Can YOU
Name This Marvel Villain??
If you run into a villain who calls himself the Kangaroo, chances are he's going to have an origin like this:
So what do you do if you're strong, agile, and your talent lies in your feet? Well, you could become the Beast--or you could take up boxing. But really, someone should have told the Kangaroo the reason why boxing gloves are worn on the contestant's hands:
On the lam, the Kangaroo heads for New York--and after escaping deportation agents, he decides to finally embrace the life of crime that fate has thrust upon him:
Well, look at this way--at least he didn't call himself the Leap-Frog. Still, I'm not sure how much terror a guy named "the Kangaroo" is going to strike into the hearts of New Yorkers. Unless, of course, his first heist turns out to be a vial of deadly bacteria--which gets their attention, alright, as well as that of a certain webbed crime-fighter:
Keep in mind that the Kangaroo has only his natural strength supplementing his phenomenal jumping ability that distinguishes him from any hired muscle that the Maggia might employ--which would normally make him easy pickings for someone like Spider-Man. Only Spidey discovers that one thing is tying his hands:
Finally, though, Spider-Man combines his speed with his agility to "disarm" the Kangaroo:
With Spider-Man's attention now focused on securing the vial, the Kangaroo makes his escape. Later, when he finds himself down on his luck, he unfortunately crosses paths with Dr. Jonas Harrow, a criminally-minded and unorthodox surgeon who has augmented others such as Hammerhead. And under Harrow's scalpel and no doubt one or two screwdrivers, the Kangaroo now finds himself a player in the big leagues:
And it doesn't take him long to seek out the one who brought his budding criminal career to a swift end:
Yet Harrow has plans for the Kangaroo, and sends him to retrieve a radioactive isotope in order to further his work. Unfortunately, Harrow hasn't sufficiently prepared his lackey to withstand the prize he seeks, which the Kangaroo doesn't realize until it's too late:
I don't see the Kangaroo jumping his way out of radiation poisoning and incineration, so it looks like his criminal rep will die
Any superhero who had their own mag has had a lot of 3rd-rate adversaries. When I think of Daredevil's classic rogues gallery...sheesh. Spidey had a fantastically diabolical rogue's gallery, but even he had to contend with the occasional ass-clown, many of whom seemed to be animal or disco-based. The only decent Spiderman supervillain created in the 70's that I remember was Will-o-the wisp, and he was connected with the not-so-good Dr. Harrow as well. I'd like to see more of the Wisp, but I don't know if Marvel's doing anything with him now.
ReplyDeleteI liked some of those cheesy old villains, though, like Stiltman, the Porcupine, the Alchemoid and the Ringer. They had a lot of potential for irony, and killing them off was a mistake.
But then again, who ever stays dead in comics, except maybe the Kangaroo?
Now that you've gone and said that, you've virtually guaranteed that the Kangaroo will probably return someday. THANKS A HEAP. :)
DeleteIf the Kangaroo returns and is anything like he used to be, perhaps it will be the signal that comics are allowed to be fun again.
Deletemore likely he will return as some kind of fetishistic Aboriginal cannibal serial killer, updates for "realism."
Kangaroo was even more awesome than...the Gibbon!
ReplyDeleteWow, that might be the4 lamest origin story ever. He learned to jump from kangaroos? Stan was rally having an off day when he penned this one!
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