Can YOU
Name This Marvel Villain??
Now who have we here? A male predecessor to Ruby Thursday who attacks on a motorcycle? But while our friend's primary ability indeed lies in that, er, head of his, the origin and power of the Orb are very different from the distaff member of the Headmen. Meet Drake Shannon, the former partner of Crash Simpson (whose motorcycle exhibition show was passed to his daughter, Roxanne, and Johnny Blaze). Back in the day, Shannon challenged Simpson to a winner-take-all race, with the stakes being sole ownership of the show; but as Shannon explains to Roxanne, one of them wouldn't come away from it in one piece.
We'll be seeing more of Shannon's mysterious benefactors, the group known only as "They"; but for now, there's a deadly bargain to resolve, as Shannon clearly has no qualms about forcing Blaze to trade ownership of the show for Roxanne's life. Fortunately, Peter Parker happened to be attending the show when the Orb made his play--and the chase is on!
With Spider-Man managing to relieve the Orb of his hostage, and with the Orb unable to affect the Ghost Rider, the villain's only option is to somehow escape--but the route he takes would literally lead to a dead end.
Not to let a cool headpiece go to waste, Marvel would bring the Orb back in a number of appearances in both Ghost Rider and other titles. (And it probably goes without saying that he became a regular at the Bar With No Name, where he can use that hypnotic eye to coerce the bartender into slipping him free drinks.)
NEXT:
I knew that was the Orb - I remembered him because some years later I was struck by how ahead of the curve Marvel were to include one of the Residents in their comics back then.
ReplyDeleteAnd then they went on to Kiss. Go figure.
-sean
I know it was a harsh lesson, but he does seem to have realised the importance of a full face helmet whilst riding a motorbike. It's a shame that irresponsible Captain America hasn't followed suit.
ReplyDeleteSean, I must admit to having had no exposure to the Residents until now. I'll be sure to keep my eyes... er, eye open for them from now on. :D
ReplyDeleteTiboldt, that's a good point--what kind of example is the guy setting? (Well, yes, we know what kind of an example Captain America is setting, but even for Cap there's always room for improvement.) Still, I could have sworn he did wear a helmet for a stretch in his mag, but I could be wrong.
Ha! I always kinda liked this guy. A motorcycle-riding giant eyeball.
ReplyDeleteWhat is left to be desired.
I really like the new incarnation of the Orb. This guy isn't wearing a helmet that looks like a giant eyeball. His head IS a giant eyeball. And he is completely nuts, which is understandable, I guess.
I saw him in some mini-series or other, lurking around the blue area of the Moon for some reason.
Y'know, a future post about this new Orb might be of interest from an educational standpoint, C.F.
Cheers!
M.P.
"Eye" just might "look" into that, M.P. :D
ReplyDeleteArgh!
ReplyDeleteM.P.
Orb! I remember an issue of Ghost Rider where they scuffled.
ReplyDelete