show up again for a comedy bit in PAD's Spectacular Spider-Man #122. Strangely, this time he's driving in New York City. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:06 AM Avengers #75-76 I think there's some stuff in her revamp appearances in ASM #86 and Amazing Adventures that boils down to "I needed to find myself." I suppose it makes some sense; Hawkeye was her bridge to defecting, but now that part of her life is ending and she wants a fresh start. And one imagines they have some conflicts from both her willingness to kill from Avengers #37 -- this being pre-Bendis Hawkeye, the guy who destroys his marriage over his incredibly strict view of the Avengers' no-kill policy -- and the fact that Thomas portrays him as a chauvinistic lout right around the time Natasha is turning into a Strong Female Character. Omar KarinduAugust 13, 2016 8:02 AM Amazing Spider-Man #84 Let's see....there's the Schemer, the Supreme HYDRA, the Rose, and Blood Rose. And this is without getting into all the people who've impersonated *him* over the years. Yogi deadheadAugust 13, 2016 7:28 AM Dazzler #16 People of the future, grown men have devoted a week debating the size of Dazzler's chest! kvetoAugust 13, 2016 5:49 AM Amazing Spider-Man #84 And how many identities has Richard Fisk had over the years? kvetoAugust 13, 2016 5:46 AM Avengers #75-76 Has the question of why the Widow broke up with Hawk-eye ever been addressed? Other than "plot point"? kvetoAugust 13, 2016 4:56 AM Amazing Spider-Man #267 In these 1985 issues is there any continuity between the different suits that Spidey wears? Or is it just at the whim of the writer/artist? George LochinskiAugust 13, 2016 4:07 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #63-64 Should I ron Fist be tagged in these issues? kvetoAugust 13, 2016 1:34 AM Amazing Spider-Man #301 Secret Nazi room reminds me of Father Ted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w8aE99weR4 ChrisAugust 12, 2016 10:56 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 The Hobgoblin was a better villain than the Green Goblin. But that is basically because the amnesia angle (and knowing Spider-Man's real identitiy) Stan Lee saddled him with made his fights with Spidey post-Ditko very predictable, much like how the Lizard stories became. It had to end in only one way, and it quickly bogged the character down. The only way out was to kill him, and the only way to make to make his death monumental was for him to take out an important member of the supporting cast. The main reason for Hobgoblin's superiority is that he never fell into the dramatic rut or trap. He could keep creating new kind of plots and stories. Just seeing Hobby survive t he first encounter, become superpowered, fight Spidey as an equal, ally with the Rose, and then seek a final battle brought a real dynamic to the fight. When Marvel brought back Osborn (a bonehead move up there with resurrecting Jean Grey in terms of havoc it wrought on the mythos), it never worked in my opinion. I actually like the goofy mask and long purple hat, but I much prefer the Ditko version to the Romita one. The juxtaposition of the cute Ditko goblin and his murderous intent was unsettling. The Hobgoblin worked because Stern moved the ball and upped the ante. He took what worked with Osborn and gave it a new twist, creating a far superior villain to any of the subsequent Green Goblins and who surpassed the villain who inspired him. James HoltAugust 12, 2016 7:23 PM Tales To Astonish #53 Larry Lieber as of this issue had not yet disappeared. He scripted and penciled the 5 page story, "When Wakes the Colossus!" in this issue and had been scripting and penciling 1 or 2 backup fantasy stories in each issue, except for #44 and #45, since scripting his last Ant-Man story, #43. Thanos6August 12, 2016 6:46 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 Daniel as his own separate individual, clearly identified as such, didn't appear until Hobgoblin Lives. kvetoAugust 12, 2016 4:26 PM Web of Spider-Man #3 Seeing the Vulture trash the Vulturions was gratifying. kvetoAugust 12, 2016 3:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #238-239 you know, looking back, I think we often forget what a bad villain the Green Goblin was and what a good villain the Hobgoblin was. The Green Goblin was a rather silly villain with his goofy mask and long purple hat. The only reason he was remembered was because he got the honour of killing Gwen. If you replaced GG with say, Doc Ock, in that story then we wouldnt consider GG Spidey's main antagonist. D09August 12, 2016 3:47 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 According to the Spidey Kicks Butt website, try looking for the ones that say "Ghod" as that's the word Daniel uses in his sentences. ChrisAugust 12, 2016 3:40 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 Do we know when is the first actual appearance of Daniel as Daniel? I think we can fit in a lot of retroactive appearances of Daniel as Roderick. But when does Daniel appear? Daniel is mentioned as a character appearing on this site, but many of those seem to be Daniel as Roderick. Does he actually appear as an individual before Hobgoblin Lives? Yes, Roderick had to treat Daniel like dirt from early on to completely break him like that. MadGoblin speculates Roderick had a parent who went insane which explains his phobia about Osborn going insane. It is possible Roderick had to step into the role of parent and raise Daniel which made him extremely dominant. I will admit the Daniel reveal was very much a WTF moment. I love Stern's work and especially the run on ASM with the Hobgoblin, but the mystery could have been set up better. Andrew BurkeAugust 12, 2016 3:14 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 Yeah, I'd say so. His brother likely walked all over him since they were kids. He certainly didn't love Daniel at all since he put him in danger so many times. fnord12August 12, 2016 2:29 PM General Comments This is exactly why i said on the advanced search page that i wasn't sure if i should have made the grades searchable! ;-) But thanks for the analysis, and good to see i'm largely following a bell curve. Yes, i don't give Fs and to get in the A range i feel like it needs to be truly special, so the clustering you see at the edges makes sense. Let me request that if there's going to be any further discussion about my grades, let it happen on the forum (which also has editing options so Nick if you wanted to try again with the table, that may be the place). Thelonious_NickAugust 12, 2016 1:30 PM General Comments Still not perfect, but that last one is at least readable. So, I have the years across the top (I did 1961/61, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991). Thelonious_NickAugust 12, 2016 1:27 PM General Comments Final attempt to make the table formatting work. (fnord, could you delete my earlier attempts if this one works--sorry for the extra work I'm causing!) mikrolikAugust 12, 2016 1:12 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 Andrew Burke and Chris: I guess you could be right, although boy must Daniel have a miserable life. Thelonious_NickAugust 12, 2016 1:02 PM General Comments Generally, your grades follow a nice curve as well, with C being the most-awarded grade (386 times in the years I looked at). There are a couple exceptions. A lot of Ds pile up, suggesting you may need a D- to separate the terrible from the truly execrable (although I suppose once you're that low, maybe it doesn't matter. You also have a pile-up at the B+ level, suggesting you may be hesitating to assign some things as an A- that really deserve it. Overall, having gone through all these, I have to say I agree with the grades you've given, with the big exception of the 1966 Fantastic Fours, which I feel you criminally underrate (a C for Fantastic Four 51!). Thelonious_NickAugust 12, 2016 12:58 PM General Comments Okay, so I've had some extra time at work lately, and I was wondering about some things I couldn't get your advanced search page to perform, so I did a little statistical analysis. Yes, I'm aware that might be a sign of mental illness. Anyway, since the above post didn't come out all nicely formatted like I hoped, basically what I did is come up with the average ratings you've assigned to comics for several years: 1961/62, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991. What I really wanted to see was how different eras compared to each other. For instance, I've always had the opinion that the Jim Shooter years were Marvel's best, and this indeed bore that out. Your ratings for 1986 average out between a B and a B-, and for 1981 a little higher than a C+. The lowest rating was for the 1961/62, which earned just below a C-, and 1971, at just above a C-. This seems about right. Some other things I noticed--the total ratings you have for 1971 drop compared to 1966. You don't have any Thor entries for 1971 which would up the total a little. I wonder too if much of 1971's Marvel output was outside of your project's scope--Conan and the various horror anthologies, mainly. CecilAugust 12, 2016 1:26 AM Defenders #140-141 It seems quite off your Fnordic Track to not mention the killer bunnies :-D James HoltAugust 12, 2016 1:20 AM Tales Of Suspense #51 I see Pepper is still wearing the freckle-coverup makeup from last issue. Okay. I get it now. I always thought the artist was airbrushing them out. James HoltAugust 12, 2016 1:04 AM Tales Of Suspense #50 (Iron Man) A slide-rule "calculater" lmao James HoltAugust 12, 2016 12:26 AM Tales To Astonish #51 (Giant-Man/Wasp) I liked the Wasp much better the way Ernie Hart was writing her in her first few stories of this series (#44-#46). I'm guessing Stan started revising her dialog around #47, and then with #49 he quit using a script writer on the series altogether, and started writing all her dialog himself, up to this issue, #51, at least. Stan seems to go out of his way to write Jan as a total airhead, arguably even more condescendingly and patronizingly than he writes Sue Storm, Jean Grey, and other young women characters, if that's possible. When Reed Richards and Charles Xavier talk dickishly, well, Stan is the one writing the dialog, so... ChrisWAugust 12, 2016 12:25 AM Dazzler #16 Although if Shooter wasn't editing any other titles at the time, that's probably the reason he was directly editing this one. You make a good point about why it may not actually be his fault. ChrisWAugust 11, 2016 11:09 PM Dazzler #16 That's a good point. I would disagree, purely because at this point Marvel was still hoping "Dazzler" could become a multi-media franchise. If Shooter was editing any other titles at the time, I'd bet he was putting more effort on "Dazzler" than the others. Quality? No. But if a Hollywood bigwig gushes over seeing big boobs and also stresses that any story should have a strong opening scene, Shooter would be taking mental notes for the next issue's splash page. Which actually reinforces what a different world it was then, when you could rely on comics coming out every month. Hollywood usually takes years to get projects off the ground. The "Dazzler" creative teams cranked out a few hundred pages in the time it took the project to go from Grace Jones to Bo Derek to whoever. The graphic novel was probably an attempt to restart the project, and when there was no interest, they just kept the title running as long as it kept selling, which wasn't much longer. When the series was cancelled, Shooter still had over a year and a half to go as EIC, but Claremont brought Ali into the mutant titles almost immediately and she joined the X-Men only a few months after that. [Compensation for Jean Grey's return perhaps?] James HoltAugust 11, 2016 10:45 PM Fantastic Four #23 Stan Lee inadvertently got carried away in his fantasy that Mr. Fantastic was he. JPAugust 11, 2016 10:05 PM Marvel Team-Up #128 Thanks! Morgan WickAugust 11, 2016 8:47 PM Bizarre Adventures #33 Here's something that's been bugging me since reading about Varnae on the Original Marvel Universe timeline: So, Varnae, who looks to be an absolutely inhuman monster and not the mostly-human-looking creature Dracula and most vampires are, has been around at least since the days of Atlantis as lord of the vampires and everything is hunky-dory, until one day he up and decides to quit because he's bored, so he arranges for this dude to be vampirized (he wasn't even already a vampire) and named his successor, even after he tries to fight it, before killing himself. And over the course of just over 500 years, Dracula is repeatedly defeated and even killed, including seeing the Darkhold's vampire-eradication spell be cast. If I were a long-lived-enough vampire, at this point I'd be thinking that vampirekind was a lot better off under Varnae and I'd be wanting to time-travel back to the 1400s to drag him out of his funk so they don't have to be led by this ordinary, somewhat-more-powerful vampire who keeps losing. Cesar Hernandez-MerazAugust 11, 2016 6:53 PM Beauty and the Beast #1-4 Perhaps her idea (not really explained in the book) was that Flynn had "emotion amplifier" powers. As you said, he was not Professor X's level in "controlling" her, and aparently only affected depressed people. What if he was affecting Hank, too, not as mind control, but just making his disgust grow to unmanageable proportions? A line or two (like the "I am attracted to her, but do not know why") could fit into this. So she may have been consciously writing them doing things they would never do, and simply forgot to mention the important fact that Flynn's influence worked that way. Thanos6August 11, 2016 6:22 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 I think the second Belladonna story said that when she and her sister refused to sell their cosmetics company, Kingsley hired a model to claim she had been disfigured by their products, which drove them out of business. fnord12August 11, 2016 6:04 PM Marvel Team-Up #128 Spider-Man is John Morelli (mainly a letterer, but not on this issue) and Captain America is Joe Jusko. JPAugust 11, 2016 5:15 PM Marvel Team-Up #128 Out of curiosity, did that feature on the photo cover mention who was in the Spider-Man costume? ChrisAugust 11, 2016 3:14 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 I can think of all sorts of reasons why you'd want a double in your place sometimes completely unrelated to being a supervillain. "Daniel, please cover for me at the fashion show because I'm going over to this hot model's place for sex because her husband will be out at that exact same time." "Please show up to this boring meeting at the club for me. I'm expected, but I have better things to do." "Daniel, show up for me at the negotiations with this cosmetics firm. If they meet with us, there won't be anyone at their office, and I'm going to rifle through their office papers. I can't trust anyone else to do it." We know that he is probably involved in illegal activities pre-Hobgoblin. I'm not sure how he can ruin a dozen (!) small European firms by putting out his own line, unless there was something nefarious involved (or at least highly unethical contract negotiations). And there had to be a reason for the low life criminal to want to go to Kingsley in the first place upon discovering one of the Green Goblin's hideouts. ChrisAugust 11, 2016 2:59 PM Tales To Astonish #51 (Giant-Man/Wasp) The Wasp was also something like 18 or 19 at the time - still very young. Let's just attribute it to hormones and move on. I agree with the comments on the Wasp back ups. Other than the framing, these are obviously old plots remaining from the monster days. Wanting to give his brother work was probably the big incentive. ChrisAugust 11, 2016 2:53 PM Dazzler #16 It could just be a mistake. In the previous Dazzler entry with Galactus, FNORD12 mentions Galactus' head is too small for his body. I've seen lots of occasions where artists who normally draw well get the proportions wrong or show the body at odd angles for one panel. As for the editor not catching it, I didn't immediately make the connection that the head was too small. I doubt the editor spent anything more than 3 seconds looking at each Dazzler page. This was not a series where they were insisting on high quality and thus spent lots of time making sure it was perfect. I know this goes against Shooter's reputation as an editor, but he was probably doing this on his lunch break as EIC. ZeilsternAugust 11, 2016 2:02 PM Dazzler #16 I wish I could think this was a momentary lapse of good taste from the EIC. But then you remember Avengers #200. Or Secret Wars II #3. And it becomes part of a larger pattern. James HoltAugust 11, 2016 1:22 PM Tales To Astonish #51 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Larry Lieber's last published super-hero script was about 9 months previous, in Journey Into Mystery #92. In the interim he'd been writing and penciling short science fantasy stories like this one. This Wasp framing sequence story strikes me as Stan trying to bring brother Larry back into the super-hero fold as a Marvel-method style penciler, using story ideas he already had in mind for the science fantasy shorts. It won't be long after this that Marvel will discontinue the fantasy shorts in favor of more super-hero material, and Larry will turn to trying his talents at other jobs, eventually to wind up doing Marvel super-hero newspaper strips. mikrolikAugust 11, 2016 12:06 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 kveto: I've slept on it for a while, and, well, maybe I did get a little zealous with some of my comments. I think when it all comes down to it, I wished Stan Lee really gave more thought to that scene, and maybe rewrote it so that Spidey wasn't as culpable in the Finisher's death as he was. I think he may have realized this by having Finisher say "Explosion… backfired… on me…!", as if at that point he realized the reader probably would realize that Spidey's actions resulted in a fatality, and he wanted to shift the reader's thinking. While I still think it can be explained as justifiable self defense, it still doesn't feel right, especially when in later Spidey issues, his stance against killing becomes more defined and clarified. I guess I'm just uncomfortable with the notion that Spidey would deliberately kill a person. But as I look at Amazing Annual 5, it really could have been written better in this regard. James HoltAugust 11, 2016 11:10 AM Tales Of Suspense #49 (Iron Man) I'm definitely thinking that "Illustrated by" is being used as code for breakdowns-only during this period. Other than some of the character poses, these scans look nothing like Steve Ditko pencils. Seems like the Marvel method is having growing pains and Stan is depending on Steve to do more of his storytelling for him, because Steve and Jack are the main ones at this time who can actually pull it off. Steve can't do pencils as fast as Jack can because nobody is as fast as Jack. Looking at Jack's work on Fantastic Four during this period, it looks like Jack is also doing quick layouts and depending on George Roussos to do the finishes. They're pushing Steve and Jack too hard and soon of necessity they're going to have to hire new talent so Stan can keep working in the Marvel method. Andrew BurkeAugust 11, 2016 10:43 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 An idea could be that Roderick had Daniel posing as him due to the threat of Belladonna and other enemies that he made. However, that would be pretty cruel,but then Roderick is ruthless and has always felt superior to his weak-willed brother. mikrolikAugust 11, 2016 10:35 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #43 The whole Roderick/Daniel thing has kind of a big plot hole: why would Roderick have Daniel be disguised as Roderick before assuming the Hobgoblin role? It seems a little too convenient that this was all in place before Georgie found the Green Goblin stuff in Amazing 238... But that's assuming that Roger Stern planned this far ahead, where I think I read somewhere he decided to make Roderick the Hobgoblin as he was in the process of writing Amazing 238; I'm not sure when he came up with the twin brother idea. MarkAugust 11, 2016 6:34 AM Thor #447-456 Titania DOES have strawberry blonde hair as per the OHOTMU 13. TeemuAugust 11, 2016 1:51 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Brian C. Saunders: Also, has anyone noticed that Colossus has a different patronym in #141? It's supposed to be Nikolievitch not Alexandreivich! Always noticed but never really registered. It's probably not a coincidence that a guy with Rasputin for last name has his patronyms switching from one Romanov Czar to another, but it's a different question if it is a genuine mistake by Claremont or written one by Magneto or rather a subtle pun. Them Alexanders always seemed like more decent guys than Nikolays; A the Second especially goes as The Great Liberator, which is something to think about at the South Bronx mutant internment camp. I could see Magneto with his having always been at continuous odds with the Soviets to make the joke that Pjotr might be likely to get. A little pep talk for the job ahead them. ChrisWAugust 11, 2016 1:27 AM Dazzler #16 Erik, I don't think you're far off the mark. Frank Springer and Vinnie Colleta knew how to draw pretty girls, and that splash page is about as far away as one can get from drawing a pretty girl. Can't blame the writer, can't blame the penciller, can't blame the inker, can't blame the art department, if the editor wanted anything other than gigantic breasts on the splash page, there was plenty of time to make it so. Doesn't matter how much damage they have to do to the art or the story, that's what the editor paid for. Could have called John Romita to fix things. That's his job, and it would have really helped. But no, this is what the editor wanted. ChrisWAugust 11, 2016 1:17 AM Dazzler #16 "Hey Sam, my back-up singer is feeling kinda unwanted at the moment. Could one of your gang show her some affection? Doesn't have to be serious, I just want her to stop turning evil whenever we've got a paying gig." Dani with Scott, Doug with almost every female in the mansion [except Storm and Rogue] it takes very little imagination to invoke Rule 34. Ororo walks around naked and Rogue could easily be talked into showing everything off in a 'look but don't touch' party atmosphere. "Rule 34" has nothing on the complexities of the mutant titles. ChrisAugust 11, 2016 1:11 AM Strange Tales #147-156 (Dr. Strange) While Umar has some strengths of a character, it seems wrong to both give Dormammu a sister, and if he had one that she look like a normal human. We know that the Dark Dimension has some human like beings, but it was not clear under Ditko that Dormammu is part of their race any more than he was one of the Mindless Ones. I think it really brought down his awe and majesty. If Umar was merely Dormammu's "lover" or high priestess or some other strong emotional connection, it would have been better for Dormammu. Erik RobbinsAugust 11, 2016 1:04 AM Dazzler #16 As to that splash page, my own pet theory (based upon nothing but whim), is that the page was originally delivered with a head in scale with the neck, shoulders, and the rest, but her face has cut off around the nose. Theoretical Editor: Wait, why'd you cut off her head here? Theoretical Artist: [Gives his reasoning - "You/Shooter/The writer told me to emphasize her chest", or whatever] Editor: But you can't cut off her face! Redo it, but include her entire head this time! [Artist goes away. Once it is too close to deadline to change things further, the above linked art is delivered.] Editor: Dammit! ChrisWAugust 11, 2016 12:36 AM Dazzler #16 "Hey Sam, Lila's back-up singer is kinda hot. You think you could introduce me to her?" said no New Mutant Ever. To their eternal shame. ChrisWAugust 11, 2016 12:27 AM Dazzler #16 So if I find a Thanos/Quasar team-up, I should look for something else to read. Good advice. Thanks. :D I'll keep holding out for that Mary Jane/Gwen Stacey/Betty Brant night on the town. 12 issues, "mature readers only." Peter whines that he wasn't invited and Liz Allen runs up to tell him "I did invite you." Flashes him [pun intended] "You want to go somewhere private?" And then he has to take care of his aunt or something. What a loser. Marvel's problem was trying to do it multiple ways. DC figured out the "vertical integration" of their properties. *THESE* characters are part of Vertigo and cannot appear in normal DC Comics. *THOSE* characters are part of DC and cannot appear in Vertigo. They were even able to create a grey area for, say, Animal Man to appear in "Justice League" or Swamp Thing and Sandman to appear in "Ambush Bug." DC made plenty of mistakes, but they figured out how to put their characters into circumstances that weren't intended for children. They also had the advantage of seeing Marvel's mistakes, and the enormous corporation in charge. If you can convince the higher-ups that Black Canary needs to be raped and mutilated as a damsel-in-distress for a 3-issue Prestige Format "Green Arrow" comic, what can't you get away with? That led to DC publishing many wonderful comics [as did "The Killing Joke"] but I can't honestly say I would have approved of the decision if I were one off the people in charge. Just, no! Tie Dinah to a chair and have the bad guy occasionally smack her, and then Green Arrow kills him. I'm fine with that. You don't treat Dinah or Barbara like that. Maybe it's sexist. These are superhero comics. I don't mind Spider-Man being strung up and tortured by Kulan Gath. I don't mind Wolverine being crucified and tortured by Donald Pierce. Spidey only lived long enough to break free and die revealing the Maguffin, which only Warlock was capable of understanding. But you don't do that to Madelyne Pryor, you don't do that to Elizabeth Braddock, you don't do that to Dinah Lance, you don't do that to Barbara Gordon. Rule 34, that's easy. Hey Marvel, if you want people to see great comics when they google "Dazzler Rule 34" I'm your man! Totally different scenario. Women will die just as easily as men, but there will be boobies! As opposed to the New Mutants, who totally keep their clothes on no matter what attractive people of the opposite sex they ever meet. Dazzler? Meh. Longshot? Meh. Cyclops uncertain about his girlfriend? Meh. Illyana in a vulnerable mood? Meh. Wolverine naked and charging directly at you with all his fury when he's possessed by Mojo? Shan's going to need a few moments alone. Claremont succeeded because Marvel had no idea where they wanted the characters to be in a multi-media franchise. And this doesn't even get into Hank and Jan's relationship, Reed and Sue's, Thor and Pepper's, etc. Like Ali, pick a goal and move towards it consistently, whatever it takes. Opening a supermarket today, wet t-shirt contest tonight, hitting the stage sometime after midnight. Go For It! RocknrollguitarplayerAugust 11, 2016 12:11 AM Doctor Strange #175-178 the Gene Colan drawn new Doctor Strange is a true Statue of Liberty moment. It seems that image should serve our eyes as one full side of the chrysler building in New York RocknrollguitarplayerAugust 11, 2016 12:00 AM Avengers #61 What a humongous time to be an Avengers fan! The art was stellar...And Dr. Strange went from corny Vegas strip magician to a truly ethereal dimensional being. And some people complained? RocknrollguitarplayerAugust 10, 2016 11:47 PM Uncanny X-Men #49-56 (origins) The X-Men comics books would have been better served in the good hands of Jim Steranko in a time period where readership was dwindling. The Polaris cover alone is a masterpiece. Steranko was a wildcard but at this point in X-Men history I would of let him write the books in a very esoteric format with artistic swagger from home or his van down by the river, rather than rolling out re-runs. Oddly enough as much as Neal Adams has reigned supreme, he really did not jump start this title. RocknrollguitarplayerAugust 10, 2016 11:30 PM Tales To Astonish #92-93 Marie Severin has real chops James HoltAugust 10, 2016 11:27 PM Tales To Astonish #50 (Giant-Man/Wasp) I find it hard to believe that Ditko inked any of this. GCD credits Ditko for inks, but also states: "Per Nick Caputo, Don Heck provided alterations on the Wasp's face in many panels. Bob Bailey originally credited Don Heck or Sol Brodsky with uncredited inking on the entire story." Wait, what? Huh? If Ditko inked it, he must have been in an uncharacteristically sloppy mood; compare the line work here with any contemporaneous pages from Dr. Strange or Spider-Man and see what you think. To be fair, Heck's credited inking from the previous issue also looks a lot better than most of the "rendering" shown here. Even the "illustration" credited to Kirby looks unKirbylike. Something experimental seems to be happening here --- why do they use words like "illustrated by" and "rendered by" instead of "penciler" and "inker?" Thanos6August 10, 2016 11:16 PM Dazzler #16 Marvel really should have stuck with the "magazines for adult audiences" thing longer and pushed the boundaries. Sure, have an all-ages superhero Dazzler comic, but have an adult-themed one with sex and romance. Hell, have TWO, one that leans more towards the romantic side with passion and seduction, and one that leans more sexually explicit and is basically licensed Rule 34. And I didn't say Quasar was a good match for her. Just that he's cute. He could quantum-cuff me to a bed any day! ChrisWAugust 10, 2016 10:49 PM Uncanny X-Men #242 Jean's relationship with Storm can be retconned, but literally the last time she spoke to Logan, it was to scream about how unlikeable he was, and lord knows she's tried. Even the "trying" is a retcon. What did the Phoenix Force do to her in that cocoon? ChrisWAugust 10, 2016 10:20 PM Dazzler #16 Just to tie this back to Zielstern's post of that horrible splash page, because I haven't monopolized this thread enough, Ali's head and neck aren't even attached to her body in any meaningful way. No tendons or muscles, they aren't set on her shoulders. They're just growing out of her body like a beanstalk. And that collar is just... hovering there, like gravity doesn't exist, or like she's not going to move and it can stay frozen until the starch wears off. I can't tell if there was any redrawing on that splash page or they did it deliberately, but if Ali's head was the size it should be to make her body look remotely-proportionate, her hair should be passing the top panel border at least. ChrisWAugust 10, 2016 10:08 PM Dazzler #16 The problem is making it "good." There are moral and legal problems with that approach. Morally, everybody will have a different approach - we're all individuals with our own views - and Ali is a company-owned character where Marvel has the final say, even as they hire different writers, editors, artists, etc. to handle that fictional character. I could see Ali being "slutty" [again, your definition of the term may vary.] She's trying to become a star, some of that will be expected. The problem is treating her as a character that's both likeable and believable. On the rebound from the doctor who just dumped her, she calls the lawyer. Unless she's desperate, that's not believable, given her career and status in life at the moment. Far more likely that she's on the rebound, comes off stage one night, has more than a few drinks, and picks the cutest guy drooling over her to go home with for the night. I might disapprove or I might want some of that myself, but it's much more believable than swapping one generic upper-middle class occupation for another as her newest love interest. As long as she's not giving it up to anybody who promises work, it's progress. Even more believable and likeable, a gorgeous guy is taking her flying over the city with his own two wings. A girl can only resist so much temptation. It works for Ali as a character, it doesn't leave her sitting at home, waiting for him to call, it doesn't require him to continue stalking her. He drops her off at home, she thinks 'that was great, I needed that,' goes to take a shower and get some sleep before working to line up another singing gig. She doesn't even see the guy again until "Inferno." "Oh Angel sweetie, what a waste." Not like Quasar, who is totally wrong for her. :) The other legal problem with making the stories "good" is that comics is a visual medium. My theory is that girls/women *in general* are attracted to romance stories, and if someone could crack that combination for the comics medium, it would be a monster hit, "Harry Potter"-level success as far as attracting readers. It might work in the superhero genre, since Marvel Movies have proven themselves as "Harry Potter"-level successes. The problem is the difficulty in doing romance for a visual medium in a way that's as appropriate for a 10 year-old girl as it is for a 40 year-old woman. Appealing to the 10 year-old will bore the 40 year-old and appealing to the 40 year-old will get you arrested for even approaching the 10 year-old. I'm sure there's a way to square that circle, but I don't have it. I personally wouldn't write Dazzler for a 10 year-old in the first place, boy or girl. But that's not what this series did. Jim Shooter's Comics Code-Approved Marvel Comics was not going to do a "Dazzler" series that could appeal to all those age groups. At best, they were generic superhero adventures that the boys might enjoy, which is probably why the series was initially a hit in the direct market. My guess is that it was the hardcore collectors in the direct market that made "Dazzler" a success in the first place. I said above that my theory is that girls and women generally like romance stories. I think the success of the romance genre over the last couple centuries bears that out. [It wasn't boys and men buying books because Fabio was on the cover.] But they also like good stories in general. Stan and Jack had female readers, Claremont, Byrne and Miller had female readers. Larry Hama had female readers, and the war genre is as far away as superheroes from what girls/women intrinsically like to read about. Alan Moore had female readers, though his early work was more horror ["Swamp Thing"] than superheroes (everything else,) and Neil Gaiman finally wrote a series that females - adult women no less - wanted to read and re-read with enjoyment. Good stories first and foremost, with interesting characters that you want to read more stories about, and then you can start breaking the audience down into whatever demographic groups you're trying to appeal to and figure out how to market it commercially from there. The "Dazzler" series started from the opposite side of things. Poor Ali. If her actual first appearance hadn't been in a Claremont/Byrne issue of "X-Men," she'd probably be forgotten now. MortificatorAugust 10, 2016 9:51 PM Fantastic Four #72 I did get the reference. Thanos6August 10, 2016 8:49 PM Dazzler #16 Ah, I thought you meant that being a slut was itself horrible. Mind you, I'd read a good "sex and superheroes" comic. And Quasar IS cute. :) ChrisWAugust 10, 2016 7:40 PM Dazzler #16 It was a tl;dr version of summing up Ali's love life in this series, with emphasis intended to be on the word "horrible" as the only way to make her believable, i.e. mean, thoughtless, inconsiderate, no sense of purpose, blowing with the wind, much more likely to be a groupie than a girlfriend, etc. She falls for Dr. Paul Janson who dumps her for being flaky, so she immediately jumps to lawyer Ken Barnett. Before long, she's with Roman Nekoboh, "his only true gift - deceiving women. Stupid ones, anyway - whose bust measurement exceeds their IQ" which is basically what this series reduces her to. Quasar is cute and the Beyonder can brainwash her. At least the Angel is dashing and can fly, when he's not blue-skinned and bald. I can't believe I'm saying this, but even being with Longshot makes more sense than that, if only because Australia's a boring place and he's been given the established trait of women finding him dreamy whether he's doing anything to deserve it or not. "Love in a World of Superheroes" could be a great romance comic and Ali would be perfect as the star. But then, Ali would be perfect almost anywhere. Except this series which was a horrible vehicle for her. James HoltAugust 10, 2016 7:35 PM Amazing Spider-Man #7 It was and still is one of the most upbeat comics I've ever read. I thought Betty and Peter would always be together. If Ditko had stayed with the book longer maybe they would. I suppose it's more realistic the way it played out with the blonde and the redhead, given that Peter was still just a high school kid. Whatever her actual age was, Betty was all grown up. kvetoAugust 10, 2016 3:43 PM Amazing Spider-Man #160 The Tinkerer karate chopping Spider-man away has to be right up there with the Puppet Master's kung fu kick to the Vision in terms of "where the frag have they been hiding those skills". mikrolikAugust 10, 2016 11:22 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #10 I think JJJ gets too much flak for supposedly being involved with the creation of the Fly. At this point, he had done nothing more than just talk to Harlan. Harlan had already done much of the project without JJJ's help. And neither JJJ nor Harlan had vetted Rick Deacon; he became the Fly through coercion. It makes me wonder if JJJ hired another person to be a Fly, if that person really could have been a hero. mikrolikAugust 10, 2016 11:10 AM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 The "clues" to the Hobgoblin's identity I think are almost too subtle. For instance: 1. "Roderick" says he has a brother. If we even bother to focus on what seems to be a throwaway line, at this point, we haven't seen or heard about said brother, so why would we assume it's an identical twin? 2. "Roderick" forgetting his girlfriend's name would probably be interpreted by the reader as Kingsley is a ladies' man who is two timing his girlfriend, and can't keep their names straight. 3. Hobgoblin saying the disgrace would be too much for him and his "family". Well, doesn't everyone have a family? Or at least a family name they'd want to keep reputable? Interesting that Stern wanted to reveal Hobby's ID around #264, but he was gone after #252. I wonder how he would have handled the issues leading up to #264? Would readers have guessed Roderick was the Hobgoblin once Daniel's existence was made clear? Maybe if he was revealed before #264. If Daniel was introduced the same issue Roderick was unmasked, I think it would have been incredibly disappointing. Matthew BradleyAugust 10, 2016 10:53 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #54 Hah! Never had occasion to read that WBN review before, since I never followed the strip. And my Marvel University colleague, Professor Tom Flynn, would find that issue of interest, because he's obsessed with the shark scene from Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE. But I was referring to this page's length as much as anything else, and you'll have to admit that even fnord's original WBN review is both much longer and a whole lot more fun. CecilAugust 10, 2016 10:21 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #54 Ahh, Matthew. There's always Werewolf By Night #2's original A+ review :-D Matthew BradleyAugust 10, 2016 10:00 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #54 This may be the most dismissive page I have ever seen on your site. Sadly, it is richly deserved. fnord12August 10, 2016 8:25 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #67 Fixed the title. Thanks Cecil. fnord12August 10, 2016 8:21 AM What's Missing Thanks D09. To be clear, if it's listed on this page it doesn't mean i'm actively looking for it/can't find it. This is just a way to inform people about things that are missing from the project. Despite the recent sundries i've been adding, my focus at the moment is adding new years to the project as opposed to filling in missing back issues. Omar KarinduAugust 10, 2016 7:03 AM Avengers #89-97 Also, a big part of the effectiveness was simply the scale of what was being done here, both in terms of welding together the Marvel Universe and in terms of how "big" the last few issues were; this is a pre-Star Wars world, where shots like that massive alien armada are real standouts and would reflect something "bigger" than a lot of readers had seen before. Omar KarinduAugust 10, 2016 6:56 AM Amazing Spider-Man #7 I always remember this as the issue in which Spider-Man's quipster persona is finally, firmly established. He becomes a character who doesn't just beat the villins but frustrates and humiliates them with his insults and his methods for stopping them. More generally, it's the first issue where everything really clicks into place in terms of the supporting cast at the Bugle. James HoltAugust 10, 2016 2:19 AM Amazing Spider-Man #7 Likewise. My comic-droogs and I voice-acted it repeatedly and laughed at every Spider-Man wisecrack. "Darn right I did, Curly" became a long-standing "in-joke" among us. James HoltAugust 10, 2016 2:08 AM Tales Of Suspense #48 GCD says Steve Ditko pencils and Dick Ayers inks on this story, but the splash page credits say "Art: Steve Ditko and Dick Ayers." It looks to me like Ditko on breakdowns only, with Ayers on all the detail finishes. Ditko preferred to ink his own pencils; I'm guessing that Stan must have really bent Steve's arm in order to get him to do breakdowns, for Ayers here, and for Don Heck on the previous TOS #47. Can't find any previous examples of Ditko doing breakdowns. I don't think Pepper Potts was originally intended to be Gwyneth Paltrow pretty, but rather, more like girl-next-door pretty. She gradually got glamorized because so many comic artists were/are so very focused on Hollywood-actress pretty and He-Man handsome character modeling. James HoltAugust 10, 2016 1:12 AM Fantastic Four #21 *choke* Why do George Roussos' inks look good on the "Tales Of Asgard" story from JIM #97, yet so hideous in this issue only a month later? I don't get it. Perhaps he took more time on the 5 page story? Maybe he just didn't like the subject matter in this FF/KKK story? All this hurried sloppy inking eventually pushed Kirby to do finish quality pencils on all of his pages, leaving nothing to the inker's imagination. Re: the subterranean vehicle, at first I thought that it must be traveling in the opposite direction of the rocket thrust... but it's not...!? What force could be making it move forward against the powerful reverse thrust of the rocket? Seems totally unbelievable. Ben HermanAugust 9, 2016 9:10 PM Avengers #89-97 @Oroborus - It's important to keep in mind that back in 1971, when Roy Thomas was writing these issues, he pretty much making it up as they went along, trying to create some cool Avengers stories while working on the treadmill of the monthly comic book deadline. That's why there are various digressions. For instance, the whole "Ant-Man's journey to the center of the Vision" thing is in there simply because Neal Adams decided it would be fun to draw, and Thomas told him to go for it. Thomas is the first to admit that he did not have any sort of meticulously-plotted story arc in mind, and he certainly did not set out to create an classic storyline that would later be endlessly reprinted over the next four decades. I think that "The Kree-Skrull War" works for the same reason "The Dark Phoenix Saga" works; as with Claremont & Byrne a decade later, Thomas was basically just doing his thing, trying to tell some interesting, fun stories that would excite readers. It was all very organic, much more so than such pre-packaged "epics" as Civil War or Secret Invasion or any other big Marvel event from the past two decades. Ben HermanAugust 9, 2016 8:48 PM Daredevil annual #1 Wow, that's so very odd that the first time Zemo was ever actually referred to as "Baron" was in a humorous back-up story that ran in, of all places, the first Daredevil annual, published over two years after the character died, and that this was almost certainly due to Stan Lee's notoriously bad memory causing him to forget that the character had only ever been referred to as "Doctor Zemo" while he was still alive. Thanos6August 9, 2016 8:41 PM Dazzler #16 ChrisW, what's wrong with being a slut? InstantiationAugust 9, 2016 7:58 PM Namor #4-5 The first five issues of this Namor series made for a promising and intriguing start. It was nice to see real architecture being developed issue to issue. I was also instantly much more attracted to what was going on here than in Byrne's just earlier WCA run, which I had mixed-tending-toward-negative feelings about. For one thing, the art seemed improved over that series, a bit of a comeback in that respect, and I'm definitely with those who like the "duo-shade (or whatever it was called)" effects, particularly for the watery scenes. That was a really fresh look. The conclusion to this story was a bit disappointing, though, arguably another ex. of something I was commenting on elsewhere in relation to FF issues. FORCE seems to have been inspired by such "eco-terrorist" groups as Earth First!, which in turn was inspired by the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang, so art imitating life imitating art. Earth First! was attracting a fair bit of attention with its "direct action" approach in the late 80s, so it's not surprising to see Byrne extrapolating from that. The environmental theme (which had cropped up tangentially in his work earlier, like when Galactus materialized planet-devouring equipment out of NYC air pollution) was great to see and predates, to take just one other ex., Mike Grell's "Shaman's Tears" by a few years. Oddly enough, though, the thing that delighted me most with these issues was the scene in #4 in which Namorita bragged about her "to die for" legs but then discovered that at the posh party no one was really interested in ogling her in her super-short skirt because they were all totally obsessed with, as she puts it, "Money! MoneyMoneyMoney!" Wonderful satire there. The legs thing, though, and the appeal for "surface men" can be interpreted as self-commentary of sorts, since it had been clear for years that there were few things Byrne loved to draw more than women's legs. I'd have to go through stacks of his issues to be sure, but maybe he really got going on that with Aurora from Alpha Flight. And there's that infamous FF issue where they brought back Jean Gray in her torn black dress. Then it really took off when he went over to DC and started drawing Lois Lane and all those LexCorps women in short skirts. There were always plenty of leggy females in his work from then on (not to mention the infamous She-Hulk shaving gag scene ...). Of course, it was part of a larger trend and reflected the changing/maturing audience of comics -- er, graphic storytelling, I mean. Erik: possibly. InstantiationAugust 9, 2016 4:42 PM Strange Tales #178-181 Catching up w. the latest comments on this old favorite ... Michael notes: "if you only have a limited amount of time to save the universe, it's not a good idea to stand around talking to yourself?" True, true, but Warlock, of course, isn't a strictly rational entity. He's moody, melancholy, doom-driven. So it's not surprising he's prone to deliver soliloquies a la Hamlet. And Red Comet is spot on about the many parallels with Moorcock's Elric. I don't remember which I read first at this point, but the similarities were obvious to me as a teenager. Of course, it was this Elric-like take on the character that differentiated Starlin's conception from Roy Thomas's earlier (and far less successful, I think) "Jesus Christ Superstar" version. Starlin has admitted to the Moorcock influence but tried to play it down in at least one interview I read. And it's true that Elric at least didn't travel into the future to kill himself. The inspiration for that, I'm guessing, might have been Robert Heinlein's classic short story "--All You Zombies--" from 1959, which is kind of the ultimate in time-travel paradoxes. (In a nutshell, the protagonist, because of time travel and a sex-change operation, turns out to be his own father and mother. Crazy stuff.) But that's pure speculation. In response to the most recent comment, I was a little older than 10 when I first read this, and I've reread it a number of times since, most recently when it was reissued as a handsome TPB a few years ago. I've seen more in it and enjoyed it in different ways each time. Andrew BurkeAugust 9, 2016 12:19 PM Alpha Flight #41-42 I like Purple Woman. It's too bad she's a villain now, but I suppose it was inevitable, given her heritage and the type of power she has. ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 5:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Most of the first part of this story was an issue of "Dazzler," bringing her into the X-titles. She's behaving like a stupid bimbo and winds up fighting a much bigger menace than - if Ali will forgive me for saying so - Dazzler should be facing. She wants to have fun, she wants to party, she wants to sing. Lasering bad guys is not on her list of things to do today. Even Callisto can't make her do more pull-ups. This is why Claremont's X-Titles were better and more important than the rest of Marvel, she's forced to do it anyway. And there's a good character moment where she realizes she's not wearing the right shoes, and it'll cost her. Juggy is at least a fan, and is heartbroken when he sees what he's done to her. And then we get an awesome fight scene where the new X-Men beat Juggernaut and all is well. Dazzler helped, but she wasn't the only piece in the puzzle. For all the wonderful Marc Silvestri art, my favorite panel is after Dazzler has gone through her internal monologue about how to help the train heading straight for disaster, and then bounces [can't think of a better word] down the rocks to do her best to help. Does it make sense? No. She's just going to get killed if the train isn't stopped, and she does nothing to stop the train, never mind the Juggernaut. But she bounces down the rocks anyway. ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 3:46 AM Dazzler #16 tl;dr version: Marvel went way overboard on making Dazzler a superhero who faces the baddest of supervillains without hesitation, and they went way overboard on giving her personal problems, like boyfriends and love triangles that Ali would have nothing to do with - if you're treating her like a thinking human being - unless she's a horrible slut with no chance of becoming famous if she didn't have sex with rich people and all her success comes from that. Roman Nekobah anybody? ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 3:25 AM New Mutants #46 Oh, I totally blame Claremont. Editors were the ones making the final call, but they would have made different decisions if it were Roger Stern or Steve Englehart writing [just to pick random names.] Someday, I hope to do a very long list of how the X-Men [New Mutants/Excalibur, etc.] made their lives worse by keeping so many secrets and never once calling for help, even it would have really avoided future problems. Illyana's problems and Wolverine going so long without ever revealing his name, or that his claws were part of his body being only the most obvious examples. It's frightening how those two are only the most obvious examples. ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 3:19 AM Dazzler #16 Personally, I think the original run of "Dazzler" is that they were trying too hard to make an 80s Marvel superhero comic interesting for girls. I'm sure there were girls who liked "Dazzler," but I'm also sure they were exceptions to the rule. Ali was forced into ridiculous romantic subplots and love triangles and parental issues, not because they actually work for her as a character, but because that's what Marvel editorial assumes girls want to read about. Which they do if sales of romance books are anything to go by. She's also an action chick shooting lasers at cosmic villains. Um, Houston, we have a problem. "What problem are you having?" "Nothing. It's not important." "Repeat, what problem are you having?" "Never mind. I'm fine." "Then why did you call and say there was a problem if there isn't a problem?" Even teenage boys eventually see the danger. The people bringing Dazzler to life? Not gonna happen. In 2016, you could make it work on a movie screen with zillions of dollars of cgi. If you want women and girls to be interested in Ali as a fictional character whose adventures they want to follow every month, then make Ali interesting. Sure she has large breasts and wears tight outfits and shows off her stuff every chance she gets, but she wants to be a star and you can cut her some slack for what she's willing to do to succeed. Treat her like an intelligent person who is 100% devoted to her goals, and happens to live in a superhero universe that she would rather not be part of, and you've got inner conflict, you've got outer conflict, you've got superhero stuff that makes her want to run away and hide, you've got times where she will say "Screw this" and zap the bad guy until his eyes boil out, and everything in between. And that's without tying her to the X-Men, Galactus, Asgard, her parents or a random boyfriend. D09August 9, 2016 2:20 AM New Mutants #46 Blame Claremont and his increasingly isolationistic tendencies toward keeping the X-Men/New Mutants away from everyone else involved in the Marvel universe. Thankfully the damage seems to have been reversed after he left, though it got worse again after Morrison and Bendis got involved with Marvel comics (along with all the other teams/independents like the Avengers), but I digress... ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 1:50 AM New Mutants #46 A year later in publishing time, X-Factor would be public heroes. Is there any reason on Earth Cyclops wouldn't be demanding a meeting with the Avengers and FF to share information that those other teams would really need to know, and get information that X-Factor might be able to use? I'm not saying the other teams would know anything that X-Factor could use, but Cyclops is smart enough to realize that they might, and he's smart enough to want that information made available to everybody who might need to know it. What If the Wasp is going home one night and runs into the Marauders? Her chances of surviving and warning the Avengers will be much higher if she knows the Marauders exist and is informed about their powers and abilities. Spider-Man, Power Man, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, etc. What If the Mandarin, HYDRA or Dormammu is behind all of this? Better be informed earlier rather than later. Is the Punisher a good guy or a bad guy? If he's a bad guy, he might join the Marauders. If he's a good guy, he needs to be warned. Obviously this would do massive damage to the Marvel Universe as we know it - rational thought and superheroes not really being able to coexist - but it's Marvel's own fault for teaching us to think of this stuff as rational. ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 1:28 AM Dazzler #16 Found the quote. "If you chase two rabbits, at some point you end up losing them both." Very easy to see how that works with regards to the "Dazzler" series. This splash page was intended to capture one "rabbit," presumably so that more time and energy could be devoted to capturing the other "rabbit." And of course it failed. It wasn't even good exploitation. John Byrne is drawing sexier girls every month with Sue Richards and Heather Hudson, and if that doesn't "do it" for you, there's his older "X-Men" comics with the Hellfire Club. I don't recall if "Dazzler" went bi-monthly before it was cancelled, but with all the crossovers, all the promotion, giving her a graphic novel, nothing was going to make the concept work, not even the Beyonder. But Marvel and Jim Shooter weren't going to stop chasing that second rabbit, even if it meant letting the first one get away. Marvel's first major hit in the direct sales market, folks. And their first attempt at a mass-media franchise. Even in 2016, you could photoshop Scarlet Johannsen Herself into that splash page and not get too many people who are interested in reading further adventures. ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 12:39 AM Dazzler #16 It's worse than that, they really were trying to do both. They tried really hard, and they did a really bad job of doing either. Not long ago, I heard some quote from Taylor Swift - who would probably be a good model for a modern Ali - about her move from country music to pop and (from memory) "If you're trying to catch two squirrels, you probably aren't going to catch either one." You can look at that splash page and see which squirrel they're trying to catch, but they really did do a horrible job of trying to catch the other one too. And just to be completely off-topic, "What If Taylor Swift Lived in the Marvel Universe?" MegaSpiderManAugust 9, 2016 12:13 AM Moon Knight #3 "i thought that the villain of this issue was going to be Midnight, the popular Master of Kung Fu villain. But he's dead. Hey now, things like that haven't stopped Marvel before. ;) ChrisWAugust 9, 2016 12:01 AM New Mutants #46 I'm not so much concerned about the specific continuity - i.e. where everybody else is at the exact time this comic book is set - as I am irritated that the X-Men always pick isolation and secrecy over the much more rational calling anybody available for help and keep doing so for as long as it takes. "Keep calling the Avengers hotline until somebody answers," "Dr. Strange must know healing spells," Heather Hudson, that sort of thing. I'm aware that Doc was frequently in another dimension at this point, and not too far away from losing his magical gear to Urthona, but at least calling and making the attempt would be something, even if it's just an "I'm sorry, I'm not... a healer these days." Why did they wait until Magneto read an article about Reed Richards' new doo-hickey before deciding to ask if he could help Kitty? He's Reed freaking Richards! If he doesn't have a doo-hickey available, he can build one. By bringing the problem to him (as it were) he can make his solution specific to Kitty's situation, rather than hoping the doo-hickey Magneto read about will do the trick. Not to mention that there's no evidence these hardcore superpowered murderers are simply going to ignore all the other superheroes. Why not warn them first, and see if they can help you out at a time when you desperately need help, like now? Anytime's a good time for better human-mutant relations, right? OroborosAugust 8, 2016 11:59 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #3 Also, I was wondering about the significance of the very last page, when the Beyonder returns to (Time Square?) New York, after he wipes out the simulacra in the asteroid field. That suggested to me that the retcon was not really a retcon, but the Beyonder trolling the illuminati. But that might be giving the character too much credit. :-P OroborosAugust 8, 2016 10:52 PM Avengers #89-97 Hello all, first time poster, long time reader. I intentionally held off reading this classic until now, having started too late to appreciate the Avengers from the 70s. I admit I had high expectations, what with the references and reverence this Skrull-Kree war has over the history of Marvel comics, and was shocked at the underwhelming nature of the story itself. The artwork is barely passable, hardly John Buscema before he perfected his style, and doesn't get off the ground until Neal Adams steps in. The series gets a shot in the arm when he takes over, but the story remains, as the recapper said, rather meandering and unfocused. I guess I don't have the distorting goggles of nostalgia to befog my perception in reading this for the first time, like I would if I re-read some of the most memorable books from the 80s (when I started). Maybe this should be redone, like a remake? :-D Chris ZAugust 8, 2016 4:30 PM General Comments Thank you, Fnord. I likewise left a note at the Cap 251-252 entry. kvetoAugust 8, 2016 4:28 PM Amazing Spider-Man #228 Its a decent little story. I was interested to see a comic written by a Czech writer (Jan Strnad is ridiculously common Czech name). Of course I then read an interview with him and his parents were Czech, he was born in the US and resents his parents for giving him a "girl's" name. Chris ZAugust 8, 2016 4:24 PM Captain America #251-252 Fnord, thank you so much for this kind reply, and for the research you devoted to the question. I guess the next step is to contact Stern or Byrne for their recollections. It's so interesting to me how things we regard as "canon" (in comics and elsewhere) can sometimes be of relatively recent vintage. Tracing the pedigrees of these little details is one of the pleasures of exploring this extraordinary site. Thanks again. CecilAugust 8, 2016 11:53 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #67 The breath-taking title this issue is actually "Boomerang, The Killer Who Keeps Coming Back!" Let's just agree not to pair the Spidey mask with Peter's hair, like on the cover? :-D Andrew BurkeAugust 8, 2016 10:47 AM Iron Man: The Iron Age #1 Saboteur returned later in HEROES FOR HIRE vol. 2 #6-8, where she worked with the Grim Reaper and Man-Ape, which I rather liked. The art was by the late Al Rio. MichaelAugust 8, 2016 8:41 AM New Mutants #46 To be fair, things get complicated with the continuity at this point- the FF was stated to be in outer space during the Massacre. As for the Avengers, fnord discusses how complicated the various continuity issues relating to them are. Basically, Spider-Woman's appearance in X-Factor 9 has to take place before Avengers Annual 15 and West Coast Avengers Annual 1 but Thor's appearances during the Massacre have to take place after the Avengers Annuals. So it's likely that the Avengers were on the run from the government during part of the Massacre. ZeilsternAugust 8, 2016 7:17 AM Dazzler #16 I never read Dazzler back in the day. I assumed that what I had heard - that the title was part of an attempt to attract more women and young girls into comics - was true. I can see now they weren't going for the teenaged girl market, they were instead trying to attract teenage boys. CecilAugust 8, 2016 6:33 AM Defenders #136-139 AF, Cloud's saying (would you) "shake my hand?" It's kind of amazing to think Fnord12 was finishing up 1984 5 years ago. ChrisWAugust 8, 2016 4:28 AM Dazzler #16 As far as cheesecake in comics, I always go back to Terry Moore [the "Strangers in Paradise" creator, not the sexy large-breasted actress who dated Howard Hughes] where he says that if he's going to spend ten hours at a drawing board to make someone's butt look good, it's going to have to be a butt he actually wants to look at. At least he's capable of drawing females with widely-differing bodies and still making them look sexy. Or cartoony, depending on the needs of the story. This splash page is the opposite of that mentality. This splash page reduces Dazzler to a pair of giant boobs. Not because the story needs to see her boobs, not because it's drawn so well that you can ignore the boobs because it's a great picture. It's just that the first thing you need to know about this story is that Dazzler has giant boobs. And her head is really small, just in case you missed the implication. At least Terry Moore had to show up to work every day and was quite aware of how big her boobs were. I totally support cheesecake in comic books, but not like this. This way leads to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld at their worst. At least [I can't believe I'm saying this] Jim Lee knew how to draw women. ChrisWAugust 8, 2016 3:51 AM New Mutants #46 In "New Mutants" #15, we learned that the first rule of not being able to contact the X-Men is to call the Avengers or Fantastic Four. So why doesn't anybody do that? This is where Claremont's X-titles were so insular that it became self-defeating. Never mind that "Illuminati" nonsense, if nothing else, shouldn't the Avengers be informed that there are mass-murdering superhumans roaming New York? Not too long ago, they helped the Avengers against Kulan Gath, and not too long before that, they called the Avengers about Madelyne turning out to be Dark Phoenix after all, and they fought together in "Secret Wars" I and II. And they would soon turn to the FF for help with Kitty's problem. So what, exactly, keeps them from calling Captain America and saying "We've got a serious massacre here, we need help, ASAP"? From calling Tony Stark and saying "We need supplies, lots of them"? From calling Reed Richards and saying "We're not sure how to perform surgery on this particular Morlock and could really use your biological experience, and some of your other machines too"? Storm doesn't think to call Wakanda? Or Latveria? Wolverine doesn't call Mariko or Nick Fury? Magneto doesn't call any of his former henchmen? Or the Hellfire Club which he just joined? Bobby and Amara don't call their parents? Betsy doesn't call Brian and Meggan for help, or even the Mastermind computer? Or Otherworld? For such a major problem, they sure aren't acting like it. They're just going to drink some water, take a lap and walk it off, no matter how many Morlocks die. ChrisWAugust 8, 2016 3:29 AM Dazzler #16 Thinking about it, I am positive it was Shooter's idea. Springer and Colletta could do romance comics, they knew how to draw pretty girls and - your mileage may vary - they did that on their "Dazzler" run. I don't see how that splash page could have originated anywhere else than someone saying 'I want her breasts as large as possible and everything else in the picture is subordinate to those.' Danny Fingeroth might have thought of it, but he'd have to get it through the editor before the plot would be passed to the artists. Frank Springer, well, maybe he was drunk and doing his best Wally Wood impression, but Vinnie would have to ink it, and he wasn't going to rock the boat. He could have easily made Dazzler's head bigger and her breasts smaller. But no, the editor didn't want that. This is 1982, it's not like Shooter didn't have any control over what Marvel published. Especially on Marvel's signature "direct market" title, and especially on what Marvel hoped to build a media franchise from. The worst part is this could have been done with just as much exploitation, but without being so stupid about it. Ali is hot. Ali looks sad. Ali is wearing a costume that shows off all her assets. Ali's breasts are not taking up so much space that you can't fit in any background detail, the announcer waving her offstage, her band grumbling about the lost opportunity, word balloons, thought balloons, etc. That would have required good storytelling. That would have required more effort than 'when you open the cover, the first thing you see is gigantic breasts' being the primary motivation. There's no way to look at that splash page and not see "gigantic breasts" as the primary motivation. Ali's cup size could be cut in half and she'd still be a hot sexy chick, ripe for exploitation. [Which she's fine with as it helps her goals to be a star.] This picture is about the cup size and nothing else. Once upon a time, I was a teenage boy, and I still can't imagine who that splash page was intended to appeal to. Storm, Sue Richards, Scarlet Witch, Mary Jane Watson, there are a lot of comic book females who look much sexier without... this garbage. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 3:23 AM Iron Man #21-22 Good ol' Arch! He was a great writer and editor. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 3:16 AM Avengers #72 Our Pal Sal's work starts out great, and just gets better. And yeah - love those DAK Defenders! Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 3:13 AM Uncanny X-Men #64 Palmer really jazzed up Heck's pencils! This is a great costume design. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 3:08 AM Astonishing Tales #8 (Gemini) You do a great service with your diligent research. Just wanted to say so. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 3:02 AM Captain Marvel #19 I love Gil's anatomy...it was wasted on this book. He should have been left on the Hulk. He and Marie Severin would have rocked the house! ChrisWAugust 8, 2016 2:49 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #10 And, this has nothing to do with the rest of discussion, but the splash page of #214 has Lila and Ali playing in Denver. Fnord's recap mentions that the actual fight is in Dallas, which bothered me enough that I went to look it up, and sure enough, Lila's next show was in Dallas. The Brood is currently active in the Denver area. Forge and the Adversary are active in Dallas. The X-Men keep returning to San Francisco. I'm going back and forth on whether it's a great thing that the X-Men are expanding beyond the NYC area as befits world-saving superheroes or whether they monotonously return to the same cities over and over. You could add Tokyo, Cairo, Kirinos and Madripoor without changing the argument by much. James HoltAugust 8, 2016 2:07 AM Journey Into Mystery #98 Up to this point, Don Heck as penciler has been working from full scripts provided by Larry Lieber, Robert Bernstein (as R. Berns), or Ernie Hart (as H. E. Huntley). Here, Stan Lee takes credit as writer instead of plotter, which means he is probably using the "Marvel method," where there is only a plot and no script for the penciler to follow. In interviews Stan has said that, at first, Don was not one of the better artists to use the Marvel method, and only caught onto it later. This obviously is not one of his better attempts at it, leading to a lot of forced exposition on Stan's part, where he goes back to fill in the dialog and narrative blobs after the pages were penciled. By this particular point in time, late 1963, only about half the Marvel Age stories to date have used the Marvel method. The other approx. half of them had full scripts from one of the 3 writers mentioned above, or Steve Ditko, or Jerry Siegel, who provided 2 scripts for Strange Tales. Siegel scripts were tailor-made for DC artists, but Dick Ayers seemed to have problems with them. Understandably. James HoltAugust 8, 2016 1:13 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #2 Maybe Liz blinded him with her flashy fuchsia frock. She's such an enabler. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 8, 2016 1:07 AM Hulk #122-123 We almost had the Totally Awesome Hulk decades ago! James HoltAugust 7, 2016 11:36 PM Marvel Comics Presents #58 (Iron Man) Minor continuity glitch? IIRC, in those older golden armor stories, Stark didn't have a pacemaker, but rather, he had a strong electro-magnet in his chestplate whose purpose was to keep tiny shrapnel fragments in his chest from piercing his heart. The pacemaker came later if I remember right. Seems pretty pseudosciencey to me too, but not so much as the giant gaping hole in Robert Downey Jr.'s chest, wow. James HoltAugust 7, 2016 10:28 PM Strange Tales #113 (Human Torch) Besides being co-creator of Superman, Jerry Siegel's work for DC on the Legion of Super-Heroes (Adventure Comics) and Superboy during this era would provide many ideas for Jim Shooter, Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen, and John Byrne in the years to come. Mind-numbing to see him here brainstorming with Stan Lee, even if only for a couple of stories, while simultaneously getting little respect or compensation working for DC. He was still getting more consideration than Joe Shuster, who, with failing eyesight, was reduced to living with his mom and working as a deliveryman at one point in 1964. SAugust 7, 2016 9:05 PM Marvel Comics Presents #16 (Longshot & Ka-zar) Is this the only time Nocenti wrote Longshot after that first miniseries? James HoltAugust 7, 2016 7:57 PM Journey Into Mystery #97 George Roussos inks look great on "Tales Of Asgard" and the cover of this issue. His Lava Man on the cover looks markedly different from Don Heck's version in the main story. I agree that this issue makes a good case for Stan Lee's contributions to the Marvel Thor character, as Stan moves from plot to script credits with this issue. As many have observed, late 1963 marks a big jump in not only the number but also the quality of Marvel Age stories, in this title and others, as the company continues to respond to their steady growth in sales. ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 7:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 And as for the Reavers, so that means the X-Men and Roma let a bunch of mass murderers go free with no punishment beyond losing the memory of being mass murderers, but they get to keep their mass-murdering machine body parts [except for the ones who ran into Wolverine.] What could go wrong? ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 7:32 PM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 Betsy was found washed up on shore. Between the week since she was found and the salt water, that's gotta be industrial-strength hair dye. Maybe it would just be simpler to say Mojo and Spiral made her hair color permanent when they gave her the bionic eyes. Or Roma did it when she brought the X-Men back to life. Because there's absolutely no way Betsy would ever consider changing her hair color ever again. Once you've gone purple, you can never go back. ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 7:16 PM Dazzler #16 I actually did the, er, measuring, and her head is literally smaller than her breasts. It's not just that the breasts are so huge on that page - though there is that - but her head is very small. James HoltAugust 7, 2016 7:09 PM Fantastic Four annual #1 Thanks Jonathan, that Comrade K really was quite the animated commie menace wasn't he? He had the Western World up in arms for years after all his tough semi-maniacal posturing at the UN. No wonder Stan, Larry, Jack, and Don were so quick to support Pres. Kennedy's anti-communist stance back then, what an astounding bunch of theatre & propaganda, what a world, much like now. Back to the '80s, I vaguely remember the idea of mutant Namor being tossed around in the fan press prior to the retcon'ed reprint of 1963's Fantastic Four Annual #1 in 1984's Fantastic Four Special Edition. Byrne may have been feeding the fans rumors, but I really can't recall the specifics. Michael's reference to UXM #6 was also being discussed during that time. Byrne was giving lots of interviews plus writing and drawing both Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight, each of which featured Sub-Mariner x-overs. Steven, you're very likely right & I'd be surprised if it was otherwise. The cinematic universe is eating the comics universe alive. ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 7:07 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #10 To say nothing of how little time the New Mutants have been spending at the mansion lately. Bobby left the team about the same time as the X-Men went to San Francisco, then the Beyonder killed and resurrected all the other kids, then they were traumatized from that for a few issues, then they transferred to the Massachusetts Academy for a few issues, then they're finally recovered and Rhane leaves, then Bobby comes back and finally Rhane comes back. The period between the end of #44 and the beginning of #46 is the only time before the Massacre where everybody's healthy and at the mansion at once, and as Michael points out, that doesn't include the X-Men. Wolverine's problem can be handwaved because he's Wolverine, but Nightcrawler's can't. And then there's the obvious question, "where was Longshot during the Massacre?" Maybe they didn't want to take him into the Alley, but he can at least put on bandages and make sandwiches, right? And afterward, they can take him to Dallas to meet Lila Cheney, right? ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 6:31 PM Dazzler #16 I would assume it was his idea in the first place. Ali's head is out-of-proportion to the rest of her body. Springer and Colletta are better artists than that. StevenAugust 7, 2016 5:52 PM Fantastic Four annual #1 Now that Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Squirrel Girl have been de-mutantized, I predict that Namor will the next one to have his origin changed to nonmutant. InstantiationAugust 7, 2016 5:13 PM Jungle Action #11 McGregor's an interesting writer but probably an acquired taste, in part because he's unusually verbose, both with the dialog and the narration. Seems to me he has some things in common with Doug Moench, who's also eclectic but particularly drawn to noirish material. Later, McGregor wrote one of the first graphic novels ("Sabre" from '78 with art by Paul Gulacy). I particularly like his hard-boiled detective series from the 80s, "Nathaniel Dusk" (DC) and "Detectives Inc." (Eclipse), two vols. each. The great Gene Colan did some of his finest impressionistic work on three of them (Marshall Rogers on the other): pencils with no inks. Slow-paced, atmospheric, hard-hitting, really refreshing stuff for that time. McGregor always hurls himself into researching his subjects and isn't shy about exhibiting the knowledge he acquires along the way. Laughed when I searched this site and saw he was writing Spidey in late '92 and having him muse about city water towers. Very typical of his nostalgic, quirky, yet oddly endearing style. His classic early Black Panther stories ("Panther's Rage") are finally set to be reissued in an affordable color TPB edition as part of the "Epic Collection" in October. (FF 52-53 will also be reprinted as a prelude.) MichaelAugust 7, 2016 4:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 It's complicated- when we see Betsy in X-Men 255, it's been a week since she came out of the Siege and her hair is still purple- that doesn't mean anything since many dyes last at least a week. Rogue also came out of the Siege with the stripe in her hair. Arguably there's a difference between clothes and hair dye. As for the cybernetics, we eventually find out that Betsy's body retained the bionic eyes when she came out, so presumably the Reavers retained their cybernetics as well. ZeilsternAugust 7, 2016 4:33 PM Dazzler #16 How on earth could something like this splash page get past one of the most detail-oriented editors in comics history? ChrisAugust 7, 2016 4:17 PM Dazzler #8-11 Very little thought was obviously given as to what kind of adventures Dazzler should be having given her premise and powers. It's the first year, and we are all over the place. Asgardian goddesses, street level thugs in the Enforcers, Dr Doom, and misunderstanding fight with the Hulk. It's basically a random encounter every issue. Nothing really organic to the character. These are just random villains and not the beginning of a recognizable rogues gallery (which I consider essential to any character's success). Most seem to be "I know who Dazzler is, and I need to use her powers." She's supposed to be an incidental superhero (which simply can't last as a concept truthfully, it strains credibility after so many times) so conflict should somehow be based on her career or other interests. It's also a very title targeted to girls, so you need more female villains as well. And the villains need to be within her same league, and there are too many that are over powered or under powered. ChrisWAugust 7, 2016 4:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 So did the Seige give Betsy naturally-purple hair? As far as I know, this is the last time it's ever mentioned that she used to be a blonde. And does that mean all the Reavers who went through the Seige came out with their cybernetics? MichaelAugust 7, 2016 3:58 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #10 @Jeff- the problem is that there's no place to put it that makes sense. If you put it before X-Men 205, then the X-Men should be in San Francisco. If you put it in between X-Men 205 and 209, then Wolverine should be sick. If you put it in between X-Men 209 and 211, then Nightcrawler should be unable to teleport. If you place it after X-Men 211, then Kurt should be in a coma. This problem can't be solved by moving it between pages. ChrisAugust 7, 2016 3:55 PM Dazzler #42 Originally Bob Layton's idea was for Dazzler to join X-Factor since resurrecting Jean Grey was an idea that others had. I wonder if the end dialogue between Beast and Dazzler was written to originally support the transition of the character to X-Factor, or at least was a nod to the original intention. JeffAugust 7, 2016 2:45 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #10 I believe I've read in a number of places that this annual is meant to take place between pages of Uncanny 210. I know fnord that's probably a pain for the way this project works. I may be mistaken but I believe I have seen several trades switch between putting it just before the Mutant Massacre (even though Kurt is still missing) or just after (treating it as a flashback since Colossus, Nightcrawler and Kitty would have been injured at that point). Mark DrummondAugust 7, 2016 12:10 PM Dazzler #42 Chadwick didn't actually put the Beast on the cover--Sienkiewicz traced Chadwick's art and added the Beast himself, which Chadwick wasn't too pleased about. Mark DrummondAugust 7, 2016 12:03 PM Dazzler #38 Paul Chadwick was initially asked to take over the art on New Mutants(presumably from Sienkiewicz) but declined. Jonathan, son of KevinAugust 7, 2016 11:48 AM Fantastic Four annual #1 Oh yeah, I used to have that comic as a kid but I don't think I ever made the connection! I think I mentally filed it away with when Magneto tried to recruit other non-mutants (Thor, The Stranger), more a plot device ("How do we get Namor in the comic?" "Ah, let's say they think he might be a mutant") than actually saying Namor was a mutant. But okay, that makes sense then, that Byrne would have read that as a kid and decided to confirm it when he got the chance. Not just a cash-in to make Namor a mutant once mutants became popular... Omar KarinduAugust 7, 2016 11:37 AM Dazzler #18-21 Heck, all the names of the guys in their band are taken from the pseudonyms Kerouac used in his novels to refer to the other Beats. Sax's real name, Jack Duluoz, was the name Kerouac used for himself in The Dharma Bums. Mark DrummondAugust 7, 2016 11:32 AM Dazzler #18-21 Doctor Sax is taken from the Jack Kerouac novel, and his partner Johnny Guitar is taken from the movie with the same name. Erik BeckAugust 7, 2016 9:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 @Andrew Burke - That definitely would have been bold at the time. The year before DC gave The Joker has own title and the creative team was told that he couldn't murder anyone and that he had to be thrown back in jail at the end of each issue (he would break out again at the start of the next issue), so having a title character who destroys an entire solar system would have been beyond belief. MichaelAugust 7, 2016 9:08 AM Fantastic Four annual #1 Namor being a mutant was first suggested in Uncanny X-Men 6. Jonathan, son of KevinAugust 7, 2016 7:58 AM Fantastic Four annual #1 The photo of Khrushchev with the shoe is a fake, but there is video of it: http://www.raistoria.rai.it/articoli/la-scarpa-di-kruscev/11034/default.aspx So Namor was confirmed as a mutant by Byrne's new pages added in 1984? Hadn't seen the Byrne pages before. I'd always thought "Namor being a mutant" was first introduced in the 90s Namor solo series, had no idea these extra pages existed. James HoltAugust 7, 2016 12:19 AM Iron Man: The Iron Age #1 The Pepper Potts shot matches up well with the Kirby/ Heck versions, pretty freckles and all. The Saboteur's costume however is very 90s-style, and clashes with the early Marvel Age super-hero fashion sense. The Iron Man armor is totally off-model, and his head appears to be way too small. I don't understand exactly why, but later artists often seemed to have a lot of trouble rendering the "Golden Avenger" armor accurately. D09August 6, 2016 9:48 PM What's Missing On finding those last couple issues of Daredevil you're missing, with Daredevil #1 your best bet is something like Daredevil Masterworks Vol 1 since the issue alone can cost over $1000. However with Daredevil #162, I've found someplace that sells it at a price you may agree with: http://www.atomicempire.com/issue.aspx?item=44708&utm_source=psw&gclid=CjwKEAjwlZa9BRCw7cS66eTxlCkSJAC-ddmwbAYzayQOxzWzJBOI4P2vmecZ5nXvMm-uDiznyDcvsxoCf6_w_wcB. James HoltAugust 6, 2016 8:54 PM Fantastic Four annual #1 According to GCD, Strange Tales Annual #2 went on sale in June '63, edging out FF Annual #1 in July, for the honor of 1st Marvel annual with new super-hero material. They also say that Sol Brodsky altered the FF annual's reprint of FF #1's first 13 pages: "The first page is altered to add the word Origin and the look of the Human Torch, the Thing and Reed Richards have been updated by Sol Brodsky to reflect their contemporary (Summer 1963) appearances." Never noticed that before, nor had I noticed that Byrne had redrawn the scene in the Sub-Mariner story, where Namor's parents first met, which was pointed out by Colin in the comments above. Thanks @Colin James HoltAugust 6, 2016 8:27 PM Strange Tales annual #2 (Human Torch) Just found this addition for my Ditko inking Kirby list; there is a 6 page story in Fantastic Four Annual #1, "The Fabulous Fantastic Four Meet Spider-Man." This, if I remember right, is a longer retelling of a short sequence from Spider-Man #1. Ditko also inks Kirby on the cover of Spider-Man #1. James HoltAugust 6, 2016 7:56 PM Strange Tales annual #2 (Human Torch) This is one of the silver age Marvels which I didn't have as a kid and so didn't read repeatedly growing up. Great review & thanks. Going through the 1962 & 1963 indexes sequentially, this is the 3rd instance of Ditko inking Kirby I've encountered so far. The first two were Hulk #2 and Fantastic Four #13. Also notable for the covers only are Amazing Fantasy #15 and Fantastic Four #14. InstantiationAugust 6, 2016 5:13 PM Fantastic Four #274 Byrne at this point seemed very much in touch with the roots of and influences on his own storytelling -- all the books, movies, and natch comics he must have devoured in preparation for his own career as a fantasist. The preceding FF arc had him borrowing quite the ragbag of motifs from H.G. Wells, Zane Grey, Jack Kirby, Richard Wagner, Shakespeare, and so on. (Like any good post-modernist, there's no "high-brow" and "low-brow" for him, only genuine creativity.) In this two-parter (with Thing #19), he's similarly raiding the monster/horror genre. But the most important stuff here is what's happening in the background. And the scene of Sue's desolation over her recent miscarriage seems to belong to a whole different realm than this rather contrived "Monster Mash." Omar KarinduAugust 6, 2016 2:50 PM Defenders #128-130 See, I think those are all signs that DeMatteis either deliberately or unwittingly ended up creating "Doctor Doom but from America." Last name is both a common noun for an abstract concept and part of his supervillain codename? Check. Academic title? Check. Obsessively blames a Silver Age patriarchal team leader for a tragedy that was really of his own making? Check. Throw in the power armor and the "I must save my doomed family member" elements and the match becomes rather clear. InstantiationAugust 6, 2016 2:30 PM Fantastic Four #271-273 Reread this arc recently and found it somewhat unsatisfying, as back in the day. The artwork and characterizations are vintage Byrne (i.e., great), and sure, the proliferation of concepts and motifs is diverting, with an off-the-cuff wackiness that anticipates some of Simonson's later work on this title. But in the end, it all seems like a hastily constructed Rube Goldberg-esque mish-mash, rather than really satisfying well-developed graphic storytelling (which Byrne, needless to say, is one of the great masters of--said in part to balance against these critical comments). A plot that hinges on time travel, a crazy-quilt alternate reality, and then a jammed anti-matter canon that oh-so-conveniently resets everything to the benefit of Our Heroes isn't likely to win a critical reader's unqualified approval. Time travel does figure importantly in some of my all-time fave comic arcs like Starlin's Warlock and Days of Future Past, but my feeling is that it's best reserved for such exalted occasions and not something that should become ho-hum or routine (even if that's of course the case). And the use of all the proto-comics motifs from, as Byrne himself summarizes it here, "the worlds of H.G. Wells and J.R.R. Tolkien" as well as "Richard Wagner and Zane Grey" takes us into the realm of pastiche effects achieved by other "sophisticated" comics writers like Alan Moore and Warren Ellis in later projects such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Planetary. (And the latter has some dark-hearted fun with the FF itself as motif, too, and benefits from a luxury of development that makes what Byrne does here seem very cursory indeed.) Still more problematic for me is the really hasty blame-the-evil-female wrap-up. Without much dramatization to back him up (except, e.g., glimpses on p. 5 of #273), Reed's dad blames a whole era of planetary conflict and domination on his ambitious wife, whom he likens to Lady Macbeth, as well as Messalina and Cassandra--more proliferating archetypes! Okay, this is also sophisticated in its way for comics, but we can't help but reflect, too, that Macbeth himself didn't get off so easily. There are, as fnord notes, some notable innovative applications of Sue's and Johnny's powers here. And She-Hulk, whom Byrne had seem intent on de-powering somewhat in previous issues, really rocks it. Doom's mask alone had given her (and the Torch) quite the hard time, but here she effortlessly trashes a Wellsian walker about the size of Terminus. The whole "Gormuu" Kirby/Monster Age homage that dominates #271 is neat in its way, particularly with the retro art style (anticipating effects achieved later by artists such as Tom Raney of "Stormwatch" fame), but this story does feel rather naive and out of place in a 1984 mag and also features a pat resolution that only reinforces the disappointing effect of the arc's overall conclusion. When I first read this, I erroneously assumed that Byrne was simply retelling a Lee/Kirby story. And such Star Trek-style (or simply comic-book style) endings are, I would argue, a weakness that Byrne indulged in too frequently, including in the previous Terminus tale. Like most readers beyond a certain age, I much prefer more "realistic"-seeming and hard-won victories (which Byrne does deliver in his best work, such as FF 258-260, 2112, etc.). Mark DrummondAugust 6, 2016 1:38 PM Machine Man #19 Superman and Batman costumes appear rather blatantly on the cover. One of the partygoers is wearing an Archie Andrews mask. Mark DrummondAugust 6, 2016 1:33 PM Machine Man #16-17 One of the barroom thugs is called "Gorelick", a reference to Victor Gorelick, an editor/writer at DeFalco's previous employer, Archie Comics. Mark DrummondAugust 6, 2016 1:26 PM Machine Man #12 Considering all the debate about morality and ethics in this issue, I'd say that Ditko was responsible for much more of the writing than usual here. Mark DrummondAugust 6, 2016 1:24 PM Machine Man #11 An insurance company guy mentions clients called Evanier and Rotsler, which are references to Mark Evanier and William Rotsler. CecilAugust 6, 2016 1:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 I literally just wrote about how a series such as you describe would've fleshed out Jean's character as only a solo title can, and yes, she had plenty of awesome supporting characters, particularly Daughters of the Dragon and a guest spot with Power Man and Iron Fist. The big threats could be something that pops pretty hard twice a year, with space in between to build up the consequences, provide for subplots past and present, interactions with street level characters before things get to the point where only the Phoenix can hope to win the day. Andrew BurkeAugust 6, 2016 10:39 AM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 Here's a thought...could Jean have been able to support her own ongoing series at the time as the Phoenix? She could have had her family as supporting characters, along with the X-Men, but focusing on her battling big villains like Firelord or such. The Dark Phoenix Saga in her own book would have been interesting, as is the idea that the title character gets corrupted and eventually goes evil, something unheard of at the time, I think. AndrewAugust 6, 2016 7:55 AM Howard the Duck #9 I'm pretty sure Le Beaver started as an over-the-kid's-heads pun, and just grew from there, like Dr. Bong. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 6, 2016 6:14 AM Captain America #120 That last panel was definitely Romita'ed! SAugust 5, 2016 11:26 PM Marvel Team-Up #4 Seems odd that a kinetic blast would bounce off of a mirror rather than shatter it... Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 8:18 PM Defenders #128-130 Anyway, Power is still the germ of an interesting idea, but the character doesn't work because of a bland characterization and a mishmash of conflicting superficial elements. (It's so much easier to be brief the second time.) Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 8:15 PM Defenders #128-130 Yeah, neoconservatism is probably too anachronistic; DeMatteis was probably thinking more of folks like Curtis LeMay and Herbert Kahn. But the Roman legions thing and the Secret Empire's general ethos as a hidden elite does reflect a respect for the Roman Republic shared among those older ultrapatriots and neoconservatives who emerged after 1970. Strauss was certainly well-known in academic circles before 1970, but he was more interested in the Greeks -- especially the Athenians -- in making his "exoteric vs. esoteric" distinction. Comics, kids! MichaelAugust 5, 2016 7:05 PM Defenders #128-130 I'm not sure if I'd call Power a neoconservative- for starters, he apparently was a superpatriot prior to the Vietnam War- what we call neoconservatism didn't really take off until after 1970. Also, the original neoconservatives were all immigrants or children of immigrants, which Power doesn't seem to be. Andy J PattersonAugust 5, 2016 6:09 PM Fantastic Four #90-93 Just dug out my FF 93. This issue is clearly inspired by many Trek episodes,...."The Gamesters of Triskelion" with all the betting going on Thing and Torgo's fight. "Amok Time" with the weapon choice Torgo chooses with Thing. Even looks like the weapon Spock used, except with a different end piece. "Arena" with The Thing showing mercy against Torgo like Kirk did with the Gorn. And of course, "A Piece of the Action" with the aliens modeling themselves after 1930's gangsters. Cool to see that Kirby watched and was influenced by Trek. Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 4:50 PM Defenders #128-130 There's an interesting idea at the core of Professor Power, which is that he's an ultranationalist "conquer the world" sort of villain with a tragic side, but an American neoconservative (before that term and ideology were popularly discussed) from the U.S. instead of some other country. Unfortunately in practice he seems both generic, acting like just another megalomaniac baddie. And he's rather weirdly mismatched in his motifs, what with the high-tech circuitry of his armor, the Roman legions theme of his minions (which is a nod to the neoclassical republicanism of the original, academic neoconservatives), and the flying(!) castle headquarters lifted straight off of Doctor Doom. Successful villains like Doom pick one motif -- in his case, Ruritanian kingdom -- and stick to it. Maybe if Power would have worked better if he had stuck with the neoclassical motif all the way through, or played up the ultranationalism: too bad the Iron Patriot identity was so far in the future. It's kind of interesting that the Secret Empire got pegged as the "corrupt American elitism" subversive organization tanks to Engelhart's use of them. I suppose this is what Kurt Busiek was picking up on when he merged them with the Royalist Forces later on in Thunderbolts. Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 4:38 PM Captain America #285 Strangely, the new Porcupine armor has a lot fewer spikes on it than the old ones; he's pretty much unprotected from the front. This makes Nomad punching the quills even less excusable. Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 4:23 PM Avengers #28-29 Stan Lee was pretty good about having Captain America lose to genuinely superhuman opponents without making him seem like he's outclassed.: Power Man takes him out in issue #22, but it's a big fight. The Beetle KOs him here, but mostly by using his flight capability in a halfway smart way. And in the next arc we'll see Kang defeat Cap, but again, Cap lasts longer than you'd think. It's much more effective than always making Cap win through sheer willpower or letting him be the "last man standing" all the time. Omar KarinduAugust 5, 2016 4:16 PM Daredevil #33-34 Yeah, the Beetle was originally played as a guy who was outmatched by the Thing and the Human torch together, but was step above street-level baddies and "mere acrobat" superheroes. But if you have a character lose to Daredevil and Spider-Man often enough and later writers figure he or she is just another low-level baddie, the sort no one should have trouble with. It occurs to me thatDavid Michelinie and Bob Layton were responsible for a lot of this. They liked to show Iron Man outclassing most of his old villains, as well as pretty much any armored villain who didn't start out in Iron Man, and almost all of the characters they had Iron Man casually trash started turning up as "loser" villains elsewhere. George LochinskiAugust 5, 2016 1:46 PM Marvel Two-In-One #51 This was reprinted in the 90s in the Adventures of the Thing mini-series. Such a great issue! James HoltAugust 4, 2016 11:57 PM Fantastic Four #15 Was the Awesome Android created using Reed's notes? Yes. In 1962 Watson and Crick received the Nobel Prize for their work on the DNA double helix molecular model. This was covered extensively in Life and Time magazines, along with diagrams and photographs of DNA double helix models, similar to the one shown in this issue, page 4, panel 2. At this time, molecular genetics was still in its infancy, and the informal term "building blocks of life" was widely used in reference to DNA, again, see page 4 panel 2. Here we also have Reed incorrectly calling DNA molecules "cells," so let me just blame that on Stan Lee misquoting Reed, hah. Next, on page 12, panel 2, the Mad Thinker says "Here are Mr. Fantastic's notes concerning his work with DNA, the building blocks of life itself! Using this information, I should be able to create a new form of life-- one which will serve only-- the Thinker!" Does the Mad Thinker define "X-factor" as "the human element?" No. On page 20, panel 2, Reed defines the X-factor as "the unexpected." This is consistent with the commonplace definition of X-factor as an unknown, unexpected, or variable value, or element, as per the use of the variable X in algebraic equations. Then, on page 20, panel 5, the Thinker uses the phrase "human element" as an example of an X-factor, but not as a definition. Reed had already defined the term. Willie Lumpkin was the human element being discussed, insofar as he had done something unexpected, something which the Thinker had not factored into his plans. I agree that it's confusing, and these are certainly not the most shining examples of Stan Lee's dialog writing skills, but that's the way I interpret these dialog snippets. clydeAugust 4, 2016 10:04 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 Cecil - Here are some of the known comics on CDs: https://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R3J86VLTTACOV6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_comic_books_on_CD/DVD So, at least nowadays, it wouldn't be a problem. Of course, now it's meaningless after the "Secret Wars" event. CecilAugust 4, 2016 9:43 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 All the 1983 Marvels I read were almost two years after printing, but #130 was one, and I really enjoyed the story! I don't think much else was done with Paunchilito - he isn't tagged, but I don't remember more than a mention afterwards. Perhaps he simply retired. Omar KarinduAugust 4, 2016 9:34 PM Howard the Duck #9 Le Beaver may be a bit of a spoof of Pierre Trudeau, who was very aggressive about improving his country's international profile and emphasizing the independence of Canadian foreign policy from that of the U.S. CecilAugust 4, 2016 9:31 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 There wasn't an organized Marvel library on hand until the 70's, Clyde, but Dave Kraft has said he organized what they had in a big room upstairs from the Bullpen and started overseeing a regular library of Marvels. So yeah, by this point (1983) at Marvel, at least, there was a "morgue." I'm not sure what condition it was in by 1987-there's lots of creators and editors online we can ask- but it's funny that Englehart is also famous for tying stories back into previous continuities, so he really has done a share of both as y'all mention. cullenAugust 4, 2016 5:48 PM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) If you told me the art was originally from the 40s, lifted and revised to update it with current characters, I'd believe you. cullenAugust 4, 2016 5:14 PM Avengers #2 I'm glad recent discussion has put this issue back to the top - i alluded to this "doppelganger paradox" when Cable was introduced (comment six): http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/new_mutants_88.shtml#comments I knew I wasn't just making it up... Now, maybe young Nate and old Cable are physically distinct enough to circumvent that rule... but how about Reed Richards, who co-existed with his self from a few minutes previous during the Korvac Quest? http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/fantastic_four_annual_24.shtml George LochinskiAugust 4, 2016 2:53 PM Avengers #183-187 "Everyone is right about Marvel just likely ignoring this stuff, but I still wonder about this kind of thing, as I am always into unresolved plot points." Where's Nathan Adler when you need him? Omar KarinduAugust 4, 2016 2:50 PM Amazing Spider-Man #73 Why has there never been a Modok versus Headmen fight? Why?! He does team up with them, at least, in the subpar Defenders run by Kurt Busiek and Erik Larsen. Time Traveling BunnyAugust 4, 2016 2:25 PM Amazing Spider-Man #73 When these "superheroes" put on their masks they're committing crime, they're rapists... And some, I assume, are good people. D09August 4, 2016 2:19 PM What's Missing You could always try either eBay or this site that I've found (http://www.hallofjusticecomics.com/) to see if you can get better prices for what you want. JeffAugust 4, 2016 12:22 PM Bizarre Adventures #32 (Thor) This is set to be reprinted in the upcoming Thor Epic Collection tbp "Runequest," which features the tail end of the Moench run and all the Zelenetz issues before Simonson takes over. I've pre-ordered it, I can't wait. It looks like the Epic will have this story just before Thor 320, probably for space purposes. Omar KarinduAugust 4, 2016 12:03 PM Tales To Astonish #49 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Other than a brief period after Hank rejoins the Avengers during the later Stan Lee issues and the Erik Josten version of Goliath, becoming a giant never seems to make anyone the strongest guy in the room. And even Josten lost to Thor and later got a lot of power-downs. Growing in the Marvel Universe just makes you a bigger target, and you always get at least one story where someone ties your feet together or outmaneuvers you and you fall on your face. clydeAugust 4, 2016 9:50 AM Tales To Astonish #35 (Ant-Man) "It takes Pym a long time to reach the ant hill, so you have to wonder how he managed to fall into it last time." Obviously the ants moved their hill farther away to prevent crazy humans from coming into their home uninvited.;) fnord12August 4, 2016 9:33 AM What's Missing Thanks guys. My bank account and i are well aware of mycomicshop.com. ;-) I'm more interested in the Hulk magazines for the back-ups, and the original issues are out of my price range at the moment, so those will continue to wait. Post-Gerber Howard the Duck is also not a high priority for me, but it's good that they've been collected. AFAugust 4, 2016 6:20 AM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 Weirdly both. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 4, 2016 1:41 AM Uncanny X-Men #57-63 Thanks for that! I'm gonna reread those at my first opportunity. I wonder what else I could have missed. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 4, 2016 1:34 AM Hulk #119-120 Thanks so much, regarding the ending of the Secret Empire arc at the end of Stainless Steve's run on Cap. D09August 3, 2016 10:59 PM Avengers #2 @Nathan Adler: Most of the examples you gave were about versions of the same person from different realities (Black Knight III and Proctor/Mr. Fantastic and the Brute) so that's why reality tends to "glitch" unless the double/original is sent to another actuality. With both Peter Parker/Ben Reilly and Jean Grey/Madelyne Pryor, one was a clone of the other born/created in the same dimension as the originator, in a way sidestepping the "multiple copy glitch" that was the crux of the Mr. Fantastic vs. The Brute and the Gatherers Saga storylines. MichaelAugust 3, 2016 10:02 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 @AF- notorious for doing research or notorious for using a character without regard to their last appearance? D09August 3, 2016 8:04 PM What's Missing Don't know if this helps or not, but here's a site containing a lot of those Rampaging Hulk books you're looking for (as individual issues): https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=447871. Though if you just want the Hulk stories only (and in black & white), here's a Marvel Essentials collection: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Rampaging-Hulk-Marvel-Essentials/dp/0785126996. GastonAugust 3, 2016 6:22 PM What's Missing Marvel recently released a TPB of Howard the Duck Magazine. Matthew BradleyAugust 3, 2016 1:45 PM Hulk #230 I presume Layton added the copy of IRON MAN (which he was then inking and co-plotting) seen amid the alien's "samples"; the nameplate on the sheriff's desk reads "R. Neckk." fnord12August 3, 2016 11:18 AM Marvel Team-Up #82-85 I, er, was taking the Sliding Timescale into account. ;-) Thanks. fnord12August 3, 2016 11:18 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) Cool, thanks Rick. fnord12August 3, 2016 11:18 AM Godzilla #17 Looking at my character intersection search and checking some issues, it seems the closest they came to meeting prior to this was in Avengers #72 when Gabe stood behind Dum Dum while Dum Dum was talking to the Avengers over a viewscreen. Mark DrummondAugust 3, 2016 11:12 AM Bizarre Adventures #33 "Varnae" is a reference to "Varney the Vampire", a story by Thomas Preskett Press that was serialized in Victorian-era penny dreadfuls. Acheron and "Valusa"(misspelled) are references to Conan and Kull. The page where Varnae overcomes Dracula seemed confusingly laid out to me back then; it appeared that Varnae actually ripped Dracula's head off. Matthew BradleyAugust 3, 2016 10:53 AM Marvel Team-Up #82-85 That would be John Belushi, not Jim. Matthew BradleyAugust 3, 2016 10:50 AM Captain America #228 Thanks so much for the refresher, everyone. I should really have said "to my recollection" rather than "knowledge," since my re-reading of MTU for Marvel University has only gone up to #75 so far. Now I have something to look forward to! :-) RickAugust 3, 2016 10:37 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) Hi fnord and AF Apparently the UHBMCC needs to be updated. This story was reprinted in Sub-Mariner Marvel Masterworks Volume 5 according to the Amazon description. https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Masterworks-Sub-Mariner-Roy-Thomas/dp/078516619X Matthew BradleyAugust 3, 2016 10:35 AM Godzilla #17 Am I the only one who thinks it highly unlikely that Jan would need to be introduced to Gabe at this late date? fnord12August 3, 2016 9:34 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) @AF, According to the UHBMCC, it's never been reprinted. fnord12August 3, 2016 9:33 AM Captain America #228 Ah, that makes sense in context and i already had a reference to that issue. Thanks. MichaelAugust 3, 2016 9:20 AM Captain America #228 Sorry, I should have been more clear- the reference in MTU 84 was to SHIELD's base being deserted in MTU 57, not to it being deserted in this issue. Andrew BurkeAugust 3, 2016 9:18 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) The Huntsman returned in THE CHAMPIONS #2-3. Never knew he appeared here first. Andrew BurkeAugust 3, 2016 9:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #129-131 I don't think the so-called "Knights of Hellfire" were used again after this issue and the next, were they? Maybe the armor they wore ultimately didn't work out for them, so they stopped using it. It's too bad. This would have given the Hellfire Club two sets of goons, ones in the armor and the ones in the standard uniform. AFAugust 3, 2016 9:12 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) Has this actually been collected anywhere? (I wouldn't be surprised if no one at Marvel knows it exists) MichaelAugust 3, 2016 8:52 AM Uncanny X-Men #57-63 During the Twelve Story in 1999, Apocalypse explains that Abdol was not really a mutant- his original powers were non-mutant and Apocalypse had Sinister graft some of the Summers brothers' DNA onto him in preparation for Apocalypse's scheme in that story. fnord12August 3, 2016 8:41 AM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) I've added some more notes about Hebe. Thanks guys. fnord12August 3, 2016 8:36 AM Bizarre Adventures #33 I've added some notes in the Considerations. Thanks Michael. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:20 AM Sub-Mariner #15 Marie is fantastic! She and Amanda Conner are my favorite female artists. fnord12August 3, 2016 8:19 AM Captain America #228 Thanks Michael and Andrew. I've added a reference from that issue. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:18 AM Fantastic Four #88-89 Maybe Reed adapted the uniforms to generate aprons whenever food is being served...Sue's sporting one, as well. Maybe Ben appearing was revenge for having to redraw those Galactus pages in the last Thor arc. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:15 AM Fantastic Four #88-89 Hell yeah, Ben showed up! Crystal's serving hot buns? Ben's not stupid. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:12 AM Avengers #66-68 Maybe that panel with the Wasp and Goliath was foreshadowing the future bangfest that Chuck Austen set up with Clint and Jan that partly precipitated Avengers Disassembled. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:06 AM Amazing Spider-Man #74-75 There's about a million really bad Green Goblin jokes I'll avoid. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 8:01 AM Iron Man #15-16 Whatever happened to Alpha and Beta? Those were the best names the non-Communist Red Ghost could whip up at the time? Geez...no wonder the wall came down. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:58 AM Daredevil #53 I think that was the tagline on her video boxes. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:54 AM Thor #168-170 I never thought I'd ever see a pouty Galactus. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:50 AM Uncanny X-Men #57-63 Was Ahmet Abdol ever revealed to have any familial relationship whatsoever with the Summers family? It was never truly explained as to why the Monolith affected Alex's access to his powers...and why it ever affected Scott. The reprint series looked awesome! I got those signed by Neal in the 80's - I caught hell for missing food shopping in lieu of meeting him. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #54-56 How many minds did Neal's pencils blow when this first came out? I want to thank Stan for pairing him with Tom Palmer first time out...I mean, what if some tool had put Vinnie the Butcher on inks? Just like PPTSSM #58, I don't he could have done much harm, but why even commit to such a sin? Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:30 AM Amazing Spider-Man #73 At the risk of initiating a Charlie Foxtrot, the JJJ / Robbie/ Randy scene illustrates the current fallacy of referring to current Republican nominee Donald Trump as a racist. He may be a blowhard at times...but racist?!? I think that epithet has worn out its welcome. Vin the Comics GuyAugust 3, 2016 7:24 AM Captain Marvel #15-17 I got to sit around with Arch quite some time ago. Great guy. I appreciate that he put as much effort into dialoguing the bit parts as he did with the major players. It makes for an enjoyable reading experience on every page...something Chris Claremont, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Alan Davis and other subsequent writers took to heart. Gil Kane's work looks fantastic to me here (Rick paid me to say that...damn check keeps bouncing)! ChrisAugust 2, 2016 9:53 PM Bizarre Adventures #25 (Black Widow) I love Gulacy's art, but he puts in way too many movie stars into his books. The first time was fine, but the joke wears off quickly. Chris MichaelAugust 2, 2016 8:54 PM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) That reminds me- shouldn't Hebe be added to the Historical Significance Rating? She appears in a few more stories- granted one of them was a weird one where Agamemmnon threatens her with the same mistletoe Loki used on Balder and everyone acts like it could hurt her because ... reasons? MichaelAugust 2, 2016 8:50 PM Bizarre Adventures #33 When is this Zombie story supposed to take place? The Zombie's existence seemingly ended in Tales of the Zombie 9, and Daredevil Annual 9 makes it seem like the Zombie's been at rest since then. OTOH, there doesn't seem to be a gap in the Zombie's series for the amulet to take a trip to New York. AndrewAugust 2, 2016 8:39 PM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) Hercules and Hebe are married in the Marvel Universe too; he's just a terrible husband. In the 2009 "Assault on New Olympus" storyline it's indicated he wandered away from her sometime in the past hundred years or so. SAugust 2, 2016 8:17 PM Ka-Zar Quarterly #1 (Hercules) The Shadowhound is adorable! AndrewAugust 2, 2016 8:05 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Given that issue 19 of this book was titled "Mirror, Mirror", and issue 21 was "The Devil in the Dark", I suspect that "Shadow of the Gun" may have borrowed its title from another classic Star Trek episode, "Spectre of the Gun". Tony LewisAugust 2, 2016 8:04 PM Bizarre Adventures #25 (Black Widow) I wonder if Irma Kruhl from Tales of Suspense #97 -- "the most deadly female spy ever to reach these shores" -- could be Irma Klausvichnova using a sort of code name. AFAugust 2, 2016 8:03 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 Well, Englehart is absolutely notorious for it. MichaelAugust 2, 2016 7:50 PM Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (Sub-Mariner) According to Wikipedia, yes, that's exactly what happened. MichaelAugust 2, 2016 7:43 PM Captain America #228 It was explained in issue 84. fnord12August 2, 2016 6:50 PM Captain America #228 Andrew, was that actually explained in MTU #82-85? I'm noticing i don't have any Inbound References from that entry. Do you know which issue it was? AndrewAugust 2, 2016 6:05 PM Captain America #228 That was actually explained muuuuuuuch later as the field testing of a "hypno-beam" ordering everyone on the base to take an aimless walk, the first step in a sinister plot by Viper and Silver Samurai that wrapped up in MTU issues 82-85. EntzauberungAugust 2, 2016 3:49 PM Defenders #48-51 I reread this story today and i'm still confused over exactly what Scorpio's long term plan was. clydeAugust 2, 2016 3:34 PM Marvel Team-Up #129-130 " I can't stand when I hear that. IMO, If you're using a character, do some research and see that character's previous appearances. I would think that the writers have access to a lot of the older comics. Matthew BradleyAugust 2, 2016 1:49 PM Captain America #228 You'll notice that the similar scenario way back in MTU #57, where the Black Widow found S.H.I.E.L.D.'s H.Q. mysteriously deserted, was never (to my knowledge) explained or followed up on. Ben HermanAugust 2, 2016 1:49 PM Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (Sub-Mariner) For a long time I've wondered why Marvel published this Iron Man & Sub-Mariner special in-between the two characters' runs in Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish and Tales and each of them receiving their own series. Was it just a case of Marvel accidentally ending up with a couple of extra chapters that were planned for split books? James HoltAugust 2, 2016 1:28 PM Tales Of Suspense #41 (Iron Man) There are interesting similarities between Strange's Evil purple costume details, shown in the 3rd and 5th scans above, and the "classic" Stephen Strange's Good blue costume. I never noticed that Iron Man was left-handed before, but in these scans he appears to be. James HoltAugust 2, 2016 12:35 PM Amazing Spider-Man #2 Re: the Spider-Man/Peter Parker "half-face" effect, when I read my first Spider-Man comic at the age of 8, I "reasoned" that Spider-Man's mask was his real face, and that the Peter Parker face was just another one of those latex masks that were also abundant in the same story. Spider-sense was making his bug-eyed face "glow" through the Peter Parker mask. You can even see the halo of light (wavy line effect). Told my cousins about this theory and they set me straight. I feel all better now knowing that other fool kids were reaching similar conclusions 8) Mark DrummondAugust 2, 2016 10:30 AM Giant-Size Defenders #1 Clea's nipples seem unable to stop popping out. AFAugust 2, 2016 10:26 AM Avengers #85-86 And the evil bald Hyperion from Exiles. cullenAugust 2, 2016 9:51 AM Avengers #85-86 Yeah Andrew, there's also Supreme Power Hyperion. AndrewAugust 2, 2016 8:19 AM Quasar #13-16 Some of the retcons here bug me. I don't see the advantage of making Hyperion an Eternal AND the last survivor of a subatomic planet. And the WHOLE POINT of the Watchers is they once gave knowledge to a planet that wasn't ready for it and the population destroyed themselves. That's why they don't interfere. The idea that they're saving all their knowledge to pass on to the next universe contradicts their entire purpose. It's like Gruenwald starts retconning and just can't stop. AndrewAugust 2, 2016 7:27 AM Avengers #85-86 What we need is a throw-down between Sinister Hyperion, Supreme Hyperion, Hickman's Hyperion, Sun God, Gladiator, Wundarr, the Sentry, Count Nefaria, the Blue Marvel, and Ethan Edwards. Did I miss anyone? MizarkAugust 2, 2016 6:44 AM Captain America #216 Jim Shooter used to hand out copies of this issue to Marvel creators to illustrate how to tell a story. He used the Kirby story however not the splash page. James HoltAugust 2, 2016 5:44 AM Fantastic Four #285 That's for sure, wouldn't argue with that. Still can't help thinking the resemblance was deliberate, maybe another one of those last minute impulse things. AndrewAugust 2, 2016 5:34 AM Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (Sub-Mariner) Thanks, Eric. Now that you mention it, I recall reading that in a letters page a few issues later. ChrisWAugust 2, 2016 2:41 AM Giant-Size Defenders #1 That's too much like work. You'll have to pay him. Talk to his secretary for further consultation. Moving on. MichaelAugust 1, 2016 11:54 PM Giant-Size Defenders #1 Yes, Stephen, one should never attempt a spell if one doesn't know its effects. Now are you going to check on your brother to see if you turned him into a vampire? Erik BeckAugust 1, 2016 9:26 PM Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (Sub-Mariner) Well, it sort of is. It's actually a reference to the real magazine by that name that was published by what later became Fawcett and long pre-dates Captain Marvel. It's referenced (anachronistically) in the song "Ya Got Trouble" in The Music Man (the musical takes place in 1912, but the magazine didn't begin until 1919). AndrewAugust 1, 2016 8:36 PM Iron Man & Sub-Mariner #1 (Sub-Mariner) Stating the obvious, just because someone has to: "Captain Billy's Whiz-Bang" is another Roy Thomas reference to the original Captain Marvel in Whiz Comics. AndrewAugust 1, 2016 8:00 PM Ms. Marvel #15-16 I hadn't heard that Mystique was originally intended to be an alien. I've been rereading these issues as part of a recently released Masterworks. Reading them all together, the sub-plot with Mystique and Ballard reminds me a bit of Michael Rossi and the Council of the Chosen. Also, there are repeated hints that Carol hasn't just been given the strength of a Kree; she may have been given the personality, skills, and sub-conscious memories of a particular Kree person. Given that, is it possible that the blue-skinned Mystique might originally have been intended to be the very Kree who served as a template for Ms. Marvel's Kree half? And, given that she's a shape-shifter who serves a "lord" with pointed ears, is it possible she was meant to be half Kree, half Skrull? MichaelAugust 1, 2016 7:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #8 This wasn't the only time the Deluxe Handbooks recolored a panel- another example was the scene with Starfox flirting with the paramedic in Avengers 233, where the recoloring made it look like Starfox was using his powers on her (which might have been what gave Ron Marz the idea to portray Starfox as a rapist). seanAugust 1, 2016 4:32 PM Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1-3,5 Bit of a late response to a couple of comments above, but fwiw - Steranko's work on SHIELD was influenced by Italian artist Guido Crepax' series Neutron, which introduced his signature character Valentina (Val's name is an acknowledgement of the debt). Omar KarinduAugust 1, 2016 4:19 PM Defenders #42-43 There';s a rather odd sequence at the beginning of issue#42 where Solarr's power somehow causes Nighthawk intense pain but leaves no burns or marks on him. It's never really explained what's supposed to be going on there. Conway also turns Egghead into some kind of costumed villain who throws gimmicked eggs at people here; it's not terribly impressive, and clashes mightily with Egghead's running gimmick of being the broke, down-on-his-luck mad scientist who lives in the Bowery and tries to use his niece's money for his schemes. (I suppose I had to comment on these issues eventually, eh?) Omar KarinduAugust 1, 2016 4:05 PM Uncanny X-Men #8 Oddly enough, the Deluxe Edition Marvel Handbooks recolor that panel of Hank bouncing of Unus's force field to make Hank look like the Hulk. RikFenixAugust 1, 2016 3:57 PM Doctor Strange #55 I agree wholeheartedly with Eric on this issue, I too was familiar with it from the Greatest Marvel tpb. Unbelievable Golden's art here was a fill-in, it is spectacular.. reminds me of Neal Adams. Writing was very strong too. Maybe my favorite Dr Strange story. I always liked D'spayre. Omar KarinduAugust 1, 2016 3:30 PM Black Goliath #1-3 I know the two stories were were published virtually simultaneously, but I always had a pet theory that the "Vulcan" of this issue is actually a mutated Volcanus from Marvel Two-In_One #16 following his plunge into the lava pool. It's still weird that two bad guys named after the Roman god Vulcan showed up int he exact same month, and weird that Claremont, of all writers, never went back to this guy and fleshed him out in one of his other titles. Omar KarinduAugust 1, 2016 3:26 PM Amazing Spider-Man #196-200 1 - This reflect what DC did in the late 40's, when Bruce Wayne was able to track down Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents, and then Chill is killed, essentially closing the case. Even moreso was the later 1950s Batman story that revealed that Chill wasn't just some random mugger, but rather was hired to kill the Waynes by crime boss Lew Moxon, after Batman's father had a run-in with Moxon some years earlier. "Dutch Malone" is indirectly the same sort of character here. Amazing Fantasy #15 is an effective little "morality-play-wioth-a-twist" story in the vein of the more grounded Twiight Zone episodes; it doesn't bear much examination nor require any special justification, which is a good argument against examining or justifying it after the fact. Omar KarinduAugust 1, 2016 3:19 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #90-91 There's a bit during the Clone Saga, I think in Spider-Man Unlimited v.1 #14, where Robbie is clearly thrown for a loop at seeing Peter Parker and Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) at the same time. AndrewAugust 1, 2016 1:09 PM Avengers #262 Hercules did refer to battle as a gift in the Bob Layton mini-series, now that I reread it, but that's from 1982 (and, I think, in an alternate future, so out of scope for this site, sadly), while Avengers 211 is from 1981, so that's the winner as far as I can tell. Seriously, though, that catchphrase is one of the reasons I love Hercules. mikrolikAugust 1, 2016 11:59 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #90-91 In the mid-1980s Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Unus had an entry in the regular section, not the Book of the Dead, so apparently Marvel thought Unus was possibly still alive. Interesting that he appeared to be dead for years. mikrolikAugust 1, 2016 11:56 AM Tales Of Suspense #73-78 (Iron Man) According to the intro Roy Thomas wrote for the Marvel Masterwork which reprinted Avengers 47-48, he says he intended to kill off the evil Black Knight to pave the way for the heroic version, so he wrote this issue wherein Nathan Garrett "dies". He says he deliberately didn't show Garrett's death here because he wanted the readers to wonder if he survived, and he said he suspected most people reading TOS 73 would just assume Garrett would show up a few months later in some Marvel mag saying he "landed on a truckload of pillows" or something. But it's interesting to me how this is one of the few cases where an ambiguous death was revealed to be an actual death. D09August 1, 2016 11:39 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 With the Synchro-Staff being a Space Phantom in disguise, it's not like its unprecedented for a shapeshifter to turn into an inanimate object (see Avengers Annual #14 for what I mean). However I'm willing to wait until we actually get to Crossing and Avenger Forever to actually discuss them once we have actual pages in front of us. fnord12August 1, 2016 9:06 AM Avengers #262 You're thinking of Avengers #211, and Hercules does refer to his punch as a "gift" there. Not sure if that even that is the first time though. I don't think it would merit a rating change, but it would be fun if someone did confirm the first use of it. fnord12August 1, 2016 9:04 AM Uncanny X-Men #49-56 (origins) Yes, i split them out about a month ago, and did the same for the Alpha Flight origin back-ups. It was announced in the forum. fnord12August 1, 2016 9:02 AM Hulk #395-396 Added him. Thanks. AFAugust 1, 2016 7:37 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 It's selfish indulgent crap. Crossing sucked but Avengers Forever sucked more. Crossing attempted to be a story and failed, Avengers Forever was just a mean-spirited agenda for Busiek and Brevoort to flex their muscles and show off how they can retcon anything they want and how they are going to "fix" the Avengers. #8 is literally just a lecture. There's no story whatsoever, it is a Space Phantom/Kurt Busiek sitting you down and then telling you all the comics that don't count in his mind. It's far from just The Crossing that gets the shaft, he's going as far back as Lee/Kirby issues to show how he can do whatever the hell he wants for no reason except for the pretense of this story that is just an exercise in ego. He retcons A STICK into having being a shapechanger in disguise, for God's sake. Jonathan, son of KevinAugust 1, 2016 7:33 AM Avengers #262 I thought he was already doing that in his limited series... couldn't swear by it though as I don't have the 2 limited series to hand. Also I think when Herc first meets Wonder Man, he starts a fight with him saying he's heard Simon's strong and wants to give him the gift. Can't remember what issue that is though. I'd never thought about where he first used it before, but if we can identify the first appearance of "the gift", surely that's an increase of the Historical Significance Rating? :) ChrisWAugust 1, 2016 6:11 AM Fantastic Four #285 John Byrne's not the guy to go to for stories that resonate with older audiences. With or without the Beyonder, this story would just look wrong for a lot of people, for many different reasons. The kid who sets himself on fire just so he can be like the Torch. The creepy guy who leaves everything out there unprotected so that the kid can set himself on fire. The idea that someone would set themselves on fire just because they want to be like the Human Torch. The obvious leading of the story to pound it into the readers' heads that... what? This is a bad thing? A good thing? A morally ambiguous thing? And then the Torch flies off in the end like he's a hero? For doing what? This could have been a good story. And I don't blame John Byrne or Jim Shooter so much as the superhero genre they were building. It doesn't even rise to the level of a bad story, it's just a "meh." Any effort you spend on this story is your problem and not Byrne's, or Shooter's, or the Human Torch's. ChrisAugust 1, 2016 3:35 AM Uncanny X-Men #49-56 (origins) Is this section new? I remember these previously being discussed in the main story of these issues. James HoltAugust 1, 2016 2:20 AM Hulk #6 Never realized it before, but this might likely be the first time Ditko used the floppy latex mask gimmick in a super-hero comic. The scene shown above, where the Hulk is unmasked, predates a similar scene in which Spider-Man is publicly "Unmasked by Doctor Octopus" in Amazing Spider-Man #12. The Chameleon, an early Ditko Spider-Man villain, always had similar-looking rubbery masks flopping around all over the place, looking like human faces without any supporting structures behind them. He had used empty masks for weird visual effects in some of his pre-super-hero stories too, but I no longer have any references to them. James HoltAugust 1, 2016 1:38 AM Fantastic Four #12 After posting the above comments about 2 weeks back, I acquired some reprints. I had confused this story (Fantastic Four #12) with Fantastic Four #25-26, so my comments above really don't apply to this earlier story, where the Thing/Hulk fight was inconclusive, and the characters were much less well-developed. My bad. My apologies. Using this site as the main resource, I've been going through these early Marvel Age stories starting with the 1962 index page, and seeing how the characters develop in chronological context. Previously I'd read all the pre-1964 stories as reprints, after internalizing later retcons, refits, and expanded character developments, in my memory. Reexamining the 1962-63 period using this site as reference provides better perspective. The reviews and commentaries are of great help. Thanks. James HoltJuly 31, 2016 10:09 PM Fantastic Four #285 I still wonder how the story would have worked without the editorially-forced Beyonder tie-in. Byrne said he originally intended to use the burn ward doctor to resolve the story instead. With some considerable respect to Byrne as an artist and even as a storyteller, he's not a guy I'd entrust to guide my children's moral development. In the X-Men comic, he said he was just following his own impulse when he went against script to have Phoenix commit genocide on an alien race of asparagus people. In the FF, he treated Doctor Doom sympathetically as a benevolent despot, and Galactus the planet-killer as beyond moral reproach. Quirky writer, with interesting moral ambiguities for adults, but maybe a bit confusing for kids. Hard to write such a story so as to appeal to older audiences while still remaining morally unambiguous to children. Different people will interpret such stories differently according to their own moral perspectives. Always thought the man with the fuel can looked like John Byrne with a ponytail, wonder if that was deliberate? ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 9:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 My version of "Secret Wars" wouldn't even need to be "Days of Futures Past." Evil dragons from another dimension have conquered Earth in the far-distant future and that's where the Beyonder sends everybody. Communists, orcs, aliens, they would all get the same point across. Ben HermanJuly 31, 2016 9:20 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 Shortly after Avengers Forever came out, I e-mailed Kurt Busiek and asked him why he had decided to retcon of nearly the entirety of "The Crossing." I no longer have the response he sent me, but as I recall he justified is by arguing that it was such an unpopular and convoluted storyline, and he felt it would just be better to put as much of it aside as possible rather than having to devote a significant chunk of his run resolving all of the unanswered questions and tying up all of the dangling subplots. (I am very much paraphrasing what Busiek said, and I am probably at least slightly off in my recall.) In any case, considering what an absolute mess "The Crossing" made of the character of Mantis, I do appreciate that AF wiped all that away, enabling subsequent writers to use her again without having to deal with that whole "she betrayed the Avengers and had sex with Kang the Conqueror" thing. Ben HermanJuly 31, 2016 9:08 PM Avengers #85-86 @AF... Thanks for the link to those scans. I hadn't realized that Hyperion and Gladiator actually met. But it figures that if anyone was going to write that fight scene it would be Mark Gruenwald. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 8:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Or maybe this link. It's there somewhere. D09July 31, 2016 8:49 PM Hulk #395-396 You don't have Doc Ock listed in the Characters Appearing section. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 8:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 By the way, here's a commission John Byrne did recently, and he explains his thinking that the heroes were fighting the villains and then the giant robots showed up. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 8:34 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 With Magneto, there's also the "criminal" part. Nimrod was certainly programmed to fight criminals, the other Sentinels would have been programmed in similar ways, recognizing escapees from the internment center, recognizing the classifications of 'mutant,' 'human' and 'likely to breed a mutant,' etc. Never mind the questionable decision to let a guy who can remold the very material Sentinels are made of live, he's been an active criminal for a long time. The other X-Men would simply be mutants and could be treated as such, but Magneto? "The other guy spit it out" scene is one of those examples where I don't see much of a problem with shooting Banner and it fails [just because Ruffalo sold the dialogue so well, and I could go on and on about how awesome Banner's role in the movie was.] If you really want to think about it, simply working up the guts to pull the trigger is what caused him to change in time to stop the bullet. Why he would survive a sniper a half-mile away would be a lot harder to explain. With Doom, I don't see it. I do like Johnathan's idea that he just loses interest after the FF have been killed. I like that idea a lot, that ruling the world was always of less importance to him than proving to be Reed's superior. In the far-distant future of 2013, he'd still be telling himself he'll get around to world conquest as soon as his schemes are in place, but the fire would have died. Latveria's relationship with his European neighbors would take precedence, he might try to court allies in Africa or South America, Russia and China are still there to deal with. The guy can build a time machine and Doombots, but he can't add more hours to the day, and he's left adrift without Reed as a focus for his energies. That said, I would think he would be working on defenses against Sentinels from the first time he hears about Bolivar Trask, and incorporating other giant robots like the Sleepers into his preparations. Unless the Sentinels just nuked Latveria without any warning whatsoever, I have to think Doom would be prepared for them. If he had to go to the Latverian Embassy or the United Nations, he would be prepared for anything, and it would be even harder to get him there. It was just a top-of-my-head idea, but I'm beginning to like this "What If Secret Wars Took Place in Days of Futures Past" idea. You still have the Beyonder, Galactus, the Molecule Man, etc. but it would add something to heroes and villains alike to see what would happen to them in the future. They've been ordered to fight each other, but they still have to defend against the robots. You can add characters like Spider-Woman and Titania, it builds to a climax as Galactus simply destroys the Sentinels who are interfering with his machine, then Doom beats Galactus, then the Beyonder... Karel July 31, 2016 8:24 PM Amazing Adventures #16 From Wikipedia: In the fall of 1972, writers Englehart, Conway and Len Wein crafted a metafictional unofficial Jonathan, son of KevinJuly 31, 2016 6:33 PM Avengers #85-86 I like Omar's reasoning, but I also like the reasoning in the scan AF links - Gladiator's had to prove himself and been in a lot more fights against a lot more super strong guys more than Hyperion has, so Hyperion's just never had to gain the battle skills Gladiator has. Makes sense to me. I do also think we've seen more Superman-style feats (lifting the Baxter Building, even if it is psychological, or the time in Simonson's FF where he operates at super speed so he can move normally when everyone else is stuck in a time freeze) from Gladiator than we have from Hyperion, though I might be forgetting something. Iirc the 80s Handbooks didn't even have Hyperion being Class 100, he was more like 75-80 tons. AndrewJuly 31, 2016 6:29 PM Avengers #262 I think this issue is the first time Hercules refers to battle with him as "the gift". MichaelJuly 31, 2016 5:52 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 And to clarify,PAD treated it like a power the Hulk always had and nobody noticed. MichaelJuly 31, 2016 5:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 The Hulk's healing factor wasn't introduced at this point- it was PAD that first introduced it during the Fall of the Mutants Hulk tie-in issue. WinterPhoenix101July 31, 2016 5:44 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Oh I also agree with people that it does seem to be a greater plothole for the Sentinels to actually keep mutants like Magneto alive, he would at this time have been one of the most powerful mutants - if the most powerful - in the universe, it would really only be logical to make him a priority target - especially if these sentinels were capable of taking down all the aforementioned heroes anyhow. WinterPhoenix101July 31, 2016 5:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Ya I'm willing to accept human vulnerabilities for both Thor and Hulk - though like son of Kevin says, I'd tend to believe some nasty vengeance from Odin was waiting for the sentinels in the case of Thor's demise, but he is frequently a complete jackass that is also true. I can get with it being a Doombot as well, that makes sense to me, can see him focusing on Europe as opposed to North America with most if not all of his interests in the US nullified. As for Strange, I'm sure a surprise attack could kill him, I find it hard to believe he would be surprised by these sentinels though. You gotta figure he would be on full alert the moment mutant non-mutant heroes alike start getting taken down. RE: Hulk's healing factor - my knowledge is spotty as I admitted above, is it's non-existence at this point merely because no writer has thought to point it out as an extension of Hulk's abilities? Or is it because it's an ability he physically gets endowed with in an event in a later comic? I know the distinction if of little significance as far as this issue goes, because as far as the writers were concerned this was a less powerful Hulk, and thus not as unbelievable to them as it was to me for the Sentinels to take him out. Just wondering why exactly he has no healing factor at this juncture. D09July 31, 2016 5:31 PM Captain America #315 I guess after the copied Porcupine suits failed to stop the Defenders, the Secret Empire sent the original back and probably demanded a full refund if Prof. Power's check had been sent to him. AFJuly 31, 2016 4:17 PM Avengers #85-86 Gladiator. Because it's canon. http://panels-of-interest.tumblr.com/post/102528673910/gladiator-vs-hyperion-from-quasar-1989-54 Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 2:40 PM Fantastic Four #285 I don't fully agree with the linked critique of the story, but I think there's some merit to criticizing the way the Torch's inner conflict is resolved. Maybe Tommy did "live" through the Torch, but that's not really a *positive* thing given what happens in the story. Making the story a celebration of fandom doesn't really work when its example of a fan is a kid with a miserable life who ends up dying in horrible agony because he takes that fandom too far. But the ending of the story seems to make it just that; it's treated as a message about how awesome the Human Torch and Marvel Comics are. There's a good story in the Torch realizing he's not to blame and that life can be awful sometimes, but that's not the story that winds up being told here. Instead, the idea that the Torch was some small solace to Tommy is treated as if it is an undeniable, unalloyed good. Jonathan, son of KevinJuly 31, 2016 2:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Good catch on Nimrod vs Juggernaut (I've never been convinced that those sonics should work on Juggernaut, but never mind). Personally I think Nimrod keeps up the threat level of the DoFP Sentinels. In his 1st appearance he takes on the team and Juggernaut, and in his 2nd appearance he takes on the whole team and the Hellfire Club. After that he gets melded with Master Mold and then goes through the Siege Perilous. I'm unfamiliar with his appearances since then, but at least in his 2 Claremont battles against the X-Men he doesn't detract from the idea that even if other Sentinels are less powerful than him, an army of them could still be a very credible threat. On the other hand, when the actual Omega Sentinels are apparently brought back by the Beyonder in Uncanny X-Men 202, the team manage to destroy a few of them without Rachel's help and without anyone being disintegrated with a single Sentinel blast. So yeah, very diminishing returns. And yeah, Ahab would have been better left a mystery, which was probably the original intent for him. MichaelJuly 31, 2016 2:03 PM Avengers #183-187 Yeah, it was X-Men Unlimited 2- the explanation was that Magneto put the tombstone up when he learned of his wife's death. There were other weird things going on with the flashback to the grave in that story though, especially since the guy narrating it turned out to be an unreliable narrator. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 2:01 PM Iron Man annual #3 Since we will see in Hulk #197-198 that the Glob is back in its ideal human/clay lump form, maybe it managed to pull itself off of Yagzan and back together before the Collector got ahold of it in those stories. It's kind of crazy how often later writers cam back to the story from Giant-Size Man-Thing #1. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:58 PM Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 Since the Golden Brain *is* the Glob's brain, the implication here seems to be that the Glob's "real" power was always a sort of telekinesis, an ability to create bodies for itself out of surrounding matter. Even when Yagzan uses the brain as a weapon, it creates an electrical ":aura" version of the Glob. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:56 PM Avengers #183-187 We do eventually see a gravestone for Magda in (I think) an issue of X-Men Unlimited, but that just raises further questions. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:52 PM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 We do see later on that Sentinel tech from this timeline (or one of its branches) can hurt the Juggernaut, since Nimrod comes close to executing Juggy in Central Park. But then, the Shaw-model Sentinels, not to mention to DoFP Sentinels more generally, never do anywhere nearly as well any other time they turn up, and their menace is greatly diluted by the introduction of the aforementioned Nimrod and by cyborgs like Ahab. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:49 PM Avengers #85-86 Which of the Superman expies, Hyperion or Gladiator, would prove triumphant? I'd bet on Hyperion, since Gladiator is technically a Superboy expy. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:46 PM West Coast Avengers #4 And then there's the various Ghost Riders, who are simultaneously wrapped up with Abrahamic belief systems and yet transcultural. Even here, we'll later see that Master Pandemonium has a demonic servant named Azmodeus, which is Abrahamic rather than Hindu in origin. I wonder if Roy Thomas was thinking of this storyline when he had Doctor Demonicus fall under the sway of the demon Raksasa (no "H") in his WCA run. Omar KarinduJuly 31, 2016 1:39 PM Avengers #87 Well, let's see, in addition to M'Baku and B'Tumba, there's also his cousin Jakarra from the Kirby series, his one-time Air Force pilot Wheeler (Daredevil I #245), Tanzika from Jungle Action and Panther's Prey, and the child Kantu got hooked on drugs in Panther's Prey too and ended up being used as a pawn by Solomon Prey. And later we have Nakia becoming a new verson of the Panther villain Malice (not to be confused with the X-villain of that name.) It's even arguably that his archfoe Killmonger is in this vein; yes, Killmonger thinks T'Chala and his father are to blame for his own suffering, but from T'Challa's perspective this is a guy he repatriated who immediately turned around and led a brutal guerrilla war against him. Ditto for Achebe, who started out as a refugee T'Challa granted asylum and mediately decided to become the local equivalent of the Joker. No wonder T'Challa turned on Queen Divine Justice so fast! Ben HermanJuly 31, 2016 12:57 PM Avengers #87 Another one that I re-read last night. I found it a pretty good story, filling in some of the gaps in the Black Panther's history. Of course we do have an old, trusted friend of T'Challa's betraying him. Roy Thomas already established M'Baku / Man-Ape turning traitor, and now we find out about B'Tumba. Anyone keep track of how many other friends & allies from Wakanda subsequently turned on him? No wonder the Panther eventually became so secretive & manipulative; he must have gotten tired of worrying about who was going to stab him in the back next! Interesting to see Frank Giacoia on pencils. It's been observed by his contemporaries that Giacoia often had trouble meeting deadlines, which is why he very rarely penciled, instead working primarily as an inker. Looking at his work on this story, it's good. Yeah, there are some swipes of Kirby, but the layouts & storytelling are interesting. Too bad he wasn't able to do more pencil jobs. Ben HermanJuly 31, 2016 12:41 PM Avengers #85-86 Last night I was re-reading this story, and a few others, in my copy of Essential Avengers Volume 4. I like it better than some other people. For me the main selling point is that it reminds me somewhat of the unsettling sci-fi stories that EC Comics produced in the 1950s, with the vision of Earth's inhabitants getting consumed in the fires of apocalyptic super-nova, and Brain-Child, an atomic mutation with a grotesquely oversized brain. There's a genuine horror quotient to this tale. The Squadron Supreme seem to work better here in their intro than in nearly all of their subsequent appearances, probably because when Roy Thomas introduced them he must have intended them to be fun one-off parodies / homages to the JLA and I doubt that he expected that they'd end up returning again & again over the next four decades. Having said that, I do sorta wonder how a meeting between the Squadron Supreme and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard would go. Which of the Superman expies, Hyperion or Gladiator, would prove triumphant? Oh, yes, as David Banes and Omar Karindu previously mentioned, this story does seem to have been a major influence on the fantastic Justice League animated two-parter "Legends." The League gets transported to a parallel Earth where they meet the Justice Guild (an homage to the Justice Society) who are being manipulated by an atomic mutant with a grotesquely enlarged brain named Ray Thompson. MichaelJuly 31, 2016 12:20 PM West Coast Avengers #4 That sort of thing happens a lot in comics- the Sons of Satannish sought to bring Surter and Ymir to Earth, Shuma Gorath is supposed to be a Chthulu- esque demon but he mocked Strange's inability to be both Vishnu and Shiva, etc. Jonathan, son of KevinJuly 31, 2016 10:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Agreed that the Hulk and Thor both have human forms that are vulnerable, at least in theory. I'd like to think Odin would have gone wreaked great vengeance on the Sentinels should that have happened, but I guess Odin of the 60s and 70s is frequently a jackass who might just have washed his hands of Midgard for their ungratefulness, and banned the rest of his kingdom from venturing there again and getting revenge. It does seem a bit of a stretch (though not necessarily impossible) for the Sentinels to have defeated Dr. Doom, Absorbing Man or Juggernaut... though I guess the latter two could have been banished to space or something. Or if the Sentinels are mostly just based in North America at this point, Creel and Juggy, being non-mutant criminals, just decided it wasn't worth the hassle and went to other countries (we have for instance seen Juggernaut in Edinburgh in X-Men 217, and I think circa Avengers 185 Creel thinks about skipping out to a different country to get away from the Avengers). Howsabout the Doom pictured as being "crossed out" was just a Doombot? :) The real Doom is in Latveria, no particular interest in the USA at all now Doom's greatest foe and his family have been killed. He'll come back and conquer the USA eventually, but for now he's concentrating on Europe... But yeah, the worst plothole in the whole thing does seem to be the idea of keeping Magneto of all people alive. Even with a "they can counter his magnetism" handwave, he's still one of the most powerful and dangerous mutants on Earth, possibly the most powerful that Claremont & Byrne would have been aware of in 1981. RickJuly 31, 2016 9:09 AM Avengers #264 Yellowjacket's real name of Rita Demara would not be revealed until seven issues later in #271. After this issue, somebody in the letter cols guessed Yellowjacket was Pym's lab assistant Alice Nugent (introduced in Iron Man #194). MichaelJuly 31, 2016 9:03 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Bendis's Civil War II series involved a special arrow Banner created as a failsafe that could kill Banner without causing him to turn into the Hulk. It's possible the Sentinels used a similar weapon. Also, note that the Hulk didn't have a healing factor at the time this story was written. AndrewJuly 31, 2016 8:03 AM West Coast Avengers #4 Weirdly, for a character who seems pretty firmly grounded in Christian mythology, Master Pandemonium refers to the "hordes of the Rakasha", which is a variation of Rakshasa, demonic beings from Hindu scripture. Max_SpiderJuly 31, 2016 6:39 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Mark Waid's recent run on the Hulk explores what sort of marksmanship it would take to take down Banner with a headshot, somewhat. Brian C. SaundersJuly 31, 2016 5:25 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Considering the Hulk that existed in Claremont and Byrne's imagination circa 1981 would have been the Bronze Age era Hulk, I have no issue with Sentinels tracking down the Hulk, waiting for him to revert to Banner and flash frying him, ala the death of Wolverine. As for the the aged X-Men, the Sentinels are the number one enemies they train against. I can see how they would have an advantage over every other superhuman in the world on that basis and could last a decent amount of time in a fight. Where I need the suspension of disbelief is that they were left alive in the first place. Neither Magneto nor any X-Man should have been allowed to live in the camps. They should have been killed long ago. Handwaving the reason for that is a hard slog. Also, has anyone noticed that Colossus has a different patronym in #141? It's supposed to be Nikolievitch not Alexandreivich! WinterPhoenix101July 31, 2016 4:01 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 I actually really, really like that alternate vision of 'Secret Wars', I'm a big fan of 'Secret Wars' as is (not the sequel though) but the benefits of setting it in an alternate universe are apparent as you point out, plus it would have added a more gritty atmosphere to the whole thing, as well as giving the villains more to do as you say. I think it would depend where and with what kind of ammo you shoot him, in my own head anyhow I'm thinking you have to kill him outright and immediately, else the transformation is triggered and the wound is healed. So like Magnum to the back of Banner's head = dead, pistol shot perhaps not necessarily, if you follow. Obviously there's that scene in the Avengers movie, where Ruffalo says that he tried to kill himself but the 'big guy, spit the bullet out' now that I would have an issue with, because you put a gun in your mouth and fire, you're severing the spinal cord and your dead, no time for transformation. I don't have any issue with him turning at the last minute either, in individual circumstances like you suggest, might become a cop out if it was used too much in that manner. I do wonder about whether he would ever age in Hulk form though. But yeah all in all my original thoughts were triggered by the absurdity that the Sentinels could be thwarted by an aged Storm, Wolverine etc, but had no issues in ridding themselves of the myriad other super folk who'd object to robot overlords. Suspension of disbelief is of course a key skill for any prospective comic book reader though. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 3:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 I don't know how it fits into continuity, but as far as I'm concerned, if you put a bullet through Bruce Banner's brain, the Hulk dies too. I think it makes both characters more interesting. And I'm fine with a story that has Banner being shot but turning into the Hulk at the last split-second. I don't think that's how the Hulk should be, but I'm fine with it for any particular story. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 3:21 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Wouldn't "Secret Wars" have been so much better if the heroes and villains had been transported to that alternate future? Doom and Galactus could still have their ultimate plans, but all the characters would have been forced to fight for whatever they could get in a world beset by the Sentinels. It's an alternate universe so if someone dies it's not permanent, but it would have given the villains something to fight. WinterPhoenix, being off-topic isn't really a bad thing around here. Just do your best to stay on-topic and enjoy the conversation. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 3:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Yes, Ben's grave is seen. Yes, the montage of kill-shots includes a lot of non-mutant superheroes. Don't nitpick the point, that there's a lot more superhumans on Earth who won't take kindly to robots killing everybody. If the Sentinels can take out the Hulk and Dr. Doom, why are they still vulnerable to the few remaining aged X-Men? At least we see them beating the X-Men. WinterPhoenix101July 31, 2016 3:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 Yeah, when the question first occurred to me it was specifically linked to Hulk, but frankly, everything you say is correct, I simply cannot see Dr. Doom being destroyed by Sentinels. Even in their most overpowered presentation (like the extremely powerful Sentinels in the DoFP film) how are they surviving a concerted effort from what would surely be ubiquitous resistance superpowered folk? I mean even if they didn't actively mention all the other heroes who had been 'destroyed', it would be a question that pops up in your head, 'what the hell happened to Dr. Strange' etc. Would shooting Bruce Banner kill him? Or would he simply turn into the Hulk? Hulk healing factor is insane so you gotta think no matter how close to death Banner is becoming Hulk is a sort of like a panacea. I'm not an encyclopaedia on Hulk's powers though, I wonder whether his healing works on a cellular level, like if Banner found a way to be permanently Hulk, would he even age? Anyhow I've gone way off-topic there lol None of these questions mar the brilliance of this story, easily top 10 in my favourite comics, frankly. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 3:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 To be fair, I don't like the Hulk when he's happy. He and I just don't get along. I think it's because he's a Scorpio... ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 2:47 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 I always wondered that too. Not the Hulk specifically, but these robots that are maybe capable of outfighting the X-Men have beaten the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and every other hero? Doctor Doom never got involved? Dr. Strange couldn't reset time? You could maybe make an argument that the 'kill mutants' imperative was *SO STRONG* that the Sentinels took a quiet approach to killing everybody else. Shoot Bruce Banner in the face when he's least expecting it. Shoot Reed Richards in the face. Shoot Captain America and Tony Stark in the face. Shoot Donald Blake. And then after you've done that, openly reveal the Sentinels as the mutant-killing monsters they were programmed to be. Um, ok, I think Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm and Sue Richards are gonna have a few things to say about that. As will the Vision, the Wasp, Hank Pym, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver [and the Inhumans] Spider-Man and everybody else you can think of. The Absorbing Man might not go along with the robotic overlords. Or Dr. Octopus. Or the Wizard. Or the Morlocks, the Mole Man, HYDRA, or anybody else. If nothing else, you're right, there's never a sense that any of these characters were defeated. I'm just free-associating about the Hulk, but what if shooting him just makes him angry? I don't like the Hulk when he's angry. ChrisWJuly 31, 2016 2:30 AM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 First of all, Havok wasn't there. He was back on Earth with Eric the Red. Second, Cyclops was in a shielded area. He was protected. Third, it's comic books. Might as well ask why Jean didn't give Peter Corbeau's knowledge to Colossus so he could fly the shuttle. Wouldn't be any "Iron Phoenix" coming from that. And fourth, Scott and Alex don't absorb a ton of energy on Earth because, um, it's Earth, and things are different here. If we can fight off Galactus, we can handle a couple of cosmic-ray-absorbing muties. They simply don't build up enough cosmic radiation to make a real difference. WinterPhoenix101July 31, 2016 2:24 AM Uncanny X-Men #141-142 There's one thing I still really want to know about this story. And excuse me if it's been explored at some point over the years, my Marvel knowledge is better than a layman, but nought compared to regular commenters on here, I mostly know the major story arcs, smatterings here and there, and very little of non-616 Marvel; hence reading through this chronology project as I attempt to actually build a collection worth the title. Anyhow the one thing I really want to know, is how on earth did the sentinels manage to kill, destroy, neutralize The Hulk, per the 'destroyed' heroes in the second slide? One assumes they did as everyone seems to do and simply expelled him into space or something, because the things he has survived I don't think any sentinel is even making a dent, surely? I feel sorry for Kitty if Jonathan is right and she is returning to the same future, because Hulk is coming back there sometime as well, and well Hulk Smash! James HoltJuly 31, 2016 1:14 AM Strange Tales #105 (Human Torch) Lightning bolt borders for inset and split panels were an old convention for showing both sides of a phone conversation, often seen in old Archie comics as well as in juvenile fiction books like Tommy and the Telephone by Ellen MacGregor. James HoltJuly 31, 2016 12:41 AM Hulk #5 Starting with Hulk #4's The Monster and the Machine, in which the Hulk started retaining the consciousness of an angry Bruce Banner, the Hulk started talking and acting almost exactly like the Kirby/Lee Thing has been talking and acting ever since Alicia Masters joined the FF's supporting cast in Fantastic Four #9, which went on sale the same week as Hulk #4, i.e., Sept. 9, 1962. Dropping 'g's, and using similar slang, was Kirby dialoging these speaking styles in his margin notes? Maybe? I dunno. Cecil Louis DisharoonJuly 30, 2016 11:05 PM Daredevil #108-109 Interviews with Steve Gerber, the writer at the time, underscore that he felt like Daredevil's story is best told from its solitary, unique place in existence. "One man alone, in total darkness" as he put it, here: http://www.manwithoutfear.com/daredevil-interviews/Gerber MichaelJuly 30, 2016 10:47 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 You might as well ask why Radioactive Man doesn't get cancer- something about their powers makes them immune to the side effects. StevenJuly 30, 2016 10:42 PM Daredevil #183-191 I prefer Black Widow's 1970s look. StevenJuly 30, 2016 10:25 PM Marvel Team-Up #82-85 In Iron Man 2, Black Widow's alias is Natalie Rushman, which is close to Nancy Rushman. StevenJuly 30, 2016 10:11 PM Daredevil #108-109 Was it ever explained why Black Widow was dropped from the title? Did she help or hurt sales? D09July 30, 2016 9:47 PM Iron Man annual #3 The mud coating Yagzan's skeleton probably eroded away, or washed, or something along those lines... As to why Omegaville was never rebuilt, I don't think anybody would be crazy enough to try to rebuild it, at least so close to where Man-Thing's home is after what keeps happening to it. StevenJuly 30, 2016 9:44 PM Daredevil #92 I am more interested in Black Widow in these issues than Daredevil. D09July 30, 2016 9:31 PM New Mutants #72-73 @Nathan Adler: Again, that's only if you care for Illyana in the first place and don't think of her as a waste of space and a bad addition to the team, not to mention that my opinion of her is brought down even further by her connections to two characters I really don't give a damn for, Kitty and Peter. D09July 30, 2016 9:24 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 I suppose I should have clarified my post: what I meant was that (based on the context of the original story/meaning by Claremont) shouldn't Cyclops and Havok have turned into Phoenix-type super-mutants due to all the cosmic ray energy that they've absorbed or does the change only happen with a big burst of energy (like what happened on the shuttle) rather than the slow absorption those two have been doing? D09July 30, 2016 9:14 PM Avengers #183-187 I can't believe that about 35 (or so) years later, nobody has seen fit to close the door on Magda's final years, especially with something as vague as "and she wandered back out into the snow and disappeared from sight" as her final appearance (I could be misremembering the exact words used but the point still stands). D09July 30, 2016 9:06 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 @AF: You mean the speech where it was revealed that Immortus was not only playing the long game against the Avengers and their allies, but also against himself (more to the point, against past versions of himself like Kang) just so Earth's superhuman population never ventures beyond the confines of the Solar System (at least not without someone or something keeping them in check) in order to make sure the Time Keeper's ideal timeline comes about? I confess I don't remember specifically how the speech went, but I think I'll remember the major points when Avengers Forever #1 gets put on this site. D09July 30, 2016 8:55 PM Defenders #35 @Nathan Adler: And that one's Douglas Adams, who I don't think was ever involved in comics, just regular novels with some dabbling into music and computer games here and there. James HoltJuly 30, 2016 6:43 PM Hulk #3 Another sweet moment was for Ditko inks on Kirby pencils was Fantastic Four #13 with the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. I seem to recall a few from the pre-super-hero monster comic days, but can't put my finger on them easily. MichaelJuly 30, 2016 6:23 PM Black Goliath #1-3 Wait and see, Brian- Barry Allen, Sharon Carter, Norman Osborn and Nighthawk were all dead for a decade or longer. Heck, Night Thrasher was killed off in Civil War and he was just brought back a few months ago. Brian C. SaundersJuly 30, 2016 6:09 PM Hulk #3 The Hulk didn't wear the purple trunks until he recovered from Rick's mind control next issue. Getting Ditko to ink Kirby was always a sweet thing, but Ditko made more money doing pencils than inks. At least Ditko never stopped inking his own pencils on Spider-Man. Brian C. SaundersJuly 30, 2016 6:02 PM Black Goliath #1-3 Well, he's unique in staying dead after Civil War. That's something. James HoltJuly 30, 2016 5:36 PM Tales To Astonish #38 (Ant-Man) These are kids' stories written and drawn for baby boomer kids. As the kids grew up, so the comics. Now there is nothing like this for the kids. What about the kids? Doesn't anybody care? :'( James HoltJuly 30, 2016 4:57 PM Strange Tales #102 (Human Torch) I'm agreeing with Mortificator. This is Larry Lieber, not Stan Lee, writing full scripts for Kirby while simultaneously not reading the Fantastic Four. Larry didn't use the "Marvel Method." 2007 interview. This is Jack Kirby, under increasing pressure to produce more pages faster, following the full script because it's easier, and because, unlike his brother Stan, Larry always produced full scripts. Jack was using his more creative plot-as-you-go method on less peripheral titles like Fantastic Four, where he would not have a full script from Stan Lee. This is Dick Ayers, also under pressure and arguably not Jack's best inker. This is Stan Lee not editing the work *gasp* but rather depending on Larry and Jack without much supervision. No editor appears in the credits for these seminal Marvel Age titles. They're becoming more concerned about continuity as sales go up, but they ain't there yet. These scripts were developed several months in advance of publication. The previous issue, #101, had an editor's note addressing the continuity glitch regarding Johnny's "secret identity," but the scripts for #102-#105 had probably already been written before that editor's note was added, in #101, just prior to publication. They likely didn't have time or inclination to re-write any scripts, leaving the "continuity-fix" 'til #106. That's just my surmise based mainly on comparing Kirby/Lieber work against Kirby/Lee work. Continuity would become more obsessive as time went by, but the old, less-continuity-concerned production methods took time to adjust, and Kirby would be Kirby. AFJuly 30, 2016 2:11 PM Black Goliath #1-3 Well, personally, I always thought his battle with cancer (or generic radiation poisoning depending on the writer) was what set him apart from everyone else. It was very much his defining character bit and a big part of his best stories (Gruenwald/Macchio MTIO). It should've been explored a lot more before DeFalco decided to give him a magical generic virus and then wave the magic wand and cure him. And of course then when he was re-powered later on, he no longer had anything to set him apart from the other giant character. No motivation and no uniqueness. James HoltJuly 30, 2016 2:10 PM Hulk #3 The reviewer notes that "the Hulk is being drawn less like a gawky Frankenstein monster and more squat and powerful." This is dead on. Hulk's arms are noticeably much more massive and longer than his legs in this issue. This is particularly noticeable in the splash page to chapter 1 (a very powerful drawing IMO). Notice also that the Hulk's feet haven't yet grown enough to completely split out of Banner's shoes in that drawing, perhaps suggesting that his feet were less affected by the mutation than his head and upper torso, or perhaps that his transformation was still ongoing. Compare the normal proportions of Rick Jones with those of the Hulk in the scan where they're standing side by side with their right hands raised. Hulk is at least a foot or two taller than Rick, but Rick's legs seem to be at least as long or longer. Banner has longer legs than Rick's in issue #2, so have Banner's legs shrunk? ...or just thickened massively without lengthening? Hulk wears Banner's torn clothes throughout this issue, instead of the purple swim trunks he wears in #2 and several other contemporaneous appearances. It's a better look for him. Hulk's left arm seems almost diminutive compared to his right arm in 2 or 3 of the scans. At least 3 of the circus people also have unusual leg to arm proportioning. I wish Ditko had been retained as Kirby's inker for at least this one issue. Ah whell at least we get to see do a full treatment of the Circus of Crime in Amazing Spider-Man #16! Brian C. SaundersJuly 30, 2016 11:42 AM Black Goliath #1-3 Bill Foster: you know your series is in trouble when the lead gets cancer in the first issue. MichaelJuly 30, 2016 9:22 AM Amazing Spider-Man #184-185 And "Tyger tiger" was Red John's catchphrase in the Mentalist. AFJuly 30, 2016 4:10 AM Hulk #140 Yep, I actually posted bits from that What If on the issue where Jarella dies! AFJuly 30, 2016 4:08 AM Captain America #320 I think Scourge is just a jerk. Personally I think he's a bit hypocritical, and this is obviously intentional, he's killing criminals by criminal acts. So I don't see him breaking his own rules as a mistake as much as it is further proof he is not to be admired. With the eventual revelation that there as multiple Scourges, it's kinda easy to say one or two of them weren't quite as discerning if you want. Also, Domino provided Scourge with most his targets and research. So it could be Domino who doesn't really care if they were convicted or not instead of Scourge. George LochinskiJuly 30, 2016 2:25 AM Amazing Spider-Man #184-185 Also, obviously, Watchmen #5 James HoltJuly 30, 2016 12:16 AM Amazing Fantasy #15 John Romita Sr.'s Gwen and Mary Jane drawings were slightly more realistic than Betty and Veronica, but not much. Romita was schooled by drawing romance magazines whereas to the best of my knowledge Ditko was not. Romita drew Gwen and Mary Jane much like Curt Swan drew Lois and Lana, i.e., give these 4 characters each others' wig colors and hair styles, and they could all pass for each other. Ditko's "young pretty" female characters were always more stylized, standardized, and similar-looking than his "young handsome" male characters were, but they still looked more like real people, and less like pinup models, than most of the young female characters that glamor artists drew. Ditko's young women and girls all seemed to wear cross-your-heart bras and one-piece Playtex living girdles, based on the way they were drawn, but they nevertheless had more realistic and individualized faces, and they moved more like real people, and less like the glamor girl models in their standard catalog poses. During his later Charlton Blue Beetle phase, Ditko developed a standard ideal-hero male character which was proportioned like and modeled after an ancient Greek hero statue. Dan Garrett and Vic Sage were examples of this character model. Thankfully his younger characters like Peter Parker were always less idealized and more down-to-earth. I always thought that the Ted Kord Blue Beetle character (which was originally created by Ditko for Charlton) looked a lot like a slightly older Peter Parker, but he was developed before Charlton's 1967 Blue Beetle #5, in which Ditko's "black-and-white" approach to art seemed to crystallize IMO, or at least it was the first time I can recall in which Ditko started to clearly state his still-developing feelings about art, using a hero character as his mouthpiece. His non-idealized or non-heroic characters however never seemed to lose their individuality, believability, or essential humanity, or at least not nearly so much. MichaelJuly 29, 2016 11:16 PM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 This page has a scan: MichaelJuly 29, 2016 11:06 PM Captain America #320 Someone might have pointed out the contradiction to Gruenwald, because the dialogue in Captain America 345 suggests that Diamondback has been convicted of misdemeanors but never a felony. Maybe she was charged with a felony, pled it down to a misdemeanor and Scourge decided it counted? D09July 29, 2016 10:54 PM Hulk #140 @AF: You do get some answers in What If? Vol 1 23, but not all of them. D09July 29, 2016 10:33 PM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 @Mark Drummond: Any specifics on that letter page from issue 153? ChrisWJuly 29, 2016 9:47 PM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 Oh no. I just did the math, and Betsy has been an Asian ninja more than twice as long as she *wasn't* an Asian ninja. I'm old. :( MichaelJuly 29, 2016 5:50 PM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 Yeah, but Cap isn't REALLY a Nazi- the Skull used the Cosmic Cube to rewrite history so that Cap was *always* a sleeper agent loyal to the Skull. That's no different than a thousand stories where the villain rewrites reality so that the hero is on their side, like the first 3 issues of Busiek's Avengers- and everything always ends with everything snapping back to normal and it never being mentioned again. RickJuly 29, 2016 4:55 PM Captain America #320 If Scourge had succesfully killed Diamondback, that would have been another contradiction to his "kill only convicted criminals" code. According to Diamondback's entry in OHOTMU Deluxe #3, she has no criminal record. That issue was published several months before Cap #320 (Feb 86 cover date vs. Aug 86 cover date). Andrew BurkeJuly 29, 2016 2:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 If they can approve Captain America now being a Nazi, then I'd say the chances would be pretty good. :) Mark DrummondJuly 29, 2016 2:46 PM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 But was the Jackal still trying to take over the underworld after #130? For example, when we see the Scorpion later, he has no idea who the Jackal is. Ben HermanJuly 29, 2016 2:02 PM Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (Wolverine) I've finally figured out who the "mysterious benefactor" was that the Professor was talking to on the phone... http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/217/040/48ACD.png AFJuly 29, 2016 12:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 No editor, not even Marvel's current collection of buffoons, would ever approve that idea. Andrew BurkeJuly 29, 2016 12:04 PM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 I just recently read that Claremont intended to reveal in his NIGHTCRAWLER series that Psylocke came out of the Siege Perilous and eventually became Bloody Bess of the Crimson Pirates. The Psylocke we all knew would have turned out to be someone else. NIGHTCRAWLER was a pretty good series. Same artist drew all of the issues, if I recall. And it was a Claremont who mostly wrote arc by arc rather than his old way, at least at first, as he didn't know if the book would last or not. When it did, he returned to the story from #5-6 and did more of Bess, which is just a nickname of Elizabeth. This Bloody Bess plotline was originally intended for his second run, but he was off the books before he got to it. It was his way to fix Betsy, as he never originally intended her her remaining Asian long after UNCANNY X-MEN #256-258, but popularity made the editors decide to keep her as is. Omar KarinduJuly 29, 2016 11:39 AM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 Mysterio was projecting illusions by means of a miniature lens he attached to the chest of Spider-Man's costume. I can't figure out how Mysterio knew who the Mindworm and the Jackal were, though. Mindworm is shown in flashback being arrested by the police in Spectacular Spider-Man #35, so maybe his clash with Spidey made the papers. As to the Jackal, he's running around trying to take over the underworld at this point, since Conway is still writing him asa substitute for the original Green Goblin, so I suppose he'd be known among other costumed criminals and thugs as a guy with a mad-on for Spider-Man. Alternatively, the psychoactive fog is doing some of the work, and some of the villains aren't projections, but rather hallucinations. If someone can just send all this ad hoc rationalization back in time, maybe I can get a No-Prize. Omar KarinduJuly 29, 2016 11:33 AM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 Conway really didn't think it through, as noted above. But yes, it's very hard to see who approached who here. Conway seems to be loosely riffing on the original Mysterio's first appearance, where he came to Jameson posing as a new superhero and offered to bring in Spider-Man (after framing him). So maybe the idea is that Berkhart gets ahold of Beck's stuff and has no better ideas than repeating the scam. This doesn't explain why Jameson would go in for it, though, or why he avoids any legal trouble after skipping town for a few days. mikrolikJuly 29, 2016 11:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 OK, I'll concede that Berkhart can be arrested and charged with parole violation, possible conspiracy, maybe the Mysterio stuff is contraband, etc. Heck, maybe the rules in the Marvel Universe are more strict when it comes to costumed activity considering all the stuff that happens there. I still wish the Jameson/Berkhart connection was further explored. Omar KarinduJuly 28, 2016 6:23 PM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 But this is like catching the mercenary with all his guns and bombs int he middle of the city, and then finding out he's got a felony record. Someone's going to look into that regardless of who the mercenary's target was. Jay GallardoJuly 28, 2016 5:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #144 This is the issue where the X Men started going downhill. Slowly but surely. clydeJuly 28, 2016 1:38 PM Namor annual #3 (Iron Fist) It only went downhill from there. Remember The "Clone Saga"? No amount of brainwashing has been able to erase it from my mind. JeffJuly 28, 2016 1:20 PM Namor annual #3 (Iron Fist) Oh no, your placement considerations just reminded me Maximum Carnage was a thing that happened. fnord12July 28, 2016 12:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #5 Correct that this is the first appearance of (an) Asteroid M. I've added a note in the Historical rating section. Thanks. fnord12July 28, 2016 12:11 PM Iron Man #59 Thanks JTI88. I wonder if Garnet will ever come back to see the explanation. fnord12July 28, 2016 12:09 PM Cage #5-8 I've added James Sr.. Thanks. fnord12July 28, 2016 12:06 PM Avengers #84 Regarding the rating - i think it's fine. Definitely not for a cover, and i don't think this iteration of Black Knight's curse has any great direct relevance on later stories. fnord12July 28, 2016 12:02 PM Iron Man #162-163 I've upped the rating a bit. mikrolikJuly 28, 2016 11:36 AM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 OK, hiring a mercenary to attack someone is illegal, but again, the person being attacked is Spider-Man, who can't go to the police and file formal charges, nor can he testify against Berkhart in court. I also kinda wished the issue did more to explain Berkhart and Jameson's relationship. It just seemed like an excuse to shuffle Jameson off to Paris for the next story. Plus, if Jameson never did anything with Berkhart after this story, why did there seem to be no ramifications made by Berkhart toward Jameson? It seems like Conway didn't really think this through. Ataru320July 28, 2016 10:14 AM Uncanny X-Men #5 Is this the first appearance of Asteroid M? (well an Asteroid M, Magneto makes quite a few of them but I guess that's what you get when you keep making bases out of random floating debris of rocks) JTI88July 28, 2016 8:56 AM Iron Man #59 Guess you're right :P Omar KarinduJuly 28, 2016 7:20 AM Iron Man #59 Is it just me, or is there a lot of fan co-plotting in the late 60s and early 70s? Omar KarinduJuly 28, 2016 7:19 AM Uncanny X-Men #5 The Toad's bizarre trance seems like one of those time Kirby plotted things one way and Stan either misunderstood or decided to go a different route. Kirby seems to have drawn the Toad falling under Xavier's power, but Stan's script seems to imply that the Toad is so sycophantically dependent on Magneto that he goes almost catatonic over being left behind. Perhaps the idea, for Stan, is that tis isn't much of a "graduation" exercise if the X-Men teens don't do it all themselves. AFJuly 28, 2016 6:38 AM Iron Man #59 Letters Page maybe? JTI88July 28, 2016 5:32 AM Iron Man #59 In "Sock it to Shell-head" of Iron-Man #63 it's explained that Garnet had suggested how Firebrand managed to escape from the cops in a previous LP, and that Marvel followed the tip. TuomasJuly 28, 2016 3:49 AM Cage #5-8 I notice you haven't tagged James Geary, Luke's father. You can clearly see his dialogue in that scene with Luke's brother ("James? What's--?"), I guess that counts as an appearance? Many years later he will become a supporting character in Al Ewing's Mighty Avengers. ChrisJuly 28, 2016 12:51 AM Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #5-6 I don't think this is a very good story, but I always loved the idea of Cap returning to New York "present day" and discovering his beloved Dodgers are now in LA. It is a perfect summary of all that he's lost. Great scene. As the sliding timescale advances, the "man out of time" aspect of Cap gains power and becomes a defining trait. StevenJuly 27, 2016 12:31 PM Avengers #84 "While I live--and until I die--I am an Avenger." This is one of Scarlet Witch's best lines ever. Omar KarinduJuly 27, 2016 11:18 AM Iron Man #73 Well, not exactly...Naked Came the Stranger was a hoax, a spoof of trashy erotica written by a round-robin of journalists. It became a bestseller in 1969. Omar KarinduJuly 27, 2016 11:15 AM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 And if that's the case, what crimes would the police be able to pin on Berkhart? Spider-Man couldn't exactly press charges, so why did the cops arrest him? Is wearing Mysterio's costume illegal? I'd figure being a parolee using your super-villain ex-cellmate's costume and gadgets would be enough to get your parole revoked, and maybe see conspiracy charges filed. In any case, hiring a mercenary to attack someone is illegal, as is attacking them, so Berkhart and Jameson would be in some kind of legal trouble here; as a convicted felon, Berkhart can't get a PI or bounty hunter license. Omar KarinduJuly 27, 2016 11:11 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #122 This was the first Marvel comic I ever read, and it got me hooked for life. Also, this is one of like two times the Mauler was used by someone other than David Michelinie. Omar KarinduJuly 27, 2016 11:04 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 It occurs to me that we may be looking too far from this book to explain Mystique in these issues. Given the incongruous supernatural elements, perhaps Mystique was meant to be connected to Hecate from issues #11-13 in some way. Then she too might be an alien whose motifs and powers are mistaken for magic; the Elementals in that earlier story were connected somehow to a mysterious figure from "the outer dark;" perhaps Mystique's master is the same entity? Of course, Claremont tends to blend space opera and high fantasy elements more generally. Mark DrummondJuly 27, 2016 10:53 AM Avengers #98-100 In Comics Journal #230, Tom Sutton admitted that he tended to give female characters larger breasts when he inked them, prompting Roy Thomas to say to him about this issue: "Tom, how can the Captain get anywhere near her?" Omar KarinduJuly 27, 2016 10:50 AM Ms. Marvel #9-10 More Cavourite Crystals showed up again in MS. MARVEL II#1-3. Turns out they are normally used to power Skrull ships. Which is rather funny, since the original, H.G. Wells cavorite is a metal that *blocks* gravity rather than generating energy, let alone space warps. Andrew BurkeJuly 27, 2016 9:57 AM Ms. Marvel #9-10 More Cavourite Crystals showed up again in MS. MARVEL II#1-3. Turns out they are normally used to power Skrull ships. Andrew BurkeJuly 27, 2016 9:16 AM Defenders #35 Yeah, she got sucked into Limbo along with the Dire Wraith Queen, so she's currently stuck there for now. AFJuly 27, 2016 8:29 AM Defenders #35 She had a moderately prominent role in the Darkstar and the Winter Guard series. I think that was her last appearance. MichaelJuly 27, 2016 8:00 AM Avengers #84 Not for the cover but maybe because this is the first allusion to the curse on the Black Knight's sword. Cecil Louis DisharoonJuly 27, 2016 7:44 AM Defenders #35 In my head since 2009 with some drawings and supporting roles in other plots and scripts, I meant. Cecil Louis DisharoonJuly 27, 2016 7:39 AM Defenders #35 I feel like the time for Tania was there, she was in some great Defenders stories, and she and the Presence are remembered for the most respected Quasar storyline. To catch a similar essence to what a new character would mean in contemporary times, I feel like a character reminiscent of the Red Guardian, of Persian origin, would be the way to go, story-wise. I have carried a story for a Sheer-Zan in my head for year, but I honestly don't quite no enough yet to take that compelling spark that would be the torch from Gerber on that concept. I see why Kraft created the Presence and the nuclear god storylines and wonder where else he envisioned them going after #65- or if he chose that story knowing his time on the book was drawing closed and felt the need not to simply leave the plotline hanging for Ed Hannigan. Nathan AdlerJuly 27, 2016 5:54 AM Spider-Woman #44 @Omar: If Viper didn't arrive in Transia/ Wundagore until the early 1930s, I agree the Hungarian Revolution doesn't gel with Claremont's inferred timeline here, so she more likely had fled the October Revolution. That part of her origin revealed her parents had been killed so was Claremont planning to reveal her to be Anastasia Romanov? Also, if she didn't arrive in Transia/ Wundagore until the early 1930s and had earlier fled the Russian Revolution (1917), where had she been in the intervening decade and a half? Giving birth to Natasha? It raises the further question whether she hooked up with Seraph and Logan prior to the 1941 period shown in Uncanny X-Men #268 and if so, was it before or after Wolverine's 1936 mission seen in X-Men: True Friends? Nathan AdlerJuly 27, 2016 5:50 AM Uncanny X-Men #268 This issue brings up the question of when Logan hooked up with Seraph? Was it just prior to this issue or was his mission with Eric Raven and Irene Adler 5 years prior (seen in X-Men: True Friends) on her behalf? It would seem to be quite a bit prior to 1941 since Logan refers in Wolverine #126 to being kind of innocent before hooking up with her. Nathan AdlerJuly 27, 2016 3:59 AM Defenders #35 @AF: So long and thanks for all the fish! RocknrollguitarplayerJuly 27, 2016 2:09 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 "The Holy Spirit is feminine in nature according to gnostics" has to do with the different frequencies of the Trinity Needed by Man to tune in and communicate with God. Great thread here... rocknRollguitarplayerJuly 27, 2016 1:48 AM Avengers #64 question for the SuperMegaMind of power....So did I drink too many Tequila shots or is Elihas Starr aka Egghead somehow transformed into the Red Guardian in the Avengers Confidential animated movie? This seemed perplexing at best to me? I thought I might have had a stroke or been cryogenically misplaced? Thank you! rocknrollguitarplayerJuly 27, 2016 1:28 AM Avengers #84 The classic Buscema cover alone needs to bump this book into higher significance. AFJuly 26, 2016 7:44 PM Defenders #35 I do like Talia. I think Conway getting rid of her was a fumble but even then she didn't quite stay away from the book. Just never really came back full-time. And hasn't really had a book/place to call her own since. And now she's mostly part and parcel with Presence. Andrew BurkeJuly 26, 2016 4:58 PM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) The art in Squirrel Girl's book is really ugly. But then, I'm getting and enjoying PATSY WALKER, AKA HELLCAT. ;) Ataru320July 26, 2016 4:03 PM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) The one funny aftermath about Squirrel Girl is that the whole point of the "1993 New Characters annuals" is that they're claim is "at least they're not Squirrel Girl". Now...Squirrel Girl's got a major selling comic and these other characters...well that's what you get for inventing random characters on the fly instead of as a natural evolution. clydeJuly 26, 2016 3:42 PM Excalibur: XX Crossing There is no "maybe"!!! Doom knows all (unless it's a Doombot);) D09July 26, 2016 2:58 PM Excalibur: XX Crossing Maybe Doom already knew the outcome of Sidestep's mission and is just waiting to see how big a hole he digs for himself? D09July 26, 2016 2:25 PM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) @Andrew Burke: Ditto, and I know where to find a third person who shares the same opinion as you and me. Andrew BurkeJuly 26, 2016 2:22 PM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) I may be the only person who thinks Squirrel Girl is absolutely horrendous. AndrewJuly 26, 2016 1:21 PM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) Doom is definitely calling Squirrel Girl fat. There's also a scene at the beginning of the story where Squirrel Girl jumps on Iron Man's back and her added weight causes his boot jets to fail(!). I think Murray may have been making a dig at the ex-girlfriend who inspired the character... Andrew BurkeJuly 26, 2016 12:39 PM Defenders #35 I miss the Red Guardian/Starlight. But thankfully, she and the Presence show up from time to time. The Presence is probably my favorite Defenders villain, with the second being the Lunatik. AFJuly 26, 2016 12:05 PM Defenders #35 And still has nothing to do with Claremont at all. D09July 26, 2016 11:54 AM Defenders #35 @Nathan Adler: That one, the bit about Moondragon, is more Starlin than Gerber. Andrew BurkeJuly 26, 2016 9:25 AM Avengers #183-187 That's a good point. He did say he was playing some sort of game, although it makes you wonder how the High Evolutionary knew who Magda was and why he chose her, which could still mean Magda was the daughter of Django and Marya, people he already knew about. Everyone is right about Marvel just likely ignoring this stuff, but I still wonder about this kind of thing, as I am always into unresolved plot points. Nathan AdlerJuly 26, 2016 8:02 AM Defenders #35 @Dr. Phil: Attempting to pathologise using wikipedia over the DSM-5. IRMC! AFJuly 26, 2016 7:52 AM Nathan AdlerJuly 26, 2016 4:51 AM Defenders #35 @AF: The whole reason it predates Claremont's work is why I suggested he was potentially influenced by it. You're welcome to your opinion (feeling sorry for the keys on your keyboard as the anger's dripping off the comment thread), but it's not as if there wasn't a precedent for Claremont taking plot ideas from Gerber and tweaking them for his own characters (case in point Daredevil #105 with Moondragon's backstory of her parents being killed by a "random" space-villain encounter which goes on to become the template Claremont lifts for Cyclops' backstory). D09July 26, 2016 2:45 AM X-Factor #43-50 My guess to Dark Phoenix and Madelyne Pryor's personalities reappearing inside of Jean is that these are just "echoes" formed out of what you can call "junk data" that didn't get fully absorbed into Jean's psyche for whatever reason at the end of Inferno. As to why they became active, I'd say something about Ship being recalled by the Celestials must have done it. ChrisWJuly 26, 2016 2:33 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #69-70 I am becoming more and more convinced that Cloak and Dagger were Bill Mantlo's idea of introducing new Steve Ditko-type characters to Spider-Man. Black-and-white morality, literally in their case. Updated for the 1980s, willing to kill for their cause, horrible origin, and subtext between the characters that just doesn't work no matter how you look at it. These were also two of the very first comics I ever read, so they are wonderful by definition. CullenJuly 26, 2016 2:30 AM Excalibur #27 Not so fast, Bill! Duke appeared in an issue of Spider-Man, along with "Agent Anderson"(named) who showed up in GI Joe Special Missions. See this entry and my comment: http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/amazing_spider-man_268.shtml Cecil Louis DisharoonJuly 26, 2016 1:37 AM Marvel Team-Up #101 This is JM's first Spider-Man story. My first of his Spider-Man stories is in MTU #111, his 2nd try-complete with Spider (story builder) God Omm. Here we have more of a Kyle Richmond tale, revisiting what is I'm sure a big favorite Defenders storyline for its later writers: The Headmen! Callbacks to the Origin of Kyle Richmond- and yet another story where some menace comes out in the trappings of a past decade! I see how he got tapped to write Captain America, in a way. Cecil the Sea Sick SerpentJuly 26, 2016 1:36 AM Spider-Woman #33 Sorry, I meant to leave that second comment under MTU #101. Walter LawsonJuly 26, 2016 1:28 AM Namor annual #3 Marz had a penchant for terrible generic names, at least for villains: "Assassin" we never see again, but Marz's Silver Surfer is brimful of boss baddie called "Tyrant." rocknrollguitarplayerJuly 26, 2016 1:10 AM Avengers #40 without Doubt comment number one is on point. This issue has some potentially game changing story ideas (Cosmic Cube) Prince Namor guest starring, mole man etc.. And it needed Big John Buscema to take us home, especially TO DRAW Hercules and Namor, which would have made this visually epic! this Avengers #40 book is more important than it has been credited due primarily to the flat artwork. StevenJuly 26, 2016 1:01 AM Avengers #183-187 I don't think that Magda was pregnant when she fled from Magneto, and she never came to Wundagore Mountain. The High Evolutionary either told his loyal servant Bova to lie about Magda coming there, or he implanted false memories in her brain. He wanted to con the Maximoffs and Magneto to believe that they were related. RocknrollguitarplayerJuly 26, 2016 12:59 AM Daredevil #42 The Jester character is another example of Marvel introducing a potentially cool character and needing to expand the inner sociopathic tendencies and environmental life circumstances of Jonathan Powers much more to engage the reader. The disgruntled actor vibe was not enough to give Stan the next Joker. however The Jester could be crazied up with some real dark mental psychosis and reintroduced into Daredevil Season 3. the Daredevil Silver age villains all need to be reworked just like Purple Man was. rocknrollguitarplayerJuly 26, 2016 12:39 AM Avengers #54-55 if John Buscema is the artist, the plots are almost just along for the ride. The amount of electron power coursing through the bodies of both hero and foe alike fills each turned page with the anticipation of potential nuclear explosion... Omar KarinduJuly 26, 2016 12:07 AM Spider-Woman #44 And making Viper Spider-Woman's mother has to magically age Viper 20 years or more from what we assumed before. Instead of a young political radical, she's now someone approaching middle age. This isn't needed. My guess is that Claremont wanted to tie Viper's origin -- her parents were killed in a revolution in Europe -- specifically to a particular historical revolution, possibly the Russian Revolution of 1917. Her origin story in Steranko's Captain America has sometimes been suggested as an allusion to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Brian C. SaundersJuly 25, 2016 11:53 PM Avengers #183-187 When Marvel Studios gets the X-Men back, Wanda and Pietro will become Magneto's children again. It's not looking sooner, though. MegaSpiderManJuly 25, 2016 10:25 PM Iron Man #162-163 I know that we technically don't [i]see[/i] him yet, but shouldn't the historical significance be upped a bit for Stane's first appearance? ChrisWJuly 25, 2016 9:00 PM Excalibur #27 The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time-Players maybe, but David Letterman and Paul Schaffer are a little too "out there" to be part of the Marvel Universe. Erik BeckJuly 25, 2016 5:27 PM Avengers #183-187 Yeah, I say we just ignore the whole idea that Pietro and Wanda aren't Magneto's children until they get re-retconned into being them again. I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later. Cecil the Sea Sick SerpentJuly 25, 2016 2:54 PM Spider-Woman #33 I think here we find JM DeMatteis' first published story from Marvel. I like the groundbreaking nods to Jessica's cosmopolitan lifestyle, the humor- funny, a nostalgic p.o.v. is the natural enemy of a new writer on a character (new herself)- no? Meanwhile, Century's a chance for JM to unload his actual nostalgia in a fun way that acknowledges how, with the power, the vision of how to achieve a fair and perfect world's gotten more complex than it probably was two generations before. This is JM's first Spider-Man story. My first of his Spider-Man stories is in MTU #111, his 2nd try-complete with Spider (story builder) God Omm. Here we have more of a Kyle Richmond tale, revisiting what is I'm sure a big favorite Defenders storyline for its later writers: The Headmen! Callbacks to the Origin of Kyle Richmond- and yet another story where some menace comes out in the trappings of a past decade! I see how he got tapped to write Captain America, in a way. Andrew BurkeJuly 25, 2016 1:37 PM Avengers #183-187 I know they wanted to make her more like her movie character, but retconning their origin was foolish in many ways, like you mention, the least of which is the fact that Quicksilver and Magneto look exactly alike and there's no changing that. I will say that I do like Luminous. Speed powers AND chaos magic rolled into one package. And she looks cool. AFJuly 25, 2016 1:19 PM Avengers #183-187 Brevoort's attitude is "Listen, you loser comic book reading idiots, it makes sense coz I say so. It makes that one specific bit in a Kirby issue of Thor make sense, so therefore it's obviously right and meant to be. If you don't like it, you are a bigoted bully and PREJUDICE IN ANY FORM MUST BE DESTROYED". AFJuly 25, 2016 1:09 PM Avengers #183-187 Well, honestly, the amount of holes you can poke through the retcon they aren't mutant children of Magneto is enormous. I was gonna list some examples but there are genuinely too many. I doubt they have any intention to ever touch on things like this because it would require admitting their version of events are ill-thought out and have gigantic dangling flaws. Andrew BurkeJuly 25, 2016 1:06 PM Avengers #183-187 I'm thinking Magda and Natalya are one in the same, and she is the eldest daughter of Django and Marya Maximoff. This would explain why all three women look almost exactly alike. And Magda and Marya are very similar names. Obviously, Natalya would have changed her name from Magda, for reasons known perhaps only to her. One possibility is that she was hiding from the father. Of course, this would mean that she must have cheated on Magneto with someone else, if we are to keep him out of it. A bit dicey, but possible. Andrew BurkeJuly 25, 2016 12:59 PM Avengers #183-187 As we all now know, Wanda and Pietro are no longer the children of Magneto, with their mother now being Natalya Maximoff. So a big question now needs to be asked: Who and where in the blazes are the children that Magda gave birth to? And who is the father? Very curious. kvetoJuly 25, 2016 11:33 AM Master of Kung Fu #32 I've noticed the martial arts books (Iron fist, MoKF, etc) really require a knowledgable artist to be enjoyable. At least one who can depict the differences in fighting styles. kvetoJuly 25, 2016 11:31 AM Daredevil #126-127 One of those rare times when Matt's blindness is an actual "handicap". Torpedo is interesting. I mean in that he continues as a minor hero through Machine man then Rom magazines. I like that there are "weak" heroes who get beat up a lot just like the way we have minor villains who are on the losing end. Andrew BurkeJuly 25, 2016 9:38 AM Spider-Woman #44 Yeah, the idea is that Chthon endowed the Viper with supernatural longevity, which she may or may not still have. I always liked the idea that she was Jessica's mother, as it tied in with Jessica's connection to Hydra. Bendis later revisited this idea in his SPIDER-WOMAN series with Alex Maleev, showing that Ophelia/Viper sometimes still thinks of Jessica as her daughter due to the fact that she's a bit loopy. I never read the Viper's first appearance in CAPTAIN AMERICA. That was a bit before my time. I think the first story I read with her was in MARVEL TEAM-UP #81-85, and I always liked her and the Silver Samurai paired up. I think the only Viper story I didn't like too much was that issue in SECRET WARRIORS when she was killed and resurrected with that squid on her head. Thank goodness that was fixed not long after that book folded. fnord12July 25, 2016 8:39 AM Power Man #24-25 Thanks, RocknRollguitarplayer. fnord12July 25, 2016 8:35 AM Avengers #12 Chic Stone inked the cover, but i don't see anything in the issue or on the UHBMCC or GCD saying that he helped with interior inks. Although it sounds like maybe you're suggesting that he was the colorist for this issue? The colorist credits weren't listed and seem to be unknown. fnord12July 25, 2016 8:30 AM Avengers #164-166 It does look like her. I've followed the Wiki and added her as a character appearing. Thanks, AstroCitizen. fnord12July 25, 2016 8:25 AM Daredevil #150-151 @Michael, you noted it for me. Thanks. fnord12July 25, 2016 8:23 AM Avengers #1 Thanks Haydn. Nathan AdlerJuly 25, 2016 8:08 AM New Mutants #18-20 Hmm, Demon Bear. Another name for the Wolverine is Devil Bear. I wonder if there is any significance to that? Is the Demon Bear what he'll evolve into when his berserker rage hits its peak!? AFJuly 25, 2016 7:16 AM Defenders #35 There is no conceivable way whatsoever that a story that has nothing to do with Claremont and predates Claremont and Claremont made zero reference to ever is linked to Claremont. You are genuinely clutching at clutched straws. This literally has nothing at all to do with Claremont and never will. Other writers write stories, y'know? They don't just write stuff to surround the almighty Claremont's work. Nathan AdlerJuly 25, 2016 7:00 AM Defenders #35 @AF: Here you go judging again. I made the comment on the basis that Claremont might have taken the idea from Gerber. Now stop trolling me. AFJuly 25, 2016 6:55 AM Defenders #35 No, because the entire Marvel Universe doesn't revolve around Claremont's Uncanny X-Men. Nathan AdlerJuly 25, 2016 5:41 AM Defenders #35 Chondu's transformation here is somewhat similar to the transformation Masque subjected Callisto too. And Ruby Thursday's MO with organic computers makes me wonder if Donald Pierce ever worked with her at some point!? RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 25, 2016 2:13 AM Power Man #24-25 My squinting blood shot eyes believe your reference to first Bill Foster above was a typo and should be changed from Avengers #52 to #32.. I hope Black Goliath brings a can of Whoop Ass out on Luke Cage and Tony Stark to give us a New Giant Guy storyline for Iron Ma RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 25, 2016 1:57 AM Amazing Spider-Man #252 The Early 80's Peter would have killed it in some Vintage pleated trousers, Converse and Fitted short sleeve button ups and occasional Punk rock T-shirts. Let's give the Symbiote Black costume persona a monumental Historical ovasion! Only a creative stroke of Genius could have made Spidey this relevant in a New decade! kvetoJuly 24, 2016 5:33 PM Machine Man #11 cutely, the RAM footnote kinda comes full circle and would be needed for any youngsters reading this. kvetoJuly 24, 2016 5:11 PM Captain America #240 the fact that Big Thunder wears flip-flops to a fight, too awesome for words. kvetoJuly 24, 2016 5:06 PM Captain America #238-239 The idea of a sanctuary where super-villains can hide is a good one, and would fit in well with the other ideas, like the Taskmaster's school for Henchmen and the Tinkerer supplying gadgetry, etc., in making the MU more logical (albeit it might work better with fewer giant ostriches). MichaelJuly 24, 2016 4:18 PM Spider-Woman #44 Viper says that she's been Chthon's slave for over 50 years- I think the idea is that Meriem was possessed by Chthon in the early '30s and never aged from that point forward. The idea that Viper arranged for Jessica's entry into Hydra doesn't work since she was supposedly on the outs with Hydra when Jessica was recruited. ChrisJuly 24, 2016 3:55 PM Spider-Woman #44 The revelation about the Viper is just bizarre. It seems to be an attempt to tie Spider-Woman's Wundagore origin more strongly with Hydra, but there is no reason to do that. Her powers are already explained. And making Viper Spider-Woman's mother has to magically age Viper 20 years or more from what we assumed before. Instead of a young political radical, she's now someone approaching middle age. This isn't needed. Claremont had an obsession with making characters back stories increasingly, and unnecessarily, complicated. This is one example of it. He also kept reusing characters he'd written before in all of his stories. So we have all these Viper appearances over the years. It is obvious he must really like this character, but almost none of the stories he writes with her are any good. The Steranko issues are the most powerful depiction. She works best as an evil Modesty Blaise type. Saying, "Oh, she was demon possessed" is just nonsense. No wonder it gets overturned just a year later. The Claremont era of Spider-Woman doesn't work for me. The overall quality has improved compared to the past two years worth of stories, and he is revisiting some of the stronger elements of the character (like Hydra). Yet ultimately there is no magic here. Claremont is pulling in too many elements of his other titles instead of building up a separate Spider-Woman mythos. The character still seems generic. Despite Claremont's strengths as a writer, all his books seem to be the same. Other writers are better at developing a different voice or style for the different books they write. None of Roger Stern's books (compare his run on Cap, Avengers, Doctor Strange, or Spider-Man) seem the same. Too often, Claremont's books do. This is why I think he never duplicated his success with X-Men with any of the other titles he wrote. While Claremont noticebly improved the book, I don't think he's accomplished what was needed to save the title. Certainly not in creating enough interest to pass it on to the new writer who only has to maintain it. It's not a surprise this title would last only another six issues. Matthew BradleyJuly 24, 2016 3:34 PM Invaders #22-23, 25-34 Pretty serious continuity gaffe in #34: despite the memory-wipe, Brian attributes his new powers to contact with Thor's hammer. kveto from pragueJuly 24, 2016 12:31 PM Captain America #217-221 AF- I agree on your Veda/Animus theory, it makes more sense than Vamp/Animus (who would somehow have to skip training and sneak to Washington). I wonder why it changed (other than due to the changing writers). However, if Ben Herman wants to email Roy I'd be interested. Roy seems to have a pretty good memory for old storylines, judging by his recollections on old Conan comics. Roy and his teams. He always seemed to think of team concepts, like the Liberty Legion and Super agents, and then fill them with the most boring characters possible. Almost like the reader would be sold on the concept alone. Luke BlanchardJuly 24, 2016 8:54 AM Marvel Two-In-One #44 THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM was a 1962 movie. There's a popular story about Tony Curtis that he had the line "Yonder lies the castle of my father" in a period film and it came out "Yondah lies the castle of my faddah". The net tells me he never said it, and it derives from a line in SON OF ALI BABA. rocknrollguitarplayerJuly 24, 2016 8:28 AM Avengers #32-33 Sons of the Serpent is a very real and contemporary threat to the globe. Perhaps Stan was only commenting on a KKK parallel but this prospective level of undermining of the Populace to augment a more sinister agenda is real at many levels right now. The fact that the Serpent is represented as the symbol of this draconian threat makes it even more involved than we may know! This may have been a stroke of complete genius that we are just today becoming cognizant of in our globalist society..Nuff said RocknrollguitarplayerJuly 24, 2016 2:27 AM Defenders #22-25 To our friend from Prague (beautiful place)... The Sons of Serpents are a Metaphor to how agendas are carried out by banking elite and global politicos, to distract and divide the masses by race and religion, while the real power plays are executed. rocknrollguitarplayerJuly 24, 2016 2:03 AM Avengers #12 I believe Chic Stone rolled out his ink pens on this issue?! Perhaps this is why our society girl Janet Van Dyne is looking extra uptight as his Red tones are filled with fire George LochinskiJuly 24, 2016 1:55 AM Marvel Two-In-One #44 Reading these entries in chronological order, this comes kind of fast on the heels of FF #190. I kind of like the idea of the Thing volunteering at a summer camp to alleviate the angst he expresses in that issue. George LochinskiJuly 23, 2016 5:28 PM Daredevil #150-151 The experimental layouts, with action shots superimposed over facial closeups, along with the Kane/Janson combo and a lot of the coloring choices, imo gove a lot of the individual panels from these DD issues a real striking, almost mind-trip, quality AstroCitizenJuly 23, 2016 4:09 PM Avengers #164-166 This issue pops up on the List of Appearances for Alice Nugent over at the Marvel Wikia site. Is the female scientist we see on the splash page supposed to be an unnamed, proto-Alice, sort of like how Misty Knight first "officially" appeared as a mugging victim rescued by Spider-Man> HaydnJuly 23, 2016 10:59 AM Amazing Adventures #9-10 This two-parter runs 36 pages. I wonder if it was originally intended to be a double-sized issue, like many with the Nov. 1971 cover date? MichaelJuly 23, 2016 10:09 AM Daredevil #150-151 Fnord, you describe Paladin as "non-superpowered"- you might want to note that he eventually turns out to have super-strength. Thanos6July 23, 2016 12:17 AM Daredevil #152-154 Hey, it's comic books, they can bring him back to life if they want. :) HaydnJuly 22, 2016 11:27 PM Avengers #1 Dick Ayers was the inker, as per the splash page. ChrisWJuly 22, 2016 10:42 PM Avengers #305-310 Where would he keep it? Brian C. SaundersJuly 22, 2016 10:01 PM Avengers #305-310 I'm pretty sure the Hulk has never received a Avengers Identicard. Jay GallardoJuly 22, 2016 6:46 PM Daredevil #18 I´ve always thought that the Gladiator was a pretty scary character... imagine all the physical damage he could do with those wrist saws.... Andrew BurkeJuly 22, 2016 12:42 PM Daredevil #152-154 Yep. Since he was dead long before this book came out, time travel was the only way to write a new story with him (other than a flashback story). AFJuly 22, 2016 12:12 PM Daredevil #152-154 Only from Death-Stalker's POV though (as a time traveller). Andrew BurkeJuly 22, 2016 11:26 AM Daredevil #152-154 DAREDEVIL/CAPTAIN AMERICA: DEAD ON ARRIVAL fits right in after this issue. In this story, we finally see what the Death-Stalker was building with all those parts he stole, a plot point left off during the original storyline. We also find out what happened to his gloves after his death. Since the Death-Stalker is my favorite DD villain, I was so pleased to get this. Good story, nice artwork from Italian creators. In addition, Sterling gets further reason to hate Murdock. On a related note, I think the new Death-Stalker from VILLAINS FOR HIRE could be Sterling's daughter, but unfortunately we haven't seen her since. :( AFJuly 22, 2016 7:54 AM Avengers #305-310 Forgot poor Jocasta from the dead. AFJuly 22, 2016 7:52 AM Avengers #305-310 Only available members who don't respond to Cap's summons are Hulk, Moon Knight, Rick Jones, Stingray, U.S.Agent and Yellowjacket. Iron Man and Quicksilver presumably never received them due to their current statuses as traitors/pariahs (although they did still get Moondragon there). Black Knight was incapacitated, Rhodey retired due to injuries, the Guardians and Two-Gun are in different time periods, and everyone else (Druid, Hercules, Mantis, Mar-Vell, Marrina, Nebula, Swordsman, Whizzer) is considered dead. Hulk and Moon Knight have since been shown to ignore Avengers calls, so that reasonably explains them. Stingray wasn't really integrated to the team, but his honorary status began with #262 and they're meeting on his island, so his absence is a bit weird but not really an enormous oversight. I was going to say Rick Jones probably didn't get summoned because he isn't a superhero but Ben Grimm, Monica Rambeau and Hank Pym were all basically not powered heroes at that point, so his absence is weird. There's no explanation for why U.S.Agent or Yellowjacket aren't there. I guess the latter isn't or wasn't formally an Avenger, so would never have received the summons on the grounds they don't have anyway to get the summons to her. Also, it might be a bit insensitive with folk like Wasp and Jarvis there. Rick and U.S.Agent really need a good explanation though (beyond the people who will show up to say it's coz U.S.Agent "blows"). MizarkJuly 22, 2016 6:05 AM Daredevil #150-151 Fnord finally gives Kane his props and doesn't even mention the double nostril shot.One of those being a rare female nostril shot to boot. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 6:01 AM Howard the Duck #19-21 Herbert's duck stories are among the absolute highlights of the 70s. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:57 AM Tomb of Dracula #61 Wolfman's Dracula is probably the most complex mainstream comic character of all time. Cecil the Sea Sick SerpentJuly 22, 2016 5:55 AM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 Yes! Cockrum's name is my shorthand for saying a character's got a classic superhero look vs. more of an adapted street clothes look. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:53 AM New Warriors #7-9 Emma just will NOT give up on the mismatched boots. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:37 AM Tomb of Dracula #59-60 Much as I love Colan's art I agree with the point about the action sequences. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:30 AM Power Man #47 Zzzax was a childhood favorite of mine. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:26 AM Giant-Size Hulk #1 (Champions) Decent story if entirely superfluous. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:23 AM Champions #16 Definite Doombot. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:21 AM Uncanny X-Men #107-108 I have always preferred Byrne but Cockrum is excellent. That opening spread blows away anything Byrne did maybe until MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #106 I remember being so frustrated that this was not in the Classic and upon reading it in the Essential wishing that it hadn't been included there either. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 5:07 AM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 Cockrum was a terrific character designer. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 4:58 AM Avengers #164-166 Classic arc. Makes you appreciate the Avengers AND Superman. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 4:52 AM Fantastic Four #187-188 I agree with fnord about preferring the other versions of Molecule Man and Watcher. The Perez art here is good just not as good as he is now. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 4:49 AM Fantastic Four #185-186 Agatha Harkness is more trouble than she is worth. She could NOT have been the best available daycare option. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 4:45 AM Fantastic Four #181-184 Love the Perez art. MizarkJuly 22, 2016 4:40 AM Fantastic Four #179 What a cliffhanger. I was so worried for Reed. I wasn't able to see the conclusion until several years later. ChrisWJuly 22, 2016 3:22 AM New Mutants #72-73 I don't see that. Yeah, the alternate realities in Limbo were made repetitively-clear in "New Mutants" during "Inferno," and I stopped reading long before Illyana came back, but to me, this is the best thing about "Inferno," that it ends Illana's ongoing subplot and restores her to the little girl she should have been all along. Later additions are just retcons. For me, this is where Illyana's story ends, and is the best thing to come from Simonsen/Blevins "New Mutants." SenatorJPOJuly 22, 2016 12:51 AM Punisher: The Origin of Microchip #1-2 A few observations, itemized by category of analysis: 1) One-to-one association: The mention of "Ogg Hall" indicates the "Upstate College" in question is likely the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Google ["Ogg Hall" -Wisconsin] without the brackets, and you'll find UW-Madison is the only tertiary school with an Ogg Hall.) 2) Logical error: It's funny how Microchip flawlessly cuts his own hair. Even when using a fixed-length trimmer instead of scissors, it is difficult to get a uniform hair length on the back of your head. Microchip could have been a barber, if not for his lack of vocational schooling necessary to apply for a barber's license. (Vo-tech and trade school or bust!) 3) Historicity: It's funny that Microchip meets Punisher in Milwaukee after the former attends (and drops out of) a "State University," because about the only ways most new UW-Milwaukee graduates can get a "real job" (not counting part-time food service or the like) are to enlist in the military or to work some unskilled "peon job" that doesn't even require anything more than a high school diploma and pays barely more than the minimum wage. (UWM is welcome to try and prove me wrong on this point with aggregate data, not upon cherry-picked, best-of-the-best work outcomes from amongst recent grads. I would say that at least those who never went to college had time to work full-time, which tends to position them better than the 4-year graduate who has to "start at the bottom," i.e. -below- those who worked full-time continuously after high school and "don't have a stinkin' degree.") With this being the real-life basis for the school-to-work zeitgeist in this comic, they (Microchip and other hard-to-hire "scholars") ought to have enrolled in the ROTC program before their first freshman class so that the military pays for their schooling -- or at least not gone to some lower-mid-tier place like "premier urban university" UW-Milwaukee. Harkening back to Point 1, UW-Madison is farther away for many Metro Milwaukeeans and has a much bigger campus than UW-Milwaukee, which tends to scare away potential applicants. It might not matter too much for one's doom-and-gloom career forecast, as without job outcomes data -- as opposed to career intentions data, i.e. exiting-senior surveys -- neither school is provably better in job outcomes, per the lack of actual, one-year-after-degree employment data. The above observations have held for at least a few decades (if not as far back as the Vietnam War), so that is conceivably the context into which Baron and Potts placed Microchip during his university years. MichaelJuly 21, 2016 11:51 PM New Warriors #2 Not quite- he says that after this Chord suggested that he get a team together to help him fight crime. Of course, we later find out that Chord's suggestion had nothing to do with what went down in the flashbacks... MichaelJuly 21, 2016 9:50 PM Howard the Duck annual #1 Re: Winda's name- the captions fnord posted name her as Winda, not Linda. clydeJuly 21, 2016 8:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 Hate to double-post, but I would like to answer D09 - "If the original idea behind Phoenix was that Marvel Girl absorbed a lot of cosmic rays and turned into her, then why didn't the same thing happen to Cyclops and Havok given that their energy blasts are also powered by cosmic rays?" IIRC, everyone except Jean was in a shielded section of the shuttle specifically designed to prevent the cosmic rays getting through. It might very well have caused those two to become Phoenix as well. clydeJuly 21, 2016 8:04 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 Erik - according to the wiki entry on his powers - MizarkJuly 21, 2016 7:31 PM New Warriors annual #1 (Speedball) I know that it is damning with faint praise but Calimee' s art has improved since his Alpha Flight days. Erik BeckJuly 21, 2016 7:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 Apparently, no one yet, not even me, pointed out the blatant misuse of Sebastian Shaw's powers. He doesn't stronger just because he hits something - he gets stronger when something hits him. In theory, the wall falling on him would give him strength, but he wouldn't have had the strength to knock it down and his thought bubble is just flat out wrong. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:15 PM New Warriors #5-6 I always liked Firestar and Marvel Boy as a couple so it's nice to see the beginnings of that relationship. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:27 PM New Warriors #4 I love how Furmintz treats hemophilia as just a minor thing. mikrolikJuly 21, 2016 5:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #183 Amusing Cracked.com article about this issue: http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-greatest-x-men-comic-about-drunken-brawl/ Andrew BurkeJuly 21, 2016 2:09 PM New Mutants #72-73 Technically, the younger Illyana at the end is from an alternate reality. The real one doesn't return until Belasco resurrects her. And, of course, being Illyana, her life continues to degrade through X-INFERNUS (which I enjoyed, especially with Witchfire, Belasco's daughter, as the main villain). MizarkJuly 21, 2016 1:52 PM New Warriors #2 Doesn't seem so illogical to focus on Night Thrasher's feud in second issue because I believe he said that this was the reason he recruited the team in the first place. Andrew BurkeJuly 21, 2016 1:26 PM Dark Angel #10 I really liked this series. I still like it. It was good to see Shevaun again in REVOLUTIONARY WAR and in Gillen's IRON MAN run. I'd love to see her as an Avenger, but alas no one would think of using her. Cecil the Sea Sick SerpentJuly 21, 2016 10:43 AM Howard the Duck #15-18 Agreed! Only in the 1970s could you hope for anything like HTD #16 at Marvel Comics Group. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:57 AM Daredevil #148-149 I much prefer Janson's inking of the 70s to his later work. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:55 AM Avengers #169 Suderiferous ,Cap.Duh. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:52 AM Avengers #163 I had the exact thoughts about Buscema. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:51 AM Howard the Duck #15-18 The height of Howard zanieness. Issue 16 is an all time classic. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:47 AM Iron Fist #14 I was so disappointed to read this after knowing only the X-Men version of Sabretooth. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:45 AM Tomb of Dracula #58 Glad to see that Blade is smoother with the ladies than he is with the recaps. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:38 AM Avengers #161-162 At least Wonderman can blame his terrible costume on the fact that he doesn't actually have eyes. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:31 AM Howard the Duck annual #1 I think this was the first Howard story I didn't enjoy. Would that it had been the last. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:27 AM Avengers #160 The Avengers really was a different book with Perez. The fill ins especially hurt on this run. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:24 AM Marvel Team-Up #58 Love the Buscema horrified mouth on the Trapster MizarkJuly 21, 2016 6:20 AM Daredevil #146-147 This art is great. So dynamic. The nostril thing Reminds me of a friend of mine who didn't like Kirby because of the way he drew fingers. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:35 AM Avengers #157-159 Graviton is one of my favorite underused villains. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:29 AM Howard the Duck #28 Howard without Gerber is one of the saddest sights in comics. Like going from the sublime to the ridiculous. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:26 AM Tomb of Dracula #56 I really hate comedic issues like this. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:23 AM Daredevil #145 I hated Tuska's art as a kid but really enjoy it now. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:22 AM Howard the Duck #12-14 Trippy stuff. I think Gerber was by far the most original writer from the 70s. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:17 AM Tomb of Dracula #57 Lovely art. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:12 AM Tomb of Dracula #55 I have always been troubled by Aurora's attraction to Dracula. I realize that vampires have a very sexual subtext but she is not one of his thralls or under his hypnotic power. The woman must have had a fetish. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:04 AM Howard the Duck #11 I would assume that her name was Linda Lester especially considering Walter's comment. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 5:01 AM Quasar #1 Paul Ryan was such an underrated artist. Better than many superstars. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:56 AM Howard the Duck #10 Such excellent work from Gerber. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:53 AM Hulk #209-211 Really hate the depiction of my favorite character the Absorbing Man. Love Brian's point about how loose the pencils in the 70s were. Inkers really had them work cut out for them. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:47 AM Power Man #41-46 Sad to say but Mace seems like a very relevant character today. As relevant as someone with a giant mace for a hand can be I guess. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:40 AM Champions #14-15 If one is going to panic about something Nazi killer bees seem like a sensible thing to panic about ChrisWJuly 21, 2016 4:35 AM Strange Tales #12-14 I mean, there are children nearby! Dude, remember your training! ChrisWJuly 21, 2016 4:34 AM Strange Tales #12-14 The Punisher just puts his uzi on the ground without unloading it first. The guy really has no conception of gun safety, does he? What a menace he is. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:32 AM Howard the Duck #9 Hard to believe Le Beaver had no more appearances. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:28 AM Tomb of Dracula #54 Ha!Dracula should demand a paternity test. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:26 AM Daredevil #144 Good start to Shooter's run. One of my favorite "forgotten" runs. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:22 AM Daredevil #141-143 Bob Brown was really underrated. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:19 AM Champions #11-13 That caption about Black Goliath's victory cracks me up. Like that is a big victory. By the time of the MTIO story he was probably ignoring it because of all of the sarcastic comments his buddies made when he would tell them. ChrisWJuly 21, 2016 4:12 AM Fantastic Four #1-10 That's what makes it so cool. It's not a gimmick that will turn out to save the day by the end of the issue, it's just Reed being Reed, examining Sue's invisibility powers in case there's a use for them at some future point. He'd do this to anyone else on the team if they turned invisible, and one suspects he subjects Johnny and Ben to such treatment regularly. And then there's Franklin. Poor, poor Franklin. MizarkJuly 21, 2016 4:05 AM Strange Tales #178-181 This is my favorite Marvel story. Really mind blowing stuff when you're 10. AFJuly 21, 2016 3:52 AM Defenders #126 It wasn't obvious to me (and probably plenty of others). I thought it was just a joke/being played for laughs that Angel and Iceman both were crushing on here and thinking the exact same things about her. Which may have even been the case, when you consider DeMatteis does write similar sort of comedy stuff in Justice League and others, and the actual revelation came from the next writer. Particularly since she's also wearing a headband that is meant to inhibit her powers and ability to do that... ChrisWJuly 21, 2016 3:22 AM Strange Tales #8-11 Of course, Ali would look gorgeous in a Goo-Gams t-shirt, and after 30 years, isn't it time for them to make a comeback? Come on, Marvel! One's a Goo and one's a Gam! Do I have to draw you a map? D09July 21, 2016 2:31 AM Strange Tales #16-19 To be honest, I sense the potential for an Untold Story that not only bridges this series and the next Dr. Strange ongoing, but also wraps up the loose ends/plot points left at the end of this storyline. ChrisWJuly 21, 2016 2:23 AM Strange Tales #8-11 Well, it would mean cutting her off from Mojo and Longshot, but if Marvel ever sees the light (as it were) and lets me write Dazzler, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. [And wouldn't Ali look gorgeous in that Dr. Strange outfit? Come on, Marvel, what are you waiting for?] James HoltJuly 21, 2016 12:31 AM Strange Tales #8-11 Dazzler walks the world like it was her well-illuminated playground. I nominate her as a candidate to be the new Sorcerer Supreme after Strange's trial & conviction. ChrisWJuly 20, 2016 11:48 PM Strange Tales #8-11 And Jon, Dazzler goes where she wants. Because she's cool. Nyeah. ;) ChrisWJuly 20, 2016 11:46 PM Strange Tales #8-11 Yes, you're right. Doc gets away all Mister Miracle-like ["Scott Free" Get it? It's a joke? Get it? Nudge-nudge, wink-wink!] Here he dabbles in killing people and then decides that's not for him, like killing people is just something that happens to people. And then the part about Clea? She's either going to be horrified at Doc's decisions and never have anything to do with him again, or she's going to realize that there are plenty of guys in the Dark Dimension (which she is currently ruling) who would be good for her. She's not going to waste time on the mentor who became a killer. Clea is sensible enough to go 'wow, did I pick the wrong horse! Moving on now.' As much as we all love Doc and Clea together, there comes a point where one of them is going to realize how wrong they are for the other. The Punisher is actually quite innocent by comparison. James HoltJuly 20, 2016 11:23 PM Strange Tales #8-11 Strange also killed the demon possessed man and an innocent stray cat in Strange Tales #1-3. This comes right after he pontificates, angrily, to Topaz, about how he needs to remain pure, so he can be a "servant to the cause of light." He can kill innocents, but not return Clea's love? Is the author conflating Eastern mysticism with Puritanism and Victorianism, as well as witchcraft, which is yet another facet of Western Christianity? At least the Punisher has always (as far as I know) tried to spare the innocent, and the Superior Spider-Man was really Doctor Octopus inhabiting Peter Parker's body, but Dr. Strange is just an unrepentant serial killer in this series. How can he possibly aspire to the higher spiritual plane attained by his former master the Ancient One after all this corruption? If Gillis had used a throwaway Dr. Strange-like character for this arc I'd have enjoyed it better. (I know I'm being redundant but @#*!) Losing an eye means next to nothing to Gillis' Strange, since he'll still have two eyes once he regains the Eye of Agamotto at the end of this series. At some later point in time, he apparently heals his injured left eye. The moral of the story once again seems to be that Marvel super-heroes can get away with murder and get off scot free. ChrisJuly 20, 2016 9:45 PM Defenders #126 AF, yes. My comment was that it obvious in this issue and the other issues it happened in. I can't see any reader needing to wait until Defenders # 140 to think that. It wasn't a revelation to the readers, but to the characters. Jon DubyaJuly 20, 2016 9:06 PM Strange Tales #8-11 Heh. Apparently Cloak isn't the only one having trouble telling the two apart (and shouldn't Dazzler be with the X-Men at this point? Given what they were going through at the time I can't believe they'd let her go wandering off. Again.) This is like Spider-Man carrying a machine gun for a year, wiping out baddies like the Punisher, and then conveniently forgetting about it and it never comes up again. Wasn't that basically the plot of Superior Spider-Man? :-) ChrisWJuly 20, 2016 8:05 PM Strange Tales #8-11 I completely agree that the big problem is that Dr. Strange starts doing bad things and doesn't suffer any repercussions, karmic, moral or otherwise. He loses an eye. That's it. Interesting that a vision of Clea is the one who takes it from him, and that it's in the process of showing all these mystic baddies are from a unified whole, which is how the Mephisto/Satannish fight ended when Doc got his eye back. But I digress... This is like Spider-Man carrying a machine gun for a year, wiping out baddies like the Punisher, and then conveniently forgetting about it and it never comes up again. And Spidey made a deal with Mephisto. Even worse, it's like Wolverine constantly saying "I don't kill. Killing's bad." And his claws are completely non-lethal for a year or two, until suddenly he's back to killing again because he's Wolverine and that's what he does. At least Wolverine is just a soldier, a secret agent, a brawler. For the sort of moral achievement Dr. Strange is supposed to have, he should know that five or twenty or fifty years down the road, he's going to be paying for his decisions here. This arc works very well for Doc's slow corruption after the loss of his artifacts. It's also a valid point about the conditions most of the world has to live under. Kaluu's point about his people eating meat more than once a year is very well taken in a country where you can go into any grocery store and buy meat whenever you want. In a world where Bashir Assad has been murdering people by any means necessary for years, and Janjiweed exterminated the blacks in Darfur before him, there's a valid point to make about 'what good are superheroes?' Dr. Doom's people have food, which is more than 90% of the world has ever had in history. Magneto would stop wars. Most other villains don't live up to those standards, but you can still see the temptation of the Dark Side. Doc enforces his will on the fairy-folk of Great Britain, then he steals Victoria Bentley's magic. Perhaps not as bad as blowing up a hungry African child [I'm certainly not qualified to judge] but he's doing awful things, and then it all gets ignored. The worst thing I have to say about company-owned superhero comics is that, at their best, they can raise these questions, and then they always fail to answer them. Even if the answer is wrong, that would be something. But they have to keep the characters going for the next year or thirty. ChrisWJuly 20, 2016 7:38 PM Strange Tales #16-19 Hmmm, we've never seen the Shadow King and Night together, have we? And "Dark Dagger" is open about releasing her "Malice." Maybe it was Mister Sinister? Let's see, Dagger obviously feels abandoned by Cloak, mirroring Madelyne's abandonment by Scott, who is conspicuously absent when X-Factor shows up here. Night is pulling out all the evil from mens' souls - I loved how Dagger's evil was just a cute li'l kitty - the way the Shadow King does. I know I'm mixing up the Shadow King and Mister Sinister here, but Night also feels betrayed by her master, Mister Jip, who let her partner Day die even after promising to save him. It's not operating on the same levels as the X-Titles, but many of the same things were going on. Mister Jip even restored Cloak's powers, leading to a blackout in New York City when Dagger ran away from him. Dazzler tried to help, but failed because she doesn't have the right kind of light for him. So when Jip meets the X-Men, it's because Dazzler has been mind-switched with one of the Serpent Society, who are obviously agents of Set. [The, you know, serpent thing.] And Set is one of the Dark Gods [or whatever they're called] along with Chthon. I think the Shadow King's reputation is vastly overrated. Clearly this is a fight between Set and Chthon, or Mephisto and Satannish. kveto from pragueJuly 20, 2016 4:09 PM Marvel Team-Up #103 Taskmaster straight up beats Spider-man here in a one on one fight. SynergyJuly 20, 2016 11:46 AM Human Fly #1 I was 11 or so when this came out and Loved it. I think I saw him on TV or something around that time as well. I don't remember if it was a special about him, or a segment on "That's Incredible!" (or similar one of those shows) but I thought the Human Fly was really cool :) AFJuly 20, 2016 3:56 AM Defenders #126 "Defenders #140 has Moondragon reveal that was indeed the case." AFJuly 20, 2016 3:56 AM Strange Tales #16-19 Shadow King did it! James HoltJuly 20, 2016 12:43 AM Strange Tales #16-19 Just from reading the synopses and comments here, I felt the Dr. Strange stories in #1-19 had interesting and compelling themes plus pretty decent delivery, but they would have worked better using some other Dr. Strange-type character, rather than using Dr. Strange himself, because these stories more-or-less obliterate the character as previously modeled, and then pretend as if he can be "brought back to the light" and the old model without repercussions. Others here have already mentioned this mangling of the character. This Dr. Strange will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life, wracked by guilt and hoping that nobody ever finds out about his corruption in this story arc. This isn't the Dr. Strange I thought I knew. Once corrupted so, how can he go back to the state of spiritual enlightenment and illumination he presumably enjoyed previously? He can't. From this point on he's a phoney and a fake. "It wasn't me," lies Strange, "it must have been the Sorcerer Supreme of 617, or maybe the Mystic Arts Master of 919. Not ME." MortificatorJuly 20, 2016 12:29 AM Thor #145 Odin's flip-out was so unhinged, I thought it would turn out that the Enchanter he'd fought had taken control of him. But nope, it's just Odin being a dick. RocknRollGuiTarPlayerJuly 20, 2016 12:18 AM Uncanny X-Men #122 Colossus is one of Marvels greatest X-Meb personas and it literally took until a DeadPool Movie with Ryan Reynolds to allow him some accurate Air Time!! Colossus Rules, get him some air time Marvel!? RicknRollGuitarplayerJuly 20, 2016 12:10 AM Avengers #115-118 / Defenders #8-11 The Comic Book Critiquing Elite really need to give this Analog Era of very few helping hands putting out a massive workloqd of Art and Stories a Break.. It's an honor that these Bronze Age Gems exist to guide the Disney cinema universe's revenue.. ChrisWJuly 19, 2016 11:19 PM Doctor Strange #5-8 Was Mordo hanging out with Agamotto? Because his master plan is totally ripped-off from "The Producers." ChrisJuly 19, 2016 10:44 PM Defenders #126 Since both Iceman's and Angel's thoughts about Moondragon are worded exactly the same and occur in the same panel, it is an easy assumption it is done under some kind of mental influence/mind control! Moondragon always had one of the worse constume designs. The bald head on a female is very striking, but the monochromatic green is just boring. Her later black and white monk style outfit provides a better aesthetic. James HoltJuly 19, 2016 10:34 PM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) James HoltJuly 19, 2016 9:08 PM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) My opinion is now and has always been that Dr. Strange was more grounded in Eastern mysticism than anything and was never originally intended to be about the black arts or witchcraft. The early Ditko/Lee Dr. Strange stories seem to show a strong influence by the award-winning 1937 Frank Capra black-and-white movie Lost Horizon in which a mustached Western character played by Ronald Colman finds himself stranded in the isolated fictional Himalayan city of Shangri-La. Sam Jaffe plays a character called the High Lama who has some strong similarities to Ditko's Ancient One character. In at least one scene Ronald Colman's character wears an Eastern styled shirt or tunic which makes his resemblance to the much later Dr. Strange character seem more than coincidental. I saw the movie several times in television reruns growing up, and later came to learn that a lot of other people had noticed the same similarities. Twenty years ago I might have been able to provide more information and references, such as Comics Journal and fanzine articles and interviews, but I no longer have them and my memories have grown stale. A quick internet search right now doesn't provide much but here are a few interesting links I was able to find... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Horizon_(1937_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangri-La http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/23697/Lost-Horizon-1937?page=2#.V47DH9YoDtQ http://strangecasebook.blogspot.com/ I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone but especially to Dr. Strange fans. MichaelJuly 19, 2016 8:58 PM Avengers West Coast #60-62 Melania Trump just quoted Avengers Giant-Size Super Special 1 last night. :) Mike QuinnJuly 19, 2016 2:49 PM Namor annual #3 I'm psyced that you're moving on to 1993. Getting back into collecting after a 22 year absence, beginning at the end of 1993. This was one of the last comics I read before I quit. I remember the Iron Fist story was awful Andrew BurkeJuly 19, 2016 1:38 PM Namor annual #3 I liked some of these new characters, including this one. I also liked Face-Thief from the Iron Man annual and Wildstreak from the FF. The art for this annual was pretty good, considering all the different artists involved. I don't care for Apocalypse that much, so him not being in character here doesn't bother me too much, but I did like him going against Namor. Omar KarinduJuly 19, 2016 9:16 AM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) Actually my take is that Ditko drew Strange as Asian in the first 6-7 issues. It's not just that Strange's eyes are "closed" but that he seems to have an epicanthic fold. The idea of having a "master of black magic" who is also a mysterious Oriental is kind of offensive, but mainly I think having a major protagonist who is non-white was pretty cool at a time when Marvel didn't even acknowledge that black people existed. The Doctor Strange prototype character Dre. Droom (Druid) took this Orientalism even even further; he literally "turns Asian" when given his powers. Jay GallardoJuly 19, 2016 8:24 AM She-Hulk #2-3 @Kveto: He did? Well, i Guess then that the Fixer is the exception that proves the rule.... Ataru320July 19, 2016 8:15 AM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) Yeah it probably was of the era but it just had a great "ominousness" to say that Strange dabbled in "black arts", that he used mystical elements that aren't just beyond human comprehension but that end up showing the same danger that they likewise had with characters like the monsters (Thing, Hulk) or the "misunderstood heroes fighting for them" (Spider-Man, X-Men). It really just sort of gave across this idea of the dangerous elements that are heroes in this universe for this time period. VtCGJuly 19, 2016 5:15 AM Tales To Astonish #88-89 Always loved Gil's work. Jay DemetrickJuly 19, 2016 3:04 AM X-Factor #86 Thought I generally dislike Jae Lee's artwork, for some reason this issue has an almost art deco feel to it that surprised me enough into begrudgingly liking it. ChrisWJuly 19, 2016 2:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 It was the issue with the McFarlane interview, right? I haven't even seen that issue for over a decade. I'll stand by my interpretation, but obviously have no way of checking the facts. Brian C. SaundersJuly 19, 2016 1:28 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 The merits of Claremont's interview aside, it was over a year later that it took place. Jim Shooter had just made news by leaving Valiant, so it wasn't conducted in "the heat of the moment," it was late 1992, at least a year later. Claremont was still just that passionate. ChrisWJuly 19, 2016 12:03 AM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) I don't think Stan and Steve even gave it *that* much thought. They're well-versed in pulp fiction, with all its demons and sorcerers, so it was the easiest thing in the world to create a possible new hero - "possible" because he wouldn't reappear for months - and call him "Master of Black Magic." Once they start bringing him back regularly, it dawns on Lee or Ditko that black magic is kind of a bad thing, and not something a hero should really be using. But by then they've had Doc referencing Dormammu, Agamotto, Hoggoth, Cytorrak, etc. most of whom would go on to appear as characters. Within twenty years, Marvel writers would be dabbling in the occult themselves, and twenty years after that, the comics field has self-declared magicians in the forms of Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. Still think comics are harmless, kids? ChrisWJuly 18, 2016 11:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 The Comics Journal interview isn't that good. It was obviously conducted in the heat of the moment after Claremont was fired, and Kim Thompson flat-out admitted he had no idea what the X-titles had been doing for years. My copy isn't available either, but from memory, I can confirm Brian citing Claremont about "Days of Future Present," 'the sad part is that those were done by people who actually knew what they were doing, Walt, Weezie and me.' Cecil DisharoonJuly 18, 2016 11:26 PM Namor annual #3 Joe Phillips is back in superhero comics, with The Midsummer's Knight coming out from Lion's Roar Comics. Ataru320July 18, 2016 10:27 PM Strange Tales #110-111 (Dr. Strange) I know people were talking about this in one of the other sections but just checking here and it does confirm that when Stephen was introduced, he was the "master of black magic", which probably explains why he could summon the likes of "the dread Dormamu" early on. In a way it sort of makes sense: with the element of the "evil or misunderstood" being so prominent in the early Marvel books (monster heroes, teenagers sticking it to authority) that having a master of "black arts" would be right up that ally. Yeah they get away from the black arts and just make him the "master of mystic arts" later, but the intent sort of just works with what the universe was really trying to push at this point in trying to have these heroes that aren't as clean cut as the competition, even in what magic they choose to master and control. Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 9:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Brian: Do you have a scan of that journal issue you can email through, as my old copy seems to have gone astray. FF3July 18, 2016 8:30 PM Namor annual #3 Do Namor and Apocalypse ever encounter one another again? During Namor's X-Men stint in the last decade, maybe? Because as bad as this is, Namor does make a damn good candidate for a Horseman. Pent-up rage, incredible power, very few close friends, as even pale imitation Apocalypse points out here. Cecil DisharoonJuly 18, 2016 8:26 PM Defenders #126 I think Moondragon affects comment boards throughout Marvel fandom. MichaelJuly 18, 2016 8:10 PM Namor annual #3 @Andrew F- plenty of the '93 Annual characters never reappeared. Mark BlackJuly 18, 2016 7:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 I only want to mention that the kids on Stranger Things (Dustin and Will) view #134 with particular reverence. Brian C. SaundersJuly 18, 2016 6:59 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Nathan Adler Claremont's interview in Comics Journal #152 didn't refer specifically to X-Tinction Agenda, but he mentioned that even though he and Louise and Walt Simonson knew what they were doing, mistakes got made on Days of Future Present Annuals. I'm inclined to think that Louise innocently co-opted the Genoshan President and made her female. Since she wasn't Claremont's character at that point, he didn't use her in his issues. As for how she became President, maybe after her husband died, she ran for his office? It's happened before. ChrisWJuly 18, 2016 6:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Rogue, Gambit and Kitty Pryde??? When you put it like that, I just flat-out *LIKE* my idea better. Ew. FF3July 18, 2016 6:38 PM Namor annual #3 In his dialogue Apocalypse almost sounds like he's trying too hard to convince everyone that he's Apocalypse, and frankly, for the plot, he was chosen basically at random. I'm going with the head canon that it was Shinobi Shaw in an Apocalypse suit. JTI88July 18, 2016 6:08 PM Captain America #164 I bet on the acid. Look at the expressions. I liked the issue, though Andrew FJuly 18, 2016 6:00 PM Namor annual #3 Interesting -- if I'm remembering it right, there was an official mandate that all the new '93 Annual characters WOULD re-appear. I think they made a point of that in the promos, like in Marvel Age or whatever. But I guess Assassin slipped past that requirement somehow. James HoltJuly 18, 2016 5:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @Nathan, All I can recall is that the first story's logo said something like "Dr. Strange, Master of Black Magic" on the splash page, but subsequent issues said "Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts." Later I read Stan Lee saying that he changed it because he was afraid "black magic" might suggest that Dr. Strange was a witch and he didn't want that. I still know more about Dr. Strange than I know about witches ha and 'most all I know about Lovecraft comes from reading Alan Moore rather than Lovecraft so I guess that gives it all away about my reading habits. kveto from pragueJuly 18, 2016 3:48 PM She-Hulk #2-3 the Fixer went bald. Matthew BradleyJuly 18, 2016 3:17 PM Marvel Team-Up #74 I wondered about that myself, and of course there's no way to tell for sure with his face turned away, but since all of the other Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players are shown onstage while their names are announced, I presumed the seated figure was Murray. Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 3:10 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Ben: Doesn't mean Claremont didn't go on to make the decision to use Pierce in Callisto's origin later after Byrne had left. He was certainly portrayed a lot creepier in the late 1980s. And Cable was obviously not Claremont's intended character to have caused Pierce's need for enhancements. fnord12July 18, 2016 1:49 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) AF, not sure what you're arguing about. I don't see Michael saying that Yellowjacket was forced on anyone, only that the timing of this issue might have been related to her appearance in the Avengers annual, and that there were definitely some continuity coordination problems between that annual and other issues (another example is the Beast having to get completely redrawn). Andrew BurkeJuly 18, 2016 1:34 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Ah, Yellowjacket. Rita DeMara. I always enjoyed her character. I was a bit miffed when Iron Man killed her during THE CROSSING. She did come back in DEAD AVENGERS #1-3, so that was a treat. I didn't mind her as a Guardian, but it would have been interesting to have had her on the Avengers, even for a short while. AFJuly 18, 2016 1:19 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) There's an infinite amount of reasons why Walt Simonson might've chosen Yellowjacket. He might've liked the Yellowjacket costume, he might've wanted a character at a loose end, he might've wanted a villain, he might've wanted a newbie/rookie, he might've wanted something nobody saw coming. Just because you don't understand why he would pick something and there is one piece of promo art that predates the issue significantly doesn't mean there was a conspiracy by editors to force him to use characters and then they rushed comics out to "justify" the character inclusion (particularly since this issue barely even does that). AFJuly 18, 2016 1:07 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) She-Hulk was obviously forced onto John Byrne when he was doing Fantastic Four, coz as you can see, his first bunch of issues had Thing in them so he quite clearly planned to write Thing but then Jim Shooter and Mark Gruenwald forced him to use a character from their books called She-Hulk and he only did it because he wanted money money money. There's even a reference in Batman #383 where Alfred refers to having just called the Thing at Fantastic Four's headquarters a month after She-Hulk joining was published so it's clear that She-Hulk was forced on John Byrne last minute!! AFJuly 18, 2016 12:34 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Coz, gosh, why would anyone in their right minds ever want to do something different or use an offbeat character choice for a story? Apparently the only ideas not forced on writers who are only writing books for more money are more stories about Vision being a bit human after all. fnord12July 18, 2016 12:31 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 Just to reiterate/clarify some rules regarding placement: 1) I generally don't move issues once i'm done working on a year, because everything is a bit of a house of cards, and moving one thing often has a cascading affect on other entries. If it can be shown that the placement CAN'T work, i will move it. But if someone just has an idea why a certain placement might be better, it's not enough for me to risk it. 2) I don't generally consider the absence of a character to be a placement consideration (unless, of course, it's with a reference to something specific). Characters might not be available for any number of reasons. In the absence of anything else, when considering initial placement, it's something to think about, but it takes an immediate back seat to any other placement considerations. In the end, i think where AF landed is exactly right: the problem is with the Mephisto series, which introduced all sorts of complications. But for this project i still need to make that series fit, even if it means making compromises in terms of "best" placement for other books. fnord12July 18, 2016 12:20 PM General Comments Just to close the loop, i've posted a response to Chris on the Cap entry. Chris, sorry i didn't respond earlier; i didn't know the answer so i left it to see if anyone else did. fnord12July 18, 2016 12:19 PM Captain America #251-252 Chris, it's not something i've tracked but it seems that you're right that Stern and Byrne may have come up with Bucky's full name. Going beyond where you already looked, I tried a few issues with fake Bucky appearances (TOS #89, Cap #131-132, Cap #153-156), and the Roy Thomas and Steve Gerber origin revisions circa Cap #220-225, and the Bucky-centric story circa Invaders #26, and whenever Bucky's full name was mentioned, it was "Bucky Barnes" as if that were his actual name. The first Marvel Handbook's Book of the Dead does list his real name as "James Buchanan" but that was published after these Stern/Byrne issues. So it seems like that information appeared here for the first time. Of course i didn't do a comprehensive check and may have missed something, but as you say Stern & Byrne are likely candidates for adding this kind of info. Ben HermanJuly 18, 2016 12:09 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Nathan Adler, you might be reading just a bit too much into the significance of Donald Pierce's name. He was based on the visual appearance of actor Donald Sutherland in the early 1970s, during which time he played Hawkeye Pierce in the movie version of M.A.S.H. That's where his name, Donald Pierce, comes from. Years later it would be revealed that Pierce first became a cyborg after being injured in an encounter with Cable and Iron Man in Albania, which is what led to his hatred of mutants. fnord12July 18, 2016 11:47 AM Captain America #121-126 RocknRollguitarplayer, issue #123 has the first appearance of Suprema, who later becomes Mother Night. Madame Hydra (aka Viper) had already appeared at this point, starting in Captain America #110, but she doesn't appear in these issues. fnord12July 18, 2016 11:31 AM Strange Tales #136-145 (Nick Fury) John Severin is listed as the first inker on this entry. fnord12July 18, 2016 11:28 AM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) @VtCG: his named is spelled "Amphibion" (and/or Qnax). He's listed as a Character Appearing and there's an Inbound Reference from Hulk #269-270. fnord12July 18, 2016 11:23 AM Marvel Team-Up #74 Is that him on stage on the opening splash? Sitting, with the orange shirt/jacket? Or is that Bill Murray with his shirt miscolored? For character appearing purposes, he's said to be there, so i'm listing him, but you're right that he's possibly only "behind the scenes". fnord12July 18, 2016 11:15 AM Fantastic Four #237-238 Horton appears in flashback only, so i don't list him. fnord12July 18, 2016 11:13 AM West Coast Avengers annual #1 Yes, i'm treating those scenes as conceptual/flashback. They're listed in the References, but i haven't tagged the characters. As you say, some are definitely flashbacks, and it doesn't make sense to mix and match. The Avengers knowing that the Hulk "is in no position to rat on anybody" seems more to suggest that this takes place after Hulk #324, not necessarily concurrently, or else the Avengers maybe shouldn't know that he was a prisoner. As for Namor, the Avengers just say that he's on a personal quest; i take the scene with Vindicator and Puck as the omniscient narrator showing the reader more about that quest than the Avengers might know, but it doesn't have to be taking place at the time of this story. fnord12July 18, 2016 10:55 AM Thor #172 Thanks Michael. Seems Kirby similarly forgot or wasn't intending him to be Kincaid, since he looks different too. Mark DrummondJuly 18, 2016 10:48 AM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) The royalty payments for high-selling books was a strong inducement to stay(the royalty plans were instituted by Shooter). Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 9:03 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW & Brian: As for the rich, blonde guy, only one I can think of is Donald Pierce. That's it! We know Pierce had a mad-on for mutants, most likely because he ended up as an amputee because of one. Recall too his claim to have created the original Reavers, a commando-style team of thieves that included Pretty Boy, Skullbuster and Bonebreaker. So were these three part of his original gang that came off second-best when they attacked a particular "billboard model", Callisto ending up pregnant with Lila? We know Pretty Boy had a penchant for making victims more "pliable" for his suggestions (think Jessan Hoan/ Tyger Tiger), and this was likely the case before Pierce subjected him to the cybernetic enhancements (i.e. perhaps Pierce's modifications just enhanced what was already there). Also, Pierce seemed to be "grooming" Lady Deathstrike, coming across as pretty creepy around her. It's worth noting that his first name, Donald, means "ruler of the world" and his surname Pierce is derived from the Greek Petros, the ammonite shila form by which Zeus was worshipped. So there we have it, Donald Pierce and his gang of thugs attacked Callisto, her mutant powers manifested and she cut through them like a knife through butter, becoming responsible for the original Reavers:) As to the attack, was she the spoils of one of their scores, the rich daughter of one of their targets? Jay GallardoJuly 18, 2016 8:30 AM She-Hulk #2-3 @Omar Karindu: I like Bald Blake Tower. Nobody goes bald in the Marvel Universe. The characters are already bald when they first show up or never at all. Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 6:39 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW: Actually just remembered a Claremont interview from around the same period where he mentioned that Gambit (with the mind of young Nate) would start a relationship with Kitty Pryde, his first. Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 5:59 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @James: That was the whole conceit of PBG's Strange Tales run, that Doc had exhausted all his bargains, so had to return to the black arts to have any effect. Recall Stephen started out under Ditko as Master of the Black Arts so Gillis was returning to his earliest framework. Makes you wonder though what the Ancient One was doing first instructing his student in the Black Arts. Was the Ancient One's order in fact named after Lovecraft's "Ancient Ones"? Puts a whole new twist on it, doesn't it!? James HoltJuly 18, 2016 2:06 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @DO9 @Michael @Nathan Adler Just scanned through the 1987 Strange Tales #9 reference on this site. Sorry if I'm posting out of turn but yes this evidences that Strange is definitely prosecutable too. It is horrifying and completely out of character per original model. Hard to figure why he considers this as white magic. Thanks for the references. Nathan AdlerJuly 18, 2016 1:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @D09: Pretty sure Michael's referring to Strange Tales #9 by Peter B Gillis. James HoltJuly 18, 2016 1:25 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 Perhaps Strange wrote a particularly cutting published review of L’enfant noir? Yet one would think that he'd find it enlightening. It's no doubt in his library. James HoltJuly 18, 2016 1:19 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 The only death I can find attributed to Dr. Strange is that of the Ancient One in Marvel Premiere #9, 1973, by Steve Englehart. This death led to the Ancient One's ascendance to become "one with the universe" making Dr. Strange the "Sorcerer Supreme" so it's not technically a murder in the comic book sense I suppose. Hard to imagine the good doctor killing any child under any circumstances, given that he is bound by his medical oath if nothing else, but on the other hand I don't think anything Marvel or DC does nowadays can really shock me anymore. Horrify? Sure. VtCGJuly 18, 2016 12:47 AM Strange Tales #136-145 (Nick Fury) The first bunch of scans features inks by John Severin. Didn't see any pertaining credits. D09July 18, 2016 12:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @Michael: In what issue did Dr. Strange do that stunt? Ben HermanJuly 18, 2016 12:07 AM Avengers #295-297 @AF... Agreed about the artwork on these issues. Simonson's big storyline involving the Time Bubble, Dreaming Celestial, Council of Kangs, and Nebula was very much improved after it shifted over to Fantastic Four, where Simonson was both writing and drawing the series. James HoltJuly 17, 2016 11:54 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 I agree that Phoenix committed not only murder of children as well as adults, but also, as Shooter recoiled at, genocide. Punisher was motivated by revenge so I find it hard to call his vigilante actions self-defense. In his early days as a Spider-Man villain he was at best considered an "anti-hero" but not as a hero so that might be considered differently by Shooter who found villainous murders acceptable. His intentions were pretty clear but again I haven't analyzed him carefully enough to know his actual body count. The number of people who were slashed up, at least, if not murdered, by Wolverine, seems like it must number in the hundreds or even thousands. I've never seen him repent any of it. Maybe he did, I don't know. Never was a fan of either him or of Punisher. Hadn't heard of Dr. Strange's exploding African child so now I'm disillusioned. Rats. In the days prior to the Phoenix Force retcon, I thought of Jean as not being responsible for the murders or genocide which were arguably committed indirectly by Mastermind, and not Jean, in my first reading of it. On rereading it... it was more ambiguous to me, but I still found it hard to blame Jean for what she did when she was to a large extent under the hypnotic control of Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde. Seems like the jury is still out on all of these characters, except Jean, who has now been retroactively acquitted of the murders committed by the amoral Phoenix Force. Any of them could be made to commit suicide at any time by editorial mandate, so as Stan might say, keep reading, True Believers! (-: MichaelJuly 17, 2016 11:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 It should also be noted that (a) what Jean did to the D'Bari was murder not self-defense and (b) it's hard to have a hero that killed children even today, which is why everyone's tried to forget about Dr. Strange exploding African Child. James HoltJuly 17, 2016 10:42 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @Brian C. Saunders, Thanks. I checked out #152 on the 1981 page of this site (what a great resource) and I'm sure I never read it, having followed John Byrne (I was such a fan of his during that time) over to the Fantastic Four. Plus I imagine I was still emoting over the still-fresh and as-yet-unredacted death of Jean, and had already started to lose interest in the X-Men. I enjoyed fnord12's lead-in paragraph to the scan there (about halfway down the page, which said, "It's revealed in issue #152 that the Hellfire troops that Wolverine clearly killed in his rampage in issue #133 were not actually killed, and they've now been turned into cyborgs." lol It seems his interpretation of issue #133 was similar to mine. Most of the casual readers to whom I've spoken over the years interpreted both the Punisher and Wolverine as killers without giving it a whole lot of careful analysis. I forget which issue it was, but when the Punisher was first introduced in Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man was as morally opposed to the Punisher as I was. Times have changed. I can honestly say I never thought much of either Wolverine or Punisher as fitting heroes for children who might read comic books, but I also realize that comic books stopped being for children a long time ago. Having had my rant, I don't want to waste too much of anybody's time with further railings against Shooter, especially since that ground has already been trampled over so many times before, but I might add that Shooter's higher and more overriding morality seems to be more about sales, and, at that time, protecting Marvel from the loss thereof. As for Byrne and so many artists, I would only say that it's a good thing that I don't really have to like a person to enjoy his or her artistic output, as I still do enjoy his very much. I'm much more ambivalent about Shooter. Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 10:38 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 In #259 Genegineer Moreau refers to Genosha's president being male. At what point did he go from being Mister Reneau to Madame as shown in X-Factor #60? Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 9:49 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW: I'd tend to agree with BCS that young Nate had not set foot out of the orphanage since arriving there purely on the basis of Claremont's reveal in his 1995 interview for Seriejournalen.dk that he was 8 years old and had entrenched himself as master of the place. And Claremont further revealed that he had never gone down the path of any intimate efforts and that his first interest would be Rogue, through Gambit. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 9:28 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 I would also add that this interpretation of Sinister is not all that different from what almost everybody in the world thought of comics fans at the time. Brian C. SaundersJuly 17, 2016 9:16 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 @James Holt Shooter's edict about "My heroes don't kill people" is what brought the Hellfire guards Wolverine took out in #133 back as cyborgs in #152. And thereafter in #142, Storm laid the law down about Wolvie using his claws. It's not totally hypocritical, but Shooter was only as consistent as his notice and as X-Men became more popular, he got more heavy handed and noticed more. You're not wrong to be angry at Shooter, but Claremont and Byrne were pushing the boundaries so this is what happened. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 9:15 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Sinister's appearance in "Classic X-Men" was an illusion. We don't know how old he is, we only know how old he appears to Scott. And my point is that even approaching sexual maturity could mess him up a lot worse than he already is. He doesn't know how to talk to girls, he doesn't know how to talk to anybody as an equal, he has only the vaguest notion of biological reproduction. Many girls - not a large percentage obviously, but they do exist - experience the same basic thing, having periods and developing breasts long before they reach their teen years. At least they're normal human girls, Sinister is an evil mutant who's spent a few hundred years trying to understand this stuff before he even gets close to attempting a normal sexual relationship. The nurse at Scott's orphanage was trying to reach out, complimenting him, saying nice things and taking him on fascinating trips. [I'd swear there was a reference to her changing her outfits for him in true Claremont manner, but can't find it.] Nate didn't get it. So he wiped her out. This would be before he found Callisto, and saw 'oh, that's what the guys were talking about!' D'ken is just speculation on my part because nobody else fits the bill as well, except Mr. Sinister. It would explain Lila's history, Callisto's rejection, and the future plotlines. If you come up with a good explanation why it's been Norman Osborne all along, I'll shrug and go with it. Brian C. SaundersJuly 17, 2016 8:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW I don't know how old Sinister is biologically, but he looked younger than Scott in the Classic X-Men back-up. If he could be sexual, that'd be one less reason for him to be upset at being stuck at the age he appears as. If we are talking on a meta level, then you have a point, but it's not what I see as Claremont expecting me to infer. But I've been wrong before. As for D'Ken being Lila's father, she doesn't show any of the avian characteristics of being a Shi'ar. If Sinister altered her DNA, that might account for it though. But if she were half-alien, she wouldn't just be sold by Earth, but she'd have some sort of rights under Shi'ar law I assume, unless Sinister was very good at hiding all the Shi'ar DNA. It's barely possible. James HoltJuly 17, 2016 8:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 I've learned many new-to-me details about the Phoenix retcons from reading this entry plus comments, and from following the links herein. My thanks to everyone involved in it. I personally stopped reading all the X-titles right around the time that X-Factor #1 came out, due in no small part to my perhaps overly-emotional reaction at the retcon of what had previously been known for about 6 years as the death of Jean Grey, a dramatic event which is now mainly understood through retcons as the death of a non-human entity who had been impersonating Jean Grey since issue #101. I had liked Jean since the '60s in about the same way I liked Sue Storm. Even though they were often written as stereotypically "female" weak characters, they were nostalgically significant for me as parts of my misspent youth. Jean's treatment under Claremont, Cockrum, and Byrne was much better, adding greatly to my affection towards her. I only reluctantly accepted the death of Jean in issue #137 because of its emotional and dramatic resonance. Undoing that during the explosion of X-titles seemed like a sales-related cop-out and still strikes me that way. Jim Shooter's involvement in the whole affair is what finally turned me against him. I had admired him somewhat for writing Legion of Super-Heroes at DC when he was still in his teens. Writers' and artists' opinions which I read in the fan press during his time as editor-in-chief at Marvel had tainted my opinion of him, yet still not completely turned me against him. Although I was highly critical about it, his purportedly high moral stance about Phoenix paying for her murders didn't totally turn me against him either. Putting the lie to the death of Jean just for the sake of selling a new X-title did. It didn't turn me against Claremont or Byrne because they didn't seem quite so hypocritical about it. Shooter's statement, "My heroes don't kill people," cited by Mark Drummond in the second comment here, is what ultimately prompted me to write this. If his heroes don't kill people, then what is Wolverine doing? What happens when he pops his claws and disables his opponents in a berserker frenzy? I know they didn't show him bathed in his victims' blood in all those CCA-approved panels and covers, but it sure seems totally obvious what he's doing in almost every issue. In the scans shown above, he comes within a split second of killing "Jean." To satisfy Shooter's high-minded moral standards, shouldn't Wolverine have to commit suicide too? Thanks for indulging me in this rant. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 8:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Could D'ken be Lila's father? It would be harder to explain than Sinister, but it makes the connections between Sinister and the Shi'ar very understandable, setting up Lila as a tormented intergalactic thief, connecting her to Cyclops who has a similar relationship to D'ken, and explaining why Lilandra is so interested in Xavier, Scott's real 'father.' ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 8:31 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Brian, I'm sure Nathan will get back to you on the rich blond guy who might have led Callisto to the Angel. Nathan has definitely been thinking about that. Trust me. :) I don't see the Nebraska orphanage as being that important. Early on, yes, but by the time Sinister is really working out cloning and his plans for Scott, he obviously has control over other places. Callisto might have been the first time he really tried to exert his power elsewhere, and it blew up on him, so he reacted like an immature teenage boy getting shot down. The best argument I can see for Nathan's point is that Sinister is doing to Callisto what Eric Beale did to Dazzler (and most of the other males in Dazzler's life as well.) It's not love, it's not desire, unless force was used, it's not even rape [Dazzler and the Beyonder] but it's still not right. In Beale's case, he had nowhere to go until Dazzler re-appeared. In Sinister's case, he was starting to go out, see the sights, learning how to meet the chicks, and Callisto shot him down. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 8:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 How old of a child? And how... [looking for a word] immature of a child? There are children who can procreate biologically. Freakish muties, but they still exist. Unless someone does somethin' about it. Grrrrr. Think about it, if mutants are a symbol of future consequences and alienation, particularly sexual alienation, then what could be a better way to set up a villain than as someone whose mutant powers appear - and becomes a father - when he's still trying to understand that not all girls have cooties? And if he did take advantage of Callisto after she was pregnant, than the results would surprise him, and impel him to work on this breeding and cloning stuff. Brian C. SaundersJuly 17, 2016 8:17 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 The problem with Sinister being anyone's father is that he's still prepubescent. That a big part of his motivation as conceived by Claremont. He's a master of cloning because he can't be sexual and he's been waiting for a few hundred years or so. He has an adult's knowledge, but can't experience adulthood directly. Also, Sinister's only known base of operations is Nebraska making it far to connect him personally breeding with Callisto, since she was able to end up in NYC. It's possible she became an orphan in the Nebraska orphanage, her powers manifested after an attack of rapists(funny thing that she can't use those powers in her "Beautiful" form) and she was only able to escape after giving birth, leaving the child behind for Sinister to barter with. She'd still have to get all the way to New York City and find her way underground. Possible, but there's a gap there. Also, Masque controlling her appearance(and thus her powers) seems to be a big weak spot for someone who had to lead by force. Was there a lead rapist who was rich and blonde? That might explain why Calisto had Sunder kidnap Angel. Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 8:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW: Only problem with Sinister being the attacker himself is that Claremont intended him to still be in the body of a child at that point. So it was either one of his Marauders, or he just took advantage of Callisto after the attack due to her being pregnant. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 7:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 My main objection is with a pre-transformation Callisto being incapable of physical combat. [Also with her being a totally hot babe, but this is comic books, so you expect such things there.] What self-defense moves would she have and where would she have learned them? I agree she wouldn't be capable of the down-and-dirty fighting that Callisto the Morlock Leader can do, but (a) it's not like girls don't get into fights between themselves [which is kinda hot :D ] (b) if she had any moves, she would have learned them at her basic skill level, which is that of a hot babe who's very conscious of how she looks. Judo and Akido would be very understandable techniques, being mostly defensive and not likely to leave bruises on her arms, legs or face. I've taken classes in combatives and believe me, even the winners come out with a lot of bruises, and that wasn't even fighting dirty. I could see Callisto (or Dazzler, or Janet Van Dyne) being masters at those techniques, at least because it's comic books and the heroes have to win sooner or later. But not being built for combat is different from being strong and healthy and training in self-protection. [Carrying a gun would be a good option too.] The rest of your point certainly makes sense. Thinking about it, could Sinister be the one who attacked Callisto? It was still early in his career, he had learned about his power over people at the orphanage, but hadn't reached maturity yet. He would be the "Zeus" in the Callisto mythology. She fought him off because her mutant powers manifested and escaped into the tunnels. It's an open question if Sinister was Lila's father, or if Callisto gave in (peacefully or otherwise) to the next guy she met. If Sinister was Lila's father, it would have taught him a lesson in human biology and opened up his plans for, say, trade with the Shi'ar. He has to rethink his ideas for humanity, and Scott Summers, to include breeding and cloning. If Sinister isn't Lila's father, then he still learns a lesson in breeding, still reconfigures his plans for Scott Summers, and giving him the urge to teach Callisto a lesson, and the people she's found sanctuary with, leading to the Mutant Massacre. Face it, Sinister is an ultrapowerful villain with no real motivation, we can write him according to our purposes [which, oddly enough, is just what he does.] He becomes an expanded form of Eric Beale, who has a natural attraction to a hot babe [Dazzler] and then goes far overboard to do whatever it takes to get her, according to whatever his latest definition of "get her" is. Worth noting that Dazzler and Callisto really didn't like each other. Which ties back into the billboards, that Callisto has what Dazzler wants, without even trying, and Callisto has been kidnapped, attacked, warped, and become famous, all without leaving Masque's prison. Street gangs wearing X-Men masks are just the lower-class equivalent of the billboards. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 7:00 PM Strange Tales #16-19 The Holy Ghost Church is almost certainly taken from the Holy Cross Church on 42nd Street (as Spidey says in MTU Annual #6) right next to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It was only a mile and a half away from Marvel’s offices at the time, and in pre-Giuliani days, the area was popular for all sorts of sex, drugs, grindhouse movies, bookstores. You know, the sort of things that would have attracted Marvel writers. It’s an odd name for a church, given that “Holy Spirit” is far more common, directly named as part of the Christian Trinity in the Book of Matthew. “Holy Spirit” is even used in the other Abrahamic religions; in Judaism as the spirit of YHWH, and in Islam as the angel Gabriel. “Ghost” is from an Old English term, while “Spirit” comes from Latin, although the terms themselves are basically synonymous. But not too many Catholic organizations use “Holy Ghost.” The real church conducts services in English and Spanish, so one can understand why Father Bowen might be replacing Father Delgado. The surname “Bowen” derives from the Welsh “ab Owain” meaning “son of Owen” and the Irish “O Buadhachain” (“descendant of Bohan.”) “Owain” is Welsh, corresponding to the Irish “Eoghan,” both meaning “born of the yew,” as in Yew Trees, long-lived cone-bearing trees native to most of England and the coast of Ireland, as well as Central Europe, Italy and the Balkans and southern Scandinavia. So Tandy’s uncle’s name, Father Bowen [!] literally means ‘grandson of the yew tree.’ Interestingly, Tandy’s boyfriend’s name, Tyrone, is also derived from Northern Ireland, specifically meaning “land of Eoghan.” Their names indicate that both Cloak and Uncle Mike are a step above Tandy on the generational ladder. “Tyrone” has also been traced to the Greek “tyron” meaning “sovereign, lord” as well as the Latin, “tiro” for “a young soldier.” This might be a bit contradictory, as young soldiers rarely have much rank, authority, experience, history, etc. to qualify as sovereigns, but the Scandinavian version of “Tyrone” identifies the word with Thor, whom you might have heard of. Young, a soldier, and a sovereign, the son of Asgard’s ruler, whom I’ll get back to in a moment. Tandy’s name is strange. The internet is giving multiple origins for her first name, from Native American for “flower” to Greek for “immortality.” “Tandy” is a more common last name, again back to an English/Irish derivation from the name “Andrew.” St. Andrew was Jesus’ first disciple, the canonical founder of the Eastern Church, and his cross still flies on the flag of Scotland and, consequently, on the British flag.] This makes a little more sense, at least thematically. Speaking of the Eastern Church, Father Bowen divides his time between the Holy Ghost and St. Anne’s Parrish. St. Anne is remembered as the mother of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, and became revered much earlier in Greece and the Orthodox Church than in the Catholic nations. The Koran also has reverence for Anne, which is interesting considering Islam was just getting started at the same time Anne became celebrated in the Greek Churches. Anne herself is the patron saint of unmarried women, housewives, women in labor, grandmothers, as well as horseback riders, cabinet-makers, miners, sailors and a protector from storms. So it’s interesting that Father Bowen is named for the son of a son of a tree and spends part of his time serving the mother of the mother of the guy who got nailed to a tree. Treading as lightly as I can on anybody’s religious toes, Christ’s crucifixion has long been noted to have thematic parallels in other religions, such as Odin hanging himself at the World Tree Yggdrasill for nine days without food and water, returning with spiritual knowledge for runes, used for language, writing and divination. The comics writers would have known about this as well. [Yggdrasill is repeatedly referred to as an ash tree. However, this may be a mistranslation as ash trees lose their leaves in the winter. Yew trees do not, and Yggdrasill is ever-green. Also, according to “Journey Into Mystery” #103, a branch of Yggdrasill was dipped into Mimir’s well and the water spilled onto trees, creating human life, in a way reminiscent of the Book of Genesis as well as Noah repopulating the Earth after the flood.] So what does this all have to do with Dr. Strange, you may be asking? Good question. Keep in mind that, while sharing the book with Cloak and Dagger, Doc had destroyed almost all of his magical objects, and before that his Cloak of Levitation had been ruined by Khat. Before that, Doc had been spending an issue or so moping about his emotional problems, a point highlighted by the appearance of Topaz, an empath who has had half of her soul stolen. [And I literally didn’t know until I got to the previous paragraph that Topaz had ever appeared before, much less was such a mainstay of “Werewolf By Night.” Let’s see how the continuity works, shall we?] Topaz [a colorless crystal tinted by impurities] is working for a magician named Taboo [“prohibited, forbidden”] who wants Jack Russell to get the Darkhold for him. The Darkhold was written by Chthon, and was crucial in creating vampires and werewolves, as well as being part of the history of Atlantis, Conan and Red Sonja and Merlin, before winding up in the hands of Jessica Drew’s father at the base of Mount Wundagore, most prominently on the night Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were born. The Darkhold would eventually end up with Doctor Strange after all the vampires had been destroyed. Topaz reappeared shortly afterwards, having been trapped in Hell since her last appearance where she was fated to destroy Satan himself on her 21st birthday. Interestingly, Dracula turned human himself just after Topaz was consigned to Hell, although I gather this didn’t last. Topaz’ escape from Hell (now ruled by Mephisto) came just as an unofficial crossover occurred between “Dr. Strange” and “Fantastic Four,” where Doc rescues Reed and Sue from the demon, with the help of an unleashed Franklin Richards, and at the same time that all the Dire Wraiths are being wiped out in “Rom” by none other than Bill Mantlo and Steve Ditko. In the fight with the Dire Wraiths, the US government would turn to Forge to build a neutralizer [resulting in Storm losing her powers for almost fifty issues] and Naze would turn to the Adversary [resulting in the X-Men dying in “Fall of the Mutants,” a scheme of Roma’s and by extension Merlin’s, an adversary of the Darkhold from way back when.] I don’t even get why Mephisto was involved. But he was. This happened just as the Thing returned from Battleworld to find his best friend Johnny was engaging in, shall we say, ‘interspecies activities’ with Ben’s ex-girlfriend. Kulan Gath would soon reappear, requiring Dr. Strange’s help to fight. And as noted, Doc would be going through his own problems. [I’m sure the continuity and chronology are getting a bit messed up, but this is a lot of comics to go through, many I haven’t actually read myself.] So now Doc’s cloak has been destroyed by a henchman from another galaxy’s sorcerer supreme. And in the process of defeating that sorcerer supreme, he has to destroy his own magical objects, except for the Darkhold which Urthona escapes with. And Doc himself is in the process of turning to black magic, with the help of a sorcerer named Kaluu, whose only other appearance was in the first post-Steve Ditko “Dr. Strange” storyline. After Doc’s ‘turn to the dark side’ storyline, he would get his magical items back, while Cloak and Dagger [remember Cloak and Dagger? This is an essay about Cloak and Dagger] had turned to the dark side. Dagger, literally, while Cloak was trapped on a pool table thanks to a spell cast by a little boy, the son of Mister Rasputin, a sorcerer whose only other appearance was the final Steve Ditko “Dr. Strange” storyline. See how neatly the bookends work? This is why Dr. Strange, Cloak and Dagger had to share a book, merging their series before breaking apart again. It’s almost like a common thread was weaved through the universe. To repair the Cloak of Levitation, Doc turned to a weaver named Enitharmon, who tasted his ‘life-thread’ to ensure that Doc was worth dealing with. Enitharmon also gave Doc his servant Rintrah, who will never replace Clea as Doc’s best-loved assistant, but did his best, even recruiting Topaz to help in the Mephisto vs. Satannish fight where Doc got his magical stuff back. It gets even better, just before Topaz escaped from Hell, Doc had helped Clea overthrow her mother Umar and start ruling the Dark Dimension. In the fight where Doc beat Urthona, the bad guy had been promising that he himself would become a new Dormammu, and this universe would be his “Dark Dimension.” And soon after Doc gets his talismans back, Clea is overthrown and again trapped on Earth, while Umar resumes her role. So how does this tie back into the Holy Ghost Church and Father Bowen? Literally. The Holy Ghost Church was where Karma first appeared, with her siblings Leong and Nga. We know Karma was taken over by Ahmahl Farouk and turned fat and evil, from which she only redeemed herself after a trip through Asgard, where after her tribulations, she received only a piece of thread, a reference to the Norns, i.e. the Fates, the ones who weave our life-threads, obviously referred to when Enitharmon made his appearance. Oh, but I’m not done yet. Just as Dr. Strange set off on this short journey to turn evil and then back again in the pages of “Fantastic Four,” the apex of this journey was another unofficial “Fantastic Four” crossover, this time as Doc battled Shuma-Gorath who has connections with Robert E. Howard and H.P Lovecraft, connections which far precede comic books. Similar to the Darkhold. Doc had become omnipotent, or at least ego-less, during the battle. But the FF were filled with their own egos, and the book’s own self-awareness, as they went from one continuity-heavy adventure to the next. They no longer had Reed, Sue and Franklin, but they had Steve Englehart, who ensured that Doc’s fight with Shuma-Gorath enabled the FF to defeat Belasco before setting up their trip to meet the Beyonders, who acquired Counter-Earth in defiance of Adam Warlock and the High Evolutionary, and this trip would (try to) resolve the Beyonder we know from “Secret Wars” I and II. Comics writers up against Lovecraft and Howard, re-writing Lee and Kirby concepts, resolving Jim Shooter’s time as e-i-c. Talk about ego. And this is what Doc is missing? So Doc kills himself, gets reborn, and Kaluu has to talk him down to basic concepts like walking up to a girl and saying ‘hi.’ Then Enitharmon reappears to demand payment for repairing the Cloak of Levitation [created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko] that Doc be Stephen Strange again. All tied up in a neat little bow. Just before Dormammu returns, just before “Inferno,” just before vampires return. We had already learned that the Beyonder’s creation was the same as the Molecule Man’s, whose first name is “Owen.” Englehart would go on to attempt a continuation of his Mantis plot, and she was… a woman who married a tree. “Born of the Yew” indeed. Owen and the Beyonder would merge into a Cosmic Cube – what the kids now call a “tesseract” – and even though there’s no literal connection, it feels like Topaz has the missing half of her soul back. [And, other than being on the opposite side of the Kree-Skrull divide, how is what Mantis did much different from what Johnny Storm did? Marry someone well outside their species! I guess Johnny didn’t know what he was getting into and Mantis did, but still…] I actually could add more, but it might be reaching a bit. You think? BenwayJuly 17, 2016 4:04 PM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) I love the escalation of the Leader's threat. "Nothing can stop my unbeatable humanoid!" I'm not surprised they killed him here. Were do you go from there, but downhill? kveto from pragueJuly 17, 2016 4:02 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #83 A romance with captain Dewolff would have been something different for Peter. An older woman and a member of law enforcement, two boxes none of his girlfriend's have ticked, i think. kveto from pragueJuly 17, 2016 3:58 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #95 These issues do well illustrating the way that Danny feels kind of purposeless. He tries to enjoy his unearned wealth by doing "Tony Stark" rich stuff but since he didnt grow up with the money he's just faking it, more comfortable practicing his kung fu on the foredeck. Why didn't somebody give him the numbers of some good charities if he didn't know what to do with his money? (Not a real ask) ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 3:28 PM Marvel Team-Up annual #6 I've never read this story, but at least in these scans, I like the way Spider-Man is mostly just standing there, like the only adult in the room. Which he is. ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 3:27 PM Cloak and Dagger #1-2 "Stitko Insurance"? kveto from pragueJuly 17, 2016 3:24 PM Iron Man #234 I kinda like the idea that Spidey is specially suseptable to radiation. It gives spidey a "weakness" considering he doesnt have many. I've always thought certain villains should present tougher challenges to certain heroes. eg. Electro should be Iron Man's worst nightmare, Screaming Mimi should be Daredevil's, etc. AFJuly 17, 2016 1:55 PM Avengers #295-297 I pretty much agree with everything fnord said. The Nebula stuff doesn't work as either Nebula or Ravonna. I suppose there's still ways to fix that and the retcon but they'd both be a wasted effort. And Thor disbanding the team makes no sense considering a) there's already two members, b) they could pop next door and ask Stingray, c) as Annual #17 and #305 proves there's PLENTY of reserves ready to respond to summons, d) there's plenty of potential members they could track down (like Machine Man who they just had worked with), e) over in issues of Thor, the two remaining Avengers go on a mission anyway and f) team-up with Earth Force immediately making a viable (if terrible to read) Avengers team. If I may offer another thing that I think hurts Simonson's short/aborted run; it's the art. Buscema/Palmer are amazing. But they were so linked to Stern's run. Simonson's run definitely comes off as toeing the line of being a Simonson comic and being a follow-up to Stern's run. I don't blame Simonson for wanting to keep Buscema/Palmer on the book but it always feels like stuff like the Council of Kangs, the Time-Bubble, Dinobots, Leviathan... all seem to play greater to Simonson's strengths as an artist. Had he drawn his run (or even had Mark Bright from the Annual drawn his run), it would've made it have a better voice than just being "the Avengers after Roger Stern". AFJuly 17, 2016 1:39 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) There does seem to be an overwhelming sentiment that almost absolutely everything during the Shooter era and/or during Gruenwald's time editing books and/or during DeFalco's era was always forced onto writers. If this was true anywhere near the amount that it comes up, I doubt ANY writers would've stayed working at Marvel. AFJuly 17, 2016 1:35 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Just looked at #297, Thor does notify the West Coast team that the team has disbanded. So, again, like X-Men vs. Avengers, the continuity issue is with other issues - not the one here. (West Coast #39, Avengers #297 and #298) Wait, I don't even know why this is a problem? I was saying that "original" cover shown in Marvel Age might have just depicted the old team to avoid "spoiling" the team's dissolution. Or Sal Buscema, who just did the cover for the issue, might have been grabbed to draw it before it was fully ironed out and drew the team as they were appearing in the comics (also, notice Beast is depicted as he appears at the start of the crossover). These are both far more believable than "it was a rush job and so was this Spotlight story and Yellowjacket is a forced inclusion in both". ChrisWJuly 17, 2016 1:35 PM Strange Tales #12-14 The scene where various weird things happen all around the world, including to Talisman and Dr. Druid, is a dead ringer for similar scenes in Grant Morrison's "Doom Patrol" starting a few years from here. Which makes sense, as Richard Case was the artist on both, but interesting to note that the first panel of the scene is analogous to the world-merging image from DC's 'Crisis on various earths' storylines. AFJuly 17, 2016 1:22 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Also, possibility; automated system? Jarvis was basically just caring for his mother in #298. There was no-one there. Hawkeye and Mockingbird's warnings don't have to be to anyone specifically. But also don't forget Inferno is raging too, I think Cap and Jarvis both prioritized that since it was mayhem and they were both there as it was happening. I don't think Hawkeye and co. had much specifics? It'd be like warning them "Loki's plotting to curse Thor's armor...". They can't act on something without more information. And they also didn't have a team. And there was another major threat. MichaelJuly 17, 2016 1:08 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) But the counterargument is that scene in West Coast Avengers 39 doesn't make sense as the stories are written- if it takes place before Avengers 297, then why didn't the Avengers DO ANYTHING about the Evolutionary? Even if Thor and Dane had to go to Asgard, Jarvis should be frantically trying to round up reservists to stop the Evolutionary. And if it takes place after Avengers 297 but before Thor rejoined the team in Avengers 300, then who the heck did Clint and Bobbi talk to? AFJuly 17, 2016 12:45 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) I wonder if this was intended as a Black Knight feature. Knight was 2nd or 3rd most demanded (after Hawkeye and Wonder Man). So maybe this was done as that but after Annual 17 got finalised they changed it's "star" to Yellowjacket. There are more than a few Spotlight stories where the star plays second stringer to a guest star. Happened a LOT whenever Shroud showed up in other's stories. Conversely, one of the first Mark's Remarks does say they will even cover assosciated characters (he names Stingray and Ant-Man). Maybe this was the first - and ultimately only - to do so. And it did it with a villain. Annual #17 is 50 pages, drawn by one artist, and I find if most the team was a last minute switch then it would be an impressive feat to have it coming off so professionally. And this, for a Avengers Spotlight story, doesn't feel like a rush job either. Compare it to some of the others that came before it. Happy coincidence I'd chalk it up to. I mean, this doesn't end with her swearing to be a hero or explicit leading into the Annual. AFJuly 17, 2016 12:21 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Evolutionary War most definitely doesn't happen in succession. Beast goes from human to furry from Part 1 to Part 12 and Doctor Druid is in Part 1 too. Not sure but West Coast Annual could happen before Avengers 297. BUT I'm also sure I've read something where they suggest the WACOs didn't immediately find out they'd broken up (possibly Super-Nova Saga?) MichaelJuly 17, 2016 12:06 PM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Yeah, but we also have that odd scene in West Coast Avengers 39, where Clint and Bobbi warn the Avengers about the Evolutionary, suggesting that originally the Annual was supposed to take place BEFORE the dissolution of the team. kveto from pragueJuly 17, 2016 9:38 AM Ms. Marvel #14 I guess putting the feminist heroine against an evil construction worker seems a natural fit. MichaelJuly 17, 2016 9:26 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 I think specifically in relation to this issue there's something else at work- in X-Men Annual 4, Margali was portrayed as equally powerful, if not more so, than Strange. She could even command the Eye of Agamatto against Strange's wishes. That seemed inconsistent with the concept of the Sorcerer Supreme. And to top it off, Strange seemed unaware of her. I think Claremont's idea is that just as there was a Sorcerer Supreme, there was also a *Sorceress Supreme*- and for some reason the Ancient One never told Strange this? AFJuly 17, 2016 8:52 AM Champions #16 Jack of Hearts would seem a bit redundant. Champions already have Darkstar filling the ambiguous energy powers quota. Plus, what Champions needed was a voice or at least a better voice than being just another book for Mantlo to use Jack of Hearts in. Champions really needed something to differentiate them from chiefly the Avengers and Defenders (but also X-Men, FF, etc.) and make them unique. It never had it and was just a clunky team-up of c-listers with no purpose for being together other than the mutual inability to hold their own title. I find Mantlo's Champions perfectly perfunctory but definitely not ever justifying Champions existence. George LochinskiJuly 17, 2016 8:37 AM Champions #16 I kind of think that could've been awesome AFJuly 17, 2016 8:06 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 "It's probably illustrative to compare Stern's development of the Wasp to Claremont's development of Kitty Pryde. Stern's Wasp is someone who finds a balance; Claremont's Kitty is someone who becomes or is special in all sorts of ways -- she's a tech wizard, she's the heir to the Soulsword, she's a ninja -- and winds up a destined, dimension-hopping avatar of the cosmic mutant future." Mate, you made my point for me. Omar KarinduJuly 17, 2016 8:02 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 Two additional notes: * Avengers Annual #10 will probably come up here. It's not a great Avengers story, even thought it's a great story. It's more a necessary Avengers story after the godawful, offensive, character-destroying mess that was Avengers #197-200. * It's probably illustrative to compare Stern's development of the Wasp to Claremont's development of Kitty Pryde. Stern's Wasp is someone who finds a balance; Claremont's Kitty is someone who becomes or is special in all sorts of ways -- she's a tech wizard, she's the heir to the Soulsword, she's a ninja -- and winds up a destined, dimension-hopping avatar of the cosmic mutant future. Or, for that matter, their uses of Clea. Claremont's solution to the Clea problem, the apprentice who's also a lover and all the skeeziness that entails, is to suggest repeatedly that she's a being of vast power, one capable of outdoing Strange in some instances but also capable of becoming a cosmic destroyer like Dormammu (as shown in Claremont's MTU 2-parter with Silver Dagger and Marie Leveau). Stern's solution is to introduce a more grounded love interest for Strange and have Clea become more so what she was introduced and developed as: a Dark Dimension freedom fighter who's secretly the heir to the throne. Clear has a real struggle wiuth Umar, wins, and finds her own role and struggles; Strange moves on to a love interest who isn't his student. Omar KarinduJuly 17, 2016 7:50 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 Son to get back to *that*, Stern's run on Doctor Strange is arguably tied for first with Ditko's; he really "got" Strange in a way few other writers do. Yes, the Engelhart stuff in the 70s was appealingly trippy and had big concepts, but by the end I think it took Strange too far from the vibe of eerie, seedy shadow-worlds and the down-to-Earth sensibility Ditko brought in. More damningly, it made Strange one of those absurdly powerful characters who has to be conked on the head or depowered to function in most stories; Ditko's Strange was a man of serious limits who won by using his wits and sometimes even his fists. Stern's particular genius was to ground Strange's stories again, but without overtly dialing back all of his character and power development int he 1970s. This sequence of issues is a good example of that: while Strange is powerful, he still moves in a world of other powerful forces, and while his powers are versatile, his real strength is his dedication and his ability to marshal his resources wisely. But along with this comes a sense that even the cosmic mages are still human: the Aged Genghis's senility, borrowed fro the Ditko era, here becomes a clever way to show that great mystical power and influence are not guarantors of victory or even competence, and that even an immortal sorcerer has a number of mortal frailties. Cleverly, Stern juxtaposes this with another immortal, Dracula, who has achieved his power at the cost of his soul and his humanity. But it is this, ultimately, that allows Strange to outwit and defeat Dracula; in the end, Dracula's great power comes at the price of serious psychological weaknesses as well as his one remaining mystical vulnerability. Ultimately, the resolution of this vampire story will hinge on that, highlighting the way Hannibal King refused to sacrifice his own humanity in the way Dracula did. Stern gets a "cosmic, world-shaking" ending, but one that grounds Strange rather than playing up his unearthly nature and power. The Margali storyline strikes me as something similar: maybe being a vastly powerful, quasi-demonic mystic isn't all it's cracked up to be, and might be bad for you. Strange doesn't defeat Margali because he's more powerful; he beats her by figuring out what's *really* going on. Her defeat is played up as a restoration of her humanity, not as a humiliation. Now, Stern is arguing against Claremont here, but not int he way some of you think. Claremont is very invested in the idea of surpassing the limits of normal humanity. In some ways,t his works really well for the X-Men, fitting its themes of evolution and difference, and its more generally anti-normative stance. But a side effect is that in Claremont's stories the way marginalized people survive and surpass is by leaving conventional humanity behind entirely: it's a recurring theme in his stories, from Phoenix and Storm's respective godhoods to Margali to Illyana, Dani, and Kitty in . In a Claremont story, you win by leaving the mundane world and its pettiness and prejudice behind, thought hat's a narrow path to walk and produces as many cosmic destroyers and scummy manipulators -- people who get all that power and transcendence and just turn around and use it to try to own the normal world or burn it down instead of slipping free of it entirely. In a Roger Stern, story, though, you win by getting back in touch with your humanity, by gaining direct empathy for the people around you, and b y hanging on to who you are no matter what. It's what makes him such an able successor to Ditko on Doctor Strange, where the risk for writers is always that they will take the character off into the stratosphere and make the plots and themes utterly arbitrary. And it's what makes him one of the best Spider-Man and Avengers writers around. Those are books that really only work if you write the main characters as regular joes with regular-joe problems, folks who don;t get to slip the surly bonds of convention and society and become cosmic outsiders. But it's also why he and Claremont probably wouldn't get along too well, and why they probably couldn't just swap franchises and be happy. and successful. Claremont generally writes the Avengers as heavies and Strange as self-important; Stern, in turn, tends to write the "new" X-Men and their associates as a bunch of brash contrarians or knee-jerk anti-authoritarians playing with fire. And, well, they'd have to, wouldn't they? There's no great Claremont Avengers story for the same reason there's no great Roger Stern X-Men story. And on Doctor Strange, I'd say Stern was an effective long-term writer, while Claremont was, frankly, at his most self-indulgent, precisely because of the peculiar balance this character and concept needs to maintain. (It's also why folks like Alan Moore and Grant Morrison would be *terrible* Spider-Man writers, why Claremont is at his least Claremont-y whenever he writes Spidey in Marvel Team-Up, and why Bendis is so awful on big event storylines and on books like Guardians of the Galaxy) AFJuly 17, 2016 7:43 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 Well, they were already moaning about Claremont and how XXXX creator is a bully and jerk for not letting him do whatever Claremont wanted yet again. That's what 90% of the comments these days are. People still talk about what some of Grant Morrison's X-Men really meant. Claremont? They just talk about how unfair it is and how everyone else is meticulously bullies with him in crosshairs of a rifle ensuring he can never ever tell a story properly. Omar KarinduJuly 17, 2016 7:25 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 Hmmm...this was once an entry for a couple of issues of Doctor Strange, wasn't it? Omar KarinduJuly 17, 2016 7:24 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 My own sense is that there are a few threads to consider here. First, Nightcrawler was definitely Cockrum's creation, stemming from that rejected Legion of Super-Heroes spinoff that also produced the (very distant) original design for Storm and probably suggested the name "Tempest" for the Lightning Lad counterpart in the Imperial Guard. (And Fang came from the team of villains Cockrum had created to battle his "Outsiders;" for that matter, the Byrne introductions of Manta and Hussar look a lot like a couple of those villains too....) Nightcrawler was originally created as a "demon from Hell;" Cockrum had come up with him back when he was still int he Navy. In his CX-Men appearances, per John Byrne and Claremont, Cockrum really "pushed" Nightcrawler to be the breakout character, giving him lots of extra powers and screentime. Nightcrawler's proposed demonic heritage seems similar, and probably reflects Claremont collaborating with Cockrum to get Cockrum's ideas in print than anything else. Byrbe is ion record as being the co-plotter during his term with Claremont, and Cockrum was definitely a prolific character creator even at DC under the comparatively strict editorial control of Murray Boltinoff (about whose "rules" the less said, the better). If this takes blame off of Claremont, it also takes credit away from him; the All-New, All-Different X-Men's formative years were very much a collaborative process, and a lot of what Tvtropes might call "Franchise Original Sins" in the series reflect the results of that collaboration more than they reflect Claremont going mad without editorial control. Cockrum, not Claremont, was the superstar creator in the early days, for one thing; why assume he had less influence than that suggests, especially given his ability to import his own concepts wholesale into the early team? And Claremont never really stopped writing to his collaborators' strengths: the Bill Sienkiewicz issues of New Mutants are definitely written *with* Sienkiewicz* in many respects, with lots more hallucinatory and surreal sequences, and the entire gonzo Warlock and Magus stuff. With the exception of the artist-writers who do it all, comics are far too collaborative a medium to support the auteur theory as easily as some fans (and some self-promoting writers or artists) want it to. Even Alan Moore, famous for his ultradetailed, multilayered scripts, has been very open about the amount of creative and plotting work his artistic collaborators have introduced to his work. Claremont isn't really that different; if anything, he wears his influences and those of his collaborators on his sleeve, especially in the first ten or so years of his X-books run. * Hey, I always have to look up the spelling of his na e, so I'm gonna make it pay off! AFJuly 17, 2016 7:15 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 Why is it that people only have to "calm down" when they hate something? If I had written that exact same thing but being praising Claremont, I would've been told "well said" or whatever. And also fallacy: insisting on only the first point or a mistaken fact and then using it to invalidate everything else written. The hypocrisy of Claremont fans. Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 6:43 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 @AF: Calm yourself down as Paty herself told me in interview that Dave was the one who suggested Nightmare to Claremont. AFJuly 17, 2016 6:29 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 You all want to live in a world where Claremont is given complete autonomy of the Marvel Universe and no-one else is ever allowed to touch his toys and he is allowed to take everyone else's toys for himself regardless. AFJuly 17, 2016 6:19 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 And there I go probably getting banned from yet another site for a Claremont-based frenzy. AFJuly 17, 2016 6:18 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 First off, that was not Cockrum's pitch, that was solely Claremont's. Secondly neither is that Byrne's proposal - it was Gruenwald/Grant's. I really can't tolerate Claremont fanboys who think he is a saintly figure who was constantly hounded and bullied by everyone else in the industry... and it seems when fnord is on downtime, that is all this site is. And secondly, Roger Stern was goddamn right. Nightmare being Nightcrawler's dad is awful. It's the hacky sort of bollocks Claremont always puts forth. Nobody is normal, instead their bogged down with irrelevant nonsense that completely neuters the idea of mutant characters being the-underdog-who-could-be-you. Also, him stealing and co-opting another book's characters and making them X-Men villains despite none of it having any place within X-Men mythos at all. And when Austen eventually did something similar, you all said it was crap, yet had Claremont done it you would've blindly praised it. You got your crap Nightcrawler Ancient gypsy magic wizard incest sorcerer crap from Claremont anyway. Let Doctor Strange have his arch-enemy, rather than moan that Claremont didn't get to steal him to tell some more of his same old stories. And don't get me started on X-Men vs. Avengers and Magneto, it sincerely makes me want to thump everyone in the nose hard... Roger Stern is everything you all think Claremont is. He is an amazing writer, with long-term and short-term plans he sees through, who does layered stories, makes use of continuity and character relationships, and writes strong women. And unlike Claremont none of that is ever annoying, shambolic, monotone, irrelevant, gratingly transparent and go-nowhere. Basically what I'm saying is, stop throwing shit at everyone else to make Claremont better by sympathy. "Oh, Roger Stern ruined all Claremont's stories", "Oh, Jim Shooter and Byrne ruined Dark Phoenix", "Oh, X-Factor ruined Claremont's plans for X-Men", "Oh, Bob Harras ruined the franchise by firing him". Seriously, piss off. The man has had a sum total of 20 years on the book, if you're still moaning that Claremont didn't do stories and saying how unfair it is he never got to resolve a plot point from X-Men #97, then you are deluded. He has no intention of ever resolving or doing these little stories you have built up in your head as amazing. Whereas Roger Stern wrote 3 issues of a 4 issue miniseries then basically got cockblocked by Claremont and never got to do the last issue. Had it been the other way around, god, would you be crying like babies. Ugh, Claremont. UGH. Boils my blood. AFJuly 17, 2016 5:14 AM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) Here we go: https://67.media.tumblr.com/9c5c2b3de02213f3ba971cc30f1b50ea/tumblr_oagcanopwi1tms107o1_400.jpg It's possible they did a mock up because they didn't want to spoil the dissolution of the team, rather than planned to include them. AFJuly 17, 2016 5:12 AM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) "Yellowjacket is not on the cover to Avengers Annual 17 published in Marvel Age 64." To be fair, neither are half of the characters in Annual 17... AFJuly 17, 2016 5:10 AM Solo Avengers #12 (Yellowjacket) I don't mind this. Fills a gap and resolves (well, acknowledges) a character arc that never really got resolved. Good enough art too. By Avengers Spotlight standards, this is a peach. Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 5:06 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 @Tony and Brian: Further evidence of Stern's axe to grind with Claremont came when he rejected his and Cockrum's pitch to reveal Nightcrawler's father as Nightmare, yet greenlit John Byrne's proposal to reveal Magneto as Wanda and Pietro's father in direct opposition to Chris's plans. AFJuly 17, 2016 4:33 AM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 The Avengers and X-Men continuity for Mephisto vs. is the area of contention. If you were to remove Mephisto vs. from the equation, would there be any reason this series can't be where I'm saying it should be? So the problem then is with Mephisto vs., not X-Men vs. Avengers. AFJuly 17, 2016 4:31 AM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 Well, doesn't each issue begin with the team from the last issue still involved after Sue, Jean and Rogue are Mephistonapped? And I'm sure there'd be problems with saying any of those characters are kidnapped for long-term periods to fit in various issues between issues of Mephisto vs. Brian C. SaundersJuly 17, 2016 4:14 AM Doctor Strange #57-59 @Tony Lewis If you want to see "unkind," you should check the X-Men vs Avengers thread, where Stern wants to undo Claremont's Magneto characterization and quits when his last issue plot is rejected. There's a lot of back biting that Claremont has to take, and "Scott & Bunni" are the least of it. I'm surprised Margali and Amanda survived, although Stern's attempt to depower them was a fair shot over the bow. Claremont could and did ignore it. Nathan AdlerJuly 17, 2016 2:52 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Okay, I'm hopefully laying things out a lot clearer this time around:) The scenes in these issues showing Callisto transformed into a "billboard model" by Masque are perhaps intended to hint what the founder of the Morlocks had looked like before manifesting her mutant abilities, and the cryptic scene with the gang of thugs pursuing her down a dark alley was hinting at the circumstances. The only further detail Claremont provided for Lila Cheney's origins during his run was that someone on Earth had sold her to an alien who had forced her into fighting in intergalactic gladiator tournaments. The most logical villain from Claremont's run to have orchestrated the abduction of Lila as a baby would seem to be Mister Sinister, what with his modus operandi of kidnapping mutant children (and Nanny not being created at this point). As to the alien he sold her to, with Lila's powers working on the basis that she must have previously been to a particular location in order to teleport there later, and given that we find her teleporting across the Imperium in Uncanny X-Men #269 and 273-277 without explanation, I'd suggest the Shi'ar Emperor, D'Ken. As to why Mister Sinister would sell Lila to D'Ken, I'd suggest he did so in order to gain Shi'ar technology, specifically an incubation-accelerator (similar to the one Davan Shakari/ Eric the Red had used to age Magneto in X-Men #104) which he could use to accelerate his clones to adulthood. Or did Mister Sinister order Callisto's kidnapping, one of his Marauders sexually assaulted her – triggering her mutant powers to manifest – and she managed to escape, later being admitted to hospital to deliver Lila, at which time they returned and stole the baby (similar to how they kidnapped baby Nathan from Madelyne), and Callisto fled beneath the streets and helped form the community of Morlocks? The Morlock tunnels were known for blocking psionic scanning, so Mister Sinister would not have found out about their existence until much later, but when he comes to, does he order his Marauders to finish her properly this time, and everything she established? Might this also finally explain the reason as to WHY Mister Sinister wanted the Morlocks slaughtered? MichaelJuly 16, 2016 6:41 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 But the whole series DOESN'T need to happen at once- it's possible to assume that Rogue was trapped in Hell for several days Earth time between Mephisto Vs. 3-4. AFJuly 16, 2016 6:25 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 Think I've finally wrapped my head around something I was trying to say (it might make no sense): you're point is a paradox, which i really didn't need so close to sleep, if you're saying Mephisto vs. has to happen before X-Factor 13, and the whole series happens at once, then what about Thor's armor? As you said, Thor gets his armor at the time of X-Factor 15, so how does he have his armor in Mephisto vs? Plus, Mephisto vs resolves his Hela curse, so what you're saying is that a LOT of Thor appearances with the armor such as the Olympus story where he specifically names Hela's curse as why he's wearing it, are wrong. Tony LewisJuly 16, 2016 6:18 PM Doctor Strange #57-59 At the beginning of #57, Doctor Strange meets an annoying loudmouth who appears to be a send-up of Chris Claremont. Scott Montagu looks like Claremont and is an actor (Claremont started out wanting to be an actor), and his ladyfriend Bunni is into "the hocus-pocus stuff," as was Claremont's wife Bonnie Wilford. It's rather an unkind portrait, especially given that Stern is using several Claremont characters here (Margali Szardos, Amanda Sefton, Sara Wolfe, and the Eye-Killers). AFJuly 16, 2016 6:11 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 Well, Mephisto vs. is a continuity nightmare anyway. I'll admit not having read Mephisto vs. in years, I think I've read it twice? I like the Buscema art and really WANT the story to be better than it is. Isn't Scott thinking Maddie is alive the immediate result of Mephisto conjuring her and Nathan's image to torture him? And if there's any mention after that, seeing their image would justify any subsequent belief Maddie is alive for the rest of the issue, imo. Or is there another bit before all that? Possible explanation in case: the first stage of grief IS denial. Personally, I would say the Avengers continuity aligning should take precedence over Cyclops feelings towards Maddie (which have been inconsistent everywhere else anyway). That seems to be the only X-Men dependency you raised there (I'm sure there's probably some more with the Uncanny team's roster). Placing this where it is mucks up stuff with Namor, Thor and sort of Cap. Also Monica goes from being a bit leader-y in the Olympus story to taking a total backseat here, where it definitely reads better the other way around. There are a FEW references to Thor's injuries in XvA. I counted at least 3 on a cursory flip, I think that is too substantial an amount to say it's lingering injury and NOT the result of Hela's curse. Namor's absence in Mephisto vs. is a lot easier to just shrug off than his absence in XvA. Basically, I'm saying this belongs before Avengers #281-285. It should go: AV #279 (and #280 if you want?)> XVA #1-4> AV #281-285> Mephisto Vs #1-4. It's late here and I've already taken my sleep pill so I'm cognitively not quite able to work out or comprehend or even try to do larger contextualization. I'm sure there's an obvious thing or two about X-Men or X-Factor but I can't think. MichaelJuly 16, 2016 5:30 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 But what about Rogue? Mephisto Vs.2 takes place before X-Factor 13, since Scott thinks Maddie is alive in Mephisto Vs. 2. Jean is taken by Mephisto at the end of issue 2 and in issue 3 she's returned but Rogue is kidnapped. Thor gets his new armor in Thor 377-378, which takes place at the same time as X-Factor 15. And Rogue is only rescued in issue 4 when Thor's curse is lifted. So if we place it in between Avengers 279 and 285, how is Rogue appearing here? AFJuly 16, 2016 4:48 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 (sorry, a boat - not a submarine. Was thinking of the sub from X-Men #150. My point still stands. If this is after #285, Namor would surely be there since that is a mission that BEGS for his presence) AFJuly 16, 2016 4:29 PM X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4 In terms of Avengers, this definitely should take place before Avengers #281-285. Specifically, before the final page of #279 - but with #280 following, there's already a bit of a clunky break after Hercules is kidnapped and the continuation of that thread not being until #281, so just after #279. The reason for this is this is it features basically verbatim the line-up as shown in #279. It naturally fits there. All the status quos line-up for the characters. If we place it at the end of the Olympus story we have the problem of a few changes to the team and characters. Firstly, Namor's absence in this is hard to square. #285 ends with him (and Marrina) deciding to make new lives for themselves as Avengers. Him not being here after that definitely undercuts that point and is a clear indicator this should take place before hand. Especially considering we see an official meeting of the team in #1 and the story involves submarines, they definitely didn't have Namor sitting around off-panel on Hydrobase. Secondly, we have the Thor issue. Mephisto Vs. complicates this as well. #285 sees Thor depart with the intention of undoing Hela's curse. Here he is still wearing his armor, his beard and referring to injuries. You've come up with a solution that he's referring to other injuries, but the problem is instead Thor's quick return to the team. When he next returns to the team in Thor #390 it is treat as if he has not been back to the team since his problems. But, also, at the end of #285, we have a period where a week passes between the penultimate and last page. It's during this time in which Cap stops being Cap and I assume where you reckon this story should be slotted. But my problem with that is in that "week" we would have to have Thor's almost IMMEDIATE return after bidding farewell at the end of #285 in order to explain his involvement here. So the Thor chronology goes: Thor says goodbye to the team swearing he will cure Hela's curse, Thor does that, Thor returns to the team - as if nothing as changed with him, after a single mission Thor abruptly departs from the team afterwards without any acknowledgement, Thor returns weeks later. Plus, it's completely unspoken, but logically with the return of Namor in #285, Thor would feel less obligated to be a member of the team since now Namor is capable of filling his spot on the roster. Another thing that makes me want to place it before Olympus and closer to Under Siege is the Marvel Age cover advertising this did feature Thor looking exactly as he did in Under Siege. I know a cover to Marvel Age is in no way a canon, but it does finalize my way of thinking that it should be just before that final page of #279. drhouseJuly 16, 2016 2:36 PM Marvel Fanfare #27 (Spider-Man) Although probably one of the most historically insignificant stories ever told in the Marvel universe, it was purposefully done so, the charm in this type of humor is a part of Marvel's character that makes its way in moments like the end credits "shawarma" scene in the Avengers movie. AFJuly 16, 2016 1:55 PM Captain America #332-333 Having thought about it for most of the day, I would've quite liked to have seen a done-in-one issue with John fighting Batroc. Shame we didn't actually get that Batroc tale. Gruenwald probably takes the reigns as the best Batroc writer (not that it's a much coveted title, sadly). Lord_PengallanJuly 16, 2016 11:53 AM Inhumans #3-6 So... What we must think about the monolith? It´s still there, under the old site of Attilan? The monolith have been forgotten for ever? MichaelJuly 16, 2016 9:30 AM West Coast Avengers #38-39 I think the return of the Shroud refers to his appearance in West Coast Avengers 29. AFJuly 16, 2016 9:03 AM Captain America #332-333 From Marvel Age, preview of upcoming stories (as well as a bit of a Hembeck piece with Fred interviewing John): https://66.media.tumblr.com/9a66e5049283debd94a55dd907c7e137/tumblr_oaerylN6b91tms107o2_540.jpg Two things of note, that we never got include a Batroc story or a new Super-Patriot. It's possible the new Super-Patriot was intended to be one of Walker's old pals (who instead became Left-Winger and Right-Winger). It's also worth noting Gruenwald did eventually get around to introducing a new Super-Patriot some 100 issues later in the form of Mike Farrell. The hair depicted in the preview doesn't match any of them, but it's possible Tom Morgan was just drawing Super-Patriot on model (which would've been based on Walker as Super-Patriot). We also never got to see John tackle the Serpent Society (beyond a brief encounter with Diamondback), but that might've been a slightly inaccurate teaser for the storyline involving Steve which had the Serpent Society in #341-344. AFJuly 16, 2016 8:55 AM West Coast Avengers #38-39 Although this was a preview done long before his firing, back just before the Zodiac Attack storyline, there's still a few seeds that we never saw Englehart do, so here's some things we could've gotten if Englehart had stayed on West Coast: https://66.media.tumblr.com/6b86370eadd676398f5d6da58864ad2d/tumblr_oaerq3tRP61tms107o1_1280.jpg What we didn't see him do was: An Ultron story, ANOTHER Master Pandemonium story, a "new" Iron Man (in Silver Centurion armor interestingly) and the return of the Shroud. But, almost all of those happened within the first issues WITHOUT Englehart. Makes me wonder if the editor was plotting the book and telling Englehart exactly what to do, which would match some of Englehart's claims. We had the Shroud story as a fill-in in #40, but then with the start of Byrne's run we began with an Ultron story (although Iron Man wasn't there and it wasn't a real Ultron, not any semblance of a "villain or hero" aspect), we got that Master Pandemonium story and the "new" Iron Man all in quick succession. AFJuly 16, 2016 8:44 AM Avengers #281-285 The closest we have to knowing where Stern would go is a preview from 1987's Marvel Age Annual: https://67.media.tumblr.com/3f634292b3c47a9ac8ea0712910183dd/tumblr_oaer629idx1tms107o1_1280.jpg It's pretty well known that he intended to add Power Man and resolve the character's fugitive status as of the end of Power Man and Iron Fist. From the looks of things, he also may have intended to restore the Wasp to the team and intended to do a story involving the Fixer and Captain America (Stern has been pretty firm saying that the Heavy Metal story we got has virtually no relation to his idea, other than the use of "Fixer"). He also intended to continue to feature Marrina, be it as a member or just a supporting cast member, as well as bringing Wyatt across from FF with She-Hulk. Also the tease of possible romances between Monica and Luke/Monica and Dane or Wasp and Dane/Wasp and Luke. Or Dane and Luke. Ataru320July 16, 2016 8:03 AM Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12 I finally finished Secret Wars, and it really is as epic and great as advertised. The interesting thing about the series is just how it works both as an individual story that is self-contained while at the same time playing on all of the elements of the Marvel Universe and the history of the 25+ years of continuity that had been going on up to this point. You don't need to know anything about these characters to enjoy it, but knowing of their circumstances makes it all the more enjoyable. A few of my own personal thoughts on this: -There is a great balance of the dealings between the mundane and the spectacular of this universe from the characters that are involved. One of my favorite moments of this story is Spider-Man just admitting that he's way in over his head with all that goes on here but still dealing with things regardless. I also really like just the friendship of Galactus and Reed Richards and how in a way Reed is conflicted between letting the cosmic being win against the Beyonder's scheme or standing up to him to help protect his allies. -Obviously Doctor Doom is a highlight of the story but what makes him interesting is that he does admit to his own human problems even as he aspire for greater ambitions. He ultimately fails in an early attempt to steal Galactus' power and just decides to move on; while the concept of him trying to make peace with the heroes while still doing vain things like trying to save his mother from Mephisto or fixing his face really shows that he isn't as noble as he claims. It is interesting that he did offer the heroes a chance to leave but they didn't take it because Doom is so unpredictable, leading to the hilarious "bolt from the blue killing everyone" cliffhanger; and while I knew it would be undone and the way it was done is utterly ridiculous, I did like that it was Doom's own paranoia of needing to prove himself to someone that really sparked his own downfall. -Aside from Doom, there were quite a few other characters that did stand out in a good way: Reed and Cap obviously for what they did, but also Xavier as sort of this "wild card" character due to just how detached the X-Men had become due to Claremont despite still being in the same universe. Monica and Shulkie also impressed me; I loved Jen's battle with Amora early on and really while what she did regarding vengeance for Jan is questionable, she made a great stand until they all ganged up on her. Bruce's epic "holding up a mountain" moment was great, and Spidey was Spidey, even after he got his new costume that someday is going to have an obsessive desire to eat his brain...then again, no one realized that yet. On the villain side aside Doom, I liked the Enchantress and the Wrecking Crew. (which is weird in that they're all Thor-related but Thor was just...not as important as you'd think, especially with this coming in the midst of the Simonson run with the Malkith and Surtur elements building) I just liked Amora just being more a selfish villainess willing to use her female wiles and who is not as interested in the Beyonder's game and just wants out. -It's tough to say any of the new characters won me over with anything seen here. Volcana just felt like she was there to give someone for the Molecule Man to relay off of, and somehow I've seen Titania in better situations; let alone you don't' get enough of Jessica Drew. Likewise, I wasn't a fan of the whole "Zsaji" storyline and it didn't work to the advantage of Pieter in particular. Also sort of just felt Molecule Man himself was just there due to Shooter just continuing what he started with him with his Avengers run, and obviously Klaw was just sort of an annoying plot device. I'm a bit torn on Rhodey being there though: I did like it was him and not Tony as Iron Man but I think they were overplaying his "I'm the only black man in a world like this" bit at times. -And then there's the Beyonder...I sort of do like the playful nature of him as a cosmic being here who uses this "war" to study those involved and who screws over Doom at the end; if this was his only story, then it would have been fine...except of course then came Secret Wars II... - ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 2:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #102-103 Crossing genres isn't easy. When it works, it works and everybody loves it. "Casablanca" is a romance. There's war and spies and intrigue and musical numbers and the only real question is whether or not Rick and Ilsa wind up together. They don't, which makes the movie even better. When crossing genres doesn't work, it just doesn't work. It might work for me, but if it doesn't work for you, then there's no way for us to convince each other. In the long run it might be different, but in the short run one of us says "This comic sucks because...!" and the other is saying "You're wrong, this comic is great because...!" Half the fun of dealing with comics fans is arguing about this stuff. Of the examples you cite, it's very easy to agree with every single one of them that they're inappropriate and should never have been included. And it's easy to point to examples of how those inappropriate additions went wrong and ruined the series. Once the X-Men spend a year in space fighting various alien forces, there's no way to see them as mutant superheroes ever again. And Corsair being the founding X-Man's father [not counting Jean Grey or other retcons] is just stupid, I quite agree. I like the addition of new genres to superheroes, I think comics needs more of it. But there's the price of losing the audience that already exists, and I am not the sort of person who would urge comics creators to ditch the audience they have in favor of one they might have if they get things right. As much as I love Claremont's work, if I'd had an editorial position at Marvel in the early 1980s, I'd have probably told him to knock off all that extra stuff and get back to basics. ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 1:50 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 *Anybody who's currently flying on drugs and still says Bernard's poetry sucks can be ignored because, well, Bernard... Oh Bernard, how can we ever hope to live up to your standards? SIGH* ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 1:48 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 Bernard's poetry does not suck!!! He's reading a housewife's shopping list, that's genius, duh!!! You just aren't taking enough drugs to appreciate his genius. May God have mercy on your soul. :( ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 1:21 AM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 Better yet, a techno-ninja mutant, and she has a hidden secret. Something about a medallion. And her mother. I smell box office gold!!! ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 1:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Also, I agree with FF3 about the 'natural law' of Fnord's site, but I'd suggest it's tempered by how long he goes without adding new comics. When he's on a break, I've noticed a tendency for people to go back to Claremont comics, or Lee/Kirby/Ditko comics. However much affection we may have for a given issue of "Champions" or a run of "Marvel Two-In-One," without new comics to distract us, we always return to the most important parts of the Marvel Universe. ChrisWJuly 16, 2016 1:08 AM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 Well that's game, set and match. Is Byrne personally responsible for Phoenix killing the Asparagus People? Technically, yes. Is Claremont responsible for creating a dead ringer for Jean Grey that Scott would love and marry and have kids with and retire? Absolutely, but Paul Smith didn't draw her as Jean Grey. Even with the red hair, I'd bet a lot of readers were going 'huh?' I know I was, and I only read this stuff in back issues, knowing how it would work out. Marc Silvestri's Maddie looks a lot more like Mark Silvestri's Jean Grey and both of them look a lot more like John Byrne's Phoenix than any of Paul Smith's stuff. Why couldn't Scott have fallen for some hot brunette? She can become a ninja mutant and all, but that would have made things a lot easier for everybody. RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 16, 2016 12:55 AM Captain America #121-126 I'm pretty sure with Cream and Sugar on top that issue #123 features the 1st early appearance of Madame Viper, though I will Acquiese to the gods that distill Titos Vodka if astray and in desperate need of a spell check! ChrisJuly 15, 2016 10:32 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 Cosmic rays on earth passing through the magnetosphere/atmosphere doesn't cause people to get superpowers. It only happens in space in unshielded spacecraft pass that protective barrier. If you are looking for a coherent scientific explanation, you are not going to get one. This is comic books. ChrisJuly 15, 2016 10:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 I don't believe you can really blame Byrne for the Broccoli head people and therefore Shooter's response. Comics is a collaborative medium with many people involved - and that is only ONE panel. Lots of comics were doctored at the last minute in order to make editorially mandated corrections. It would have been very easy for that one panel to be replaced at any point in time, whether by the editor (who was it then, Roger Stern?), Shooter, or even Claremont objecting. Byrne could have been told to redraw the panel, or even gotten someone else to do it. Phoenix had already destroyed a Shi'Ar ship, so her villain status was established. They allowed it because they probably thought it was cool. Only afterwards did the moral repercussions sink in. The decision to kill the character was best. Any other ending would created its own problems. Either Jean escaped punishment, the Green Goblin amnesia dynamic kicked in, or the character becomes permanently evil which would really scar the remaining characters (particularly Scot). The decision to resurrect her was a mistake, and only happened at a relatively last minute in Bob Layton's X-Factor pitch when OTHERS decided it would be a good time to bring Jean using an idea by Kurt Busiek. It wasn't done by greed, but normal creative thinking. The character of Madelyne was also a mistake. Fine to give Scott a new love interest, and even have her be the one he marries. Very bad to make it a dead ringer for Jean. Mark DrummondJuly 15, 2016 5:59 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 The original ending to X-Men #137 was printed in Phoenix:the Untold Story. The Watcher wasn't in it. AFJuly 15, 2016 5:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 http://secretsbehindthexmen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/why-phoenix-had-to-die.html D09July 15, 2016 5:35 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 If the original idea behind Phoenix was that Marvel Girl absorbed a lot of cosmic rays and turned into her, then why didn't the same thing happen to Cyclops and Havok given that their energy blasts are also powered by cosmic rays? D09July 15, 2016 5:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 Again, were Claremont and Byrne trying to recreate the Norman Osborn/Green Goblin amnesia bit in this comic book? If so, it's a little tacky and disrespectful to do this to a hero. Ben HermanJuly 15, 2016 4:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 AF, I don't know why you think that the original ending to the story was going to have the Watcher popping up to pull out a deus ex machine. Here's how Byrne says it was originally intended to go down... "As Chris and I had worked out the details for the original shape of what came to be known as the Dark Phoenix Saga, Jean (Phoenix was still Jean then, turned evil by Mastermind) flew off into space, had an encounter with a Shi'ar ship, blew it up, and then returned to Earth. The Shi'ar pursued her, and, in the original version, captured and "psychically lobotomized" her. In this way, Dark Phoenix would be set up to become a recurring villain in the series." (http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33739&PN=5&TPN=1) In any case, we shall just have to agree to disagree about Claremont and "his awful stories afterwards." AFJuly 15, 2016 4:17 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 So you'd prefer to see a terrible lame duck of an ending to Dark Phoenix Saga, just so that you couldn't continue to complain about everyone but Claremont ruining his awful stories afterwards? Jay DemetrickJuly 15, 2016 2:38 PM New Mutants #89 It's possible Charlotte might have been carrying some of Archangel's... ahem... DNA at the time which let her through Ship's force field? Lol! Ben HermanJuly 15, 2016 2:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 @AF: The published ending of "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is amazing... if you ignore the fact that Uncanny X-Men is a monthly comic book series that has continued to be published monthly for the next three and a half decades, that the changed ending seriously impacted the storytelling engine of the series, and that because of this various major aspects of it were eventually retconned away in a very awkward, artificial manner. Now if Marvel had suddenly gone belly-up a year or so later, the last issue of X-Men was #150, and we never saw any of these characters again, then I would say "Dark Phoenix" ended perfectly. But that obviously did not happen. It is *really* difficult to successfully execute something like "The Dark Phoenix Saga" in corporate-owned comics, because inevitably someone else is going to come along and screw with it. How do you tell incredibly innovative stories that drastically change the characters without completely altering the dynamics of the book, much less pissing off the corporate heads who stand to make a ton of $$$ from licensing the characters? That's why I prefer creator-owned comic books. Erik Larsen can do whatever the hell he wants to on Savage Dragon because he owns it. He doesn't have to ever worry about a storyline getting axed or rewritten because Grant Morrison wants to be able to use the characters in a book that he's writing, or because Image Comics doesn't want to lose all the money they make from Savage Dragon underoos. AFJuly 15, 2016 1:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 If Shooter hadn't gotten involved, the story would've ended with an absolute wimper with the Watcher (yet another character completely irrelevant to the X-Men) showing up and fixing everything by removing her powers. Jean Grey doesn't overcome anything, the X-Men don't defeat the evil, no, just a Fantastic Four character shows up and resets things. We wouldn't've had one of the most iconic deaths in comics with her sacrificing herself or the character's humanity winning out with her love for Cyclops overruling the Phoenix. Claremont just wanted to wave it all away with no sensible resolution to any of the characters. And without that, it would've been a pile of narrative mess. It would not in a million years be considered one of the most iconic comic book stories ever. One of the nicest drawn ones maybe. Claremont was going nowhere, Byrne knew it and Shooter had to school him on how to properly end a story. Ben HermanJuly 15, 2016 1:26 PM Uncanny X-Men #132-135 It has been interesting to read various comments on this site about Chris Claremont's looooong run on Uncanny X-Men and how his various plans for the series were altered, if not completely derailed, due to a variety of factors. I have been thinking about this for a while now, and what I'm saying here is very much written with the benefit of 35 years of hindsight. I have come to the opinion that even though Claremont wrote Uncanny X-Men until 1991, his long term plans for the book became irreparably damaged with Uncanny X-Men #135, and he spent the next 11 years performing various types of damage control. What happened in #135 that caused such massive damage? Well, if things had gone as planned, originally there would not have been anything. The original plot that Claremont and John Byrne agreed upon was that Dark Phoenix would destroy an uninhabited planet, the Shi'ar would see this, panic, and attack her, and that would eventually lead to the original ending of the storyline, with jean Grey having her powers removed. Unfortunately, after they worked out the plot, Byrne changed his mind and, apparently without consulting Claremont, penciled the issue to include Dark Phoenix destroying the D'Bari planet... "[Claremont] kept making Jean more and more powerful. Even when I took pains not to draw it that way, we'd get the whole 'her power is a song within her' stuff. The X-Men were fast becoming fifth wheels in their own book...[writer Steven Grant] suggested that we just make [Phoenix] a villain. I wasn't at all crazy about the idea - Jean was a favorite - but it seemed very much a case of the good of the many outweighing the few: If the X-Men were ever to get their own book back, Jean could not continue in her present form...all the 'bits' that Chris came up with for the first rampage of Dark Phoenix amounted to pretty harmless stuff or acts of self-defense - so I had her nuke the Asparagus People, and everything snowballed from there." (http://www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2011/11/x-amining-x-men-135.html) Byrne transformed Dark Phoenix into a genocidal monster, and that resulted in Jim Shooter demanding that the ending of the storyline be radically altered, the result of which was that Claremont & Byrne decided to kill Jean Grey. That put a huge monkey wrench in their long-term plans, and eventually caused Byrne to depart the series a few months later. So what happens next? Well, at the time it must have seemed to Claremont that Jean Grey was absolutely, positively, permanently dead, no ifs, ands or buts. And back in the early 1980s that was an understandable assumption to make, since lots of marvel characters had died and remained dead. Of course, as we now know from three and a half subsequent decades, NO ONE stays dead at Marvel. So for the moment that Jean was killed, it was inevitable that eventually someone would bring her back. Claremont, really believing she was gone forever, eventually introduced Madelyne "Maddy" Prior to give Cyclops the happy ending that he was denied having with Jean. And, yes, editor Louise Simonson should probably have tried to talk him out of making Maddy a dead ringer for Jean. I suppose Simonson didn't think it mattered since she was probably also under the belief that Jean would never come back. But a few years later Jean did come back. So now Cyclops' marriage to Maddy was editorially undone, and he was written to abandon his wife & newborn son to run back to his miraculously resurrected girlfriend. Granted, even if Scott had married a character who didn't look like Jean this probably would have happened. But that aspect just made it even more weird & creepy how it played out. As I've commented elsewhere, I really think that Claremont never quite regained his footing after Shooter ordered Jean to be brought back, and this affected the last few years of his run to various degrees. Of course, none of this would have ever happened if Byrne hadn't decided to have Dark Phoenix destroy the Asparagus People. It really makes you wonder just how different the next decade of Claremont's X-Men stories would have been if Byrne hadn't deviated from the plot. Chris ZJuly 15, 2016 12:02 PM General Comments I have a longstanding question about Captain America's wartime partner, Bucky: When--in real time--was Bucky's birth name revealed to be James Buchanan Barnes? I assumed I'd find the full name in my Kirby-Simon reprint volumes of the first 10 issues of the 1940s Cap book; but he's only referred to as Bucky Barnes at that time. The same is true of the 1960s revival stories in the Cap Omnibus Volume 1--which reprints the Kirby-Lee and Steranko periods. My access to the 1970s-era Cap is spotty; but the earliest mention of the name "James Buchanan Barnes" I've been able to find comes in 1980's Cap #252, in the back-up feature "The Life and Times of Capt. America." Authors Roger Stern and John Byrne repeat the name late in their great origin issue, #255. Both are inveterate explainers of heretofore "missing" super-hero lore, and I can imagine they coined the name in their masterful Cap run (which I consider definitive of the character). But I can also imagine Roy Thomas filling in that gap in his "Invaders" run, which was the only place Bucky appeared with any regularity in the 1970s. The real James Buchanan was the 15th U.S. President, immediate precursor to Lincoln, and widely considered the worst president for setting the stage for the Civil War. Perhaps it amused Roy to redeem this discredited name through Bucky, the way Steve Rogers' 4F status was redeemed through his transformation into Capt. America? However, if Roy did coin it, it wasn't in the first 21 issues of "Invaders," which I have in reprint. FYI, the recent "Captain America: White" by Loeb and Sale has Steve Rogers refer to his sidekick as James, but that's an anachronism going by the publication chronology. I know there were other Golden Age books featuring Bucky, and roughly a decade of Cap stories in the 1970s where Bucky's full name may have appeared. Maybe I've overlooked something else. But I wonder whether readers of this site have any thoughts on the full name of comicdom's most famous fallen soldier? (NB: I posted the comment above in May, in honor of Memorial Day, on the page devoted to Captain America #251-252. I thought I might re-post it here in General Comments; I’m still interested in hearing from anyone who has an answer. This really is an enjoyable site, with commenters equal to the content.) mikrolikJuly 15, 2016 11:44 AM Avengers #83 Interesting how the story notes Whirlwind escaped at the end of Avengers 55, but since then, and including this issue, Roy seems to have dropped the whole "Janet's chauffeur is Whirlwind in disguise" plot. It isn't until Marvel Feature that it's picked back up. Andrew BurkeJuly 15, 2016 9:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Oh, I should mention that I did get the X-MEN: THE END trade paperback and enjoyed it all. I'm currently in the process of getting all the X-MEN FOREVER trades to see how that all goes. And my father got me the X-MEN: CHAOS WAR trade for my upcoming birthday this month, too. All I know about that story is that Claremont/Simsonson wrote it and that the story involves the missing Destiny Diary, which I think is pretty cool of Claremont to use, after he dropped the plot in the teen issues of X-TREME X-MEN. Andrew BurkeJuly 15, 2016 9:53 AM Excalibur #21-25 #21 and #22 are the only issues of this first run of EXCALIBUR that I like. The rest of it was okay, but I'm not a fan of Technet, the Warwolves, the Crazy Gang, Jamie Braddock, and other Marvel UK/Otherworld material as other people are. As a teen, I got the book until Claremont left with #34 and then got odds and ends issues here and there. But now I look back and don't think much of it at all. Andrew BurkeJuly 15, 2016 9:32 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I definitely agree about Nicieza being better than Lobdell. I look back now and don't think that much about the books after Claremont left. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't memorable, either. The only things I liked throughout all of that was the Onslaught storyline (and even that is because of the what was and what it was supposed to be angle) and I really liked "Psi-War" with, of course, the Shadow King. I did like Alan Davis' runs on both titles. I liked Claremont's return (more than anyone else did, of course). I didn't even touch Casey's run, or Austin's. I really LOVED X-TREME X-MEN. I liked Morrison's run, for the most part. I liked Claremont back again on UNCANNY. Then I mostly followed him with EXCALIBUR, NEW EXCALIBUR, EXILES, and NEW EXILES,as well as X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD. After Claremont left UX the third time, I didn't pick that book up again until Gillen's run, and then dropped it when Bendis came aboard. I really like what Cullen Bunn is doing with UNCANNY X-MEN. That's the only title I pick up now. I did read Casey's run from starting with the Necrosha storyline and followed the book to the end with Gage on the title. Magma...I like her. She's one of the ones who's fallen by the wayside. Dani was in FEARLESS DEFENDERS. Sunspot and Cannonball are Avengers. Karma was last seen in Liu's excellent ASTONISHING AVENGERS run. But Magma...and Wolsbane...just languishing in Comic Book Limbo. Ben HermanJuly 15, 2016 8:43 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 In the (probably non-canonical) X-Men: First Class Special published in July 2007, writer Jeff Parker revealed that Bernard the Poet is a latent mutant. Despite this revelation, his poetry still sucks, though. As per Michael's comment, Parker also stated in that story that the X-Men started going to the Coffee-A-Go-Go in Manhattan specifically because Bobby was interested in Zelda. ChrisWJuly 15, 2016 1:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #262-263 Totally understandable. Scott Summers between #137-200 and Illyana Rasputin between #161 and "Inferno" are the only genuinely successful plots he has to his credit. And the first one is the only time he's credited as the writer the entire time (excursions like "Secret Wars" not included.) When #262-263 were new, I was right there thinking the title had gone off the rails, which is basically the same reaction fans had five or ten years before me. We may come to the series at different times and respond to it differently, but in the end, we can all agree that Claremont's X-Men were gone by the time we quit, whether or not Claremont was still writing. PS, believe it or not, in these discussions, my first thought is 'dude, it's a comic book' and only going into detail from there. ChrisJuly 15, 2016 1:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #102-103 I'm generally not a fan of cross-genre stuff because I find mixing genres don't usually come off well. Claremont's inclusion of such materials often irritated me. I'm not consistent though, when it comes off well I don't mind. But they should be used sparingly enough that those elements don't become part of the mythos. It should be seasoning, but not part of the meal. Mutants are a science fiction concept, so I did not mind sci-fi elements like the Shi'Ar and space opera. Plus, the Shi'Ar were an important part of the Dark Phoenix Saga, so them showing up again weren't too bad. I disliked the Brood though, and Lila Cheney's space adventures were annoying. I could appreciate some space opera stuff, but not to the point where it seemed the X-Men were "natural" to it. They should seem more like fish out of water for it to work. Other characters are more appropriate for the space genre. And including Corsair as Cyclops' father was a big mistake. I didn't like the inclusion of any of the magical elements though. Amanda Sefton, the Ngarai, Magick and Limbo, and such never did it for me. They always seemed like intrusions that didn't fit. The Annual with Dracula particularly did not work. When such fantasy concepts took place in a science fiction veneer, like their adventures in the Savage Land, I was fine with it. I was fine with Lost Civilizations in the Savage Land. I couldn't tolerate Nova Roma in the Amazon though. It stuck out too much while the Savage Land at least was 1) an established concept, and 2) actually out of the place in Antarctica to limits its effects elsewhere. At the same time, I had no problem with Juggernaut's power being from a magic ruby. It was more traditional four color comics type magic, and other than as the source of his powers, Juggy wasn't particularly "magical" or "fantasy". Occasional light humor is OK provided it is a downtime type issue, a holiday type special, or is some unique thing. When it crosses over with traditional stories - like the leprechauns do with this Black/Tom Juggernaut fight, it just seems ridiculous. ChrisWJuly 15, 2016 12:14 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Feeling the love here. :) Re: Alan Davis, I might prefer Peter David, but I am on record ["Excalibur" #55-56] as saying that Alysdane's reaction to her court-martial and the Nightcrawler/Cerise kissing scene are the most Claremont comics ever written, and I mean that in a good way. The Marvel Method works as long as you don't get too in-depth into the stories. The advantage that the writer has is being able to get in-depth. For all their contributions, John Byrne, Alan Davis, fill-in-the-name, couldn't get very far. They were too busy working out the light source and filling in lines that an inker would just ignore. Even Jack Kirby had to finish a book that was set in Asgard, eat a quick meal, and get back to his drawing board to start drawing a WWII story. One of the things that makes comics so wonderful is that it's a visual medium, meaning the artist is the important person, and writing a comic is almost literally the definition of 'doing nothing' but when the writing works, it really works. But how do you get that across to another person? How do you write a "Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown" sequence? You already know the visuals, and someone still has to draw them. But, uh, ok, start writing. Knowing the characters, how do you write it? Schulz did it when he had the joke ready. A Marvel Method wouldn't have worked as well. Amara and Selene were just two more Claremont plotlines he never followed up on, and the next several years no one bothered with. Machines, I can see your point, but I could also see them as just being tools to work with [Sentinels, Warlock whenever he's the one who fixes things.] There's also a natural point being made about increasing technology - Pipeline, the Genoshan who uploaded people through the internet - and how it changes society. ChrisWJuly 14, 2016 11:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 He didn't look that happy in #181, although under the circumstances, that's understandable. And only at the end of #175, for that matter, but still understandable. Still, if your life can be reduced to a few hundred comic books and you only look happy in five of them, that's a bad sign. No wonder Scott went insane and his marriages fell apart. MichaelJuly 14, 2016 11:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Sad, I mean, not scared. MichaelJuly 14, 2016 11:05 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 He was VERY happy during X-Men 175-176, X-Men 181 and X-Men/ Alpha Flight 1-2. He only looks scared starting in X-Men Annual 9, which is the marriage started to fall apart. FF3July 14, 2016 11:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @ChrisW - That's a beautiful explanation of why the Marvel method worked! AND I've been wanting this entire time to say that I sometimes secretly think that Alan Davis is actually the greatest X-creator, and I suppose after you wrote that is as good a time as any. FF3July 14, 2016 10:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Actually, it's one of two things in the post-Claremont era that I actually get mad about. The other is the retconning of Nova Roma in New Warriors that then left both Magma and (to a lesser degree) Selene as hot potatoes that no writer really wanted to deal with. Was that Nicieza? At the time I'm writing this, fnord is getting tantalizingly close to that issue, and I've been looking forward to it for months so I can rant about a twenty-some year old comic and have people kinda care. FF3July 14, 2016 10:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @ChrisW - One of the reasons I love this place is that brilliant commentators always seem to find new things for me to reevaluate. I'm going to have to go back and read Nicieza's X-Men and see if I find the writing less stilted if I intentionally ignore that the characters sound "off model" to me. The part of the Claremont saga that I feel was most slaughtered by his successors, though, is one that I haven't seen talked about too directly here. One of his big ideas it always seemed to me was that machines were evolving in parallel to organic species, and that Xavier's Dream had to eventually accept that they were mutants, too, and part of a larger "humanity" that they would have to coexist with. Mark II Sentinels (when he was interning under Thomas and Adams), Warlock and the trans-modal virus, Nimrod, the dark techno-shamanism of Forge, Donald Pierce and the Reavers, Cameron Hodge seemingly merging with the Master Mold as he died, there being two Nannies, who were seemingly unrelated -- I still can't help but look at it and see the whole thing being connected in the background. But Quesada's Phalanx Covenant just tied the whole thing up in the dumbest, tidiest way. I'll wait until fnord gets there to really let my anger vent, though. But, I guess what I'm saying is that, at least for me, there is an appeal to the Claremontian style of constructing huge, labyrinthian, gordian plots even if they can never really be completely resolved. They have a certain kind of sublime beauty just for being so... I don't know, uncanny. D09July 14, 2016 10:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ChrisW About that happy ending thing for Scott, shouldn't he look a little more, I don't know, happy? I mean the guy looks perpetually sad during this marriage (and possibly the courtship too, but I can't remember at the moment). D09July 14, 2016 10:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #262-263 Personally I thought Claremont's plotting was starting to go to pieces even before the Dark Phoenix/X-Factor fiascoes, but that's just my biased opinion on the guy's run. ChrisWJuly 14, 2016 9:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Entirely possible. Very few writers in any medium whatsoever have had the success, fame and money Claremont had between 1977 and 1991. There's no way to know what his life was like in that period, or how his creative processes worked, or the effects of the business he was part of, the encounters with his fans, the paychecks, the characters he didn't like becoming extremely popular, finding out that something he'd really worked hard on had been re-written by the artist and the editor and he didn't find out until it saw print. That's why I think he was more of a go-with-the-flow sort of writer. John Byrne had to sit at his drawing board for long periods of time to make a single page, much less a scene, an issue, an on-going storyline. There's much less incentive to work on that awesome climactic full-page spread for Page 18 of #273 when you're fighting your way to make a transition work between Panels 2 and 3 of Page 4 of #261. If you do it this way, you get a good close-up of the character's face, but that won't leave enough room for the expository word balloon unless you cut the establishing shot, but if you do that the reader won't notice the change of scene, and I really wanted to use a lot of solid black on this page... Totally different ways of creating comics. In a visual medium, the artist's way of doing things is the best way. To his credit, Claremont usually worked well with his artists. But - and this is why I'm a Claremont fan - the reason I started writing all this was to comment on FF3's post about Stan Lee making things up as he went along. I don't think Stan did a whole lot of making things up as he went along as far as the plots went. He's a master at spontaneously making things work, and changing them when he has a better idea. As a savvy reader/editor, he understood the basic idea of on-going stories, and created the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, etc. with those in mind. He wanted to include romance/soap opera plots in comics - the 'will they or won't they?' question that were part of every early Marvel Comic - but I never got the sense he had any real interest in how those plots worked out. Mary Jane was a good plot twist, a way to make Peter Parker's life more complicated but never involving MJ herself. Johnny Storm and Crystal could pine for each other from afar after a single brief meeting, but there's no hint that it will go anywhere. It fills in a few word balloons or thought balloons here and there, some times the plot twist works nicely, but the tension is there, the way Lois Lane should always be suspicious of Clark Kent, nothing more. Stan gave more freedom to his best artists (Kirby and Ditko) and as the guys who had to sit at their drawing boards for long hours to make a single page happen, they were the ones who developed the storylines. Stan wasn't making things up as he went along so much as he permitted Kirby and Ditko their creative freedom, pulling back on the reins when he saw a reason. He'd have been happy if Peter Parker had been dealing with MJ and Gwen like Archie deals with Betty and Veronica. Once big things happen in the stories, Stan has to take more responsibility, picking between MJ and Gwen. I don't envy him there. I mean, who would you pick? [Please provide the answer on the paper provided. You have one hour.] Writers and artists approach the comic medium differently. Stan Lee and Chris Claremont knew who was doing the work. John Byrne, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were actually doing the work. And then the writers put their names on it. ChrisWJuly 14, 2016 9:27 PM Excalibur #8 Ok, how does Rachel - who has been obsessed with her father since she reached this period in time - just happily watch her mother - who she's loved her entire life but was outraged to discover is dead at this period in time - and her baby brother - who shouldn't exist as far as she knows? In "X-Men" #201, she was happy to meet the baby, but that can be attributed to an "AWWW CUTE!" moment. In "X-Men" #206, she freaked out at the very idea of meeting her father, whom she'd met several times before. [That was the same issue Madelyne was shot by the Marauders and rushed to a San Francisco hospital, and the X-Men were in San Francisco at the time. Odd coincidence.] She'd been going steadily downhill since meeting the Beyonder and nearly destroying the universe to stop him. Then there's all the stuff Mojo and Spiral did to her. And now she's just floating among the clouds, watching everything through a pane of glass. This girl has problems. ChrisJuly 14, 2016 9:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I think Claremont did have a plan, but he tended to lose himself with digressions and did not properly resolve certain storylines way past their end date. Rather than keeping things manageable by introducing new plots only when old ones were resolved, he kept introducing new ones that delayed resolution of certain plots. So as years went by, the number of outstanding plots kept increasing. And sometimes when he addressed those long ago subplots, no one cared anymore or at least had their interest greatly decreased. He needed a stronger editor. ChrisWJuly 14, 2016 9:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Definitely disagree on Nicieza versus Lobdell. I think Nicieza's dialogue was what he was best at. It wasn't *right* as far as the characters were concerned, but it was good for what it was. Granted most of the Nicieza comics I've read were plotted/drawn by Rob Liefeld, so any ability would stand out [wow, awesome lettering!] but I thought he was much better than Lobdell. I thought Lobdell worked a lot better coming up with ideas for "What The...?" than for Marvel's main franchise. Most of his ideas weren't good there (he had a few) but at least worth a chuckle or two. And neither of them could replace Claremont, either for ability or for the zeitgeist of when they happened to start writing. Claremont started writing when one could write comics for a few extra bucks, and stayed in one place for twenty years while the entire industry shifted. If it was just one book, that would be impressive enough [Larry Hama's "G. I. Joe" anybody?] but the X-titles became the anchor for the whole industry. I don't think it's possible to know or even guess how much Claremont made stuff up as he went along and how much he had a definite endpoint in mind for any subplots. Considering how almost every subplot we know of was changed by editorial, it's even more difficult. The one time I think we can definitely pinpoint an ending as being what Claremont intended was Illyana at the end of "Inferno," although the "Inferno" we got was obviously not what he intended. She would always be revealed as a little Russian-speaking girl trapped inside the Darkchylde's armor. Ok, but Claremont wasn't even writing her at that point. The best he could do was give her a few panels in "Excalibur" #8. The best he could do with his plans for Doug Ramsey was to have Rhane scream at Storm at the beginning of "X-Tinction Agenda." I think he had intentions for the subplots he introduced, but he also went with the flow, which is why so many of them never came close to being resolved. That's how he stayed in one place for twenty years. ChrisWJuly 14, 2016 8:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Cyclops at least got a big happy ending. I mean, big. After Jean died, he left the X-Men and spent almost 40 issues moping, meeting Lee and then Madelyne before getting married, and then it was another 25 issues when Madelyne gave birth and he intended to (mostly) retire. You can say Scott had earned the happy ending more than Peter did, but Peter had obviously earned something too, and the comparison of coming back from the dead naked in a NYC loft and being immediately adopted by foreign agents who hook him up with the ex-Morlock leader (who's now a hot babe supermodel even surpassing Mary Jane Watson-Parker, who had to *work* for her career) with Scott's six years - in publishing time - of suffering and growth... Words fail me. Andrew, I'm not disagreeing with you, just speculating freely on my own. Scott gets to go away for a while and who knows when he'll be back. Peter, it was a question of 'when,' not 'if.' [This also makes one wonder what would have happened if Claremont/Byrne had been allowed to go through with their original "Dark Phoenix" story. I think Byrne's statement on the matter was that she'd have become a recurring villain, but Claremont had already been working on Scott's growth as a person, like dating Colleen Wing when he previously thought Jean was dead. At least Jean-Colleen-Jean-Lee-Maddie-Jean makes sense, but what would he have done with Dark Phoenix as a regular character? Turn to Emma Frost? Uhhh, don't answer that.] Piotr WJuly 14, 2016 4:02 PM Werewolf By Night #27-30 Ha! Laugh all you want, but I think that Dr. Glitternight has a hint of solid concept in him. After all, he has the power to warp people's souls into demons... and doesn't he turn out to be some sort of god-like creature in some future story? What I know is that when, one day, I'll be writing the Doctor Strange series, I'll be bringing this guy back as a major villain :)) Matthew BradleyJuly 14, 2016 2:07 PM Ms. Marvel #20-21 "Sergeant Jim Whitmore" and his investigation of mysterious disappearances in New Mexico are a clear allusion to the 1954 SF classic THEM! RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 14, 2016 1:55 PM Defenders #47 Is MOON KNIGHT due to cross-over in Netflix Defenders offering? Andrew BurkeJuly 14, 2016 12:35 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I can't say I thought much of Nicieza's X-stuff, but I do like his later work, like THUNDERBOLTS and NEW WARRIORS. FF3July 14, 2016 10:12 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @D09: John Byrne? Is that you? ;) I jest. I don't think anyone denies that Chris Claremont... uh, I'd call it "engaged in a loose creative process," you can call it, "made shit up as he went." But part of that is just part and parcel to being a long-time writer of any serialized work, especially in a shared universe. And Chris himself would point to cross-overs and the X-Factor debacle as evidence that his hand was often forced to change thing (though his inability to coordinate even with the /Simonsons/, two of the most adored people in the industry, and his /friends/ to boot, is evidence that his ego really was a large part of the problem -- he had to be mature enough to realize he couldn't write every x-book forever). But I also think, by and large, he at least had an initial answer when a mystery was first introduced, which he would share with his editor and artist. (In contrast to, say, Liefeld, or even Stan Lee, who I actually think did do a lot of "Uh.... this is cool, I'll figure out why later" style writing.) And that's what creates the draw for me and many members of the cult of Claremont: trying to untangle what clues were meant to indicate at the time that they were written, so we can see how his vision evolved over time. Nicieza, by the way, I think was an fair plotter who had some wild big picture ideas, but had real problems writing nature dialogue, at least on the X-books. Lobdell, on the other hand, I think is probably the most underrated of the X-writers, but wasn't allowed to let loose enough -- because, presumably, of Claremont and Liefeld's legacy: when he had freedom, though, say in Gen-X or Age of Apoc, he shined. Andrew BurkeJuly 14, 2016 9:36 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I've always loved unsolved mysteries and plots in comics, combined with behind-the-scenes changes. Expansive speculation is always fun. But my interest in these kind of things isn't limited to, say, the Shadow King. The X-Men titles are just the place where there are more danglers than most other titles. You wouldn't want to get me started on the Hobgoblin. ;) Andrew BurkeJuly 14, 2016 9:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 It looks like Claremont did with Peter what he tried to do with Scott: Write him outwith a happy ending, and then bring him back every so often for the big battles? But he certainly didn't want him back for a while, not until #300, where he had planned to have Colossus fight Dark Wolverine and ultimately pull his claws out of him to stop him, all amidst the Shadow King storyline. Little did he realize that the writers who came after him would take Colossus and thrown him onto the Acolytes. Nathan AdlerJuly 14, 2016 6:42 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @AF: No, the Crimson King;) AFJuly 14, 2016 5:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Shadow King did it! Nathan AdlerJuly 14, 2016 2:22 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @FF3: My bad re: Eric the Red. And how could we have not seen it before? Mesmero isn't a mutant Skrull, he was the Impossible Man (it all makes so much sense now;) D09July 14, 2016 2:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 It could also be that its possible that half the time Claremont really didn't know what his next goal would be beyond the next 1-2 issues, hence we get things like "Who Is Eric The Red II?". Reason #59 why I don't like Claremont's run and prefer Nicieza and Lobdell's run. FF3July 14, 2016 1:19 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I will point out, however, that the colors argument doesn't really offer support to the theory beyond just not contradicting it. As Claremont kind of satirizes in New Mutants Annual 3, a green and purple code for villain. FF3July 14, 2016 1:06 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 There's some kinda natural law that applies to fnord's site, I think, that suggests that as the length of a thread under a UXM issue increases, the likelihood of it becoming about Erik the Red approaches one. FF3July 14, 2016 12:57 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 A cool consequence of this Mesmero-as-Super-Skrull-and-Second-Erik-the-Red theory is that it then becomes a neat little inversion of Changeling posing as the Professor while he prepared for the Z'nox invasion from the original run. James HoltJuly 14, 2016 12:41 AM Fantastic Four #17 Here we have more evidence that Ben can remain in his non-mutated form if he really wants to do so. For me it just adds weight to the argument that ultimately, for one reason or another, consciously or subconsciously, he just prefers being the Thing most of the time. ... and blaming Reed for it... James HoltJuly 14, 2016 12:32 AM Fantastic Four #19 There are some very good points here that I never really caught before, about Reed being a jackass sometimes, and indeed, even now, why not take Alicia back to the past so she can use the blindness-curing formula? It really does go to show how poorly thought-out many of these earliest FF stories were. There was a much-later retcon by Byrne in which it was "established" that Rama-Tut's ancestor was "really" Nathaniel Richards, rather than Victor Von Doom, and that Nathaniel was "really" the true inventor of the first time machine. Does anyone know whether or not that's still considered canon? Or has that retcon since been re-retconed? Time travel makes my head wobble. James HoltJuly 13, 2016 11:06 PM Fantastic Four annual #1 Khrushchev reportedly did actually bang his shoe, and his fist, on the table at the UN, as evidenced in this delightful set of photos from a google image search ... where we also see Superman banging one of his red socks on a table lol... I was hoping to find a video of it but after a short search was unable to do so, ah whell. LevesJuly 13, 2016 11:02 PM Avengers #28-29 I enjoyed Goliath's comeback and the fight with Power Man. It has an odd old-fashioned quality to it. ChrisWJuly 13, 2016 10:15 PM New Mutants #89 Charlotte was probably just the last example of Claremont's 'anybody can be a mutant' approach. Fifty issues later, he'd have had her shooting energy beams and flying. She already put on the costume. :D With Moira, she was under the influence of Farouk, who came from Egypt just as Ship's former owner Apocalypse did. It's also not clear where Legion's Jemail personality came from, but if it was the Gaza Strip, he'd likely have close connections to Cairo as well, and he's the conduit for the Shadow King. Heck, given how small the region is, even if Jemail didn't come from Gaza, it's unlikely he'd ever in his life been more than a few days by horse away from Cairo. It was probably a malfunction on Ship's part, or part of his programming from the early days. I'm beginning to think that something is seriously wrong in Egypt. James HoltJuly 13, 2016 10:00 PM Fantastic Four #12 Michael, I don't doubt that you're right... I actually started reading Marvels with the story which introduced Kraven the Hunter in Amazing Spider-Man, whatever year that was, and was immediately hooked. Then I later read these early FF issues as they were being reprinted in Marvel Collector's Item Classics, so my perspective on everything was a little skewed. There was no real back issue market at the time. One book store that I knew would occasionally sell old comics with the covers torn off (for return to the distributors for credit). I picked up many older comics that way, and also was allowed to read some of the older comics that my cousins and a few other neighborhood kids had collected. Thus I eventually read almost everything, but a lot of it was out of sequence. I had a great time with it though, and it immediately converted me from being a Superman/DC comics reader. I was probably about 9 and had been looking at Superman comics ever since before I was able to read. ChrisWJuly 13, 2016 9:50 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 I know Beale says here that he loved Dazzler, but I never took that literally. He's gone so far around the bend that he's likely gone from desiring her to wanting to control her to hating her to plotting revenge on her to convincing himself that he loved her to hating her for rejecting his love, etc. Dazz is a helluva drug, and this is a Claremont superhero comic. With Peter, it never remotely felt (to me) like a real retirement. Ok, he gets a happy ending and the guy's earned it, but he's lost his memories, his parents and sister have no idea what's happened, and the fact that his new girlfriend is the ex-leader of the underground Morlocks doesn't help. He might have been brought back a little early, but I never thought he'd stay gone for very long. MichaelJuly 13, 2016 9:45 PM Fantastic Four #12 James, the weird thing is that the idea that the Hulk gets stronger as he gets angrier wasn't introduced until Tales to Astonish 59- well after this issue. James HoltJuly 13, 2016 9:41 PM Fantastic Four #16 lmao! The main difference between these early '60s Marvels and the later comics that are based on them is that Jack, Steve, Don, and Stan really wrote these comics mainly for an audience of little kids, and didn't ever really intend for any of it to be taken too seriously. It was all intended to be read once, possibly twice, tops, in the context of the '60s, and only just for fun. Little did they realize at the time that those little kids (like me!) would still be reading comics after they had supposedly "grown up" or that later generations of readers would actually be looking at these old issues seriously, with adult eyes, trying to make sense out of them, and even building long-term, aspiring-to-be-coherent histories on top of them. Then sales rose beyond their expectations, so they had to go on! They hired younger writers and artists, like Thomas and Wolfman, even started taking THEMSELVES seriously, and (arguably) everything went to Hell in a handbag. They really had created a REAL monster! ... and so they had to live with what they had created... and they called it the Marvel Age... xD Nathan AdlerJuly 13, 2016 9:25 PM New Mutants #89 @Jay: Moira appeared to be in Rahne's room on the Ship in this issue, and Charlotte Jones passed through the entrance, not a separate shelter on the hull and particular attention was drawn to this through the dialogue as her colleagues couldn't. James HoltJuly 13, 2016 7:50 PM Fantastic Four #12 Thanks for the clarification Aaron, I suppose that is likely the origin of the well-worn phrase "card-carrying communist." Having read most of the 60's Marvels as a kid, many of them in real time, off of the spinner racks, my working idea was always that the Hulk's strength was potentially unlimited, based on the idea that the madder Hulk gets, the stronger he gets. Thus he was potentially stronger than anyone. By reading this story in FF #12 (a very long time ago), I had the idea that the Hulk was a bit stronger than the Thing from the get-go, but that the Thing had a few advantages, like being more intelligent, a better-disciplined fighter, and a better strategist. Jack and Stan seemed to be making the point that there was more to being the better fighter than mere strength alone. Thor could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk and seemed to be about even in terms of raw strength, but his mighty mallet gave him an edge. When he and the Hulk once went one-on-one in Journey Into Mystery, honor-bound Thor fought without using the hammer, and it came out in pretty much of an even draw, as I recall. However that story was only from Thor's point of view as he was recounting the fight to a group of young kids... and as Vince Bugliosi once said, "no matter how thin you make the pancakes, there are always two sides." That was Thor's side. Jon DubyaJuly 13, 2016 7:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 "This was also the point where Peter came back, and where did he wind up? Getting a (brief) happy ending with 'the most beautiful woman in the world' who caught his eye right here. No idea if Claremont intended to retire Peter (who was obviously much more central to the X-Men than Ali) but at the very least, he deserved a bit of happiness after the misery of the last several years. Claremont DID intend for this to be the "retirement" of Colossus. Indeed in was TPTB bringing Peter back into the fold that proved to be the "final straw" for Claremont and why he quits right in the middle of The Muir Island Saga. Oh and also Claremont clearly never read Dazzler: The Movie because Eric Beale never loved Dazzler, even then. The graphic novel made it clear that he has just using her for you-know-what (and because he was suppose to represent the generic "evil yuppie" archetype that was the rage around the time.) Jay DemetrickJuly 13, 2016 6:53 PM New Mutants #89 Ship has been shown he can rapidly construct vehicles and structures. It always confused me when people keep saying Ship was letting regular humans in. Back @ the end of Inferno I seem to remember Ship saying it would construct a shelter on its hull for Marvel Girl's parents. They weren't allowed "inside Ship" they were just inside a structure outside of Ship's hull. I assumed it was the same for Moira and Charlotte. cullenJuly 13, 2016 6:47 PM Fantastic Four #300 Yeah Jeff, count me among the Marvel fans who has *absolutely no problem* with the characters aging, passing the baton, etc. JeffJuly 13, 2016 5:53 PM Fantastic Four #305 Just like back in the '70s, Engelhart gets real-life time and comic book time confused when Crystal refers to "that was last year" ... although, given the odd month-to-month gimmick of the V&SW series, perhaps for once he is correct? (Yes, I'm one of ths guys that prefers Engelhart's '70s output to his '80s). JeffJuly 13, 2016 4:09 PM Fantastic Four #301 Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 17 have X-Men vs. the Fantastic Four after issue 304. JeffJuly 13, 2016 3:57 PM Fantastic Four #300 Fnord, loved your analysis of marriages, babies and divorce aging the characters... Marvel has spent about 45 years trying to shy away from that -- basically Reed and Sue's is the only marriage that sticks! However, at the time I'm writing this at least (post 2015 Secret Wars), it seems Marvel may finally be ready to let its older characters reflect the amount of time that's passed. A lot of that is due to legacy heroes... on top of older characters like Falcon as the new Captain America, the original Ms. Marvel as Captain Marvel and Jane Foster as the new "Thor," we have a new Hawkeye, Nova, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Hulk, Wasp ..heck they've even set up Doom as a new Iron Man. In fact, the Miles Morales Spidey is such a fan favorite that it quite seems lately Marvel is ready to finally let Peter Parker... *gasp* be a grown-up (which, of course, he's actually been since finishing grad school in 1978!) So who knows.. maybe the illusion of change is finally giving away to ACTUAL change! Nathan AdlerJuly 13, 2016 3:39 PM New Mutants #89 @ChrisW: While I have Marfan Syndrome, its inherited and not an RNA mutation (and I haven't been possessed by the Shadow King). So I'm not going to be granted access to the Ship. Ooh, now Charlotte Jones was also granted access. So perhaps she would likewise end up revealed as another under SK's influence if Claremont had stayed on;) RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 13, 2016 3:15 PM Avengers #43-44 PLEASE MARVEL bring Alexei Shostakov Back to life.. The "Red Guardian" character never had his due and one of the most Iconic JOHN BUSCEMA Covers in Marvel history is (like Roy Batty says) a fading memory "Like Tears in the Rain" RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 13, 2016 3:04 PM Fantastic Four #11 Impossible Man was clearly the most irritating entity in the Marvel Universe. His persona being reminiscent of the Omnipotent Bratty Kid (played by Bill Mumy) in Season 3 Episode #8 of the (Rod Serling) TWILIGHT ZONE Series "Its a Good Life" RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 13, 2016 2:56 PM Avengers #264 Rita DeMara was a very sexy character that had legs (no Pun intended)Marvel could have extended due to her passionate personality (ok she has a Hot Libido). Ben HermanJuly 13, 2016 1:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Maybe the Shadow King is the secret mastermind behind the Cockroach Conspiracy :) George LochinskiJuly 13, 2016 12:11 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 There ain't enough time on the calendar for this shit! mikrolikJuly 13, 2016 11:40 AM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) I suppose if you had any of the old Essentials books (printed in black and white), you could use them as coloring books... Andrew BurkeJuly 13, 2016 11:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @DO9 Ah, the Cockroach Conspiracy...I sort of know about that one. I read about it on that very site a few years ago. Cecil DisharoonJuly 13, 2016 10:42 AM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) OH wow, anyone have this as a coloring book? James HoltJuly 13, 2016 7:54 AM Fantastic Four #11 It might seem pointless to provide Ben with yet another shirt and pair of pants, since he's likely to rip them to shreds at the earliest opportunity, just like he did in issue #3. He seems to prefer running around in his skivvies, not that there's anything wrong with that. Alternatively, maybe this is actually Ben fucking with Reed, rather than the other way around, if one considers that it was later established, or retro-fitted, that Ben could have turned his powers off and on at will just as easily as the others, if not for his anger-management issues. I agree that it's Ben's anger that turns him back into the Thing in the scene shown above. This was also a common device used for explaining why Bruce Banner changed into the Hulk. Ben, at every opportunity, shows that he prefers being a rage monster, while simultaneously blaming Reed for it. Beating up on kids? Ben is the only one shown terrorizing a kid, notably the kid who idolized HIM, and also calling him "Shorty..." WTF? Of course he's shorter than you are Ben. He's a KID. Wow. Lot's of name-calling in these early issues, which we can attribute to Stan Lee as the dialog writer/editor. I agree with Todd's comment that "welcome back to the human race, pal," was an asinine bit of dialog, which I would also attribute to Stan. Speaking of Stan (and Jack), we often see later creators taking credit for being the first to "break the fourth wall" in comics by speaking directly to the readers, but here we Jack and Stan doing exactly that. AFJuly 13, 2016 7:17 AM Avengers #273 I think the combination of discrepancies definitely make it non-canon. Treat it as a "deleted scene", I say. As for Firebird, maybe she was just popping in between adventures and - due to her repeated association with the team - Zemo, much like Marvel editorial, decided she was basically a member anyway. Erik BeckJuly 13, 2016 6:22 AM Avengers #273 AF - That is a blast from my past. It was the only issue of Marvel Age I ever bought because it gave a year worth of previews. But, as I recall, there were other things in that issue that never came to pass - after all, Firebird didn't actually join the team at this point and she became Espirita before she next appeared. I would go back later after the year was done and check all the other things that were listed in that issue that never ended up happening - fascinating to see what was planned that never came to be. So would that be considered canon? I agree with you, that at some point they should have included it in a reprinting of Under Siege - it would have been a nice bonus. ChrisWJuly 13, 2016 3:07 AM New Mutants #32-34 He met Shaw??? Never mind Tessa and that chick I've never heard of (and Wikipedia tells me I don't want to know any more) he met Shaw on that trip? So basically Xavier's travels after Moira ditched him for Joe became the main pillar that the X-titles would build on after that. Well now I am depressed. [/Blazing Saddles] VtCGJuly 13, 2016 2:59 AM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) Isn't the big red fellow Amphibian from IH #269-70? ChrisWJuly 13, 2016 2:55 AM New Mutants #89 It's in Ship's basement. Go get it. PeterAJuly 12, 2016 11:43 PM Namor #15-20 It'll happen in the late 90s, Ka-Zar v2 issues 15 and 16. I remember the cover with Kazar's eyes bandaged and a big Punisher symbol behind him a la Spider-Man. D09July 12, 2016 8:18 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Andrew Burke: Will this be anything like the Cockroach Conspiracy over at the Marvel Appendix site? FF3July 12, 2016 8:17 PM Namor #15-20 I was wondering today absently if Ka-Zar and Punisher had ever met, so I used the two-character search to check the years that fnord has covered hitherto. Alas, I only found this false positive. Ataru320July 12, 2016 7:26 PM Captain America #163 @RocknRollguitarplayer: Mark Grudenwald for starters. AFJuly 12, 2016 6:51 PM Avengers #273 There's an extended scene (or scenes) that take place during this issue that is featured in Marvel Age Annual #2. It's written by Stern and I believe the art is handled by the artists of each book it names where appropriate. http://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8rzn8iiA01rvm5qqo1_1280.jpg Interestingly, the Captain America bit sets up a Man-Thing appearance that never happens in Cap #324. There's also a panel where Zemo is shown with the Masters of Evil shrouded in the background and we can clearly see Screaming Mimi's hair (although, it COULD be Hyde's), at this point in the story she was gone. Basically, it's just a bonus bit. A bonus bit they've not included in ANY of the various reprintings of Under Siege. RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 12, 2016 6:36 PM Captain America #163 OK this is a NO Brainer... David Icke Conspiracy Theorist has nearly single-handedly given the Global populace a reason to contemplate the possibility of a Reptilian race that may have walked the Earth and that may still have influence on a technologically Anesthesized Human race... And if you have enough TEQUILA it is some of the greatest prose for late night reading!:) RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 12, 2016 6:29 PM Avengers #69-71 C'MON Marvel we need some Squadron Sinister with lethal costume upgrades. The NightHawk/Batman character has a real chance to lead this prospective new Dark and twisted Superhero/Villain Group (this conflict by itself kicks some Keester) and maybe Parlay into the Marvel Multiverse concepts and perhaps even a Defenders crossover. Marvel give the gentleman writing the NIGHTHAWK NEWS some Props and purpose! AFJuly 12, 2016 6:27 PM Captain America #355-357 Surprised nobody else has brought up that all the solicitations and previews for these issues promised a storyline involving Captain America battling Taskmaster and attempting to shut down his schools. Not only did it not happen in these issues, it never happened. I was thinking it may be because Taskmaster was set to appear in (a single issue of) Amazing Spider-Man but that was apparently a year earlier. Taskmaster wasn't appearing anywhere, so it wasn't that. But I think the likely explanation is the art demands on Captain America were becoming too much. Not only is this story not drawn by the then regular artist Kieron Dwyer but starting with #357, the comic begins running back-up strips by different artists that will remain a fixture until the early 400s. So, instead we get this filler story. Which is a shame because I definitely would've been up for the original story with Cap facing Taskmaster. RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 12, 2016 6:11 PM Avengers #157-159 The Graviton Character is an under utilized asset in the Marvel Universe in need of updating. The brief exposure i had to a Franklin Hall character made for an interesting and conflicted persona with many potential applications for modern usage. RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 12, 2016 6:02 PM Avengers #152 A WONDER MAN resurrection is just what the Doctor ordered for the next Iron Man film... StevenJuly 12, 2016 1:44 PM Avengers #161-162 Wasp is also elevated here. Prior to this story, Wasp has only been relevant five times in this series: 1. She names the team (Avengers #1). 2. She is injured and hospitalized (Avengers #14), She names The Vision (Avengers #57), she gets married (Avengers #59), and she is injured and hospitalized (Avengers #137). She barely registered in my mind in other issues. From this point forward, I like her more. Cecil DisharoonJuly 12, 2016 12:30 PM Jungle Action #11 Don also designed most of these splash pages, with Steranko in mind. Only later Tony LewisJuly 12, 2016 12:29 PM Fantastic Four annual #2 Latveria is first described as being in the Bavarian Alps, but later in this same issue it is said to be in the Balkans, so the confusion was there from the start. Fantastic Four #39 says it's in the Bavarian Alps, but then Avengers #25 says it's in the Balkans, which is where it still is in Fantastic Four #84. After that, it jumps back and forth between the two with no rhyme or reason. The location in the Balkans is given in Captain America #132, Hulk #143, Super-Villain Team-Up #5, Uncanny X-Men #146, Iron Man #150, and Cloak & Dagger v.2 #10. However, the Bavarian Alps locale is given in Astonishing Tales #1, Master of Kung Fu #59, Dazzler #3, Marvel Two-in-One #96, and Fantastic Four #258. Punisher #28 says it shares a border with Austria, so I'd put that in the Bavarian Alps category. However, Punisher #29 then says Latveria is a Baltic state, apparently confusing it with the real-world nation of Latvia. After that point, I have no idea. But clearly, even the publication of the Official Handbooks did not clear up the confusion. Cecil DisharoonJuly 12, 2016 8:56 AM Jungle Action #6-8 Here's a link to a great, transcribed Skype interview with Donny McG, Nathan AdlerJuly 12, 2016 7:48 AM Fantastic Four annual #2 The 16th century alchemist, Philip von Hohenheim, known also as Paracelsus, provided a recipe for creating the homunculus in his work, De Natura Rerum. This recipe used a horse as the surrogate mother of the homunculus, and the semen of a man is left inside the animal’s womb to putrefy for forty days, before a little man is born. Rather than using the homunculus to perform magical feats, Paracelsus instructed that the homunculus ought to be “educated with the greatest care and zeal, until it grows up and begins to display intelligence.” Paracelsus also claimed that the procedure for making the homunculus was one of the greatest secrets revealed by God to mortals, perhaps suggesting that the creation of artificial life is divine wisdom that may be used by human beings. So was Victor's "father" in fact a Gypsy equivalent to Paracelsus (who likewise operated in the Bavarian Alps, the original location of Latveria), and the trunk of potions and artefacts was his and not that of a "mother" (and he inseminated an animal which went on to "give birth" to Victor)? Nathan AdlerJuly 12, 2016 4:46 AM New Mutants #89 @ChrisW: Recall Moira's under the influence of the Shadow King at this stage, so Ship is likely picking up on his residue inside her. Now where's my No-Prize! Brian C. SaundersJuly 12, 2016 4:42 AM New Mutants #89 @ChrisW Through the power of Liefeld? Or it was an early Ship malfunction? Or Moira's got a funky gene structure that Ship allows through. She did go on to get the Legacy virus. ChrisWJuly 12, 2016 4:00 AM New Mutants #90-91 Rictor picks strange times to take off his jacket and put on a sleeveless shirt in this issue, and then take the shirt off and put his jacket back on. It's mostly just for one panel (as in the "Don't laugh at me, you animal" scene showed here) and we never even see him changing. I don't know why, but I've been re-reading the first five "New Mutants" issues with Cable, and they really do suck. ChrisWJuly 12, 2016 2:48 AM New Mutants #89 How did Moira get so far inside Ship to get to Rhane's room? They're clearly well below decks, so this isn't the sort of dwelling on the hull that Ship created for Mr. and Mrs. Grey. Nathan AdlerJuly 12, 2016 1:29 AM Daredevil #100-101 @Andrew: Yep, which is why I've always argued that we should see a Marvel/ Dark Horse crossover where he goes up against Predator. Could be really interesting, hey:) Nathan AdlerJuly 12, 2016 1:27 AM New Mutants #32-34 @Michael: The Himalayas was first mention in X-Men #20 written by Roy Thomas, however Claremont later changed the location of Xavier's crippling by Lucifer to Afghanistan, Tessa finding his broken body there directly after (cf. X-Treme X-Men #44). RocknRollguitarplayerJuly 12, 2016 12:38 AM Champions #11-13 It is clear that if the Stranger doesn't go up in size on that Red Marble bag he wears that he will be needing to replace his own Gem stones. The Champions are another great Super-Group in need of a re-write and wardrobe change. They need to go a bit more West Coast Biker Gang and let a newly revised Marvel Ghost Rider lead the way! AndrewJuly 11, 2016 8:39 PM Daredevil #100-101 If you accept that DD has an actual organic radar sense (as opposed to sonar, which would be useless in the cockpit), in combination with the ability to feel every little shift and shudder of the plane, you have to figure he could probably fly better than a sighted person. MichaelJuly 11, 2016 7:56 PM New Mutants #32-34 The chronology was Kirinos-Cairo-Israel-Tibet. Yes, this was the trip where he was crippled. And later writers established that shortly after he was crippled, he met Tessa, Sebastian Shaw and Amelia Voght. Omar KarinduJuly 11, 2016 7:53 PM Captain America #153-156 O'Neill liked old private eye novels, which is probably where he and the others picked it up. Cecil DisharoonJuly 11, 2016 5:02 PM Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 Indeedie; according to Comic Book Artist #6 (which I found linked through this site!), Jazzy Johnny initially gave Pete an extra set of legs! Oh, sorry, Mark already made this observation from another interview. AFJuly 11, 2016 4:21 PM Avengers #271 Every reprinting of this issue over the years has featured the corrected coloring from #277. Matthew BradleyJuly 11, 2016 2:42 PM Marvel Team-Up #74 Luke, I think Claremont was clearly acknowledging that when he had Belushi say (in page 30, panel 3), "Help! I need somebody!," which is a lyric from the title song of that Beatles film. fnord, I know Rick Jones was invoked, but couldn't find him actually on-panel; did you? SharJuly 11, 2016 12:56 PM Captain America #153-156 Yeah, Denny O'Neil used that term frequently too, over in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, usually spoken by antagonists to Black Canary. This would have been in the early 1970s. Mark DrummondJuly 11, 2016 11:47 AM Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 In Comics Journal #222, John Romita claims that the extra-limbed Spider-Man was his idea. He also states that Gil Kane would plot issues with Stan Lee and sometimes co-plot with Romita, but he didn't specify which issues(presumably #100 was one of them). Andrew BurkeJuly 11, 2016 10:50 AM Captain America #169-175 You're right. I'm sorry. I tend to go off on tangents like this sometimes. I was mostly just answering MOCK!'s question, but I did go off too far. As I mentioned in another thread, I am working on creating a website revolving around the Shadow King and I plan to include a forum there once things get going. But again, sorry about the tangent, and thanks for pointing it out. Andrew BurkeJuly 11, 2016 10:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 The assassination angle with Callisto is an unlikely case, to be sure. However, in regards to Colossus, Claremont wrote Peter out of the title in #264 and intended on leaving him out. He had no plans for Colossus to return so soon, not until close to #300, where he intended to have Colossus and Dark Wolverine battle. Good old Bob Harras made Claremont bring him back sooner, hence why Colossus was possessed into breaching the X-Mansion. I don't know anything about the Callisto myth, so I can't comment about it, but having the Shadow King involved with Callisto's history would be just another way Farouk was controlling everything and everyone to his advantage. I think I will mention here that I'm currently creating an entire website revolving around the Shadow King. It will feature such things as pages of each and every one of his appearances in chronological order...and this includes EVERY BTS appearance and EVERY intention that Claremont had in mind. Right now, I've gotten to the point of UNCANNY X-MEN #175 (when he was influencing Mastermind). It's been quite an undertaking, I have to say, and I still have many stories to chronicle. I'm also including pages of his pawns/hosts (including Farouk, Karma, and even Elias Bogan) and his enemies (we all know who they are). Out of all X-Men characters, I find the Shadow King to be the most interesting of all, and I have always been fascinated with him and his history and influences on such a wide variety of stories and characters. AFJuly 11, 2016 10:40 AM Captain America #169-175 Have you thought about starting a thread on the forum and just directing folk to that when you want to re-iterate your speculation and theories with regards to Claremont? I'm always facepalming but at least they're appropriate on Claremont issues of X-Men. Just on an entry about Captain America issues, it is incredibly tangential spam - especially at that length and the fact it's not remotely canon and your behind-the-scenes facts are muted underneath your rationalizing (and have nothing to do with this Cap story at all). Although conversely I am perversely interested in seeing how irrelevant a book you can attach one of your "Shadow King did it" posts to. Andrew BurkeJuly 11, 2016 10:26 AM Captain America #169-175 @ MOCK!: In his original plans, Claremont says that he intended the Shadow King to take control of Mastermind behind-the-scenes while Wyngarde was a helpless prisoner of the Secret Empire. One of the Shadow King's various plots was to gain control of the mutant Rogue and turn her into his Shadow Queen, his ultimate host. For he had much use for Rogue's absorbing powers. His plan was to maneuver Rogue into joining the X-Men so she would be his sleeper agent. While a part of the team, she would absorb and catalog the various powers of enemy mutants and also heroes, teammates, and other allies. To this end, the Shadow King influenced Mastermind into seducing Carol Danvers (shown in a scene in MS. MARVEL #25, which was published later in MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #11). Had the book not been cancelled, more seduction scenes would have occurred, leading to the corruption of Ms. Marvel. We would have read a Dark Ms. Marvel storyline with an endgame where Ms. Marvel would have attacked and nearly killed Rogue (something mentioned by Rogue herself in UNCANNY X-MEN #182...Claremont usually wrote his later stories as if his cancelled stories saw print, even though they hadn't). This was so Rogue would go to the X-Men for training. But instead, unforseen by the Shadow King, Rogue sought revenge for nearly being killed, which led to the battle that took place between Rogue and Ms. Marvel just before the opening pages of AVENGERS ANNUAL #10. In the meantime, the Shadow King indulged in another one of his interests: the Phoenix Force. Note the symbol of the Phoenix upon Farouk's astral helmet in UNCANNY X-MEN #117 during his psychic battle with Xavier. This indicated his interest in the Phoenix Force, something started in X-MEN: TRUE FRIENDS #1-3 when Farouk first encountered it via a time-travelling Rachel Summers. To further his plans, the Shadow King influenced Mastermind into seducing Jean Grey. Note that Mastermind was using a mind tap device given to him by Emma Frost to enable him to cast his illusions directly into someone's mind (which was done with Carol Danvers as well). However, this mind tap device would not have given Mastermind the further powers he was shown to be using during the Dark Phoenix Saga. These further powers were a sign that Mastermind was under the control of another powerful telepath (the Shadow King). Of particular note: Proteus was unable to take control of Wyngarde's body around #125 because of psychic shielding, a power that Mastermind did not have but the Shadow King did. Also, in #133, Mastermind somehow pulled Cyclops into the astral plane and nearly killed him, something not in his ability to perform but is a part of the Shadow King's arsenal of powers. Of course, we all know how things played out with Jean. So the Shadow King abandoned Wyngarde to Jean's clutches. Years later, the Shadow King resumed his plot for Rogue. He once again took control of Mastermind and influenced him into creating a terrible illusion within the mind of Rogue's foster mother, Mystique. Destiny mentioned later that whoever instigated the nightmare was an entity that operated on the "fundamental levels of space and time itself", something that better describes the Shadow King, not Mastermind. The Shadow King-influenced Mastermind then maneuvered Rogue into abandoning her loved ones and seeking out Xavier and his X-Men for help. The Shadow King also influenced Xavier into accepting Rogue into his school. The stage was set. Everything I've said here in this paragraph was shown to have happened this way in the pages of X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001 via some flashback panels. To be fair, the Dark Phoenix storyline involving the Shadow King's influence of Mastermind was not revealed as such on-panel, however, but that was Claremont's intention, and you can tell this was meant to be through the way Mastermind was used throughout the storyline. But in the case of UNCANNY X-MEN #169-175, the Shadow King's influence of Mastermind and the events therein were revealed in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001. So, basically, this storyline with the Secret Empire had an untold influence upon the lives of the X-Men, Rogue, Ms. Marvel and others later on, although this was never revealed as such on-panel. Nathan AdlerJuly 11, 2016 10:04 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Andrew: However, the Shadow King used Colossus to breach the X-Mansion. So not sure about that angle. The Callisto origin possibility has some narrative sense, but to parallel the myth properly it wouldn't be a street gang that or whatever but a powerful being which is what I'd suggest Claremont had the gang portrayed with masks for, to hint that it had been a masked Marvel character that had originally raped her (the event causing her mutant powers to first manifest). There are two variants of the Callisto myth (Callisto = "most beautiful"), from Hesiod and Ovid. Both have Hesiod as one of Artemis'/Diana's virgin nymphs, deceived, seduced, and raped by Zeus/Jupiter. As with most Greco-Roman myths, the girl is blamed for being raped and being impregnated. Hesiod has Calliso hunted and destroyed by Artemis. Ovid has Callisto transformed-to-bear by Juno (Hera) version, which ends with Callisto being hunted down to death by her own son Arctor. So, candidates for a powerful seducer who might have a powerful and vindictive female partner? Sebastian Shaw comes to mind, although later revisions would make Emma Frost too young to be the one who disfigures Callisto. Other possibilities!? In whatever instance, is the mutation is triggered not by the initial attack but by a second "revenge" attack from a party associated with the attacker. Nathan AdlerJuly 11, 2016 9:56 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @Andrew: Perhaps he was a K-Class Skrull that managed to not get terminated at birth, and then fled his home empire and sought refuge with the Shi'ar. Andrew BurkeJuly 11, 2016 9:50 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Given that Masque lived underground and had no money, I'd say he was able to set up Callisto as a model and paid for the billboard by funds provided to him by Reisz/Shadow King,and in turn Masque agreed to obtain the access codes to the mansion so Farouk would have access to it. And being Masque, he certainly got his kicks messing with Callisto, furthering his own twisted needs. The thugs in the X-Men masks...I'm not sure about them yet. But it's possible that he sent them to attack Callisto wearing the masks perhaps as a way to continue stirring up mutant hysteria. Another idea is that the Shadow King wanted to maneuver Callisto into linking up with Peter so she could eventually assassinate him while under his control. Nathan AdlerJuly 11, 2016 9:37 AM Excalibur #32-34 Why was Kitty rendered powerless while at St. Searle's? Andrew BurkeJuly 11, 2016 9:34 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Maybe he's an alien mutant (Skrull)? If I recall correctly, there was a Skrull warrior (along with a Kree soldier) who was involved in the events of UNCANNY X-MEN #137. But Mesmero could have simply altered the color of his skin somehow while posing as Erik. In any case, having Mesmero as Erik the Red would explain the more important aspects of the entire thing: What Erik's connection to Lorna Dane was, how he hypnotized her and Havok into serving him, and the use of the identity itself to take Cyclops and the X-Men off-guard (the way Cylops did when he himself used the identity in #51-52). ChrisWJuly 11, 2016 3:53 AM New Mutants #32-34 Yes, with a "but." There's be no reason to turn someone like Doug evil when he would have a brilliant career in any of the Hellfire Club's various international corporations, and never once think that he's working for evil mutants. Mostly it's just strange that Illyana's timeslips keep showing us future evil versions of the New Mutants. The only exception I can think of is when she and Moira are trapped in Limbo for an extra ten or fifteen minutes in #46, and that's just an excuse for exposition about the Mutant Massacre. ChrisWJuly 11, 2016 3:45 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #9 Probably the main reason this annual feels so cramped is because there are so many characters. The one time I ever met Claremont, I asked why the X-Men were dividing into two teams instead of one much more powerful team, and he answered that each character needed roughly a page of introduction, so that was considered an upper-limit on the number of characters. Here you've got eight X-Men and nine New Mutants, not to mention plotlines carried over from "New Mutants Special Edition" - which probably became too big to be an annual for precisely that reason - as well as minor characters like Maddie and Lockheed, plus tying off all the plot threads and referencing "Thor." Next year's Annual #10 would be handled much better, introducing all the X-Men with a standard Danger Room sequence, then adding the New Mutants as they got closer to the big fight. [Dani, Doug and Warlock fairly early, for instance, Shan, Rhane and Amara later.] ChrisWJuly 11, 2016 3:29 AM New Mutants Special Edition #1 So who's been looking after Leong and Nga this whole time? ChrisWJuly 11, 2016 3:13 AM New Mutants #32-34 And Xavier and the X-Babies' respective encounters with Farouk were immediately connected with a trip to the island Kirinos. [I can't find a chronology of Xavier's travels to Kirinos, Cairo and Israel, so I'm not sure what order that happened in. For that matter, was this the trip that ended with him meeting Lucifer? If so, that was quite an eventful world trip around the world.] Nathan AdlerJuly 11, 2016 2:59 AM New Mutants #32-34 @ChrisW: Given Claremont had Magneto reveal the Shadow King was behind the Hellfire Club in Uncanny X-Men #275, wouldn't the New Mutants joining the Hellions and them being turned evil be one and the same thing? ChrisWJuly 11, 2016 2:43 AM New Mutants #32-34 Last time the team was split up by Illyana's time travel, she and Dani see that the others have joined the Hellions, which was almost ready to happen by this point. This time she and Dani see that the others have been turned evil by Farouk. Next time they'll all see the others turning evil/morally dubious by fighting the Sentinels and associating with the Hellfire Club. Nathan AdlerJuly 11, 2016 2:01 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @Andrew and Omar: If Mesmero was intended by Claremont as Eric the Red II (who abandoned his Davan Shakari identity after D'Ken's defeat in Uncanny X-Men #108 and returned to his exile as the Shi'ar's "agent on Earth"), this would mean he's a shapeshifter of some alien race. I've previously posited that this race was likely the Chameleoid race which was under the rule of the Shi'ar Empire. But there’s another possibility. That is, recall what Mesmero's powers as presented to us readers from the get-go. The ability to psionically hypnotise others through eye contact. If we're proposing that Mesmero was from a shapeshifting alien race, AND he had the ability to psionically hypnotise others through eye contact, Occam's Razor would not suggest that he was a Chameleoid, but rather of Marvel's most famous shapeshifting alien race, the Skrulls. The most famous, Kl'rt (Super-Skrull), in addition to his innate Skrull shapeshifting abilities, similarly possessed the ability to control the minds of others or paralyse them by emitting a hypnotic force from his eyes. While it has since been claimed Mesmero's hypnotic powers not only enabled him to mentally dominate people into doing what he wanted them to do, but to make them see him as a different person, was this "making people see him as a different person" him employing his hypnotism or in reality due to him actually being a Skrull? If Mesmero isn't a Skrull, it's interesting that his initial colour scheme was green skin and purple costume, just like Super Skrull;) The question remaining is what was a Skrull doing working as an agent for the Shi'ar Empire and later choosing to masquerade as a mutant on Earth? Matthew BradleyJuly 10, 2016 11:52 PM Iron Man #115-116 Notice the continuity gaffe regarding the Eternity Man: in #114, he's shown to be one of the villains kept on ice in Avengers Mansion, along with Nefaria, yet in #115, when the Unicorn is brought from the Mansion to S.I., Jason Beere is already there in the "cryogenic chamber." Luis DantasJuly 10, 2016 11:01 PM Dracula Lives #2 (1944) As fnord mentions, this Dracula origin is revisited in Bizarre Adventures #33 with some inserts. It is also referenced as a memory by Dracula when he is under Doctor Strange's spell in Tomb of Dracula #44. ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 10:24 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 I have the omnibus as well. It's in storage so I can't check, and I'm sure I didn't enjoy it as much as you, but I do have it. James HoltJuly 10, 2016 9:51 PM Fantastic Four #299 I liked Byrne's run on the FF, but I never bought into the retcon which suggests that Ben's inability to change back and forth to the Thing was simply because of his feelings for Alicia. There has to be a lot more to it than that. Before Ben met Alicia in Fantastic Four #8, he had what seemed to be a pretty serious crush on Sue. Consider Sue's reaction to Ben's mutation in issue #1: she was horrified by his monstrous form, and impulsively labeled him as "some kind of a thing," i.e., a monster. So, given that he was romantically motivated towards Sue, shouldn't he have immediately reverted back to his human form, if he was able to do so? Reed, Sue, and Johnny were all able to switch their mutations on and off at will, right from the start. Why not Ben? I don't mean to imply that the Thing's inability to change back to Ben might not be psychological in nature. He was angry and jealous towards Reed, before and during the space flight... jealous about Reed and Sue's relationship, and fearful of unknown cosmic radiation dangers. Reed and Sue insisted on making the flight against Ben's angry protestations. Ben tried to refuse, prompting Sue to call him a coward to his face. He only consented because of this insult. Without Ben, they wouldn't have had a pilot and so they couldn't have made the flight. Of the four, Ben was the one who most expected something to go wrong, and his worst fears were realized, but only in his case. He got the most monstrous mutation of them all, and was the only one who couldn't change back to his normal form, thus ( 1.) fulfilling his own expectations, ( 2.) making him "right" in his own mind, and ( 3.) psychologically justifying his anger at Reed. Without missing a beat, Sue immediately called Reed "darling" and labeled Ben as a "thing." Yet Ben ultimately gave Reed something to feel guilty about, albeit at great cost to himself. The dude had some serious anger issues. Other than what happened to Ben, the mission would have arguably been considered a great success, even though they crashed. Prior to the 1980s' space shuttle missions, no reusable spacecraft had ever made a successful terrestrial landing (in the real world). Instead the 1964-1965 Gemini missions used parachutes and splashdowns. In 1961, when FF #1 was first published, it was a great accomplishment just to breach the atmosphere and come back alive from a manned mission to space. To gain super-powers in the process was an unexpected added bonus (except for Ben?). Thanos6July 10, 2016 9:25 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 I think the Beyonder can be omniscient if he wants. He just usually didn't want to be. I'll look for a reference next time I read through my SECRET WARS II Omnibus (yes, I actually bought one and enjoy it). But yes, I agree, the Beyonder definitely should have brought Muramoto back, just like he should have brought Nebula back from wherever he sent her to. He didn't always use his omnipotence like he should have. ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 8:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #204 It's a dumb fight, but she's obviously headed off to work immediately, so she probably won't be back for at least a few days. He was in such a whiny self-absorbed mood, deliberately insulting her, that she probably wasn't eager to pick up the phone immediately. And then Kurt gets thrashed by Nimrod and put into a coma by the Marauders, so that ends that. Why none of the X-Men thought to call her, we'll never know. ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 8:33 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 Hmmm, I could have sworn there was a reference or two to him actually being omniscient, but I'm not finding it on this site and I'm not about to dig through all my comics looking for one. So ok. Still, he was in his 'helping people finding their roles in the universe' phase, and he's spent a few days with Muramoto, so it's hard to believe he wouldn't have "wanted to know" whether or not Muramoto's purpose was to die within a few days from a bullet aimed at the Beyonder. I'd think he could do that much. Or, failing that, bring Muramoto back to life. Brian C. SaundersJuly 10, 2016 6:04 PM Thor #143 I believe Mark Evanier quoted Jack Kirby on the point that when he found out Everett was inking him, Kirby opined that Everett should be doing his own book and not having to ink Kirby. Everett's troubles with alcohol and his occasional professional run-ins with Stan Lee probably account taking this inking job. At least Everett go to do a Sub-Mariner run one last time before he died. Tragic. Also, it's ironic a non-Colletta inked issue should be deemed representative of Lee and Kirby's Thor run. Brian C. SaundersJuly 10, 2016 5:56 PM Alpha Flight #33-34 Bill Mantlo decided to have Heather trash Mac's memory by making slightly paranoid conclusions and deciding he was a jerk instead of a loving husband. This freed her up for doing Mr. Jefferies in later issues. It also helped that having a battlesuit made it easier to give extrajudicial kill orders so she could vent her repressed rage because of her perceived wrongs done by her husband. Of course, Badlam's information didn't seem to change her attitude by that point. EnchloreJuly 10, 2016 4:56 PM Defenders #44-46 In #45 there's the line "Stare deep into the Star of Capistan-- and become one with the Brotherhood of Man!" - that's another Rush reference (2112, "come and join the Brotherhood of Man [...] hold the Red Star proudly high in hand"). The whole "end individual will" thing is very reminiscent of the Syrinx characters in the 2112 song. MOCK!July 10, 2016 4:00 PM Captain America #169-175 Andrew Burke writes: ...and afterwards started his plots for Ms. Marvel and then Jean Grey. Can you clarify some of this? I do not recall Mastermind doing anything to Ms. Marvel and don't remember the Shadow King's role in his corruption of Jean Grey.... Z. KiwiJuly 10, 2016 3:25 PM Thor #143 Yeah, and Bill Everett's guest inking has something to do with the new verve the author notes in the art. This was the issue selected to represent prime Lee/Kirby Thor in 1974's Origins of Marvel Comics. MichaelJuly 10, 2016 2:33 PM Alpha Flight #33-34 Also in Alpha Flight 52-53, Bedlam- a telepath who encountered Mac years ago- reveals that Mac wasn't behind Wolverine's adamantium. Although it's weird that he would have read Mac's mind for that information and remembered it all these years later. AFJuly 10, 2016 2:21 PM Alpha Flight #33-34 Sort of nearly in the godawful Daniel Way run. Better ignored. X-Men: The Animated Series however ran with the idea that James Hudson was involved in Wolverine's origin though. Season 2 episode Repo Men. Good ep. Luis DantasJuly 10, 2016 2:13 PM Alpha Flight #33-34 There was never a follow-up for this suggestion that Jimmy was involved in Wolverine's origin, was there? a.lloydJuly 10, 2016 12:48 PM Fantastic Four #237-238 Does his count as an appearance for Prof. Horton? Mark DrummondJuly 10, 2016 11:23 AM Eternals #1-19, Annual #1 In #4, Sersi inexplicably calls Margo Damian "Carol". No idea where that came from. Issue #5 has this extremely unfortunate dialogue: "I know you well, Sersi. My guess is that you've BEATEN OFF a few of them already!" The characters Harry Kronkeit and Walter Reasoner in #15 are taken from real-life newsmen Harry Reasoner and Walter Cronkite. A character also says "Aaahh, Shove It!", which I can't figure out how it got past the code. The cover to #16 misidentifies Sersi as Thena, and several later covers call Ikaris "Ikarus". I think the biggest problem with this series back then is that Kirby's writing is extremely decompressed, prefiguring that writing style by about 25 years. The series does flow much better when you read it in a collected edition, but it does exacerbate just what a jarring intrusion that Cosmic Hulk story is. I'm guessing the Kirby was intending to do this as a multi-year saga much in thew same way that Marv Wolfman did Tomb of Dracula, but the sales just killed it. Jonathan, son of KevinJuly 10, 2016 10:20 AM Dazzler #29-30 I think the "Roman/Namor" connection is just a coincidence/red herring... the "Nebokoh" is Hoboken backwards because the character is vaguely a parody of Sinatra, who was born in Hoboken. Some people think the reference is that the amnesiac Namor was found in Hoboken but I think it was actually the Bowery. Not sure where the Roman comes from, I think it may just be a reference to Sinatra being Italian-American. MichaelJuly 10, 2016 10:10 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 There's a line in this issue where the Beyonder says "I know what I WANT to know". AndrewJuly 10, 2016 9:34 AM Captain America #153-156 Good catch, Mock. I didn't think anybody but Claremont used (and used, and used, and used) the term "frail". According to onlineslangdictionary, though, it dates back to Harlem in the 1930s. So, naturally, white writers in the 1970s would think it was hip... MOCK!July 10, 2016 8:45 AM Captain America #153-156 Has any man anywhere, except in comics, ever REALLY referred to a woman as "Frail"?!? The beach bullies do it and, if I recall correctly,Wolverine seemed to do it under Claremont. Nathan AdlerJuly 10, 2016 8:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 If Masque changing Callisto's appearance to that of a "billboard model", and the group of thugs in X-Men masks then chasing her down a dark alley in Uncanny X-Men #260, was the Shadow King forcing her to relive the event that triggered her mutant powers to first manifest, reshaping her earlier model physique hinted at by Dani Moonstar in Uncanny X-Men #190 (not equipped for self-defence) to that of a streetfighter capable of overcoming a gang of costumed attackers, do you have a theory for who the original group of thugs that caused her mutant powers to manifest were? Were the group of thugs wearing X-Men masks in Uncanny X-Men #260 meant to suggest costumed characters we'd previously been introduced to in the MU had done it, particularly when you consider the parallel Callisto myth had her raped by a powerful being? Nathan AdlerJuly 10, 2016 7:04 AM Dazzler #29-30 @fnord12: What was Hoboken's connection to Namor? Nathan AdlerJuly 10, 2016 7:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Andrew: Interesting re: Mesmero given he was allied with the Strucker Twins who we know were under the Shadow King's influence at that time. However, if Claremont intended Mesmero as Davan Shakari... @fnord12: Roman Nebokoh is portrayed as Jim Shooter here, so I'm not sure how he was meant to connect to Namor? Omar KarinduJuly 10, 2016 6:20 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 Isn't the whole thing with the Beyonder that he's omnipotent but not omniscient? That is, he has the power to affect all things, but not the total knowledge that would enable him/it to see the consequences of cosmic-scale actions? ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 3:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #97 AF, we don't need any reasonable suggestions around here. I recommend you confine yourself to wild speculations that likely have no basis in reality. Erik the Red was clearly an agent of the Kingpin who had discovered Havok's secret identity and was trying to ruin his life and drive him insane. I'd call that a win for the Kingpin. ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 3:10 AM Secret Wars II #1 Thundersword. Whatever. You know who I mean. ChrisWJuly 10, 2016 3:08 AM Secret Wars II #1 Some of the exposition is genuinely awful. I quote Cannonball from page 17, panel 1, as Magneto orders those who can fly to follow Thunderstorm: "That's me... an' Rogue, she can fly... an' Kitty - ah mean Shadowcat! When she phases just right she can walk on air." This was the first time I'd ever met the New Mutants or Kitty - Kitty did appear in one, maybe two comics I'd read before, but it was not clear that this was the same character - and I had no idea what any of that meant. Even the reference to Rogue didn't come across, and at least she was in "Secret Wars I." And then looking at the next panel, telling Kitty to "phase through that sign! Cut him off!" Because a teenage girl on foot can outrun a flying horse who's already ahead of her. I put "Secret Wars II" in the "so bad it's good" category, but lots of it doesn't even reach that lofty standard. ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 10:07 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #111 Why didn't the Beyonder just resurrect Muramoto? How does he decide which people to bring back from the dead and which ones to leave dead? And what kind of omniscient being is he if he's so distracted by the Puma that he doesn't notice someone nearby who intends to shoot him? ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 9:59 PM Secret Wars II #7 It's gotta be magical manipulation, although one would think that defeats the whole point of buying someone's soul. That fat chick in the Emma Frost costume standing next to Abomination, what's she doing there? And Mordo, is there anybody he hasn't sold his soul to at this point? Omar KarinduJuly 9, 2016 8:26 PM Captain America #160-162 In addition to Mark Drummond's note above, Solarr also seems to be a commentary on the way the psychedelic scene and the hippie movement were turning violent. In the flashback, he's stuck in the desert because his van breaks down while he's running drugs, and this, plus the Castaneda connection, seems to be a play on the increasing violence of groups like the Weather Underground. AFJuly 9, 2016 8:21 PM West Coast Avengers annual #1 You're either missing a lot of appearances here or have chosen to treat them all as flashbacks. The sequences at the start where the team are running through the past members show cutaways to what the characters are presently doing mostly. Usually, things the team actually don't know (such as Namor's mission involving Alpha Flight) and the Hulk's in particular makes reference to it as being concurrent. On the flipside, there are two that are definitely flashbacks (Jocasta and Swordsman) and one that must be (since Hellcat and Hellstorm are meant to be retired). Friendly SkepticJuly 9, 2016 7:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #57-63 John Byrne has stated on his forum that Neal Adams' Angel costume is black, not blue: I always thought it was blue, too. And Spider-Man, and Superman's hair, and every other character where blue was used as a highlight for blacks. It's really hard to tell! Omar KarinduJuly 9, 2016 7:07 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Wasn't Mesmero confirmed as a mutant back during the Thomas/Adams Sentinel storyline? ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 7:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I know Havok's potential, it's just... enough with the mega power-ups. Alex shouldn't be that guy. He's powerful enough already. MichaelJuly 9, 2016 5:54 PM Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 Norman stays dead until 1996- that's a relatively long time. AFJuly 9, 2016 3:48 PM X-Factor #70 I'm no fan of Peter David, but this is a nice issue. Really glad him and Nicieza wound up resolving this storyline, there's some actually decent bits in it as a result. JTI88July 9, 2016 3:46 PM Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 I have started to read Marvel 3 years ago in publication order from FF1, and though I obviously already knew that Gwen Stacy would have been died, reading the story was still thrilling. In my opinion the way Gwen died it's very in step with Ptere Parker's life in general: if he had not tried to save her, she would have died. He tried to save her, she died anyhow. Furthermore I appreciate the courage of the choice. The first issue of the story "promises" a death of someone close to Peter, and we see the faces of Gwen, Mary Jane, JJJ, Flash, aunt May and the Roberstons'. Whit these premises, and the past caution, who would have bet on Gwen's death? From the Historical Significance Rating I assume the Goblin isn't dead, and that's a real shame. This story could have represented the "turning point" even in that: Peter Parker's love dies, his nemesis dies, Spiderman has to go on. Further more, the story depicts this apparent death as a very ultimate one, like a curtain that falls. Reviving Norman Osborn was a betrayal toward those days' readers. AFJuly 9, 2016 3:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 In all the adulation of Claremont, nobody is suggesting the most likely answer: Claremont saw the cover of X-Men #52 and mistook Erik the Red for an X-Men villain. I mean, there's plenty of proof, even from the man himself, that Claremont's familiarity with the X-Men before Giant-Size was minimal and limited to just the Neal Adams issues. Even if an editor went "Actually, you know that's Cyclops, right?", he'd still probably soldier on thinking "Well, I thought it was a villain, and I had an idea with him as a villain, so I'll make it a villain..." AFJuly 9, 2016 3:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 What a shame... if only Claremont ever got to write another issue after X-Men #107... JTI88July 9, 2016 2:16 PM Thor #212-213 Shouldn't Asgard be desert after this story? Andrew BurkeJuly 9, 2016 2:15 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Speaking of Erik the Red, it looks like he was very likely Mesmero. Hence how Erik knew Lorna (as she was under his control back in the day. Plus, this explains why he used Erik the Red's uniform...Cyclops used it to fool him when they first met, and Mesmero desided to use the same trick. In addition, his green skin could have indicated he was a member of a race belonging to the Shi'ar Empire, which gives us his connection to D'Ken, and after Erik slipped away UNCANNY X-MEN #107, he thought the X-Men would be dead, so he abandoned the Erik identity. However, when he found out otherwise, Mesmero went after them as himself in #111. MichaelJuly 9, 2016 12:53 PM Thor #172 "Dr. North is the doctor that Odin sent Jane to after he wiped her memory in Thor #136." No he isn't- that's Keith Kincaid, although Stan seems to have intended him to be Kincaid but forgotten Kincaid's name. fnord12July 9, 2016 9:36 AM General Comments From a quick skim, actually looks pretty good to me. From what you said, i was expecting that it would be just dry descriptions like the Marvel Indexes, but there is commentary and behind the scenes stuff. And it's nicely put together. It does make more sense for something like this to be on the web though. As you say, for searchability, and also because it makes updates possible. I wonder why they took their site down. Nathan AdlerJuly 9, 2016 6:14 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @ChrisW: Recall what Havok's destiny was in Uncanny X-Men Annual #11? Then Fantastic Four Annual #26 revealed that Celestials were born from stars that had collapsed and become black holes. So this along with the Simonsons' plans to explain his research in Rio Diablo would involve the Dreaming Celestial and the precedent's there. ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 5:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 And of Alex and Lorna, which one was the geologist and which one the archeologist? I think Alex was the geologist, but I can't be sure. ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 5:22 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Yikes, I don't even like Alex being the Living Monolith, the idea of him becoming a Celestial just repulses me. And I don't think Hepzibah would much care for him leading the Starjammers. I think Alex should be a basically down-to-earth guy. Living out in the desert with no one but his girlfriend for miles around, sure, but down-to-earth for all of that. I would send him to Egypt. The Living Monolith came from there, Storm's ancestor Ashake lived there, Amahl Farouk lived there, and so did Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Once he sees those hieroglyphics, Alex can be sent anywhere else in the Marvel Universe (and Lorna will lead the rescue.) Nathan AdlerJuly 9, 2016 4:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @ChrisW: You know how Alex Summers could work better in the X-titles? He's worked on geological sites, so why not reveal he had actually trained as an archaeologist, ala Daniel Jackson from Stargate. Then you start off with the Starjammers returning to Earth with the dead body of his father, Christopher, and Alex departing Earth with them, becoming their leader. The plot then picks up with the Starjammers having to land on some planet with ancient ruins that he reveals has the same hieroglyphics as those he discovered in Rio Diablo with Lorna (the hieroglyph has a man burning bright energy outward). The conclusion of his quest to determine the connection between Rio Diablo and this planet, leads him to the Celestials. That is, I'd have him revealed as a step up from the Living Monolith, not becoming a planet, but calling back to Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 and having him go nova, collapsing and from the black hole he becomes he emerges as a new Celestial. ChrisWJuly 9, 2016 4:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Well if this was the DC Universe, I would say El Diablo, duh. ;) My guess would be the Adversary. The Cheyenne had very little to do with New Mexico, but they weren't totally unknown there, and the Rocky Mountains do stretch that far south. It's entirely possible that Belasco or Mephisto would have some interest in the region. I tend to approach things as a writer, even real-life events, so I look more for connections between real world people and the fictional characters they create. In that regard, I would say it has to be the Dreaming Celestial. Kirby hadn't created him yet, Claremont was just ditching characters he wasn't interested in and giving them professions that (to my knowledge) they'd never had the slightest interest in before, but Alex and Lorna's interests involved digging through the earth, and both of them found some really wild stuff in the process. In the sense that history repeats itself, Alex and Lorna may not have been fated to find the Dreaming Celestial, but they were engaged in activities - and had long-standing histories of their own - that would have brought them close. Ok, it would be left to Ghaur and the West Coast Avengers to actually find the Dreaming Celestial, but that comic sucked so who cares? ;) MichaelJuly 8, 2016 6:00 PM Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-4 No, the twins aren't Inhumans. And no, Magda isn't the twins' mother either. But they're not mutants either, rendering a lot of their character arcs "inert" as you put it. KarelJuly 8, 2016 4:23 PM General Comments When I was researching some more info about comics I was reading (the only way I enjoy reading anything is 2 hours of research to 1 hour of reading), I stumbled on this set of books, which is - similarly to your website - apparently describing almost every Marvel comics of 60s, 70s and 80s http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=777 (random pages can be seen on Google Books). Apparently, it's a paper version of website called "The Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index" (SAMCCI), that was taken down for some reason somewhere between 2000 and 2010, and it is still cached on web.archive.org. What do you think about it? (I am asking both fnord12 and people here in general.) I admire what they were doing and that they published it as a book, but actually.... as I was reading through the pages, I don't like it that much. It's just retelling of the stories - in much more boring way than this website - and worse searchability. Jon DubyaJuly 8, 2016 12:10 PM Alpha Flight #54 Yeah, Michael, I was totally gping to comment about how this reminds me of the pseudo-abortion storyline from X-Factor. Jon DubyaJuly 8, 2016 11:01 AM Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-4 ??? Are the twins now "Inhumans" (which would render even MORE of Quiksilver's character arcs inert)? Ignoring pointlessly synergistic retcons for the moment, did this story take place after Uncanny #150 where Magneto supposedly "turned over a new leaf?" This storylone wpuld tie into the long-running subplot around the time about him trying to "make amends" for his past. Gary HimesJuly 8, 2016 1:26 AM Doctor Strange #66 This same basic plot was used in the Destroyer (Remo Williams) novel HIGH PRIESTESS -- only there the westernized Lama wasn't a groundskeeper, but actress and new age nitwit "Squirrely Chicane". Fun book if you can find a copy. Trevor MillerJuly 8, 2016 12:36 AM Sensational She-Hulk (Marvel Graphic Novel #18) She hulk is one of my favorites I think this storyline is flawed but good MegaSpiderManJuly 7, 2016 6:57 PM Marvel Super Heroes #7 (Cloak & Dagger) It might just be me, but Angel seems a very Shadow-esque in this story. ChrisJuly 7, 2016 5:06 PM Marvel Team-Up #52 The monster looks suspiciously like a redrawn Abomination. MOCK!July 7, 2016 4:00 PM X-Men and the Micronauts #1-4 As for Dark Phoenix, Kitty never met her, but Storm must be referring to Mastermind's illusions from Uncanny X-Men #175. Wasn't the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover before this time...could that be the interaction? ChrisWJuly 7, 2016 3:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #312 If Norman Osbourne was this insanely-rich businessman and not just an owner of a chemical factory, why are Harry and Liz living in a small suburban house? Ben HermanJuly 7, 2016 1:42 PM Captain America #204-205 I'm currently re-reading Jack Kirby's run on Cap in the 1970s. This time something occurred to me. Have there been any additional appearances of Agron, or all these years later is he still trapped in that SHIELD tube? Considering how many damn times since this story that SHIELD has been shut down or infiltrated by Hydra or had some nefarious conspiracy at work within it, it's amazing that Agron never got loose or scooped up by some villain such as Norman Osborn or the fine folks at Roxxon. Maybe the government just decided to store that tube in the warehouse seen at Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that's why Agron hasn't been seen again, because no one can remember where to find him! MichaelJuly 7, 2016 8:19 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) But Axis was so original. Nobody had EVER done a story before that where Alex falls for a woman who resembles her husband's first love and was treated badly by him and they both turn evil. :) AFJuly 7, 2016 7:12 AM Avengers #160 And is ignored in the majority of his other appearances too. Omar KarinduJuly 7, 2016 6:42 AM Avengers #160 This is also the story that establishes the Reaper is a bigot, which comes back in the early issues of West Coast Avengers. AFJuly 7, 2016 6:11 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) And the grievous sin of being written into an off-panel 18 year-long marriage with Havok with a kid who no longer exists and she remembers it all despite nobody having any investment in this largely unseen major relationship at all. James HoltJuly 7, 2016 2:32 AM Fantastic Four #1-10 Thoughtful, benevolent, and concerned, Reed wants to make that he can find Sue, if she ever does become Permanently invisible, as discussed in some of the comments above. She might get lost! Seriously, this would have been a concern even with the later retcons to her character, and even if the invisible character was male. Jack and Stan on the other hand lived in a time period where those kinds of attitudes towards women were common. Many men in the early 1960s actually did still wear plaid coats, bow ties, and even the same kinds of hats Kirby drew. This was still before the Beatles and the British Explosion, which came along circa 1964 and later. King Kirby, and most other men of his age, stuck with the older styles. Stan the Man, who was of a slightly younger vintage than Jack, became notoriously "hip" for awhile, Sonny Bono style, with over-the-collar hair and a mustache IIRC. James HoltJuly 7, 2016 1:49 AM Fantastic Four #1-10 This is a great article and comments section, especially the comments about the Kirby/Lee disputes, which makes this page the most informative piece on that topic which I've read to date. Regarding #10, and the whole discussion about Reed's initial studies on Sue's invisibility powers, Reed is arguably just helping Sue to augment her powers, which will eventually lead to her ability to project force fields in Fantastic Four #22. Reed in these early days is constantly experimenting on members of the FF to help them fine tune their powers. That's the ticket. :) Jon DubyaJuly 6, 2016 11:39 PM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) Ugh not THAT tired ol' story again. Stuff like that makes me glad I don't keep up with Marvel comics that much anymore. Also what the hell happened to te "old" Wasp that they need to make a replacement? (Well Janet DID commit the grevious sin of being a women over 30...) mikrolikJuly 6, 2016 5:40 PM Tales Of Suspense #91 (Iron Man) Cubans appeared as bad guys in Tales of Suspense 51, although they weren't really Iron Man's antagonists that issue, just there to buy Scarecrow's stolen merchandise. kveto from pragueJuly 6, 2016 4:14 PM Tales Of Suspense #91 (Iron Man) I think the Crusher was an attempt to diversify. Not just Rooskies and Chinamen can be commies. Cubans were popular bad guys in the Men's magazines on the 60s. I also like that his mutation caused him to go bald. You'd imagine that would happen more often. But the name "Crusher". ugh. kveto from pragueJuly 6, 2016 2:17 PM Sub-Mariner #26 You'd think Namor wouldn't have to say "whom legends call Red Raven" considering their invaders/Liberty legion time together. Boy the invaders sure screwed up a lot of old comics. kveto from pragueJuly 6, 2016 2:12 PM Daredevil #64 Colon's art always feels wasted on these DD plots. Matthew BradleyJuly 6, 2016 11:02 AM Fantastic Four annual #13 Curiously, there are also multiple references to the Mole Man's yellow subterraneans as being pink---perhaps confusing them with the Leader's little critters? Cecil DisharoonJuly 6, 2016 8:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 I thought UNIT dating was going to be about polygamy. I must have no real clue which site I'm visiting. Nathan AdlerJuly 6, 2016 8:16 AM Fantastic Four annual #2 @Aaron: What do you propose Jack alternatively had in mind? It had to have something to do with his father's earlier comment that issue about the world needing protection from the "son who bears the name of Von Doom"? Just what was so ominous about bearing that surname, especially when his father bore it and this didn't instil the Baron with fear enough to not pursue him for the death of his wife!? Nathan AdlerJuly 6, 2016 8:06 AM Fantastic Four annual #2 @Walter: It is here that Doom finds a kindred spirit in Rama-Tut. It's also interesting that there's no further mention of the Ovoids during Lee & Kirby' run. But why emphasise the staggering technique the Ovoids taught Doom if he's not going to make use of it soon again? So with Doom having once again been defeated by Reed Richards does he see Rama-Tut's arrival as the perfect opportunity to travel to the future to regather his thoughts without distraction (and so he can research technology to reverse-engineer in an effort to determine a way to defeat Reed), then going on to share his knowledge of the Ovoid technique with Tut and negotiate a bargain to swap bodies, Tut getting to return to the 20th century and play a part in superhero conflicts as he'd always dreamed of (and as that time period's greatest master criminal – well that's got to be way too tempting for a bored master criminal from the future)? And Victor gets to travel into the future, emerging from Rama-Tut's time travel pod in Tut's body and is forced to conquer that warring period so he can get the peace and quiet he requires to understand the composition of their scientifically advanced weaponry. This would perhaps explain why Tut never had a mask and Kang chose to use one that covered his whole face. Because he's Doom! fnord12July 6, 2016 7:22 AM Avengers #15-16 I only count flashbacks when they occur within the timeframe of the story. Hawkeye's flashback regarding the Black Widow takes place a "week ago", so i wouldn't count it. Nathan AdlerJuly 6, 2016 5:03 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 @ChrisW: Okay give it a shot, which Claremont "Devil" would likely be associated with this area and tangle up Lorna and Alex in a plot? ChrisWJuly 6, 2016 4:47 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Not having any experience with the character before Claremont, I think Marc Silvestri's drawing of Lorna in this issue is why she's one of my favorite characters, and by extension, she and Alex are one of my favorite comics couples. She's adorable, she's competent, she's weak, she's strong, she and Alex love each other... I don't think I'd like Lorna nearly as much if Bret Blevins had drawn this issue and Marc Silvestri drew the next one where Malice reappears. This is the happy ending the two of them deserve, before they get pulled back into the madness. ChrisWJuly 6, 2016 4:33 AM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 The River to the Devil, duh. Which Claremont characters *doesn't* that apply to? Thanos6July 6, 2016 12:58 AM Excalibur #27 I like to think they all exist somewhere in the Marvel multiverse, at least. StevenJuly 5, 2016 11:20 PM Avengers #89-97 I consider the top four Avengers heroines to be Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Wasp. All four characters made their first appearances in the title within the first one hundred issues. Brian C. SaundersJuly 5, 2016 10:26 PM Excalibur #27 I'm pretty sure most licensed characters aren't part of the Marvel Universe. Godzilla has a history that they won't retcon out. But Beavis and Butt-head never met any Marvel characters. They only case to be made is that they read Marvels comics, but it's unlikely. Alf, like Godzilla, is a retired character at best. There's exceptions for everything. BillJuly 5, 2016 9:11 PM Excalibur #27 The Transformers, while it started in the MU, was pretty quickly removed from it. Also, G.I. Joe was never a part of the MU either. James JasperJuly 5, 2016 7:34 PM Excalibur #27 Every comic book published by marvel IS part of MU. EVERY. SINGLE. COMIC. IS. CANON. The last year's Secret Wars event more or less confirmed it once and for all. Not to mention crossovers between various marvel realities, like 2099/616, Ultimate/616, Squadron Supreme, etc. Even comics like Steeltown Rockers, Alf, Kid 'N Play, Godzilla, Beavis & Butthead are canonically part of Marvel Universe. No exceptions, maybe except Star Wars, although I'm not 100% sure about that either. Also. You might want to know that Alfie had a profile featured in Phoenix Handbook. a.lloydJuly 5, 2016 5:42 PM Hulk annual #7 Byrne liked Palmer so much that he wanted him to ink The X-Men Hidden Years and he did. Ditto for Sinnott. Nathan AdlerJuly 5, 2016 5:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #217-218 Here we have Lorna and Alex returning the Rio Diablo Mountains of Northern New Mexico to continue researching geological and archaeological anomalies they had previously been doing in Uncanny X-Men #97 (when Eric the Red enslaved them; and gave Lorna Dane the codename Polaris). Now how interesting is this when you consider the Rio Diablo Mountains an extension of the Diablo Mountain Range in California where the Dreaming Celestial was sealed during the Second Host. This did not obviously go unnoticed, as the lettercol in Thor #369 says that Walt & Louise Simonson are working on a series about Havok and Polaris that will feature the Dreaming Celestial as the villain. However, Uncanny X-Men #97 was written in 1976, over twelve months before Jack Kirby introduced the Dreaming Celestial in Eternals #18 and 2 years before Roy Thomas imposed the Eternals cosmology, including the Celestials, into Marvel continuity. So if the Celestials had not been introduced into the Marvel Universe proper, what geological/ archaeological anomalies was Chris Claremont going to reveal in the Rio Diablo Mountains of Northern New Mexico? ZeilsternJuly 5, 2016 4:09 PM Fantastic Four #102-104 For me, that story about Romita is one of the strongest pieces of evidence in support of Kirby doing most of the heavy lifting in the creation of the Marvel Universe. mikrolikJuly 5, 2016 3:54 PM Fantastic Four #102-104 Amusingly, in Sean Howe's Untold Tales of Marvel Comics, not only did John Romita (Sr.) not expect (or even seek) to get the FF job after Kirby left, he actually first assumed that the series would be cancelled upon hearing of Kirby's departure. SharJuly 5, 2016 3:16 PM Avengers #15-16 Fnord, should the Black Widow be listed in the Characters Appearing line-up? She's shown in a couple of panels in #16, albeit as part of Hawkeye's recollections. AFJuly 5, 2016 12:07 PM Master of Kung Fu #83 Well, Marvel tended to try and ignore Yellow Claw because he was pretty insulting. If people think Mandarin is bad, Yellow Claw is like Mandarin squared. Other than a few generic appearances throughout the 70s and 80s, Agents of Atlas was pretty much the only book to sincerely use him and it elected to alter him enormously. ChrisJuly 5, 2016 11:28 AM Master of Kung Fu #83 Since the Yellow Claw essentially is Marvel's Fu Manchu, I don't know why Marvel has not retconned Shang-Chi's father to be Yellow Claw (perhaps using an alias - if I remember correctly Fu Manchu is an honorific anyway so we don't know his real name). I know for a long time there were copyright issues with the Sax Rohmer estate affecting the character and these stories. That might be one way of getting around that. Andrew BurkeJuly 5, 2016 10:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #111-117 And this is the one I'm going with now, as it makes the most sense. But this is what happens when I read multiple reviews from other people and read new angles. Ataru320July 5, 2016 9:44 AM Avengers #89-97 Remember: the Carol Danvers here is "Carol Danvers, NASA security officer", not Ms. Marvel. We have a half-decade before Carol becomes a heroine and a bit longer before she's an Avenger, and this book has other heroines who show up and make their name on this team before her, such as Mantis, Moondragon and Hellcat. AFJuly 5, 2016 9:43 AM Uncanny X-Men #111-117 By now you've pretty much said there's like 3 different people who Erik the Red was probably meant to be. Andrew BurkeJuly 5, 2016 9:38 AM Uncanny X-Men #111-117 I was reading one of Jason Powell's reviews of early UNCANNY X-MEN issues, and he had a theory about something that I've come to agree with: Erik the Red was going to turn out to be Mesmero. It makes perfect sense! Firstly, it explains how Erik the Red knew Lorna, as she was a former pawn of his. Secondly, it explains the use of the Erik the Red identity. Cyclops originally used it to fool Mesmero back in #51-52, so Mesmero decided to return the favor by using it to confuse the X-Men,particularly Cyclops, in X-MEN #97. Thirdly, it explains why Erik went after Lorna first, and also having Cyclops' brother Havok under his control was a plus in his revenge plot. Fourthly, Erik the Red had hypnotic abilities, and so does Mesmero. Fifthly, the reason Mesmero didn't inform the Shi'ar how he knew Lorna was likely because it was his own business, not theirs. Now, we have the issue of Mesmero/Erik being a spy for the Shi'ar. Well, I'd say that Mesmero's real name was going to be Davan Shakari and that he was a member of an alien race that was a part of the Shi'ar Empire, hence his green skin. Plus, Erik disappeared during X-MEN #107 as the X-Men/Imperial Guard fight went underway and was seemingly never seen again (for a long time). However, I put forth that Erik returned toEarth and abandoned the Erik the Red guise, as he no longer needed it, figuring the X-Men would be destroyed in battle with the Shi'ar. But when he found out otherwise, he then went after the X-Men in X-MEN #111 as Mesmero. a.lloydJuly 5, 2016 7:58 AM Avengers #189 "That trick never works" was used often in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon. As seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4IFIXcDcs This is one of my all-time favorite Avengers issues. AndrewJuly 5, 2016 7:34 AM Amazing Spider-Man #86 Interesting. I think Miss Fury just looks like Catwoman in a cape, with those little pointy ears, or horns, or whatever they are, on her head. Catwoman predates Miss Fury by several years, but she mostly wore a dress until the Batman TV show, and Julie Newmar, came along. Fond memories... Don CampbellJuly 5, 2016 4:38 AM Avengers annual #14 Just to clarify, there's no indication that the Imperial Power Asteroid was ever under the control of the Skrulls from Kral. Sure, that one Kralian pilot claims that the Avengers' starship is intruding on their patch of space but that seems to only be because they had to pass through Kralian territory to reach the Imperial Power Asteroid. According to Prince Dezan's story, the power asteroid was under imperial control when Throneworld was devoured, then Zabyk's small force seized the facility. The Kralians never controlled the power station, they were just regular customers who used it to charge their Power Stones. Karel July 4, 2016 9:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #54-56 How come this is just C, haha. I could recommend this to anyone! Except the first goofy issue I guess. Ok that makes it C. But otherwise this is where the awesome run begins. I cannot wait to finish it again George LochinskiJuly 4, 2016 4:48 PM X-Force #6-10 I think Apocalypse was definitely part of the wider Externals plan, if not specifically mentioned in these particular issues. Or at least, he was ret-conned in very quickly, at least by '93, when Stryfe's Strike File comes around. Definitely by issue #25, when Cable gives his full origin and reveals Apocalypse owned the timeline he came from. Hell, by the beginning of #37, Gideon is relaying to Sam what looks to be a furst stab at an origin story for Apocalypse (though I might be wrong here) Anyways, if it wasn't obvious already I agree with Michael that Nicieza's run post-Liefeld made for a decent superhero book, even though, hilariously, the artists kept jumping from here to draw Spawn. And I liked Sam as an External precisely because a) he was the last character you'd expect, and b) if there really was going to be some contest between immortal mutant highlords for ownership of the world then Sam was definitely the Bernie Sanders character going up against Gideon, Selene, and Apocalypse jayzonelyJuly 4, 2016 9:49 AM Fantastic Four #285 That was my thinking too AF, plus, the guy with glasses and a blond ponytail had just told him that a fuel can within his reach could turn him into another Human Torch. His attempt at doing so was unreasonable, impractical, and implausible, but also understandable, given his context. His intentions were not to commit suicide, but rather, to "be like" the Human Torch, just as he stated to Johnny. That's my interpretation. AFJuly 4, 2016 9:26 AM Fantastic Four #285 He's a kid though. He had no comprehension or context of the concept to argue he was committing suicide. MichaelJuly 4, 2016 9:16 AM Fantastic Four #285 But in the context of the Marvel Universe, a normal person getting powers by setting himself on fire (as opposed to, for example, being exposed to cosmic rays) is for all practical purposes, impossible. So the kid was effectively committing suicide. AFJuly 4, 2016 8:58 AM Avengers #89-97 I would hardly equate her appearance here to establishing her as a fourth female character in the book. There's been loads of female characters with as big a role as she has in these issues here. She doesn't appear in the book again until she's Ms. Marvel about 80 issues later. StevenJuly 4, 2016 8:28 AM Avengers #89-97 The appearance of Carol Danvers in this storyline establishes her as the fourth female character in this book after Wasp, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow. StevenJuly 4, 2016 8:20 AM Avengers #59 Hank Pym was okay as Ant-Man. I don't like him as Giant-Man or Goliath. He is worse as Yellowjacket. StevenJuly 4, 2016 8:16 AM Avengers #28-29 This is Black Widow's first appearance in the Avengers. In the MCU, she replaces Wasp as the founding female of the team. InstantiationJuly 4, 2016 1:01 AM Fantastic Four #265 The first part of this issue seems to me one of the finer comic short stories (i.e., shorter than a full regular sized issue) that Byrne crafted. Another example from just a few months earlier, which is also both innovative and highly successful, is his "Snowblind" from Alpha Flight #6. This was quite a fitting way, I felt, to handle the silliest of all "classic" Marvel villains. Pastepot Pete! And I wonder if Ray Bradbury's classic prose short story "There Will Come Soft Rains," about a computer-controlled house, might have been an inspiration here. A lot of attention in the comics world goes to epics, long arcs, special series, graphic novels, crossover events, etc. But on reflection, I realize that a lot of my favorite things across the whole realm of comics are tightly crafted shorts, in which every panel tells and is essential. There are few things, for instance, that I value more than the best installments of "The Spirit" or the awesome Goodwin/Simonson backup Manhunter stories from Detective Comics in the early 70s. And there are many other exs. Sometimes, as here, less really is more. jayzonelyJuly 4, 2016 12:52 AM Fantastic Four #285 I never viewed this kid's death as a suicide, given his reality. He lives in a fantasy world in which the Human Torch is a real person. In our world, the Human Torch is a fantasy character. In our world, nobody believes that setting oneself on fire will turn a person into a super-hero. Nobody believes that a person can be on fire without being burned. In this kid's world, the possibility has been shown to be a realistic possibility, however improbable or implausible. Johnny Storm had shown that it's at least possible. This was a kid with immature judgment who made a bad choice and didn't get lucky. Examples abound of characters who risk their lives to gain or regain super-powers, and do get lucky, including every member of the Fantastic Four. Repeatedly. Karel July 3, 2016 9:20 PM Uncanny X-Men #49-52 From 2006 article on CBR On Early Days at Marvel Steranko had turned Nick Fury into a popular character who warranted his own series, then moved onto Captain America, before was asked to draw “X-Men” because the book had been late. “At first, I didn’t want to work on the X-Men because of all the five-sided panels. I couldn’t relate to the characters, I didn’t know how to make it work, so I asked to work incognito on the book. But I signed my name to my first three covers. And that logo they had was awful. Logos were trademarked, but they let me redesign it, just to get rid of that awful logo. I never got paid for it.” “That logo’s still being used today on the books,” said Spurlock. “If Jim got paid a royalty for everytime they used it…” jayzonelyJuly 3, 2016 9:03 PM Fantastic Four #271-273 Gary, you're correct that the 1953 War of the Worlds movie didn't show the Martian tripod fighting machine design. That design, however, has been shown on several War of the Worlds paperback book reprint covers, published both before and after the 1953 movie version. The tall tripod design is from the original book by H. G. Wells, but the '53 movie's special effects department presumably didn't feel up to the job of showing it. George LochinskiJuly 3, 2016 8:39 PM Howard the Duck #8 It's kind of amazing how much early Cerebus was preceded by HtD. I knew that they both had the "funny animal parody" element that Gerber trailblazed (I assume) but there's a lot of plot elements in here tgat seemingly inspired Sim when he was still working everything out in his own book... jayzonelyJuly 3, 2016 7:59 PM Fantastic Four #266-268 It's been a long time but if I recall correctly, Byrne was very unhappy at all the disruptions caused by Secret Wars in his carefully constructed multiple issue storyline for the FF, particularly regarding the unwanted (by Byrne) resurrection of Doom just so he could be a principle villain in Shooter's Secret Wars storyline. Like most publisher-imposed, company-wide "events," Secret Wars disrupted quite a number of ongoing multiple issue story ideas Marvel was offering at the time. I suspect Byrne may have already plotted, or at least conceived, this story prior to the imposition of Secret Wars, and was loathe to abandon it in spite of the problems introduced by Shooter's story, and so he let retro-continuity take a back seat to his desire to author this story more-or-less as planned, with Reed demonstrating his flair for psychiatric behavioral modification, and Byrne demonstrating his back-to-the-basics understanding of how Otto's arms were originally controlled in Otto's original origin story. I'm sure Byrne never anticipated the later retcon which holds that Alicia was replaced by a Skrull prior to this issue. As I recall, DeFalco, or whoever it was, who later implanted that story bit about Lyja the Skrull impersonating Alicia, was clearly very upset at Byrne's subsequent portrayal of Alicia as a romantic switch-hitter who abandoned Ben Grimm the Thing in favor of Johnny Storm the Human Torch, and so DeFalco or whoever forced this highly unlikely Lyja retcon in reaction to that, just so he could put the lie to her controversial relationship with the Torch. For my best enjoyment when I read this story, in my mind, Alicia is Alicia, and not Lyja, because that's who the character was actually written to be. Likewise, when I read "The Phoenix Saga," Jean is Jean, and not some retconned Phoenix Force impersonating Jean, because that interpretation was the author's original intention. Mark BlackJuly 3, 2016 7:05 PM Alpha Flight #95 I wonder if July 1st had anything to do with it? Brian C. SaundersJuly 3, 2016 6:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #48 She also dropped out of school in X-Factor, when she went to take psychology courses at night. That was Bob Layton's last issue and never was it spoken of again. Conclusion, Jean isn't very scholarly in the MU. Movie Jean is much smarter. George LochinskiJuly 3, 2016 5:45 PM Alpha Flight #95 Lol I wonder how surreal it was for fnord yesterday to drop in on the page only to find a shit-ton of random Alpha Flight back issue comments :) MichaelJuly 3, 2016 4:57 PM Avengers Spotlight #30-34,36 "I feel like if you're going to do a story like this, you ought to do it for real and have the villain be a true anti-immigrant racist, not a jealous confused psychopath" kveto from pragueJuly 3, 2016 3:25 PM Jungle Action #16 I guess Monica is getting some "Jungle Action". kveto from pragueJuly 3, 2016 2:39 PM Master of Kung Fu #26 In Sax Rohmer's books, Fah lo suee's mother is an unnamed Russian woman. Not sure in the marvel version. Karel July 3, 2016 1:39 PM Uncanny X-Men #49-52 What a great story. Almost from issue to issue, X-Men went from unreadable slog to an amazing book. Steranko issues shine the best, but I also liked the other two issues. It's such a big jump in quality. And I don't mind the inconsistencies and dropped plot points, really. The action is worth it. I wouldn't give this book C or C+ but firmly B. Karel July 3, 2016 11:51 AM Uncanny X-Men #48 I had wondered... Few issues ago, Jean Grey went to a university and went to see X-men on weekends only. That never concluded. She just stopped going there. She could have continued her university career (where she was one of the few women). Instead she went modeling. That wasn't very smart. AndrewJuly 3, 2016 10:59 AM Hulk #141 Mark, thanks for the info about Captain Tootsie. Good lord, what was Thomas thinking? As for the psychiatrist Samson creating such an exotic machine, it was later retconned that the Intelligencia, a collection of Marvel's smartest villains, provided him with the technology as part of their scheme to create their own Hulk. AFJuly 3, 2016 10:02 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) Wonder where they got that idea... StevenJuly 3, 2016 9:30 AM Tales To Astonish #44 (Ant-Man) It has recently been revealed that Hank has a daughter with Maria named Nadia that he didn't know about. Nadia is the new Wasp. Brian C. SaundersJuly 3, 2016 7:42 AM Captain America #110 I know it was the 60's and tobacco wasn't seen the way it is today, and the scene looks so good, but Steve Rogers smoking a pipe on the first pages? It's...kinda off. I hate being that guy who says it. But it's not just OOC, it's like imagining Clark Kent smoking cigarettes. The optics are so wrong, but the page looks so good. At least it was a pipe and not Lucky Strikes. Brian C. SaundersJuly 2, 2016 6:54 PM Alpha Flight #97-100 @Piotr W I think Nicieza, knowing he was leaving the title and knowing no one liked Mac being back, didn't want to leave the next writer stuck with him. So, this shunts him back in the toybox, until Furman ends his run. Brian C. SaundersJuly 2, 2016 6:46 PM Alpha Flight #95 As I recall, Nicieza was quoted as leaving Alpha Flight of his own volition, citing he and the characters were not compatible. I, too rather liked his attempt to do as little harm to Alpha Flight. The Mac resurrection, which had he not tried to link back to Byrne's fake out, might have been feasible. Something big was certainly necessary to shake Alpha Flight up by the point Nicieza took it over and his options were limited. That said, it clearly didn't work in the short term. George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 3:33 PM Alpha Flight #106 (I picked up issues 49 & 50 shortly tgereafter, and though I can't really defend it from those who would disparage it, I personally was very taken by the bonkers dysphoria (of #49 especially) and by June Brigman's art. That issue still feels like a combination of an old Marvel monster comic and an early Cronenberg film George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 3:26 PM Alpha Flight #106 I started collecting AF back issues after picking up #41 randomly in some used 25 cent box, and it def made me start seeking out more issues (as well as initiating an enduring fondness for Kara Killgrave). I'm pretty sure that issue the highest grade of any post-Byrne AF on this site George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 3:16 PM Alpha Flight #95 You know, the resurrection of Mac was indefensible, and Bair's art was mostly godawful, but I thought Nicieza's run was an okay attempt to whip AF's moribund status quo into shape. I thought the whole 'leper messiah' thing kind of worked as a middle ground between Jeanne-Marie's piety and Aurora's promiscuity, and Windshear is exactly the kind of lame idea Mantlo would have come up with during his extended burnout, but Nicieza at least imbues him with an engaging self-deprecation. Also, Lil getting cancer was a clever twist on the character. I almost wonder if, given a competent artist and a few more years, he could've actually saved the book...but, then again, the two Marvel titles from my youth which I feel the most nostalgia towards are New Warriors and X-Force, so I might just be a Nicieza fanboy... Brian C. SaundersJuly 2, 2016 1:58 PM Alpha Flight #45 @Jon Dubya It's only after Byrne that Jeffries was escalated into "Hero of the Beach" status, kicking sand in Bochs and Judd's faces whilst making off with Heather and then later, Diamond Lil. Jeffries' love life only furthered the (mis)characterization of Heather. Frankly, I think the X-books writers had the right idea to go back to basics. Brian C. SaundersJuly 2, 2016 1:38 PM Alpha Flight #106 @AF When you put it that way....considering every other post-Byrne issue did either abominable or place-holding things to the other characters...I'll grant it has a single merit(as I did do). However, I also say this: If one was to read this issue after a marathon of all Byrne issues, the whiplash would be mentally paralyzing. MichaelJuly 2, 2016 11:51 AM Alpha Flight #45 @Jon- Scramble admits in issue 48 that he deceived Bochs and actually created his new legs using body parts from people he murdered. George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 11:17 AM Alpha Flight #83-86 Agreed! Hudnall had real issues but it's Calimee who made this run p much unreadable in a way that Mantlo's never was... Jon DubyaJuly 2, 2016 10:52 AM Alpha Flight #45 By the way, it's always so weird to see Madison Jeffries presented gere as some "desirable stud" the ladies can lean on. When he becomes a supporting character for the X-boks, he's presented as a socially-maladjusted dork that can only relate well with computers and mechanics. Also, unless Bochs secretly had a "Kingpin" situation, using his "baby fat" to build a pair of muscular legs really shouldn't work. George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 10:15 AM Alpha Flight #64 (for the rest of Mantlo's run, I mean) George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 10:14 AM Alpha Flight #64 "It never ceases to amaze me that this book lasted as long as it did when it was so terrible." What's hilarious is that we're just now reaching the halfway point for this series. I kind of love the run through the 30s and the 40s in a weird way, but past 50 the book just went into total creative flatline MichaelJuly 2, 2016 10:10 AM Alpha Flight #55-60 It's been suggested that Shooter had to keep Mantlo on because of a lawsuit. See the comments here: George LochinskiJuly 2, 2016 9:44 AM Alpha Flight #55-60 Shooter allowing Mantlo to stay on this long is pretty much unforgivable kveto from pragueJuly 2, 2016 9:23 AM Daring Mystery Comics #1 Erik- Possibly. I was only comparing Fiery Mask's origin to other Timely origins, which are usually a one panel summary on the splash page. FM does appear in the final panel in his (hideous) costume, but it's basically an ad for the next issue. Erik BeckJuly 2, 2016 8:18 AM Daring Mystery Comics #1 Kveto - I'm stunned. I was going to say that it's rare but not unheard of as both the Golden Age Green Lantern and Atom had origin stories without costumes (GL did sport a costume in the final panel and on the cover but Atom doesn't have one at all in his first appearance). But when I looked closer, I was stunned to realize that those both came after the Fiery Mask story by several months. Maybe All-American got the idea from Simon. AFJuly 2, 2016 5:47 AM Alpha Flight #106 But... keep in mind... how awful every other non-Byrne Alpha Flight issue is... and this one sort of wins by default of having a single merit. ChrisJuly 2, 2016 12:12 AM Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #18 I think this is the comic referenced by Christian Slater's character, Clarence Worley, in True Romance when he is talking to Alabama (Patricia Arquette). Of course, the movie shows some modern 1990s Marvel Comic (I think either Sleepwalker or Deathlok, the art shows both) while he's talking about it. The only flaw in the movie. ;) Brian C. SaundersJuly 1, 2016 11:22 PM Alpha Flight #106 @AF I think it's an important book in Marvel's publishing history. It furthers Northstar's development as a LGBTQ character, which is important for Marvel in the 21st century. But it doesn't really effect the ongoing plot lines of Alpha Flight or Jean-Paul's relationships with the other Flight members(since they, of course, already knew he was gay). This is an issue that does one thing really well, which is have the panel of Northstar announcing he's gay in the middle of a badly drawn battle scene. Art could have been better, but the story itself is so basic and one note that it could only ever be a middling issue at best. It wasn't about being a "good" comic as much as it was about "Northstar comes out." kveto from pragueJuly 1, 2016 4:57 PM Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #9 Min! I'm surprised you'd discriminate against the black guy! Inclusion! (I know I'm responding to a quote from 9 years ago, so maybe times have changed since such a close-minded comment:-) AFJuly 1, 2016 4:54 PM Alpha Flight #106 This should definitely not be seen as high praise, but is this the best non-John Byrne issue of the Alpha Flight book? Also Major Mapleleaf is just painful. And goes a long way to invalidate nearly any of the merit this issue had. Had Jim Lee drawn this one and Major Mapleleaf substituted for anything else (even just the name, for God's sake), I could see myself happily saying this was the best non-Byrne issue. Unfortunately, we have Major Mapleleaf and below average art to dress around the mediocre-but-just-effective-enough story. kveto from pragueJuly 1, 2016 4:22 PM Daring Mystery Comics #1 I like the Fiery mask story as it is an actual ORIGIN story, very rare in golden age. He doesnt get his powers till the end of the story and never shows up in costume. Something hilariously mundane about the Vision calling police headquarters. "Hello? Police headquarters? This is the Vision." no other explanation needed. And tying up the thugs with their own clothes, heh. kveto from pragueJuly 1, 2016 4:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #66-67 I think one of the 60s spider-man cartoons uses this plot (but Mysterio is a green skinned Mr Spock) kveto from pragueJuly 1, 2016 3:51 PM Captain America #157-159 why give a blowgun to a villain with no mouth? AFJuly 1, 2016 9:35 AM Secret Wars II #5 A good explanation for Starfox's continued involvement in Secret Wars II after leaving the Avengers might be he was interested in learning where Beyonder sent Nebula to. It does neuter the scene with him leaving the team in Avengers #261, but it explains. Also there's a notable typo in this one. Boom-Boom shows the Beyonder her powers and states "I call myself Time Bomb". She's meant to be saying (something along the lines of) "I call it a time bomb". This is further cemented by on the page earlier, Boom-Boom saying how everyone calls her Boom-Boom but she prefers to be called Tabitha. As a result of this typo, the handbooks have consistently listed Time Bomb as an alias. Her announcing herself as being called Time Bomb makes no sense in context and even less sense after the page before. AFJuly 1, 2016 9:24 AM Son of Satan #4-7 The entire Son of Satan series is getting a trade in October. George LochinskiJuly 1, 2016 7:10 AM Son of Satan #4-7 (f ok r = for -- damn smartphones! You'd think I'd finally get in the habit of proofreading before posting. Much apologies.) George LochinskiJuly 1, 2016 7:08 AM Son of Satan #4-7 Haha I almost want to track these down. There's a certain type a person f ok r whom a bewildered response is the highest recommendation! 1976!!! George LochinskiJune 30, 2016 4:21 PM Master of Kung Fu #42 1976!!! kveto from pragueJune 30, 2016 3:40 PM Iron Man #217 Another one to file in the Tony stark is a rich prick catergory: preventing families from enjoying corporate fun just because he can. SharJune 30, 2016 3:33 PM General Comments @davidbanes: The exhibit sounds fascinating! btw Johnny Craig did that (in)famous cover depicting a severed head that Bill Gaines deemed to be in good taste "for the cover of a horror comic" during the 1950s Kefauver hearings. Later on in the 1960s Craig did some work for Marvel/Stan Lee, mostly on Iron Man. fnord has reviews of those issues. http://www.supermegamonkey.net/cgi-bin/mt512/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=3&Template=chronocomic&search=johnny%20craig clydeJune 30, 2016 1:45 PM Uncanny X-Men #214 Thanks for that link Chrisw. That was an awesome set of videos. That is really put together well for a non-professional production. Tim RossJune 30, 2016 10:06 AM Defenders #89-91 I meant Mesmero not Mesmerized. Stupid autocorrect. Tim RossJune 30, 2016 9:59 AM Defenders #89-91 Mandrill, Mesmerized, and the Purple Man are all rapists. Do you really want these guys to team up? Sparky RyanJune 30, 2016 2:05 AM Iron Man #217 Just read this again, a damn fine, exciting issue. With lovely art from Bright/Layton. I agree that the decision to hire Marcy Pearson was incredibly quick, and made little sense. The Adap-tor provided danger nad excitement, with a shocking end to its peril. Well-paced issue. Ben HermanJune 29, 2016 10:34 PM Fantastic Four #347-349 Erik Larsen also used the New FF in Wolverine #148 as part of the "Ages of Apocalypse" storyline. But, again, that was an alternate reality appearance. Ben HermanJune 29, 2016 9:44 PM What If? #35-39 Walter Simonson did indeed model the management of the TVA after Mark Gruenwald. Luis DantasJune 29, 2016 6:23 PM Captain Marvel #47 "Mac-Ronn"? As in "Macaroni"? Cute. :) david banesJune 29, 2016 4:32 PM General Comments So my university has this awesome art gallery for EC comics until July 10th. Been there several times. They go into detail and have some originals on EC's horror, sci-fi, shock and Old Trend. Outside the building is this picture...https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/769957.jpg That's art by Johnny Craig. Never heard of him but I got excited and thought it was Jack Kirby's art work. Doesn't that man with the yellow hat look very Kirbyesque? Heck the Old Witch reminds me of Karnilla's witch. Craig Crackles sounds almost as catchy as Kirby Krackles. fnord12June 29, 2016 1:01 PM Tomb of Dracula #31-35 Added Taj. Thanks. fnord12June 29, 2016 12:59 PM Captain Marvel #50-53 Added Gertie. Thanks. RickJune 29, 2016 11:50 AM Tomb of Dracula #31-35 Hi fnord Looks like you need to add Taj as a character appearing here. MOCK!June 29, 2016 8:50 AM What If? #35-39 And a quick Google search on my phone seems to bear me out! MOCK!June 29, 2016 8:46 AM What If? #35-39 I could be wrong (there is a lot of text above here) but the TVA seem to be modeled after Mark Gruenwald. I cant't check on the device I am using but I'm pretty sure that the ponytail/mustache combo was his look at this time (no pun intended!). Luis DantasJune 29, 2016 3:48 AM Captain Marvel #50-53 It is only a literal couple of panels, and written ambiguously at that, but #50 is the first appearance of Gertie, who will return in #54 already fully developed into a firm love interest for Rick - a role that she will keep for all further Rick appearances in this series and in Marvel Spotlight. Then no one ever mentions her again. Generally speaking, Captain Marvel's series is an odd duck far as continuity goes. It lasts about a decade and, if you include the Marvel Super-Heroes and Marvel Spotlight issues, 68 books. But between being bimonthly for most of its publication, several hiatuses, and a frequent lack of significant plot advancement, it feels remarkably decompressed for the time period. That is all the more notable because it was the only "cosmic" book for most of its run. It was a book that ought to feel important and eventful, but only managed that when it was involved with Thanos. Mar-Vell's most significant apperances otherwise were actually in the Kree-Skrull War issues of Avengers (late #90s) when he did not even have his own book, and later in the couple of Annuals that killed Thanos for a while. Overall, it reminds me of DC's Wonder Woman, in that everyone seems to feel that the book ought to have a reason to exist, but no one seems to find it no matter what. Luis DantasJune 29, 2016 3:21 AM Captain Marvel #54 Maybe it is not intentional, but the guy who watches Mar-Vell take the hat and coat and wishes to photograph him looks a lot like a bald Paul Gambi. Gambi, believe it or else, is a DC character, specifically a Flash supporting character - the tailor of the Rogues Gallery. I kid you not. Two of his relatives ended up appearing in Flash and Black Lightning stories as well. ChrisWJune 29, 2016 2:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #214 In case you were missing the horrible music of the 1980s but wanted new Dazzler product, here's what Lila Cheney's band sounded like when Dazzler was a back-up singer on the night the New Mutants showed up for a concert. And yes, there is another song with Dazzler herself. The song is actually better, and the special effects are so good they'll make you ignore the Longshot cameo. Guido is in this one, and he's awesome. ChrisWJune 28, 2016 11:45 PM New Mutants #15-17 Had Kitty ever seen Illyana's astral form before? I'm betting not, because Illyana has never been given as much screen time as she's getting now, as she becomes (arguably) the series' most prominent character. Looking up the actual comic, Illyana is surprised that Kitty can see her. To me, it reads like the White Queen can see Illyana with or without reading Kitty's mind. "Kitty saw me! But how - uh oh! I can sense the White Queen's psi-powers - she can see me, too!" You're right that Emma should be able to see what Kitty sees if she (Emma) is reading Kitty's mind, it just comes off to me as more of an implied suggestion that Emma would have been able to see/sense her anyway. Either Claremont's being inconsistent or I'm inferring something that wasn't actually there. Also interesting is that the Kitty/White Queen scene lasted three and a half-pages, which is surprisingly long for comics of the time. Illyana's astral projection took another page and a half, and that's not counting the opening splash page. That's six pages out of a 22-page comic just on the opening sequence, and Illyana's reaction to Emma's psi-blast takes another six pages, finally ending when Sam and the others come in with "some questions for Illyana." But #14 is chock-full of story and characterization. There's no decompression. It takes the kids another three pages to figure out what they're going to do, a page at the bus terminal, and three more on the bus itself. Then there's three pages left to set up the cliff-hanger. It's not a story with a complete beginning/middle/ending, but that's about the worst thing to say. It builds on established plotlines [Bobby/Rhane and Cloak and Dagger, Illyana's mystic potential] sets up others [Illyana again, the rival school] and crosses over with the parent title and the Marvel Universe ["Secret Wars" obviously, but Xavier's first rule when the X-Men aren't available is to call the Avengers or FF, and Emma takes time to describe how she recovered from Mastermind's attack.] Good stuff. Ataru320June 28, 2016 3:23 PM Strange Tales #119 (Dr. Strange) Strange vs. Aggamon: It's the Metapod vs. Metapod of magic battles! CradicusJune 28, 2016 3:15 PM Doctor Strange #180-182 Pretty sure the Tom Wolfe cameo is because Wolfe mentions Dr. Strange (and especially the "Beyond the Purple Veil" issue of Strange Tales) in the then recently published "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." CradicusJune 28, 2016 2:09 PM Doctor Strange #169 Not to "well actually" you too much, but Strange totally lights up a cigarette while removing his surgical garb in the original origin story in Strange Tales 115. It's a canonical lack of proper hygiene! :D MOCK!June 28, 2016 12:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #183 I think she winds up with John Byrne instead. Vin the Comics GuyJune 28, 2016 10:51 AM Avengers #4 Their hair had opposite parts, IIRC. kveto from pragueJune 28, 2016 9:48 AM Avengers #1.5 Quite possibly the only good continuity insert ever. Right artwork, correct style and dialogue. Only Stern can pull it off. fnord12June 28, 2016 7:26 AM What's Missing I know the MCP has covered the Charleston Chew comic as in-scope. I can't find a determination on the Drake Cakes comics. But the only way i'd consider covering stuff like that is if i came across another comic that referenced it. So i may list such things on the What's Missing page (as i've done with Charleston Chew), but it's unlikely they'll ever get actually get covered. a.lloydJune 28, 2016 4:49 AM Hulk #286-290 You had me until, Ms. Modok shows up. D09June 28, 2016 1:54 AM What's Missing Quick question: do you consider the two Spider-Man Drakes Cakes Mini Comics Series published in 1993 within the scope of your project or not really? Vin the Comics GuyJune 28, 2016 1:04 AM Avengers #1.5 Certainly makes the the Hulk's leaving the team make more sense! Luis DantasJune 28, 2016 12:02 AM Avengers #89-97 Interesting selection of Golden Age characters in Rick Jones' scene in #92. Some are not even Timely's or Marvel's. I recognize the Heap (lower left) and I believe it is the Green Lama flying at the lower right. Luis DantasJune 27, 2016 11:26 PM Guardians of the Galaxy #27-29 Any ideas on what Jarvis (I assume that is him with the mummyfied face) means by his disfavorable comparison between Major Victory and Vance Astro? Is he _that_ bothered by the stealing of the Quinjet a few months back? AndrewJune 27, 2016 9:19 PM Ms. Marvel #2-4 In the eighties, apparently, Margaret Thatcher indicated that she would not change her economic policy by declaring "The lady's not for turning." Hopefully she fired her speechwriter after that... Brian C. SaundersJune 27, 2016 5:38 PM Hulk #286-290 No consequences? She has to live that down every day for the rest of her life. "I was Ms. MODEK." That's a heavy burden of shame right there. Really, it's much better there be no consequences or need to refer to details of this story ever again, aside from Ross freed Abomination. Piotr WJune 27, 2016 5:18 PM Hulk #286-290 What I don't like about the Hulk / Abomination / MODOK story is the casual way Kate's transformation is reversed. Making someone into a MODOK-like creature should be a big endevour! It should be permanent! Meanwhile, in this story Kate changes into a MODOK and back speedily and without consequences... Ataru320June 27, 2016 10:37 AM Hulk #294 It may have been lagged but at least with the developments over the year, they knew ultimately of the direction it would go in so it would work to be broad about it without saying what the final intentions of the author would be. I think it worked with the Hulk at least...by comparison, obviously no one knew with the Black Costume that we were going to get it's removal only to lead to Venom. clydeJune 27, 2016 10:25 AM Hulk #294 Except that with the year lag time, it wasn't as smooth as later crossovers. I prefer the integrated crossovers since the action goes on each month and moves the plot forward. Ataru320June 27, 2016 9:13 AM Hulk #294 Gamma mutated dog...all that makes me think of is the poodle from the Ang Lee movie. Having read some of Secret Wars now, I don't think it really was as much of a problem as it seemed to "interrupt" it, especially since this was taken into consideration within the event; Bruce kept saying he was losing himself and that he knew that it was all falling apart even while he and the others were on Battleworld. In fact, I think Secret Wars did a good job in keeping some of the major story points that were active at Marvel at the time going even in the midst of a major event, where the event fit around the stories going on...instead of the other way around like these days. MichaelJune 27, 2016 7:45 AM New Mutants #15-17 Brian, in that sequence, Emma is clearly reading Kitty's mind- she remarks that Kitty loves Doug and is scared. So if she's reading Kitty's mind when Illyana appears, she should be able to see Ilyana, even if Kitty isn't subverted. fnord12June 27, 2016 7:22 AM New Mutants annual #2 Magik does appear. Thanks, Max_Spider. Added her. kveto from pragueJune 27, 2016 4:57 AM Hulk #295-296 With Secret wars lasting a week or so, it seems it took quite some time for the gamma cure to turn bad. Brian C. SaundersJune 27, 2016 3:57 AM Thing #10 Well, there was a flashback dealing with the Thing's reactions to and from the humans after the spaceflight crash. It's less between FF #1 and 2 and more between chapters of FF# 1. Brian C. SaundersJune 27, 2016 3:52 AM Hulk #294 As I recall, the dog had incurable cancer. Experimenting on an animal in pain whose only alternative was to be put to death doesn't seem evil to me, although I'm sure in the real world there's probably bioethics rules against it by now. In the Marvel Universe, in the 80's, it seemed ok to me, at least until the next issue. Obviously, Banner's gamma treatment had flaws, since the dog's green fur was unexpected. As well as the cumulative effects, naturally, to be revealed next issue. But had the experiment been successful, the dog would have hopefully lived out a nominal dog's span of years free of cancer. That seems a beneficial cause to undertake. Brian C. SaundersJune 27, 2016 3:35 AM New Mutants #15-17 Is this issue definitive proof that Emma Frost has her hooks in Kitty's mind? We know that Kitty can be able to see Illyana because of their bond. The White Queen shouldn't because Illyana is using her mystical power and not psi-projecting, but if Emma can see everything Kitty sees, then Kitty's already been subverted unawares. JeffJune 27, 2016 12:56 AM Fantastic Four #266-268 I feel like the ambiguity of Dr. Doom's death was intentional on Byrne's part. Byrne may have been privy to the end of Secret Wars (and probably would have had to have been for the She-Hulk add) so he might have known Doom was going to be presumed dead..but with another presumed death very recently that audiences knew about... it works to not spoil SW for the audience. Did any of what I just typed make sense? It's really late haha. MichaelJune 26, 2016 11:30 PM New Mutants #98-100 Well, he had a one-panel cameo in X-Men 272... ChrisJune 26, 2016 11:19 PM New Mutants #98-100 When was the last time Emmanuel Da Costa appeared or was referenced? According to this site, it's been 6 years since New Mutants # 23-25. Wow, that is a long time in comics history. Especially since Sunspot's relationship with his father, his membership in the Hellfire Club, and Sunspot's supposed tendency to turn evil was supposed to be so important. It really shows how Claremont just loses his subplots, and how Louise Simonson failed to follow up on them. In the hundred issues of New Mutants, after setting this up in the first year of stories, there has been no resolution. It just ends. Lame. In a strange way, at least Liefeld should get credit for doing something. Time Traveling BunnyJune 26, 2016 5:50 PM Avengers #66-68 That "soul food" line is really ugly. Ben HermanJune 26, 2016 2:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #272 It's interesting to look at events of "The X-Tinction Agenda" from the perspective of 2016. When we first were introduced to Genosha, it was more or less played straight as a police state that enslaved & exploited mutants for the benefit of the white human majority, sort of a fictionalized version of South Africa, or if you prefer the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. It's horrible, but it's realistically plausible, an example of the banality of evil. But when we return to Genosha is now being run by Cameron Hodge, an absolutely over-the-top, insane, demonically-cursed, cyborg, manipulative mutant-hating bigot with weird hair who has taken advantage of the country's institutionalized bigotry and totalitarian structure to completely seize power, resulting in many of the former rulers being so aghast at what has happened that they find themselves having to work with their old enemies the X-Men to try to overthrow this lunatic tyrant. Not to get too political, but doesn't that all sound very familiar? Ben HermanJune 26, 2016 1:58 PM X-Factor annual #1 Never read this annual. This story sounds like it has some good ideas, but the execution is off. Of course I guess you could also say that about the entire "original X-Men posing as mutant hunters" premise. There might just have been a certain potential in the concept, but in actually carrying it out the ball was fumbled. I don't recall if this has been asked before, but who exactly came up with the "mutant hunters" concept? Was it Layton or Shooter or someone else? ChrisJune 26, 2016 2:46 AM X-Factor annual #1 Thompson is a dangling thread. Only Layton used him. I don't think Louise Simonson ever used him even once during her long run. What his role was with Cameron Hodge or the Worthington family was never brought up. Another issue is that Soviets were not people to let just anyone into their country. Before extending an invitation, the KGB would likely have investigated X-Factor and its members very thoroughly. However, this was never addressed. At least some kind of hand waving about alternate identities for Scott, Jean, Hank, etc. as X-Factor members would have been good. I don't recall that ever being addressed in this or any other issue. Brian C. SaundersJune 25, 2016 9:23 PM X-Factor annual #1 Senator Thompson presents a bit of a dangling thread. Senators are important people, but he takes X-Factor and Cameron Hodge into confidence. Since Hodge is the leader of the Right, Thompson should have been shown to have suffered some repercussions for being a pro-mutant sympathizer. Even if it was only to lose an election, he should have been name dropped at least once in the ongoing series. Max_SpiderJune 25, 2016 5:07 PM New Mutants annual #2 I don't see Magik on the "characters appearing" list. That is her at the end, right? Andrew BurkeJune 25, 2016 3:11 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 Here's some information from John Romita Jr. about UNCANNY X-MEN #175, particularly about why he did the final part of the issue. Interesting stuff! http://marvel1980s.blogspot.com/2011/06/1983-uncanny-x-men-175-and-john-romita.html fnord12June 25, 2016 1:51 PM Thor annual #6 That makes sense, since he reaches into the present to grab Thor. Thanks Matthew. fnord12June 25, 2016 1:42 PM The 'Nam #68 Thanks Michael. I've added some notes in the Considerations. Matthew BradleyJune 25, 2016 12:10 PM Black Panther #8-13 He puts a similar sentiment into the mouth of Joshua Itobo in #12: "The unpredictable effect of Vibranium exposure on the body is a serious matter." Matthew BradleyJune 25, 2016 8:34 AM Thor annual #6 And add a "d" to my prior comment? :-) Matthew BradleyJune 25, 2016 8:33 AM Thor annual #6 Maybe ad Korvac to "Characters Appearing"? Omar KarinduJune 25, 2016 8:28 AM Tales Of Suspense #56 (Iron Man) The whole "unicorns are pretty and friendly" idea is of relatively recent vintage; until modern times, the legend was that the unicorn was an untamable beast, sort of a wild Bronco that could also stab you to death with its horn. The idea was that only a "pure" (virgin) maiden could induce a unicorn to calm down, allowing the big strong men to kill it. Omar KarinduJune 25, 2016 8:04 AM Iron Man #88-91 I think the idea is that the Controller can't channel the power of two people through one control disc, and thus it "overloads" his armor somehow. Mark DrummondJune 25, 2016 1:13 AM Captain Marvel #43-46 In one panel in #44, the Null-Trons are called Null-Troids. Mark DrummondJune 24, 2016 9:25 PM Iron Man #55 A panel in #30 showing the Controller's thralls includes Spiro Agnew and Archie Bunker. Mark DrummondJune 24, 2016 9:19 PM Captain Marvel #34 A panel of road signs has a backward message "This issue is the end". Mark DrummondJune 24, 2016 9:17 PM Captain Marvel #31-33 Starcore is described here as a joint Russian-American space observatory. Omar KarinduJune 24, 2016 7:22 PM Fear #19 / Man-Thing #1 I tend to think of some of Wood's "adult humor" work as the beginning of the alternative comix scene, or at least its close protoptype. Argubaly you can trace some of it all the way back to stuff like the goodman Beaver stories he did with Harvey Kurtzmann. witzend launched in 1966, for example. and seems very much like a prototype of the other "comix" publications. And some other stuff, like the very early Fritz the Cat stories, were already around. It's a little like trying to identify the first example of punk rock. Ataru320June 24, 2016 3:58 PM Marvel Team-Up annual #4 I sort of wonder if Miller was going back to the basics for Killgrave because it worked so well: the idea of a villain who just can smooth-talk his way into getting what he wants instead of needing a gang or any of that. Considering that is how the Purple Man worked in his first appearance, it just worked for him...and considering that Frank doesn't use Killgrave in his Daredevil run, at least he does give him some mileage in redefining him into his more classic role in another comic. Mark DrummondJune 24, 2016 3:29 PM Fear #19 / Man-Thing #1 The Wally Wood Disney Orgy actually appeared shortly after Walt Disney's death in 1966 in Paul Krassner's "Realist" magazine--underground comix didn't really get going until about late 1967. Andrew BurkeJune 24, 2016 1:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #158 Xavier got implanted with the egg behind-the-scenes in UNCANNY X-MEN #155, after Colossus was taken out. By the next issue, he's already having dreams about it while a prisoner of Deathbird. Unsure why his egg took longer to gestate, other than maybe it's because it's a queen. Jayz406June 24, 2016 1:07 PM Uncanny X-Men #232-234 Sorry, just saw that you noted it in the entry. Great work as always fnord. Jayz406June 24, 2016 1:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #232-234 I'm pretty sure there was a follow up two issue series about this particular sect of brood, finishing up the dangling thread of the minister's wife? Anybody know why I'm talking about? Andrew BurkeJune 24, 2016 12:58 PM Uncanny X-Men #160 Claremont probably grabbed onto Belasco because of his connection to the N'Garai/Elder Gods. I know she showed up as the villain in X-Infernus, but I'd enjoy it if Belasco's daughter, Witchfire, showed up again to plague the X-Men. TCPJune 24, 2016 11:20 AM Amazing Spider-Man #368-373 Michael, we all know that May is just covering up for the "Linda Brown" incident. Jon DubyaJune 24, 2016 10:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #288 Ben, I would point out that "The team argues with Wolvie about killing" has been a common stock subplot among the X-books (and the the Avengers books too, after the mid-2000s) for a while now. At best thdy might have turned a "blind eye" to Logan doing it in his solo missions, but when he's right in front of the team they generally tell him to put the claws away. Brian, apparently even Lobdell has some limits to his mallebility because eventually he bristles at editorial demands enough to be fired too. Fnord, I suspect that oart of the purpose of this issue (besides "subtle-as-a-brick-to-the-face" character shilling) was to differentiate Bishop enough so that he'd still have the "90s edge" but slightly sanded down so that he doesn't come off as a "black" version of you-know-who (and you know HE wouldn't have deferred to any of Storm's speeches or concerns whatsoever...at keast at this point.) Cecil M. JamesJune 24, 2016 9:21 AM New Warriors #26 They should bring the book back and make Fabian Nicieza write the book and two new members should be added to the new warriors and they are kyllian boddicker a.k.a wildpride from Dr. Strange Annual # 3 1993 and joaquin torres a.k.a the all new falcon. MichaelJune 24, 2016 8:20 AM Amazing Spider-Man #368-373 Comics Should Be Good recently did a feature on the backup story in issue 370 and how it implied that May never had kids because of her own cruel mother, which seemed to contradict the earlier implication in Roger Stern's run that she "lost" a child: D09June 23, 2016 11:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #169-171 After thinking it over, I'm surprised that between Dark Beast's genetic tinkering and Masque's disfiguration makeovers, Callisto looks a lot like a normal human female (an overly masculine female with an eye missing and several, possibly self-inflicted, facial scars, but human nonetheless, relatively speaking). BenwayJune 23, 2016 11:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man #1 FF annual #1 also has an extended version of the FF vs. Spidey fight. MichaelJune 23, 2016 9:37 PM Punisher: The Origin of Microchip #1-2 Also, how much older is Frank supposed to be than Micro? He calls him "son" in this story at one point but the age difference between them is usually depicted as less than 10 years. AndrewJune 23, 2016 9:27 PM Avengers #161-162 With these issues, Shooter changed the Avengers status quo forever. Prior to this Hank Pym was a bit of a cypher, and Ultron was a character who had made a splash in his first storylines, but had only appeared once since. After this Ultron was a top-tier villain, and Pym's struggle with mental illness became a permanent fixture. MichaelJune 23, 2016 9:10 PM The 'Nam #68 The soldier telling this story, Ice Philips, appears in later Punisher stories. Incidentally, Phillips appears in other 'Nam stories, so I'm not sure if you want to count those stories as canon. Luis DantasJune 23, 2016 8:22 PM Killpower: The Early Years #1-4 Hmm, Rama-Tut is left-handed. Luis DantasJune 23, 2016 8:04 PM Punisher: The Origin of Microchip #1-2 Who did select and train Punisher's Vietnam Squad again? Maggia? HYDRA? :) Come to think of it, both the Punisher and Maggia have Italian origins... hmm... Brian C. SaundersJune 23, 2016 6:09 PM Hulk #260 I tend to agree that characters shouldn't be killed easily on a meta level. That said, Talbot was never really developed past being second banana to Ross and Banner's competition for Betty. Ross and Betty had been developed in ways that they didn't need Talbot. That left Talbot in the role of a second rate Ross. The Hulk is unique in some respects, because it's a title that has a body count. People who get mixed up with the Hulk sometimes do die. Armbruster, Jarella, and now Talbot. In titles like Spider-Man, I don't think death is really appropriate because it undermines Parker's guilt for Uncle Ben by giving him more people to feel guilty for(like Gwen Stacy for instance). One should be enough! But in the Hulk, Banner's life is a tragic one and it's appropriate that death turns up from time to time. Talbot's time came and it was as pathetic and useless as it should have been. He was a man who had no real convictions besides an unthinking patriotism or likable characteristics(see the previous 200 issues). Ross's hatred of the Hulk at least came from in part from a parent's selfless love for their child. Talbot just wanted the girl and was patient enough to wait for Betty to get worn down by Banner's life. His death was no big loss and the fact that he's stayed dead is a testament to that. Omar KarinduJune 23, 2016 4:34 PM Man-Thing #11 Sheriff Daltry will return many decades later, still possessed by Captain Fate, as part of the final arc of Captain Britain and MI-13, where his situation is resolved (re-resolved?). Omar KarinduJune 23, 2016 4:09 PM Fear #19 / Man-Thing #1 There was a whole thing in the 1960s and 1970s underground comix scene about messing with Disneyesque "funny animal" characters characters. tehy were seen as symbols of complacency, American self-delusion, and conformity by a lot of the counterculture comics types. The most infamous example is Wally Wood's Disneyland Memorial Orgy piece (look it up yourself, folks), but there was also the self-named "Air Pirates" trying to force the Disney characters into the public domain and use them for social commentary. Howard being played as a normal joe -- with a gun even! -- despite looking like a goofy cartoon character has at least something to do with that. Sword-and-sorcery was also coming in as an alternative to superheroes and "safe" comics genres at this point, too. So Gerber is partly reflecting -- only partly -- a bunch of other things swirling around at the time. Oliver_CJune 23, 2016 2:10 PM Hulk #260 'Sanshiro Sugata' was the title of the 1943 debut film by Akira Kurosawa, Japan's master director. CullenJune 23, 2016 1:38 PM Punisher: The Origin of Microchip #1-2 This story is... wow. ChrisJune 23, 2016 1:32 PM Hulk #260 Always sad to see a long term member of the supporting cast die. Even if they haven't been utilized well, there is always the chance another writer can do better. Unless the story is truly excellent, it's just better to "retire" the character by moving them off screen and write him out of the book. That way he can be brought back later. It's appropriate that Talbot should die in battle with the Hulk. But it really needed to be played up in a plot of its own and resolve things with the character. clydeJune 23, 2016 1:12 PM Punisher: The Origin of Microchip #1-2 "hence the addition of yet another Vietnam squadmate that goes into criminal activity after the war" Giovanni AmateisJune 23, 2016 11:56 AM Fear #13 Joshua Kale looks like the present Stan Lee. Erik BeckJune 23, 2016 11:32 AM Savage Hulk #1-4 Looking at this, I wonder if the urge to tackle the X-Men's "lost years" isn't because it was cancelled but because artists want a chance to draw Jean in that outfit. fnord12June 23, 2016 7:35 AM Captain Marvel #31-33 Added him (as Space Parasite). Thanks, AF. AFJune 23, 2016 4:26 AM Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Graphic Novel #1) Anyone else of note missing? I'd say Basilisk and Korvac. Maybe Skragg (the other Skrull working for Thanos) and Terrex (from Daredevil #107). ISAAC seems an oversight too but perhaps that was to avoid complicating things with him also being in the main story. Blood Brothers maybe, but I think they wound up avoiding him and fighting Iron Man and Thing most the time instead. And Yon-Rogg as said. MichaelJune 22, 2016 11:30 PM Thing #20-22 @Brian- as we saw in Quasar 8, the reason Rhodey's armor modifications didn't work wasn't because they weren't real- it was because they were really an evil sentient machine. Brian C. SaundersJune 22, 2016 11:24 PM Thing #20-22 I don't think think that everything was fake on Battleworld at least not at the beginning. The Denver Colorado suburb, the dragon and Zsaji's people. The planet was created from pieces of other planets. That said, after Secret Wars 12, the wish fulfillment effect of the planet was in full force and I'd assume that aside from the people who we saw leaving, that any other life would and could have wished itself home as well. Of course, Ben couldn't know this at first, so he still assumed the planet was populated with stranded alien life, which he created subconsciously as he expected to meet them. So, when Ben states that Tarianna was his creation I'm inclined to believe him in light of the lack of evidence to the contrary. Also, Ultron's defeat seemed to result of a lack of imagination(not the writer's, although...). Ultron relied on the world as Grimm perceived it, but Ultron couldn't even maintain his body without Ben's subconscious generating the environment it was created in. The Thing's concern for Ultron "running the show" alone seems unfounded. I agree that it doesn't seem that there was any other influences acting on Battleworld besides Ben. For that matter, it seems unlikely that any Battleworld creations could be sustained for Ultron to use to escape and conquer with, if Rhodey's Iron Man armor modifications are anything to go by. I'd assume that outside Battleworld's sphere of influence, Ultron's army would meet the same fate as they do with the death of the "evil" Grimm. Ultron's head would just have had further to fall. So really, none of this matters except as a externalized psychological drama, like the Twilight Zone, but 12 issues instead of 30 minutes. Brian C. SaundersJune 22, 2016 10:45 PM Thing #25 If there's anything interesting about this story, it's that after definitively establishing that Ben cannot transform back into human form, the leprechauns grant Ben's wish to be human. And then he wishes himself back again to keep from burning to death. And thinks it was a dream. It's odd to undercut Ben's existential dilemma so soon after (re)establishing it. It's probably a good thing that Mike Carlin turned out to be a much better Superman editor than Thing writer but not for this issue. Luis DantasJune 22, 2016 9:48 PM Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Graphic Novel #1) Okay, I think I have it as figures as I am likely to. In reading order: Annihilus (Avengers #96-97 and Captain Marvel #35) Surprisingly, Yon-Rogg is nowhere to be seen. AFJune 22, 2016 7:31 PM Captain Marvel #31-33 Randau appears again in #31 as part of Thanos' army. Page 9. He's on the far right of the group shot (and is correctly colored this time!) AFJune 22, 2016 7:29 PM Avengers #259-260 These are the first Avengers issues I read (well, #260 and #261) so maybe I'm a bit biased but this is one of the best Avengers stories out there. Possibly the most underrated. And the line about Monica and Dane having not formally met is probably in reference to Dane being present when Monica reported to the team from Sanctuary II in #255. But it works well enough as a vague statement to cover the ROM appearances. AFJune 22, 2016 7:10 PM Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Graphic Novel #1) I think the blue one is Metazoid (Captain Marvel #5). Luke BlanchardJune 22, 2016 7:04 PM Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Graphic Novel #1) The yellow robot right of Mar-Vell's head is the Mandroid from CAPTAIN MARVEL #18 (see fnord's review; it looks different on the cover). The Rip Jagger's Dojo blog (post for Jan. 3 2011) interprets the blue guy as the Metazoid from CAPTAIN MARVEL #5. That could be his face and I don't have a better suggestion. Luis DantasJune 22, 2016 5:01 PM Death of Captain Marvel (Marvel Graphic Novel #1) I think I have identified most of those characters (and their first appearances as Mar-Vell foes), but for the blue creature next to his chin and the yellow giant with a weird mouth behind his hair. Any hints on who those might be? ChrisWJune 22, 2016 4:51 PM Excalibur #8 Shi'ar technology completely escaped my mind. Piotr WJune 22, 2016 3:00 PM Ghost Rider #35-38 These last few issues of this book are a great example of Mackie's writing approach, i.e. making things up as he went :) Case example: HEART. They get introduced as seemingly recurring characters. Then, Mackie seems to have no idea what to do with them, so they make almost no further appearances. Eventually, Mackie kills them all off aside from Tyler, whom he turns into Heart Attack. She appears in a few issues, then gets vanished by Centurious, who suggests that he might have big plans for her... and then, she disappears completely. No planning on Mackie's behalf altogether... Other fine example are Danny's family revelations. Initially, nothing suggests that he's adopted. Then, the adoption comes up out of nowhere... And there are going to be further revelations, which can't be squared with what came before at all... again, a sign that Mackie had no idea what to do with Dan's family. BTW. Guys, you really should take a look at how the appearance of Dan's mom changes through the issues. No model continuity whatsoever... Andrew BurkeJune 22, 2016 12:40 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 That's a good reason! clydeJune 22, 2016 12:33 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 Or he did it simply to make sure that no one was wondering what was going on with the "Islanders" until his plan was ready to go into motion. If everyone thought they were ok, they wouldn't be on guard against them. Andrew BurkeJune 22, 2016 12:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #184 Maybe she reads as a human when she changes into one? Most people never liked Rachel, but I do, especially now. I first read this back when I was a teenager and was never bothered by all of her whining. I just thought it was cool that Claremont used her again after her appearance in Days of Future Past. I wanted to know more about her and her future. Selene, however, I never liked back then, but now I appreciate her more after re-reading a lot of her early stories. Andrew BurkeJune 22, 2016 12:22 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 I'm thinking the Shadow King relaxed his grip on these guys because he may have been interested in the powers of Proteus and Piecemeal, to add to his own. Or not. Brian C. SaundersJune 22, 2016 12:12 PM Excalibur #8 @Bill That logic doesn't hold up when you review that as of the issue that the X-Men faked their deaths, Kitty was recovering from discorporation, Nightcrawler was in a coma and only woke up after the X-Men died, and X-Factor were believed to be bounty hunters selling out their own kind. There are all sorts of meta reasons to not like Storm's Plan Omega, but in terms of story telling from the X-Men's perspective, it did make sense. It's only after Inferno that it seems redundant. BillJune 22, 2016 11:59 AM Excalibur #8 I think the members of Excalibur are fully capable of taking care of themselves (and X-Factor too), so the X-Men trying to "protect" them by faking their deaths doesn't hold any water. clydeJune 22, 2016 11:10 AM Excalibur #8 "I cannot see why the X-Men couldn't tell their friends the truth about their deaths right away." Mark DrummondJune 22, 2016 10:48 AM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32-33 The Denny O'Neill announcement was made in the Comics Journal. I'm guessing it was another DoD story that he wasn't able to get done due to editorial commitments. Oliver_CJune 22, 2016 10:40 AM Excalibur #8 Hasn't the X-Men's Blackbird been enhanced with Shi'ar technology? Certainly it'd require super-science to explain this sort of problems away. Luis DantasJune 22, 2016 10:25 AM Excalibur #8 It is indeed difficult to suspend disbelief when it comes to the idea of a private jet that is somehow used, kept and stored in secret at a distance of about 35 miles from Manhattan in the continental USA. Those things need a lot of expensive maintenance and infrastructure and must be incredibly easy to trace by the DoD. Maybe it was more believable in 1978 or so. These days, we must assume that the X-Men made the location of their hangar known to the DoD the minute Blackbird took to the air. Luis DantasJune 22, 2016 10:14 AM Ghost Rider #35-38 What is with the idea of mysterious manipulative masters at this time? It feels like there are more unrevealed masters than named villains. And it gets worse soon, with the Clone Saga and then Onslaught. fnord12June 22, 2016 7:21 AM Out of scope It was never published, so i don't think it counts as canon, and i only cover actual physical comics. For those interested, i think this is the site D09 refers to: http://www.2000ad.org/markus/loosecannons/ Oliver_CJune 22, 2016 7:16 AM Uncanny X-Men #181 If I had a penny for every time I've seen the East described along the lines of, "This most ancient land," I could afford to fly there business class. *Every* land is ancient for crying out loud, and if by "land" Claremont means nation-state, well, Japan is a lot less ancient than, say, Egypt, Greece or Italy. Omar KarinduJune 22, 2016 6:58 AM Man-Thing #19-22 My take is that this story reads as a companion piece to the previous one; having taken on rural America, the reactionaries, and the South, Gerber is now satirizing the self-obsessed or unstable urban professional types, the New York City culture he's a part of. They're narcissists who use up other people to try to feel anything at all (the Scavenger), incapable of handling their pent-up feelings and always looking for a pop-psych silver bullet (the sister), or they subsume themselves in their jobs without caring much for the morality of what they're doing (the accountant). And in the background, the family is disintegrating, and the women who are neglected by emotionally dead types like the accountant wind up being preyed on by sexual and emotional predators like the Scavenger. Event he Man-Thing is defeated by a sort of induced existential crisis in this story. It's zany introspection and social satire, which are the two most consistent notes of the series to date. El Mo7aJune 22, 2016 6:38 AM Marvel Comics Presents #26-35 (Coldblood) The Maze_the post-apocalyptic atmosphere_the training bots.....isn't that a prototype for The Maze Runner series ?? Rocknrollguitarplayer June 22, 2016 1:12 AM Avengers #21-22 after reading this book again, it becomes apparent some of these great Silver Age super villains need to be re-introduced in a Lethal Legion or Masters of Evil context to revive the power of characters like powerman/Atlas, living lazar, swordsman, Grim Reaper etc etc. Rocknrollguitarplayer June 22, 2016 12:55 AM Fantastic Four #105-116 Now that FOX has nearly succeeded in ruining the Fantastic Four, what better way would there be to reintroduce the power of FF to the Silver Screen than a Thing vs Hulk misunderstanding side battle in an upcoming marvel studio release? D09June 22, 2016 12:09 AM Out of scope Are you going to cover Loose Cannons, the Warheads spinoff from 1993/1994? If you do I know where you can find the site where all four issues (even the pages that were never completed) are individually scanned page-by-page. a.lloydJune 21, 2016 9:56 PM Man-Thing #4 Don Perlin was 50 at the time. a.lloydJune 21, 2016 9:43 PM Marvel Team-Up #89 Art looks like Mark Texeira. MichaelJune 21, 2016 9:36 PM Ghost Rider #34 I'm wondering- Death Ninja's boss was clearly meant to be Centurious but who was the other player he mentions? Mephisto? Lilith? Zarathos? ChrisWJune 21, 2016 9:28 PM Excalibur #4-5 When did Lockheed become an actual part of the team? Obviously he fights when a villain or a monster shows up or when the heroes get taken to a weird place. He's always been useful/funny as Kitty's pet (somewhat less useful/funny as Illyana's, I always thought) but it's always been odd when the team chooses to bring him along on a mission or not. "We're going to Murderworld to rescue Courtney, let's bring Lockheed!" "We're going to New York to rescue Rachel's baby brother, let's leave Lockheed behind!" "We're going to invade Cheyenne Mountain to rescue Banshee, let's bring Lockheed!" "We're going to fight whoever's killing the Morlocks, let's leave Lockheed behind!" ChrisWJune 21, 2016 8:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #181 Rogue confirming Xavier's orders with Storm is one of the things that made Claremont's character interactions interesting. There's the natural (and explicit) confusion with the chain-of-command now that Xavier is able to go on field missions. There's also the fact that Rogue is still brand-new to the team and may not be entirely trustworthy. She has a valid reason to ask both leaders if there are any objections to sending her halfway around the world to check on the New Mutants and Cyclops. Rogue had two mommies, she would have a clue how to play off one leader against the other if she was so inclined, and part of what makes her a great X-Man is that she isn't so inclined. It doesn't come through clearly in this sequence, but Storm would have issues as well. She would have to decide on the spot who is of more use where. The New Mutants and the X-Mansion need to be checked on - not to mention Kitty - but they have a dragon to fight. Both Storm and Rogue would be useful in fighting the dragon, but someone needs to check on the kids, and Storm's feeling threatened by Xavier's resumption of leadership. She says her place is with the team, phrasing it as both a duty of leadership, the X-Men's responsibility for the situation, and a personal preference on her part. Xavier is given his moment of self-doubt, recognizing a problem that he himself is creating. Wolverine is also given a few panels of commentary about the situation - unlike Xavier, we can read Wolvie's thoughts without feeling guilty - and considering this is after the orders for the first few issues of "Secret Wars" came in, one assumes Claremont was adapting himself to Shooter's new edicts. I'm sure it could have been done better - "Rogue, I would love to handle this personally, however my place is with the team. We brought this dragon here and it is our responsibility." *thinks* Goddess, after the experience we have just been through, I want nothing more than the respite of my own room at home. - but I don't think it was done badly. ChrisWJune 21, 2016 7:46 PM Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem Is that supposed to be Pope John Paul II at Westminster Cathedral? Awk-ward! ChrisWJune 21, 2016 7:43 PM Excalibur #8 If nobody knows anything about the Blackbird, then who decided to obey "the owner" and get it ready for flight? I am assuming that's the reason Nightcrawler can just start it up. And what a daring rogue, he doesn't do a pre-flight walkaround or anything before he pushes a button to fly across the continent. And where does he land? I doubt he could just land a jet he stole from Lockheed-Martin itself at New York Airport, and even if he lands at the X-Mansion, it's not like he wouldn't have been tracked all the way, and now he's led the government straight to the remains of the X-Mansion. Luis DantasJune 21, 2016 7:00 PM New Mutants #14 To be fair to Claremont, making concessions for the wider MU is no small request, and tends to wreak havoc on ongoing plots (as the last 20-odd years of events have so painfully taught us all). I have increasingly come to think of him as fine indie writer material who had the misfortune to begin his professional work some 15 years too early to fully take advantage of his skills. He may well have made the Image Exodus possible in ways not fully understood at this time. In that sense he was a pioneer, a precursor. Cecil DisharoonJune 21, 2016 5:55 PM New Mutants #14 Wow, that's some incisive writing, commenters! I like Luis' point comparing Defenders & X-Men, as it generally bears out. And D09, there's little D9 Chris wrote without the broader MU in mind during, say, the World Tour, what with the mistaken deaths conundrum. He did help launch Dazzler and guest-starred Spider-Woman, but Alison didn't have a book yet initially and Jessica's book was his to write by #148. I think the last two years of Defenders and the first three of New Mutants mark a good read to consider in the future. D09June 21, 2016 1:51 PM New Mutants #14 So basically Claremont didn't give a hoot, more or less, about the wider MU and only concentrate on his pet projects without giving tangible connections to said wider MU? That would explain so much about his 1st run... Darren HoodJune 21, 2016 1:20 PM Ghost Rider #33 I always thought of this guy as a rip off of the Psycho Pirate. Luis DantasJune 21, 2016 11:49 AM New Mutants #14 This was one of those issues that left me scratching my head. Where did Claremont mean to go from here? To this day I doubt even he knew. Illyana being an odd, vague blend of mutant and sorcerer seems cool at first glance, but it ends up being a dead end. You can never quite make the themes fit, and it shows. It was certainly innovative, but it was not workable. IMO "Inferno" was as much about the unenviable task of giving the Illyana plot some sort of resolution as it was about anything else. Although Inferno has plenty of problems of its own, it almost feels like they decided to throw in the Maddelyne / Jean situation for good measure and be troubled just once instead of twice. Nor does the continued corruption theme quite work either. Not when Professor Xavier is supposed to be around and aware of the more overt signs of trouble. Logically, that would eventually lead to something akin to a team-up with Doctor Strange in a mission to expurge Illyana of her demonic influences. But that, too, is simply not what Claremont was pursuing at the time. I figure that was a major reason to put Xavier on a bus and have Magneto take charge, but that could only be done by ignoring the wider Marvel Universe's possibilities. While the Defenders at their best were all about taking advantage of the zany possibilities of the weird place that the Marvel Universe is, Claremont's X-Men work best as their own thing without a wider MU raising questions that it can't very well answer. Oliver_CJune 21, 2016 11:48 AM Doctor Strange #79-81 Chris Warner was the best artist on 'Alien Legion' after the original, Frank Cirocco. fnord12June 21, 2016 10:25 AM Vampire Tales #2-9 Thanks Michael. Oliver_CJune 21, 2016 8:36 AM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32-33 Strangely, Angie Freeman seems (at least to me) to resemble Angela Bassett -- an actress who hadn't even made her debut yet! -- especially her ass-kicking role in 1995's 'Strange Days'. Oliver_CJune 21, 2016 8:11 AM Nomad #1 Fabian Nicieza is to early-90s Marvel Comics what Jude Law was to Hollywood movies a decade later: he's good, but he's not good enough to justify just how much of him you saw. Oliver_CJune 21, 2016 8:04 AM Ghost Rider #33 Every character in 'Wanted' is not so much "based on" another, as simply decked out with new costume and name, and not a lot else. But I digress... George LochinskiJune 21, 2016 1:27 AM Guardians of the Galaxy #27-29 Hahaha OMG! My brain can't parse Trimpe Masters of Evil team splash as anything but vicious Liefeld parody... ChrisJune 20, 2016 10:52 PM Ghost Rider #33 This is a much darker depiction of Madcap than usual who has generally been more of a nuisance or foil instead of a villain. It seems like Mackie have been going for a Batman-Joker relationship between these characters. We'll see an even darker version of this many years later in Mark Millar's Wanted whose Mister Rictus character is based on the Joker. MichaelJune 20, 2016 9:56 PM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #32-33 Now I'm wondering about what Mark Drummond claimed 4 years ago about Denny O'Neil being the original writer for the Bizarre Adventures story. I mean, it was obviously a sequel to the Vampire Tales story Claremont wrote. So was Denny being listed as the writer a mistake? Or was there another Daughters of the Dragon story that never saw print? MichaelJune 20, 2016 8:48 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 I don't think Angie's brother IS the vampire- the scan above shows that Angie's brother is the vampire's "friend". Luke BlanchardJune 20, 2016 6:15 PM Strange Tales #157-168 (Dr. Strange) A commentator at http://marveluniversity.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/june-1968-by-popular-demand-death-of.html argues Nebulos was taken from a cover for Theodore Sturgeon's VENUS PLUS X. fnord12June 20, 2016 2:05 PM Marvel Team-Up #30 I agree, George. I've moved Captain America #189-190 back in publication time to take place prior to this story. Thanks. fnord12June 20, 2016 1:27 PM Avengers #246-248 I've added a note about the Rambeaus in the Historical Significance section. Thanks AF. fnord12June 20, 2016 1:24 PM Iron Man annual #7 Thanks for the thoughts, AF. As you say, there's arguments to be made for either placement, so i think i will leave it as-is. fnord12June 20, 2016 1:21 PM Thor #356 irh13, i've added a scan of "Debra" in the Considerations. I'm not sure if she looks that much like Debra, and Biff is a stereotypical Big Dumb Boyfriend name, so it might just be a coincidence. But maybe the idea was that Debra has divorced her abusive husband and returned to New York to try out a relationship with Biff. A fill-in issue of Thor would be a weird place to show that, though, and the Marvel Indexes (and the MCP) never listed Debra as appearing here, so i haven't either. fnord12June 20, 2016 1:04 PM Hulk #206-207 Cecil, i would agree that the stories in the 80s fit more deliberately but that comes with its own challenges. There are more specific references, and more crossovers, but that creates more dependencies that weren't always thought through, and it therefore leads to conundrums. As you say, it's a broader topic than this entry, so i won't go into more detail, but it might make a good forum topic. fnord12June 20, 2016 12:58 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 Thanks Michael. I've added a summary of the story and listed Angie as a character. fnord12June 20, 2016 12:21 PM Out of scope These are all from the MCP out of scope list, and i don't intend to cover any of them. The point of me following the MCP list is that i'm not going to try to determine for myself if the series are in scope; the MCP has already made that determination. So i'm not able to say why they are out of scope. You might have better luck asking the question on the MCP's forum. If anyone here does have any more info that they want to share, D09 posted a similar question on my forum. mikrolikJune 20, 2016 12:11 PM Amazing Spider-Man #116-118 I really feel this 3-parter with its revisions is inferior to the original in Spec #1. Spec #1 had better pacing (Lots of padding here). Raleigh's motivation and personality don't mesh with the Disruptor, and its confusing how they could be one and the same. I kinda liked the fact that in Spec #1, Richard Raleigh was a politician in a suit who served as Spidey's antagonist; it was a very good contrast to the costumed nicknamed bad guys Spidey fought in his regular book. By adding the Disruptor and making Raleigh him, it just makes it another costumed bad-guy story. George LochinskiJune 20, 2016 4:52 AM Marvel Team-Up #30 I'm only dimly aware of how much a pain in the neck it is keeping these MTUs straight with the rest of the monthlies, but it seems kind of weird placing this right when Falcon is in a coma in Captain America ChrisWJune 20, 2016 12:53 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #99 Why Randi, Candy and Bambi didn't get their own graphic novel, I'll never know. ChrisWJune 20, 2016 12:52 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #99 No love for Honey Hornee? AndrewJune 19, 2016 8:23 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #99 Yeah, "randy" in a sexual sense isn't a commonly used word in the U.S. However, we do roll our eyes every time one of Robin/Nightwing/Grayson's friends calls him "Dick". DermieJune 19, 2016 5:29 PM Defenders #48-51 There's also Scorpio wanting to listen to a recording of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by stereotypically gay icon Judy Garland just before he kills himself. Though if Kraft was hinting that Jake Fury was gay, it doesn't really fit with the Virgo LMD, does it? It probably does if the point of the Virgo LMD was for Jake to try and make himself "normal", like a closeted gay guy in denial who marries a woman to try and turn himself straight or live the way he thinks he 'supposed' to live. ChrisJune 19, 2016 2:59 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 I had not considered that beforehand, but I do like the idea that the secrets Zola found were somehow related to the Kree or their subjects the Inhumans. I really like the implicit ties to Prester John and Kirby's Black Panther stories. I don't believe Kirby had any master plan, but he did like to work within a mythos and certainly built on his past concepts. AndrewJune 19, 2016 1:25 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 On a more prosaic note, "terrigen" is probably a play on the medical term "teratogen", any substance that causes abnormal physiologic development, from the Greek, meaning "monster making". George LochinskiJune 19, 2016 9:44 AM Uncanny X-Men #53 Oh, ok. Right on. It's so crazy how weirdly convoluted things were behind the scenes on X-Men during this time. And yet, it feels like this is exactly the jumping-off point for Claremont when he finally took over. Love Havok, love Lorna, glad both of them made it in the book. AFJune 19, 2016 9:33 AM Marvel Two-In-One annual #7 Hercules and Power Man's absences are a bit daft. They slot right in. Karel June 18, 2016 9:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #30 Haha. I just came to write how I really liked the art (compared to other X-Men books at the time) and how Jean Grey looked sssexxxy. We don't agree with Eric! Brian C. SaundersJune 18, 2016 1:12 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 @Michael And that's why I was thinking Bishop was also supposed to being Filipino. Thanks! Andrew BurkeJune 18, 2016 11:45 AM Uncanny X-Men #151-152 This story and the Dark Phoenix Saga were the best Hellfire Club stories, with the latter being the best one. The rest of the Claremont issues with them are nice, but not like these two. After Claremont left, the Hellfire Club went downhill. Hopefully Bunn's upcoming storyline in UNCANNY X-MEN #10 and onward will bring them back up. Emma's been missing since Secret Wars, so I think she ought to return here. Lady Mastermind would do well as a replacement for Wyngarde, and maybe a brand new character or two to replace Leland and Pierce. And I think the Red Queen/Madelyne Pryor should be on board, too, and then they'd have her Sisterhood (Enchantress, Typhoid Mary, Lady Deathstrike, Chimera) as assistance. MichaelJune 18, 2016 10:55 AM Uncanny X-Men #53 Mark means the Dazzler that's Warren's uncle: George LochinskiJune 18, 2016 9:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #53 Angel/Dazzler? (re: Mark) rocknrollguitarplayerJune 18, 2016 12:02 AM Marvel Premiere #15-16 Iron Fist is the one true mix of the realm of Magic and a Chi related manifestation through.a Martial Arts discipline Danny carries as his Cross. Though he Needs a more functional costume upgrade, Iron Fist is a stroke of genius Marvel Studios needs to exploit. ChrisWJune 17, 2016 11:33 PM X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 "I love Byrne" is one of those sentences you hear about other people reading on the internet, but you never think it's going to happen to you. :( MichaelJune 17, 2016 11:10 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 @Brian- it's a bit of an overstatement to say that Sales for responsible for Portacio and Byrne creating Bishop. Bishop was originally supposed to be Filipino and Sales changed him to black: JeffJune 17, 2016 10:55 PM Fantastic Four #187-188 Small gaffe in my last comment: I of course meant between 188 and 190-- issue 189 was a reprint. JeffJune 17, 2016 10:52 PM Fantastic Four #187-188 You know, going over all these issues again especially from a continuity standpoint... the FF have been going full tilt at this point nonstop since the Galactus/Counter-Earth story. Was there ANY break for them between then and here besides the one the MCP "made up" during issue 176? Now that the team has broken up for a bit its good to have a nice long gap between issues 188 and 189 for the FF to catch up to the amount of time that's passed for the rest of the MU. Ben HermanJune 17, 2016 10:28 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 "The X-Men do not kill!" Um, Storm, what about that Wolverine guy who has been a member of the team for almost 200 issues? Brian C. SaundersJune 17, 2016 9:45 PM X-Force annual #1 The future Powerpax is not just a member of Power Pack, she is the only (surviving?) one, if we go by her jacket. She's got all the powers of her siblings(she is presumably named for Franklin Richards since her name is Francine). That only one Power child ends up with all the powers is not a new idea, but Nicieza will pursue it in his New Warriors series with Alex heisting his sibs powers and using the name Powerpax as well even wearing a similar jacket. Brian C. SaundersJune 17, 2016 9:28 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 As I recall, Skip Dietz, who wrote the Bishop back-up, was in Marvel's Sales department. Since the imperative for a new black X-Men stated in Sales, could this have been written by the one responsible for Whilce Portacio and John Byrne creating him? Dietz did some other stuff in the early 90's, so I don't think it's a lock, but considering how much influence Sales Dept. would start to exert on Editoral, it's a valid question. Brian C. SaundersJune 17, 2016 9:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I can't imagine after finding out from Terry Austin(who found out at a Berni Wrightson party where friends of Lobdell's attended) that he had lost the job of scripting both X-Men books that Byrne would come back. Since this issue was penciled by someone who could make a schedule, I'd imagine this issue's pencils got completed during the previous 2 issues and were the last pages Byrne scripted before Harras stopped sending him pages. The sad thing is if he could have held on, Byrne would have been plotting and scripting 288 instead of Lobdell. But, I can't imagine Byrne wanting to deal with characters that had become so popular like Apocalypse, Cable and Stryfe, much less do crossovers with PAD. Lobdell's ability and willingness to plot for other X-books is what made him head X-writer, as little as that might have meant after Claremont. Byrne would have said no. I can't imagine Harras without someone malleable to write what he thought of as X-Men. Even Nicieza got pushed out after a few years. Nathan AdlerJune 17, 2016 7:37 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 @Omar: Re: the Inhumans, don't forget apart from the Kree, they also began conducting dangerous, experiments (?forbidden?) which brought the Kree Sentry to come and warn them of the risk and danger, and attempt to halt it (but he arrived too late). Upon this realisation, the Sentry warns them that they will be shunned by their fellow man; in essence they are no longer human but have made themselves In-human (what he meant by this I can’t recall but am assuming it was their exposing themselves to the Terrigen Mists). After this meddling the Sentry assessed them to be a failed Kree experiment. It's further implied the Kree didn’t put the Terrigen Mists there! If so, where did Kirby intend Terrigen to have derived from, and why did the Kree consider it a problem/ taint? Does the term "Terrigen" mean not "Earth-gene", but "Terrible Gene" after the Latin prefix terri- from "terrible" and -gen "that which is generated"? Is this why the Sentry dubbed them the "In-humans"!? If so, what terror did the Kree Sentry believe they would release upon Earth, or the Universe? It sounds foreboding now, doesn't it!? Omar KarinduJune 17, 2016 6:24 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 @Omar: So how do you propose the "secrets" ended up in the near-east, and where exactly in the NE? -- Nathan Adler Given Kirby's interest in Von Daniken's ideas and Forteana around this time -- ancient astronauts stuff turns up a lot in his work, and Black Panther has a lot of stuff about out-of-place artifacts and the mutations from the Vibranium landfall and so on -- I'd guess he was reviving his ":ancient astronauts" idea from the old stories the Kree creating the Inhumans. In that case, it was the Kree who also left behind the super-science that would become Prester John's Avalon just as they left behind the Terrigen Mists the Inhumans used. Perhaps it was also Kree technology that created King Solomon's Tomb, which one would also imagine would be located in the Near East. This all assumes that Kirby intended all of his Marvel work to weave together into a greater mythos, of course, and I don't know that he would have given that level of detail to Marvel after the way both that company and DC had treated him Omar KarinduJune 17, 2016 6:09 PM Defenders #48-51 Back Issue #65 states courtesy of Kraft that Scorpio was gay, but he was too subtle about it. That explains the "last chance to be normal" line and that shower panel. There's also Scorpio wanting to listen to a recording of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by stereotypically gay icon Judy Garland just before he kills himself. Though if Kraft was hinting that Jake Fury was gay, it doesn't really fit with the Virgo LMD, does it? This story also threw a monkeywrench into Scorpio's continuity that was eventually tied up by Steve Engelhart in West Coast Avengers; Jake claims he wasn't the original Scorpio, and that the original died in SHIELD v.1 #1 and that Jake stole the identity to attack his brother in #5. But Steranko's stories make it clear that it's the same Scorpio in both SHIELDS #1 and #5; moreover, Nick using the Scorpio ID to infiltrate Zodiac would seem to rely partly on Jake Fury being the actual Scorpio. Was Kraft was trying to preserve the mystery Steranko had set up in some way, or what? Otherwise, it seems pointlessly convoluted to have Jake as the "second" Scorpio. Brian C. SaundersJune 17, 2016 5:37 PM Marvel Team-Up annual #2 Actually, I don't blame Colonel Vazhin for going patchless. If he has to wear glasses, which I assume he does, why bother with a patch? He's just not given the same flair as Nick Fury gets. If you watch Airwolf, the character of Archangel wears the same type of glasses, but he gets all white costumes to pull it off. Vazhin gets a cowboy hat in this issue. Andrew BurkeJune 17, 2016 9:51 AM Uncanny X-Men #129-131 I suspect Claremont did indeed see that and decided to use it in X-MEN #100. Good catch!The Inner Circle knew about a lot of things, so it wouldn't be surprising there, either. Oliver_CJune 17, 2016 8:03 AM Avengers annual #16 I remember reading a Comics Journal interview with Paul Chadwick where he said he didn't have a problem with stories in which superheroes save the universe; he had a problem with stories in which superheroes save the universe, and then simply return to mundane life as if nothing exceptional had happened. (His point being: the latter act renders the former banal.) I wonder if it was this comic he had in mind? Oliver_CJune 17, 2016 7:43 AM West Coast Avengers annual #2 If the Vision -- who can turn intangible, or become invulnerable and super-strong, or fry you with heat rays -- isn't considered too powerful, I don't see why Monica should be. (Now Sersi, on the other hand...) Nathan AdlerJune 17, 2016 5:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #129-131 In Uncanny X-Men #130, at the start of the Dark Phoenix story, Sebastian Shaw refers to Kitty Pryde as a Neo mutant. While you could initially read this as "a new mutant", with Claremont's plans to reveal that Kitty was a member of the Neo, I found it fascinating that Shaw referred to her as a Neo mutant. Could Claremont have seen that and decided to use it? Did the Inner Circle know about her beforehand? Oliver_CJune 16, 2016 4:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 "Get out... all of you! Get out! Get out!!" I feel the same way about page after page of unnecessary Claremontian expository dialog occluding all that Byrne/Austin art. Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 3:19 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 Apparently, Terry Austen also suggested that Magneto kill Jean by UNCANNY X-MEN #150, which would in turn bump up Magneto as a villain after killing her 150 issues after she first appeared. D09June 16, 2016 12:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 So basically it would be a rehash of the Norman Osborn/Green Goblin situation before he got stabbed by his own Goblin Glider? RocknrollguitarplayerJune 16, 2016 12:43 PM Thor #178 After doing a little digging, it has come to light the generic aliens are in fact disgruntled Walmart employees..:) It may be better to just look at the nice pictures in this book as Buscema still makes it visually stimulating, the cover alone was a reason to spend 15 cents! Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 10:41 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 A little more: "Everything in comics is "temporary". But the Phoenix/Jean "balance" was intended to be as "permanent" as anything can be. Phoenix was meant to recur, but at the end of each arc Jean would be left powerless and "retarded" as that was now her "natural state". Certainly there was no plan to restore her for 150." Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 10:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 According to Byrne, originally, the plan was to lobotomize Jean, as everyone pretty much knows. His plan was that something traumatic was going to restore her as Dark Phoenix. "The plan was to have Jean's parents take her to a movie ("The Cat from Outer Space" was the title we tossed around, which tells the vintage of all this plotting and planning!) where she would be set upon by muggers. This attack triggered Dark Phoenix, who was still within her. Our overall plan was to turn Dark Phoenix into a recurring villain." So, not quite like Byrne's plans Claremont had for #150 involving Magneto. Brian C. SaundersJune 16, 2016 10:36 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Andrew Burke Honestly, if I had the choice between "Asian" Psylocke, British Betsy or Zaladane, I know which one I'd pick. But if Claremont couldn't get proper Betsy, I can see how he'd reluctantly pick the nimbo. Asian Psylocke would get him partway back to British Betsy anyway. Of course, I talk as if Marvel ever gave him choices besides work or don't work. Silly me! Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 10:34 AM Uncanny X-Men #129-131 Aaaaand, here's the original plans for the Hellfire Club and Project: Wideawake storylines, via Byrne: "There will be new Sentinels...They'll be coming out of the Hellfire Club, which is a sequence that is beginning now. The X-Men will trash the Hellfire Club, without realizing that the Hellfire Club is a legitimate organization. You "join the Hellfire Club" ... it's a nice thing to be in. Its only the inner circle that are the bad guys. One of the members of the Hellfire Club is Mastermind, and he will cloak everything so that when the X-Men come in swinging, people can't see that they're fighting bad guys, they just see them trashing this businessmen's club, of which, for example, Warren Worthington's father was a member. Since members of the Hellfire Club are high ranking doctors, lawyers, senators, congressmen, they will sit and say, "Well, these X-Men characters, they say they were good guys, and they just trashed this businessmen's club!" So there's going to be a sub-plot almost, of Sentinels, which will be man-sized. They will probably be built by someplace like Stark International, so these will not be putzy Sentinels. Or Cross Technologies, or one of the biggies that we've got, to establish that these are not whimpo Sentinels, these are tough Sentinels. And the thing that we're not going to do of course, is this will not lead to a big X-Men/Sentinels battle issue. This will be like a constant menace, an anti-mutant police force. We'll be coordinating with the Avengers, so that the Beast and the Scarlet Witch are required to wear bleepers in their costumes, or something so that people know where they are at all times. ... we're gonna keep mutants so that we know where they are! They've demonstrated that they are bad. Then of course, we'll clear them sooner or later, and then the Sentinels will go away. We'll be doing little stories with the X-men chasing, say, Unus he Untouchable. They crash into where ever Unus is, "We're gonna trash him now!"...and he's gone. There's a big hole in the wall, because the Sentinels go there first. It will be like that until we reveal that there are Sentinels out there..." I got this stuff from Byrne's site while digging around. Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 10:20 AM Uncanny X-Men #129-131 Here's some behind-the-scenes information for you guys concerning Emma Frost. This is from John Byrne himself. "I designed the White Queen to be, well, flat chested. A contrast to Jean Grey, who made a very voluptuous Black Queen. Emma's cleavage was supposed to be created by her bosom being squeezed in and up, which is what those bustiers are meant to do. (Scientific Research: If you look very closely at my Emma, you will see that her cleavage does not extend far below the top of her bustier, as it would if she had large breasts. I did that deliberately.) But for many (most?) artists, a female character cannot be sexy unless she is blatant about it. Emma was intended to be cool -- Frost. Get it? -- and sophisticated, not the type to drape herself all over the furniture with legs akimbo. But that's not what you'll find if you Google the character." At least there was an in-story explanation as to the physical changes to Emma...she got plastic surgery. I love finding out BTS stuff! Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 10:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Likely the earth somehow healed her up after her burial, connecting her even more to the Savage Land itself. She would have been powerful enough that the Mutates would have been in her thrall. Even the Lizard People (who appeared in the story). Andrew BurkeJune 16, 2016 9:57 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Brian Yeah, Zaladane was supposed to be in the X-TREME X-MEN: SAVAGE LAND mini-series, but it got nixed by Quesada with his "dead means dead" thing at the time. Then, Claremont was going to bring her back in his Savage Land story during his third run (w/Alan Davis), but it was nixed likely because he brought back Psylocke in the same story and it might have been off having two characters brought back at the same time. Either that, or editorial allowed him Psylocke but not Zaladane. And it's too bad because Zaladane was going to have powers connected to the earth itself, rather than her magnetic abilities. Similar to Terra from the Teen Titans, I think. I can just see her emerging from the ground, all pissed off and ready for vengeance, plotting to make the Savage Land hers (or even destroy it, I suppose). AFJune 16, 2016 4:53 AM X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 Gosh, I love Byrne. He's one of the few who call Claremont out instead of blindly singing his praises. a.lloydJune 16, 2016 4:08 AM Fantastic Four #258-260 The Doom presented over the years would NEVER let Arcade strike a match off of his armor. ChrisWJune 16, 2016 1:17 AM X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 I know Byrne didn't like Claremont turning Kitty into his pet genius, but I am surprised that "she was still a sore point." That's news to me. And maybe it's just hindsight, but it's also surprising that he'd want to drag anybody else into that mess. Other than Stan Lee, I can't think of anybody that could actually walk in on that situation to plot the book, and Stan's obviously not going to do it. Then again, why didn't Jim Shooter do it to cut out all the other problems? Hell, why didn't Byrne plot it himself? I come at this from the opposite perspective, if Byrne doesn't want to work with Claremont, don't push him to work with Claremont. Unless they're the last two writers/writer-artists willing to work for Marvel, there's no reason to force a collaboration. Boy it's a good thing none of us had the internet back then, isn't it? ChrisWJune 16, 2016 1:05 AM X-Men/Alpha Flight #1-2 Byrne's version of events: http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=50462&PN=1&totPosts=33 Marvel was pushing for an ALPHA/X-MEN book by Chris and me, but I didn't want to work with Chris again that soon. They kept pushing. Finally, I came up with an way to possibly do it: somebody else would plot the book, I would pencil, Chris would script. I also asked that Kitty not be in it, since she was still a sore point for me. All this, I emphasize, up front. "I will agree to do this if...." Marvel promptly agreed to both conditions, and I sat back and waited for the plot to arrive. It did. Obviously written by Chris, with Kitty all over it. I called to express my dissatisfaction, and the editor said I was being unprofessional and hung up on me. I sent the plot back, and they gave it to Smitty. ChrisWJune 16, 2016 12:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 At a guess, I would say using Loki would have been more about reconnecting the X-teams with the Marvel Universe as a whole. Look at how insular "X-Men" had become in the last several years. It had been ages since this series had any connections with anybody outside the Claremont-verse. Off the top of my head, "Secret Wars II" was the last time they seriously dealt with someone who didn't come from Claremont's X-titles or related series. Captain America and Black Widow appeared in a flashback issue. Claremont did write the "Evolutionary War" crossover. Even events like "X-Men/Avengers" were few and far between, and not written by Claremont anyway. He'd already given up "New Mutants." I think it's entirely possible that he had no idea what to do with Loki, but it was a way of trying to give Marvel what they wanted. Claremont was a big fan of "Thor" and "Tales of Asgard" back in the day. kvetoJune 15, 2016 6:30 PM Web of Spider-Man #1 What he said above. Omar KarinduJune 15, 2016 5:58 PM Uncanny X-Men #1 You know, looking back through all these issues made me think of a question I don't remember being answered: When did Xavier loose his hair and why? This is directly explained in his Silver Age origin from Uncanny X-Men #12; essentially, it's somehow linked to the emergence and growth of his mutant powers. He was bald by the time he was college-aged. D09June 15, 2016 5:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #1 You know, looking back through all these issues made me think of a question I don't remember being answered: When did Xavier loose his hair and why? mikrolikJune 15, 2016 5:08 PM Web of Spider-Man #1 Jon Dubya: There was EVENTUALLY a female Venom, but not after Eddie Brock, Carnage, and the symbiotes from the first Venom limited series came and were around for a while. I think kveto meant that the original concept with a woman would have been more interesting than yet another male villain for Spidey (and Eddie Brock's intro did feel rushed and contrived that Peter/Spidey knew him, even though the readers didn't). BerendJune 15, 2016 4:30 PM Avengers #4 Has there been a Bucky/Rick Jones meeting since Bucky came back? Did we learn if they really did look similar, or if Cap was just delusional after his time on ice? cullenJune 15, 2016 2:14 PM Cloak and Dagger #4 There's a distinction to be made between "accessible within the Marvel multiverse" (like Spider-Ham) and actually within "616"(the mainstream Marvel U)... Fnord only tracks the latter, so though Spider-Ham exists within the multiverse, he's still out of scope for this project. Planet Terry is a bit more interesting case, as he's recently popped up in the Drax,/b> series, and it's possible he was intended to be Kree. http://marvel.com/news/comics/26217/drax_who_is_planet_terry Brian C. SaundersJune 15, 2016 2:01 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Andrew Burke Thanks! I didn't know that about X-Treme X-Men, but it makes sense. Editorial just never left Claremont alone did they? Jayz406June 15, 2016 12:14 PM Cloak and Dagger #4 Peter Porker the Spiderham is also brought into the main universe through the Spider verse stories. Andrew BurkeJune 15, 2016 9:18 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Lee plotted all of UNCANNY X-MEN #274, so the whole issue was his idea. Claremont just scripted it, so he had no choice by that point. Lee likely plotted the Savage Land part of the next issue, hence Zaladane being killed. Harras and Lee wanted to wrap up dangling plot points and considered Zaladane to be one of them, despite the plans Claremont had for her. He planned to bring Zaladane back during X-TREME X-MEN, but Quesada wouldn't allow it, and then he was going to do it during his Savage Land arc, but editorial nixed it again. MichaelJune 15, 2016 8:14 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 The thing is though, even before the last page, the guy looks more like Magneto than Loki and seems to be using science, not magic. So Lee's changes almost certainly started before the last page. AFJune 15, 2016 6:40 AM Iron Man annual #7 The annual opens with the team still setting up shop and getting equipment put in, whereas WCA #2, one would assume, they wouldn't be doing training exercises and what not until the HQ was set up. I think that is why it's "meant" to go before WCA #2. I don't think placement hurts either way. I think Iron Man reads better with WCA #2 following this (Iron Man having learnt the benefits of teamwork in the annual, agrees that Wonder Man going solo against Blank is a bad idea in WCA #2) whereas the reverse is true of Wonder Man (Wonder Man argues in favour of teamwork in the annual, but then wants to go solo in #2). Brian C. SaundersJune 15, 2016 6:30 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 If Lee only changed the last page, then 274 probably had something to do with Loki's petition to the Ones Who Sit in Shadow. Loki could have easily teleported Rogue to either Asgard to Ungava Bay instead of staying in the Savage Land. Maybe Rogue had to journey to Hel to get Carol Danvers' soul freed from Hela, who could have claimed her since she was corrupted by the Shadow King? Claremont might have even gotten to get Dani into the story to help Rouge and fix her status. This would have left the Muir Island plot alone until #278 as had been planned, although 2 issues(274 and part of 275) in Asgard might have been a little much. On the other hand, the end of issue #277 seemed awful rushed. Maybe Claremont had intended all of 275 to be with the X-Men. It's a pity no one asked in the 90's what Claremont would have plotted for 274 and 275. I doubt it would have been Magneto in the Savage Land, just like Neal Adams did and killing off Zaladane who he had just begun to establish. Jon DubyaJune 15, 2016 12:21 AM Web of Spider-Man #1 I thought there WAS a "female Venom". kvetoJune 14, 2016 5:36 PM Web of Spider-Man #1 A female Venom would have been miles more interesting than Eddie Brock. kvetoJune 14, 2016 5:31 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #99 @Transparent Fo: Randi (or Randy) actually is a name that people have in the US without a hint of irony. I've always wondered if Peter was "in" on that joke or just saying something random. If I ever have a son, I'll just name him "Horny". Yogi deadheadJune 14, 2016 5:21 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #99 Johnny on the spot, is an old name for a person, on hand and ready to perform a service. Yogi deadheadJune 14, 2016 5:16 PM Avengers #252-254 Stern's run on Avengers is what really got me into the shared aspect of the MU. Within a year of buying my first Avengers issue, 252, I had acquired all of Stern's run. The funny thing is, I didn't have a clue, as to who was creating the comics. AFJune 14, 2016 4:15 PM Iron Man annual #7 All the Avengers trades (and there's loads), place this between WCA #1 and WCA #2. And the recent Iron Man trade with it in places it between IM #188 and #189. Andrew BurkeJune 14, 2016 1:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #111-117 When I was a kid, I thought the end of UNCANNY X-MEN #113 was pretty shocking. The X-Men dead? And poor Beast and Jean, collapsed in the snow. Then came #114 and the opening splash page...wow, they're still there in the snow. But I felt better when they made it civilization and the X-Men showed up alive. And then came the ending to that one...a man-sized talking pterodactyl! AFJune 14, 2016 10:09 AM Avengers #246-248 First appearance of the Rambeaus too, might be worth something for significance. They have surprising longevity for supporting cast of a character who's never had a solo ongoing. Andrew BurkeJune 14, 2016 9:31 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Putting the X-Men through so many bizarre scenarios was Claremont's way, I think, of telling different kinds of stories for a superhero book, not just the usual super-villain of the month stuff. Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, not just superhero action. Considering X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT, the Fire Fountain was used to cure Rogue of her powers, so maybe Loki was going to use it to fix her in #269 had the story been published? His reason why is another matter. Perhaps Loki sensed the evil that was infesting the world (via the Shadow King) and was going to use the Fire Fountain to try and combat/change it? Ataru320June 14, 2016 9:03 AM Avengers #150-151 Heard somewhere that Wonder Man's permanent return to Marvel more or less was due to Power Girl of all things: basically with the whole "Wonder Woman means that you can't have Wonder Man" deal DC and Marvel had was pretty much null and void when everyone's favorite cleavage-showing superheroine appeared...at the same time Luke Cage was using the "Power Man" name. So...yeah, Simon returned due to a pair of boobs... Nathan AdlerJune 14, 2016 6:12 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 It's instead got me wondering what the hell Loki would've been up to in the Savage Land, as he'd have quite a few other antagonists there to deal with such as Zala, Garokk, Terminus, etc. Why not choose somewhere else (Ungava Bay at least could have had links what with it being a potential old Viking colony but the Savage Land, there's nothing Norse there)? And I'm not entirely sure about the change completely derailing Claremont's plans as it cleared the way for Lorna to become the Shadow King's anchor on Muir Isle, etc. Nathan AdlerJune 14, 2016 6:04 AM Avengers #13-14 @Omar: You're most welcome (and my theory's here: https://fanfix.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/ultrons-orign and prior to that was published in Assembled2 under my true nom de plume;) Brian C. SaundersJune 14, 2016 2:55 AM Fantastic Four #350-354 No one's pointed it out yet, but during Fantastic Four #352, we see Walt Simonson subtly tweek the Thing's "pineapple" form. It's subtle, but you can see the Thing's head change in the middle of Fnord's first scan from #352. Also, Simonson removes most of the all body spikes for more tile like scales. It's a shame he went to the trouble to have to revert back to the traditional Kirby design on his last Fantastic Four page. D09June 14, 2016 1:50 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Seems to be a repeat thing for Claremont: putting his pet characters in many weird and bizarre scenarios (Asgardian myths, space adventures, trekking across multiple dimensions, playing mind swapper with the foe of the week, etc.) StevenJune 14, 2016 1:21 AM Avengers #13-14 Jan is not infertile. In Uncanny Avengers she had a daughter with Havok named Katie. Hank isn't infertile either. He had a daughter named Nadia with his first wife Maria. ChrisJune 13, 2016 9:44 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Wow, never knew about the Loki thing. Still, that wasn't out of the ordinary for Claremont who included the Asgardian mythos (inappropriately in my opinion) many times during his X-Men run in multiple annuals, storylines, and limited series. ChrisWJune 13, 2016 8:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 The internet has helped destroy the mystery of a lot of things. I actually like the idea of Loki in that final "I chose you" splash page. Damn that trickster! ChrisWJune 13, 2016 8:12 PM Doctor Strange #13 I wonder if this was an attempt by one of Marvel's better artists to justify the higher price and paper and coloring, to bring in *something* that would qualify as more sophistication. It's vastly different from the Lee/Liefeld standard of drawing women, for one thing. Those women are basically cartoons. Maybe one pose out of ten they'll look like real women, if you're really scoping out the babes and happen to catch them at that split-second where she's turning around. These Guice women are real, but the real women in question are being paid to look good as they sell lingerie or fashion accessories, and being reconfigured to look like heroes [Clea] villains [Enchantress] or supporting cast [Sarah and Imei.] He can't change the actual poses because then the real women would look different when you account for clothing, posture, anatomy, lighting, perspective. Changing the faces wouldn't work for similar reasons. Like I say, this is very weird choice to make for superhero comics. Nobody buys "Dr. Strange" to check out the outfits of the female characters, and Guice is a good enough artist to make good outfits and sexy chicks without needing the reference. And he can do great superhero stuff. I'm googling now for any interview where he might explain this stuff. Is it a reaction to the Lee/Liefeld influence? A valid artistic choice that doesn't really work for the audience? Influence by the editor? Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 8:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Ben Herman You're welcome. As for readers and behind the scenes of comics, there was the Comics Buyers Guide, Comics Journal and Amazing Heroes. Maybe a few minor fanzines in the 80's. CBG used to have a letters page that would elicit discussion of controversies of the day, like Erik Larsen's disdain for writers but wouldn't air the "dirty laundry" that the other two would. That said, you didn't have to know a lot of details to know that when CBG reported that Chris Claremont decided to take a "sabbatical" right when X-Men #1 was about to come out, that something stunk in the state of Denmark. 25 years later, it's just a lot easier to see. Nowadays, social media spills a lot, but with the non-disclosure clauses the Big Two require, the higher-ups still have a lot of cover. You still have to unspin a lot, but with enough people close to the situation and smart people who know how the business works, it's hard to keep a secret, but still harder to prove it. As long as there's deniability at the time, people knowing "dirty laundry" doesn't worry the Big Two. For instance, Wizard was happy by the mid-90's to quote Claremont talking about how his X-Men work was "gutted like a fish." MichaelJune 13, 2016 8:05 PM Thor #356 No, this isn't Bob Harras's first work at Marvel- his first work was Iron Man 178. ChrisWJune 13, 2016 7:50 PM Thing #5-6 Really? I read this issue when it was new, and always thought it was a nifty addition. Maybe it was something to do with the "Marvel Try-Out" book or "Official Handbook" that got filtered down to the individual comics. Ben HermanJune 13, 2016 6:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Brian C. Saunders - Thank you for the link. It's amazing how much stuff was going on behind the scenes at Marvel back in the early 1990s that we readers had little to no clue about because there was really no social media where all the dirty laundry was getting spilled. mikrolikJune 13, 2016 6:36 PM Avengers #8 Andrew: But remember, the Inhumans also debuted in Fantastic Four. And Ronan, from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I think I heard the problem with Kang is that he's an ancestor of Nathaniel Richards, Reed's father. In fact, Kang's real name was revealed to be Nathaniel Richards. So apparently that's the reason why he's considered Fantastic Four (i.e. movie rights owned by FOX) and not Avengers (i.e. movie rights owned by Marvel/Disney). kvetoJune 13, 2016 5:55 PM Fantastic Four #258-260 I'm very happy with the x-men being humiliated by having trouble with a non-combat unit. While it is petty, it explains away some crap stories. Omar KarinduJune 13, 2016 5:26 PM Journey Into Mystery #114-119 The Absorbing Man is an interesting character design; Kirby makes him rather gorilla-like to contrast to Thor's godly bearing. That evil racer guy up top sure looks like a HYDRA agent in the reprint coloring. Omar KarinduJune 13, 2016 5:21 PM Avengers #15-16 The storytelling in #15 is rather jumpy; Heck really doesn't handle the cutting between the two action sequences very smoothly. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 5:15 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 Wolverine's burial was in X-Men Forever (2009) #10. Jean and Beast kissed in #14. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 5:09 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Andrew Burke Yeah, I figure it'd have to be related to X-Men/Alpha Flight, but without knowing how much of #269 was "compromised"(would Rouge have ever gone to the Savage Land in the first place or straight to Asgard? Would Loki have split Carol/Rogue?) it's hard to figure what the story would have been. Carol vs. Rogue and the winner faces Loki? I think 269 is where Claremont's long losing war of attrition with Harras went into final gear. Omar KarinduJune 13, 2016 5:01 PM Amazing Spider-Man #22 Spider-Man is pretty much dead-on when he tells these jokers they shoulda called themselves "the Union of the Useless." Why was Stan so fascinated with circuses? Andrew BurkeJune 13, 2016 4:56 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 How long did it take for Jean to move on with Beast? Issues? Off-panel? Omar KarinduJune 13, 2016 4:55 PM Avengers #13-14 At least in this story, the idea is that Nefaria's mob status is a secret; to the world, he's just an eccentric, fabulously rich aristo. I once read a fan theory that Jan's injuries in this story leaves her unable to have children, as this is shortly before they both retire from superheroing for awhile and apparently around the part of the timeline when Hank starts experimenting with AI to create Ultron, his "son." I'm not so sure about the "Jan is left infertile" thing, but the idea that this was a big scare that got them both to reassess some things has a lot of merit. Andrew BurkeJune 13, 2016 4:55 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 And Zaladane used the same machine to steal Magneto's powers as well, which would indicate (to me) that she was his daughter, as much as she was Lorna's sister. Who knows how the story would have evolved had Claremont continued onward. I heard about the Loki thing, too, but I can't even imagine how the story would go. Maybe something related to the X-MEN/ALPHA FLIGHT mini-series? Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 4:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 The comments on Fnord's page for Uncanny X-Men 269 have several links. Here's one of them with Lee's quote. http://geoffklock.blogspot.com/2008/06/jason-powell-on-uncanny-x-men-135.html?showComment=1213417980000&m=1#c4841697591443932936 Ben HermanJune 13, 2016 4:38 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 @Brian C. Saunders - What?!? Claremont originally wanted to have Loki rescue Rogue instead of Magneto, and Lee refused to draw it? I never heard anything about this before. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 4:32 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Speaking of 274, didn't Lee object when he got the plot for 269 which had Loki rescuing Rogue and Bob Harras backed him? Since Claremont's story for Rogue was essentially rejected, it makes sense that Jim Lee would have to plot its replacement as well to prove he could take over the plotting when the time came. It's certainly abominable behavior on behalf of both men, one of whom had hardly any writing experience at all and who was elevated to a position that he didn't achieve through merit but office politics at behest of the other man who obviously wanted his writer to leave and made it happen. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 4:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Lorna Dane and Zaladane aren't related because they have the same last name. They are related because Moira MacTaggert said Zaladane could only take Lorna's powers by being her sister in Uncanny X-Men 254. It's as much a fact as possibly can be in the Marvel Universe(which is to say, it's one issue away from being changed like anything else, sadly). Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 4:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 No, Jean didn't cheat on Scott with Beast, sorry it read like that. Claremont seemed to be getting over his Cyclops issues towards the end, but it seemed really important that Cyclops stand aside and watch Jean go to someone else. Cheating with Logan was bad, but Beast & Jean right after Jean & Logan is just out of nowhere. I'm not sure what kind of wrong it is, but it ain't right. Ben HermanJune 13, 2016 3:40 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Just because Lorna Dane and Zaladane apparently have the last name doesn't automatically mean that they're related. What, next you are going to tell me that Scott Lang and Steven Lang are third cousins once removed? Or maybe Steve Rogers is the great-uncle of Marianne Rogers? Then again, considering some of the other insane things that creators have attempted to get away with (Sandman and the Green Goblin *must* be related because Ditko drew them with similar haircuts!) I really shouldn't be surprised that this sort of stuff pops up so often. I'm *still* waiting for someone to reveal that Wolverine is the great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of *everyone* in the Marvel universe. Andrew BurkeJune 13, 2016 3:31 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 I'm just now in the process of getting all the X-MEN FOREVER trades, although I did read the series when it had come out. Jean did not look very good jumping around from one character to the next. Sure, Logan got killed, so her move to the Beast wasn't cheating, but she did cheat on Scott with Logan, and that's just wrong in more ways than one. And Claremont used Cyclops on and off here, too, so he must have just disliked him during Scott's appearances in X-FACTOR. Andrew BurkeJune 13, 2016 3:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #125-128 In UNCANNY X-MEN #126, Proteus was unable to take over Mastermind's body due to a powerful psychic shield. This is a subtle clue that the Shadow King was controlling Wyngarde, as Emma's "mind tap" device had no such power, and neither did Wyngarde himself. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 2:47 PM Thing #5-6 Byrne has since objected to the How To Draw The Thing page being published. Apparently, it was meant to be a in-house document to keep the Thing appearance consistent since Byrne wasn't drawing the Thing. Publishing it seems bad form, in light of the fact that unless you are already a pro, it's not going to teach you anything except that the Thing isn't supposed to have the separate eyebrow and which artists read/paid attention/remembered/or cared about Byrne's design on this page. Brian C. SaundersJune 13, 2016 2:26 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 I think Claremont liked Cyclops a lot more before X-Factor yanked him from his control. After that, Claremont took most of his antipathy over X-Factor out on Scott, with his plans to have Jean go to Wolverine and Scott go to Psylocke. Of course, he only got to do a version of that story with Jean cheating on Scott with Logan, then after Wolverine got killed, she moved on to Beast who also got killed. Apparently, Scott's momentary lapse under another writer justified Jean going through X-Men like flipping a rolodex. I'm not sure if it was to get back at Scott or make Jean look just as bad. AndrewJune 13, 2016 12:39 PM Avengers #8 Kang being Rama-Tut seems like an obscure bit of comic trivia, but it's actually a legal detail that could worth a ton of money. Since Rama-Tut /Kang first appeared in the Fantastic Four, the rights to the character belong to Fox. So unless Marvel works out a deal, like they did with Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, Kang can never be the villain in an Avengers movie. Which totally sucks. Andrew BurkeJune 13, 2016 11:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 Characters he was fond of seemed to be Jean Grey (at least, prior to her return, although he did use her during his second UX run), Magneto, Rachel Summers, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Cannonball, Psylocke, Sage/Tessa, the Shadow King, among a few others. I heard Claremont didn't like Cyclops much, although he did write him well. I don't think he liked Angel and Iceman very much, either. Seems like he may not have liked Dazzler, but he later used her in NEW EXCALIBUR, especially with the storyline involving her repeated deaths and resurrections. I doubt he liked Marrow, as he just plain dropped her when he started his second run. Jon DubyaJune 13, 2016 11:25 AM Thor #356 By the way, is tne Bob Harris's first work at Marvel? It's funy, but I always thought he didn't join the company until the late 80s/early 90s (the era I usually associate him with.) Jon DubyaJune 13, 2016 11:22 AM X-Factor #1 I never could get too excited about this series. I think the basic problem is that it is basically old X-Men reunited - but the old X-Men never were that great. It is interesting that individual characters have proven enduring, even iconic, however as a group I always felt they were 'meh'. Which is funny, becsuse, despite this, creators seem obsessed with bringing back the original X-Men in one form or another. That's a lot of noopla for a team that starred in a book low-rated book on the verge of cancelation. Oliver_CJune 13, 2016 10:21 AM X-Factor #1 Bringing back Jean was a huge mistake? Hell, bringing back Professor X was a huge mistake. ChrisWJune 12, 2016 9:16 PM Doctor Strange #13 Yeah, that one's a bit awkward. If she was a normal girl having a normal conversation and just happened to move her arms like so, that would be one thing, but she looks posed like a "Playboy" cover and not the way a supervillainess would pose. Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 9:00 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #2 It's odd that the cover to this annual (http://www.comics.org/issue/18845/cover/4/) is so bland, but the splash page is a beautiful & dramatic masterpiece by Steve Ditko. I really wonder why Stan Lee didn't ask Ditko to draw a cover that was more like that. By the way, this was the very first meeting between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Because of Stan Lee's reliably unreliable memory, he mistakenly thought they had previously met. That's why he scripted Spider-Man saying "I hear ya talkin' Doc! This is beginning to feel like old times!" That inspired Kurt Busiek & Roger Stern to write the first-ever encounter between the two in the Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounter special 33 years later. irh13June 12, 2016 5:40 PM Thor #356 There's an odd sequence I remember where a girl who looks A LOT like Debra Whitman bumps into Hercules when chasing down a frisbee (I think). Hercules, ever the ladies man, puts the moves on her, asking her to dinner, I believe. She says she'd have to discuss it with her boyfriend, Biff. Is that a reference to Biff Rifkin? I know Deb left NYC after the events of PPSSM #74, but what were the odds? Was it an inside joke? AndrewJune 12, 2016 4:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 It is. In X-Men 137, page 4, in reference to Phoenix using her powers to save the universe from the Emperor, Lilandra says "She seemed a beneficent entity. Though we suspected the full extent of her power -- and feared it -- we did nothing. We believed -- I believed -- that Jean could cope with her near-infinite abilities." Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 3:46 PM Doctor Strange #13 Glamourpuss was by Dave Simm, right? Had no idea it was going to be collected by IDW. Another odd panel is on that page where the Enchantress first appears and she has her arms crossed over her chest. It feels like Guice was using a photo of a nude model for reference, but the pose makes no sense here since here Amora is clothed, meaning she has no reason to be covering her naughty bits with her hands. ChrisWJune 12, 2016 3:34 PM Doctor Strange #13 I was a big fan of "glamourpuss," an analysis/history of photorealism in comics [hopefully soon to be reprinted by IDW as "The Strange Death of Alex Raymond"]so I'm probably more willing to cut Guice a little slack than most. The main problem is that comics are sequential art intended to advance a story. Fashion magazine photographs are not sequential and they're intended to sell whatever dress/purse/etc. is being advertised. Really, it's a weird choice for a superhero comic. Nothing wrong with Guice expanding his abilities by drawing people, and arguably it could work with just Doc and Clea twisting their bodies into weird shapes while casting spells - I think Clea looks good in the "I liked that little touch" panel - but it doesn't work with Sarah, Imei or the Enchantress. Rintrah looks good though. ;) The weird thing is why Guice didn't just get photos of friends or acquaintances and pose them a la Alex Ross. Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 1:17 PM Strange Tales #129 (Dr. Strange) For those looking for information on Don Rico, there are a couple of good pieces in Alter Ego #114. It was there that Roy Thomas half-jokingly suggested that the name Tiboro was derived from the Triboro Bridge. Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 12:40 PM Strange Tales #115 (Dr. Strange) That is a valid observation, Michael. Although there isn't any way to confirm it one way or the other, it's generally agreed that on the early Doctor Strange and Spider-Man stories Ditko was very likely the uncredited co-plotter. Of course no one involved in the creation of those comic books could have had any idea that half a century later people would be so interested in the exact division of labor, of who was responsible for what. Otherwise Lee would probably have included more precise credits, if only to avoid people continually asking him about it for the next five decades. MichaelJune 12, 2016 12:26 PM Strange Tales #115 (Dr. Strange) Re: whether it was Lee or Ditko- note that Strange refuses to save a man's life unless he's paid- the same thing we saw Electro do in his first appearance. Byrne has argued that Ditko's heroes often initially act selfishly and need a kick in the pants from the universe to become heroes- for example, Peter Parker refusing to stop the burglar and having the universe punish him as a result. I'd be inclined to think this was therefore more Ditko than Lee. Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 12:12 PM Doctor Strange #13 Meanwhile, if i understand this scene correctly, Dr. Strange is having some trouble getting it up. Well, I would probably have the same problem if my undead brother was floating around naked in the corner of the room. That's a heck of a distraction when you're trying to get some action with your gal :P I really like Guice's work, but I agree with fnord that a lot of his penciling on this series seems like he is using fashion magazine photos for reference. There are some really odd poses & facial expressions he gives his female characters, such as Clea in that panel where she's saying "Yes, I rather liked that little touch, myself." Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 11:59 AM Strange Tales #115 (Dr. Strange) Since I was referencing the early Doctor Strange stories from Strange Tales in my comments about Doctor Strange vol 3 #10 (1989), I decided to look at fnord's write-ups on them. I've always been fond of these stories. Most people understandably cite Steve Ditko's three plus year run on Amazing Spider-Man as one of the highlights of his career, but for myself I have always preferred his Doctor Strange stories. He drew some mind-blowing stuff in them. Obviously Ditko's work improved, and a couple of years after this issue, when he was plotting & drawing Strange's lengthy clash with Baron Mordo & Dormammu and the search for Eternity, we got some genuinely epic stories. But even this earlier material is great. Strange's origin really is brilliant. I wonder who came up with it, Lee or Ditko? All these decades later I suppose we will never know. Well, whoever was the main plotter on this story, it defined Strange for his entire existence. I was recently thinking about this story, what with the controversial casting of Tilda Swindon as the Ancient One in the upcoming movie, to avoid any problems with Tibet and China. Maybe the filmmakers could have gone by Lee's script for this story and have the Ancient One be from India. Ben HermanJune 12, 2016 11:35 AM Doctor Strange #10 It's sorta odd that Roy Thomas gives a specific length of time, ten years, since Doctor Strange's brother died, and that this took place back when Strange was still a selfish physician. Going by that, it means that Strange had his auto accident, descended into alcoholism, found the Ancient One, trained with him, became a master of the mystic arts, and had all of his adventures all within the space of less than a decade. I rather prefer the approach that other writers have utilized, that Strange is actually much older than he appears, and that he was already active as Earth's mystical protector before the Fantastic Four made their debut. I personally find that it's appropriate to have as many of those Strange Tales stories actually be set in the 1960s as possible. It makes sense, since in his very first appearance in Strange Tales #110, Doc is already well-enough known for people to be seeking him out for help, and he refers to Nightmare as his "ancient foe" meaning that they've been enemies for a long time. So the ten year timeframe Thomas establishes here really does not work. Oliver_CJune 12, 2016 3:30 AM Marvel Team-Up #79 "John Byrne seems to be drawing Red Sonja in the Frank Thorne manner as much as possible..." You say that as if it were a bad thing. ;-) CecilJune 12, 2016 12:34 AM Marvel Team-Up annual #1 Too bad this story notoriously sucks. I do dearly love Zelazny's Lords of Light. ChrisWJune 12, 2016 12:30 AM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 I have a vague memory of some reference to 'the Phoenix' during one of the Byrne issues - which I don't have handy either - but assuming I'm not totally wrong, that would be the only thing indicating the Shi'ar knew anything about Phoenix. Yeah, the idea that the Phoenix Force is known throughout the universe apart from Jean Grey is almost certainly a retcon. ChrisJune 11, 2016 11:42 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 S, I don't have any of my old (reprint) issues in front of me, but I don't believe the Shiar know anything about Phoenix at this time. When we eventually see a Shi'ar ship approach Earth and then flee, it is because their records indicate Earth repulsed Galactus. When Phoenix and the X-Men fight the Imperial Guard at the M'krann Crystal they are not worried or concerned. ONLY when Dark Phoenix attacks a Shi'ar ship and destroys the Broccoli headed people planet do the Shi'ar determine Phoenix is a threat. If it is established Shi'ar "knew" of Phoenix at this time, it is probably a retcon. People who know better, please correct me if I am wrong! ChrisWJune 11, 2016 11:37 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 D09, it's even funnier that as the cosmic rays break through in the last panel of #100, there's a "to be concluded" blurb. Almost 40 years later to the day, is there any sign of a conclusion yet? haydnJune 11, 2016 11:25 PM Amazing Spider-Man #153 Cheesy, I know. But it still made a positive impression on my 11-year old self when I read it in 1976. George LochinskiJune 11, 2016 9:31 PM Marvel Team-Up #27 Great review! SJune 11, 2016 9:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 But don't the Shi'ar in this story already know about the Phoenix from their past? That would imply that there's more to Phoenix than just "mutant hit by cosmic rays" Cecil DisharoonJune 11, 2016 9:00 PM Hulk #206-207 It's just conceivable the Defenders are reacting irrationally because of the Headmen's manipulations around this time, though it would be unusual for a Marvel writer of this era to give that nod to an ongoing book in the story and not make mention. The Headmen's manipulation was supposed to make them react violently towards any popular movement not tied into their scheme, but Defenders #40 and other instances do show them responding with excess emotion. D09June 11, 2016 6:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 @Andrew Burke: So which characters do you think Claremont wasn't fond of? D09June 11, 2016 6:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 So what, it only goes to prove that Claremont can't write mentally stable women to save his life? ChrisJune 11, 2016 5:34 PM X-Factor #1 Bringing back Jean was a huge mistake. They should have stayed with Dazzler. It would have been interesting to see how X-Factor would have developed. I imagine Maddy would have stayed with Scott and remained part of the book, the same way Layton tried to keep the other romantic interests of the team involved like Candy and Vera. ChrisJune 11, 2016 5:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 The original idea behind Phoenix was "If cosmic rays could turn ordinary humans into superhumans, what would they do to a mutant?". everything from here to X-Men 137 was written with that in mind, and any evil that Phoenix did was a result of prolonged mental breakdown caused by Mastermind unleashing Jean's id and the human mind being incapable of handling the sheer power Phoenix had. It is a much better story than the retcon which established the Phoenix Force. AFJune 11, 2016 5:11 PM Uncanny X-Men #269 "definitely" Andrew BurkeJune 11, 2016 4:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 Carol found out Michael Rossi was still alive in MS. MARVEL II#33, after which she promptly found out a few issues later that he was a traitor and was only in a relationship with her so he could try and use her as a mole in the AFSO. D09June 11, 2016 3:50 PM Uncanny X-Men #98-101 So this is where all the trouble started involving that overgrown turkey of a cosmic embodiment? Such a huge headache, from such a little mini-arc... Mark DrummondJune 11, 2016 2:19 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 When the original art to MSH#13 was printed in Essential Captain Marvel #1, it showed that Carol Danvers was originally called "Miss Johnson". Andrew BurkeJune 11, 2016 12:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #269 The geas was definitely a sign that the Shadow King was involved, as Pierce and his Reavers weren't mystics so they couldn't have placed it on Gateway. There's something temporal about the Siege Perilous. Rogue was the first one sucked into it and the last one spit out some twenty-one issues later. And I believe Psylocke was the last one in and the first one out. Andrew BurkeJune 11, 2016 9:40 AM Ms. Marvel #22 Yep. For sure. Still, at the time Claremont wrote MS.MARVEL, it would have been an interesting plot point if it turned out to be true. Secretly being Carol's landlord would have given Mystique an advantage over her and a way to keep her eye on her without tipping Carol off. DarJune 11, 2016 8:20 AM Fantastic Four #258-260 Always seemed petty of Byrne. So what is Arcade struck a match on Doom? I fear that it was Byrne who may be responsible for the whole "Doom is greatest ever!"-fanboyism we see today. I'd rather Doom suffer a (very) minor irritation, than the X-Men be humiliated by having trouble with a non-combat Doombot. DarJune 11, 2016 6:24 AM She-Hulk #31-33 "I do dislike the cheesecake" That is John Byrne's thing. He's a pervert who has to shoe-horn skin-revealing shots and sexual situations in his stories. Mark DrummondJune 10, 2016 11:43 PM Captain Marvel #2-3 There's a strange dialogue flub on page 14 of #3: one balloon reads "Luckily, I found the cylinder with no trouble!" and in the SAME PANEL: "Luckily, I found it with no delay!" Mark DrummondJune 10, 2016 11:39 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 Something I just now noticed about the cover to MSH #12: why is that guy in the background shinnying up that drainpipe? MichaelJune 10, 2016 11:27 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 Re: the Claremont story in issue 6- it's not non-canon since the vampire in that story- Angie Freeman- later appears in the Daughters of the Dragon story in Bizarre Adventures 25. MichaelJune 10, 2016 7:31 PM Ms. Marvel #22 Unfortunately for your theory, Arabella Jones encounters Carol-in-Rogue's body in X-Men 246, and a few issues later, Mystique still thinks Rogue is dead. Andrew BurkeJune 10, 2016 2:36 PM Ms. Marvel #22 Even today, I still wonder if Arabella Jones was really Mystique in disguise. We see them both at the party...but not at the same time. It would have been a good maneuver disguising herself as Carol's landlord to spy on her. Of course, she didn't know at this time that Carol was Ms. Marvel, but it's already been established by this point that she was after both Carol and Ms. Marvel for separate reasons. FF3June 10, 2016 12:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #246-247 @Andrew Burke: "My mutant power is that I never die." The mind-blowing resolution we'll never get: a link between Xorn and Dazzler involving the Mojoverse. FF3June 10, 2016 12:29 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) The worst victim of the cheap photoshop coloring is The Mad Thinker. He looks like he's addicted to artificial tan. I have to say, though, if I have to choose between poorly colored releases of unreleased work from the marvel vaults, or black and white releases, I'll choose poorly colored stuff. Andrew BurkeJune 10, 2016 10:21 AM Heroes For Hope #1 I should note here with this issue that the evil entity may actually be the Shadow King. This entity is of similar age and was also the dark side of human thought. Storm seemed to be familiar with this entity, so perhaps she was subconsciously reminded of the Shadow King, who has always been interested in corrupting Storm? Plus, the "sexy" scenes with Storm sure seem like the Shadow King's influence. In addition, the Shadow King later claimed that Rogue had once absorbed him, and the only time I can find that fits this claim would be here in this book. Andrew BurkeJune 10, 2016 10:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @ ChrisW Good catch with the connection between the Shadow King and Masque. It makes perfect sense, using him to gain access to the ruins of the X-Mansion. The Shadow King would then have control of the Australian base, Muir Island, and the mansion AND would have pawns in all three places to keep that control. Respectively, Pierce and his Reavers, Moira MacTaggart/Legion and the corrupted mutant heroes there, and Masque and the Morlocks. In addition, he may have been trying to gain control of the lighthouse in EXCALIBUR. Alysande Stuart may have been in his control, as she was frequently reporting to Moira on Muir Island, and Fenris showed up in England, perhaps influenced by the Shadow King, who had tipped them off in UNCANNY X-MEN #260 in regards to the whereabouts of Forge and Banshee (so he was already using them). Or, perhaps the Shadow King was influencing Mesmero? In any case, Claremont left EXCALIBUR before he could finish his plans. Andrew BurkeJune 10, 2016 9:33 AM Uncanny X-Men #254-255 @Nathan Interesting thoughts about Destiny and the Shadow King. My thoughts are that the reason why the Shadow King wants Destiny dead is more because of her value to Mystique. The Shadow King wanted Mystique dead because Raven had betrayed him during what I call MS. MARVEL #25 when she interfered with the arms deal between the Hellfire Club and Peter Coelho. Before that, she was working for the Shadow King, but her obsession with Ms. Marvel was too strong and she ended up going against his wishes. So, when he decided it was time for her to pay, what better way is there to hurt Mystique than to kill one of the few people she loves most? He couldn't harm Rogue because of his plans for her, so he went after Destiny. Then, once that was done, in UNCANNY X-MEN #267, he took possession of Valerie Cooper -- a friend of Raven's -- and sent her to kill Mystique once and for all. Of course, we know that Raven is very hard to kill, and she was able to outmaneuver the Shadow King and survive. Jon DubyaJune 10, 2016 7:49 AM Avengers annual #10 It's possible I'm missing something or not remember it well, but Carol's big spiel at the end of the issue is delivered very emotionally, and Spider-Woman talks about the emotions she saw on Carol's face as "Carol remembered - but then later appearances of the character say she has a very dry, text-only memory of her previous life - she knows what happened and what she felt, but feels none of it. She's basically a stranger to herself." Wasn't that resolved in Busiek's Avengers run? Something about how about the majority (like about 99%) of Carol's identity was erased, but that she still had a portion she could recall. Guess which portion? RocknRollguitarplayerJune 10, 2016 12:58 AM Fantastic Four #33 This is a Smithsonian candidate starting with the Classic partial photo Cover! The 1st comment above is Spot On with the Genghis Khan comparison and Attuma carries a heavy burden Of revealed Legacy to the thrown thus his relentless Tyrant mibdset! This is a Huge Book in comic History! RocknRollguitarplayerJune 10, 2016 12:34 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #9-10 Regardless of comments by pseudo comic experts, the Shield series was visually groundbreaking and Steranko planted a flag the ensuing artists ran with, including these two books, which regardless of story are filled with visual opiates. D09June 9, 2016 9:11 PM Out of scope If and when you get to the publication year these series were produced in, will you be adding in these series to the project? Cage (vol 2) If not, that's fine with me, I just want to know why these would be considered out of scope. D09June 9, 2016 8:49 PM Avengers annual #10 This is Claremont's idea of fixing Carol Danvers' situation? Leaving her emotions disconnected from her memories and leaving her powerless? Red CometJune 9, 2016 2:55 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) @Oliver_C They already have. If you watch the Blu-rays or some similarly uprezzed version of the original Star Wars you can see the matte background behind the ships thanks to modern high definition TV's much greater range and depth of color. In a case like that I wouldn't mind a little CGI touch-up to make it look more like the original did on a movie screen or older TV. Tony LewisJune 9, 2016 12:52 PM Excalibur #59-60 The Knight Errant is quoting Don Quixote's lines from the musical Man of La Mancha. Andrew BurkeJune 9, 2016 9:34 AM Uncanny X-Men #251-253 "What the heck was up with Colonel Rossi?" From what I can tell, he seemed to be doing secret investigative work for Xavier. At least, at the time. It was later revealed in the second volume of MS. MARVEL that Michael Rossi was actually an enemy agent working with Ghazi Rashid, and his relationship with Carol was nothing but an attempt to get to operate as a mole within the AFSO. His presumed death in the plane crash in UNCANNY X-MEN #97 enabled him to do his work without the need to worry about the government. He was also working with Norman Osborn to obtain the Ascention Protocols. Thankfully, Rick Mason assassinated the traitorous Rossi at the end of the storyline. AFJune 9, 2016 7:58 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) Considering Higgins' other credits, this might be the best thing he ever wrote... Yogi deadheadJune 9, 2016 5:05 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) The coloring renders this unreadable. RocknRollguitarplayerJune 9, 2016 12:57 AM Avengers annual #1 Regardless of Heck's drawing, this book is an Iconic nugget in the Comic world, offering readers all original stories and an All A-Lister Cast! Sure John Buscema artwork would have solidified this as an Annual Masterpiece, but it still gets a sacred seat in the Comic ring of honor. Yogi deadheadJune 8, 2016 9:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 I love this site! BerendJune 8, 2016 2:05 PM Out of scope Obviously this is still far, far away, but I would suggest doing all of Exiles, treating it like Micronauts. It crosses over with the 616 universe a number of times, and a bunch of 616 characters (Beak, Sage, Psylocke, Proteus) even join the team for a while. Plus they run in to the Squadron Supreme, who you cover, and feature a bunch of characters from the Age of Apocalypse, similarly a "spin-off" universe from the 616. fnord12June 8, 2016 11:49 AM Out of scope I will probably treat Exiles like What If: it's canon but not a priory for me. So they will probably just get listed on the What's Missing page, except for issues (if any) that intersect with the mainstream Marvel universe. For the most part i intend to stick to the MCP's non-canon list. I think there are three exceptions on my site so far: Daredevil: Man Without Fear is a tricky one because of the Elektra reference, and i also keep it because i don't have a copy of Daredevil #1. I think the MCP's list may just be out of date regarding Brute Force. And i'm happy to see that Spider-Woman: Origins is on the list; i think i covered it before that determination was made, and maybe i'll just get rid of it. Adventures of Captain America and Silver Surfer: Enslavers are things that i have on my What's Missing list (with notes that they are questionable) that the MCP lists as out of scope, but i'm not in a hurry to cover either of those. In general, if the MCP lists it as non-canon i am happy to skip it; i've got plenty of definitely canon books that need to get covered, and that's the priority. I only cover comics that i own physical copies of, so i won't be covering any Infinity Comics or other web-only comics. Some web-only material was later reprinted, so i might cover those. But this site is really about putting my comics in a physical order, so stories that are only available digitally won't be covered. I've added Meet Misty to the What's Missing page. I'm not sure if something like the later Models series makes reference to Misty, but the fact that she's Millie's niece seems like it should be enough to consider it canon. It's a moot point since the issues seem to be scarce. And it wouldn't be a priority for me anyway; i don't even have any Millie, let alone Misty. It's worth noting that the other Star characters may also be considered canon thanks to a 2009 X-Babies series, but i don't think i would cover them. As it says on this page, my priority is covering the definitely canon stuff rather than looking for edge cases. Still no intention to cover anything post Secret Wars. D09June 8, 2016 11:49 AM Out of scope Any thoughts on you changing your mind to continue past Secret Wars (2015) instead of stopping there? fnord12June 8, 2016 11:20 AM Uncanny X-Men #96 Added Harry. Andrew BurkeJune 8, 2016 10:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 The Shadow King was also feeding Pierce information, so he was quite active during this period as his plans continued to advance. Andrew BurkeJune 8, 2016 10:10 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 There's a scene where a shackled Lorna notes that Brainchild, Amphibius, and another Mutate seem more evil and sadistic than they normally were. A vague clue, at least to me, that the Shadow King is at work here, likely due to him having noticed the shift in Lorna's powers to something he needs. david banesJune 8, 2016 12:50 AM Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 I just realized Morbius is right up Gil Kane's alley. Here's a guy where no matter what angle you can see up his nostrils. david banesJune 7, 2016 8:27 PM Iron Man #55 I'd give those explanations a No-Prize. D09June 7, 2016 8:04 PM Iron Man #55 It's possible this robot was a test run for his later copies. D09June 7, 2016 8:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @Andrew: Good point, I'll ask again when we actually get to The Crossing. D09June 7, 2016 7:59 PM Avengers #114 Maybe Mantis is sporting a double ahoge? AndrewJune 7, 2016 7:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 Dude, fnord is asking nicely. Don't you realize he could delete us all with a few keystrokes?!?! Oliver_CJune 7, 2016 5:29 PM Marvel Comics Presents #44 (Puma) If nothing else, 'Blue Devil' had a great premise: an actor magically becoming the character he was playing for real. Omar KarinduJune 7, 2016 4:53 PM Marvel Comics Presents #44 (Puma) Mishkin was also the co-creator and initial writer of Blue Devil, a light comedy adventure comic where random weird mystical stuff showed up to prompt adventures. cullenJune 7, 2016 4:26 PM Out of scope Now that you bring up Star, D09, some consider the Meet Misty series to be in-canon aaaand... Oh, what's this?! I just googled to get a little more info and see fnord's already kinda sorta dealt with it on this site: http://www.supermegamonkey.net/comics/2013/11/ I don't think it's listed either here on the What's Missing page, so where'd the canonicity hammer come down fnord? Oliver_CJune 7, 2016 4:05 PM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #8 "Chi Lo" is not a Japanese name. TCPJune 7, 2016 4:02 PM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #8 [standing ovation for Omar] Dude, that took some dedication. If anyone is curious, Omar is paying homage to Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes," written for them by David Bowie. Omar KarinduJune 7, 2016 3:46 PM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #8 Well, Bright Sword rapped all night about his self-deicide, And Sea Witch's stealing clothes from Marrina, Shapeshifter man is crazy All the young gods (hey, gods!) All the young gods (I don't want to read you!) Now Daydreamer looks cool cause she manipulates trees And Gerry Conway's more at home with his Gwen and his Spidey Now I've read a lot 'bout clones and I'm leaving that alone All the young gods (hey, gods!) All the young gods (I don't want to read you!) [repeat chorus two more times] Erik BeckJune 7, 2016 11:55 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 Interesting to come back to this entry now that the first couple of seasons of Daredevil have come out and realize that this series was clearly hugely influential on the television show. Andrew BurkeJune 7, 2016 10:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #239 Like ChrisW, I myself see Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN run in acts, but a bit differently, and I also include his later work. ACT I - Ends with the Dark Phoenix Saga and the death of Jean Grey Everyone else's X-Men and related stories is its own thing and its own history. To me, anyway. RocknRollguitarplayerJune 7, 2016 12:29 AM Sub-Mariner #9-11 Everytime I see the Captain Barracuda character, I hear the song "Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea "Sponge Bob Squarepants" What a throwaway character for Namor to encounter.. FF3June 7, 2016 12:01 AM Uncanny X-Men #297 I think Jubilee gets a lot of grief, when she really has quite a few good stories when you consider the overall quality of the X-books in the 90s. The Legacy virus issue with Illy, this one, the issue where Wolverine leaves after Fatal Attractions, Age of Apocalypse. I really think she's most tedious around Wolverine, actually, now that I think about it. D09June 6, 2016 11:45 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @Nathan Adler: What did Gruenwald write that would overturn Busiek's fix for The Crossing? @AF: Have you forgotten the side-effects we had gotten out of that particular story (The Crossing, not Avengers Forever)? FF3June 6, 2016 11:20 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) I think this is a call back to the original X-Men story where they are out ice skating only to be attacked by the Super-Adaptoid. FF3June 6, 2016 11:06 PM Marvel Comics Presents #44 (Puma) If I got to write for Marvel, my secret plan would be to bring back Puma and make this story so incredibly important to the current continuity that there's a run on this otherwise utterly obscure issue of MCP. But only after I bought every copy I could find on the internet. D09June 6, 2016 10:41 PM Out of scope A: This might be a doozy of a question for you to answer, but besides the obvious ones that don't belong in the "main" Marvel Universe (all the various adaptions of things like Scooby-Doo and Star Trek, all the other imprints like Star Comics and Epic Comics, etc.), which comics shown on the MCP's non-canon list do you consider to be canon? B: Any thoughts on how you might approach the Infinity Comics that Marvel keeps publishing every now and then in the near future? D09June 6, 2016 9:05 PM Uncanny X-Men #169-171 A: Is it me or does it seem like Claremont's additions to the X-Men act more like rowdy hooligans whenever they show up during this time period? B: I'm surprised that Claremont never did anything with the word "Eloi" in connection with the Morlocks. RikFenixJune 6, 2016 7:46 PM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #8 Young Gods were awful, I certainly never wanted to see them again. RikFenixJune 6, 2016 6:17 PM West Coast Avengers annual #3 This was an enjoyable story. The silly villains based on the senses were very bronze age and almost entertainingly bad. The rift between Mockingbird and Hawkeye is certainly funny."That creep?" Mockingbird says at one point, "We're through!" kvetoJune 6, 2016 5:53 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #83 this issue probably contributed a lot to IF being the junior partner to Power man. I like your sword and shield analogy, Chris. The Iron Fist of IF should be his one asset that he has over Cage. But here it is less powerful than Luke. Which is odd because IF has taken out Warhawk in the past with his good ole bad ass kung fu. RikFenixJune 6, 2016 4:40 PM Web of Spider-Man annual #4 Could've used a lot more Slug.. and a lot less Poison. Nice art, though. Ben HermanJune 6, 2016 4:14 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) Definitely agreed that the modern computer coloring does not do Cockrum's pencils any favors on either of these stories. I really think that many people don't realize that coloring is as much of an art form as drawing. You need to have a really good sense of aesthetics to color comic books, whether you are using a paintbrush or a mouse or whatever. The two stories in this special could have looked better with a more judicious coloring job. This really makes me miss the work of Glynis Oliver aka Glynis Wein. She did great coloring on Uncanny X-Men in the late 1970s to early 80s. Andrew BurkeJune 6, 2016 1:10 PM Uncanny X-Men #246-247 This issue started the rather long ongoing subplot involving the Dazzler. It continued in NEW EXCALBUR and X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD, as we saw her dying at least four times and then resurrected mysteriously. This was caused by her journey through the Siege Perilous. However, the storyline was dropped once those books ended and Claremont started writing NEW EXILES. I must mention, though, that this plot point has now been picked up by Kelly Thompson in the current A-FORCE series, as the Dazzler was killed in A-FORCE #3, only to mysteriously return from the dead in #4. I have to give her props for this! I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes the storyline. Andrew BurkeJune 6, 2016 12:14 PM Uncanny X-Men #232-234 I should mention that the Warpies were later brought to Muir Island in UNCANNY X-MEN #254. Andrew BurkeJune 6, 2016 12:11 PM Uncanny X-Men #232-234 THE DAREDEVILS #2 featured the Mastermind AI in a cavern similar to the one here in Australia, and the computer had grown to fill an entire cave, like it does here (as mentioned by Omar). There's even an impressive image of this cavern. One does wonder about the relationship between Madelyne and the computer. She learns how to work it very quickly; she is the only one who can get it to work; when she smashes it, it connects to her dream and shows it on its monitors. Since the Masermind AI has manipulated people before, such as in CAPTAIN BRITAIN Vol. 2 #9, one wonders what the AI's plans were for Maddie. Something involving the Warpies that it was charged with protecting and preparing, perhaps? Was there a connection between the Warpies and the Inferno babies? Ataru320June 6, 2016 11:52 AM Journey Into Mystery #101-103 I think it's complicated that Hela here was introduced in a "Tales of Asgard" backup. He doesn't really track "appearances in the past" as first appearances I don't believe. Mark DrummondJune 6, 2016 11:29 AM Code of Honor #1 Here's the story of how Marvels 2 became this book, according to Kurt Busiek in Comics Journal #216: Busiek and Alex Ross discussed a Marvels sequel, but Ross bailed early because he didn't want to draw Wolverine and the Punisher. Tristan Schane then got assigned to it, but Busiek got a bit worried when Schane admitted that he really couldn't do big crowd scenes and multi-character reaction shots. Then the editor informed Busiek that although he liked Marvels, he felt that Ross' art was too "quiet" too often and would have been better off if it was more "Image-y". Busiek, wary of further boneheaded interference, also bailed and took his story with him. He later transformed it into the "Dark Age" story in Astro City. He also mentioned coming up with a Marvels 3 as well just after Ross left, but didn't say what he did with it(possible it became Eye of the Camera). Susan WhetstoneJune 6, 2016 10:50 AM Web of Spider-Man #44 I have found a comic book in plastic and I was wondering what the value would be, Web of Spider-man "Reunion" Vol. 1 No. #44 November 1988 ( ISSN 0887-9702) AFJune 6, 2016 9:13 AM Giant-Size Invaders #1 Yeah, that would definitely pass as an original idea. Oliver_CJune 6, 2016 6:40 AM Fantastic Four #282-284 I always did like the conception and depiction of Mr. Fantastic's self-liquidizing. Oliver_CJune 6, 2016 5:53 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) If you think this is bad, wait till Hollywood starts reissuing old movies 'enhanced' by the modern-day standards of 4K, HDR and orange & teal... RocknRollguitarplayerJune 6, 2016 1:30 AM Journey Into Mystery #101-103 Where is HELA's 1st appearance tag, wasn't Journey into Mystery #102 her 6'6" 500 lb debut? Not exactly a take home to meet Mom type of girl but nevertheless a hottie! RocknRollguitarplayerJune 6, 2016 12:40 AM Giant-Size Invaders #1 The Invaders, Liberty Legion etc. Have some tremndous characters and should be part of an alternate Earth dimension or frequenct that is traversed in a "Fringe" like manner when services are needed etc. The timelines of the characters would not fall under a Golden Age label and would allow for some much needed interaction with the current Marvel Universe Dimension RocknRollguitarplayerJune 6, 2016 12:10 AM Defenders #13-14 Oddly enough, for a Super-Group meant to Mimic certain DC characters as a prospective satire, The Squadron Sinister/Supreme have become Cult legends and should be polished up and re-introduced as the warped, psychotic Super-Villains with delusional thoughts of Grandeur, they are!! As for NightHawk, for God's sake, please give him a Black sinister costume, dark sociopathic attitude like Rorshack of watchmen fame and turn him loose on the Bad guys as Marvels answer to the BatMan as he was meant to be! RocknRollguitarplayerJune 5, 2016 11:52 PM Defenders #12 DRAGONFANG alone in this story has the eventual capacity to become as historically significant as Excaliber was to King Arthur. Long live the Valyrie! RocknRollguitarplayerJune 5, 2016 11:32 PM Captain America #145-148 After Sifting through the intelligible comment section and the chronoligical HYDRA debate, I am somehow drawn to the Wilson Fisk head smashing scenario and how Vanessa Fisk manages the Kingpin's weight in the bedroom, without occasional injury? ChrisJune 5, 2016 10:41 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #83 Ideally Luke Cage should be very good on defense (since he's mostly invulnerable), but not so hot on offense: he can take out street thugs easily, but there should be a lot of even mid-tier supervillains he can't take down. Iron Fist should be the sword to Cage's shield. He should be able to damage things Cage can't. It's OK for them to fight villains that one guy can handle alone, but the other can't. Ideally though, they should be fighting opponents whom neither can fight alone, and they need to be a team. Otherwise, why waste an entire issue on it? On the other hand, I wouldn't mind the brief appearance of various "jobbers" - low level villains without much fan appeal - that one or the other best in a few panels/pages while they set up the main plot. ChrisJune 5, 2016 10:35 PM Uncanny X-Men #110 This should have been reprinted in Classic X-Men even if it was a fill-in. It was written by Claremont, and the fact that Warhawk bugged Cerebro for Sebastian Shaw is actually a crucial plot point down the line. D09June 5, 2016 9:34 PM Out of scope Will you be covering the Exiles or are they considered to be Out of Scope? rocknrollguitarplayerJune 5, 2016 9:21 PM Black Goliath #1-3 Black Goliath, a perfect phase 3/phase 4 Marvel Studio candidate Brian C. SaundersJune 5, 2016 8:34 PM Hulk #245-248 What Banner remembered in Incredible Hulk #312 wasn't the entire truth either as the minus 1 issue expanded that Bruce and Brian's last graveyard meeting resulted in Bruce causing Brian's accidental death. There was a ongoing progression of Banner's memory over the course of the series during PAD's run. RikFenixJune 5, 2016 7:02 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #12 Great annual, best Evolutionary War story since the 1st chapter imo. Adams' art is a huge step up from some of the previous chapters. Felt High Evoluutionary's characterization was better than the Hitler stuff we saw before. I've always loved the High Evolutionary and his warriors, the Mutates, Zaladane, the giant dog, Mojo, the X-babies, lot goin on here! Only drawback is the dialogue Ataru320June 5, 2016 6:59 PM Hulk #245-248 Alright this is just bizarre: so basically Mantlo at the start of his run literally has a gravestone where Bruce Banner claims he misses his dad...and then by the end of his run in '85, suddenly Bruce remembers his dad abused him and basically created the Hulk psyche? Yeah Barry Windsor-Smith probably wrote the concept but considering Mantlo ran with it, why didn't he remember that in his interpretation, his dad wasn't so bad? Or did Bruce do something at this point to delude himself into thinking that his dad was better than he actually was? (my personal take: considering this is probably not too long after he visited Jenny after a long time, family was on his mind and he had suppressed what happened for so long that it wasn't fully realized in his head when he had this vision, but of course somehow the truth re-emerged with what happened throughout the Mantlo run later) Omar KarinduJune 5, 2016 3:41 PM Fantastic Four #282-284 Reading this storyline as a back issue, I thought it was odd that Byrne kept the Psycho-Man in the shadows but showed so much of him that it was obvious who he was. But this site helped me realize that the character hadn't been seen in this comic for over a decade, and wasn't used much at all. Additionally, Kirby and Lee never actually used the "Hate" setting on Psycho-Man's raygun-box-thingus, so that, plus the fact that the FF were the first to battle the original Hate-Monger, was probably the inspiration for this storyline. But yes, as fnord noted int he previous entry, the story has little to say about racial hatred; if we're being generous, though, it's perhaps an interesting example of sexism. Sue will explicitly compare what the Psycho-Man did to her with rape, and both the fears and doubts he uses against her and her final decision int his arc are very tied up with themes of sexism and feminism. So perhaps Byrne was sneaking in one set of "real-world issues" by initially trying to take on a flashier one? Of course, the FF aren't the best team to use for a racism-themed story anyway, considering that they're one of the MU's least diverse teams. In retrospect I do see that this story falls into the pattern of Byrne traumatizing a female character before building her up to be stronger. But at the time I was impressed with his work developing Sue in these issues. Actually, even as a kid I had always thought that Sue was known as "the Invisible Woman" so it was a surprise when I read these issues and found out she was still known as "the Invisible Girl" and was at long last changing that name to reflect her age & maturity. As Fnord said, "it didn't seem that controversial to me." It's also Byrne playing with Claremont themes: prejudice, female empowerment, even Sue-as-domme-vie-mind-control. It almost reads as a criticism of how Claremont handles these plots; Sue doesn't find the whole thing secretly liberating, she just experiences it as a violation. It's also worth recalling that this wasn't too far past things like the defeat of the ERA; it was at the 1980 Republican convention that Phyllis Schlafly and her supporters succeeded in in getting the party to drop its support fort the amendment. Omar KarinduJune 5, 2016 3:28 PM Fantastic Four #278-279 Byrne has stated that his original plan was for Doom to return and be horrified at what his robots had done in his absence. There's something creepy and effectively about the idea that the Doombots' response to their master's death would be to essentially program a "human" Doombot so they could again take orders, but I'm not sure where Byrne was going with it. At a guess, he may have been planning to reconcile the more "honorable" Doom of more recent stories with the boldfaced lying villain seen in many of the Lee/Kirby stories, with Kristoff and his "old days Doom" standing in as the latter. Or maybe it was about tweaking the people who'd complained about all his "changes" to the book by suggesting that what they want is a return to simple, childish plots. In any case, the growth of the FF is emphasized by having their encounter with nostalgia-Doom turn out to be a battle with a literal child. BerendJune 5, 2016 3:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #210 I've always been surprised just how far Claremont changed his plans after he heard he couldn't use Fury. Why not just still have Nimrod murder the Morlocks? Red CometJune 5, 2016 12:00 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) Older comic stories look absolutely terrible with modern Photoshop effects and coloring. This isn't Cockrum at his best, but I bet it still looked a lot better with just inks. I always get saddened when I see a collected edition of classic material come out and find out it's been "re-colored." Mark DrummondJune 5, 2016 11:43 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #93-94 Busiek stated in Comics Journal #216 that he had no problem with Cowan's art, but he described Ernie Chan as "...shall we say, uncommercial." Brian C. SaundersJune 5, 2016 1:27 AM Defenders #145 Considering Ghost Rider was pretty much out to kill Warren back in Avengers #214, Warren is being exceeding generous. Of course, Johnny was so guilty in that issue, that it's good to have a follow-up that they are still buddies. Warren is really a better human being than he gets credit for. ChrisWJune 4, 2016 11:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #193 I rather liked Firestar's appearance here. That's no small feat, considering this was the first - and to this day, virtually the only - appearance I've ever seen from her outside "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends," of which I was a die-hard fan in the days of my youth. I've also read the "Firestar" miniseries, but that's about it. She's almost the inverse of Kitty Pryde. She's a girly-girl [crumpled in a chair in the final scene, so embarrassed she wants to die] enormously powerful, she's really not cut out for the super-life at her chosen school, a blatantly-manipulated pawn in the scheme of things, but she's given enough integrity as a character that her decision to return to the Academy is believable, even if it lets people like Empath run rampant. Her belief in the school's headmistress parallels the Xavier students, giving Emma Frost more dignity and respect than she'd ever had (or earned) before. Even if you think Angelica is making the wrong decision - and we all do - we can respect her choice and at worst, shrug and say everybody makes bad decisions in their lives. Not saying it was Firestar's greatest moment, but I thought she worked very well here. Jon DubyaJune 4, 2016 11:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #193 By the way, concerning Xavier's outfit, I heard that Claremont originally wanted to have Xavier wake up in women's clothes (!!!) Jon DubyaJune 4, 2016 10:58 PM Uncanny X-Men #193 Er...Andrew, you are aware that a significant amount of X-Men have that power as well? (There are some right in this issue alone.) ChrisJune 4, 2016 9:01 PM Uncanny X-Men #210 Andrew, the other possibility is that at that time, the murder if Annalee's children was done by some crazed human with anti-mutant history. That person might have become Scalphunter who joined Nimrod, but it could just as easily been some generic human goon never referenced again. Or maybe it was Nimrod himself (unlikely as he'd simply vaporize them instead of shooting them). Not all of Claremont's story seeds had known causes, and sometimes he'd retroactively change them in order to accommodate his new ideas. ChrisWJune 4, 2016 7:34 PM New Mutants #23-25 It took this long for any Xaviers' student to find a decent hangout closer than Manhattan? MapQuest says that's over an hour away. It makes sense if they're going out to party for the weekend, but... In "X-Men," just a few issues earlier, Wolverine had grabbed Colossus and said "You're comin' with me, into town, for a little - long overdue - talk." By all rights, they should have wound up at Harry's, which is *IN TOWN* (New Salem) close to where they live. Instead they drive all the way to the West Village in Lower Manhattan? And they don't have any "talk" on the way there? I quit. These kids are up to no good. Stick a fork in them, they're done. And get off of my lawn. MichaelJune 4, 2016 6:40 PM New Mutants #23-25 Note that this is the first appearance of Harry's Hideaway. MichaelJune 4, 2016 6:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #96 Harry Morrel appears in the backup- shouldn't he be listed as a Character Appearing? ChrisWJune 4, 2016 5:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #210 Considering "Classic X-Men" #1 was published at almost the exact same time as this issue, I have to think Nightcrawler running from a mob was a deliberate callback to his first appearance. ChrisWJune 4, 2016 5:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #214 Man, why you gotta drag Steve Englehart into this? ;) ChrisWJune 4, 2016 5:42 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Until yesterday, I had no idea this story ever existed. And then last night, I discovered I had "Alter Ego" #24 with the Cockrum interview Ben mentions above. Weird. MichaelJune 4, 2016 2:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 Another weird thing- Scott Lobdell established in X-Men 297 that the original 5 had been hanging out at Harry's Hideaway since Jean's "16th birthday". So the X-Men must have been going to the Coffee-A-Go-Go and Harry's Hideaway at the same time. MichaelJune 4, 2016 11:37 AM Excalibur #59-60 Fnord, as we'll see in a few issues, Brian is having problems with his powers due to the destruction of the matrix. AFJune 4, 2016 11:31 AM Uncanny X-Men #214 Or someone sees a hack writer who people idolize for stories he never ever told anything close to on an actual page. Walter LawsonJune 4, 2016 11:23 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Cockrum would have drawn the X-Men Spotlight on the Starjammers, a story originally intended for Marvel Comics Presents, no more than three years before this, though, and his art in those specials is classic Cockrum: not his best, but far better than what we see either in this story or in the New Mutants one, which would have been drawn at a pout the same time as the Starjammers story. Fnord's is right that the modern style of production bears some blame for the poor appearance of the Odd Man Out material, but something else seems off as well: did Cockrum only do breakdowns? Vincent ValentiJune 4, 2016 10:34 AM Daredevil #304 What an odd premise. Nobody would know there's an actual respite in murders until....the next murder. At which point the respite is over. Vincent ValentiJune 4, 2016 10:28 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) To be fair to Cockrum, by the late 80s/early 90s he hadn't drawn an ongoing title for years, so I would assume that he hadn't been exercising his artistic muscles for a while. Jonathan HamiltonJune 4, 2016 10:23 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 That's Troma's Toxic Avenger pictured on the poster in that Hulk panel. Vincent ValentiJune 4, 2016 10:21 AM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) This is freaky. I didn't bother to read the credits before looking at the art and from the first page I thought "this looks like Dave Cockrum drew it. But that's impossible!" Check out the credits box. They surprisingly still left Tom DeFalco's name as EIC. And Joe Rosen hasn't really lettered anything since the late 80s. This story must have been created exactly when the New Mutants' look and lineup matched this, so say 1988-1989. Marvel sat on this inventory story for 20 years!!!!! Andrew BurkeJune 4, 2016 9:56 AM Uncanny X-Men #210 It's strange. Claremont's original plan for the Mutant Massacre was that Nimrod and Fury were going to be merged and set loose upon the Marauders. But the story starts in UNCANNY X-MEN #193 with the shooting murders of Annalee's children, which happened BEFORE Nimrod and Fury would have merged. So this means someone else is the murderer of those Morlock children. And since Scalphunter was the murderer, it seems to me, considering the original plans for Nimrod and Fury, that Claremont had plans for Scalphunter prior to the Mutant Massacre that likely didn't involve the Marauders. When the Nimrod/Fury thing didn't pan out due to legal reason, Claremont came up with his new plot involving Mr. Sinister and the Marauders and slipped Scalphunter in with them. Andrew BurkeJune 4, 2016 9:42 AM Uncanny X-Men #214 It's interesting how each reader sees different things whenever they read a comic. Take Malice, for instance. Nathan Adler sees Lorna's twin sister, while I see someone who could be related to the Shadow King. Claremont had already put Rogue in place as his sleeper agent. Now it was time to terrorize them again with Malice. There could still be a connection to Polaris, but the Shadow King could have known about this and factored it into his plans, especially since Lorna becomes important to him later in the Muir Island Saga. Malice must have had a body before she became a telepathic entity, but she moved past it much the way the Shadow King did. They transcended the need for physical forms, other than when it suit their needs to possess people, something they got a sadistic kick out of regularly. Like I said, everyone sees something different in what they read. It's a part of what makes reading so fun. Andrew BurkeJune 4, 2016 9:35 AM Uncanny X-Men #214 When Lorna opened the door, she said, "Wha...you! It's impossible! It can't be!" If he did indeed know Lorna, Erik may have had his helmet off when he came to the door, and she recognized him. If she had thought it was Cyclops, her reaction probably would have been something like, "Wha? Scott? Is that you underneath that get up? Why are you wearing that thing?" Not sure who he would be, but it must have been someone she thought was dead, or missing. AFJune 4, 2016 6:11 AM X-Factor #71-73 Well, I don't think he even reads when other people touch his toys... fnord12June 4, 2016 12:22 AM Hulk #312 I've added a scan of that scene on that entry. It is from #247. Thanks, Hanson. D09June 4, 2016 12:11 AM Fantastic Four #164-165 Considering what the Crusader's wristbands later turn out to be, I would say that his delusional mindset actually controlled them for a while, but when he thought the sun was overcharging them, he lost control and was disintegrated. D09June 3, 2016 11:23 PM X-Factor #71-73 @AF: So basically Davis is one of those writers who gets a little, touchy, when others play with his toys, so to speak? MichaelJune 3, 2016 11:22 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) @Andrew-Fnord does have X-Men:Gold on his What's Missing list. D09June 3, 2016 11:02 PM New Mutants #14 Personally I never thought too highly of Illyana, even though Claremont tries to change my mind with stuff like her "pwecious" friendship with Kitty or her sorcery/Darkchylde abilities, so I really don't give a hoot about what happens to her. I mean I realize she does have fans, but I'm not one of them. Brian C. SaundersJune 3, 2016 9:40 PM X-Factor #8 Good point about X-Factor 31. I just checked it out and Destiny included Baby Cable as well. Since Cable wasn't even created then or involved with the Phoenix directly, the cocoon influence must not account for it either. Destiny said it was "TIME" that was confusing her. By #31, Inferno would have been fairly locked in. If we go by authorial intent, Destiny must be confused by Jean, Madelyne and Nathan Christopher's meeting during Inferno. Nathan would have been the crux of that event and Jean and Madelyne/Jean/Phoenix fragment's simultaneous presence were so destabilizing(what with the Inferno and all), it reverberated backwards in time. I doubt Rachel was involved in that piece of confusion, if only because Excalibur's involvement seemed to be a last minute inclusion that was so peripheral to the main events that those issues were wrongly(IMO) labeled with as main crossovers instead of getting the Nabisco corner. Also, I doubt that there's any direct Jean fragments in Rachel's portion of the Phoenix Force. Rachel claimed it without Jean's help and Jean was long dead in her timeline by the time she did(at least I hope she is and not laying at the bottom of Jamacia Bay, never to be awakened). To put it another way, Rachel wouldn't be so lonely for Jean if Jean was present within her Phoenix Force power. I still like the notion of Jean's cocooned state having warped her personal timeline, but considering how complicated the Phoenix business was and is, I can easily let it pass. D09June 3, 2016 8:13 PM Marvel Team-Up #59-62 @Nathan Adler: Maybe to keep him from coming back with an army of Skrulls and/or Super-Skrulls? D09June 3, 2016 7:55 PM X-Factor #8 @Michael: It's possible the problem might be that Destiny tries to focus on one person but ends up with perceiving three at the same time: the Jean Copy now residing within the Phoenix Force within Rachel, Maddie (Jean's clone), and Jean herself. Don CampbellJune 3, 2016 7:47 PM Ms. Marvel #11-13 The matter of Hecate became even more contradictory earlier this year when she showed up in Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2. In that issue, Wanda Maximoff had traveled to the Greek island of Santorini to seek her goddess Hekate's wisdom concerning how the witchcraft flowing through the world was broken. This Goddess Hekate is the Greek goddess of witches but she claims she hasn't cast a spell in years and is content to serve the patrons of her small café. Hekate does say that she might change her mind in a year or a week and decide to take over the world "again" but doesn't explain that reference. Hekate also claims that she hasn't conjured a hex or foretold in many moons, and refers to herself as a lapsed god. The story ends with her dead, killed by the Emerald Warlock. So, that makes three stories about a powerful woman named Hecate. The first one has an alien explorer from another world who was only thought to be a goddess by humans when she visited Earth long ago. The second story featured an amnesiac drug addict whose memory had been wiped by Zeus when he banished her from Olympus. When she got her memory back, Hecate returned to her true form (with its three faces) and she recalled how she had once fought Ms. Marvel. And now this third story with a lapsed goddess living quietly on Santorini. I don't like the retcon that Ms. Marvel's Hecate was really the Greek goddess but at least it would be fairly easy to undo it if anyone cared to try. And this Hekate's claim that she hasn't cast a spell in years is inconsistent with the 3-faced Hecate's actions in Herc #3-6. A real mess of conflicting continuities. MichaelJune 3, 2016 7:41 PM X-Factor #8 Regarding Destiny's problem with perceiving Jean- you can't explain it away just by bringing up the cocoon, because in X-Factor 31 Destiny claims she had a similar problem with Maddie. HansonJune 3, 2016 5:55 PM Hulk #312 Here on SuperMegaMonkey, there is a piece about Hulk #245-248. In one of these three numbers, pretty sure it is #247, there is a flashback where Bruce Banner is standing in front of both his parents' graves, saying something like "mom, dad, I miss you dearly", which is in contrast to how his father is portrayed in this story. AFJune 3, 2016 5:19 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Duncan's death comes up in the early issues of X-Men Legacy (as I said). And X-Cutioner isn't the source of the claims. RobertJune 3, 2016 5:01 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) That's possibly because Joe Rubinstein used to ink Frenz on ASM, which is where Ron started to develop his style. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 4:36 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) Now that I think about it, the art looks a little like Ron Frenz's work. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 4:32 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Hmmm, I remember that issue. Haven't looked at it in a while. Stories by Wein, Thomas, Niceiza, and others. Claremont's took place between UNCANNY X-MEN #173-174. Fnord should tack this one on his list, as most of the stories took place during various runs. Almost one from each if I recall. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 4:27 PM Daredevil #196-200 Alpha Flight may be interested, too. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 4:27 PM Daredevil #196-200 I don't think she has. I'm not sure he even knows she's been turned into a cyborg. Someone should really touch upon this. Ben HermanJune 3, 2016 4:11 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Jon Dubya, perhaps you are thinking of the story by Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod that appeared in the X-Men Gold anniversary special? https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/comic-book-reviews-x-men-gold/ Omar KarinduJune 3, 2016 4:04 PM Daredevil #196-200 Has Yuriko ever encountered Daredevil since basically going mad? Jon DubyaJune 3, 2016 3:50 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Wasn't there another Cockrum story on this "anthology" that toomplace around 1983 it so (Rogue was there and Ithink it mentioned Cyclops's recent marriage to Madelyne as well)? Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 3:20 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) I think that the only place other than the X-Cutioner's report that mentions his death is in one of the handbooks, so as far as I know it was never depicted on-panel. Since he was writing that book exposing government mishandling of the mutant stuff, maybe he faked his death and went underground? It would be nice if a writer would address the issue and even bring back the X-Cutioner as well. Ben HermanJune 3, 2016 2:57 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) I was just wondering if there was ever a flashback showing Duncan's actual on-panel death, as opposed to the X-Cutioner merely reporting him as deceased. After all, plenty of comic book characters have returned from seemingly-irrevocable demises that had numerous witnesses. So merely finding out that someone was supposedly dead via a second-hand account would certainly make it easy enough for a writer to bring Duncan back if they really wanted to. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 2:37 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Duncan appeared in the FIRST X-MEN mini-series in 2013 by Christos Gage and Neal Adams. I never read this book, but I do know that he was a big character in it and that he and Bolivar Trask were assigned to deal with the threat of mutants, with Duncan and Trask on opposite sides, of course. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 2:26 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (New Mutants) I like Skid's costume, but the rest...yikes. The coloring for this story is nice! Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 2:21 PM Daredevil #196-200 I remember getting this when I was younger and later getting UNCANNY X-MEN #205, and when I read Wolverine calling Lady Deathstrike "Yuriko", I immediately thought, "That's the girl from DAREDEVIL!" It's interesting how a Daredevil character became a huge X-Men villain. Erik RobbinsJune 3, 2016 2:13 PM Daredevil #304 I really liked this one. Just the day in the life (or ok, day plus 10 hours) of a superhero when they aren't dealing with supervillains. I ran an adventure for Werewolf RPG based on this issue. (A Rite of Passage adventure where the Bone Gnawer sept instructed the players to just help out people for a day, with scenes based on scenarios in this story.) It went over so well, I ran it a couple other times for different people. AFJune 3, 2016 2:12 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Duncan's death definitely is confirmed in Nicieza's Gambit (with the X-Cutioner) and Mike Carey's X-Men Legacy (during it's Xavier solo book days). I'm also sure there's another character that hinges on Duncan being dead but I may just be thinking of X-Cutioner again. Ben HermanJune 3, 2016 2:07 PM X-Men: Odd Men Out #1 (Agent Duncan) Dave Cockrum mentioned this fill-in issue in an interview in Alter Ego #24. Cockrum was under the impression that the reason why his entire run on Uncanny X-Men was summarized in a single panel was that Roger Stern was close friends with John Byrne, and so he focused more on the period when Byrne was co-writing & penciling the book. As fnord points out, though, Stern later said he had no idea that Cockrum was going to pencil this, and that if he had known then he would have focused a bit more on Cockrum's contributions to the series such as Nightcrawler. Sounds like back in 1992 or so Marvel editorial was being their usual non-communicative selves. Anyway, has Fred Duncan's death ever actually been depicted in a story? Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 1:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #210 When I got this as a teen, I really, really liked Tommy. I thought she looked awesome with her rainbow colors. I was sad when she was killed by the end. Brian C. SaundersJune 3, 2016 11:33 AM X-Factor #8 @Fnord If you look at what happened in Fantastic Four #286, you see what the crystal did was only trigger a (Jean's POV) flashback to what happened during X-Men #100-101. The holempathic matrix crystal wasn't supposed to carry a person's memories, but a resonance of their personality(with a 3-D visual). It was never designed to be held by the person it was crafted from, since it was supposed to be a elegy for the dead. What Jean learned from contact with the crystal was her own memories(Classic X-Men #8 has the objective retcon). She could remember what she experienced, but the crystal couldn't give her memories she never had because it wasn't a memory record, but an emotional record to remind the holder of how Jean/Phoenix was when she was alive. As for Destiny's ongoing problem with perceiving Jean, part of that was like Jay Demetrick said from Jean's time in the cocoon. The protection of the cocoon was obviously more than just a comfy Star Trek medical bed. I'd imagine when the Phoenix slowed down time to interact with Jean, Jean's own timeline was interrupted when she made her deal with the Phoenix. It's likely this is how the cocoon was able to restore her back to health before she died of her injuries. I'd go so far as to hypothesize that for her safety/medical treatment, the cocoon was temporally shielded and she existed outside of time in the cocoon, thus screwing up Destiny's temporal probes after she emerged. Also, despite being the original Jean Grey, Jean's deal with the Phoenix obviously altered her power signature, either because she was always heir to the Phoenix Force, or because of the healing effects of the cocoon. Telekinetic energy FX were supposed to be only visible for the reader's visual comprehension (which is why X-Factor was able to parlay Jean's TK off as "high-tech" gear). But Cyclops was watching flames interact with what had previously been unseen by anyone since Jean came back and at Jean's maximum effort. While Jean wasn't able to generate a full on cosmic fire Phoenix Effect, I can see tapping into her reserves would make her invisible TK FX take the shape of the Phoenix, hence Scott's freak-out. It's almost a meta moment, since Scott's seeing something only the readers usually do. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 10:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #208-209 It's by Claremont and Larocca, and it not only concluded Claremont's plans for his Shadow Queen, but also his plans for Gateway and the Reavers, who were seemingly destroyed in UNCANNY X-MEN #281. A back-up story with Shadowcat rounds things out, throwing out an interesting tidbit about the Destiny Diaries during a time when she was not on the team and was still in college. The book itself is printed sideways, with mostly splash pages to give it a sort of cinematic feeling. Oh, and Shadow King thrall Lian Shen also appears in the main story. It was her first appearance since UNCANNY X-MEN #265-267. Ben HermanJune 3, 2016 10:28 AM Uncanny X-Men #208-209 One of these days I need to track down a copy of X-Treme X-Men Annual 2001 to see what it's all about. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 10:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #208-209 The plot point where Rogue keeps being infected by the essence of evil characters each time uses her power on them is an indication (to me) of the plan Claremont had of slowly transforming Rogue into the Shadow Queen, as she was a sleeper agent the Shadow King had placed within the X-Men (a storyline that was supposed to culminate in UNCANNY X-MEN #300 but came about much later on in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001). Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 10:07 AM Uncanny X-Men #208-209 As Sage is my favorite X-Man, it's fun for me to go back to her early appearances as Tessa and see how he was slowly building up her character each time she shows up. Her robotic personality, her analytical abilities. There was definitely far more to her than met the eye back then. Knowing what we know about her now, you can see some curious things in what she does, particularly here where she offers the X-Men sanctuary at the Hellfire Club rather than just not care and let the police have them, which you'd think it would be the case since they are supposed to be enemies, but they are secretly her allies, so she makes the offer without it being too suspicious. Andrew BurkeJune 3, 2016 9:52 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 One minute she's with the Marauders in their early appearances, and then she'sseemingly killed along with them during Inferno, but then she shows up alive and is she's seen on her own in the Superia Stratagem in CAPTAIN AMERICA #387-391. After that she's back with the Marauders in X-MAN #13 and #18. Then back with the Savage Land Mutates in X-TREME X-MEN: SAVAGE LAND #1-4, UNCANNY X-MEN #457-459 and in NEW AVENGERS #4-5. Then back with the Marauders in the Messiah Complex storyline. She kept being killed off during her Marauder appearances, so obviously she was cloned repeatedly. Whenever she was at home with the Savage Land Mutates, she never mentions the Marauders or anything she's done with them, and vice versa, and there's a lot of her jumping around all over the place, so it seems to me the original Vertigo never left the Savage Land and has no ties to the Marauders, while the Vertigo we see with the Marauders every time is a clone that Mr. Sinister created (and kept creating). AFJune 3, 2016 8:12 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Or that Lorna Dane is related to Zaladane coz of "Dane"! Anne RogersJune 3, 2016 6:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I'm still not sure how Husk is supposed to fit in. Three of the Guthries can fly, she can't (and another sister apparently manifested growth powers in an alternate reality). I admit to being underwhelmed at Marvel's revelation that Lorna is Mangeto's child because they both manipulate magnetism. I wonder if the writers are going to reveal that Xavier fathered Emma Frost since both are telepaths, or that Sunfire and Rusty Collins are secretly distant cousins because of their ability to create fire. AlanJune 3, 2016 4:14 AM Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #1-3,5 While I was reading Ish #3 I couldn't stop thinking about the Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes story, and it appears that it really was a homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work!! Only thing is that fitting a 250 pages novel into a 20 pages comic does make it a bit fast and confusing. :) ChrisWJune 3, 2016 2:19 AM Uncanny X-Men #200 I'm not sure Fenris were intended to be minor characters, although they certainly started out that way. I think Claremont plotted "X-Men" #150-200 as a storyline, opening with a fight against Magneto who began to redeem himself, giving a flashback to Magneto and Xavier meeting to fight Strucker, introducing the New Mutants and eventually Magneto becomes the headmaster. I think Fenris was intended to become more important villains than they did. Being Strucker's children, they would have handled the shifting timescale as well. WWII was over for 40 years at this point, and although Strucker might have been still trying to conquer the world, he wouldn't be that interested in restoring Nazi Germany, similar to using Soviet villains today. Using his children would have set up a thematic point about passing hatred on to the next generation. Maybe Fenris wouldn't have become major villains if Claremont had continued, but I think they were intended to be a point about Magneto's [failed] redemption. ChrisWJune 3, 2016 2:07 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 Those are both good points. I tend more towards the argument that just because an issue is someone's first doesn't mean everything has to be spelled out. In this regard, again I'm influenced by "Preacher," because the first "Preacher" issues I read were from the very end of that series, fished out of the quarter bin. Nothing whatsoever was explained in them. But the characters and situations and dialogue were so vivid and gripping that I knew I wanted to read more. [Hoover's "I love you" monologue to Featherstone in "Alamo" being my favorite example, and my go-to example of how comic book continuity works when it's good.] This is hindsight of course. Those comics were written almost a decade after Claremont left "X-Men" and under editorial circumstances light-years beyond what anybody could have imagined at late-80s Marvel (or anywhere else to that point.) I'm not faulting Claremont for not being Garth Ennis. Quite the opposite, I think it's one of his unrecognized strengths that he was able to bring similar qualities to "X-Men" and related titles. The characters and stories struck deeper chords in the audience than anything else on the stands, being interesting in their own right so that we wanted to read more. As an example, Carol Danvers wasn't given much attention for large stretches of Rogue's appearances. I started reading with #210/211 and it was only through back issues that I had a clue who Carol was. Even then I don't think she even got mentioned until the Genosha storyline. Semi-regular references to Rogue being part-alien, telepaths can't read her mind, etc. Nothing in the way of where she got flight, super-strength, invulnerability. "Secret Wars" I and II didn't help either. In those comics, I found the X-Men annoying and really didn't want to know any more about them. Not the right way to do 'every issue is somebody's first.' But you're quite right about "Excalibur." In the context of this discussion, that's probably why "Excalibur" just didn't work. A handful of X-Characters in England, that's doable, even if it doesn't make much sense. Hooking up with Captain Britain, ok, for those who had heard of him. [I knew him from "Spidey Super Stories"! :D ] Meggan? Nothing. And you're absolutely right, the addition of British plotlines made no sense. I don't think they would have made sense if he had given exposition, but this was certainly a bad example on his part. cullenJune 3, 2016 1:48 AM Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy My feeling is you should keep this page up at least through the first Star-Lord revival, as your 'References' section will require it. And since it'll be quite some time until you get to the 2010s, it's possible the retcon will be retconned, or we'll have a different conception of continuity, or somesuch. I'm a canon inclusionist, though. MichaelJune 2, 2016 11:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 @ChrisW- Claremont also came from the era where "every issue is someone's first", so he should have kept that in mind. The worst offender in terms of bringing in plots from other book without explaining them was Excalibur, where Claremont kept alluding to plots from British stories that had not yet been reprinted in America without explaining them. The editors on Excalibur should have definitely told Claremont "no using characters from British books without explaining them". Thanos6June 2, 2016 11:25 PM Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy Bendisized, bastardized, same thing really. Don CampbellJune 2, 2016 8:59 PM Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy The Bendisized version of Star-Lord's origin has been pretty much confirmed as being that of the Star-Lord who exists in the mainstream Marvel Universe of Earth-616. The way in which the 616 Peter Jason Quill first got into space was revealed in issues #1-5 of the current Star-Lord series and is very different from the versions which appeared in Marvel Previews #4 and the Guardians of the Galaxy movie (which, of course, were also very different from each other). I was hoping that the Star-Lord series would eventually get around to explaining how the references in the Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord miniseries to both Ship and the Master of the Sun fit into Reality-616 continuity but, since that series seems to have been stealth-cancelled, it's unlikely that that will ever happen now (assuming that there was ever any chance of that happening in the first place). Mark BlackJune 2, 2016 6:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #211 When do we see Vertigo jumping back and forth between the Marauders and the Savage Land Mutates? mikrolikJune 2, 2016 5:26 PM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) Wait, the guy the Tarantula is hunting is named Alvarez? Isn't that actually this Tarantula's last name? Geez Marvel, can't you come up with a few more Hispanic surnames? Morgan WickJune 2, 2016 2:49 PM Star-Lord: Guardian of the Galaxy Comments up to this point are from when this entry covered the Star-Lord Special Edition reprint of Marvel Preview #11 only. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 2:25 PM Power Pack #36 There are a few ways to explain the difference between the original Twelve and the ones that ended up appearing in the later storyline. Mastermold was malfunctioning, so the files could be screwed up is the most obvious of choices. Or, Apocalypse was lying about his Twelve. Or, Sanctity got the list wrong when she put it into Master Mold's programming because she's from an alternate future, and her Twelve isn't the same as her own past's Twelve. I never got POWER PACK, but I did get this issue for the Master Mold story. It went well with the X-FACTOR issues, I thought. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 2:18 PM Power Pack #27 Poor Leech. You can really feel for the poor little tyke here. Good thing he has some pals. Good scene for Cyclops, too. ChrisZJune 2, 2016 12:02 PM Hulk #1 I had the same thought as Piotr W, about Betty's loveliness in those panels above. A rather distinctive look, too. John Byrne would pick up on the round face and slender build during his '80s Hulk run. In fact, when he reintroduces Betty in that run, doesn't Byrne adapt that very panel, with Betty in the foreground and a man reaching out from behind her? But a different character (a fly-by-night boyfriend) replaces Gen. Ross in that instance. Oliver_CJune 2, 2016 11:33 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #110 "[Isabella] met a crazy fan who was so obsessed with Nightshade that he became utterly creeped out and chose to never use her again." Reminds me of Anthony Hopkins, in the mid-90s, bemoaning Hannibal Lecter's popularity amongst morbid fans who festooned their bedrooms with 'Silence of the Lambs' posters. Didn't stop him from reprising the character twice subsequently, though. Oliver_CJune 2, 2016 11:21 AM Gargoyle #1-4 Never knew about Warner, but Badger does good work here, his style seemingly anticipating Matt Wagner's 'Demon' mini-series for DC the following year. Mark DrummondJune 2, 2016 11:15 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #100 Busiek stated in Comics Journal#216 that he wanted to have the team split up and go on separate adventures for a while, only to come back and find that their lawyers have hired other super-heroes, forcing them to be unwilling team leaders. However, Busiek got fired with this issue because although the sales slide with the last writer stopped, the numbers weren't going back up. Busiek's subsequent stories were fill-ins because his replacement wasn't meeting deadlines. Mark DrummondJune 2, 2016 11:09 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #90 Busiek confirmed in Comics Journal #216 that this was his first Marvel writing. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 10:08 AM Uncanny X-Men #193 This issue with the murder of Morlock children was the foreshadowing of the Mutant Massacre Saga. Empath...he's one of those characters, like the Purple Man, who really needed to be killed in order to end their threat. They are just way too powerful. I realized this while watching JESSICA JONES and the Killgrave storyline. Mind control is a serious power to fight against, and usually most characters who have this power are horrendous people, which, I suppose, is the purpose of them. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 9:59 AM Uncanny X-Men #199 I've never liked anything related to Mojo, but I will admit that I enjoyed the use of Spiral in the second UNCANNY X-FORCE run. Seeing her and Psylocke as reluctant teammates was a treat. As for Ahab, perhaps his more human appearance here occurred prior to whatever happened to him that made him look the way he does later? This, of course, is if you ignore the Rory Campbell business. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 9:54 AM Uncanny X-Men #200 It's possible we didn't see the twins use their powers in the earlier issues with them and Storm maybe because they were keeping things low-key until they moved against the X-Men and Magneto. However, I do like that, when Claremont decided on the villain(s) for #200, he thought of the twins he used a few issues back. I always like it when a writer uses pre-existing characters, even if they were originally meant to be minor. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 9:49 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 Yeah, I was just explaining about the clone situation with Vertigo, rather than making any suggestions concerning the tags. The original Vertigo was never a part of the Marauders; Sinister extracted her DNA, made a clone of her, and placed the clone in the Marauders. This better explains why Vertigo was always with the Marauders and with the Savage Land Mutates, never once saying anything to anyone about why she was seemingly jumping back and forth across the world from the US to Antarctica. But this was indeed never shown in the stories, but it should have been. There is an odd note to mention here: Vertigo was seen in an issue of GAMBIT as a homeless woman when Gambit recruited her for the Marauders, but that scene makes no sense, at least to me. Not sure what was going on there. Andrew BurkeJune 2, 2016 9:38 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 I think another problem, one that a lot of writers share, is that while they are writing their stories and setting up others, they think of yet another plot and do that one first, which leads into another one, pushing their other set ups back. That, and they also have crossover stories forced on them by the editors. I like Claremont so much because he did do lots of various set ups and such. It holds up better for me especially now because I can go back and re-read his entire run without having to wait between issues. I like long-term plotting, so it is fun for me now to see him set up something and then it takes 2 years to pick back up on it. Back in the day, I just read the book and enjoyed it, but now I enjoy looking at the run as a whole now that it's long since finished. I do admit, though, that he did juggle too many plots, and he should have taken it easy. And I can see why some people don't care for his work for the reasons they do. Claremont was fond of a great many characters, it seemed. I know he did want the Shadow King to be the X-Men's greatest adversary, a force of power that just wouldn't go down, no matter what anyone seemed to do. But admittedly, I wouldn't want him to be behind EVERYTHING. The Mastermind stuff, his plans for Rogue, and such are fine for me, but making him the force behind "Days of Future Past" was surely not a way to go, for the reasons you state. fnord12June 2, 2016 9:22 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 Thanks Don. I already had #2-3 relatively close to this entry and concurrency could explain the other issues in between, but i've now moved that entry to follow this one directly. As you say, we'll have to assume that the Skrulls have faster-than-light tech. fnord12June 2, 2016 9:04 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 To put it another way, Maelstrom's minions Phobos, Helio, and Gronk are clones used in a way similar to the Marauders. But i tag every appearance of Gronk as the same character. What Andrew is suggesting here is that there should be two Vertigo tags, i.e. there's a Vertigo in the Savage Land that was never part of the Marauders. And i know the original intention was to do something similar with Sabretooth, something along the lines of Wolverine having never fought the "real" Sabretooth, who was always behind the scenes. But to my knowledge nothing like that has been confirmed, and so i only have single tags for Sabretooth and Vertigo (not counting the Salem Seven Vertigo, ofc). Ben HermanJune 2, 2016 8:56 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 @Don Campbell - It always drives me nuts when sci-fi and comic book writers misuse the word quadrant to describe an area of outer space. Quad is short for quadruple, which means consisting of four parts. So there are *four* regions in a quadrant, which means the line "the fifth quadrant of the Andromeda Galaxy" is total nonsense. What writers really should be using is "sector" to describe an area of outer space. You can divide something into as many sectors as you want. Of course, as you point out, writers also often forget just how freaking big our own Milky Way Galaxy is, much less the utterly immense distance between our galaxy and Andromeda, and often have characters zipping back & forth between them in a matter of hours. So I'm not too surprised that they also misuse a term like quadrant with such frequency. Anyway, that concludes my quad rant :) Don CampbellJune 2, 2016 12:31 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 Dialogue in Captain Marvel #3 indicates that the first appearance of "Captain Marvel" at the Cape and his battles with the Sentry (in MSH #13/CM #1) and the Super-Skrull (CM #2) take place on the same night. This is after Bridges called Lawson (Mar-Vell) to tell him about the rampaging Sentry in MSH #13 and before "Lawson" (actually the Super-Skrull) finally returned to the base in CM #3. Plus, there's the fact that Mar-Vell's suitcase is equipped with that nuclear bomb that will detonate two hours after anyone tampers with it, so CM #2-3 takes place less than two hours after CM #1. Also, Mar-Vell's breathing potion only lasts for one hour. On the other hand, the Skrull emperor (in the fifth quadrant of the Andromeda Galaxy) is able to view images of Mar-Vell and the Sentry which he had defeated, then summon the Super-Skrull to the palace imperial and send him on a mission to Earth -- ALL in the time that it takes Mar-Vell to return to his hotel room! I guess the Super-Skrull's ship can travel the two million light-years between galaxies VERY quickly. cullenJune 1, 2016 11:13 PM ROM #15 Really bad news for people hoping that some day ROM would come home to the Marvel Universe... seems he's being properly absorbed into the "Hasbro-verse" that IDW is launching http://comicsalliance.com/idw-revolution-gi-joe-transformers-rom-mask-shared-universe/ And it looks like Hasbro has laid claim to the Dire Wraiths concept as well, so I don't know what impact this will have on the ability for Marvel writers to refer back to/draw from these concepts. Not very interested in a shared universe that is JUST toy tie-ins! Jay GallardoJune 1, 2016 6:47 PM ROM #15 i would like to point that "Kavroom" is a pretty ugly insult Ben HermanJune 1, 2016 4:31 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 Interesting seeing Andrew Burke's comments on this entry, and comments by him and others on various other X-Men related issues. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, before the advent of social media, it was difficult for readers to get much in the way of "behind the scenes" info. For a long time I had little to no idea that Chris Claremont had been intending to utilize the Shadow King as this overarching "Big Bad" who was pulling the strings on various different schemes, manipulating a variety of characters throughout the years. Look at this now, a couple of things occur to me... Claremont was at times overly ambitious, and he relied much to heavily on a slow burn development for his various subplots. If he intended for the Shadow King to be involved in various events, very little of that was evident in the actual stories. I feel that he spent too much time on a very gradual build-up for numerous storylines. Because he took so long, often his plans would become derailed, because the books' editors would change and the new big cheese would want to go in a different direction, or he would find out that characters he was planning to utilize were suddenly off-limits because other writers were already using them, or he just got distracted and spent too much time focusing on other subplots, things like that. It feels like after a while perhaps Claremont should have recognized the constraints of working with Marvel's toys and started to reel in some of his plans, taken a more modest approach to his extended plotting. Claremont also appears to have been much too fond of the Shadow King. I really think it was a mistake to tie in the Shadow King with so many different other villains and plots, such as Mastermind and the Hellfire Club and Mystique and the Reavers and so on. Making the Shadow King the force behind "Days of Future Past" seems especially ill-considered. The whole point of that story is that simple human fear & bigotry is all too capable of destroying the world, and that is completely undermined if it's revealed that some mind-controlling demon is unmasked as the cause. As I have said before, I really do like Claremont, but I also think that his best work occurred when he worked with editors who were sympathetic yet also firm enough to reel him in and keep him focused on a manageable number of characters and plotlines. ChrisJune 1, 2016 1:25 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #67-68 Finding appropriate villains seems to be a problem for Duffy. I agree Bushmaster would have made a good recurring villain. Instead, Bushmaster is gotten rid of, but we have a fight here with a gorilla with a man's body. In earlier issues, we have El Aguila stinking up the place, and he isn't even a villain. Other issues also seem to lack any real super villains. Sabretooth & Constrictor make a good team, but they are used only a few times and without much menace. Duffy has decent craft, but her stories aren't very appealing. It isn't bad writing, and people who like these characters will continue to read them. But this isn't what you do when you want to grow the book's readership. mikrolikJune 1, 2016 1:12 PM Captain America #315 Possibly when Sidewinder was making his "porcupine isn't a snake" comment, he was being facetious, and he wasn't interested in the suit for other reasons. But your point about the serpent theme being limiting still applies. Andrew BurkeJune 1, 2016 1:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #172-173 I'm not sure if anyone realizes this or not, but the old guy seen on the pier during the fight between Storm and the Silver Samurai is Mastermind in disguise. Andrew BurkeJune 1, 2016 10:54 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 That's not to say, fnord, that you need to put the Shadow King on the appearance list for every issue thatcontained Rogue (or even Mastermind). However, you should consider placing him in UNCANNY X-MEN #170-171 because it was shown in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001 as fact that the Shadow King was influencing Mastermind into driving Rogue from Mystique and Destiny's arms and into those of the X-Men and also influencing Professor X into accepting her into his school, despite the rightful reservations of the X-Men. You should definitely read the issue to decide, I think. :) Andrew BurkeJune 1, 2016 10:36 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 During this time, Mastermind was under the control of the Shadow King, which explains where the telekinesis came from during the battle,as well as the other discrepancies. Claremont has said it was his intention to have the Shadow King take control of Mastermind during the time when Wyngarde was a captive of the Secret Empire saga. So, from that moment forth, Mastermind was a pawn of the Shadow King. However, to be fair, this plot point was never even remotely hinted at in the comics. So, let's go with what was actually shown and told in the stories themselves. MS. MARVEL #25: Under the control of the Shadow King, Mastermind first attempted to seduce Carol Danvers, as a part of the Shadow King's plans for placing Rogue within the X-Men as his sleeper agent. She was to be his Shadow Queen. However, this ploy failed. But he didn't abandon his plans. During this story, Mystique turned on her "Lord" (Who was the Shadow King) and used her Brotherhood to interfere in the arms deal between the Hellfire Club and Peter Coelho. This is why the Shadow King wanted her dead in UNCANNY X-MEN #267. This is also why Mastermind wanted revenge on Mystique and Destiny (which is hinted at by Wyngarde himself in UNCANNY X-MEN #175). Moving on, the Shadow King influences Mastermind into seducing Jean Grey, a bid to control the Phoenix Force,something the Shadow King has been after for a long, long time. A hint of this was shown in UNCANNY X-MEN #117 via the Phoenix insignia shown on Farouk's astral helmet. Another sign of the Shadow King's influence is Mastermind himself. Wyndgarde has always been nothing but a cheap, sleey illusionist. However, during the Dark Phoenix Saga, he is shown to be something more...something more than he really was. Wyngarde claimed it was this "mind tap" device given to him by Emma Frost that enhanced his power, and it did just that, but that was all it did (and he says this himself). The mind tap device gave him the ability to cast his illusions within Jean Grey's mind itself, and it also enhanced his illusions, nothing more. It most certainly didn't give him the ability to enter the astral plane, as he did in UNCANNY X-MEN #133 when he nearly killed Cyclops there in a duel. That was the Shadow King's doing. And notice how frightened Wyngarde suddenly became when confronted by Jean. Certainly he had reason to be afraid, but the Shadow King wouldn't have been. He would have attempted to reassert his control over her, using his superior telepathic skills. Instead, after realizing things have gotten out of hand, the Shadow King abandoned Mastermind, leaving him to Jean's mercy. Wyngarde, now on his own, was twisted psychically by Jean's superior power. The end...for now. Then came UNCANNY X-MEN #169-175. Once again, the Shadow King took control of Mastermind, feeding Wyngarde's desire for revenge against his enemies, both in the Brotherhood and in the X-Men. It always seemed odd to me that he took out Emma Frost so easily, to the point that Emma went into a coma. The mind tap device had been destroyed, so he wasn't using that. It makes sense that it was the power of the Shadow King that took Emma out of play, and that is likely what happened. Mastermind continued his revenge against Mystique and Destiny, whom he harbored ill will because of the incident in MS. MARVEL #25, a story that was supposed to have been published at the time that series was going (but didn't because of cancellation) or at the very least in an issue of MARVEL FANFARE that would have been published not long after UX #158 and before #175. In any case, this story once again showed that there was more to Wyngarde than met the eye. In UNCANNY X-MEN #170, Mastermind messed around with Mystique's head. Note that Destiny said in the same issue that "the entity operates on fundamental levels of space and time itself". That's not describing someone like Jason Wyngarde. Not even close. That's a firm description of the Shadow King. Destiny's perceptions were also clouded, something Mastermind had no ability to accomplish. He's an illusionist, not a powerful telepath. Mastermind then maneuvers Rogue into leaving Raven and Irene and go to Xavier and the X-Men. While this was a good way to hurt the two women, enough to satisfy Wyngarde's thirst for revenge, it served the Shadow King more, as he was positioning his forthcoming Shadow Queen into her position as a sleeper agent. He even manipulated Professor X rather subtly into accepting Rogue into his school, something the X-Men were against. All of this is later revealed in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001. The Shadow King obviously helped Wyngarde fight against the X-Men in UNCANNY X-MEN #175. He even helped enhance Wyngarde's illusions regarding the scenes with Captain America and Corsair. But once again, the Shadow King abandoned Mastermind when things started going bad, but he didn't need him anymore at that point. He had accomplished his primary goals. The Shadow King's influence with Rogue, however, continued. One prominent thing to be mentioned is all the problems Rogue had with Carol's presence inside her mind. This was a sign of the Shadow King's influence within her mind. All of her problems period throughout her entire life were subtle manipulations created by the Shadow King. This was revealed in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001. I should mention that the Shadow King's interest in Rogue was also shown in UNCANNY X-MEN #269. All of Claremont's plans for Rogue would have culminated in UNCANNY X-MEN #300, some 130 issues after they began. It was a long term plan. The Shadow King knew it would take several years for Rogue to absorb and "catalog" various powers, from her X-Men teammates (and other mutants) and from other heroes, like the Avengers. The more the merrier. However, Claremont was off the titles before then, but his plans -- albeit condensed -- finally saw fruition in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001, which also revealed the plans the Shadow King had for Gateway, which was access to the Dreamscape. He finally unveiled his Shadow Queen in all her glory, but little did he know she was to be his own undoing (well, at the time). fnord12June 1, 2016 9:44 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #56-57 Added a scan and a historical significance note. Thanks. TuomasJune 1, 2016 3:24 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) In the X-Men annual where Stefan's death was first shown, he was bearded and fit. But here he is beardless and chubby, even though it's supposed to be the same scene? Looks like Colan and/or his editor didn't even bother to check the older comic for reference. Brian C. SaundersJune 1, 2016 1:53 AM Hulk #1 I like to think of Betty's "craziness" as just foreshadowing for the series premise. The Hulk is supposed to be Atomic Age Jekyll & Hyde. He's a concept where humanity meets science and horrible occurrences are oncoming. In early Stan and Jack books, women, like the Wasp, were "super sensitive to stimuli." Betty, not as bright as the Wasp, nevertheless senses the future here and it's not a good thing. She's completely correct, in a literal and metaphysical context. She's about to get frightened out of her wits, the title she's appearing in will be cancelled in 6 issues, plus when it returns, she will never know any happiness with either Banner or second choice Glenn Talbot, leading her to eventually go crazy. So much of the universe and premise building Stan and Jack did were in scenes like this. Yes, she seemed crazy, but no one sane would have stuck around for the soap opera torment to come. Brian C. SaundersJune 1, 2016 1:22 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) I don't think Colan gets Nightcrawler. I think that's probably the main problem with the art(aside from the story). And while his Wolverine is ok, I don't think Wolverine looks like he belongs in this story, just like Kurt doesn't look like the acrobat he's supposed to(he's not a shorter Daredevil). It's 1992 and Al Williamson is pretty close to retirement, not that inking could probably save a miscast penciler. The production values on most MCP stories are lousy and these scans are probably accurate in depicting garish coloring and so-so lettering. It's a perfect storm of mediocrity. Then, there's Lobdell.... Bottom line, this story plays only to some of Colan's surface strengths and he's just not a X-Men artist. At this point in his career, ideally he'd be able to work with mystical material or noirish stuff, but it's the 90's and he's in Marvel Comics Presents with a weak writer doing mutants and he has to pay the bills. His Daredevil run in the late 90's is a lot better. Brian C. SaundersJune 1, 2016 12:47 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 @Andrew Well, I confess, Millar/Hickman's version has me without a clue in terms of relating her to what Pacheco intended, other than the bare visuals. Teen Valeria goes away forever and Sue's pregnancy gets a do-over after a lengthy time-skip. I think Millar got her out of the trap of having the same powers, but at the expense of continuity in terms of relating her to Teen Valeria. The name's the same though.... ChrisWMay 31, 2016 9:07 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 They're already in New York City, so they might as well head to Empire State U and visit the Coffee Bean. Pete, Gwen and Harry aren't there yet, but I bet Hank and Bobby could find some fun folks. AndrewMay 31, 2016 8:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 @Tuomas, I'm pretty sure Byrne said it was the radiation from their recent sojourn to the negative zone that caused the miscarriage, not the original cosmic radiation that gave them their powers. @Brian, don't get me started on Valeria. Oops, too late. Under Claremont, Valeria was the daughter of Sue Richards and Doctor Doom from an alternate future Earth that had been conquered by the Kree. (Maybe it was Reed in Doom's body; that part's unclear.) So Claremont's version of Valeria had no physical connection to the later Pacheco (or earlier, Byrne) Valeria. The current Valeria was kind of dreamed up by Franklin (and Roma), and has only a vague, spiritual, timey-wimey relation to Claremont or Byrne's version. JPMay 31, 2016 8:13 PM Nomad #8 Why not "cowboy"? clydeMay 31, 2016 3:48 PM Strange Tales #101 (Human Torch) IMO, The Scourge wouldn't waste one of his awesome bullets on The Destroyer. He's not worth a "Pum Spak". ChrisMay 31, 2016 1:43 PM Fantastic Four #90-93 It's very obvious that after FF # 87, Kirby had given up on Marvel and was just phoning it in. Any new ideas he had, he was obviously saving for his post-Marvel move. The FF had reached a general plateau of high quality for several dozen issues by this point. Not everything was great, but it was generally of the same quality. From #88 onwards though, the steep decline is very noticeable. SharMay 31, 2016 12:22 PM Fantastic Four #90-93 From IMDb, these Star Trek episodes aired in consecutive weeks in early 1968: Aired on Jan 5 1968 (US): Gamesters of Triskelion "Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are trapped on a planet where abducted aliens are enslaved and trained to perform as gladiators for the amusement of bored, faceless aliens." Aired on Jan 12 1968 (US): A Piece of the Action:"The crew of Enterprise struggles to cope with a planet of imitative people who have modeled their society on 1920's gangsters." Andrew BurkeMay 31, 2016 10:32 AM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 Editorial nixed Claremont's plans for Wolverine because all they could think of was the $$$ Wolverine made for them, and having him dead for a year would have made them nothing. Ah, the 90s, when editorial basically wrote the comics instead of letting the talent do their thing and trust their judgment. Andrew BurkeMay 31, 2016 10:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #256-258 Claremont's original plans had Wolverine turned into a sleeper agent of the Hand starting with these issues. Wolverine appeared to have fought off being brainwashed, but it would have turned out that he actually had been. This is why Wolverine vouches for Psylocke when they reunite with the X-Men after the X-Tinction Agenda. Several stories later, circa X-MEN #3, the original intention for that story would have culminated in Wolverine's death at the hands of Lady Deathstrike and his subsequent resurrection by the Hand around a year after that, in UNCANNY X-MEN #294. Jean would have infiltrated the Hand but would have been seduced by evik Logan, which in turn would have severed her psychic rapport with Cyclops. Ultimately, in UNCANNY X-MEN #300, Colossus and Wolverine would battle, and Wolverine would have somehow lost his adamantium (as a result of all the beatings and injuries his body took since UNCANNY X-MEN #251-252 and onward). The other X-Men would have been busy battling Rogue, who had also been a sleeper agent...of the Shadow King. By that point, Rogue would have absorbed and stored tons of powers she would have taken from her teammates and other heroes and become the Shadow Queen, and Professor X would also have died as well. Things would have become bleak for our heroes by that point. The Rogue sleeper agent/Shadow Queen portion of the story did ultimately see print in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001, while Mark Millar did his own "Dark Wolverine" story in his Enemy of the State arc. Brian C. SaundersMay 31, 2016 9:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 @Tuomas Hickman's future Valeria contradicts that Claremont's Valeria was supposed to be the same person who experienced a different history and then was returned to being a fetus and was given birth to again. She should have the same powers as Clarmeont's Marvel Girl. I don't understand why she doesn't. AFMay 31, 2016 7:33 AM Quasar #19-25 Although Avengers #305 is footnoted, the actual flashback appears to be #329 as evidenced by Spidey, Iron Man and Hercules being there. But the problem is Moondragon wasn't there for that meeting. Quasar's costume doesn't matter because Origin retroactively altered his costume supposedly. I think it's possible it's meant to be #305 and Capullo just looked at a more recent Avengers issue like #329 for who would've been there rather than actually looking at #305. Although then again, he might have just made safe bets. Everyone would have assumed Iron Man would've been at a massive Avengers gathering. AFMay 31, 2016 6:35 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 I don't think his issue is with the idea (an issue of X-Man, and a Nicieza Gambit story, and an issue of Yost and Kyle X-Force confirm it), it's more what counts as the clone. Until an issue comes out and outright says or blatantly suggests this specific appearance of Vertigo or whoever was a clone, he tries not to make these sorts of jumps himself. TuomasMay 31, 2016 6:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 Fnord, you yourself refer take the clone theory for granted in your recap of Uncanny 240, when you note the seeming resurrection of some dead Marauders: We're seeing several Marauders (Riptide, Prism, Blockbuster) walking around that we saw killed during the Massacre. Since we just saw a "replicant" device, we can guess how that's possible. I guess there could theoretically be some other explanation for their resurrection, but this combined with the fact that Sinister is shown to have a knack for cloning mutants should make the "cloned Marauders" theory all but confirmed. TuomasMay 31, 2016 5:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 As for the large number of only-child mutants, I guess you could fanwank it that the radiation or whatever it is that causes parents to have mutant children also makes them more prone to miscarriages? In fact, wasn't this the explicit reason why the second child of Sue and Reed didn't survive during Byrne's run? TuomasMay 31, 2016 5:31 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Franklin being the uber mutant of the Marvel Universe sets him apart from comparison with his sister(s?). Valeria is a big question mark. Valeria does not have any powers, she's just super-smart. And during Hickman's FF run we saw the future, adult version of Val, who also didn't have powers, so she's not a mutant who'd develop them at teenage either. Unless someone decides to retcon the Hickman story, of course. To me it makes sense that Valeria would've inherited her dad's intelligence, but not any superpowers. Reed's smarts have been his true power for quite some time, while his stretching has become less significant. Whereas Sue's invisibility fields have become more and more powerful, making her one of the most capable superhumans on Earth (not counting reality-warpers like Scarlet Witch nor cosmic characters like Phoenix or Thor). So this dynamic is now also visible in their kids, only with the genders flipped. It creates an interesting relationship between Val and Franklin, as they're both extremely gifted, but in completely different ways. Jon DubyaMay 31, 2016 3:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 ChrisW, where ELSE would groovy teens in their oh-so hip suits go? Jon DubyaMay 31, 2016 3:08 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Wolverine does have a half-brother (via retcon). In addition he does (did?) have children with similar powers (mostly the power of overexposed popularity.) D09May 31, 2016 2:40 AM Thor #364-366 Didn't a drunk swear to go on the wagon, twice, during this misadventure? pgunnMay 31, 2016 1:34 AM Fantastic Four #54 @Robert... yes, was thinking the same thing. Now, I get why the coming of Galactus was such a big deal, it's the beginning of the book actually looking good... but, these issues especially are just gorgeous... obv Sinnot is some of it, but Kirby is really at the peak of his game here ChrisWMay 31, 2016 12:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 I never got the impression this is where Bobby met Zelda. It's not clear where they would have met earlier, but it's also not clear why any of the X-Men are in a beatnik bar. Especially Hank, who would find more intellectual connections with astronomers, chemists and computer programmers than with potheads who think reading a housewife's shopping list constitutes genius. When he met Vera, she was a librarian. Bobby's the only one who might possibly be interested, and even that's iffy. What were Lee and Kirby thinking? Warren was certainly "cool" in the sense that he had friends and was a hero and all that, but he's never struck me as the type to just go to a hangout to, well, hang out. He's more fun than Scott, but who isn't? He didn't even like the Hellfire Club and they catered to people like him. MichaelMay 30, 2016 11:17 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #56-57 Fnord,you might want to note that this is Jennie Royce's first appearance,since she plays the key role in the current Supersoul Stone storyline in Power Man and Iron Fist. D09May 30, 2016 10:43 PM Thor #414 @Ben Herman: It's possible that the crimelord business here was just a back-up plan in-case his Acts of Vengeance idea didn't pan out, while the Tri-Sentinel and Hydroman bits in Spider-Man and Avengers West Coast could be diversions to keep the other heroes off his back for now. D09May 30, 2016 9:05 PM Web of Spider-Man #60 @Michael: Perhaps the "heart attack" was a failsafe put into Goliath when Doom gave him his upgrade just to make sure that while he fights Spider-Man long enough for Doom to figure out what's been going on, he won't kill him by accident. RikFenixMay 30, 2016 7:53 PM New Mutants annual #4 Main story wasn't bad, but I think I enjoyed the backup with Daniel more. Most of the characters here don't come off as very likeable.. the kids are brats and Magneto is a dick.. I can see why that arrangement didn't work out! ChrisMay 30, 2016 2:32 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 The beatniks weren't the cool kids, unless you belonged to that clique and Bobby doesn't. If we saw a side of Bobby where he liked reading Jack Kerouac books, foreign films, drug use (in a code book, heaven's forbid!), or was into other beat activities, then yeah, it'd make sense. But he doesn't, so it don't. Instead, Bobby is just a normal American teenager. Hank isn't going to the Coffee-A-Go-Go because Bobby is into Zelda, at least not in this issue. Because Bobby doesn't meet her until at the end of this first visit. Of course, maybe Hank thought it'd be fun, decided it wasn't, and now goes because Bobby wants to go. I could buy that. However, I am sure the original reason he went was because Hank wanted to go. Hank was smart, but he wasn't a nerd or geek. He had well rounded interests, and as we'll learn was into athletics (not surprising given his power). While Scott was too introverted and uptight to be fun, Warren always seemed like the "cool" kind to me. He was rich and glamorous, but never seemed to hold it against the others. He was very much about treating his mutant teammates as equals. RikFenixMay 30, 2016 2:18 PM Silver Surfer annual #1 The story was okay, never been a fan of the Eternals. Kept distracting me that the blonde one looked so much like He-Man. Did like the characterization of Super Skrull though, that was part was well done by Enhgleheart. To each their own, but the art was really rough here in my opinion. Chris ZMay 30, 2016 2:12 PM Captain America #251-252 In honor of Memorial Day 2016, I have a longstanding question about Cap's wartime comrade that I'm hoping the knowledgeable folks of this forum can answer: When (in real time) was Bucky's real name revealed to be James Buchanan Barnes? I assumed I'd find the full name in my Kirby-Simon volumes reprinting the first 10 issues of the 1940s Cap book; but he's only referred to as Bucky Barnes at that time. The same is true of the 1960s revival stories in the Cap Omnibus Volume 1--which reprints the Kirby-Lee and Steranko periods. My access to the 1970s-era Cap is spotty; but the earliest mention of the name "James Buchanan Barnes" I've been able to find comes in 1980's Cap #252 (the issue reviewed here) in the back-up feature "The Life and Times of Capt. America." Authors Stern and Byrne repeat the name late in their great origin issue, #255. Both are inveterate explainers of heretofore "missing" super-hero lore, and I can imagine they coined the name in their masterful Cap run (which I consider definitive of the character). But I can also imagine erstwhile historian Roy Thomas filling in that gap in his "Invaders" run, which was the only place Bucky appeared with any regularity in the 1970s. The real James Buchanan was the 15th U.S. President, immediate precursor to Lincoln, and widely considered the worst president for setting the stage for the Civil War. Perhaps it amused Roy to redeem this discredited name through Bucky, the way Steve Rogers' 4F status was redeemed through his transformation into Capt. America? However, if Roy did coin it, it wasn't in the first 21 issues of "Invaders," which I have in reprint. FYI, the recent "Captain America: White" by Loeb and Sale has Rogers refer to his sidekick as James, but that's an anachronism going by the publication chronology. I know there were other Golden Age books featuring Bucky, and roughly a decade of Cap stories in the 1970s where Bucky's full name may have appeared. Maybe I've overlooked something else. But I wonder whether readers of this excellent site have any thoughts of their own on full name of comicdom's most famous fallen soldier? It's a fitting puzzle for Memorial Day. MichaelMay 30, 2016 1:28 PM New Mutants #93-94 She was brunette. fnord12May 30, 2016 11:20 AM Avengers #244-245 Don, nice catch. I don't even really see that there can be any doubt. Same name and appearance and working at the Cape? It would be one heck of a coincidence. fnord12May 30, 2016 11:03 AM Iron Man annual #3 Added "Sanford". Thanks. fnord12May 30, 2016 10:59 AM Uncanny X-Men #7 @Karel, yup just a typo on my part. Thanks. Matthew BradleyMay 30, 2016 9:56 AM Hulk #223-226 Wow---I was literally just about to make the same point. Thanks, Brian! Karel May 30, 2016 9:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #9 Huh, interesting. The file I downloaded from a.... certain place... has totally different colors than the pictures here. The recolor I have is more "lively", but I always prefer the original versions. CecilMay 30, 2016 7:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #162-166 Lots of wonderful stuff here- and Angela Dawn, upon seeing Paul Smith's Nightcrawler, had to laugh and say "I could've gotten into that when I was a teen-'I wonder how cute some fuzzy blue babies would be!' He (Paul) doesn't see the characters as ugly...he draws the beauty he sees in them." Dave77May 30, 2016 2:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #162-166 Worth mentioning that issue 165 states that Kitty's 14th birthday has passed during this story. She gets a party in Special Edition X-Men, which I see is on the 'What's Missing' page as a continuity insert? Can't see why, as it came out in '83. RocknRollguitarplayerMay 30, 2016 1:24 AM Shanna the She-Devil #1 Why wasn't Steranko allowed to set an offbeat storyline for Shanna that gives her a tragic flaw within her existential humanitarianism? He could have easily handed the keys over to an up and coming Female writer that could build the intrigue of the She-Devil character RocknRollguitarplayerMay 30, 2016 1:00 AM Daredevil #120-123 EL Jaguar has since moved forward in his Sidartha-esque journey to form an all Male dance troop entertaining middle aged Tupperware party throwers in need of hormonal stimulation ChrisWMay 30, 2016 12:21 AM The Saga of the High Evolutionary Or... Did she? DAH-DAH-DUNH!!! ChrisWMay 30, 2016 12:19 AM New Mutants #40 I've also always been bothered by what "secrets" of the New Mutants was Magneto worried about revealing? They aren't superheroes, and the mutant titles at this point were about as far away as you could get from a recognizable "secret identity" story and still be a good superhero comic. Magneto could have said that students of Xavier's school had been brainwashed by the telepathic evil mutant headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy and he'd have been 95% right without ever giving away Sam's Kentucky origins. What secret could he possibly give away? That Illyana has a connection to Limbo? Captain America already knows that. This is a great issue, and the characters' motivations make a lot of sense overall. But what "secret" could Magneto give away that would do more damage than the truth? BillMay 29, 2016 11:32 PM The Saga of the High Evolutionary D09: Magda got there by walking and she wandered off into the snow and died shortly after she left the citadel. ChrisWMay 29, 2016 10:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 And by the way, in my list above, I thought it was really weird how many of the main mutant characters were only children. Scott, Jean, Sam Guthrie and Shan were the only 'main' mutants who had siblings. Peter had a little sister established by Wein and Cockrum from his first appearance. Betsy (and Jamie) were established early as Brian's siblings, but that was for Marvel UK and also not quite the same thing as the Main Marvel Universe. I know there have been later additions that I know little/nothing about [does Wolverine have a brother?] but really, the number of single children in the mutant part of the universe is very strange. Step-siblings [Kurt and Amanda, Charles and Marko] are part of pulp fiction. But really...? ChrisWMay 29, 2016 10:17 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 The one thing I liked about this issue [when it was new] was getting rid of the Reavers. They were good villains, but at this point they'd been around too long without accomplishing anything, sitting around in Australia which is where the majority of them first appeared. Not saying they didn't have potential or that what came afterwards was an improvement, but getting rid of them here was about the best thing in the series post-Claremont, at least until I stopped reading. The Hellions, they had potential, even if the team was wiped out and replaced by newcomers. Even without the New Mutants for contrast, junior evil mutants had the potential to grow up and become senior evil mutants. Never mind how cool some of them were, why would anybody get rid of the team this way? I never read the Banshee/Emma Frost series ["Generation X"?] but the idea just seems rich with potential. Roulette and Tarot are rivals, as are Jetstream and Empath. Thunderbird has left to join X-Force, so there's internal conflict over the new leader. Catseye is the mysterious one. And they're teenagers at a fancy school with a domineering headmistress. The teen sex comedy superhero series would practically write itself even without fighting the good guys. ChrisWMay 29, 2016 10:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 To me, it's the opposite. Bobby wants to go where all the cool kids are hanging out. [Pun not intended] Scott and Warren aren't cool. Here he's free to have fun with the goofy kid scene that Lee and Kirby described so well, and meet girls. Hank was there to keep an eye on him. He could be focusing on his scientific pursuits instead of listening to Bernard the Poet. You and I would pick Bernard because, like, wow, man, but not Hank. He has tasks to accomplish, and was the most mature of the X-Men except maybe Scott. So he has to forego his interests and look out for the lad who's really into this chick. When Hank really wants to let his hair down, he and Scott go to Harry's which is nearby in Westchester. But those stories aren't Comics Code-approved. D09May 29, 2016 10:03 PM The Saga of the High Evolutionary I still wonder how Magda was able to make it to Wundagore in the first place and whatever happened to her after she gave birth... RikFenixMay 29, 2016 9:33 PM Punisher annual #1 Dragging the Punisher into a High Evolutionary story could've been disastrous, but this wasn't bad at all. Good writing and art, big fan of Texeira. RikFenixMay 29, 2016 8:30 PM X-Factor annual #3 I enjoyed this one and found myself rooting hard for Val-Or.. always found the character very interesting but never remembered High Evolutionary being so bloodthirsty - he sent his men in there very Marauders-like.. the dialogue between Apocalypse and High Evolutionary was well done showing their differences in opinion. Very intelligent writing by Simonson.. higher quality than many annuals been for years prior. ChrisMay 29, 2016 8:17 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 The beatnik coffee shop was a neat piece of early X-Men, but it seems surprising Bobby/Iceman went to it. One can imagine why the Beast wants to go. He's intelligent, and the beat culture tends more intellectual. Even if he doesn't agree with what they are saying, he probably has conversations there he can't have with anyone else. But why does Bobby want to go? Bobby, besides being designated the youngest, always had the least personality of the team. He's rather bland. Why he wants to go there, and kept going, is never really explained. My theory is he went the first time because it was something to do, so he latched onto Hank. Every other time, it was because he wanted to get into Zelda's pants, and this is something Zelda enjoys. MichaelMay 29, 2016 8:03 PM Fantastic Four #342 Now that I think about it, this probably wasn't Dwyer's first work. Captain America 338 came out 3 months before Peter ditched the black costume in ASM 300 and Peter is in the red-and-blues in this story. It might very well be his second work. Karel May 29, 2016 7:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #7 I think you have a typo here, since it's "Cerebro", not "Cerebo". Both in the book and in the continuity. Except for page 7 that spells it "cyberno" for some reason. Omar KarinduMay 29, 2016 4:50 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I wonder how much of this is a simple as the new guys trying to take charge of the franchise with a spectacular deck-clearing exercise. It must have bee rather intimidating coming in to a franchise Claremont had defined over close to two decades, so quickly asserting control and throwing away a bunch of the less significant Claremont running characters might have been one way to deal with that. In this reading, the real Upstarts are Lee, Portacio, and company; they last about as long at Marvel as the ones in the comic. pgunnMay 29, 2016 2:23 PM Fantastic Four #23 george roussos' inks are so odd in this, almost makes kirby look like kubert... i'm not saying this is dying for sinnot or anything, but it's an odd effect... Don CampbellMay 29, 2016 12:40 PM Avengers #244-245 There's something about this story that has puzzled me for over thirty years: Is the General Bridges who is in charge of military security at the Cape (and later revealed to have secretly been killed and replaced by a female Dire Wraith Witch) meant to be the same General Bridges who appeared in early Captain Marvel stories alongside Carol Danvers? Sure, both characters have the same rank and family name and they're both Caucasian males with brown hair and mustaches, but is that enough for readers to conclude that "they" are actually the same character? Writer Roger Stern is known for paying attention to continuity so this Bridges could have been meant to be that earlier Bridges but there isn't any footnote that would confirm it. I was just wondering if someone who visits this site might know for sure one way or the other. Mark DrummondMay 29, 2016 11:59 AM Iron Man annual #3 The issue starts out with one kid admitting that he's the one that the Thing gave the wand to in MTIO#1, so he should probably be tagged. fnord12May 29, 2016 9:13 AM What's Missing It's in scope but no immediate plans unless Marvel releases cheapo reprints or something. fnord12May 29, 2016 9:11 AM Out of scope Patsy Walker is listed on the What's Missing page. They're in-scope for my project, and they're canon (with the caveat that they've been retconned to be in-universe comics). I don't have any immediate plans to cover them, though. FYI the Westerns are only out of bounds because they take place pre-Marvel Comics #1, which is the lower bound on my project. They're not excluded because of the genre. A semantic point: i consider Patsy Walker's comics to be more like teen comedy in the Archie vein. When i think of "romance comics" i think of Simon & Kirby's Young Romance, which was not a Marvel book but Marvel did have comics along those lines, like My (Own) Romance. They're pretty awesome but i don't think any of them are canon. fnord12May 29, 2016 9:03 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 Just to clarify, i think Andrew is talking from the perspective of Claremont's intentions and/or fan theory. I think it's been hinted but never confirmed that the Maruaders were clones, and i think the Handbooks still treat these as appearances of the real characters (the MCP definitely does). My comment is just from the perspective of character tags. As far as what's canon, i believe the Marauders should still be tagged as the originals. ChrisMay 29, 2016 12:56 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Sad end of both the Hellions and Reavers. The Hellions were interesting rivals for the New Mutants. They had friendly rivalry which was not likely to last. A few members were obviously villainous and should grow up to be enemies. Others were probably decent individuals, but who would have wound up as bad guys because of their ties to the Hellfire Club. Some were likely to defect and be heroes. The Reavers were a group that had potential, and I actually liked their stories. They were good foes I'd like to see continue to fight the X-Men. Instead, they were destroyed in order to "prove" how badass a brand new group of people were who seemed to have disappeared fairly quickly. The Upstarts simply weren't as interesting as the groups they eliminated. Brian C. SaundersMay 29, 2016 12:52 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 The Maximoff twins aren't Magneto's. They are Maximoffs and the High Evolutionary performed some shenanigans on them. So Lorna is the sole Magneto kid. So Lorna is his only remaining child, hopefully. There's still the Zaladane mystery. Jamie Braddock seems to be a mutant whose insane. I'm good with Brian being not mutant with the X-Factor. Betsy being a female means she has two XX chromosomes and the second X chromosome could carry the X-Factor gene. Franklin being the uber mutant of the Marvel Universe sets him apart from comparison with his sister(s?). Valeria is a big question mark. D09May 29, 2016 12:40 AM Marvel Team-Up #132-133 Maybe he had a temporary breakdown over his previous failures, and ironically this misadventure may have been the inspiration for his next scheme? D09May 29, 2016 12:38 AM Captain America #231-236 @Michael: Maybe his legs got worse during Marvel Team-Up, forcing him to use a wheelchair? D09May 29, 2016 12:18 AM Out of scope Now that I think about it, are you going to cover any of Marvel's romance comics, like the ones involving Hellcat in her pre-superhero days, or are they out of bounds like the westerns? D09May 29, 2016 12:11 AM What's Missing Are you going to do anymore Captain America Comics involving the Grand Dictator version of Captain America? In particular, how about the one that involves the Man With No Face, from Captain America Comics Vol 1, Issue 77, who later reappears during Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America? MortificatorMay 29, 2016 12:08 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Of the above, I like the Cyclops & Havok way of dealing with mutant siblings best. Related yet distinct powers emphasize the familiar bond, and being unable to hurt each other is a neat consequence of how mutants' powers usually don't damage their own cells. RikFenixMay 28, 2016 11:08 PM Hulk #266 I really enjoyed this story. I find High Evolutionary's power very interesting and am a fan of the character. I have no problem with how he was portrayed here. Is he being incredibly melodramatic? Yes, of course he is, but it is very enjoyable nonetheless. I think Mantlo/ Buscema was a great team and this is one of my favorite issues of theirs. RikFenixMay 28, 2016 10:32 PM Hulk #6 This was an interesting read as a Hulk fan.. his personality seemed a lot closer to the Joe Fixit Hulk with many of his lines and general bad attitude, not the simple 'smash' Hulk.. also interesting is the machine to revert himself back and forth between personas.. Hulk and Thor are the two where early on it seemed like they didn't have the concept down yet. Stil, not bad by any means.. Cover reminded of 50s DC for some reason, I like it. ChrisWMay 28, 2016 10:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 In theory those rules could work, but in practice he could never have become the Claremont we love/hate/can kinda stomach in small doses. When he got started, how many people stuck around for three years on any title regardless of how successful it was? It would be almost three years before "X-Men" stopped being bi-monthly. By then he'd already started Proteus, Dark Phoenix, the Starjammers, all of which took more years to bring to a close. As for references to his other titles, I see your point and definitely agree with the intent, but (a) the book's already wordy enough without recapping Ms. Marvel and Deathbird and Spider-Woman and (b) remember, he was coming from the era when people were expected to keep track of the whole Marvel Universe so they didn't miss a thing. Could he have done it better? Absolutely. I always like to cite Garth Ennis' "Preacher" as the textbook on how to incorporate complicated plot elements so that the reader understands them as far as needed without wasting space. [Jesse and Cindy, the 'travels in the Orient' scene from "Salvation"] I just don't think he would have been *Claremont* if he hadn't done it that way, never mind the editorial climate of whatever year we might be talking about. That goes for the subplots too. You can restrain his excesses, but then you aren't getting his best stuff. Never mind what happens when a Jim Lee or a John Byrne starts contributing their ideas, and Claremont was adept at those as well, even when it didn't work out so well for him. ChrisWMay 28, 2016 9:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Are the Maximoff twins Magneto's offspring? There was a fairly recent PAD "X-Factor" where Wanda drops in on Lorna (or vice-versa, I forget) and they go out and get drunk while trying to figure out their 'sisterly' relationship. Me, I refuse to acknowledge the idea. In fact, I didn't even write this paragraph. The family thing can work both ways, or all ways. Children having similar powers to each other and/or their parents makes sense on a narrative level. I'm not sure why, but it does. FF3's idea for the Rasputins is actually a pretty cool idea. In the real world, yes, siblings are different from each other and their parents. Heck, more twins are fraternal than identical, but that's not how the stories go. ["Star Wars" and the Maximoffs being the sole exceptions to this I can think of anywhere in pop culture, although I'm sure someone must have used it somewhere.] This is going to get on my nerves. Ok, the Braddocks are twins, but only one is a mutant [and what the hell is Jamie?] Fenris are twins and their powers are interconnected. Karma had a twin with the same powers as her. Wanda and Pietro are fraternal twins and mutants with completely different powers. Cyclops and Havoc are siblings with energy powers and they're immune to each other. Banshee and Black Tom are also immune to each other, and have separate powers, but they're cousins, and Siryn did inherit her father's powers. Colossus and his siblings each had very different powers, no immunity involved. Thunderbird's brother had the same powers. Jean Grey and Cannonball are the only other muties I'm aware of even having biological siblings, and I'm not aware of any of their powers, if any. I don't know what the deal is with Franklin and Valeria Richards. ChrisWMay 28, 2016 9:18 PM Yellow Claw #1 I've been pondering that too since we've been discussing Maneely. I don't think it's selling Maneely short to suggest that the odds are he'd never have equaled Kirby or Ditko's contributions, and his undeniable ability in other areas would have squeezed out their opportunities to shine. They'd probably have found other opportunities, but Marvel and pop culture as we know it would be inconceivably different. Someone should do a time travel story or a What If about that. :) RikFenixMay 28, 2016 8:52 PM Web of Spider-Man annual #6 Great cover too! It's grabbed by eye since I was a kid. Thanos6May 28, 2016 7:17 PM Yellow Claw #1 I think you're selling Maneely short. Regardless, it's amazing how much the pop culture of the world can be changed by misplacing one pair of glasses. RikFenixMay 28, 2016 7:14 PM Web of Spider-Man annual #6 Fun stuff in this issue. The Spidey story was an improvement over the other chapter, I liked the silliness of it.. The Aunt May/ Punisher story had very strong art.. the Mary Jane stuff didnt make sense to me because she would be so biased, Spidey's saved her about 687 times.. I have no words for the Ditko piece! D09May 28, 2016 5:59 PM Nova #1 Maybe Zorr is the son-in-law to Thanos? Which does bring up a frightening point: what would the daughter of Thanos be like? RikFenixMay 28, 2016 5:47 PM Hulk #250 Still love it, one of my favorite issues ever from a creative team I enjoyed tremendously. When Surfer gives up his chance to break through to space to save Bruce it was extremely heroic.. the whole story has an epic feel to it. Think this one is very underrated and recommend it. RikFenixMay 28, 2016 5:25 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #24 The Ant Man story blew me away with its bizarre art, ridiculous premise and cheesy "it was a dream.. or was it?" ending. Very entertaining.. Loved the Sandman story, very interesting character during his reform, and the creative team is tremendous obviously.. The Spidey story was fun enough, gets much worse from here.. the Solo stuff was bland bordering on bad in my opinion. RikFenixMay 28, 2016 5:16 PM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #10 This one was rough pretty much all-around. The Harry thing made no sense whatosever..the Rocket Racer story was terrible.. the Prowler stuff was interesting only for the McFarlane art/ Spawn connection.. I too probably liked the Sandman story the best but it is a drop-off from the dream team of DeMatteis and Zeck. D09May 28, 2016 4:33 PM Fantastic Four #318-319 I'd like to make a small amendment to my previous statement: that it's not a single unformed universe that amplifies the power and control of the cosmic cube half that embodies him and it's not an unformed multiverse, but rather an unformed megaverse, separate yet connected to the Marvel megaverse. As for the difference between the depiction of the dimension seen at the end of SW II and here, I'd wager that relying just on his own original abilities his mind isn't running at full tilt and that whenever he emerges from his home within the sun, he subtly alters the realm to depict him as their god. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 4:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #9 Claremont and Byrne had written up an issue of WHAT IF? based on this issue. "What If Had Formed The X-Men?" However, it never saw print. The idea was that Charles Xavier would have been killed instead of crippled. Magneto would later form the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with Cyclops, Arch Angel, Iceman,Psyke, Beast, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Take a look: http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/earth8013magnetoxmen.htm ChrisMay 28, 2016 2:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 Claremont just needed a strong editor to enforce a couple of rules. 1) There can only be a certain number of subplots running at any one time. Once you reach the limit, you need to end one story before you begin another, 2) if you bring in a plot from another book you write, be sure you explain it in this series so as not to confuse people who don't read the other book, and 3) teasers and long standing plots need to be resolved within three years - you don't need to resolve everything and can have longer term arcs, but the reader needs some kind of resolution in a three year period. That would eliminate about 80% of complaints about Claremont but keep all the strengths people love about him. D09May 28, 2016 1:54 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 I think I'm beginning to see what Claremont's main problem is (to a reader like myself): you know how writers like Bendis tend to stretch the contents of a single issue to fill up a tpb (most of the time)? Writers like Claremont tend to stretch the contents of a single tpb to fill up an omnibus. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 12:58 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 You make a good point with the situation with Cap. But being a long-time comic reader, I already know two different ways to explain what is likely going on, with one idea being most likely, so I'm not upset about what's happened in the least. It's the speculation part of reading stories, be it this book, or the X-Men (or Spencer or Claremont, etc.) that's always got me interested. I can read comics over and over again and speculate even more on things I didn't notice the first time. And when answers come, I'm either right, or I'll be slapping my forehead for not realizing it before. MichaelMay 28, 2016 12:42 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 Re: Steve Rogers: Captain America 1- I don't think that it's fair to blame the fans. Nick Spencer and Tom Breevort have been going on and on about how the ending of issue 1 is not a fake-out and implying the plot development is going to be long-lasting. If it wasn't for their comments, a lot of fans would probably assume this was a standard fake-out ending. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 12:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 Regarding speculation being fun for me, it's been a blast reading Nathan Adler's stuff, I should add. And everyone else's, too. Every reader looks at a story in ways different than others. The magic of writing. Ben HermanMay 28, 2016 12:41 PM Vampire Tales #1 Agreed with fnord about Morbius. It always drives me nuts when Spider-Man stops someone like Blade from killing Morbius. He's already killed who knows how many innocent people because of his blood lust, and if you allow him to live, sooner or later he is inevitably going to lose control and kill again. Of course, I think there was also one story where Spider-Man tried to stop Blade from killing some actual vampires, i.e. the kind that are reanimated corpses. I realize that Spider-Man's vehement opposition towards using lethal force under *any* situation is well-established, but come one, vampires are *already* dead. Even Captain America has killed vampires without much reluctance. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 12:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 I love Claremont's stuff. Yes, he tended to juggle way too many plots, a lot of which never got resolved. But he is one of the best long-term plotters I know of. No one writes long-term anymore. Everything is written for trades now. And it seems like most readers nowadays want their mysteries done as soon as possible. No one has any patience for long-term plotting these days. In fact, a lot of readers get huffy right away, with STEVE ROGERS: CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 as an example of not waiting to see how the story goes before blowing it all off. Claremont also did solve plenty of plots using the art to tell the story, to give clues to his intentions, such as his various Shadow King plot points just as an example. True, you may have to read the issue more than once, but it's there. Look at what came after, as an example of who are not good long-term plotters. Lobdell is a prime example, as tons of plots and mysteries where put out but then dropped without explanation. And, of course, Claremont isn't the only one who leaves off plot points, causing other writers to pick up on them. Last night I just got through reading on this site about the X-Cutioner's Song, and the true identity of Stryfe comes to mind. He was definitely supposed to be Nathan Summers, but then time passes and it's changed. I guess it's just me, but a part of the thrill for me re-reading all of Claremont's stuff is wondering what could have been. What this was supposed to mean there. What he intended with this or that. Speculation is always fun. And I like knowing all the behind-the-scenes stuff, too. In any case, while I do love Claremont's work, I also understand why a lot of people don't like it, either. Their reasons are valid. I liked X-MEN FOREVER, but I liked X-MEN: THE END even more. His NEW MUTANTS FOREVER was also nice. I wouldn't actually mind an EXCALIBUR FOREVER book, just out of curiosity, and that book I didn't really care much about, not until Claremont's EXCALIBUR/NEW EXCALIBUR books. Ben HermanMay 28, 2016 12:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 I think Chris Claremont is a very good writer, but I readily admit that he has an unfortunate tendency to try to juggle multiple plotlines and an army of characters. Claremont really needs an editor who is able to pay close attention to what he is doing over the long term and have the ability to pull him aside and tell him, "Look, Chris, this storyline has been going on for a couple of years now, and we still don't have any answers about that mysterious villain you had show up a while back. Before you introduce any more subplots and new characters, you really need to wrap up some of this stuff you've already got going." I felt that some of Claremont's best work in years was on X-Men Forever, where the editor required him to work with a small cast, and he had to wrap up the majority of his plotlines at the end of each year. It's just too bad XMF got canceled a few months early, before he could conclude the second year. MichaelMay 28, 2016 11:26 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #11 Now that I think about it, it was weird that Gamora didn't refer to Magus destroying her people during Infinity War. I wonder if Starlin actually just forgot his original origin for her or something, hence the Badoon explanation. (Alternately, it could be a side effect of Magus being erased from history but Adam and Pip should still remember how things went down the first time.) Josh GelmanMay 28, 2016 11:23 AM Fantastic Four vs. X-Men #1-4 Wow, fast reply! I just came back here to ask "It's not just smoke is it?" But you beat me to it. I guess the color of it threw me off. Thanks. AFMay 28, 2016 11:06 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 Yeah, what a shame poor persecuted Claremont, who's spent a sum total of 15+ years on a book, still didn't get around to doing any of his stories even on his THIRD run on the title! fnord12May 28, 2016 10:55 AM Fantastic Four vs. X-Men #1-4 It's just smoke. On the page before, she's helping hold up the building while standing in a fire in her civilian clothes. In the scene you're referring to, she's been given a coat to cover up and she's holding the remains of her smoldering clothing. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 10:55 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 It would be pointless now indeed if any connection between Magneto and Zaladane was made, since she's long dead by this point. It's too bad Claremont didn't get the chance to resurrect her like he planned to during his third Uncanny X-Men run. I always liked her, even when she was just a priestess for Garokk. I definitely liked her all powered up, and Jim Lee's costume for her final appearances was awesome. JoshMay 28, 2016 10:50 AM Fantastic Four vs. X-Men #1-4 Can anyone explain what the energy beam coming from She-Hulk's scrap of torn clothes in the scene where they're talking to Magneto on the roof in issue #1? It's driving me nuts! Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 10:45 AM Uncanny X-Men #211 The Vertigo here is a clone of the original, who had never left the Savage Land at all. This explains why she always seemingly kept going back and forth from the Marauders to the Savage Land for years, which never made much sense to me. Mr. Sinister took a sample of her DNA and cloned her for his Marauders, leaving the original to continue living in her home and doing her thing with the Savage Land Mutates. AFMay 28, 2016 10:42 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 While we're at it, might as well be related to Dane Whitman too. ¬_¬ Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 10:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 The question is really whether it adds anything narratively to make Zaladane Magneto's daughter, especially at this late date. It's the same problem I have with the idea that literally every major storyline from the Dark Phoenix Saga to Fall of the Mutants is really just the Shadow King. He's just so much less interesting, thematically and narratively, than whatever it is he's replacing in many of those stories. It's less a way to tie everything together than a way to tie it all down so it can't move or develop in new ways. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 9:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 It makes me wonder something...if Zaladane is Magneto's child by Suzanna Dane, Like I have been thinking, maybe he found out about her, took her away from Suzanna before Lorna was born, and brought her to the Savage and with him to be raised there? Do we know how long Magneto has known about the Savage Land? Of course, Magneto knowing Zaladane being his daughter goes against their encounter in UNCANNY X-MEN #274-275 in a number of ways, but then maybe his knowledge of her was erased when he was turned into an infant by Alpha? Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 9:41 AM Uncanny X-Men #249-250 The big question is how Zala not only ended up in the Savage Land, but how she ended up living entirely as a native of that place, down to worshipping Garokk and being high priestess of the Sun People. Honestly, Claremont deciding that a character with a fantasy-novel name like "Zaladane" must be related to a character with the last name "Dane" (which was mostly just Arnold Drake making a stupid pun on "Lorna Doone") is some pretty weak tea, and very much the kind of thing people went after John Byrne for a few years later. Even if we write off her ability to forcibly summon Garokk back in her debut appearances as a mutant power, it's...well, it's a pretty weird mutant power to have. Given all the other weirdness around Garokk, like the magic river that originally created him centuries before Zala was even around, why wouldn't we see it as something to do with the Savage Land itself? Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 9:23 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 It's interesting that in 2016 we've done a complete 180s from the 1980s, Back then, Polaris wasn't Magneto's offspring but the Maximoff twins were. Now it's the other way around. Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 9:22 AM Strange Tales #150-168 (Nick Fury) Whoops! I'm forgetting Blackbeard the pirate from FF #5! Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 9:18 AM Strange Tales #150-168 (Nick Fury) Several more elements of this that also stand out: -- Steranko's not just taking over the art and writing, he's also involving himself in the production process itself, making heavy use of stuff like Zip-A-Tone and getting more involved with the coloring process to get those psychedelic effects onto the page. We've seen Kirby experiment with photo collages, but he still prefers to use standard pencilling and inking to achieve most of his "special effects" at this point in time. -- Steranko also has a very different way of handling things like expo-speak and narrative captions, much more of a first-person character perspective. Technobabble is not played up as melodarama, but dropped casually, as in one of the scans above: "The pellets... disintegrated...didn't even faze 'im. Must have some kinda anti-force charge." No soliloquies about how "anti-force is the deadliest power of all!" or whatever; it's just Fury noticing some advanced gimmick he's already familiar with and then immediately trying to figure out what he'll do next. For the reader, it's esoteric technobabble nonsense; for Fury, it's just a difficult problem. Strange Tales #159, a downtime issue -- and that's notable in itself int his hypercompressed era of storytelling! -- has some beautiful sequences with Fury reminiscing about his childhood. This is setting up his old war buddy Cap's appearance later in the story, but it's a thematic setup, not Fury flashing back to an adventure with Cap. That's a kind of relatively subtle exposition and setup we don't see in Marvel or DC in this era, something borrowed more from the more literary pulps. More broadly, I feel like Steranko pulls in a slightly wider range of influences: in addition to hints of Chandler and Hammett, we're seeing more Will Eisner influence in the narrative's tone and perspective, and a more direct understanding of psychedelia than the usual superficial imitation that happens elsewhere (and as fnord notes, afterwards when Steranko himself becomes an influence.) -- Steranko's use of the Marvel Universe is also interesting; he treats guest appearances as background color or as a way to break out of the standard narrative as much as anything. It gives the feel of a more cohesive universe, the sort of place where characters themselves aren't surprised by the fantastical elements because that's just their world. Doctor Doom might be messing around and causing trouble without anyone knowing it; the Fantastic Four might not be major guest-stars where a meet-and-greet scene is mandatory for plot and pacing purposes. Here, they're just specialists you call in to solve a particular problem. Steranko is partly playing up Fury's "connections" and matter-of-factness about all this stuff as the ultimate insider to the world of super-crazines. But he's also relying on the reader's familiarity with the bigger-name characters as a kind of shorthand, treating the FF and Captain America as stuff the reader should already be familiar with. Something similar happens with the raid on AIM partway through the Yellow Claw story, where it's just sort of a given that the Yellow Claw would steal from the mad scientist gang of the MU. The characters interact more as parts of a world with lots of moving parts than as players in a drama. One character's major personal or professional problems may be another character's afterthoughts or distractions. This is actually used as a red herring down the line of the Scorpio stuff, where Jimmy Woo is very bothered by Fury's willingness to to let "Suwan" die, but to Fury it's only on his radar even slightly because Woo might be upset about it, and there are plenty of other things to deal with in the present. We're shown that Fury doesn't really think much of it -- OK, a robot "died," get over it, Jimmy! It's a clever way to show how jaded Fury is by things in his [like the death of Pam Hawley, and also the degree to which he's an officer and collateral damage is just part of the deal. (Steranko of course has to use robots to do this; between Stan Lee, the readers, and the CCA, I doubt Steranko could have gotten away with so unsentimental a depiction of a protagonist character otherwise. And curiously, he has Jimmy Woo behave as if it was the real Suwan anyway. Was Steranko's idea that the Claw and Suwan were always just Doom's robots?) -- The Yellow Claw story might also be the first modern Marvel example of using a comic-book event to "explain" a real-world event, in this case the Northeast blackout of 1965. It's very heavily implied in issue #161 that the blackout was caused by the electrical weapon the FF and Fury use on the Claw's troops, with the "official" explanation being just a coverup. That, too, is a more cynical take on things than the Marvel Universe of this period normally presents. Gardner Fox, John Broome, and other members of Julius Schwartz's writing crew at DC liked to use the science fiction literature twist of having a real event of historical figure turn out to have a sci-fi explanation, but their take on it was much less conspiratorial and anti-authoritarian than Steranko's is here. Another hint of the counterculture influences being taken seriously, I suppose. Andrew BurkeMay 28, 2016 9:15 AM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 Zaladane being related to Lorna is not too hard to figure out if one puts their mind to it. Zala is likely the daughter of Arnold and Suzanna Dane, born first. I'd say she may have been given up for adoption before Lorna was born. It's possible that she may not even be Arnold's daughter, as Suzanna was having at least one affair (with Magneto) at the time, so someone else could have been the father. And Zala could very well be be Magneto's daughter and Suzanna gave her up for adoption so she could hide her affair. We don't know how long their relationship was. But then she got pregnant again with Lorna and decided to keep her maybe because she regretted giving up her first daughter. Of course, with Zaladane dead, it doesn't really matter, and I suspect no one will ever bother to try and explain the whole thing. Anne RogersMay 28, 2016 9:14 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Magneto and his children don't share abilities, and the Guthries have very different powers. I'm not sure why random mutations should produce similar results in families. I mean, the Braddocks are twins and one is a mutant while the other isn't. Omar KarinduMay 28, 2016 8:47 AM Master of Kung Fu #44-45 This must be one of the earlier uses in superhero comics of having each chapter of an arc narrated by a different character. ChrisWMay 27, 2016 7:13 PM Yellow Claw #1 I don't think there would have been a Marvel Universe if Maneely had lived. Both here and in the link Ben provided - which, granted, are primarily to covers and splash pages - there's not a great deal of action and movement, which Kirby was always known for. We'll never know what characters Maneely might have created, but I don't see how he could have provided the equivalent to what Kirby and Ditko brought to the table with regards to characterization, pacing, plot and action. Even the notion of him working over Kirby layouts sounds like a horrible idea. At best, he could have helped Marvel continue with the westerns, romance or other non-superhero comics. At worst, there would have been less work available for Kirby (and none for Ditko) and the books wouldn't have sold well. MichaelMay 27, 2016 6:56 PM Marvel Spotlight #32 Not quite- we first saw Bova in a flashback in Giant Size Avengers 1, which came out in 1974, and Bova was described as a "midwife"- that's an odd term to use if Bova was supposed to be male. (I know there are male midwives today but in 1974, they were usually assumed to be women.) Goodwin apparently missed that scene when he wrote Jessica's origin. DarciMay 27, 2016 6:49 PM Marvel Spotlight #32 When Archie Goodwin wrote this, he characterized Arachne as the first female to emerge from the High Evolutionary's experiments. About a year later, Gruenwald/Grant/Michelinie retconned Bova into that position. MichaelMay 27, 2016 6:39 PM Vampire Tales #10-11 The reason why issue 11 has to take place after Fear 27-31 is that Morbius doesn't believe in "true" vampires in those issues. fnord12May 27, 2016 6:34 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 And in any event, it's just a drug induced dream sequence. I've removed the tag. Omar KarinduMay 27, 2016 5:57 PM X-Men #10-11 If it helps, Warhawk was rather casually brought back some years later. No one's done anything with him since, though. Mark DrummondMay 27, 2016 4:02 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 In that first panel in the "Demon Fire" scan, that guy is reading the Menomonee Falls Gazette, a real-life fanzine that reprinted lots of old American and British comic strips. I can't agree that that's Satana. Moench never otherwise wrote her, and the character comes off much more like Lilith. ZeilsternMay 27, 2016 6:04 AM Yellow Claw #1 Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Kirby return to Marvel only after Maneely had died? Had Maneely lived, there simply wouldn't have been any work at Marvel for Kirby to pick up. Maneely's tragic death which enabled Kirby's return may have been the only way we get a recognizable Marvel Universe. Morgan WickMay 27, 2016 3:17 AM Yellow Claw #1 Did he come any closer to superhero comics than this at any point in his career? According to Wikipedia, the only true superhero work he did at Atlas was three Sub-Mariner Comics covers during the abortive 50s revival (though the GCD says he also did some Lo-Zar, what looks like a Tarzan knockoff in Jungle Action); I don't know what he did elsewhere, but it can't have been on the scale of what Kirby had already done co-creating Captain America, which probably gave him a deep sense of the tropes of the genre that likely informed his later work. I'm sure Maneely's books would have looked gorgeous, but he wouldn't have redefined superhero art the way Kirby did. And not to dredge up the old Stan vs. Jack debates, but it's not clear anything he came up with would be as revolutionary or enduring as Marvel's output ended up being in the 60s under Kirby or even Ditko; worst case, he gets the assignment to compete with the Justice League of America, the FF ends up being an unremarkable knockoff, and Marvel goes out of business. More optimistically, he adapts what Kirby's doing to his own abilities, but even then having him around might mean Jack ends up leaving Marvel much sooner if Stan has Maneely sharing the spotlight and potentially ready to take up Jack's books. That said, having him on the X-Men, Iron Man, or Daredevil - the books that didn't catch the world on fire right away and didn't have nearly the same quality of ideas (or in some cases, art) - could only be an improvement (judging by the fact his most celebrated creations seem to be the original Black Knight and Yellow Claw, DD might have been an especially good fit for his strengths as he was Marvel's most "adventure-y" hero outside the FF, and given that and his large quantity of war-comics work I could see him working plenty with Nick Fury in both incarnations), and if Marvel gets even one good idea better than they were already coming up with out of him, it raises the quality of the line as a whole significantly given the constraints of Marvel's Independent News deal. And if he sticks around long enough for Steranko to come along and the line to move away from its original Silver Age style once Kirby and Ditko leave and Stan lightens his control over it? That's when you might have seen some truly special work. PeterAMay 27, 2016 1:12 AM Yellow Claw #1 Thanks for the link, Ben, those are great examples of his talent. He really does fit in with the quality of Ditko, Romita, Kirby, but he does better shading and motion and realism. I can only imagine the energy he could have added to the Marvel Universe. Imagine him creating the X-Men and having a long run on it... or even better, coming up with heroes we never had in this reality ☺ CeciMay 26, 2016 9:12 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 Some of this art's just fantastic. Rather enjoyable read through a darkened Marvel corner Fnord12. cullenMay 26, 2016 8:59 PM Vampire Tales #2-9 Wow. The layout and design work here, from all the artists, is incredible. kvetoMay 26, 2016 3:24 PM X-Men #10-11 How did Warhawk pierce his ear with impenetrable skin? Gosh, x-men comics suck. Why would you kill off a cool villain like Warhawk? Sometimes your site depresses me, fnord. Stuff I'd rather not know (no fault of yours of course) Andrew BurkeMay 26, 2016 2:54 PM X-Men #10-11 Warhawk says the X-Men are responsible for the breakdown of his body, he actually fought against Power Man and Iron Fist twice after his first encounter with the X-Men. He was fine then, so I'm thinking it's very likely the process that gave him his form was breaking down, as it was a sort of test run of Burstein's "Power Man" formula. Andrew BurkeMay 26, 2016 2:49 PM Uncanny X-Men #110 Shaw likely had help communicating with Warhawk via Emma Frost, as he isn't a telepath. It was good to see Warhawk again after his appearance in MARVEL PREMIERE #23 (and in shadows in BLACK GOLIATH #2-3). I'm hoping David Walker thinks of using him in the new POWER MAN & IRON FIST series, as he became their foe when he went against them in two issues of Duffy's run on the original book. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 8:25 AM Hulk #341-345 I'm not certain if the comparsion to She-Hulk was intential, although I remember the cartoon did use Orgess a lot and she got to speak instead of "RAAAWAARR" and "HONK!" But PAD created her for the Hulk book specifically and didn't have She-Hulk as a cast member or any plans to that I know of. Maybe she was just supposed to be a walking victim and her human side ceased to exist in any perceivable way, like Man-Thing. Certainly, the other Riot Squad members got good powers with no real downsides(other than Soul Man's survival guilt fueling his power), so it's fair someone picked the short straw. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 8:17 AM New Mutants #64 The New Mutants were overhearing a conversation that they stopped listening to before its conclusion. Magneto could have just as easily turned N'astrith down, but the New Mutants don't know because they were left. And we agree that the stuff Magneto said in New Mutants 75 makes no sense either. So, in terms of actual evil doing, Magneto... didn't. He talked to a demon which, everyone in New York was doing during Inferno. In point of fact, the X-Men and Illyana actually shed blood, so aside from his company and the costume he was wearing, Magneto would look like a saint compared what a lot of the other "non-evil" characters did. Ataru320May 26, 2016 8:16 AM Hulk #341-345 I sort of wonder if Ogress was supposed to be the "antithesis" of the She-Hulk: a lawyer woman who becomes a pure raging monster instead of one who gets what she wants outside emotional issues. Considering Jen gained control and confidence in her gamma form, having a pure monster like this one is probably the only way to contrast it. (plus I sort of remember Ogress as a Shulkie rival in the '90s Hulk animated series at one point) Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 7:55 AM Hulk #341-345 Orgess is a character that I never quite understood. Of course, when a character never appears the same color from issue to issue, I can be charitable and write it of a coloring error. But on the other hand, we have an attorney who can't speak, whose trapped as a raging monster, and this is the only issue we have to go by as for characterization. Now, I guess we are supposed to assumne her unhappiness with her job and losing her husband is the reason for her transformation, but it's still kind of thin, compared to most other characters who've appeared in PAD's Hulk run. Maybe PAD had something in mind like with Ramon that he never got around to. He made sure the Riot Squad and all of Freehold was destroyed in his last issue, so I guess we'll never find out unless we ask him. MichaelMay 26, 2016 7:48 AM New Mutants #64 I'm disagreeing on Simonson making sure he never actually does anything evil. Simonson had him trade human lives "like playing cards" with N'astirh during Inferno. Also, if you believe Magneto's claims in New Mutants 75, he left the X-Men to face the Marauders alone during the Mutant Massacre and left the X-Men to die at the hands of the Adversary. (Of course, Simonson's claims that Magneto was Evil All Along in New Mutants 75, like her claims that Maddie was Evil All Along in X-Factor 38, make no sense, as we've discussed previously. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 7:25 AM New Mutants #64 Simonson is stuck between a rock and a hard place with Magneto, since she knows Claremont still considers him his character. So she is pushing the team away from Magneto with Cypher's death. Of course, the New Mutants misbehavior isn't enough, Magneto has to start acting like a bad guy as well, once Bob Harras takes over. That culminates in New Mutants 75, that John Byrne made time to draw so Magneto could be used as a villain again, unless he was appearing in X-Men. Of course, if you look at Magneto's actions instead of the art with his helmet making him look all evil, Simonson makes sure he never actually does anything evil, as, indeed, he really doesn't until Jim Lee takes over, despite his appearances in Acts of Vengeance. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 7:12 AM New Mutants #63 I'm going to call editorial shenanigans as to having the framing of this story be a dream. All the captions that look re-lettered are the Kitty's not really here, Peter's not really here, etc. Marvel editors took flak for scheduling out of continuity fill-ins and risked annoying fans. Instead of going to all the trouble of calling it a dream, they could have cut down on the ambiguity by just having Illyana write down what happened in a journal like the art already depicts her doing and pretending she was telling the story to Kitty and even have Peter show up while she's pretending. It doesn't help the Lockheed appearance, but it would allow the story to read without so many extra expository captions and allows them to keep what seemed to be important about the re-lettering, Illyana's grudge against Forge. Of course, if it's not a dream, then Illyana is journaling instead of vengeance seeking which could be another objection. And the sad part is that this issue was obviously scripted before Louise was told to de-age the New Mutants, making it actually superior to most of her other issues. Ugh, Chris Claremont should never have dropped this book. It was a crime. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 2:37 AM Tower of Shadows #1 FYI, he didn't direct, but Steranko wrote and designed the film. As I recall, it looks just like the story. Brian C. SaundersMay 26, 2016 2:35 AM Tower of Shadows #1 I'll note I remembered seeing this on television at one point. A quick imdb search brings up this: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0228843/combined Although I have the reprint, it would be nice to see the film version by Steranko again sometime. I'm not aware of it being available on dvd. D09May 26, 2016 2:25 AM Captain Marvel #8-11 Maybe that ray has different effects if used on other species? ChrisWMay 26, 2016 12:46 AM Yellow Claw #1 I think Lee also said at one point [possibly in the Tom Spurgeon-Jordan Raphael biography?] that if Maneely had lived, the two of them might have left Marvel altogether and tried something else. Very nice art. And Al Feldstein? I had no idea he'd ever written anything for Marvel. I guess this was from the brief period where EC had closed down but before Harvey Kurtzman left MAD. Omar KarinduMay 25, 2016 6:36 PM Fantastic Four #269-270 I'm far from the first to point it out, but there is some uncomfortable subtext with Johnny becoming attracted to Alcia, who is not only his best friend's ex but also a woman originally established as bearing a strong resemblance to his sister. MikeCheyneMay 25, 2016 4:44 PM Tower of Shadows #1 So I've read other Tower of Shadows stories...they're probably no worse scripted and certainly the artists are excellent too (Wally Wood, Neal Adams--no slouches!). But the artwork here just so perfectly fits the feel that this story seems leaps and bounds over the others. At the very least, it has a much more timeless feel; you could have told me that the story was published in the 70s or 80s and I might have accepted it. Ben HermanMay 25, 2016 1:31 PM Yellow Claw #1 @PeterA, here's a link to some scans of the absolutely amazing work Joe Maneely's did in comic books before his tragic death in 1958... Ataru320May 25, 2016 10:17 AM Iron Man #74-75,77,80-81 @david barnes: Should it be redone? Heck yeah! Will it...well considering Marvel rather have its heroes keep finding excuses to fight one another (or alternate versions of one another)...probably not. fnord12May 25, 2016 7:37 AM Yellow Claw #1 @Thanos6, i've added a note at the top about the credits. Thanks. MortificatorMay 25, 2016 2:18 AM Yellow Claw #1 There's a definite decline in storytelling quality from the first issue of this series to the ones Jack Kirby wrote & drew. I sure wouldn't say Yellow Claw #1 surpasses the heights Kirby would later reach, though. david banesMay 25, 2016 1:38 AM Iron Man #74-75,77,80-81 Forget Civil War II or Secret Wars its "The Super-Villain War" that needs to be re-done. PeterAMay 25, 2016 1:31 AM Yellow Claw #1 I never heard of him but he certainly outshines Kirby. Impeccable storytelling. Brian C. SaundersMay 25, 2016 12:05 AM Marvel Feature #1 It's worth noting that every time the Hulk gets mad at Strange from now, it could be because he remembers being called a "brainless idiot" when Strange thought he couldn't be heard. Makes World War Hulk much more justified. Brian C. SaundersMay 24, 2016 11:23 PM Fantastic Four #286 @Andrew Well, Jean's body was well on it's way to death as shown in Classic X-Men #8. It was probably easier to create a new one from her template instead of repairing Jean's own body. Brian C. SaundersMay 24, 2016 11:19 PM Yellow Claw #1 There's statements by Stan Lee that indicated Maneely's death might well have changed history. Imagine the Fantastic Four by Lee and Maneely. Imagine Maneely's work getting better like Kirby's did. So much potential lost. CecilMay 24, 2016 11:01 PM Yellow Claw #1 Poor kid just thought he could get home OK without his glasses; he'd treated a pair of laid-off artists (John Severin for one) to a few drinks, and tried heading home on the commuter cars in the wee Sunday hours of a June morning. D09May 24, 2016 10:59 PM Fantastic Four #286 @Andrew: It's possible that this was an experiment done by the Phoenix Force, though after what it had been through, I doubt it was willing to try that stunt again. Thanos6May 24, 2016 9:35 PM Yellow Claw #1 Also, fnord, sources I'm finding give Al Feldstein as the writer/co-creator of the Claw. AndrewMay 24, 2016 9:18 PM Fantastic Four #286 It's worth noting that in every single other Phoenix appearance after this the Phoenix force possesses someone, rather than duplicating them, even if those stories take place in the past. It's not even discussed as a possibility in, for example, Phoenix Endsong or Avengers Vs X-Men. I agree that it was the right decision in this case. I can't really enjoy reading Hal Jordan any more, since he's a mass murderer, no matter what the circumstances. But I don't think it's ever been explained in-story why in this one case, the Phoenix duplicated Jean, rather than possessing her. Thanos6May 24, 2016 8:38 PM Yellow Claw #1 I think Stan has said something along the lines of Maneely was the single greatest artist he ever worked with. MichaelMay 24, 2016 8:30 PM Spider-Woman #4-6 A Marv Wolfman hero losing more often then they win? That surprises you? Ben HermanMay 24, 2016 8:25 PM Yellow Claw #1 This is some nice artwork by Joe Maneely. He was a very talented artist, and it's a tragedy that he died so young. Many fans have often wondered if he had lived longer just what sort of role he could have played in the creation of the Marvel superhero universe in the 1960s. JPMay 24, 2016 8:17 PM Fantastic Four #129-132 God damn it, Roy Thomas. Piotr WMay 24, 2016 7:41 PM Menace #11 I admit that I absolutely love the idea of a robot wandering the world and killing every man in every room he can find... ;) VtCGMay 24, 2016 7:40 PM Yellow Claw #1 I met Stan at a comic store ages ago, and had him sign and autograph a number of books, notably ASM #252. At the time, I was sure that he was in on all of the intricacies of the business at the time, not knowing he left that to the new crew. Stan knew his business while he was working those books to the printer; this is proof of that. Thanos6May 24, 2016 7:09 PM Menace #11 I wonder if the story here is an urban legend/"ghost story" that spread among the populace, with the truth (seen in ATLAS) not known. kvetoMay 24, 2016 6:42 PM Marvel Boy: The Uranian #1-3 Hey, some child's sketches in his school notebook accidentally got published as "art" here. How did that happen? Red CometMay 24, 2016 6:30 PM Menace #11 Looks more like the art of one of the EC staff guys than John Romita. Morgan WickMay 24, 2016 4:37 PM Marvel Boy: The Uranian #1-3 Considering that they actually bothered to retcon the FF story, it feels like they went to a lot of effort to ignore what had actually been established about the characters they appropriated in order to tell the story they wanted to tell about them, when I'm not sure how necessary it was. Obviously it probably would have been difficult to track down every post-FF #1 appearance of every character to figure out what can be retconned easily and what can't (at least if you're not Kurt Busiek and you're living in an age before obsessive fans have catalogued it all, which may have been the case for the original series although I bet the MCP already existed), but I'm not sure why you even bother knowingly introducing contradictions with the original comics, and I certainly don't know why you bother introducing more retcons that muddle things up even more after you already know about some of the contradictions, and do so in 2010, when there are a lot more resources and obsessive fans that'll tell you exactly what you need to smooth over. I'd be sorely tempted to declare the entire Agents of Atlas corpus an alternate universe depending on the depths of its ties to the present-day comics. Morgan WickMay 24, 2016 4:26 PM Marvel Boy #1 Actually "video" and "audio" literally mean "I see" and "I hear". Which actually adds to the relevance of this villain's name. D09May 24, 2016 3:52 PM Fantastic Four #318-319 My guess on the Beyonder's fluctuating power levels hinges on both origin stories from these issues and both SW miniseries: while he is half of a cosmic cube, it's possible that he also tapped into a universe that hasn't been formed yet. Hence before he completed the universe from its original blank white space into what we saw at the end of SW II he was able to go toe-to-toe with cosmic heavyweights like Galactus and Eternity, but without the power boost that unformed universe provided, he can only do what half a cosmic cube can do with its powers. fnord12May 24, 2016 1:32 PM Menace #11 Yeah, thanks, Thanos. I meant to make a note about that. See the updated Considerations. Thanos6May 24, 2016 1:17 PM Menace #11 It should be noted that the story as it's presented here isn't really compatible with a flashback we see at the end of AGENTS OF ATLAS. There's definitely some continuity differences, and not minor ones either. D09May 24, 2016 12:34 PM Uncanny X-Men #172-173 About Maddie, I can take her being a lookalike of Jean, but flying planes just like Scott's dad and living in Alaska just like Scott's family is a bit much for me to accept! D09May 24, 2016 12:27 PM Uncanny X-Men #168 Scott falling in love with an exact lookalike of his dead girlfriend: a bit disturbing when you think about it. fnord12May 24, 2016 11:18 AM Spider-Woman #7 Thanks AF. AFMay 24, 2016 11:03 AM Spider-Woman #7 James T. Wyatt (full name given in this issue), should be tracked as appearing in this issue, #3 and #4-6. AFMay 24, 2016 10:52 AM Spider-Woman #4-6 So, did Wolfman just forget about Hangman after #4? And for that matter the Brother(s) Grimm. There's no resolution to those strands at all (and also, by this point, Jessica is getting beat by her rogues more than winning against them). Andrew BurkeMay 24, 2016 9:43 AM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) Agreed about there being no real plans for Tessa at that point and that he was just starting to build her up. At that time, he had all the time in the world. As things progressed, he did do more with her, like in #189 and #208-209. Sage/Tessa is my favorite X-Man, and it's nice that she had such a long history, with Claremont mostly doing all the work on her more complex personality. To think she first appeared in a scene where she was quietly placing a robe on Shaw, nothing more. I was happy when Greg Pak brought her back in X-TREME X-MEN volume two. She's out there somewhere, waiting patiently for Claremont to resume work with her on whatever may come next with him. I was just thinking this morning he should do an X-TREME X-MEN FOREVER mini-series. Andrew BurkeMay 24, 2016 9:31 AM X-Factor #37 Don't forget all the stuff in EMMA FROST #1-18. When she was younger, and her powers were still growing, she was using mind tricks to win money at casinos and such. And then she fell in with Astrid Bloom, who basically taught her that it's okay for mutants to use their powers to take advantage of other people because they are just humans and don't matter. By the time she met Shaw, she may have been influenced by him, but she was already doing a lot of negative things by then. Andrew BurkeMay 24, 2016 9:17 AM X-Factor #13 The cigarettes probably belonged to Wyngarde. fnord12May 24, 2016 8:28 AM Marvel Comics Presents #119-122 (Ghost Rider) For what it's worth, Ghost Rider did shoot hellfire in Fantastic Four #349, but it was a surprise to him and it wasn't used as an attack, only to cancel out mind control. This was acknowledged/referenced in the main series in Ghost Rider #13 when Ghost Rider's hellfire shot out of him to enchant Blaze's shotgun. MichaelMay 24, 2016 7:40 AM Marvel Comics Presents #119-122 (Ghost Rider) A few people pointed out that Ghost Rider seems to be able to shoot hellfire in this story, which he couldn't do at this point. Brian C. SaundersMay 24, 2016 2:56 AM Hulk #329 As I recall from an essay PAD did for Amazing Heroes, when Bob Harras offered David the title, he had the option of keeping Rick as the Hulk. The book apparently rated so low that no one cared who was the star. I think Al Milgrom was just waiting for his replacement to make the decision. Although Al Milgrom brought back the gray Hulk, he only used him once in #326. I think Milgrom preferred writing the savage Hulk and used Rick to do the stories he was interested in. That is, 327, 329 and 330. Brian C. SaundersMay 24, 2016 2:49 AM X-Factor #13 Re:Erik The picture was taken by Mastermind in his disguise as Jean's Greek guide, see Classic X-Men back story circa Uncanny X-Men #118. The picture was real, although he didn't take it secretly, since Scott recognized it, probably from Jean's print. Sadly, the picture implies Jean was a smoker, which has always been my problem with it(My personal bias only. Being the 70's, it was probably an in character beat.) ChrisWMay 23, 2016 11:43 PM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) This is probably where Claremont started filling in Tessa's backstory. I don't recall if she said or did anything important in "X-Men" #151-52, but before that she was a generic brunette Hellfire Club wench, there for eye candy and nothing else. This is the first time she ever actually did anything of note, even if that was just to be a damsel-in-distress and then tie up a couple loose ends. And why she was used was probably simple arithmetic. Can't use Shaw, he's the guy Pierce is going after. Can't use Emma, she is/will be one of Mastermind's victims. Can't use Leland, he's basically a joke. And all three of them would have issues with Xavier that couldn't be resolved with a minor diplomatic slight-of-hand the way Tessa does here. The Hellfire Club has already had a blonde and a redhead, might as well bring in the brunette, which foreshadows Selene's appearance. I doubt there were any real plans for Tessa at this point, but it's a good example of Claremont building up even the bit characters. Why wouldn't the Hellfire Club bring in as many unobtrusive mutants as they could find to act as servants? ChrisWMay 23, 2016 11:29 PM X-Factor #37 Michael, re: Maddie/Jean/Emma comparisons. Ouch. Good call. Jon DubyaMay 23, 2016 11:18 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Good think you're not trying to factor in Trouble throughout all of this. Total Comic MayhemMay 23, 2016 10:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #212 Oops, meant #212 and #213. Damn fingers... Total Comic MayhemMay 23, 2016 10:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #212 X-Men #112 & #113 definitely are awesome X-Men keys. Really loved the first published battle between Wolverine and Sabretooth in #112, and their 2nd bout in #113. Just wanted to say I love the site, man! Keep up the great work! CecilMay 23, 2016 9:12 PM Defenders #41 I haven't asked if this was, in fact, an inventory story-it doesn't quite feel like a wrap-up of Steve's attempts to work with Kyle's character. I love the offbeat touches of real life, especially from the counter culture- those observations define all the best Defenders stories. This time through, Trish's friend "David Anthony" sticks out to me as an affectionate cameo of Gerber's friend, DAK. He even takes a dig at DAK's love of gab. CecilMay 23, 2016 8:56 PM Defenders #21 Here's where Defenders becomes, for a while, Marvel's best team book! MichaelMay 23, 2016 6:57 PM X-Factor #37 @AF- Re: Scott cheating on Jean- he had psychic sex with Emma. That arguably counts. Do you think that Scott was raped by the Red Queen? MichaelMay 23, 2016 5:43 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Backing up what Mark said, in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 4, written by Bill Mantlo, we saw flashbacks to May's youth and she seems to be a teenager in the late 1930s. Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 4 came out in 1984. So Mantlo apparently saw May as about 65. Peter had just dropped out of graduate school, so he was about 23. So Mantlo apparently thought that the age difference between May and Peter was about 42 years and May had just aged prematurely due to her heart problems. AFMay 23, 2016 5:16 PM Spider-Woman #3 I'm with Chris. The original Brothers Grimm were pretty cool. I defend Gruenwald for a lot, but getting rid of them was a mistake. Well, actually, probably only heightened more by the subsequent Brothers Grimm being pretty flat-out bad - especially compared to the originals. They lack any of the intrigue and ingenuity of the originals and instead got given a claws-against-chalkboard rhyming speaking pattern. At least the design still looked good. Andrew BurkeMay 23, 2016 4:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #107-108 Doing some digging, I think Erik the Red was very likely supposed to be Peter Corbeau. It seems he knew way more than he should have regarding various parts of the galaxy, although he did say that the Starcore Staion mapped at half the Milky Way. Of course,his profile matches Erik the Red's shadowy profile. He was also a bit of a longtime character, as he first appeared in an issue of INCREDIBLE HULK that Claremont plotted some time before this, and given his numerous appearances in early issues of the X-Men, he was an old friend of Xavier's and an ally of the X-Men. Him being Erik the Red would have been a big deal. We never saw Erik and Corbeau in the same place at the same time, or in two different places at once. In addition, in UNCANNY X-MEN #107, Erik the Red vanished in the big battle. It's very possible he teleported away using a portal...or maybe his armor had a teleporation device...and went back to the Starcore Station, where he saw him at the end of the same issue. Very curious. TCPMay 23, 2016 3:04 PM Fantastic Four #140-141 Very impressed by these issues. The conclusion felt very organic given the long build-up of Sue and Reed's separation, and since Franklin was at the heart of that separation to begin with. Conway's run up to this point has had a lot of nuclear imagery and themes (i.e. the weapons test that affected Gideon and his family, the entirety of issues 136 and 137, and the near-nuclear disaster with the Miracle Man). I feel like this is continued in these issues, with Franklin's Negative Zone energy acting as the stand-in for nuclear power. However, this story does well in showing the dual-nature of such energy. The aliens who unwittingly created Annihilus could easily be viewed through a colonialist lens -- they believed their way of life to be the best and so wanted to "enlighten" other worlds as well. However, their "student," Annihilus, uses their knowledge to create a WoMD -- the Cosmic Control Rod -- that could ruin their entire universe. At the same time, this negatively-charged weapon was used in a positive way to assist with Franklin's birth. Franklin, then, could be viewed as a union of matter and anti-matter, a symbol of how such power could be used to create rather than destroy (compare Annihilus' armor that is also a combination of the two and is thus the "strongest second skin in all the known universes"). Annihilus seeks to gain power without humanity, whereas Franklin has both. I like to view the two of them in this story as embodying two ways to handle nuclear power, especially as it relates to future generations (see also Thomas Gideon and the Shaper from 137). Of course, we then have Reed, who answers violence with violence by using a gun on his son. While I don't necessarily think any of this was due to anti-mutant prejudice on his part, I do wonder if, like Victor Frankenstein or even Albert Einstein, Reed is afraid or ashamed of what he has helped bring into this world. Andrew BurkeMay 23, 2016 2:42 PM Captain America #169-175 According to Claremont, it was during this story that the Shadow King/Farouk took control of Mastermind, and afterwards started his plots for Ms. Marvel and then Jean Grey. Andrew BurkeMay 23, 2016 11:51 AM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) This, I believe, was the third appearance of Tessa, and the first issue where it was hinted that there was far more to her than meets the eye. You'd think that Pierce wouldn't have bothered to keep her hostage since she seemed human at this time, but since he knew she was a mutant, and because of her closeness with Shaw, he kept her around. This story also featured the first on-panel encounter between Professor X and Tessa. While it seems here that Professor X didn't trust Tessa, he obviously did, as he let her have Pierce, and she kept her word in regards to dealing with him. fnord12May 23, 2016 11:04 AM Captain America #153-156 I did have him tagged elsewhere but missed him here. Thanks. JPMay 23, 2016 11:01 AM Captain America #272 I love the the attention to continuity with the whole Wilson family showing up at the hospital to check on Jim. Otherwise I would think that Jim and Jody were contractually forbidden from appearing in the same story together, like Heathcliff and Riff Raff. JPMay 23, 2016 10:53 AM Captain America #153-156 Hey fnord, the Falcon's nephew Jody appears in this story as well. I don't know if you have him tagged in his other appearances but he did show up more than once around this time period. He might be worth tracking. Mark DrummondMay 23, 2016 10:34 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 It's possible that Aunt May could have prematurely aged. Certain illnesses, especially heart problems, can cause people to look older than they are. William Hartnell, for example, was 58 when he left Doctor Who, but he looked at least 20 years older. fnord12May 23, 2016 8:50 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #50 Ah, thanks Matthew. D09May 23, 2016 1:52 AM Avengers annual #19 It's possible that if a Terminus lives long enough, it will develop and form its own goals in addition to its original mission, hence the first Terminus claiming worlds for its own uses. Omar KarinduMay 22, 2016 9:11 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 In all fairness to Stan and company, nothing about Peter's parents being spies ever really comes up again until well into the 90s. It's pretty clearly Stan and Larry needing a gripping yarn to fill out an Annual, come across as a "bigger" adventure than Spidey's monthly stories, and seeking an excuse to let Spidey face off against one of Marvel's big-name baddies. As to the "People Spider-Man Has Killed" list, that began life as a post over at Comicboards in response to someone who wanted every case where Spider-Man maybe was responsible for a death, including edge cases. The idea was to be exhaustive, and the FAQ link at Spiderfan itself breaks all of those deaths down into subcategories. It's not really supposed to be a claim that Spider-Man cold-bloodedly murdered a bunch of people. Brian C. SaundersMay 22, 2016 5:31 PM Hulk #223-226 It's probably pertinent to note that Banner's re-exposure to Gamma Rays in these issues was done without his consent by Samson and Ross. Samson pronounced him "dying" after feedback from the failed attempt to use the Hulk robot knocked Banner out. RikFenixMay 22, 2016 5:15 PM Amazing Spider-Man #48-49 This was a fun story with great art. I especially liked the bit where Peter is in bed covering his Spidey costume and everyone he knows shows up. Aunt May's dialogue is very funny as well. ChrisMay 22, 2016 4:50 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Plots like this is what I call "fake drama". It's hackneyed plots to make things much more complicated for characters than they should be, and a sure sign the writer is unable to think of more realistic drama arising from the true premises of the character and setting. As FNORD12 and others have said, this is very jarring and not what one expects from a Spider-Man comic. This is a clear misstep. Chris Claremont would also introduce these kinds of unnecessary, melodramatic, and overcomplicated backstories to the characters he wrote, and that always annoyed me too. If you are dealing with a brand new character, or a complete cipher, it can sometimes work. Most often, it's just putting the water skis on Fonzi before he gets into the Pacific Ocean. ChrisMay 22, 2016 4:42 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 It was not unusual to have large age gaps between siblings in the era before birth control. A twenty year or more gap between eldest and youngest siblings was not that rare although usually there were many siblings inbetween (the stereotypical large farm or Catholic family). It's just that Richard was probably an "oops baby". My dad was the youngest child in his family. His elder brother (my uncle) has a grandchild that is exactly my age. Nowadays this situation is rare in the US and developed world, but it wouldn't be at the time Stan was writing nor about people who would have been adults during WWII (Pete's parents). In fact, it is entirely possible that Peter could have had other uncles, but they died during the war before they could have children. So nowadays this may seem strange, but I don't think it was at the time. Ben HermanMay 22, 2016 3:46 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Bill, I have heard a few people theorize that when Steve Ditko drew Spider-Man's origin in Amazing Fantasy #15 he intended Ben & May to be Peter's grandparents, but when Stan Lee scripted the story for some reason he made them Peter's aunt & uncle. Of course Lee has the absolute worst memory in the world and Ditko refuses to give interviews, so there is absolutely no way to verify this. But it does seem plausible. Matthew BradleyMay 22, 2016 2:52 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #50 She's actually identified as Harmony Young in the caption in page 16, panel 6 of this issue. BillMay 22, 2016 2:48 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Ben, THANK YOU! Personally, I've never understood why Uncle Ben and Aunt May were so darn old. They should be contemporaries of Peter's parents, not old enough to be their parents. I wonder why Ben and May just weren't introduced as Grandpa Ben and Grandma May? May's "deaging" in the movies and cartoons is something I don't really mind since it seems like a much needed course correction. Ben HermanMay 22, 2016 2:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 This annual is one of the things I've referenced in refuting the argument that Marissa Tomei is too young to have played Aunt May in the Captain America: Civil War movie. It never made much sense to me that when Peter Parker was first introduced as a teenager that his aunt & uncle were in their 70s, especially as it Aunt May was written as a frail, senile old woman who literally had one foot in the grave, facing a succession of life-threatening illnesses. When we did finally get to see Peter's parents Richard & Mary in the flashback in this story, they appear to be in their mid to late 30s. So there must have been something like a 20 year difference between Richard and his brother Ben. Admittedly that isn't impossible, but it is still highly unusual for someone to have a child, wait two decades, and then have another one. I'm almost 40 years old nowadays, and my aunt *still* looks much younger than Aunt May. AFMay 22, 2016 2:15 PM Marvel Spotlight #32 Her very next appearance in Marvel Two-in-One established it wasn't true. In MTIO #33, we had her find out she was born a human from Modred of all people, and the issue ended with her and him departing to learn of her past. It wasn't until Spider-Woman #1 that we got specific details and got to see a flashback origin sequence. ChrisMay 22, 2016 1:59 PM Marvel Spotlight #32 When did it become established that Jessica is not a spider New-Woman created by the High evolutionary, but the daughter of a human scientist? I like the angle that she was originally a spider, but Marvel likely decided it created problems for any future romantic interests and had to make her fully human. ChrisMay 22, 2016 1:43 PM Fantastic Four #357-360 FNORD12: Her invisibility should extend to the infared, radar sense, etc.. I agree, and it would be a very "fix" to do. Since Sue's real power is to generate an "invisible force" that first manifested as invisibility to the visual spectrum, and then an invisible force field, it is not much of a stretch for that invisible force to negate other wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (just as the force field blocks physical effects and various energy beams). An easy explanation would be that since Sue was initially only aware of the visible spectrum, that is what her power blocked. But given enough experience and training, she can then block the other things as well. In the Silver and Bronze Ages, access to radar, infrared, etc. was more rare and could be reserved for only the toughest villains. It was also likely not thought of much by the reading public. Nowadays, it's so common even goons can have it, much less Skrull special forces. So a power boost is definitely needed. Dave77May 22, 2016 1:42 PM Marvel Team-Up #102 While I'd usually agree they should make sure mistakes like this don't happen, I actually do kind of think 'No one cares about a Marvel Team-Up story from 1981', in this instance. I mean, it's Doc Samson. And it's a story which never has any follow-up. And you still can read this issue as having happened pretty much the same, except you have to take it that AIM was actually getting an update on how Samson's body had changed or something. "At least it doesn't cut off his hair." ChrisMay 22, 2016 1:31 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #105 Busiek's run is disappointing compared to the quality of stories he'd later be known for. However, I found his main strength to be characterization, particularly in "character moments", and the interaction between the mundane and superheroic worlds, not so much plot and the bad guys. Hard to pick up from this site, how successful Busiek was with his strengths in this run. The major weakness is the same weakness that seems to plague PM & IF throughout their entire run: the lack of a good rogues gallery and dynamic stories. I wonder if in part its because of the nature of the heroes. Both PM & IF are actually quite powerful, and common crime shouldn't present them much of a problem. The two together shouldn't have a problem even with many Spider-Man level villains, although a combo/team up of them could be challenging. The series needed a soft reboot. The people hiring Heroes for Hire should be corporations and the wealthy, and Danny & Luke need to be travelling around the US and the world fighting high profile cases. Street level crime should be relegated to backstory pro bono work, subplot, or seen through Colleen & Misty calling in Danny & Luke for back up when they find something behind the scenes. There have always been some elements like this in PM & IF, but it hasn't been the book's theme. They just need a better class of villains. Dave77May 22, 2016 1:26 PM Incredible Hulk & the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault #1 'Not enough panels' is my #1 gripe about modern comics. I'd take much more story per issue over detailed background art any day. But then I also prefer the wordiness of the '70s/'80s issues to the quippy dialogue of today. And narration boxes are way overused - thought bubbles are surely more realistic (ie you really do think things while you're doing stuff, but you don't narrate what's happening). Dave77May 22, 2016 1:09 PM Captain America #257 I don't see a flight for Cap here being too implausible, as long as Greymoor castle is somewhere in the south. For '81, yeah, but it's OK with the sliding timescale. Northern football teams often fly down to London, and we regularly get news stories about how it's now cheaper to fly up to somewhere like Newcastle than it is to go by train. fnord12May 22, 2016 11:51 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #51-53 Thanks, Matthew. The MCP doesn't list here as appearing there but i agree it's her. I've added a scan of her and listed her as a character on that entry. fnord12May 22, 2016 11:37 AM Marvel Spotlight #32 I got the name following the MCP, but interestingly the MCP don't seem to have (or no longer have?) any character listings from Spider-Woman Origin. So i'm not sure if the MCP got the name from Origin or somewhere else. I notice that Fury calls Jared "Goldilocks" in this story; maybe somewhere someone thought it would be cute to therefore named him Gold. I saw in the original Marvel Handbooks he was just referred to by his first name in the Spider-Woman entry. I found your scan in the Deluxe Handbook under the Hydra entry. Anyway, as you noted on the Origin entry, he only appears in flashback here, and this was his only other appearance, so i've removed the tag. Jon DubyaMay 22, 2016 10:08 AM Fantastic Four #357-360 "And, on a related tangent to fnord's intro to this: That was the joy of all the Earth-2 stories at DC from the early 60's to the mid 80's. It allowed those characters to grow older and deal with aging and a new generation while simultaneously allowing the main DC characters to stay younger and in less of a state of change." Which is similar (even if in an opposite direction) to Marvel publishing it's Ultimate line. (And various other media-related tie-ins and imprints as well, which makes excuses of the Tom Brevoort's of of the world that much sillier.) Aldp, does anyone else imagine comic creators reacting like Ross from Friends ("Three divorces!"). In other words divorce/separation doesn't have to always be treated as WORSE than, say wrecking the space/time continuum kr invoking alien imposters. Have characters go the Demi Moore/Bruce Willis route if you want to avoid "drama" that badly. By the way the funny thing about this arc is that, despite it's pootly-recieved output (maybe. Does anyone know what the tenor of the letter pages were arpund the tome of this revelation?), it's replicated on a larger scale in a line-wide crossover a decade later. So they went to the trouble of imposing blindness on Alyja, but didn't think to teach her any sculpting skills (even just up to "Hello" video quality?) Or some basic knowledge about her own stepfather? JTI88May 22, 2016 7:46 AM Marvel Feature #5-6 The MU had always fascinated me for its vastity, but that vastity also kept me away. Still, when I started reading, after the film Captain America 2, I did it form the beginning (FF#1). Reading all the issues from there gives a cross section of those years, I guess, and reading also "minor" issues like this one can show elements like the one you underlined in your comments. Besides, I love this site, which for one thing helps me to orient in the endless issues that have been published. cullenMay 22, 2016 7:20 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #26 Beaten to the punch by the Mortificator! cullenMay 22, 2016 7:19 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #26 Namor's electric-eel powers go back to the Golden Age, i believe; here are two citations on this site (there are at least a few more): http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/defenders_5254.shtml http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/fantastic_four_110.shtml Ataru320May 22, 2016 7:16 AM Iron Man #55 Considering Thanos #1 was basically a robot...maybe he didn't think it was worth building something closer to himself. It's not like Thanos always has to worry about needing Doombots or an LMD of himself. MortificatorMay 22, 2016 7:16 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #26 In the Golden Age, in Marvel Mystery Comics 6, Namor was was drugged and sentenced to be executed by electric chair. The electricity somehow neutralized the drug without harming him, no further explanation given. I don't know if Stan Lee read that story, but when he brought back Namor in the Silver Age, he had Namor possess the powers of various sea creatures, including the electric eel. An example is in the finale of Fantastic Four 6. It seems like Roy Thomas was dissatisfied with that, however, and he tried to walk it back during his run on Sub-Mariner... Still, Namor's electric powers have been used or referenced since then, although rarely. JackMay 22, 2016 7:00 AM Iron Man #55 Thanos clearly evolves over the years, but he's hardly a "poorly drawn skinny dude" in his debut panel. Jon DubyaMay 22, 2016 12:09 AM Spectacular Spider-Man annual #12 Power question #2: Could Cloak's...um...cloak always loft people with any kind of prehensile strength? I always thought it was just there to keep his...darkness intact. Jon DubyaMay 22, 2016 12:06 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #26 Quick power question (that's actually composed of two sub-questions): 1a) I think this is like the second or third time Namorita has attributed a her heritage as a "true Sub-Mariner" for a resistance agaist electricity. I found that curious because I don't recall Namor ever having that type of ability. Has that been established for him? 1b) Shouldn't this not work in any case, since, as we'll soon find out, Namorita is NOT a "true Sub-Mariner" after all? (Also, she can stop saying that now. We are well aware that she's Namor's cousin. We. Get. It.) Jon DubyaMay 21, 2016 11:30 PM Marvel Comics Presents #105 (Thing) Isn't that what they basically did in the 60's, Ben? Nathan AdlerMay 21, 2016 8:07 PM New Mutants annual #6 @Andrew: In the issue her name is revealed as "Blue" and she's either Kurt's daughter with Amanda or perhaps Wanda. david banesMay 21, 2016 7:39 PM Iron Man #55 "poorly drawn skinny dude." The GoblinMay 21, 2016 7:31 PM Avengers West Coast #89-91 I like that Hawkeye had the foresight to wear his Goliath chest straps under his costume all that time LOL AFMay 21, 2016 7:21 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #1 The only people who talk anything like Bendis characters are the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in bad fanfics. D09May 21, 2016 7:19 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #1 "Enjoyable, natural dialogue"? More like stiff, repetitive, and something you'd find only in tryouts for theaters. Just one of the reasons I never could "get" Ultimate Spider-Man (among others), even though it's supposedly the best of all his Marvel works. The GoblinMay 21, 2016 7:03 PM Marvel Comics Presents #104 (USAgent) This was an attempt to lighten up the character of John Walker, nothing more Ben HermanMay 21, 2016 3:41 PM Iron Man Legacy #6-11 But in WCA and other books it was also established that there were lots of superhuman criminals & menaces operating in the LA area. You had Graviton, the Shroud and the Night Shift, Doctor Demonicus and his Pacific Overlords, Ultron, and Lotus Newmark / Lady Lotus, just to name a few. It's hard to believe that all of them were based in LA for an extended period of time without ever stumbling across the Pride. I remember that Lotus was so paranoid about her illegal operations being discovered that she kept sending assassins after Wonder Man because she suspected, without any actual proof, that he knew she was a criminal. Seems weird that she wouldn't have any idea that she was based in the same city as the Pride, who would have been serious rivals to her empire. And this story establishes that Tony Stark learned about the Pride before he resumed his Iron Man identity and joined the WCA for the very first time. Upon doing so, wouldn't he have said to Hawkeye and the rest "Hey, there's this extremely dangerous group of a dozen supervillains secretly controlling LA, so make sure to keep an eye out for any evidence of their activities." Of course, that's the major problem with pretty much ALL of the Illuminati retcons / continuity implants, in that Iron Man and the various other members are shown to be aware of a lot of things that they were completely ignorant of in the original stories during which those flashbacks have set. As fnord pointed out elsewhere, the Avengers / Defenders War shouldn't have taken place if Iron Man and Doctor Strange were already knew each other from the Illuminati. Matthew BradleyMay 21, 2016 3:29 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #51-53 Actually, Harmony first appeared at Jeryn's party in #50. kvetoMay 21, 2016 3:28 PM Amazing Spider-Man #211-212 Hydroman gets the award for dumbest plot ever. He's gonna check out everyone in NY by going through their shower drains until he finds Spider-man. yeah that won't take long. And does he expect spidey to be wearing his costume while he showers? I know Morrie Bench is supposed to be dumb but this takes the cake. kvetoMay 21, 2016 3:23 PM Defenders #89-91 the Mandrill could team up with Purple man and be the skeeviest supervillain power combo. ChrisMay 21, 2016 3:14 PM Captain America #355-357 The revised Mother Night and Minister Blood shows Gruenwald at his best taking old characters that were rather lame and forgettable, and putting them to good use. In essence, these are brand new characters - there is no reason they have to be Suprema and Scarbo. But reusing them puts them into good use, and there is no reason why they shouldn't be acting this way. Gruenwald would reuse a lot of old villains like this, and generally he turned them into something more interesting and more likely to be used again than their original incarnation. In retrospect, this is an "interesting" story because it showed a theme Gruenwald would use later on - Cap being transformed into something else in order to drive a plot. These are some of the weakest stories in his canon because of it, although they often did have some good ideas in them. But the means of transforming Cap into a kid and how he gets out is very intrusive. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 2:49 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #4 Interesting about Margali being Magda. However, I'm of the mind that Magda, while she did change her name to hide from Magneto, changed it to Natalya, the Scarlet Witch's retconned mother, first seen recently in SCARLET WITCH #4. I think Magda is the daughter of Django and Marya Maximoff, an unseen daughter never revealed by Django. I mean, look how similar the names Marya and Magda are. And this would explain why Magda looks exactly like Wanda, who looks exactly like Natalya, who looks exactly like Magda. This would preserve Wanda's origina, at least in regards to her mother. So far, her real father remains unrevealed. Natalya mentioned him, but didn't call him by name. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 2:19 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 I didn't see this mentioned here, but in the flashback where Erik the Red shows up to kidnap Polaris, she recognized him at the door. "Wha...you? It's impossible! It can't be!" I believe she likely recognized the Erik the Red identity, but maybe he had his helmet off and recognized him as someone she knew? Otherwise, I'd think she'd be wondering why Cyclops was standing there at her door wearing his abandoned Erik the Red disguise. "Wha...you? Scott? Why are you dressed in that thing again?" Seems odd she'd shout "That's Impossible!", unless Scott destroyed his garb in front of them, which doesn't seem likely since Erik has it here. Erik obviously knew Polaris, but maybe she knew him, too. And that's why he knew about the X-Men because she stories and such about them. Just a thought. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 2:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 Cockrum was going to use Dragonfly in a new series called Furies that he was creating, using her and several other "Marvel ladies". But alas, it never came to be. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 12:59 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Claremont was connecting this series with the X-Men at least by #9 with Deathbird and the Aerie. Even Grotesk was an old X-Men villain. And the mysterious Lord was meant to be the Shadow King/Farouk, which is the reason why he tried to kill her in UNCANNY X-MEN #266. She had turned on him and went against the Hellfire Club in MS. MARVEL #24-25 (the Coelho transaction). I suspect she got much pleasure out of shooting Reisz/Shadow King's head in X-FACTOR #69. Plus, Claremont intended on the Shadow King also controlling Mastermind in the MS. MARVEL story, as well as in UNCANNY X-MEN, so I suspect he was mighty pissed at Raven. He was controlling Mastermind in UNCANNY X-MEN #169-175, too, where he was messing around with Mystique, in addition to the X-Men, Rogue, and Destiny. Matthew BradleyMay 21, 2016 12:17 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 fnord, no biggie, but Ms. Marvel doesn't build her trap out of "magnetic bubble memory cores"; the trap is a magnetic field so powerful that it actually scrambles the MBMC around which Centurion's S.H.I.E.L.D. battle suit is designed. It's reminiscent of the grids she and Spider-Man had recently used against the Super-Skrull in MTU. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 9:33 AM New Mutants annual #6 I saw the blue girl and immediately thought of Nocturne, not that this was who that was supposed to be. I don't recall this issue, but if she wasn't named, one could just assume it was her without it being a big deal. Andrew BurkeMay 21, 2016 9:26 AM X-Factor #37 Vanguard had been resurrected in AVENGERS II#43 by his father the Presence about a year before Darkstar's death. One of Kurt Busiek and Alan Davis's issues. I remember buying and reading GENERATION X #1-3 and then I stopped, because I disliked Bachalo's art. So I have no idea how Emma was portrayed there. Did you get the EMMA FROST series? Oliver_CMay 21, 2016 4:44 AM Marvel Two-In-One #37-39 Also, that view of the Thinker's face in left profile as he hypnotises the Thing is something of a swipe from FF #100. RoderickMay 21, 2016 1:13 AM Fantastic Four #100 I read this issue this morning and the main reviewer is spot on with my views. Funnily I had more trouble keeping the cover attached to my comic than reading the story! :) Kirkby art fantastic! Brian C. SaundersMay 20, 2016 9:15 PM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Mirage) Well, aside from a costume she's never worn before and her chest that has expanded(Asgard food beats implants?) yeah, Dani looks on model. Seriously, her face is fine, but otherwise, it's a different character than the one Bret Blevins drew. Which is fine for for 90's. But it's interesting that her mutant power is barely touched upon. AFMay 20, 2016 6:31 PM Spider-Woman Origin #1-5 Nevermind, it'll be treated like a flashback, won't it. D09May 20, 2016 6:25 PM X-Factor #37 A: It seems more like Morrison disregarded her Gen-X days and just kept focus on her time in Uncanny X-Men, not to mention completely misunderstanding the "outfits" used by the Hellfire Club and going in the wrong direction from there, hence her stripper-like attitude and retconned past. AFMay 20, 2016 6:03 PM Spider-Woman Origin #1-5 And to continue on from my other post about him, you don't have Jared tagged as appearing here. AFMay 20, 2016 6:01 PM Marvel Spotlight #32 fnord, you have Jared Kurtz listed as Jared Gold. Canonically his name is definitely Kurtz: https://67.media.tumblr.com/ef23d675080e847cd3294cd6ece7127b/tumblr_o7hx2wl8GJ1tms107o1_250.jpg Based on Google searches for "Spider-woman jared gold", which mostly just turn up your site, it seems to be the name he was given in the barely in continuity Bendis origin mini (where Otto Vermis is also now known as High Evolutionary's name, and Miles Warren is there). But easy fix: Gold is an Americanized alias? AFMay 20, 2016 5:42 PM X-Factor #37 Wasn't Vanguard dead? I remember people always complain about Starblast because "it killed off Vanguard". Either way, he also came back by the time of or in Darkstar and Winter Guard. Also, you're not meant to care for Fantomex. He's meant to be like a Poochie the Dog. And even with that, he gets an alright sequence in Planet X ("Is everything you say a clich'e?"). And there's a great twist with the version of him in Here Comes Tomorrow being an enormous pathetic mess. He went from being the "poster boy of cool" to the complete opposite. (and I'm sure we're gonna debate that appearance when fnord gets to HCT) And Morrison was writing a lot of those things and trying to put them to bed. Planet X functions as the/a finale to Xavier/Magneto ("MAKE ME IMMORTAL"), Here Comes Tomorrow basically ends saying we're done with the Phoenix Force and can move on. Not to sound like a Morrison fangirl (matter of fact, his New X-Men and Marvel Boy mini is literally all I've read of his - and the latter is lousy for the first 2-3 issues), but he revolutionized the ideas of the X-Men and did the next logical step on the concepts (How many times have we seen the bad future for the X-Men? Hey, why not have a future where the entire existence of all life on Earth is reaching it's final days!) Every writer after him failed to go anywhere new and basically went back to the old ideas. I won't fault Marvel for some things. Milligan was a logical choice for successor, just he didn't seem to have anywhere near the creative freedom Morrison had and his run never really took off. Carey had his moments of legitimate potential but again they seemed to fold under pressure of crossovers or sales. Fraction at least gave us plenty of Cyke and Emma sex scenes. The rest were all dire. They were just going back to only taking inspiration from Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. Irrelevant space opera crap, dreary soap opera rubbish and nonsensical heel-faced turns from random characters (hey, remember when Bishop actually committed almost complete planetary genocide on Earth except it was in the future so it "doesn't count"?). As for Emma, I've not read much of Generation X (Marvel are reluctant to release more than 2 "Classic" trades of it, but they've no problem releasing 18 volumes of "Deadpool Classic" which are now repackaging series from 2012 and pretending they are "Classic") but from the sounds of it she got screwed over just like every other character circa the Revolution/Counter X/Warren Ellis X-Men line revamp. I can't say much about Grant Morrison's treatment of that, but his take on the character stuck and was about the only thing from his run that WASN'T immediately overturned by Austen, Claremont or Whedon (until Bendis, ughhh). I do really want to read Generation X, Emma is/was my favourite character, the first few issues, what I've read, seems to honestly not be too far off New X-Men, she's maybe a bit less conscious and caricature-esque, but I feel those early Lobdell issues read perfectly fine with what Morrison showed. But I guess it depends what you consider good Generation X comics. Lobdell and Faerber seem to be the only runs worth anything. Robinson (who I've read some issues of) basically came on just to screw up unresolved Lobdell plots, Hama's run I've honestly not heard a single positive thing about - only strongly negative and Ellis/Wood looks like and I've been told is just as directionless as Ellis' revamps of X-Force and X-Man. (Hey, let's have Warren Ellis give our X-Titles a new direction... and the direction he provides for almost all of them is "The character or team have no direction in their life"). I'm going to go to bed and cry over how Marvel's comic books are never going to be good again because they've already destroyed everything good about them irreparably. AndrewMay 20, 2016 5:37 PM Inhumans #1-2 When Iridia is exposed to the mists she apparently transforms into a lifeless husk. Freaked me out was a kid. Then it turns out it's a cocoon that Iridia emerges from. This is apparently what inspired the way all Inhumans transform now, through a chrysalis. That wasn't the norm before. DermieMay 20, 2016 4:48 PM Iron Man Legacy #6-11 I had always assumed that the idea was that The Pride had operated below the WCA's radar--that they made sure their activities didn't draw attention. Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 4:42 PM X-Factor #37 Darkstar's death certainly wasn't the worst, but in my opinion his send-off was insulting. For some reason, he didn't write Vanguard into her funeral scene. Her own brother would have been there. No reason explained, in-story or otherwise (as far as I know). And the "Who the hell is this Darkstar, anyway?" line, while understandable for a character's point of view, really got to me. It was as if the character was just plain nothing, which is an insult to those who really liked her (and I realize that may only be me and a few others). In any case, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed Morrison's run. Except for the Darkstar thing, his work was enjoyable on the book. I can't say I cared much for the students he created, like Glob and them, but I don't think they were lame. In fact, I still love the Stepford Cuckoos! Five (then three) little Emmas running around is always fun. I liked the Xorn mystery (as Morrison intended). Yes, I'm a Claremont fan. I've enjoyed all of his Marvel work, not just the X-Men. I enjoyed X-TREME X-MEN, NEW EXCALIBUR, NEW EXILES, and even NIGHTCRAWLER. But other writers did well, too, I think. I liked Alan Davis' run. Brubaker's. Fraction's. But Morrison's was well done as well. Right now, I'm a bit Xed out, so the only book I get these days is Bunn's UNCANNY X-MEN. Kordey's art was okay....but...odd. I don't like Fantomex...but that is only because I don't care much for characters of his sort. I don't like Deadpool or Cable, either. I think I read Whedon's first arc and that was it. Didn't think much of it, good or bad. I hope you're not mad at me about my opinions. To each his own, I always say. I like how passionate you are about the comics, characters, stories, and creators you love. BTW, "Here Comes Tomorrow"....I still haven't read that yet! I think back then I stopped getting the book after #150 because for some reason I thought that was his final issue. I definitely would like to read it, as I read PHOENIX ENDSONG and that spun out of some of that...I think. It's been a while. D09May 20, 2016 4:31 PM X-Factor #37 I'm still of the opinion that Morrison mangled Emma's character from her Gen-X days, not to mention the fact that both Xavier and Magneto had their heyday in the sun, but now it's time to get the X-Men away from what amounts to basically their own personal feud because they are basically plot-cancers. Put simply, I don't think Claremont, David, Morrison, and Whedon have made any significant and lasting impressions on the X-Men franchise, and if they did, the experience has been for the worst. AFMay 20, 2016 3:54 PM X-Factor #37 I bet if Claremont or Peter David had killed Darkstar off in one of their books, the whole internet wouldn't have even commented on it (or blamed that evil concept of editorial for interfering in the work of "auteurs"). Darkstar hadn't been used in any truly great capacity since her Champions days. Grant Morrison left it completely open to be overturned (and it eventually was) while also giving her an appropriate send-off in the next issue incase she never came back. If you think that is the worst death ever in comics, you've read like 4 comics in your life. People love to complain about specific things from the Grant Morrison run. "Cyke cheats on Jean" (no he doesn't), "he killed Darkstar" (how dare he!), "Magneto is a baddie" (god forbid the team's arch-nemesis be a baddie!), "he killed Jean off" (he's hardly the only one), "Fantomex is so clich'e" (that's the point), "Beak is lame" (that's the point), "the art is bad" (yet you lapped Kordey up on those Claremont books probably), "he said Beast is gay" (learn comprehensive reading please), "Here Comes Tomorrow is a DOFP rip-off that makes no sense" (get bent). Whedon's run is terrible, it's everything people want to say Grant Morrison's run is, but apparently it's the "best run since Claremont". And I'd rather Cyclops and Emma are just dead together so nobody can touch them. They're already broken beyond recognition anyway. I wish comics would just stop being a thing. It's just a frat house of friends constantly measuring up their metaphorical wangs to see who can go the furthest or do the most "important" story that will become a screenplay and get their name on a movie's opening credits. There's no love for comics from the big creators at the big two, just love for themselves and their power. Ben HermanMay 20, 2016 3:47 PM Iron Man Legacy #6-11 @Morgan Wick - The West Coast Avengers were based in Los Angeles. And for a while the Champions were also based in LA, right? Yeah, having the Pride controlling the city with an iron fist for years and keeping it free of all other superhumans only works in the Marvel Comics of the 21st century with its "screw continuity" approach. Okay, I realize that continuity should be a guide, not a straightjacket. Nevertheless, would it really have been so difficult for whoever was editing the Runaways series to say to Brian K. Vaughan "Look, this is a brilliant concept, and it's going to make for an amazing series. But maybe you might want to move the setting from LA to another west coast city like San Francisco or Portland? Because the whole thing with the Pride just doesn't work if they're in LA, what with the Avengers West and the Champions and various other heroes as well as a whole bunch of their enemies all living in that city." Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 3:39 PM X-Factor #71-73 I liked X-FACTOR for the first couple of years. After that it was okay here and there, but I didn't like David's stuff. I don't like most of his stuff right up to now, but this is because of a personal issue with the man himself as a person. I will admit, however, that I did like his SECRET WARS: FUTURE IMPERFECT and SECRET WARS 2099 minis. I liked X-FACTOR again when DeMatteis came on, and then John Francis Moore. After that, I liked it enough to get the book until the end, but Matsuda's artwork was a turn-off. So was Rouleau's. Since #149, I haven't picked up X-FACTOR since, but I did keep up with the stories and got pretty pissed reading about when David totally wrecked the hell out of Polaris. I'd love for her to show up somewhere. Maybe in UNCANNY AVENGERS. Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 3:16 PM X-Factor #37 Morrison...for a time, I hated him for killing off Darkstar in such an asinine manner. The first comic I ever read was CHAMPIONS #9, and she's been my second favorite character ever since, right after the Scarlet Witch. I was so glad David Gallaher brought her back in DARKSTAR & THE WINTER GUARD #3. Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 3:10 PM X-Factor #37 Another curiosity...Emma has yet to appear post-Secret Wars. I wonder where she is and what she's been doing? Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 3:09 PM X-Factor #37 I should probably say nowthat I'd have no problem with Cyclops coming back, as long as he was written properly. With Maddie back now, I'd love to see a story with them again, depending on the writer. AF, out of curiosity, who do you think wrote Cyclops the best? Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 3:07 PM X-Factor #37 I know Maddie wasn't her twin sister, and that he had no idea about her origin, but she still resembled Jean to the point that a lot of people thought the same thing. I just think that that alone should have been enough to keep his distance. It would be for me, but I admit he is a character and the way I see things are different than the way anyone else would see them, including Claremont or any other writer. Cyclops wise, I came to hate him due the way he's been written over the last several years, but before that I liked him. Always thought he should be the one to take Xavier's baton. It's just a shame various writers wrote him the way they've been for so long now. Too bad Claremont didn't keep Lee Forrester around. I always liked her, and I was pleasantly surprised when she showed up in CABLE later on. I believe she's with Skull the Slayer now in the Bermuda Triangle...or rather she was, until recently with the Secret Wars changes. AFMay 20, 2016 2:59 PM X-Factor #37 But he wasn't saying Emma Frost is evil and should stay dead for being rotten. D09May 20, 2016 2:56 PM X-Factor #37 @AF: Maybe Morrison got Cyclops right, but I don't think he got Emma Frost right. AFMay 20, 2016 2:32 PM X-Factor #37 But you're overlooking the fact that Madelyne was not Jean grey's twin sister and her origin was unknown to Cyclops. He thought it was just some woman who resembled his lost love. The Madelyne crap was awful, but it stems from that constantly revered "genius" Claremont being selfish and thinking if he has no use for Cyclops then no one else should use him, so marries him off and tries to retire him. The same way he did it to Banshee earlier and intended to do with Wolverine if not for Byrne's fondness. And Cyclops is not a dick, it's just most of the time morons write him to be a dick because they only saw X-Men 1 where Wolverine calls him one. He's the persistent whipping boy because idiot writers can't get a handle on a layered character. The same dumb creators who think Peter Parker has to be young, Thing has to be with Alicia Masters, people are incapable of relating to characters of different race/sex, etc. And it doesn't help that a Wolverine fanboy who got his job by writing Wolverine fanfiction got to direct the entire X-Men line for years - but then again Kieron Gillen was already killing the X-Men and Cyclops a few months before Aaron came on-board and together they killed the entire franchise and left an irreconcilable mess, not that it mattered because Bendis swooped in to get his name on another popular comic and kick it from a permanent Top 10 seller to struggle to hit the Top 25. And now we're just in the post-Ultimatum Ultimate universe stage of the X-Men books, where Marvel publish them out of obligation and to try and deny any sort of conceited effort to destroy the line. And I'm not even tackling the idea that they're burying them because of movie rights, who cares? The awful writers, stories and directions buried it all by themselves. But, Cyclops, people look at him and see a boring boy scout. Grant Morrison is probably the only writer who ever got how Cyclops works - he wasn't the boring boy scout. He was playing a "boring boy scout". He was a normal person who was forced to set an example. He was emotionally detached from his persona as the spotless poster boy leader of mutant superheroes who was stuck in a loveless cuckold marriage because he felt it was his duty to be the perfect superhero with the storybook romance. He was a man who could snap at any minute because he had no outlet for who he REALLY was. And then he found Emma Frost and that allowed him to be himself and not what people expected of him. But no people only see it as CYKE IS AN EVIL MAN WHO CHEATED ON HIS WIFE WITH A STRIPPER and are happy to ignore their sacred cow banging anything that moves at the first chance she gets when Cyclops is "dead" or "being a dick". But, nah, writers don't get Cyclops. They decide he'd be better as an insane fascist because it's easier to just make a random character insane and evil to elicit false drama, than write actual thoughtful stories utilizing the characters. Oliver_CMay 20, 2016 11:57 AM Hulk #363 Super-healing really shouldn't help when every atom in your body is transmuted simultaneously. (Is Wolverine exempt from the Gargoyle's petrification as well?) I suppose Banner becoming the Hulk might conceivably have broken the spell though. Andrew BurkeMay 20, 2016 11:55 AM X-Factor #37 Scott's mistreatment of Madelyne had already started not long after he got back from Secret Wars, although it wasn't as bad as it got later, by X-FACTOR #1. He should never had married her, or even gotten involved with her to begin with, really. I lost my girlfriend three years ago, and she had a twin sister I never met, as they had a falling out ten years prior and never spoke to one another again. Well, her sister tried to get in touch with me after she found out about Marlena's death, but I made myself unavailable because just because the very idea of seeing the woman rattled me because she was my deceased girlfriend's twin. I couldn't even imagine befriending the woman or being involved with her in any way just because of that. I still think I made the right decision to this day. So Scott meeting Madelyne and becoming involved with as far as he did is just....off-putting. He should have known trouble would come down the road at some point, but people do what people do. And I hate betrayal, so I not only feel that Madelyne had every right to hate Scott, even make him pay, but I feel Scott should have been made to suffer a very long time instead of being absolved of his actions. It's interesting later how much of a "Nazi" this guy became and how repellent he was throughout the last 5-10 years or so. He's supposedly dead now and should remain that way, as far as I'm concerned. His time has come and gone, and they now have young Cyclops to take his place. AFMay 20, 2016 8:30 AM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Mirage) Jeph Loeb tossing stuff aside? That's unheard of. MichaelMay 20, 2016 8:19 AM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Mirage) I don't think Nicieza was referring to this story- I think he actually did have an idea to explain why Dani was thrown out of Asgard but Jeph Loeb tossed aside all of his plots when he took over X-Force and never bothered to explain anything. Erik BeckMay 20, 2016 7:34 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 So, Clint knew he would have feelings of inadequacy and wore a Goliath costume made with unstable molecules under his regular costume? AFMay 20, 2016 3:06 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #36 Honestly, the selective continuity is the least of the problems with the idea. Jon DubyaMay 20, 2016 2:45 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #36 The idiot writing Captain America now has Constrictor dying of cancer and Diamondback working as a stripper to pay his hospital bills. Wait, what? Even ignoring that this would be the THIRD insinuation of Diamondback having to use her sexuality to achieve things, I could have sworn that she and the Constrictor broke up near the end of Avengers: The Initiative when a "Misunderstanding" made it look like she was running back to Captain America (which was also the time Constrictor decided that there was no point being a "good guy" since he could never "compete" with somneone like Cap, correct?) But, gah?! Jon DubyaMay 20, 2016 2:20 AM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Mirage) "And Joe Madureira's art is nice but his Dan Moonstar is practically unrecognizable." ??? Fnord12, you must not have read a lot of X-Force, because this is generally how Dani Moonstar looks in the 90s X-books (in fact add a face mask this is pretty much her exact costume when she returns in X-Force.) Jon DubyaMay 20, 2016 2:11 AM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Mirage) Which is odd because Dani did "go home" shortly after this (X-Force #27) and claimed that she was "ejected from Asgard." (Methinks that might have been Nicieza once again not actually reading the plot he's vaguely referencing.) TCPMay 19, 2016 10:14 PM Fantastic Four #136-137 I never realized that the Wild One and McHammer were intended to be the bickering father and son, but that actually makes a lot of sense. However, I also think McHammer is a clear reference to Joseph McCarthy; his head henchman is even named Kone, a nod to Roy Cohn, McCarthy's chief counsel and infamous attorney. I didn't expect a lot from this story but ended up really enjoying it. Just as it proceeds directly from the end of the Gideon story, it also carries a seed of that story along by continuing to show the dangers of nuclear weapons. This story is filled with WoMDs -- the Warhead created by an Einstein lookalike, the FF themselves being used by either side in a war, and even the Shaper, who cannot create but only be used to fulfill the dreams of others (and who is eventually revealed to be an extension of yet another potential weapon -- the Cosmic Cube). In the end, though, the Shaper takes his power and gives it to the future generation, in the form of Thomas, to decide how to use. Heady stuff, dad. RobertMay 19, 2016 8:22 PM Marvel Comics Presents #120 (Spider-Man) Or the Zodiac Killer: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Zodiac_blog_2100x147.jpg MichaelMay 19, 2016 8:18 PM Marvel Comics Presents #111 (Iron Fist) He was also the editor behind Marvel's 2099 line, which premiered a few months after this story saw print. Ben HermanMay 19, 2016 4:55 PM Marvel Comics Presents #120 (Spider-Man) Holy crap, Spider-Man is actually... Steve Ditko?!? http://estaticos02.elmundo.es/especiales/2014/cultura/spiderman/img/stan_kirby4.jpg Ben HermanMay 19, 2016 4:49 PM Marvel Comics Presents #119 (Wonder Man) The look on Mojo's face as he's watching Wonder Man's "pretty unique acting style" is hysterical. Morgan WickMay 19, 2016 4:24 PM Marvel Comics Presents #121 (Andromeda) I get why the dialogue balloons are as they are, but it looks like everyone's "thinking" to each other. Oliver_CMay 19, 2016 2:53 PM Marvel Comics Presents #119-120 (Constrictor) Clearly the secret inspiration for 2014's 'Birdman' movie. MortificatorMay 19, 2016 2:50 PM Marvel Comics Presents #117-122 (Wolverine) So this is where the Maxx, the Leopard Queen and Mr. Gone came from. Ben HermanMay 19, 2016 2:05 PM Marvel Comics Presents #117-122 (Wolverine) In hindsight, it's amazing that it took over four years for Marvel to have Wolverine meet Venom, considering how insanely popular they both were, and that when they *did* finally cross paths it was in MCP and not in some big crossover between the X-Men and Spider-Man titles. This was such an odd, low-key way in which to bring the two of them together that I actually enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't especially excited about Sam Kieth's pervious work on MCP, but his art was a perfect fit for this utterly bizarre story. Kanda strange that he gave Nightmare a loooong neck and a beer belly, but I guess that it fits the exaggerated, cartoony unreality of this serial. that last panel fnord shows of Wolverine popping his claws through Nightmare's head is actually quite funny, in a really twisted sort of way. Ben HermanMay 19, 2016 1:51 PM Marvel Comics Presents #119-120 (Constrictor) Time for a funny story. When I was in high school and college, I was a prolific letterhack. One of the titles I wrote into regularly was MCP, and they published nearly all of my letters... probably because I was one of the few people actually writing in :) Anyway, when I was dashing off a letter about these issues, I disparagingly observed that the artwork on this story made the Constrictor's nose look like a huge beak. Obviously I was *not* paying too much attention to the credits, otherwise I would have realized that penciler Mark Powers was also the book's assistant editor. Fast forward a few months and my letter got published... again, probably because they didn't have too much fan mail to choose from. Whoever was writing the lettercol responses, probably Mark Powers, unsurprisingly had an extremely testy reply to my comments about the Constrictor's schnozz. Ah, well, live and learn! TCPMay 19, 2016 12:22 PM Marvel Comics Presents #120 (Spider-Man) And now the poor kid is smoking! This never would've happened if his mom had let him see more horror movies... JoeMay 19, 2016 11:29 AM Marvel Comics Presents #119 (Wonder Man) In the word balloon with "lawsuit city" I first thought the "u" in lawsuit was an "h" and wondered how such filth got through the censors. fnord12May 19, 2016 11:02 AM Marvel Comics Presents #111 (Iron Fist) He had recently become the editor of Moon Knight. Mark DrummondMay 19, 2016 11:00 AM Marvel Comics Presents #111 (Iron Fist) Joey Cavalieri's presence here is extremely strange. He was basically a longtime exclusively DC guy, and I think he'd already been an editor there for a few years when this saw print. Jon DubyaMay 19, 2016 10:51 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Wolverine) Hee. I wondef if Mark Millar read this? JoeMay 19, 2016 10:10 AM Marvel Comics Presents #120 (Spider-Man) I remember a Fred Hembeck one-pager with this very premise, right down to basically the same punchline. Can't remember if it was in conjunction with Spidey's 30th anniversary or not. fnord12May 19, 2016 7:58 AM New Mutants #77-80,82-85 Can you say which Handbook, Moira? I see them still being listed as separate characters in places like the Marvel Appendix and the Marvel Wiki, so if i'm going to merge them i need to be able to cite my source. Moira BrandonMay 19, 2016 7:53 AM New Mutants Special Edition #1 The valkyrie Mist is another name of Krista, Hildegarde's sister. Moira BrandonMay 19, 2016 7:51 AM New Mutants #77-80,82-85 Its said in a OHOTMU that Mist (the valkyrie who helps the New Mutants) is really another name of Kirsta, the valkyrie appeared in Thor #217, sister of Hildegarde. Oliver_CMay 19, 2016 6:42 AM Marvel Comics Presents #115 (Cloak & Dagger) I look at the standard of some of these MCP stories, and I feel better about my friends and I self-publishing our own little comic. Omar KarinduMay 19, 2016 6:15 AM Daredevil #218 The first Jester's actually been back a few times, first using his gimmicks legitimately as a very flashy process server in Bob Gale's brief Daredevil arc in the Marvel Knights era of the title, then as a possession victim in a very strange Bendis story, and finally as an outright villain (drawing heavily on Marvel Wolfman's portrayal in DD v.1 #134-137) in Mark Waid's Daredevil run. Don CampbellMay 19, 2016 3:15 AM Nick Fury vs. SHIELD #1-6 You know, I could have sworn that I had commented on this miniseries before but then I remembered that those comments were about the Fury one-shot and how it related to this miniseries. Anyway, the one thing that REALLY bothers me is how everyone (even Bob Harras in the second NFAOS series) keeps referring to the Deltites as LMDs. Life Model Decoys are androids, robots designed to look like real human beings on the outside but being mechanical/electronic on the inside. In contrast, the Deltites, although artificially created through genetic engineering, were organic beings who aged and died. They may have been parasites who sucked memories and/or life force from their templates but they were definitely alive and not robotic and therefore not LMDs. Unfortunately, everyone seems to overlook this fact. It's quite frustrating that this misconception is so persistent. BobMay 18, 2016 11:30 PM Marvel Comics Presents #115 (Cloak & Dagger) Marvel in the 90s, hiring random passersby on the street to draw the books. Erik RobbinsMay 18, 2016 9:03 PM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Giant-Man) I had forgotten that Foster and Josten had come into conflict. Years later, Foster's nephew and Atlas would work together in Wonder Man's ill-conceived anti-Avengers team. Jay GallardoMay 18, 2016 8:26 PM Daredevil #218 The Jester (Or at least his civilian identity, Jonathan Powers) has been brought back in Cicil War II # 1 MichaelMay 18, 2016 8:24 PM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Giant-Man) I agree with fnord that the way this story treats Foster's scientific abilities is horrible. Lie groups are a real thing. If you're going to have your super-scientist be ignorant of something, it should be a made-up concept, not a real-life concept that some of your audience has heard of. Jay TMay 18, 2016 7:06 PM Nick Fury vs. SHIELD #1-6 I just get past the colors. It's so washed out looking! The first book looks fine, book two gets kinda pale. By the time you get to book four there are panels that are plain b&w next to a panel that's monotone or duo-tone. It's very distracting. I know it's 80s printing: compared to the digital color separations of today it's not the same at all but come on! clydeMay 18, 2016 3:52 PM Damage Control #1-4 Finally, Marvel is making this into a t.v. show - "Marvel's Damage Control" kvetoMay 18, 2016 3:05 PM Marvel Comics Presents #114 (Arabian Knight) Who says he couldn't just get more wives when the old ones got killed off? Should we be making fun of just the story? Or should we be making fun of the practice as well? Ben HermanMay 18, 2016 1:41 PM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Ghost Rider) Nice artwork by Shawn McManus on this, at least. RobertMay 18, 2016 1:36 PM Marvel Comics Presents #115 (Cloak & Dagger) Art like this makes me want to vomit. RobertMay 18, 2016 1:33 PM Marvel Comics Presents #114 (Arabian Knight) I wonder if a story like this is done to hold onto a copyright or something. I can't imagine someone actually wanted to write a throwaway story about a throwaway character like Arabian Knight. Oliver_CMay 18, 2016 1:31 PM Marvel Comics Presents #114 (Arabian Knight) Why do we still give Herge a hard time for 80-year-old Tintin stories? Because it takes our mind off stuff a lot closer to home. Erik BeckMay 18, 2016 12:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #297 One of my favorite X-Men issues ever and probably my favorite not written by Claremont or Whedon. It does a great job of balancing the humor and the pathos. It makes great use of two characters, Jubilee and Xavier, that I normally don't care for. I agree with Michael - the joke about the Foster Grants is hilarious (one of my all-time favorite lines) as long as you don't think too hard about it. BerendMay 18, 2016 10:42 AM Marvel Comics Presents #114 (Arabian Knight) Good lord... I'd say what I really think about this story, but that would take to many profanities. clydeMay 18, 2016 9:34 AM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Ghost Rider) I was going with a "D'" name theme only. Oliver_CMay 18, 2016 9:16 AM Daredevil #271-273 "A bad writer can't ruin great art." I don't know. Ever heard of Neal Adams' 'Skateman'? Ben HermanMay 18, 2016 9:02 AM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Giant-Man) I originally believed that this was written & drawn a couple of years earlier, since I thought that Ron Wilson had left comic books in the late 1980s. But looking about, I see he did have several credits at Marvel in the early 1990s. I guess that Wilson was unfortunately considered out of style with all the Image-inspired artists coming onto the scene, but he was solid & dependable enough that he could still get assignments on stuff like MCP stories and some of Marvel's other lower-profile books. I always liked Wilson's work. He was a good storyteller with a clean style. It's too bad that those sort of qualities fell out of favor in the 1990s. For me, at least, he will always be one of the definitive artists to draw The Thing. Ben HermanMay 18, 2016 8:54 AM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Ghost Rider) clyde, how could you leave out D-Man? :) clydeMay 18, 2016 8:46 AM Marvel Comics Presents #113-118 (Ghost Rider) I would love to see a team-up with D'Kay, D'Gard, D'ken,D'Spayre & D'Von Kray. They could call themselves the "D-Team";). fnord12May 18, 2016 7:49 AM Fantastic Four annual #18 Thanks Don. fnord12May 18, 2016 7:47 AM Marvel Comics Presents #106 (Gabriel) Well, i guess i thought it was ambiguous because the demon doesn't seem to react to Gabriel at first, but then when it looks at him more closely (Oh? Yes -- Yes!) it suddenly starts claiming it's the demon that plucked out his eye, and it lies about Andrea being in Hell. So i figured the demon could just be lying about everything to get Gabriel's goat. But that's probably way too much thought for a Marvel Comics Presents story and i should just go with the simplest explanation that it is indeed Catherine. fnord12May 18, 2016 7:38 AM Marvel Comics Presents #104 (USAgent) Thanks Michael. I've tagged the character and added a note in the Considerations. Erik BeckMay 18, 2016 7:30 AM X-Force #18 Yeah, count me among the people yelling at the end of the book "Just admit that Cable is Scott's son!" It was a frustrating finale to what was overall a pretty good crossover. The minion of Sinister's who opens the Legacy Virus always reminded me of the blond telekinetic kid in Fallen Angels. Oliver_CMay 18, 2016 5:24 AM Marvel Comics Presents #103 (Rintrah) Larry Alexander draws a very hairy, piggy Rintrah! Don CampbellMay 18, 2016 3:06 AM Fantastic Four #271-273 The story in Fantastic Four Annual #11 revealed that Reed Richards was forced to return Doom's time machine to him (due to Doom's diplomatic immunity) but that Reed had been able to duplicate the device before returning it. This return presumably took place after Fantastic Four #19 and before Avengers #56. So that explains why there's one of "Doom's time machine" in both the Baxter Building and Doom's castle in upstate New York. And, of course, other versions in Doom's castle(s) in Latveria as well. Don CampbellMay 18, 2016 2:24 AM Avengers #246-248 It's worth mentioning that, three years before this story was published, there was a series of Untold Tales of the Marvel Universe that appeared in some issues of the first What If...? series. The ones in issues #26-28 were written by Mark Gruenwald and revealed that the civilizations on Uranus (from old Marvel Boy stories) and Titan (from Thanos stories) were actually established by first generation Eternals who had been exiled from Earth after they lost that civil war in pre-history. So that "last survivor of an ancient race" on Titan who married Alars/Mentor was also an Eternal. Don CampbellMay 18, 2016 2:03 AM Fantastic Four annual #18 The Skrull empress in the transmission is not Princess Anelle, it's her mother, Empress R'Klll, who was killed by Galactus at the same time as Anelle. Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 9:48 PM Marvel Comics Presents #111 (Iron Fist) Thus begins Iron Fist's association with MCP, which would last for some time. A few issues from now he has a six-part team-up with Ghost Rider, immediately followed by two back to back solo serials, and then several eight page stories of a very underwhelming quality. As a result, for a few months every single issue of MCP had Wolverine, Ghost Rider and Iron Fist, which got dull quite quickly. I wonder what the behind the scenes reasons were for this. I remember seeing in the letters pages and other places that Iron Fist, following on from his revival in Namor the Sub-Mariner, was supposed to get a new ongoing series. At one point Jae Lee was supposed to draw it. But it never actually materialized. Instead we had a three issue Spider-Man / Iron Fist team-up drawn by Lee, and after that Daniel Rand took up residency in MCP for a while. It felt like someone at Marvel really wanted to promote Iron Fist, but the best they could get was a slot in MCP. Erik RobbinsMay 17, 2016 9:23 PM Marvel Comics Presents #112 (Pip) I believe that's what I assumed as well when I first read this way back when. Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 9:23 PM Marvel Comics Presents #105 (Thing) It's too bad that the Thing wasn't used more often in MCP. Ben Grimm has unfortunately never been popular enough to carry a solo ongoing series for an extended length of time, so a semi-regular spot in this title could have been a good thing. That might also have worked with the Human Torch. Ah, missed opportunities! Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 9:06 PM Marvel Comics Presents #101 (Punisher) As someone who has the entire run of MCP, I found it interesting that Wolverine and Ghost Rider, despite already being very over-exposed in the early 1990s, both became regular stars in what was supposed to be an anthology series. Yet somehow MCP managed to avoid doing the same thing with the Punisher, only giving him a couple of eight-page stories. Always thought that was a remarkable example of restraint on the part of Terry Kavanagh :) MichaelMay 17, 2016 8:47 PM Marvel Comics Presents #112 (Pip) Fnord, there's another alternative you might not have thought of- Pip had the Space gem at this point, right? He could have used it to teleport out. Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 8:45 PM Marvel Comics Presents #102 (Phantom Rider) @Bob - Agreed with you. Dave Hoover was a really good artist who unfortunately passed away much too young. MichaelMay 17, 2016 8:22 PM Marvel Comics Presents #106 (Gabriel) Fnord, when you reviewed Gabriel's first appearance in Haunt of Horror 2, I commented that Catherine, the demon that forced Gabriel to pluck out his eye, reappears in this story. You replied that it was ambiguous and you'd discuss it more when you got to 1992. Well, it's time. :) MichaelMay 17, 2016 7:58 PM Marvel Comics Presents #104 (USAgent) Fnord, I think the Peacemonger in this story is supposed to be the same one from the American Eagle story in Marvel Comics Presents 27- it's a black guy who absorbs hatred, and Lobdell wrote the American Eagle story. MichaelMay 17, 2016 7:55 PM Marvel Comics Presents #103 (Rintrah) Um, Stephen, the entire point of Macbeth is that Macbeth SHOULDN'T have listened to the witches. BobMay 17, 2016 6:06 PM Silver Surfer #70-75 Love Lim, but the way he drew Nova with a hollowed out head was just odd. Did Galactus remove her brains after Byrne quit drawing her? BobMay 17, 2016 5:55 PM Marvel Comics Presents #102 (Phantom Rider) The art here is actually better than most mainline books at the time, where Image knockoffs had turned every character into pouched, roided out freaks kvetoMay 17, 2016 3:52 PM Marvel Comics Presents #107 (Red Wolf) I know its the right term but "Blackfoots" is still funny. kvetoMay 17, 2016 3:49 PM Marvel Comics Presents #104 (USAgent) Is zero stars an option? Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 1:27 PM Marvel Comics Presents #100 Some of the artwork by Sam Kieth on this story is beautiful and wonderfully detailed, and in other parts it looks really rushed & sketchy. It's very inconsistent. I didn't remember Tim Vigil co-inking this. Since it was probably seven or eight years before I discovered Faust: Love of the Damned, back in 1992 his name would not have leaped out at me. I do wish that Vigil could have done more work for Marvel (or DC) because his style is so totally at odds with mainstream superheroes, and he would probably have drawn some really distinctive stories. Doctor Doom's disapproving dialogue to his servant seems like Howard Mackie attempting to cover for the fact that Kieth unexpectedly drew her as a sexy, half-naked French maid. One thing about Kieth's depiction of Ghost Rider that always annoyed the hell out of me was that he gave him these gigantic shoulders. It always looked to me like Ghost Rider had this long, heavy block of wood just sitting there. it's *very* glaring on his various MCP covers. I do have to admit that I love Dan Ketch's line "Hey, this is my dream! I'm done with you and your transformations. Bring on the dancing girls, a dragon or something." That crowd in fancy dress with the comically large machine guns (complete with wacky sound effects) also makes me chuckle. Ben HermanMay 17, 2016 1:15 PM Marvel Comics Presents #101-109 (Young Gods) Things that I have learned from fnord's site... Since I didn't begin reading comic book regularly until the late 1980s, I thought the Young Gods had made their first and only appearance in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8. It wasn't until I read fnord's entry on this MCP serial that I found out that most of them were very obscure characters from early 1970s issues of Thor. I had no idea Gerry Conway ever even wrote Thor. I'm in no hurry to find any of those issues. I get the impression that Thor was a rather mediocre series at that time. Also, when I read this MCP serial, I was curious if Nauda of the Silver Hand had ever appeared in any previous stories, especially as there was a flashback showing him with Thor. I'm deducing by the lack of a character tag for Nauda that this was his first and only appearance. I wonder if this serial was originally going to run a year or two earlier, when MCP was first starting out, and for whatever reason it just got delayed until this point. As fnord observes, by 1992 Conway had once again left Marvel. I don't recall Tom Sutton doing any work for Marvel during the 1990s, either. Maybe he started drawing this after the Man-Thing serial, and for whatever reason never finished it, so Terry Kavanagh had Scott Kollins & Jon Holdredge finish it. Sutton had such a bizarre, eerie, distinctive style, so the shift to Kollins' work, which at this time early in his career was very conventional, is rather abrupt. But I really can't think of any artist who would have made for a smooth transition from Sutton. Erik BeckMay 17, 2016 12:10 PM X-Men #16 @Matt - I'm gonna try to save Nicieza and win a no-prize. I'll call it "dramatic license" (on Logan's part), that's his rib isn't really shattered, but that the force of the blow moved his rib and punctured his lung. So it feels like it's been shattered and it does puncture his lung without actually breaking an adamantium rib which we know couldn't happen. Mark DrummondMay 17, 2016 10:32 AM ROM #36-37 Possibly the first published art by Evan Dorkin appears on the letters page to #37. Brian C. SaundersMay 17, 2016 10:10 AM Fantastic Four #366 Had Johnny ever spent enough time in any college subplot, he might have, one far distant year, decided on a major. Alas, that might be character development, so he always stops going first. MidnighterMay 17, 2016 9:58 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Wolverine) I have the impression that more than the plot Liefeld did the layouts of this story. The panels and the poses of the characters seem to me far more his style than Valentino's. fnord12May 17, 2016 8:21 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Puck) @Brian, unfortunately i believe the story was meant to be a continuity insert, for the reasons i describe in the Considerations. I can't help that a continuity insert undercuts a first appearance or other dramatic revelation, as much as i may like to. One clarifications, in case i wasn't clear on something: He's only called Razer, not Black Raazer, in this story (although i think one of his powers is the ability to have his named spelled differently with each appearance). @Michael, he also says that he's 71 in issue #32. I've pushed this forward a bit so that it's closer to issue #32 (although with the sliding timescale it probably doesn't need to be that close). But the age does confirm it's meant to take place somewhere relatively near to issue #32. The debate for me is whether it goes before or after, and since Puck talks about the death of Guardian and Heather taking on the leadership role as if they were relatively new, i think it should go before. MichaelMay 17, 2016 7:59 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Puck) For what it's worth, Puck said he was born in 1914 in Alpha Flight 32, and he's said to be 71 in this story, so... Jay GallardoMay 17, 2016 7:45 AM Fantastic Four #366 What was Johnny studying in college anyway? fnord12May 17, 2016 7:29 AM Marvel Two-In-One #78 Agree, thanks Jake. Erik BeckMay 17, 2016 7:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #296 I never liked Bishop's explanation of mutants hiding with non-mutants. How would hiding help? The Sentinels can always scan for you. Yes, they might be less inclined to scan a non-mutant home, but still, I don't think it works. George LochinskiMay 17, 2016 6:46 AM Nomad #4 Oh ok, I see...yeah, that was who I meant. david banesMay 17, 2016 1:54 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Puck) Haven't read this but I think Puck and Pip need to team up. Brian C. SaundersMay 17, 2016 1:06 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Puck) I don't feel very strongly about this, but doesn't predating this story before Raazer's first appearance(let alone before he acquired the "Black" part of his name) kind of elevate this story higher than it should be? I agree that Puck shouldn't be losing control of Raazer, but if he was going to start, if this was closer to issue 50, then it would be a mediocre story foreshadowing a really bad, but important story, instead of Raazer's first appearance. I mean, Marvel Comics Presents didn't go into production until 1987. It's fair that it should be backdated, but unless it was specifically meant to be flashback story, it undercuts the reveal of that the first Raazer story had. Anyway, just my 2 cents. cullenMay 17, 2016 12:44 AM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Spider-Man) Purely speculating, but maybe it was a try-out story for the writer and/or the penciler? (I don't recognize either name, but i'm willing to concede ignorance!) BillMay 16, 2016 11:05 PM Marvel Comics Presents #100 Ugh! I never liked Sam Kieth's artwork. It's a headache to look at and his characters all look deformed. How he ever got work on superhero comics is beyond me. Dave77May 16, 2016 10:33 PM Spider-Woman #27-29 Never been aware of Enforcer before, but now that I've seen him, I really like his costume. Simple, but cool. Andrew FMay 16, 2016 9:15 PM Uncanny X-Men #46 I thought this would be the death of Agent Duncan, too...Juggy picks him up by the throat, slams his head into the ceiling, and then tosses him out a closed window. Luckily he shows up later and says he just needs some liniment... MichaelMay 16, 2016 8:20 PM Marvel Comics Presents #99 (Spider-Man) One thing puzzles me about this- what was this story originally intended for? Peter switched back to the red-and-blues in Amazing Spider-Man 300, which was published four months before Marvel Comics Presents 1. So were they soliciting stories for Marvel Comics Presents considerably in advance of the first issue? Or was this intended for another series, and if so, what? Jake AmidonMay 16, 2016 8:07 PM Marvel Two-In-One #78 Beast and Wonder Man are working out at Avengers Mansion so this should be before Avengers #211 RikFenixMay 16, 2016 7:51 PM Web of Spider-Man annual #1 Not the best Nocenti work for sure, but certainly not bad.. the silly dialogue by the villain hurt this one a bit. And I agree this story is VERY Nocenti! Omar KarinduMay 16, 2016 7:17 PM Avengers annual #11 I would guess "Saturnalia" was a mistake and Supernalia was always the intended name, since "supernal" means "of or pertaining to the stars or the heavens." That way Nebulon and his wife both have star-related names. MortificatorMay 16, 2016 6:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #1 Jean seems pretty tough to me, even early on. She casually lifts and spins Hank around within pages of her first appearance, which would be a hell of a feat for normal human muscles. Just within the original Lee/Kirby run, she topples Sentinels and a Tyrannosaur and yanks Angel right out of the sky, which should decisively establish her as more powerful than him. AFMay 16, 2016 5:36 PM Avengers annual #11 Supernalia was originally called Saturnalia in the "SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTION" advertising this annual in Avengers #225. AFMay 16, 2016 5:24 PM Avengers #225-226 Balor will also reappear in Thunderbolts many many years down the line: https://66.media.tumblr.com/4ad73df81e6b9f933fd87776fa4c4284/tumblr_o7agrdVgzD1tms107o1_540.jpg fnord12May 16, 2016 3:34 PM Nomad #4 George, i believe that's Silvermane on page 16. I've added a scan to the bottom of this entry. If you're talking about the other, shadowed, images of Tolliver in this issue, i take that to just be a way of trying to keep his features hidden even though it's a bit implausible. So i don't think we're meant to get any revelations out of what we do see. Ben HermanMay 16, 2016 1:36 PM What's Missing That darn Thanos! I bet he also claims that it wasn't really him in Spidey Super Stories, but one of his Thanosi duplicates. C'mon, Thanos, own up to it :) AFMay 16, 2016 1:15 PM New Mutants #18-20 Yeah, poor Claremont with all his genius ideas that he never bothered to tell in the 11 years he had on the book... Andrew BurkeMay 16, 2016 11:55 AM New Mutants #18-20 Agreed. The only real evidence is that single shard of Naze's face in UX #273 that indicated (to me) that the Shadow King and the Adversary were the same since the other two images showed Farouk and Jacob Reisz, two of his other avatars. Claremont was sneaky that way, using a single image created by the artist to reveal various plot points he had in mind (but never actually revealed in narration or dialogue). So basically, since there wasn't any further indications, one can ignore that panel these images are in, so it's completely understandable why anyone else would (or even overlook it completely). Several years ago, I made a gigantic profile on the Shadow King for my own use that incorporates everything I've seen and read, plus the stuff I've read regarding Claremont's original intentions in various profiles, so I tend to see things the way they were intended rather than as they became in regards to this character. I had to go through all of his appearances and add in all of Claremont's intentions and whatnot to piece it all together. Took a long time, but I do this kind of thing for fun and as a way to keep track of information and also as a way to enjoy all of the material. Don CampbellMay 16, 2016 11:12 AM New Mutants #18-20 For what it's worth, the profile on the Shadow King at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe website does not even mention either Naze or the Adversary, and they're usually VERY thorough about all such things. Andrew BurkeMay 16, 2016 10:20 AM New Mutants #18-20 @Nathan Yes, that is Naze seen in the shard! I recently read the original story with him, and he sure sounds like the Shadow King to me. Same thing with Elias Bogan, who enslaved Rachel Summers, someone the Shadow King had been interested in for a very long time due to the Phoenix Force. This takes us back to UNCANNY X-MEN in the early 120s when the Shadow King was intended by Claremont to have been manipulating Mastermind into seducing Jean to get to the Phoenix Force. This explains Mastermind's power upgrade much better than that mindtap mechanism that enabled him to project illusions directly inside Jean's mind and monitor her thoughts. I mean, he took on Cyclops in a psychic sword fight and beat him badly,something this mindtap device shouldn't have allowed him to be able to do, as it only enhanced his illusion casting abilities and allowed him to monitor Jean's thoughts. In addition, Mastermind was actually attempting to seduce Carol Danvers first, not Jean Grey, which was all a part of the Shadow King's plan to maneuver Carol/Ms. Marvel into a battle with the Hellfire Club, and more particularly Rogue, but that plot wasn't finished because MS. MARVEL was cancelled. Claremont continued the plot with Jean, but he was likely heading towards Jean anyway. The Shadow King most definitely was controlling Mastermind during UNCANNY X-MEN #168-175. He wanted Rogue on the X-Men team to be his sleeper agent, so he used Mastermind's desire for revenge to get things going there. This was subtly revealed in the dialogue and images in X-TREME X-MEN ANNUAL 2001, where his plan came to fruition, albeit not in the original way Claremont had intended. Another clue to the Shadow King's involvement in the Phoenix Saga: The psychic armor he wore in UNCANNY X-MEN #117 had a phoenix insignia on his helmet. So he knew about the Phoenix Force prior to his involvement with Xavier (this was before X-MEN:TRUE FRIENDS had been conceived). And, as I believe Nathan pointed out, we also have the island of Kirinos mixed in as well. Back to the Adversary...as he has been used again in later stories, in both X-FACTOR and in CABLE AND X-FORCE, by different writers, I'd say the Adversary is a separate character now. Same thing with the Demon Bear. Oh, and the Shadow King's interest in Rachel continued in NEW EXCALIBUR when he took over the body of an alternate reality Professor X and used his corrupted Shadow-X X-Men team against Rachel, Kitty, and New Excalibur in the first 8 issues. So it's been shown that the Shadow King has used many a person to front for him throughout his activities. Farouk, Mastermind, the Adversary, Elias Bogan, alternate Professor X. Others. Technically using the same villain all the time is overkill, but with different front men it can be pulled off because each front man has their own backstory and personality to add to things. But I guess we can chalk all this up to perception, as each reader can read a book and see different things, making it so one person's account of the story just as interesting as another's. :) clydeMay 16, 2016 8:22 AM Captain Marvel #1 Oliver - I agree. If anything, I think X-Ray is more powerful than Monica. X-Ray has the power to expel various forms of heavy radiation in the form of very potent blasts. That is what he would do without thinking. Oliver_CMay 16, 2016 8:08 AM Captain Marvel #1 If X-Ray of the U-Foes -- who's intangible all the time, not just when concentrating -- isn't regarded as too powerful, why should Monica? Erik BeckMay 16, 2016 8:04 AM X-Factor #85 I wonder if Scott Lobdell read this one and said "I just had Jean explain to Warren that he controls the wings! You can't have his wings then just kill someone without him knowing it!" George LochinskiMay 16, 2016 8:00 AM Nomad #4 Is there any historical significance to the glimpse of Tolliver's face on pg 16? I know he isn't Apocalypse, but he looks kind of like him in panel 7...I'm not 100% on what kind of games the X-staff were trying to play w/ Tolliver & Tyler back then, or if they'd revealed his face in any earlier appearances... fnord12May 16, 2016 7:55 AM Avengers #291-294 This is explicitly stated in the Kang saga back-ups by Peter Sanderson in the backs of the Citizen Kang annuals. See the final scan in Avengers annual #21. TuomasMay 16, 2016 7:35 AM Avengers #291-294 Isn't that pretty much confirmed by the fact that several of the Kangs we see are clearly not human? I don't think there are too many parallel Earths where some other species than humans are the dominant one, so this would imply that the non-human Kangs at least were not the original Kangs of their respective timelines. fnord12May 16, 2016 7:26 AM What's Missing I've covered it like 5 times, but Thanos keeps undoing it with the Time gem. RikFenixMay 15, 2016 10:09 PM West Coast Avengers annual #1 Definitely not as strong as part 1 but still enjoyable. The Zodiac were pretty lame and I wanted to see the Gyrich stuff explored further. Strange point in Quicksilver's career, that's for sure RikFenixMay 15, 2016 9:59 PM Avengers annual #15 Wasn't familiar with this story, really enjoyed it. Massive cast with an epic feel to it. Interesting Freedom Force defeated a combined Avengers team. Ditko's faces are very weird in this but not enough to detract too much though. MichaelMay 15, 2016 8:13 PM X-Force #18 Darren- the Clone Saga was relatively popular at first- the outrage started when Peter turned out to be the clone and hit MJ, and that was only two months before the Crossing. Ben HermanMay 15, 2016 7:04 PM What's Missing fnord, you're missing Spider Super Stories #39, which features the historic first appearance of the Thanos Copter... http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/06/14/i-lova-ya-but-youre-strange-2/ And don't any of you dare tell me this story isn't considered canonical:P The GoblinMay 15, 2016 6:51 PM Avengers annual #21 wow well you've got to give Herb Trimpe credit. it isn't any worse than anything else Image was doing at the time specifically the Extreme studios. and Dan Panosian inked.. whoa The GoblinMay 15, 2016 6:44 PM Digitek #1-4 I have never heard of this comic book in my life. ChrisWMay 15, 2016 2:28 PM New Mutants #93-94 Or Cable's son? And please tell me Cable's baby mamma was blonde or brunette, please? Omar KarinduMay 15, 2016 1:35 PM New Mutants #18-20 Additionally, Claremont elsewhere has someone describe the Shadow King as a creature that wants to reduce existence to mechanistic *order* (presumably by corrupting and then controlling all sentient life); he's the antithesis of the Adversary if that's the case. It'd also be weird for Roma to declare the Adversary "bound for an age" at the end of the Uncanny X-Men strand of Fall of the Mutants only for literally the very next arc to have the Shadow King start subtly manipulating the Reavers and the X-Men. Mark DrummondMay 15, 2016 11:05 AM Amazing Spider-Man #176-180 The first few pages of What If?#7(2/78) featuring Spider-Man are separate from the main What If? story and appear to be in continuity. Mark DrummondMay 15, 2016 11:01 AM Marvel Premiere #36-37 Per Roy Thomas in the letters page in What If?#9, Don Glut also assisted in plotting #37 but his credit got left off. Mark DrummondMay 15, 2016 10:58 AM What If? #9 In the panel where Jimmy Woo gets knocked into some trash cans by a biker gang, you can see magazines titled "Paragon" and "Alter Ego", which were fanzines put out by Bill Black and Roy Thomas. fnord12May 15, 2016 10:41 AM Marvel Two-In-One #77 Agree. Thanks Jake. fnord12May 15, 2016 10:38 AM Untold Legend of Captain Marvel #3 Thanks for the summaries, Don. I don't try to recreate a strict calendar with this project. I take all temporal references in relative terms. Things that happen a day ago i might put in the same entry or close together. I try to put in a little more space for a "week", etc.. But i don't try to line up temporal references between books or anything like that. With Marvel's sliding timescale that becomes moot, and realtime books published around this time might refer to last issue's events as having occurred a month ago because that's when it was published, whereas a continuity insert like this one might be taking into account the sliding timescale when it allows for "weeks" between FF #48-65. Looking at the space i've got between FF #48-50 and this entry, it looks like that interval could definitely represent six or more weeks. fnord12May 15, 2016 10:30 AM Spider-Man #8-12 The reporter, Anna Brooks, appears in all parts of this story. But "no further purpose or relevance" pretty much describes everything here. Oliver_CMay 15, 2016 6:29 AM Alpha Flight #33-34 "Would it have killed any of the X-Men to keep quiet in that panel, Bill?" You could just as easily ask that question of Roy Thomas and The (West Coast) Avengers. (And Infinity Inc. And the Zoo Crew. And...) AFMay 15, 2016 3:37 AM Silver Surfer annual #5 "disguising herself as Ravonna/Kang" Wrong way round, it was Ravonna who disguised herself as Nebula. D09May 14, 2016 11:22 PM Avengers #291-294 My theory about the Council of Cross-Time Kangs is that while the original membership of the organization was made up of Kangs who had survived assassination attempts from smaller Kang Councils, the majority of the membership ultimately ended up being composed of beings who had defeated/killed Kang and took over his identity. D09May 14, 2016 11:15 PM Silver Surfer annual #5 It seems like Nebula's not firing on all cylinders at this point, especially after she kept bouncing between being living dead and omnipotent god during Infinity Gauntlet. I don't think see ever recovered her original mental balance from this point onward, hence her later schemes like disguising herself as Ravonna/Kang and her future cyborg state. Don CampbellMay 14, 2016 10:40 PM New Mutants #18-20 @Nathan Adler: I can honestly say that before reading your comment I had never heard of even the faintest suggestion that the Adversary was just one of the Shadow King's personas. To me, the two characters are significantly different. Sure, they both inhabit host bodies but, beyond that, the Adversary is a reality-warping god of chaos while the Shadow King is a psionic being from the astral plane with massive telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Furthermore, their motivations differ since the Adversary creates chaos because he sees himself as a creator while the Shadow King is a sadist who feeds off the hatred experienced by humans. As for the evidence that you cited, I dug out my copy of Uncanny X-Men #273 and took a look but the only host that I could positively identify was Amahl Farouk. The other faces were too generic for me to recognize. So, one of them might be Naze but I wouldn't consider that to be an actual revelation. Nathan AdlerMay 14, 2016 6:00 PM New Mutants #18-20 @Andrew: If you look at the floating fragments showing Shadow King's hosts on the astral plane in Uncanny X-Men #273, you'll notice Naze! Oliver_CMay 14, 2016 5:35 PM Fantastic Four #187-188 The animated anthropomorphic skyscraper is a stunning idea, unfortunately undercut by the script's insistent (re)assurance that nobody died as a result. (See also: in Ang Lee's 'Hulk' movie how dutifully he shows people emerging unharmed from all the smashed vehicles.) Piotr WMay 14, 2016 5:28 PM New Mutants #18-20 Wait, the Adversary was the Shadow King? When was it revealed? Mark DrummondMay 14, 2016 3:14 PM Fantastic Four #187-188 The first several pages of What If?#6(12/77), which features the FF, are separate from the main What If? story and appear to be in continuity. AFMay 14, 2016 1:53 PM Avengers #221 I really dislike the way the fight is written. The super-heroines just leaving mid-battle doesn't reflect well on them. I get that Fabian is a joke, but it just doesn't read nicely at all. Erik BeckMay 14, 2016 1:03 PM X-Force #16 "Question: how come Beast gets speed-starved to be bone-thin by Famine, but he looks normal in further issues of the crossover? He doesn't have a healing factor..." Wait, there are mutants who don't have a healing factor? Andrew BurkeMay 14, 2016 12:33 PM New Mutants #18-20 It should be noted that the Adversary was one of the Shadow King's personas, so is the one who sent the Demon Bear after Dani, maybe because she had psychic abilities and seems to always target them (although not exclusively). Other personas include Farouk and Elias Bogan (although Bogan wasn't proven to be Farouk for sure on-panel, but I believe Claremont used other personas so he could use the Shadow King as much as he wanted but in different ways). Jake AmidonMay 14, 2016 9:17 AM Marvel Two-In-One #77 I would suggest moving this issue. Right now it is smack between Defenders #97 (where Man-Thing begins investigating a dimensional rift) and Defenders #98 (where Man-Thing has been possessed and Citrusville has been pulled into the rift). This issue is easily moved before or after that. Walter LawsobMay 14, 2016 5:25 AM Uncanny X-Men #287 Possibly. The fact that future Gambit is old might count against the theory, except that immortality and eternal youth aren't the same thing, which is an old ironic twist in mythology. (Future Gambit should be about 120 by my math: Bishop is said to have been born 70 years from the present. Add Gambit's present age and The future years that have passed since Bishop was born -- I estimate they might both be 25 or so, possibly older -- and that makes the Witness about 120. I have wondered if there's some Hellfire Club significance to Bishop's name. Fitzroy's name means "bastard offspring of the King," and much later we'll find out he's the illegitimate son of one Anthony Shaw, who may be a Hellfire Club Black King, just as his grandfather or great-grandfather Sebastian Shaw was. Was it the plan that the Hellfire Club would be the ruling power in Bishop's future? The Upstarts were of course trying to kill and replace the Hellfire leadership in the present: but just where Lee might have been going with this, I doubt we'll ever know. Nathan AdlerMay 14, 2016 5:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #287 @Walter: Recall a "Gambit" in Chess is an opening move in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically a pawn (or a Bishop), for the sake of a compensating advantage. And recall that here several generations have passed since the X-Men were betrayed and killed, yet "LeBeau" still lives. So was his still being alive this far into the future proof that he had claimed the immortality of the Upstart "prize"? Walter LawsonMay 14, 2016 4:54 AM Excalibur Special Edition In the opening scene, Mojo's film company is called "Mojo's New World Pictures." Marvel had been sold to a company then known as New World Pictures a year or so before this was published. Kitty says the X-Men here (really Warwolves of course, and this is a dream) are "more puppets than heroes, travesties of the heroes I remember." Rachel says "when the reality no longer exists, exploiters" can do whatever they want with the legend. It's weird to see Claremont making this point years before his exit, but certainly he was already under pressure to expand the line. Know what's icky? Take a look at the page where Meggan looks at Brian's memorabilia of Betsy, and note the photos of sexy, confident Betsy with nebbishy, pre-muscles Brian. Young science nerd Brian Braddock is a dead ringer for Doug Ramsey. AFMay 14, 2016 3:44 AM Marvel Super Heroes #9 (AWC) As garbled a mess as the whole Venus/Aphrodite thing is... Since she isn't depicted as wearing the Golden Cestus here, this would definitely be considered an appearance of Venus. Although, as I've noted, the Cestus "fix" is wholly broken (she'll wear it one issue then refer to a past appearance where she didn't wear it, etc.). But that was Parker's attempt at fixing what he broke. But the easiest way to approach it is just it was always Venus. Let's be honest, she's always called Venus and her magazine was called Venus and she could just as easily fashion a fake Cestus to complete the illusion of being the Greek Goddess of Love. Parker even says her imitation had fooled Zeus and Hercules, and Aphrodite is written as having abandoned her role a long time ago in favour of her own hedonistic pursuits. So you have a very good excuse for why Venus continues to get away with the charade for so long. Or, we have the case that Aphrodite actually used her Greek name, as opposed to her Roman name. So maybe the character consistently being referred to as Venus is a better indicator of who it is than the Cestus ever was? AFMay 14, 2016 3:07 AM Avengers West Coast #75 Hate to completely break your slanderous conspiracy theories: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc5ndigdBy1r89a2ho1_500.jpg Brian C. SaundersMay 14, 2016 2:50 AM Avengers West Coast #75 USAgent was created by Mark Gruenwald. Mockingbird wasn't. One less superhero marriage and this one was a two for one. Now they are both unmarried. Don CampbellMay 14, 2016 12:34 AM Untold Legend of Captain Marvel #3 Since you only have the last issue you may be unaware of the fact that Galactus and the Silver Surfer appear in the first issue where the Big G is consuming a Kree planet while the Surfer thwarts Kree attempts to resist. Following that mission, Captain Mar-Vell is assigned to the Kree cruiser Pama for a special classified mission. Once aboard the Pama, Mar-Vell meets Colonel Yon-Rogg (who consistently wears the uniform of a major for the whole miniseries) and Medic Una for the first time. On their way to the dreaded Absolom Sector the Kree encounter a Shi'ar scoutship being attacked by three Skrull warships and lend a hand, meeting Deathbird and some members of the Imperial Guard (Fang, Oracle, Smasher and Starbolt) in the process. At first glance the placement seems a bit contradictory since the first issue must begin before FF 48 while the last issue ends sometime after FF 64-65. However, aside from the travel time to the Absolom Sector, there are three weeks spent drifting in space and another several weeks recovering on Kree-Lar so the elapsed time for this miniseries is at least six weeks. Does this fit with the time that you have allocated for FF 48-65? MichaelMay 13, 2016 11:11 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Dr. Strange) Henri Desire was the name of a French serial killer. Jon DubyaMay 13, 2016 10:52 PM Spider-Man #8-12 Re: The letter pages. Ugh! You can only imagine how MacFarlane would be if his peak popularity came during the Twitter age. Unfortunately, as a pubescent, I caved to hype and bought issue #8. That issue had LESS story than an issue of Marvel Comics Presents. And "Friendly-Punisher" Spider-Man quickly irritated me. What a rip-off! By the way, I didn't bother with the rest of this junk, so, judging by the review here, I can assume that the news reporter who was inexplicably narrating a majority of #8 had no further purpose or relevance, yes? Jon DubyaMay 13, 2016 7:32 PM New Mutants #93-94 Incidentally, was it ever explained how Sunfire had already known about Cable and where they met before? Dave77May 13, 2016 7:28 PM Avengers #352-354 She just works well for the MCU. Want to introduce an undercover/future Avenger in Iron Man 2? Black Widow works. Need a SHIELD agent character in Cap 2? There she is. Mark DrummondMay 13, 2016 4:31 PM Hulk #209-211 The first several pages of What If?#2(4/77) featuring the Hulk are separate from the main What If? story and are actually in current continuity. Andrew BurkeMay 13, 2016 3:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 Ah, yes, thanks. #31 had her visiting her parents! AFMay 13, 2016 2:26 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 Off by an issue, it was #32-37. Great series. Really happy to see it still getting some love, Marvel are reluctant to reprint it since it doesn't support their idea that Carol Danvers was a failing creation before Wacker selfishly remade her into Captain Boyscout. Ben HermanMay 13, 2016 1:43 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Falcon) Perhaps the reason why Eddie Campbell was able to offer a dispassionate, objective analysis of Colletta is due to him having worked exclusively for independent publishers on creator-owned titles. It's not like Campbell was ever employed by Marvel and DC, doing an incredibly beautiful job penciling The Incredible Potato Man or whatever, and then watching in horror as some editor handed that work off to Colletta to be butchered. I think it's very telling that, as recounted by Mark Evanier, most pencilers employed by the Big Two did not want Colletta inking their work, and those few who had enough influence made sure he didn't get near their stuff... Andrew BurkeMay 13, 2016 12:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 In fact, since Rossi turned out to be a scumbag all along pretty much fits in with the idea that he was Eric the Red. Andrew BurkeMay 13, 2016 12:44 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 First time poster, but longtime reader here! Michael Rossi turned up in MS. MARVEL II#31-36, having kept his "death" a secret from Carol. Rossi turned out to be a rat fink traitor, though, and his entire relationship with Carol had been orchestrated by him so he would have a mole in the Air Force. Carol discovered he was a traitor/enemy agent at the end of #35 in what I thought, and still think, was one of the most shocking cliffhangers I have ever read in a comic, especially since I am heavily invested in all things Ms. Marvel. I pretty much clapped my hands in #36 when Rick MAson, the Agent, tracked Rossi down and shot him to death for all of his nasty deeds. I like the stuff you guys said about Rossi/Eric the Red! Ataru320May 13, 2016 8:53 AM Thor #309 Why do I suddenly imagine that cat as the steed for Frog-Thor? Thelonious_NickMay 13, 2016 8:10 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 I met inker Tim Dzon a few years ago when he was at a local comic store on FCBD--apparently he lives locally. He was doing a sketch for me and I was chatting about his WCA work, as he had the issues for sale at his table. He mentioned the "cone breasts" on Alkhema were his idea--he was joking to David Ross that Alkhema should have missile launchers hidden in her breasts, and Ross drew them in. fnord12May 13, 2016 7:36 AM Nomad #8 Well, it's said in the lettercols that an inspiration for Nomad's look and the tone of the series is Dead Or Alive by Bon Jovi. So maybe "wannabe redneck"? Erik BeckMay 13, 2016 7:23 AM X-Factor #84 X-Factor was the only one of the four X-books that I didn't start getting regularly again after the crossover and the art was the reason. I hated it viciously. And it would have been one thing to just be art I didn't like, but the art was so vastly different than the other three books that it always made reading the three X-Factor chapters jarring. I did like the humor in the book, but it just wasn't enough. Jake AmidonMay 13, 2016 7:11 AM Thor #309 It would've been cool if the cat came back. Oliver_CMay 13, 2016 6:29 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Falcon) And to think Eddie Campbell of all artists came to Colletta's defence! (The irony being, Campbell inked by Colletta would end up looking like 'Dilbert'. But I digress...) JPMay 13, 2016 5:50 AM Nomad #8 Nomad's a redneck? ChrisMay 13, 2016 2:20 AM Wonder Man #16-18 This doesn't seem like the right direction to go. This seems like false character drama in lieu of knowing how to build up a good rogue's gallery and interesting plots. Wonder Man is supposed to be one of the more powerful beings on Earth in the Marvel Universe. That makes it hard to find existing or create new villains that are in his league, but which aren't really Avengers villains. Wonder Man's powers are also fairly basic - he's strong and invulnerable and with a jetpack he can fly. So he's really limited into defeating things he can hit. At the same time, he is fairly smart - although no genius - and was once a businessman so he does have more options than the Hulk would. The main thing the series need to do is figure out what kind of villains it would be good for Wonder Man to fight, and then figure out the motivations or methods to get Simon to fight them. But this isn't being done. Gerard Jones is showing some good craft and potential, but he doesn't seem to know what to do in establishing a brand new series. The things he does don't seem to work. MortificatorMay 13, 2016 12:10 AM Thor annual #2 Though the fight with the Destroyer was cool, I would have liked if the tournament had been given space to play out as well. I enjoyed the rivalry Thor and the Warriors Three had with the brothers from the thousand galaxies. The reprints in the back are the first appearances of the Enchantress and Executioner (good choice) and of "Merlin" / Maha Yogi (who wanted THAT?). Cringe WorthyMay 12, 2016 5:41 PM Spider-Man #29-31 Wow, no copyright problems for naming a character after a fortified wine? I guess the earlier use of "Thunderbird" set a precedent. Piotr WMay 12, 2016 3:09 PM Spider-Man #29-31 At least, it would lead to some stylish pseudo-scientific rambling :) Morrison seems to love writing surreal prose like that... fnord12May 12, 2016 12:01 PM Fantastic Four #342 Thanks, guys. I think this is enough for me to update the credits (but of course i still note that it's a best guess). Ben HermanMay 12, 2016 11:06 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Falcon) Yeah, like I said, pretty good indication of an inventory story. Although I can almost imagine some pencilers having nightmares of Colletta coming back from the grave, eraser clutched in his undead hand, ready to once more ruin their work. Mark DrummondMay 12, 2016 10:46 AM Amazing Spider-Man #1 A retelling of the FF scene happened in What If?#1, but the book makes clear that that one bit is actually in continuity rather than part of the main What If? story(it doesn't really add anything to the scene though). Mark DrummondMay 12, 2016 10:42 AM Fantastic Four annual #11 The opening Watcher pages in What If? #1 stated that the WW2 scenes in this and the MTIO 2-parter happened on a parallel earth. That issue also stated that the Deathlok and Killraven futures didn't happen on the same planet(contradicting what Steve Gerber wrote in Defenders), and also had a weird oblique reference to the Spider-man Vs. Superman tabloid. Oliver_CMay 12, 2016 10:28 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Falcon) Colletta had been dead over a year by the time of this issue. Ben HermanMay 12, 2016 10:14 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Falcon) As always, in the early 1990s a pretty reliable indications that a story has been sitting in some file cabinet labeled "Inventory" for a while is seeing Vince Colletta credited as one of the inkers :) Ben HermanMay 12, 2016 8:55 AM Fantastic Four #342 Google led me to Kieron Dwyer's old website from a number of years ago. On it is a tongue-in-cheek made-up quote praising Dwyer's utterly irreverent potty humor series LCD... "LCD IS 'CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL'-- That's probably more or less a confirmation that the "Rex Valve" who penciled this FF issue was Dwyer. VtCGMay 12, 2016 8:43 AM Fantastic Four #342 This is why this project is so fantastic! Whip out a copy of FF Annual #21 (or just go to that entry) and check out da Dings! Same Dings! It's KD's first work. Looks earlier than Captain America #338. The Rex Valve pseudonym is indeed in line with Dwyer's sense of humor...all we need now is for him to confirm it. Hey - Fingeroth knew talent when he saw it. Chris Ivy was very new and probably not the best choice, but not horrible. fnord12May 12, 2016 7:32 AM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 I considered that part of "development of the X-Men's Shi'ar saga" but i've added a mention of the Starjammers so it's searchable. Thanks. fnord12May 12, 2016 7:30 AM What's Missing Thanks for the alert, Ataru. I see it's an Omnibus that will only cover the first 18 issues (of 33), but that's a good start. fnord12May 12, 2016 7:27 AM Thor #141 You're right. I've removed them. Erik BeckMay 12, 2016 6:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #294 This was a key issue for me because like fnord, it got me back in. But it wasn't just the X-books (all of which I continued with after this except X-Factor). I had dropped all the X-titles a year before and had dropped everything back around Christmas of 91. So these were the first comics I had bought in close to a year, only at a comic shop because I was hanging around friends from my dorm and they were headed down to Outer Limits in Waltham. But I decided to go ahead and buy this (I couldn't browse it, since it was poly-bagged) and I was interested enough that it really got me again. Maybe that's what happen when you go to college 3000 miles from home - you suddenly get back into comics to relieve some of the loneliness. I do still think this holds up pretty well. The first panel with Cable is a bit jarring and awkward but most of the rest of the art is pretty solid (with the strange exception of Ororo's tiny ankles). I rather like the Scott / Jean conversation. It reminds me of Garry Shandling's old routine of a marriage being like dinner at a nice restaurant. You might look at what someone else ordered. You might even imagine how it would taste. But in the end, you eat what you ordered because that's what you really want - after all, that's why you ordered it. And you're not going to go leap across the table just to try what the other person ordered. Oliver_CMay 12, 2016 6:19 AM Spectacular Spider-Man #152 Sal Buscema draws such good werewolves, I can almost forgive the fact that naming a lycanthrope "Lobo" is blatant signposting bigger than the billboards of Times Square. BerendMay 12, 2016 4:20 AM Spider-Man #29-31 Brainstorm has potential. Getting Morrison to write him would probably lead to some interesting stuff indeed! BerendMay 12, 2016 3:51 AM Wonder Man #16-18 This looks horrible. Unpleasantly violent one moment, cringe-worthy attempts at humor the next. You know how Deadpool manages to combine darkness and humor? This is the kind of comic that makes me appreciate a well written Deadpool comic all the more, proving how bad it could get if you don't strike that exact balance. TuomasMay 12, 2016 3:34 AM Marvel Super Heroes #12 (Dr. Strange) It seems Jonathan Hickman remembered this story, because Strange visited the Bazaar again during his New Avengers run. Or maybe it was anothe bazaar where demonic beings trade in magical objects? cullenMay 12, 2016 1:59 AM Spider-Man #29-31 Everyone talks about the Liefeld and Lee knockoffs... let's not let the Larsen-mimicry go uncommented on! Walter LawsonMay 12, 2016 12:05 AM Uncanny X-Men #287 And to give the theory one more boost: what does it take to win the Upstarts competition? Killing mutants who count for points--and a traitor who killed all the X-Men would get a lot of points indeed. (I don't think Gambit would have been the traitor, only that this is how the story might have played as a fake-out, with the X-Men not really being dead and Gambit turning on the Upstarts.) MortificatorMay 11, 2016 11:58 PM Journey Into Mystery #94-96 Donald Blake's indestructible synthetic man should have been brought back to fight Bruce Banner's indestructible body armor from Tales to Astonish 60. Then they'd both fall apart, because a medical doctor and a nuclear physicist shouldn't know how to build indestructible machines. Walter LawsonMay 11, 2016 11:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Although I earlier thought that Gambit's/Witness's longevity might be a clue that he was a clone from Claremont's intended origin of Sinister as a slow-aging kid, I now think Lee might have had something else in mind. The Upstarts in the Lee-plotted books are being manipulated by Selene as they play a game whose prize is immortality (and maybe extra power, too). Lee explores a bit of Gambit's past in the adjectiveless X-Men, where Assassin's Guild members are unexpectedly manifesting powers, which we'll later learn are connected to the High Lord (Lady?) Candra. It's interesting that Candra and Selene are both manipulating X-Men enemies at this point. (I even wonder if Lee might not have intended that Selene, rather than a new character like Candra, be behind the Assassin's Guild stuff as well as the Upstarts). What does this have to do with Witness Gambit's longevity? Maybe he won the Upstarts competition, and maybe joining the Upstarts would be the basis for a story teasing Gambit as the X-traitor. This would neatly wrap together several Lee-era plot threads. RocknrollguitarplayerMay 11, 2016 11:42 PM Uncanny X-Men #104-105 Aloha, isn't issue #104 the 1st appearance of the Starjammers? I couldn't find in your historical significance section... but then again i've had 5 beers. Walter LawsonMay 11, 2016 11:26 PM Uncanny X-Men #294 Nicieza and some of the other creators have said this crossover had to be put together pretty quickly, because the originally intended crossover to be drawn and written (if that's the world) by the Image guys fell through when they all left. I have two thoughts about what the crossover was originally going to be and how it became X-cutioner's Song instead. As I've speculated in other comments, I think Lee and Liefeld were leading to an obvious crossover involving the Upstarts and High Lords. The Upstarts were the ongoing plot of the Lee/Portacio books, and there were High Lord hints at the edges: the role of Selene in creating the Upstarts, for example, the fact that the Upstart prize was described in both X-Men books as some kind of immortality, and, although it wasn't revealed until the post-Image era, the role of Candra in powering up the Assassin's Guild and in Gambit's backstory. In X-Force, most of the hints being dropped about Cable's mission and background were related to the High Lords and his quest to find Cannonball, and Gideon's Externals played an ongoing antagonist role very similar to that of the Upstarts in the X-Men books. Stryfe and the MLF weren't as prominent as the High Lords while Liefeld was setting the direction. I'd bet that Apocalypse, obviously a High Lord himself, was going to play a role in the crossover, but I doubt that Stryfe would have, and I'm all but certain Sinister wouldn't have. The subplots didn't seem to be leading to those characters. Cable's background may have been revealed in part, but I'm guessing there would have been as much emphasis on his war with Apocalypse in the future as on his background as the son of Jean and Scott. All this is speculation, but I think the clues add up. For whatever reason, though, Harras didn't go with the Lee-Liefeld storyline, and most of its elements are jettisoned right before or after this crossover: the Externals are sidelined immediately and start dying off of the Legacy virus and Selene is revealed to be behind the Upstarts only to be taken out of the picture, before her plan is even explained. Shinobi Shaw turns into a drum and never launches a significant plot, and Cortez returns only to be killed off more definitively by a new post-Image character, Exodus. The Acolytes and Graydon Creed are developed in stories that don't really have anything to do with the Upstarts, and poor, late-to-the party Siena Blaze never develops at all before she's exiled to the Malibuverse. All the High Lord and Upstarts setup is thrown out piece by piece, and by contrast Apocalypse and Sinister, and to a lesser degree Stryfe and his legacy, become the long-term villains. So where did X-Cutioner's Song come from? It looks like the core idea of having all the big villains fight is roughly what Harras had in mind for the Mutant Wars crossover that didn't happen in 1990 (when we got X-Tinction instead). Here's a site with a scan of the Marvel Age 1990 Preview of the Mutant Wars: http://bullyscomics.blogspot.com/2015/05/psylocke-psaturday-warning-psylocke-may.html . Baddie vs. baddie seems pretty basic as an idea, and even though some of the factions mentioned for the Mutant Wars are the same as the big players in X-Cutioner's Song, that's not much of a connection, right? But in several 1990 comics, and in publicity info, Caliban is spoken of as the guy who's going to kick off the Mutant Wars. And the Marvel Age preview does seem weirdly insistent about how tightly plotted the crossover is going to be, and how "each trying to be the strongest--the survivors" is the theme. That ties in with the Apocalypse elements of X-Cutioner's Song, and I can just about imagine Caliban kidnapping Scott and Jean (or one of the other) might have been a plot point in Mutant Wars: indeed, if Caliban wanted revenge on Sinister for the Mutant Massacre, kidnapping Cyclops--the only guy whose power had been able to hurt Sinister as of 1990--would have been a logical move. I'm not saying X-Cutioner's Song is what Mutant Wars would have been: obviously the Cable/Stryfe heart of X-Cutioner's depends on post-1990 stories, but it seems to me Harras may have used the scrapped 1990 crossover as a starting point, together with "Give Cable an origin," for X-Cutioner's. Walter LawsonMay 11, 2016 10:39 PM New Mutants #87 There's a lot to say about this issue and what it represents, isn't there? One thing that interests me is the role that editors played in shaping and then reshaping the x-line. New Mutants came about in the first place because Shooter wanted an X-Men x-pansion team and also wanted Claremont to stop writing stories about the X-Men living on a haunted island and fighting aliens and sorcerers. So Weezie and Claremont created a school-based book, and while the X-Men themselves went back to the school setting, they didn't actually have to go back to class (as Shooter might have been contemplating). The X-Men and New Mutants stayed in the school setting as long as Shooter was editor, in sharp contrast to the direction X-Men took as soon as Shooter was heading out the door: once again they started fighting sorcerers and demons, lived in a haunted base that was nothing like a school, and eventually headed into space again. It's as if Claremont picked up right where he had left off, in genre terms, before he was so rudely interrupted by Shooter's edict to return to the series's premise. Of course, those Claremint school-setting stories, both in X-Men and New Mutants, are also considered some of his best character work. Louise Simonson stuck to the school-like premise of X-Factor and this book, but Harras seems not to have valued the schooling premise much, even though he would return the X-Men to the mansion. So New Mutants ceases to be about school kids (and their Massachusetts Academy rivals), and these characters who were not meant to be superheroes, just regular kids with powers, become more conventional representatives of the spandex set, and with this issue we get a paramilitary theme already, along with a shift in tone that takes the Mutant Massacre as its model: the MLF are an attempt to give the NMs a bunch of villains as cool, and almost as violent, as the Marauders. The Reavers, too, whose storyline is running contemporaneously in Uncanny, are a model, and I'd say Cable's inspiration owes a little to them as well as to Valance the Hunter. Even though X-Force is a year away (counting from NM 98-99), in a sense this book is already committed to becoming what it will be. School's out, and paramilitary clashes between mutant factions are in. Ben HermanMay 11, 2016 9:43 PM Spider-Man #27-28 Marshall Rogers was often a good artist, but at other times the quality of his work was variable. This is story is unfortunately not what I would count among his best. It's too bad that Terry Austin wasn't available to ink him. I always enjoyed their collaborations. Ataru320May 11, 2016 9:27 PM What's Missing Just to let you know, I think they're doing a re-release of all of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu in a collection. Surprised this and Shang-Chi are finally are getting the time of day. Darren HoodMay 11, 2016 9:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 @Michael One thing about KnightsEnd was how rushed it was. Bruce had to be back in the costume prior to the Zero Hour crossover and origin specific -0- issues as per DC mandate, and as such KnightsEnd wasn't completely fleshed out. So while it is said that 8 masters were after Bruce, only 7 were shown because they had to get Bruce into the costume quickly and overthrow the mad imposter. DC even utilized the entire spectrum of Bat books including the year one type stories reserved for Legends of the Dark Knight, and the Catwoman and Robin solo books. MortificatorMay 11, 2016 9:19 PM Thor #141 This reminds me of the terrible stories from before Lee & Kirby took over the book. I ran a search for the characters, and while another Replicus eventually turns up, it doesn't seem that Chuda or Slugger Sykes ever appear again. Should they be tagged? Darren HoodMay 11, 2016 9:08 PM Spider-Man #27-28 My god is the art terrible. The pencils are bland, the inks are worse and there's little to no definition or contour shading. Even Golden Age books had shading. It's a decent story, but the art really makes it suffer. fnord12May 11, 2016 9:00 PM Darkhold #1 Added the characters. Thanks. MichaelMay 11, 2016 8:55 PM Spider-Man #27-28 I sincerely doubt that this was supposed to be the first Spider-Man graphic novel. Hooky was the first Spider-Man graphic novel and it was cover dated August 1986. McGregor didn't return to Marvel until after Shooter left in 1987. It might have been intended to come out before Parallel Lives in 1989, though. MichaelMay 11, 2016 8:25 PM Wonder Man #16-18 The guy Simon was beating when the Avengers arrived is later confirmed to have died. MichaelMay 11, 2016 7:51 PM Darkhold #1 The leader of the Darkholders turns out to be Sam's boss DeGuzman, so he should be listed as a Character Appearing in this issue and issues 2-4. kvetoMay 11, 2016 7:40 PM Marvel Super Heroes #9 (AWC) this story is almost good. You gotta love Cupid kicking Wonder man and US Agent's butts. Then Herc shows up and embarrasses them by beating Cupid easily. Of course Hawk-eye and Mockingbird were not on the team at this point. Wonder what Cupid did with Mockingbird to try to persuade her that she was Psyche. They had a hour alone together. Poor Hawkeye, kinda tough to win your wife back from the god of love. MortificatorMay 11, 2016 5:24 PM Wonder Man #16-18 Thank you, Wonder Man! I played a lot of the arcade game at a local Pizza Hut in the '90s. Funny that the comics referenced it, even if Simon's line was actually the inspiring, "Hey, get on!" At least he had a bigger role than Namor, who just got to point at the water. I bet Oracle's licensing department got fired over that. Ben HermanMay 11, 2016 5:11 PM Spider-Man #27-28 fnord, if the ending seems abrupt it may be because there was apparently some editorial interference. A couple of years ago Don McGregor posted the following on Facebook about this story... An arson inspector friend of mine took my son, Rob McGregor and I to a gun range in the Bronx so we could use the guns. Rob was the age of the young boy in the story. And there's a lot of behind the scenes stories with this, as well. How it almost became the first Spider-Man graphic novel? Then how it turned into a two-parter. And then, when it was finished, written, drawn, lettered, Danny Fingeroth came in and proved the old adage, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And weakened the story I had spent months researching, and over-riding Jim Salicrup. Still, I'm proud of the story, and what I hoped to do with it, and thank Jim for believing in it. Lots of stories behind this. When I write the book. In the meantime, let me know what you thought of "There's Something About A Gun." AFMay 11, 2016 4:56 PM Marvel Super Heroes #9 (Thor) Well, wasn't the story something along the lines of Loki had actually used magic on his armor during that Seth story and over the next 13 or so issues he kept having headaches and dizzy spells because of Loki's enchantments? I really don't remember. I hate subconscious vision quest issues. But also, he never wore the armor again after that story. Piotr WMay 11, 2016 4:15 PM Spider-Man #29-31 I actually like Brainstorm a bit. With all this talk about minds being prehensile and him receiving messages from past and future, he comes off a little like a Grant Morrison character. fnord12May 11, 2016 4:13 PM Marvel Super Heroes #9 (Thor) But that happens in Thor's subconscious mind, so i'm not sure it's meant to be the real armor. I also didn't realize it was destroyed at the end of the issue, so much as (subconscious) Loki was defeated while wearing it. That said, i wasn't really thrilled with placing this where the MCP had it, between Thor #418-419, so i've pushed this back as close to Thor annual #15 as possible, soon after Thor #408. So that will address the armor if necessary. AFMay 11, 2016 3:47 PM Marvel Super Heroes #9 (Thor) Wouldn't Thor's armor being used mean this has to be before #413? He destroyed the armor in that issue when it was possessed by Loki. kvetoMay 11, 2016 3:08 PM Punisher #73-75 pretty sure that Speedo dies in Solo #9 shot by blind justice (not that that matters in comics) Ben HermanMay 11, 2016 1:58 PM Punisher #73-75 Have any of the characters who belong to the VIGIL organization made any subsequent appearances? It would have seemed like a natural idea to either have SHIELD recruiting them to join their so-called "Cape Killers" division during the events of Civil War or for Norman Osborn to offer them a job during Dark Reign. Mark DrummondMay 11, 2016 11:08 AM Champions #17 In the panel where we see the baby Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the blocks there spell out "this book is dead". AFMay 11, 2016 9:51 AM Avengers #352-354 Or rather she was in Ultimates. Ataru320May 11, 2016 9:39 AM Avengers #352-354 While a rather unconventional choice considering all the other potential heroines that could have been used for the MCU Avengers, I suppose that Black Widow was just in the right place at the right time. She's a "classic Marvel character" introduced in the 60s, doesn't need much back-story (Russian spy who is now working for SHIELD), plus has an easy enough power and skill set that doesn't require an origin story or a ton of CGI that the big boys would require. If you look at all the other bigger or more prominent Avenger females that probably are more well known and the situations they required to even be established (Wasp: need Ant-Man first; Scarlet Witch: the whole thing with Fox, etc), I think Natasha just worked to the advantage of the MCU even if she really wasn't a "key Avenger" until the 1990s. Ben HermanMay 10, 2016 11:28 PM Amazing Spider-Man #368-373 The Black Cat's costume that's introduced in these issues is ridiculous. If it was any more low-cut we'd be able to see if platinum blonde is Felicia's natural hair color :) Ben HermanMay 10, 2016 10:59 PM Avengers #352-354 @Jon Dubya - Reading fnord's profiles of these Avengers issues from the early 1990s, I was thinking the exact same thing about the Black Widow. She was a non-member ally in the mid-1960s, mostly by virtue of the fact that she was dating Hawkeye. Natasha finally joined in #111, only to quit one issue later. Over the next two hundred issues the Widow then made about dozen appearances all told. Until she was added to the line-up during Larry Hama's run, the Widow had really spent very little time as an active Avenger. Ben HermanMay 10, 2016 10:31 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 I would not rank Brandon Peterson among my favorite artists, but his pencils here look amazing when inked by Terry Austin. Of course, Austin's inks make almost anyone's work look better. Ben HermanMay 10, 2016 10:06 PM Fantastic Four #343-346 So, continuing my re-read of Walter Simonson's FF, this is a good set of issues. The fight with Robo-Stalin is all sorts of fun, and Simonson is always going to give it his all whenever he has the opportunity to throw in dinosaurs. Looking at these issues this time with the benefit of hindsight, I really wonder what Simonson would have done with Sharon Ventura if he had stayed on the title longer. He obviously had a fondness for the character, and got even better use out of her than Englehart. Simonson does a very good job with the relationship between her and Ben Grimm here. Knowing what happens next (Ben deliberately turns himself back into the Thing so Sharon wouldn't be alone, only to find out that she's allowed Doctor Doom to cure her) I'm curious how Simonson would have shown that affecting their relationship over the long run. Instead under DeFalco things went in an entirely different, backwards direction for the Thing, Sharon, the Human Torch and Alicia. Agreed with commenter Bob that if Simonson had stuck around longer he would probably have had a long run that ranked alongside Lee / Kirby and Byrne in quality. So, yeah, once again I suppose we have to "thank" Bob Harras for pissing Simonson off enough that he quit. Jon DubyaMay 10, 2016 9:00 PM Avengers #352-354 "I'm glad I had left by this time. Going back and reading it now, this just seems like a team of second-stringers..." That's why I always find so funny. Around this period, The Black Widow WAS considered a "second stringer". Certainly not someone who was considered as "crucial" to the Avengers mythos as Iron Man or Thor (more comparable to Spider-Woman II or Moondragon.) This "also-ran" status cumulated in the Avengers debanding under her watch. Yet fast-forward to "now", and she's considered MORE essential to the Avengers universe than it's long-running members (including some of it's founders) to the point that there are probably fans who don't even know that she only came into prominence on the team around this time. It would be like if they suddenly decied that Sersi was now a major Avenger player over, say Wonder Man (Uh-oh, I think I just some dimwitted executive An Idea for the next Avengers movie.) MichaelMay 10, 2016 8:58 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 The crossover error that most bothered me out of DC's early '90s crossovers happened in Knight's End- there were 8 ninja masters after Bruce but he only defeated 7. MortificatorMay 10, 2016 7:47 PM X-Factor #86 Mega Turrican swiped that first picture of Stryfe for its villain, the Machine. Here's a shot from the game's intro: As for the art itself, I quite like it. AFMay 10, 2016 7:41 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #11 Starlin also uses this as an excuse to retell continuity from his stupid self-serving perspective. Like, among other things, he claims Moondragon only joins the Avengers as a reward for having helped them in the battle where Thanos was killed. MortificatorMay 10, 2016 7:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 Stryfe's computer taunt reminds me of Dennis Nedry's. "Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word!" Yet I see this issue was released a bit before the Jurassic Park film (and the scene wasn't in the novel). AFMay 10, 2016 7:25 PM Terror Inc. #6-7 I think McLaurin was just about the only person adamant Shreck wasn't Terror. Oliver_CMay 10, 2016 6:08 PM Spectacular Spider-Man #165-167 No offence, but most American comics make all England, anywhere in England, look like a 19th-century fishing village. (That said, US locations in flyover States hardly fare better.) ZeilsternMay 10, 2016 5:17 PM Marvel Two-In-One #4-5 I love how in #4 Gerber takes the time to bring the heroes together (without the dreaded Misunderstanding Fight) and then show them enjoying coffee and conversation on a Sunday afternoon in NYC. As for Sharon and Medusa being put on coffee duty, it actually is an excellent representation of how at this early date in the women's liberation movement, forward-thinking writers like Gerber could acknowledge the equality of women in the workplace but still felt the need to put women in traditional gender roles inside the home. david banesMay 10, 2016 5:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 Oh yeah that reminded me how Doomsdays damaged costume would change as the fight went on. When half his face is revealed his hair is free. Next issue mostly the same but then his hair wasn't free. Issue after that mostly the same, maybe slighly less damaged costume. After some kind of habitat falls on Doomsday he still looks colored like he has his suit but the issue after has him down to the shorts, boots and a few extra rags. That slightly bothered me as a kid so I think that's my earliest OCD sign. Darren HoodMay 10, 2016 5:04 PM X-Force #18 @Walter Lawson I really doubt it. Remember bean counting accountants were starting to be the ones responsible for what was going out to press at this point. Pointless variant covers, add ins like posters, animation cells, and cards, were turning throwaway fiction into a busying enterprise of cross merchandising and the long winded stories with no foreseeable end were what was selling so Marvel kept printing them, and maybe if this formula affected only one or two characters or teams maybe Marvel could have saved face but the entire bloody line? No. It's the classic example of "too big to fail" syndrome. Something works for one book so every book has to have the same shock treatment. So I very much doubt that the Spider-Man team would have listened to the fan outrage when going through with their Spider saga, they certainly didn't look to the Clone outrage when doing their Crossing storyline either. Darren HoodMay 10, 2016 4:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 @Michael DC Comics editors on Superman throughout the 1990's had the same problem concerning continuity errors. During Death of Superman, for example, the hero's costume is torn and magically repaired across the different parts. In Man of Steel #19 Superman is slashed across the stomach, yet in Superman #75 it's surprising to Clark when Doomsday cuts him across the chin and cheek. Why this would happen was due to the creative staff of each book giving a layout of the issue they were working on and the final two pages of the issue to the next creative team. This was supposed to give a feeling of consistency, but with a simple layout and only two pages to go on, added to the time crunch, writers were free to do whatever and artists the same, leading to minor or massive errors within the story. I'm almost positive Marvel was doing the same thing here. cullenMay 10, 2016 3:49 PM Terror Inc. #6-7 HEAVY Kyle Baker vibes on the art Oliver_CMay 10, 2016 3:28 PM Web of Spider-Man #55 That's not Glory Grant, that's Grace Jones! (Or perhaps not... Grace Jones in her prime could eat a werewolf alive.) cullenMay 10, 2016 2:54 PM Digitek #1-4 Love the art here. Very 2000AD (natch!)... def prefer this to the aping of Image artists on some of the other UK output. Darren HoodMay 10, 2016 2:23 PM X-Force #16 @Ataru320 Deadpool would drop a feather, or throw up another gun in addition to some quirky line about the uselessness of all those pouches and shoulder guns. fnord12May 10, 2016 1:48 PM Punisher #73-75 For a minute i thought you were on to something, MegaSpiderMan, but i was thinking of Bullet Biker. Speedo in Solo Avengers is just a low level criminal and doesn't ride a motorcycle. The Speedo in this story is described as "A vigilante who has been conducting a one-man campaign against the Park's muggers". The guy could have had a change of heart, i suppose, but it doesn't seem likely they are the same person. If he had a sidekick named Zipper, it'd be a different story... BerendMay 10, 2016 1:42 PM Digitek #1-4 "This guy reappears in Civil War" is the new "The guy reappears in Quasar" :P Darren HoodMay 10, 2016 1:20 PM X-Factor #84 The logos used in dialogue bubbles would certainly show up in comic books published by DC. I remember the Supergirl 90's run announcing Superman's arrival with his logo in the speech bubble, instead of the normal lettering. As for the cross over this was probably one of the books that actively got me into X-Men, aside from my introduction in the long awaited Fatal Attractions/Dreams End cross over, cannot wait for that review. I remember specifically wanting more Wolverine and Cyclops and the comic shop guy recommended for my father, possibly because he had multiples of these beauties in hand, the X-Cutioners Song back issues. I have to say it was a good decision for him to make, then and now, because even though the art is inconsistent throughout all the titles, the story does make sense. Compare that to Traitor, or the Clone Saga. MegaSpiderManMay 10, 2016 1:15 PM Punisher #73-75 Funny, Hawkeye interrogated a guy named Speedo back in Solo Avengers #9. There's no indication that the one appearing here is the same guy, I take it? AndrewMay 10, 2016 12:47 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #11 It's curious that Starlin is now saying the Tribunal's three faces are knowledge, review, and judgement. That differs from, and is less interesting than, the original idea that they were equity, vengeance, and necessity. Erik BeckMay 10, 2016 11:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #291-293 These issues just show what a mess Uncanny was. I still think highly of the first year of (adjectiveless) X-Men. But Uncanny had shoddy art (changing a lot), weak scripts and just terrible storylines. Bringing back Mikhail at all was a terrible idea so they needed to clean that idea up before X-Cutioner's Song. These issues are also just chock-full of self-pity from far too many characters to bother listing. And yet, the storytelling continues to be a problem. I got back in comics with the next issue (the start of X-Cutioner's Song) and the Steven Lang subplot takes so long that I don't think it was even going yet before I quit because they brought Magneto back and mind-wiped him. clydeMay 10, 2016 11:44 AM Terror Inc. #6-7 "Terror is absolutely not the character who appeared in the now-defunct Shadowline saga." This has already been brought up. But, "The comic books themselves gave no confirmation either way. Eventually, the canonical Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Horror 2005 confirmed that the two were in fact the same being." RickMay 10, 2016 11:35 AM Amazing Spider-Man #374-375 John Jameson turns up here in ASM #375 just a few months after he abruptly quit as Cap's pilot at the end of the Man and Wolf story. Mark DrummondMay 10, 2016 11:10 AM Champions #11-13 Byrne tries to give an M.C. Escher-type look to Kamo Tharn's place, but he doesn't have quite the space to pull it off. Weirdly, the person who initially stole the null-bomb is called "Jerry" in #12 and then "Willie" in #13. clydeMay 10, 2016 11:07 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #11 "so if any of the information here did make you want to track down the original issues, you were out of luck." Well, thank goodness we have now have FNORD.:) BillMay 10, 2016 10:48 AM Avengers #352-354 Other than Hercules and the Vision, who is in skimpy costumes? Oliver_CMay 10, 2016 10:36 AM Avengers West Coast #56-57 "Byrne's efforts to complicate Wanda's powers by making her a 'Nexus Being' the way he did weren't commendable. Better to suggest her mutant powers were to make molecules unstable." Agreed -- even if that would've made Wanda the superheroic equivalent of the old British comics character 'Wear-'Em-Out Wilf': Piotr WMay 10, 2016 9:58 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 @AF - hey, don't badmouth Mockinbird being alive! A friend's friend is the artist on the new Mockingbird ongoing, so I have to defend the validity of her work! :) Piotr WMay 10, 2016 9:55 AM Avengers #352-354 Also, note that Hank is actually the only person with pouches :) MichaelMay 10, 2016 8:03 AM Darkhold #2-4 One major problem with Mordred's story- he escaped the dimension Merlyn exiled him to in Quasar and was banished to a different dimension by Excalibur. It doesn't seem like Cooper read the Quasar story. MichaelMay 10, 2016 7:58 AM Avengers #352-354 Erik- those costumes aren't skimpy by '90s standards- look at Sue's boob window costume, Psylocke's costume, Black Cat's ridiculously plunging neckline or Sif's Mephistoized costume. Crystal and Sersi are conservative dressers by those standards. Erik BeckMay 10, 2016 7:38 AM Iron Man #284-286 This is terrible writing from start to finish. What reader is going to believe that Tony is really dead? Why, as Michael says, would they automatically assume it's an imposter when several of them have worked with Rhodey before? Why would the villains suddenly be able to plan how to use Tony's fighting style against him when they've never done it before? Just a perfect coincidence to have it suddenly come up when it's not Tony? Why would they use such a ridiculous sound effect for a serious things like suicide? fnord12May 10, 2016 7:32 AM Darkhold #2-4 He inked the Doc Samson back-up in Hulk annual #18, but these are his first pencils at Marvel. And those are the only things he'll do for Marvel until a 1999 Dr. Strange series. Erik BeckMay 10, 2016 7:14 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 I agree with Thanos6. It's almost certainly a reference to the old show. Hawkeye even mentioned the show in an early issue of Solo Avengers, talking about he watched Reagan in the show getting water from a cactus. Oliver_CMay 10, 2016 6:25 AM Alpha Flight annual #1 Wait, what, David Ross' pencils ever stood out in the first place?! Oliver_CMay 10, 2016 6:19 AM Alpha Flight #20-21 I had a French reprint of this in which the close-up panels of Lily's hideously aged face, as well as her skull, had been entirely excised. Instead she crumbles into dust right after Sasquatch grabs her. JackMay 10, 2016 5:51 AM Amazing Spider-Man #129 Stan Lett created the Punisher. Stand created everything. Stan "the Man" Lee! Thanos6May 10, 2016 5:48 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 @Cecil: It may also be a reference to the old TV western show, "Death Valley Days." AFMay 10, 2016 4:17 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 I think this is probably the best story Roy Thomas writes on West Coast. Which doesn't say a lot since it's mostly a remake. And I loathe that stupid Mockingbird retcon. Surely the people who wanted Mockingbird to return, they mostly wanted her back so that she could continue her seemingly repaired relationship with Clint. But no, Marvel, the House of Hating Ideas You Might Like definitely didn't want that happening. Red CometMay 10, 2016 2:38 AM Darkhold #2-4 Is this Tony Harris' first Marvel work? In a year he'll be working on Starman, his (arguably) most famous comic work. Red CometMay 10, 2016 2:27 AM Cage #9-10 Why would he only put on the top half of a suit? lol david banesMay 10, 2016 1:46 AM Avengers #145-146 This one is pretty morbid. CecilMay 10, 2016 12:38 AM Avengers West Coast #89-91 The title "Death Valley Daze" is probably a play off the Blue Oyster Cult Song "Death Valley Nights" on Spectres. Ben HermanMay 9, 2016 10:45 PM Thor #427-430 I always get a chuckle whenever I see that scene in issue #430 with Piledriver freaking out when he realizes that Ghost Rider is an actual ghost. ZeilsternMay 9, 2016 9:26 PM Marvel Team-Up #4 This was the inker's (Steve Mitchell) very first job for Marvel. It did not go over well with Art Director John Romita for all the obvious reasons. According to Mitchell, the job was so bad it ended his career as an inker and it took him years to recover professionally. Also weird but true: Mitchell will appear (noncredited) in Iron Man #72. MattMay 9, 2016 6:54 PM Thor #431-433 In what sense is Thor punching Ulik "playing hardball?" Before "the 90's" and Eric Master-Thor, Thor punched people all the time! More DeFalco nonsense. MattMay 9, 2016 6:49 PM Thor #427-430 What bothers me even more than the mistake about Kitty's powers is the awful characterization. As if she were the type to make a casual decision about rendering someone permanently immobile? (or more accurately, about killing someone?) Puh-leeze. Oliver_CMay 9, 2016 6:23 PM Machine Man #2-6 All those chapter headings with their sinewy strokes! There ought to be an official, downloadable Kirby-Royer font. Don CampbellMay 9, 2016 6:06 PM Avengers West Coast #89-91 Ultron's question to the Scarlet Witch about her once having been imprisoned in the Vault might be a reference to Avengers Annual #15/West Coast Avengers Annual #1, a storyline in which some of the Avengers were imprisoned there after a traitor (Quicksilver) told the U.S. government some lies about them. However, Wanda wasn't among the Avengers who were jailed at that time so either Ultron and Roy Thomas got their facts wrong or the mad robot is actually referring to some other story. Max_SpiderMay 9, 2016 5:02 PM Nightstalkers #2 Doesn't getting bitten by Morbius give Blade his more half-vampire attributes? Does he not thirst for blood before that? Because I'm wondering if Morbius ruined his taste for mango cream pie with that bloodlust. kvetoMay 9, 2016 4:41 PM Avengers West Coast #89-91 Dear me. Those cone breasts on Alkhema. Roy's basic misunderstanding of science gets to me sometimes. Smacking adamantium ultron with an adamantium box should have the same effect as smacking two hammers together. Shouldn't damage either. kvetoMay 9, 2016 4:25 PM Avengers #357 John Walker joins the mulletude? Holy sex balls! Piotr WMay 9, 2016 3:34 PM Avengers #352-354 Really? I've honestly seen much worse... Erik BeckMay 9, 2016 3:32 PM Avengers #352-354 @Piotr W - Oh, I'm not suggesting the art is bad at all. It's just very much of its time. Piotr WMay 9, 2016 3:21 PM Avengers #352-354 @Erik Beck - oh, come on. This panel is really not that bad. For once, it's Epting, a talented artist - not Liefeld. Even Tasha's 90s pose doesn't look as bad as it could under a different artist. Ben HermanMay 9, 2016 1:48 PM Avengers #352-354 @Erik - That pic could have used more pouches :) Erik BeckMay 9, 2016 10:59 AM Avengers #352-354 @AF - That panel was as 90's as 90's gets. Leather jacket, headsets, bulging muscles, skimpy costumes, a brokeback pose from Natasha. AFMay 9, 2016 10:20 AM Avengers #352-354 Practically calling it out here: http://33.media.tumblr.com/88c52094660772c64269e5b8e8291178/tumblr_inline_n2x8dkPQa41sqpgg0.png AFMay 9, 2016 10:19 AM Avengers #352-354 Well, Hank returns very very soon and Cap appears almost every chance he gets. Personally, I think the Heavy Metal/early Simonson era is closer to Justice League Detroit. Erik BeckMay 9, 2016 8:06 AM Avengers #352-354 I'm glad I had left by this time. Going back and reading it now, this just seems like a team of second-stringers, in spite of how much I like Dane and how much power this team has with Vision, Hercules and Sersi. This is the first time in Avengers history that the team doesn't either have Cap or one of the founders. It kind of reminds me of the JLA Detroit period - yes, they had two founding members, but all the heavy hitters, the real primary heroes that made them the JLA were gone, which is why they brought Batman back before too long. It just doesn't feel like the Avengers without Cap, but with Cap gone, Jan, Hank and Tony on the West Coast and even the fake Thor not around, this just feels like a fake team of Avengers. Also, I find it odd that so many of the villains are described as dying when facing the Avengers. Several of them died facing individual members of the Avengers yes, but a lot of them didn't actually die facing the team. AFMay 9, 2016 4:45 AM Avengers #357 The mullets will get worse... when John Walker has a mullet, you know you're in trouble. kvetoMay 9, 2016 1:07 AM Avengers #357 Dear lord, I know it was the 90s but look at all of those mullets. even the black widow has one. Brian C. SaundersMay 9, 2016 1:02 AM Fantastic Four #342 This is strictly hearsay, but several years ago, I saw a page from this issue credited to Kieron Dwyer for sale on eBay. Considering the time frame of the fill-in, I can sort of see it looks like early Dwyer, with not so great inking. Considering his step father previously did this story much better, I can understand why he'd want his name off it, if, in fact, it is him. Brian C. SaundersMay 9, 2016 12:49 AM X-Factor #84 ChrisW, 1995 is pretty much when the X-books led the way for full-time lettering, although Generation X was the trendsetter in late 1994. It's still a few years out. Considering that, it's a pretty good attempt to sneak a page for a publishing experiment. What I found annoying about the hand lettering in this crossover is the use of using sound effects like lettering for characters shouting. I assume it's supposed to be shouting, since other words are bolded as usual. This page has some tolerable uses of the technique, but the issues done by Oakley and Eliopoulos were awkward to my eye. It's an experiment that Harras will ditch in a few months, so someone must have changed their mind. I know Claremont and Orzechowski did a little of it, but every other page had characters shouting logos and "YOU!" and it was excessive. Cecil May 8, 2016 11:12 PM Avengers #223 Now, I wouldn't want to spoiler anything...:-D Jon DubyaMay 8, 2016 10:10 PM Avengers #223 That "Ant-man rides Hawkeye's arrow" tactic was a super-move in Marvel vs Capcom 3 Erik RobbinsMay 8, 2016 9:45 PM Avengers #223 Would not be surprised at all. Erik RobbinsMay 8, 2016 9:35 PM Avengers #357 "Meanwhile, the Avengers try to interrogate the Swordsman, but he doesn't know much.." But does he know what the colorist was doing to him in that panel? GromMay 8, 2016 8:35 PM Avengers #357 Was never a fan of Epting. Prefer Paul Ryan any day. Ben HermanMay 8, 2016 6:33 PM Fantastic Four #342 Continuing my re-reading of the Fantastic Four Visionaries collections of Simonson's run. I found it odd that this fill-in was reprinted in those TPBs, but the one from #351 was not. The only thing I can conclude is that Marvel really needed some material to pad out the second TPB, otherwise it would have only had four issues. And maybe someone also made the mistake of thinking that Simonson did the first page of this issue. I'm in agreement with Vin the Comics Guy and fnord that in fact it's almost certainly Tom Morgan. So, anyway, who the #@$% is Rex Valve?!? Yeah, that has got to be a pseudonym. I went to this entry on fnord's site to see if he or someone else had figured it out. Erik Berk's guess of Kieron Dwyer is a possibility. This looks similar to the work Dwyer was doing in the late 1980s, which is when this inventory must have originally been commissioned. An online search of "rex valve" reveals that it is a part often used in toilets. I wonder if choosing that particular alias was a comment upon the quality of this issue? Ben HermanMay 8, 2016 6:16 PM Fantastic Four #337-341 I have a higher regard for the Tom DeFalco & Paul Ryan run on Fantastic Four than other fans. However, just a few days ago I was re-reading this story in the Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walter Simonson, Volume 1 trade paperback. The writing and artwork were amazing, and once again just blew my mind. It was a near-perfect story. This caused me to really appreciate how much of a long-term blow to FF it was that Simonson's run on it was cut short. Mind you, I certainly do not blame him for quitting out of solidarity for his wife Louise, as well as Chris Claremont, being forced off the various X-Men books. Stuff like this really drives home just how short-sighted editors (as well as the corporate types above them) can be at Marvel. Harras shoved aside Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont to give carte blanche to Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld and Whilce Portacio. And what happens? Less than a year later those three artists quit Marvel to help form Image, meaning that now Harras was out his superstar artists *and* two of the best writers to ever work for Marvel, with the bonus of driving Walter Simonson off FF. Job well done, Bob! In hindsight, considering this was the standard operating procedure at Marvel in the early 1990s, it's no wonder they went bankrupt just a few years later. Erik RobbinsMay 8, 2016 5:32 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 Ben, I was thinking of the same cartoon. I was waiting for a scene of the mayor of Paris berating Silver Sable for driving tanks down the city streets, or something. (Dave77, the gathering of DNA for Serpentor was a different storyline.) Piotr WMay 8, 2016 4:00 PM Avengers #357 I haven't read that particular issue in question... still, I'll once say that, overall, I think that Harras' run (at least, the Gatherers storyline) was a good one! Roy mattson May 8, 2016 3:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I loved this issue! Such character development between Peter and betty! I almost started too cry, so beautyfull! Vin the Comics GuyMay 8, 2016 1:29 PM Hulk #339 Actually, that was a panel reproduced from PPTSSM #118 by Zeck and McLeod. Ben HermanMay 8, 2016 12:45 PM Avengers #350-351 Considering that Bob Harras seemed to be more or less rubber stamping the issues penciled & co-plotted by Jim Lee, yes, I have no trouble believing that he really didn't pay too much attention to the actual contents of those stories. Ben HermanMay 8, 2016 12:15 PM Spider-Man: Fear Itself It was revealed in Thunderbolts Annual 1997 that Heike died in prison. I don't recall cancer being named as the specific cause, although maybe that was a detail added in a later story. Ben HermanMay 8, 2016 12:06 PM Avengers #357 Maybe the Watcher showed up because it was such an historic occurrence that the Avengers managed to keep their line-up the same for six issues in a row :) Don CampbellMay 8, 2016 10:45 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Ms. Marvel #18 is also notable for being the first story in which Kree-Lar was identified as the planet where the Supreme Intelligence was located. This was a mistake since all previous stories, including the Claremont-written Captain Marvel #46 in which the Supreme Intelligence had been shut down, had named the Kree homeworld of Hala as where the Supremor was located. I mention this error because it was perpetuated into the third Silver Surfer series written by Steve Englehart who, like Claremont, really should have known better. Curiously, while early issues of that series did state that the Supreme Intelligence was based on Kree-Lar, by the final Englehart issues that same planet was being correctly identified as Hala. Red CometMay 8, 2016 10:39 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Like a lot of characters, I doubt Mystique (or her "Lord") were all that fleshed out yet by Claremont or his editors in these early appearances. Ms. Marvel wasn't a mutant related book or character back then so it's entirely possible Mystique was originally intended as a mystical character. I agree that the voodoo getup, the name "Raven Darkholme", and her boss contacting her in the form of some ethereal spirit could all support this. The truth is we'll probably never really know. This was written almost 40 years ago and I doubt Claremont himself even remembers what the original plan was. Ataru320May 8, 2016 10:34 AM Avengers #357 I think somehow that Jarvis' close-up expression here makes the entire issue. Nathan AdlerMay 8, 2016 7:23 AM Wolverine #48-50 Carlisle is later revealed to be John Wraith, and Andre is the Professor from Weapon X. But who's Morse? According to the Team X roster found two issues from this one (#50), the group's members are Wolverine, Sabretooth, Fox, Kestrel, Vole, Mastodon and Wildcat. Wolvie, Sabretooth and Mastodon are obvious, Fox is Silver Fox, Kestrel is John Wraith, Vole is Psi-Borg (who's behind the scenes messing with everyone telepathically) – and Wildcat is Maverick. Out of that list, the only one not definitively participating in the staged scenario is Wildcat/ Maverick. And the only person who doesn't definitively correspond to anyone is Morse. Does Morse = Maverick? Is this the first appearance of Maverick, published two months before his debut in X-Men #5? AFMay 8, 2016 6:57 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 No more so than Apocalypse or Sinister. Dave77May 8, 2016 6:15 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Mystique's 'costume' and skull headpiece, and her real name, seem to suggest something supernatural rather than alien, don't they? Nathan AdlerMay 8, 2016 4:02 AM X-Force #18 @cullen & Michael: "Stab his eyes" was also a commonly used phrase by Mister Fantastic's father, Nathaniel Richards, when Tom DeFalco returned him in his F4 run. @Walter: "Chaos Bringer" was also a term used to refer to the Phoenix so did Stryfe think he would inherit the power? Jon DubyaMay 8, 2016 4:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #297 Pressed "post" too fast. Whoops. I meant to say that this is when the creators were apparently tired of the "Archangel" persona and were backtracking at a rather steadily pace from that stuff. Just before this crossover, a rather definitive line was drawn under the long-running subplot about Warren's metal wings (even if a few other writers haven't quire gotten the memo yet). We've also establish since the '91 Reconfiguration of the teams, that Warren's "skin" was actually a costume, and that his bald head gave way to a thick luxurious blonde mullet. I think Michael mention in other part of the crossover that he got his fortune back. And of course a few years later his metal wings will fall off and his feathered ones will grow back. All of this is "subtle" way to get the "original" Angel through back door. Lobdell and company CLEARLY trying to de-emphasize "Archangel" whenever posdible. Jon DubyaMay 8, 2016 3:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #297 Post-crossover "downtime" isdues was always considered Lobdell's forte (well within the X-books anyway) Also, I know Lobdell gets a lot of complaints for his writing (most of it valid) but his take on Professor X is top-notch. Also, is it me or are the best Jubilee stories where she's paired up with an "unlikely" patner dhe ordinarily wouldn't hang with (Professor X, Illyana, X-23, etc.) About Warren, this is a petiod where the creators apparently tired of the "Archangek" ps ChrisWMay 8, 2016 3:22 AM X-Men #14 Compared to Stryfe's ranting when he's fighting Apocalypse, Sinister is the epitome of precise articulation. To the extent that there is any overarching theme/story in the mutant books anymore, it's a time-travel story. That does fit for the characters, but it's already been going on forever, and we still aren't at a point where you can go "Hey! Time travel!" and enjoy it for what it is, whether or not you like time travel stories. This is like Hour Six of the first "Back to the Future," and Marty hasn't even seen the Delorean yet. Jon DubyaMay 8, 2016 1:34 AM X-Force #16 In Kieron Gillen's Uncanny X-Men, Mr. Sinister was (literally) oozing out of some restoration machine, so I don't think the "hole in head" thing is so unlikely. Luis DantasMay 7, 2016 10:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #297 This sounds like a better issue than most of what Claremont wrote. AFMay 7, 2016 7:01 PM Spider-Man: Fear Itself Close. Heike. She died off-panel of cancer. BenwayMay 7, 2016 6:23 PM Spider-Man: Fear Itself How on Earth have I never heard of this? This should be the stuff of comic book legend! While I was reading this I was listening to random music and Stocking Clad Nazi Death Squad Bitches by The Bleach Boys came on. I know that Baron Zemo doesn't actually wear stockings here, but it just fitted with this story in a way that I never thought it would ever fit with any Spider-man story ever. I'm lost for words. It should definately never have been retconned (which doesn't count because Stan Lee) though Zemo II marrying his own dad who is now a young woman may make up for that. But so much wasted potential with this being ignored! Zemo would be older by now and we could have Baron Zemo lounging around the house in a pink leather dressing gown and fluffy slippers watching 'Heil Honey, I'm Home!' or congratulating herself on her foresight in mask colours and then resenting her inner sexism. Did we ever get a first name for reborn Zemo? Helga Zemo? Eileen Zemo? VtCGMay 7, 2016 5:17 PM Captain America #336-337 At this time, Steve couldn't claim to be an Avenger, but Sam certainly could. Of course, we'll see his bonafides established next ish. MichaelMay 7, 2016 4:16 PM Uncanny X-Men #297 There's a joke in this issue about the time Jubilee replaced Scott's ruby quartz glasses with a pair of Foster Grants. That's the kind of joke that seems funny if you don't think about it but makes Jubilee look almost sociopathic if you do, considering that Scott could have killed someone. Thanos6May 7, 2016 3:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #297 Even as a kid, I knew this was a great issue. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 3:45 PM Marvel Two-In-One #35-36 Power Man #46 had a footnote saying that the results of the search for the real cobalt bomb-plane would be revealed here, but that doesn't happen. The Thing does go searching for the plane, but he never finds it. Or were we supposed to believe that the same plane was carrying both Skull and the bomb? Walter LawsonMay 7, 2016 3:08 PM X-Force #18 One of the really dumb things about the Baby Nathan/Stryfe/Cable retcon is that Stryfe, supposedly active in the present era since 1983, had lots of opportunity to stop Apocalypse from infecting baby Nathan with TO, or to take the baby himself, or to stop the baby from being born if he wanted to do that, or to frustrate Apocalypse's and Sinister's plans any time in the years between '83 and this story. But instead, Stryfe does meaningless stuff in Afghanistan, then starts the irrelevant MLF, which he discards here--all for what? Just calling Stryfe the "Chaos Bringer" doesn't really excuse the lack of logic. Stryfe, Sinister, and Apocalypse have all ceased to have consistent motives or methods. @Nathan, I haven't seen Nicieza say anything about his plans for Sinister or the TO stuff, but I'd guess the former would have involved a lot of what Nicieza did with his Black Womb storyline (which never really got fully explored: he set it up in the Hazard arc, revisited it tangentially in his X-Men run, then did more with it in his Gambit run and X-Men Forever series) and the latter would have had something to do with the Celestials, as hinted at in an X-Force issue with Paul Pelletier guest art--issue 30-something. Piotr WMay 7, 2016 2:17 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 But Apocalypse *had* a teleportation device in his temple. So, why didn't he use it teleport to his hideout..? Matthew BradleyMay 7, 2016 1:44 PM Iron Man #109-112 Luis, I can't imagine that it's not intended to be the same silver egg, especially since Mantlo wrote both stories. MTU #55 ends by noting that “unnoticed, a gleaming silver egg lies undisturbed” in the Blue Area, and in IM #109, they find a silver egg (in reality a transporter) the Colonizers left in the Blue Area. fnord12May 7, 2016 1:24 PM X-Men #14 I thought the idea was Mr. Sinister was putting on a show in case Stryfe is watching, since he's breaking their alliance in the next part. He drops a piece of paper with Stryfe's name instead of just saying it. On the other hand, what he does say out loud in the next part does kind of give it away, which i would agree could be attributed to bad writing. Maybe he's meant to be whispering! Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 1:23 PM Power Man #37-40 In #37, there are a few billboards reading "Landgraf". Ken Landgraf was doing some work for Marvel around this time, so I wonder if he wasn't doing uncredited inking there. fnord12May 7, 2016 1:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 I think Apocalypse lost his ability to teleport from anywhere when he gave Ship to X-Factor. We see a little further ahead that he has to crawl to a specific teleportation device to escape from Stryfe. The idea here is that Apocalypse was woken up too soon and he's weak, which is why he's going to this base, which has technology that can power him up. He didn't have to swim all the way from his last location; the idea is just that he's not operating on full power, so he's staggering along. He may have flown most of the way but crash landed in the water near his destination. Oliver_CMay 7, 2016 1:12 PM Power Man #34 As the contemporaneous movie 'Taxi Driver' makes clear, New York in 1976, Times Square in particular, was no picnic. Piotr WMay 7, 2016 1:05 PM X-Men #14 "This issue has one of the most nonsensical cliffhangers I've ever seen- Sinister says he's come to bury Xavier and in the next part he reveals he's come to tell them the name of the person who used the technovirus on Xavier." True! I hate stupid writing like that... Piotr WMay 7, 2016 1:04 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 Well, the scene has him emerging from the sea and climbing a cliff. For no reason altogether... Piotr WMay 7, 2016 1:03 PM X-Men #15 Point taken. Still, I think that my other examples stand... Andy Kubert was supposed to be Jim Lee's replacement, but his art was very sloppy at places. Ben HermanMay 7, 2016 12:46 PM X-Men #14 @Walter Lawson... Okay, that actually makes sense. The problem is that this is the first time I've ever heard it explained that way. It's certainly not articulated clearly in the story. Yes, Sinister does comment "I now have a piece of the future" but I always took that to just be an example of his typically grandiose metaphorical speechmaking, i.e. he's indicating that what's in the container will give him the ability to shape the future of humanity. I never read it as Sinister saying that he's just received something from a time traveler. It would have made things so much more coherent if Nicieza's scripting had actually made it explicit that Sinister knew Stryfe was from almost 2000 years in the future, and that he believed he was getting the DNA for the entire Summers family from the present day up to the year 3800 AD. Walter LawsonMay 7, 2016 12:28 PM X-Men #14 @Ben, I think the idea is that Stryfe was giving Sinister future Summers' DNA, which is something Sinister couldn't otherwise obtain. I agree with ChrisW, though, that it doesn't seem all that compelling. Sinister' so interest in the Summers family comes and goes over the years and is another point that's only explained poorly, years after everyone has stopped caring. Ben HermanMay 7, 2016 12:11 PM Darkhawk #21-25 The five Darkhawk bodies actually being androids doesn't make sense when you consider that Darkhawk unmasked is supposed to appear absolutely horrific. Unless, of course, whatever species the androids were based on were also that revolting to human sensibilities. If fnord is correct that "whatever is under the mask has a spell-like effect that causes people to be terrified" then that doesn't make sense, either. Why give an android that ability, especially when it also affects the person occupying the android's body? That would seem to be a real liability. If you get your helmet stolen or knocked off while you're using the body you'd have to avoid going near anything with a reflective surface, otherwise you're going to end up freaking yourself out. It really feels like this is a case of Fingeroth coming up with the two ideas "Darkhawk looks completely hideous under his helmet" and "Darkhawk is an android created by alien scientists for a crime lord from outer space" completely separate of one another and then failing to reconcile the two. MichaelMay 7, 2016 12:08 PM X-Men #14 Just one more thing- the Dark Riders were Inhumans in X-Factor 65-68 but starting with this issue they're mutants. Ben HermanMay 7, 2016 11:57 AM Captain America annual #8 I just did a write-up on this annual on my blog. Also offered up a nod to both Wolverine vs Capwolf and Steve Rogers' team-up with Deadpool where he recounts the events of this story... https://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/captain-america-vs-wolverine/ Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 11:53 AM Power Man #34 If all the photos in the 1970s weekly sex newspaper Screw are anything to go by, I'd say the depiction of Times Square here is as accurate as the Comics Code would allow. Ben HermanMay 7, 2016 11:43 AM X-Men #14 Agreed one hundred percent with ChrisW's comment above! Why would Sinister trade Scott Summers himself for a canister that supposedly contains the Summers family DNA? That's like trading five rolls of quarters for a $50 bill and thinking you've come out ahead. Other than the fact that a $50 bill is much easier to carry around that five rolls of quarters, they're worth *exactly* the same amount. Sinister is *supposed* to be this brilliantly mysterious diabolical mastermind, but stuff like this makes him look like an idiot. I read "X-Cutioner's Song" when it first came out, and I haven't looked at it since. It really underwhelmed me at the time. It was too long, it had too many characters fighting for space, it seemed to go in circles, it derailed PAD's storylines on X-Factor for three months, and it kept teasing at answers without actually offering any. In hindsight, this would be a prelude of what the X-books would be like for the rest of the decade under Bob Harras' editorship. MichaelMay 7, 2016 11:43 AM X-Men #14 Another thing to note- we see for the first time in this issue that as a result of what Gideon did to Bobby, he can shoot energy blasts now. fnord12May 7, 2016 11:26 AM Power Man #28,30-31 Someone is seen watching Noah Burstein from across the street in issue #28. Both the MCP and the Appendix think that it's Spear, and that makes sense to me. I've added a scan. fnord12May 7, 2016 11:25 AM Power Man #32 Added them. Thanks. fnord12May 7, 2016 11:22 AM Power Man #34 I also wonder now if she was meant to be the girlfriend that dumped DW in Power Man & Iron Fist #88, with miscolored hair. fnord12May 7, 2016 11:20 AM Power Man #34 Added her and expanding the vending machine scan to include her. Thanks. kvetoMay 7, 2016 10:40 AM X-Factor #86 Geez, that artwork is bad. (Feel free to cut and paste this on any comics from 92 onward) MichaelMay 7, 2016 10:11 AM X-Force #18 It was one of his and Stryfe's repeated sayings under Nicieza. cullenMay 7, 2016 9:55 AM X-Force #18 Does Cable talk about stabbing people's eyes a lot, or just during this crossover? Oliver_CMay 7, 2016 9:49 AM Daredevil #158-161,163-167 Speaking of Death-Stalker's death, I see we have the good ol' "Good Lord... *choke!*" trope popping up here. Erik BeckMay 7, 2016 8:25 AM Daredevil #10-11 @Roy Mattson - Then you should definitely watch the show if you can. I like Foggy much more in the show than in the 50 years of comics he's appeared in. ChrisWMay 7, 2016 2:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #296 And it was a sign of Phoenix' power back when she just wanted to see his face. ChrisWMay 7, 2016 2:36 AM X-Men #14 Sinister has worked for decades to get Scott Summers and Jean Grey together, and now he has them together and at his mercy and he... trades them away on the spot. Me, I'd clone them and have them lead the new Marauders, but I'm not an evil supervillain, so what do I know? This crossover is where I gave up on the mutant titles (except for "X-Factor" and "Excalibur.") The characters and storylines that I'd followed for so long were gone, and they weren't coming back. With the benefit of (many years of) hindsight, I do like fnord's point about the teams breaking up and reforming during the course of the story. I wasn't able to articulate it at the time - and even once asked Claremont about breaking the teams up - but this is more sensible. Instead of formalizing the X-Men as two teams with these specific members, they should be picking from who's available and most useful for a given mission. ChrisWMay 7, 2016 2:24 AM X-Factor #84 The lettering on that page with Mr. Sinister, I don't know when Marvel switched to computer lettering full-time, but that page just leaps out as being the wrong way to do computer lettering. ChrisWMay 7, 2016 2:18 AM Uncanny X-Men #294 He also had truelove for the spritechild. Things change. I totally believe that comic books could use a good soap opera, but preferably one without superheroes. If we must have one with superheroes, Scott Lobdell's post-Claremont mutant titles isn't it. Warren, Charlotte, Scott, Jean, Storm, Gambit, they don't feel like believable people having believable romantic urges. They're puppets doing what they're told to do. The Warren/Charlotte and Scott/Jean kisses are in the exact same position. At least Storm points out that Gambit just had a wife we'd never heard about, until she did. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 2:05 AM Power Man annual #1 The Council actually gets a 2nd goon to try killing Samantha later on, although the 1st goon's thought balloons make him appear to be working solo. Magnum's security firewalls must be nonexistent. At one point there is a reference to a friend of D.W.'s called "Edelman", which I'm assuming is a nod to Scott Edelman. PeterAMay 7, 2016 1:52 AM Avengers #350-351 @Erik, Harras didn't just read those Uncanny's, he edited them. So it's particularly egregious if he based his characterization of them on a story he supposedly oversaw. Same deal with Revanche, he was the editor of UXM when Lady Mandarin happened, how was Fabian Nicieza not having read them even a factor if Harras was actually there, working on those issues? Didn't plots have to be approved by the editor? So much sleeping at the wheel... I do love me some classic Epting/Palmer art. Epting has grown too much in the direction of photorealism, his older stuff eyes better to me. More dynamic, somehow. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 1:02 AM Power Man #32 The Simmons family(the surviving ones, anyway) aren't tagged here, and they do appear in McGregor's subsequent issues. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 12:59 AM Power Man #28,30-31 Neal Adams was a member of the Crusty Bunkers, and although I can't prove he worked on that last issue, a few panels have a distinct Adams look to them. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 12:51 AM Power Man #29 But at some point Mantlo would have assaulted the reader by having someone say "Goodbye, Mr. Chips"! Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 12:47 AM Power Man #34 D.W.'s girlfriend Win appears in this issue. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 12:46 AM Power Man #33 In the narrative caption boxes, a minor character called Jeremy Drake inexplicably becomes Jeremy Slate. Mark DrummondMay 7, 2016 12:44 AM Power Man #28,30-31 Spear doesn't actually appear in these issues. Mark DrummondMay 6, 2016 11:36 PM Power Man #32 Weirdly, some narrative captions in this issue call Wildfire "Inferno". I suspect the reason we never saw Wildfire again was because DC had a Wildfire of their own in the Legion of Super-Heroes, who began receiving much more prominence when Gerry Conway took over the title. Nathan AdlerMay 6, 2016 10:39 PM X-Force #18 @Michael: Interesting from that article that Harras was also stabbing JRJR in the back. He was really a great fosterer of creative people now wasn't he! Nathan AdlerMay 6, 2016 10:32 PM X-Force #18 @Walter: What do you think FabNic’s answers were with regard to how Apocalypse's TO related to the Technarchy/Phalanx TO, or for that matter Sinister’s origin? As for Cable as the clone, I think Simon Spurrier returned to this idea in #6 of his X-Force run back in 2014!? MichaelMay 6, 2016 10:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #294 Caliban claims in this issue that Caliban is a name Callisto gave him but in issue 148,he claimed that his father named him for a monster. AndrewMay 6, 2016 10:22 PM X-Men #14 Apocalypse's bath reminds me more than a little of Ra's Al Ghul's Lazarus Pit. MichaelMay 6, 2016 10:17 PM X-Force #18 A lot of fans were angry that the ending didn't reveal anything outright. Nicieza didn't think they were justified in complaining. Lobdell, on the other hand, felt they were right and the ending was nonsensical. There was an interview with them shortly afterward in Marvel Age: fnord12May 6, 2016 10:03 PM X-Men #16 Piotr, Stryfe's plan was to trick the X-Men into going after Apocalypse and Cable, his two enemies. And while they were all busy doing that, he could have his vengeance on his "parents". fnord12May 6, 2016 10:01 PM X-Factor #84 Ah, thanks regarding Sauron telling Wolfsbane about Cannonball's death, Michael. Nathan AdlerMay 6, 2016 10:01 PM X-Force #16 @Walter: Re: Sinister, we know that androids cannot have holes blown in their heads and repair them;) MichaelMay 6, 2016 9:45 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 I have to wonder if there was some sort of miscommunication regarding Jean and Scott among the writers- in X-Factor 85, Scott mistakenly zaps Jean. In X-Force 17, Jean and Scott escape but there's no scene where Jean is seemingly injured. And this issue opens with Jean seemingly injured in Scott's arms. MichaelMay 6, 2016 9:20 PM X-Force #17 The sword was explained in Cable & Deadpool 26-27- a time traveling Cable encountered Apocalypse several times in the past. Brian C. SaundersMay 6, 2016 9:19 PM X-Men #14 What was Bob Harras doing when he was approving Fabian's plots? Yeah, Fabian should have done his research, but Harras had a group of editors, why was he too busy to do his job editing (adjectiveless) X-Men and ask Fabian, what's the deal with Revanche(before it gets drawn, ideally)? I'm so glad i stopped reading X-books in realtime after PAD quit. Mark DrummondMay 6, 2016 9:16 PM Power Man #28,30-31 In #28, a panel of the movie theater shows posters reading "Tina Russ" and "Georgi Spe". Those are references to Tina Russell and Georgina Spelvin, two 1970s porn actresses. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 9:12 PM X-Force #18 Regarding the ambiguity at the end of this story about whether Cable or Stryfe is the real Nathan, the idea that Cable was baby Nathan was already overwhelmingly popular among fans at this time, and while Marvel tried to sell the idea in the industry press that Stryfe was real and Cable was the clone, nobody believed them. I vaguely recall later interviews where Harras or Nicieza have said this climactic issue was changed near the end so as not to commit Marvel to the unpopular idea that Stryfe was Nathan and Cable was the clone. That's why the resolution is unclear, and Nicieza has to spend the first six months or so of Cable's 1993 solo series to teasing a resolution before finally confirming what the fans already believed anyway. I've also seen Nicieza claim, if I recall correctly, that the writers and Harras really did intend for Stryfe to be the real Nathan at one stage, but even if Nicieza did, I don't believe Harras would have gone for that: he knew fans would never accept it. If the Spider-office had paid any attention, we might all have been spared a year of Clone Saga nonsense. MichaelMay 6, 2016 8:58 PM X-Men #15 @Piotr W- fnord omitted a panel where Boom Boom is shown throwing her time bombs at Forearm. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 8:57 PM X-Force #18 I disagree a bit about running out of Claremont/Simonson plots being why this crossover works so well. The x-books have only been touching on Claremont/Simonson plots tangentially for the past year or more, and even here there's only a little Claremont/Siminson and a whole lot more Harras-plots (baby Nathan, Cable, Apocalypse) and Image-gang plots (High Lords). But I do think the absence of Claremont and Simonson themselves is what makes the difference: this seems to be orchestrated well because Harras had full power to do so, neither having to accommodate a writer like Claremont with his own ideas nor star artists who could demand the story go in their preferred direction. Age of Apocalypse is similarly well constructed, and even Fatal Attractions is well organized, even if it's a crap story. Only Phalanx Covenant stands out in this post-Claremont, pre-Onslaught era as a total mess. Unfortunately, while Harras could coordinate a crossover, he couldn't handle story concepts, so the stupid Image ideas about High Lords and Upstarts are dropped, but no clear explanation for Apocalypse and Sinister is forthcoming, and the Legacy virus storyline isn't a story at all and never goes anywhere. Harras also seemed to think techno-organic stuff was cool but never figured out how to tie it together: how does Apocalypse's TO relate to the Technarchy/Phalanx TO? Nicieza seems to have had some answers, but one of the reasons he eventually quits the X-books is that Harras doesn't commit to letting him provide them. Nicieza evidently likes Sinister a lot, but of course it's Peter Milligan who winds up writing an origin for him after Nicieza is out, and it doesn't reconcile all the different things we'd hitherto learned about Sinister. As for Apocalypse: he's really an old guy hiding in his malleable outer form? He has to absorb life forces from babies, or he switches bodies, or he just takes an occasional regenerative bath? He has a natural power to control his molecules and form, but those also happen to be abilities you'd expect a TO virus, a la the Technarchy, to give someone? All this could have been tied together, but instead we get one half-explanation after another, none of which fit into a coherent whole. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 8:33 PM X-Men #16 Cannonball has indeed learned to project his blast field from his fists. It's mentioned in an issue of X-For e as something Cable has taught him to do. It doesn't really last, though, kind of like his High Lord immortality. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 8:27 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 Warren wasn't suicidal over the loss of his wings: Hodge blew up his plane. That said,, the scenes in which Warren is revived and has his wings regrown by Apocalypse make it clear that the process feels like torture. And of course Apocalypse brainwashes Warren into trying to kill his teammates and stuff. So even apart from the evil wings--and Jean is surely wrong, the wings are evil, as Rogue found out when she absorbed Warren's psyche during Inferno--Warren has a few reasons to hate Apocalypse. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 8:21 PM X-Force #17 It never gets spelled out in one place, but if I recall how the pieces fit together correctly, the idea is that in each timeline one of the immortal mutant High Lords undergoes "ascension" and becomes cosmically powerful or something. In Cable's timeline, it's Apocalypse who ascends. So Cable and Strife, and also Gideon's group, are trying to determine which high lord becomes all-powerful: cable presumably wants it to be Cannonball, Gideon's group wants it to be one of them or someone under their tutelage, and Stryfe wants to mess with everyone but make sure it's not Apocalypse. The whole thing is a ripoff from "Highlander," and considering that Harras and Nicieza dump the idea before they ever really explain it, I presume it originated with one of the Image exodus crew. Probably Liefeld. I don't think the sword is ever explained, or even mentioned again. It confused the heck out of me at the time because I kept thinking it must have to do with how Apocalypse all but killed baby Nathan, but the sword isn't techno-organic, from what I can tell, and it doesn't really fit the infection story from X-Factor 68. Thanos6May 6, 2016 8:20 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 I love Beast's line about being pissed at Stryfe. Mark DrummondMay 6, 2016 8:11 PM X-Force #16 Actually, the Beast did have a healing factor back in his Amazing Adventures days, but I don't think Lobdell or Nicieza were referencing that. MichaelMay 6, 2016 7:59 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 I didn't think he swam all the way from Egypt. Walter LawsonMay 6, 2016 7:58 PM X-Force #16 I had the opposite reaction to Sinister getting a hole blown in his head: I thought it was really cool, despite the T2 echo. At this point Sinister was still an enigma, and this incident made it clear we knew even less about him than we'd thought. It makes me wonder if at this stage the plan was still for Sinister to have Claremont's intended origin, in which case this wouldn't be his real body at all. Unfortunately, there's no attempt to clarify Sinister's origins, motives, or even powers in the next few years, until after Age of Apocalypse, and the result is that he goes from being enigmatic to infuriating. MichaelMay 6, 2016 7:57 PM X-Men #14 This issue has one of the most nonsensical cliffhangers I've ever seen- Sinister says he's come to bury Xavier and in the next part he reveals he's come to tell them the name of the person who used the technovirus on Xavier. MichaelMay 6, 2016 7:54 PM X-Factor #84 Re:Cannonball's death- Wolfsbane knew because Sauron told her in X-Factor 82. MichaelMay 6, 2016 7:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #294 At the start of this issue, Lobdell mentions that Warren only lost "most" of his fortune- this explains how he was able to pay the boy's medical bills in Marvel Fanfare 50. fnord12May 6, 2016 7:10 PM Silver Surfer: Judgment Day (Marvel Graphic Novel #38) David, my copy is hardcover that looks like this. I bought it used on Amazon fairly cheaply. There's also a softcover version with a different cover. I'm not aware of any other versions or anything about a destroyed print run. BobMay 6, 2016 6:37 PM X-Force #18 Ugh - the legacy virus. Jay GallardoMay 6, 2016 6:26 PM Doctor Strange #41 Wait a minute... Wong taught Dr. Strange Martial Arts? D09May 6, 2016 5:31 PM Strange Tales #104 (Human Torch) Honestly, his first costume looks more like a "Angry Artist", or a "Scary Sculptor", or even a "Wacky Window-washer" than a "Paste-Pot Pete" to me. DavidMay 6, 2016 5:04 PM Silver Surfer: Judgment Day (Marvel Graphic Novel #38) I have a hard cover copy of this that I was told is the only copy saved from a destroyed print-run. Does anyone have any info about if and/or why a printing was destroyed? AndrewMay 6, 2016 4:59 PM Fantastic Four #289-292 OK, one more and then I'll shut up. I just came across Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2, issue 14. Byrne is the guest writer, and in this issue, fourteen-year-old Mattie Franklin throws herself at Peter Parker, kissing him before he can object. It's not nearly as creepy as the grown Superman/fourteen-year-old Lana Lang make-out session, but I'm seeing a pattern here. Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:29 PM X-Force #18 It was a fun crossover, but as I mentioned in some of the comments on the earlier issues, the plot didn't make too much of sense. I wouldn't also completely agree that everything was seemlessly coordinated here. There are small details that are off, like Havok's damaging of X-Force's IPAC having no bearing on the plot... or how in one issue the X-Men ask for Apocalypse's help in curing Charles, they let Apoc leave his cell... and then, in the following issue, Apocalypse is back in his cell and is let out *again*. Not to mention, he's in quite a different cell than before... Details, I know - but I found them annoying even when I was reading that story first as a teen. Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:23 PM X-Men #16 More weird Kubert art... What exactly is Cannonball doing in that third scan? He's supposed to have developed a power of explosive fists, or something? More importantly: Stryfe comments that his plans has been derailed. Come to think about it, then: what *was* Stryfe's plan in this crossover? Did it avail to anything aside from kidnapping Scott and Jean, and killing Charles and Apocalypse? Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:20 PM X-Force #17 The Apocalypse / Stryfe duel is very cool, but what's up with the dagger? Has it ever been explained what Apocalypse meant by having had used this dagger to kill Stryfe in some kind of past? Also, what did Cable mean by having come back to the past to "control" High Lord's (Apocalypse's?) ascension? Hasn't his goal been *defeating* Apocalypse, not controlling his rise to power? And how come that Stryfe came back to foster the "mutant rebellion" to prevent Apocalypse's ascension? Wouldn't a mutant vs. human war actually help Apocalypse? I feel like all this "revelations" about Apocalypse, Cable and Stryfe don't actually make any sense :( Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:15 PM X-Men #15 Wow, this issue does showcase some bad Andy Kubert art. That pose by Psylocke in the first scan has all the ridiculousness of Jim Lee with none of Lee's prettiness. The second scan shows Boom Boom defeat Forearm by standing around passively... And all of this is topped by the scene from Apocalypse's temple, where we're supposedly seeing Psynapse and Tusk being swiftly defeated by Stryfe... which, actually looks like Tusk sleeping and Psynapse jumping off him. Kubert!!! *shakes fist* Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:10 PM X-Factor #85 Fnord, Jae Lee may be reminiscent of Sienkiewicz here, but he's still Image-bad when it comes to classical storytelling. You guys all complain about lack of backgrounds etc. in Jim Lee's art - well, *Jae* Lee has almost no backgrounds here. It's all pictures of posed people and surreal faces... Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 This issue opens with a ridiculous scene that suggests that Apocalypse *swam* to his American hideout all over from Egypt. Doesn't he have teleporters??? Piotr WMay 6, 2016 4:06 PM X-Force #16 I've never, ever liked that scene with Sinister being shot in the head. It was such a blatant "Terminator 2" ripoff... Question: how come Beast gets speed-starved to be bone-thin by Famine, but he looks normal in further issues of the crossover? He doesn't have a healing factor... Red CometMay 6, 2016 3:29 PM X-Force #18 I believe this crossover was of higher quality than one would expect in large part because this marked the point where the post-Claremont X-Office finally ran out of major unresolved Claremont and Simonson plots. If you considered the Claremont/Simonson era as one large story then this crossover actually works very well as an ending to it all. It's also interesting that Marvel sat on a high caliber villain like Apocalypse for so long after this storyline. With the exception of Age of Apocalypse (an alternate reality) and a few cameos during Onslaught, Apocalypse wouldn't come back for a major story until the Twelve in 2000. clydeMay 6, 2016 3:16 PM Uncanny X-Men #294 The file cards given with the bagged copies were cool. Of course, a true collector would then have to buy another copy to keep bagged. Hence, the reason I have two copies of all the parts of this crossover. Red CometMay 6, 2016 2:41 PM X-Factor #84 It's too bad Peter David quit X-Factor over having to do crossovers. The X-line badly needed his writing talent and the early 90s were probably his creative peak. In addition to Hulk and X-Factor, this was also around when he wrote his most acclaimed Star Trek novels. clydeMay 6, 2016 2:24 PM Uncanny X-Men #296 At the same time, Jean and Scott find that out for themselves by fleeing Stryfe's base by blasting a hole in the wall and winding up in the vacuum of space." "Assuming Jean's right and Archangel's wings are not possessed by an evil entity, then all Apocalypse did was save his life and give him a semblance of his wings back." Red CometMay 6, 2016 2:24 PM Uncanny X-Men #295 I've always liked that "combined with my ability to read" line. Red CometMay 6, 2016 2:21 PM X-Force #16 This issue must be why the 90s X-men cartoon would show Sinister getting holes blasted in his body that would heal instantly..well, except for Cylcops' optic blasts which appeared to be Sinister's kryptonite on that show. Roy mattson May 6, 2016 1:36 PM Daredevil #10-11 Foggy is really a very sympathic character! Starts too grow on me :) clydeMay 6, 2016 1:33 PM X-Force #17 "I'm in Apocalypse's corner, and i'm a little annoyed that Apocalypse is not at full strength for this battle." That's not surprising since he was originally interrupted from his bath, and then woken up again here. He obviously needed more time to regenerate from his battle with Cyclops in X-Factor. It's a valid excuse for his losing the battle. AFMay 6, 2016 1:32 PM X-Men #16 Maybe he was being facetious. Bishop, Cable and Wolverine... someone's gotta try and lighten the mood. AFMay 6, 2016 1:29 PM X-Force #16 And, anyway, Madelyne is Stryfe's mother... MattMay 6, 2016 1:12 PM X-Men #16 Wolvie shattered a rib, eh? Nicieza is a decent writer, but sometimes he just doesn't seem to know the characters all that well. Missing Psylocke's origin is not great, but at least it comes down to familiarity with a couple specific issues of the book. Wolverine's adamantium skeleton, however, should be common knowledge, especially to someone with the writing gig on the X-Men team book in which he appears. JSfanMay 6, 2016 12:50 PM X-Force #16 Why doesn't Mr Sinister have any brains? I see a large hole in his head but no brains. Dave77May 6, 2016 12:27 PM X-Factor #85 It would have made a lot of sense to have this be the first issue of Cable's ongoing. Or the 3rd issue, if 'Blood & Metal' had been 1 & 2. I guess I see why they wanted to keep the crossover as the 4 team books, though. And I suppose the Apocalypse/Archangel stuff is at least based on things that happened in previous issues of X-Factor. Dave77May 6, 2016 11:49 AM Uncanny X-Men #294 The placement issues here must be quite frustrating, seeing that in terms of X-books this crossover should be greatly simplifying things. Makes me glad I only had to place my issues in my largely X-collection. clydeMay 6, 2016 11:28 AM X-Force #16 "Note that Stryfe calls Cyclops and Jean father and mother right there, but they will spend the whole crossover trying to figure it out." He also calls them "King & Queen". I don't think they were taking his terminology to be literal. Also, He kidnapped them and is giving a classic "villain" speech. Not the most sane person to be listening to, IMO. clydeMay 6, 2016 11:20 AM X-Men #14 "Someone writes in to ask in which issues Psylocke got turned into an Asian ninja. Note that the response doesn't actually answer the question. The writer of this book, Fabian Nicieza, notoriously also missed those issues, which is why we get Revanche. If only someone had looked up the answer to this letter!" AFMay 6, 2016 11:13 AM Captain Marvel #1 I have a suspicion that this one-shot was intended as a miniseries. It definitely reads like two (or more) issues fused together. The first issue, which it seems wasn't even rewritten for the one-shot, would be the Powderkeg / re-origin story. It even has the "teaser" ending still present in the one-shot. The next page is "two days later" and a splash page which looks remarkably empty in certain spots. At this point I think we get a truncated version of #2 and possibly #3. Obviously some unnecessary recapping will have been removed, but I'm guessing #2 would have been Moonstone and #3 being the Guardswoman. It's noticable that Moonstone is just dropped after Guardswoman debuts - like would happen between issues. There's a few panels throughout that look noticeably rewrote (characters with mouths opening, looking like they're speaking but are saying nothing, a lot of emptiness in some panels). Then a very quick "ending" for the one-shot. I've not read it but the 1994 Captain Marvel one-shot by the same creative team but it might also fit into this theory. Might've just been left over stuff lying around that was scrapped in favour of making it a extra-sized one-shot. Jon DubyaMay 6, 2016 9:33 AM Avengers #350-351 Erik, they might have had Herc shave in order to make the Black Knight's newly acquired stubble look more distinctive. Alternatively, this was around the time when comics were becoming more focused-groups which typically translates into make characters look "younger" ("Herc, you're losing young males. Can you try to get jiggy with something?"). Often that means shaving off wooly beards or going the "five o'clock shadow" route as the Knight. fnord12May 6, 2016 9:13 AM X-Force #16 Yeah, i'm sure it was meant as a joke. Ataru320May 6, 2016 9:00 AM X-Force #17 Not letting Apocalypse finish his bath is just like not letting Odin finish his nap: you just don't do that. Ataru320May 6, 2016 8:57 AM X-Force #16 Sure that image of "over-prepared Cable" was more a Liefeld "parody" than an actual Liefeld homage? I'm just laughing seeing that image myself. It feels like something you'd expect Deadpool to just say "have enough guns or pouches, buddy?" fnord12May 6, 2016 8:38 AM Marvel Comics Presents #62 (Deathlok) Agreed, thanks. Now if only you could find another appearance of Dr. Kimble. It's weird that he shows up in Deathlok #17-21 as a former Cybertek scientist without any previous on-panel appearances. MichaelMay 6, 2016 8:01 AM Marvel Comics Presents #62 (Deathlok) Now that I look at it, I think the bearded guy in the wheelchair is Ben Jacobs. Erik BeckMay 6, 2016 6:56 AM Avengers #350-351 These two issues make me wonder if Harras read the stretch of Uncanny in the 270's and didn't realize the Starjammers were really Skrulls. His characterization of them is just appalling. Actually, almost everything about these two issues is appalling except the art in the first one. JPMay 6, 2016 12:05 AM Marvel Comics Presents #62 (Deathlok) Heh... "Dr. Hu". fnord12May 5, 2016 10:45 PM Marvel Comics Presents #62 (Deathlok) That would make sense. I've added her. fnord12May 5, 2016 10:41 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 I couldn't find the line in Spotlight #3 about him saying he doesn't have anywhere to stay. I did find Elysius saying that she, like him, didn't have a "natural" home, but that's obviously something different. And you're right about what Gyrich's reasoning is in Avengers #181. But i still think i can keep this here. It seems logical enough that Captain Marvel was given a room at Avengers Mansion, stayed there for a while, went off into space with Rick for a month, and then returned to his room in the Mansion in time for Gyrich to kick him out. Elysius could have been living with Marv, adding to Gyrich's security concerns. MichaelMay 5, 2016 10:20 PM Marvel Comics Presents #62 (Deathlok) I think the female scientist in this story is Dr.Hu. MichaelMay 5, 2016 7:54 PM Nova #19 Avengers 238 established that Darkstar, Shroud and Blackout were all using the same Darkforce. Don CampbellMay 5, 2016 5:52 PM Darkhawk #21-25 Yes, the five Darkhawk bodies were all androids into which the minds of living beings (like Chris Powell and Dargin Bokk) could be projected. Portal came into conflict with one of the five when it was being animated by an alien named Kistur. Portal "killed" it and took its armor for himself, an act which left Kistur's body suspended on the Darkhawk ship in Null Space. Of course, the bodies used by the Fraternity of Raptors are androids as well, allegedly created long ago by Shi'ar scientists. Or were they sorcerers? I guess it depends on whether the Raptors were technological, mystical or some mixture of both. Dave77May 5, 2016 4:25 PM Captain Britain #3-39 Oh, I've been watching Lance Hunter on AoS, and didn't know 'til reading this now that he was an actual Marvel character. Britain was indeed having a rough time in the '70s. Definitely the worst it's had since the war, culminating in '78/'79's winter of discontent. There's nothing wrong with a character using 'bloke' every other sentence. I do it! But it is all a bit 'Cor blimey, guv'nor'. AFMay 5, 2016 3:56 PM Hulk #204-205 And for those interested, here's the scene explaining K'ai and the similar parallel dimensions: https://66.media.tumblr.com/b6f8743a13b8f84a75ae0bf21fef3571/tumblr_o6pzbjEhx71tms107o1_1280.jpg (And this was 1980, before the Handbooks which I'm assuming were the first to clarify/adopt this as the proper canon) (apologies for all the links, but that last page with all the separate worlds is pretty cool) AFMay 5, 2016 3:41 PM Hulk #204-205 Okay... I know some people refuse to accept any revelations made in a What If? as being canon. But What If #23 by Peter Gillis spins out of #205. The divergence point is that Jarella doesn't save the child and therefore doesn't die. So, if that is the point of divergence, that means that everything up until that point has been the same, right? There's a lot of stuff disclosed in it. In fact, it's the first story I think to explain the actual nature of K'ai and it being a parallel dimension, it's relationship to the Microverse and other similar "dimensions". All of which is properly considered canon now. But there's further revelations about Jarella's death. First off, the anonymous person controlling Crypto-Man who remains unrevealed in #205 is revealed to have been a worshiper of the Dark Gods (the same that Psyklop worships). And the child she saved wasn't even real. There's a whole thing with the Dark Gods and some scant revelations about them and stuff. Almost Gruenwald-style tying all the Jarella appearances together: https://66.media.tumblr.com/5bd138fb0e78edfdab178c266d32f751/tumblr_o6pygb39Kt1tms107o1_1280. As I said, I'm sure people's willingness to accept stuff from What If as canon varies. Personally, I see the back-story/revelations having absolutely no reason why they can't be true. It resolves a few danglers and makes sense of a few things. It does hurt Jarella's death in that her sacrifice was for ultimately for nothing, but it doesn't hurt Jarella's story. Piotr WMay 5, 2016 3:41 PM Darkhawk #21-25 Thanks :) I have another question: are the "Darkhawk bodies" androids? If so, then... how come that Portal is wearing one of them as an armour? Did he, uhm, eviscerate that particular Darkhawk to use its outer layer only? Piotr WMay 5, 2016 3:39 PM Nova #19 I know the NW story you're referring to and it's actually the reason I'm asking :) The story, IIRC, actually treats the idea that there is this "darkforce" various super-characters are using as a pre-existing knowledge. It's not the story to introduce the connection, it merely uses it. So, I'm wondering who made this connection first? Who revealed that the powers of Black Mamba, Shroud etc. are tied to the same energy type? AFMay 5, 2016 3:01 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 (at either end, it's worth noting, Mar-Vell didn't have anywhere to stay, so could be staying at the Mansion. At one point in Marvel Spotlight #3 - I think it's that issue anyway - he even notes he doesn't have anywhere to live on Earth. But to follow this story, it would mean that Elysius would have to be with him at the Mansion and that's just another obstacle) AFMay 5, 2016 2:56 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 Wasn't one of Gyrich's complaints that there were too many Avengers currently staying at the Mansion? Which was one of his points that led into him cutting down the current roster to seven? And then after most of them had left, Gyrich was still insisting that the few hangers-on (Wonder Man, Yellowjacket) be gone by the morning. Part of his whole security bent and making sure he knew who was in the Mansion and when, etc. And then in #182, Wasp and Beast bemoan that if Gyrich hadn't sent Captain Marvel and the Guardians away, then they'd still be at the Mansion and Mar-Vell could use his Cosmic Awareness to see if he sensed what caused Wanda and Pietro's collapse. fnord12May 5, 2016 2:24 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 I'm not sure that Mar-vell was meant to be living at Avengers Mansion since Korvac saga in #181? A lot of time passes after the Korvac saga - Beast rejoins the X-Men for a while, for example. I'd say Gyrich had Mar-vell's name on a list and so when Mar-vell was summoned for a meeting, he went to it, not knowing that it was to be fired from a team that he didn't even really consider himself a part of. The month Rick refers to takes place during this entry, so i'd think that as long as Mar-vell is back on Earth in time to respond to the summons for the meeting in #181, it should be good. Let me know if i'm missing something. fnord12May 5, 2016 2:17 PM Captain Marvel #58-62 I should track them, thanks. I guess i had a little debate about whether or not the reconstructions in the Spotlight issues counted as the same characters, but i guess they are. AFMay 5, 2016 1:50 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 Or maybe just placing the whole thing after Avengers #181 Roy mattson May 5, 2016 1:42 PM Avengers #21-22 I cant believe cap waited this Long... Hawkeye has been a Dick for ages UP to this point! AFMay 5, 2016 1:15 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 Well, Rick is desperate to return to Earth, so the idea Mar-Vell went back and forth isn't viable. What MIGHT work is... placing these Mar-Vell stories before Korvac Saga. There's nothing really saying it can't be set there, no reference to Mar-Vell's minor role in that and the only real consideration is that Thanos is dead. But placing this before Korvac also means that Eon's ominous warning to Mar-Vell in #3 (which was never followed up on) could work as a unintentional reference to Korvac. clydeMay 5, 2016 1:05 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 Mar-Vell could have gone back and forth during that time. AFMay 5, 2016 12:53 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 In #3, Rick mentions they've been on Titan for a month. This sorta affects placement issues for Mar-Vell since you have Avengers #181 after this story arc and Avengers #181 sorta hinges on Mar-Vell (and others) still being around the Mansion after Korvac Saga. AFMay 5, 2016 12:47 PM Marvel Spotlight #1-3 Never understood that recent printing of Death of Captain Marvel. I get they needed to beef the page count up and the Nitro issue being included is utterly relevant. But then the first two Marvel Spotlight's are weird choices. For starters, they're part of a larger story; so why not the entire story arc? Or the 3rd Spotlight issue? Or those inventory Spotlight ones? Or that Edelman story where Mar-Vell battles Nitro again? Or than fanfare story about Ms. Marvel learning Mar-Vell's dead? Just seemed like a needless addition of two extra issues to get the folk who bought the last printing to buy it again (and that previous printing did the exact same thing by adding that Nitro issue to it). AFMay 5, 2016 12:35 PM Captain Marvel #58-62 It's too long and teeters on boredom with Lord Gaea and Dionysus, but this is definitely the most direction the book has seemed to have since Starlin. Shouldn't you be tracking ISAAC's minions (Chaos, Dionysus and Gaea) since they all also appear in the Marvel Spotlight issues? Or can't be bothered to have "Dionysus (Titan)" and "Gaea (Titan)" complicating things? Mark DrummondMay 5, 2016 10:50 AM Deathlok #17-21 Did Dr. Hu have a time machine stashed away someplace? fnord12May 5, 2016 8:21 AM Darkhawk #21-25 @Piotr, i don't think we ever see it. I've seen it said that rather than being something actually horrible, it's more like whatever is under the mask has a spell-like effect that causes people to be terrified. But i'm not sure if that's a fan theory or actually established somewhere. I'll of course note any developments when i cover future issues. fnord12May 5, 2016 8:16 AM Defenders #52-56 Added a note. Thanks Cecil. fnord12May 5, 2016 6:53 AM Deathlok #17-21 Fury doesn't become director of SHIELD again until Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #47. CecilMay 5, 2016 4:36 AM Defenders #52-56 Whoa, horsey! That behemoth landing on The Presence isn't the end of the fight - I just read this again for the first time in years- if you take another look, Red Guardian plays an important part in the actual ending of #55, which also sets her up with a new status quo. I know she doesn't go on to be a very major player, but Tania has a pretty interesting concept and point of view-in a precisely 70's sort of fashion! Too bad there was little market, without careful ties to the rest of the MU, for a title about her. MidnighterMay 5, 2016 3:12 AM Nova #19 Um ... I think the first to make explicit connections was Stern when he brought out Captain Marvel from the Shroud hood: Piotr WMay 5, 2016 12:41 AM Nova #19 Thanks. And where was it first stated that the darkforce is an energy type that's used by various characters such as Shroud, Black Mamba etc.? MichaelMay 5, 2016 12:22 AM X-Men #9 @Jon- Comics Should Be Good has a description of what happened with Jean's and Scott's wedding and the Animated Series in the link from from my previous post in this thread. Jon DubyaMay 5, 2016 12:07 AM X-Men #9 Hee. I noticed that no one is ruminating on the broken marriage featured right in this issue. Poor phonetic-accented BellaDonna. Also, why would the animated series inspire the comic marriage, when the cartoon quickly established that Scott and Jean weren't actually married? (Also, as a quick trivia tidbit, the Superman show actually delayed the marriage. Lois are Ckark were actually going to get married much earlier in the comics, but the upcoming ABC series pushed it back until it can occur concurrently. This is why the Death of Superman story occured to postpone the nuptials.) As for for the Cyclops/Psylocke stuff (which I detest by the way, especially when it gets blended-in with the much-loathed "Revange" subplot), I suspect his becoming flustered at her presence is suppose to be an example of "informed attractiveness" in action. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InformedAttractiveness). When you think about it there's supposed to be a sort of "Betty and Veronica" thing going on with Jean and Betsy (which is actually a trope too.) Of course the unmentioned gag there is that Archie's two paramours look pretty much the same except for different hair colors. Yet Veronica is somehow portrayed as the "sexy one" getting the lion's share of male attention. I think something similiar is happening in these books so that we "understand" that Psylocke is suppose to be the "uber-hottie" in-universe as well as out despite Jean wearing an equally skimpy swimsuit last issue and having a typical "Jim Lee body." A similar dynamic occurs when we get to the Jean/Emma/Scott triangle. MichaelMay 4, 2016 11:54 PM Deathlok #17-21 Fnord, you state that this issue takes place during the period when Dum Dum is head of SHIELD but you have it placed after Fury gets his job back. Jon DubyaMay 4, 2016 10:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 For this subplot, sure. But the funny thing is that Bishop himself ends up betraying the team later on AndrewMay 4, 2016 7:53 PM Nova #19 Checking... nope. The darkforce in Bizarre Adventures was generated by Darkstar in Champions 17, and she first used the term to describe her powers in Champions 12, written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by John Byrne. Prior to that, she referred to it as a darkfield. My guess would be that Byrne came up with the term. Dave77May 4, 2016 4:29 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 Cobra went around the world getting the DNA of great military leaders in the origin of Serpentor. So at least they had a reason! Ataru320May 4, 2016 4:22 PM Nova #19 According to research, Bizarre Adventures #27 is the first time "Darkforce" is used as a term. Piotr WMay 4, 2016 4:01 PM Nova #19 Question: does anyone know where exactly the idea of darkforce was introduced? Piotr WMay 4, 2016 3:49 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 Okay, I'll step in and defend Cathode's "outfit". I mean, it *is* in that in only covers the naughty bits... but the general idea is sound. She looks like a Borg... Note that Circuit Breaker from "Transformers" had similar costume. It's interesting to see the Nextwave trio make another appearance. Marvel editorial really was pissed at the Image guys... Roy mattson May 4, 2016 3:37 PM Tales To Astonish #70-74 (Hulk) I love how the watcher says he never interferes but always does! Hipocrite! MortificatorMay 4, 2016 3:07 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 "He's even bigger than I am!", Battlestar thinks, as his eyes fix on Deathlok's crotch. clydeMay 4, 2016 2:42 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 "At least Cobra Commander doesn't parade around in an "outfit" like Cathode has here." Well, thank goodness for that;) Ben HermanMay 4, 2016 1:59 PM Amazing Spider-Man #374-375 By this point Venom had become so insanely popular that Marvel was going to give him his own series, no matter what. David Michelinie has indicated that the decision was taken out of his hands, and that with or without his cooperation Venom was going to become an anti-hero. Michelinie obviously was not happy with this, but he agreed to write this story and the first Venom miniseries in order to try to make the character's heel-turn at least semi-plausible. I don't really think he succeeded, simply because of the fact that Venom is an insane murderer. But I doubt any other writer could have done a much better job of it. As much as I dislike Venom and regard his entire conception as flimsy, I do have a certain sympathy for Michelinie, since it's clear that he didn't intend for the character to go in this direction. That was also why Michelinie introduced Carnage, so that there would once again be a symbiote bad guy who was an out-and-out villain to take the role being vacated by Venom. As I've said before, I think it was a incredibly bad idea to create a character who was the equivalent of the Joker with superpowers who only exists to murder people non-stop. But that's what happened. Ben HermanMay 4, 2016 1:48 PM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 This story is like something out of the old G.I. Joe cartoon. I think one time Cobra actually *did* steal a bunch of monuments from around the globe. At least Cobra Commander doesn't parade around in an "outfit" like Cathode has here. Ataru320May 4, 2016 9:37 AM Silver Sable & the Wild Pack #6-7 I would have never guessed that Deathlok was "Doctor Donut"...my entire "badass" image of him has been shattered by that one bit of trivia. fnord12May 4, 2016 7:20 AM X-Factor #77 I note in the considerations for X-Factor #78 that it takes place "the next day", and there isn't a direct continuation in the action, so i allowed a little space in-between. |
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