Saturday, October 13, 2012

There's No Substitute For Working Out, Cap


There have been a few one-hit wonders in comics--where something was tried with a character but quickly abandoned, for one reason or another. There was the Scarlet Witch's power of flight, which was introduced as if she'd always possessed it. (A word to the wise, Wanda: relying on unpredictable hex power to get you in the air and keep you aloft is just asking for trouble.) There was also Thor's secret name for Mjolnir, his hammer, which allowed him to summon it even though it was out of reach--which would sort of put an end to any danger of him turning back into Don Blake because of the hammer being out of his grasp, so that little name was quickly retired.

And then there was Captain America's period of having super-strength--which, while interesting, ended up making him no different from other heroes with super-strength:




They might as well have changed the name of the book to "The Invincible Captain America." Having the old Captain America go up against large groups of armed men made for an amazing fight; with the new Captain America, the conclusion was usually a brief and foregone one. His acrobatics and perseverance no longer stood out--why dodge armed goons when you can plow through them?

Then there was Spider-Man's ulcer, given to him by writer Gerry Conway:



Stomach ulcers are healed usually by lifestyle changes, or medication, or through surgery. I don't recall Spider-Man making any lifestyle changes, since he's still going into action and getting into fights--but since we never hear about his ulcer anymore, Marvel must have filed it away under "This Idea SUCKED" and made it go away by ceasing to mention it anymore. I mean, on Peter Parker's budget, it's a safe bet he wouldn't be able to afford medication or surgery. Maybe he got the meds when he was mooching off of his super-model wife, MJ.

And finally, how about Mjolnir having the power of levitation?


That darned hammer is just full of surprises, isn't it?


2 comments:

Terence Stewart said...

...and what about Patsy 'Hellcat' Walker's telekinetic abilities? Trained by Moondragon, uh huh, and so rarely used I never noticed when they were gone.

Comicsfan said...

I remember Moondragon taking back those abilities at some point, but you're right--if you blinked, you missed them.