Take A Seat

 

As I was compiling subject matter for this post, the first thing that came to mind was this guy:

Who looks like he's traveling through space seated on some kind of contraption--at least that's what I'd assumed, having never read the story. Except that this character, Orion, isn't seated on anything, but simply hunched over, gripping what he calls his "power rods." Yet there is a seated character among those Orion mingles with in New Genesis--Metron, who appears to be persona non grata among the others and flits about time-space in his "Mobius Chair" advancing his own agenda.

And thus, the New Gods have unknowingly summoned us to hear another

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Marvel Trivia Question

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What Marvel characters look to chairs for their status, and/or their power?

(Or, in Ben Grimm's case, their life??)

The Final Fate of the Scarlet Witch!

 

We've reached the end of a long and winding road involving Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, having tracked her activities following her devastating attack on her fellow Avengers at Avengers Mansion which led to her involvement in reshaping our reality to suit the worldview of the House Of M. The culmination of that saga saw Wanda, furious after witnessing her brother's fate at the hand of their father, Magneto, not only shifting reality once more but in the process removing the mutant powers of nearly every mutant on the planet, in addition to excising even the potential to become a mutant from the human genome.

As for Wanda herself, she would end up in the European nation of Transia, bereft of her memory. To the Avengers as well as the X-Men, Wanda's guilt as far as what she's done and the lives she's destroyed is a certainty; but to the Young Avengers, two of whom may likely be the sons she believed to be lost to her forever, she represents not only a person perhaps too quickly condemned by her former comrades, but also the means by which all can be put to rights again. (And hopefully allaying the concerns of the Avengers that one of the young group's number, Wiccan, isn't going to turn out like his "mother.") Joined by Magneto and setting out to find her, they locate her in Latveria, in a curious twist to this story as the fiancée of none other than Victor Von Doom.

With the reappearance of Iron Lad (the Young Avenger who's destined to become Kang the Conqueror), the group (including Wanda at this point) return in time to the point where the Jack of Hearts destroys Avengers Mansion--only this time, the life of Scott Lang is saved, though the event also serves as the catalyst for Wanda regaining her memory and resulting in an onslaught of guilt which sees her attempting to use the forces she's marshaled at the mansion to end her own life. Yet more certain than ever that some outside force has taken control of Wanda, Wiccan chooses the moment to reveal to her his steadfast belief that her children are alive, which acts like a bucket of cold water thrown on her. Standing down, she resolves to answer for what she's done, as well as do what she can to undo her actions toward mutants.

One such victim, Rictor, arrives on the scene with the rest of his group, X-Factor--and he decides to volunteer to test Wanda's plan to help the affected mutants by asking her to restore his ability to cause earth tremors.

But on the way are not only the Avengers, who are pleased to hear the news about Wanda appearing to have regained her sanity, but also the X-Men, who collectively are of a different frame of mind entirely regarding the woman who devastated the world's mutant population. And the lines are all too quickly drawn, in a story that has taken over six years to at long last reach its conclusion.

Witch Hunt!

 

We've reached the final installment of the House Of M limited series from 2005, where the X-Men and the Avengers found themselves swept away into a new reality created by the Scarlet Witch at the behest of her brother, Quicksilver--one which made mutants the dominant species, while our heroes were made to forget their past lives and histories in favor of an existence which saw their fondest hopes and dreams realized. Yet all of that changed when Wolverine, who somehow retained his memories, began to gather the troops--and with the help of a young mutant named Layla Miller, those who could be located traveled to Genosha once more to confront the ones involved in the deception, unfortunately leading to the Scarlet Witch again unleashing her power to alter the state of the world, for better or worse.

In this issue, which essentially has everyone pulling themselves together and picking up the pieces upon finding themselves back in their previous lives, we'll unfortunately be left with lingering questions which still lacked answers even in the course of eight issues. For instance: Where is Charles Xavier, taken from the heroes' midst when they first landed on the island of Genosha to settle the matter of the Scarlet Witch's disposition, the only indication of his fate being a memorial garden set up in his honor? And what finally happens with Wanda, who remains at large? From a publication stance, the only thing that this issue makes clear with reasonable certainty is that the goal of House Of M was to set up plots tying in to any number of upcoming books (e.g., Civil War (mid-2006) and Secret Invasion (mid-2008), two other multi-title events) for the foreseeable future, profitable ventures which appeared to be the only "reality" of concern to Marvel in the early 2000s.

Still, let's see where things stand following Wanda's cryptic declaration of "No more mutants" and a subsequent blinding flash which signaled another seismic shift in reality. For what it's worth, it appears that Magneto isn't going to walk out of this unscathed, if Wolverine has anything to say about it.

A World They Never Made

 

Continuing the PPC's look at the House Of M crossover event from 2005, we turn our focus away from the title series to others whose lives were affected by the rise of mutants in the world, where a brief synopsis tells us the circumstances of not only the clinging existence of homo sapiens, but of those heroes who now unknowingly find themselves in different lives than those they led.

The earliest two books out of this gate comprise those who, in our reality, saw their characters meet very early in their respective careers. But the reality we're exploring in this series was created by the disturbed mind of the Scarlet Witch--and in the world that she brought into existence, Spider-Man never met those we know as the Fantastic Four, and their histories are radically different here where mutants reign supreme, and where their lord, Magnus, has fulfilled the goals he long fought for but could never achieve in adversity.

Peter Parker, as well, has seen his dreams of happiness and fulfillment come true--but if that is so, why does he feel uneasy in a life where he's achieved everything he ever strove for? And if Reed Richards and those who accompanied him into space were killed during their flight, as we learned previously, then what four people have taken their place?

The Alternate Fantastic Four

 

Slipping by the PPC's roundup of other incarnations of the Fantastic Four was a late-1977 story by writer Roy Thomas which started the ball rolling after an earlier tale from 1972 successfully piqued reader interest on the subject. This time, the Watcher steps in for Lockjaw and guides us through the events of an alternate world in which Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, and Sue Storm returned from a disastrous flight into space and experienced different transformations than the members of our own famous quartet.

The appearance in this story of the FF we know is limited to the (appropriately enough) opening four pages of the issue (if you're not counting the slightly misleading cover which offers the impression that the two groups somehow come into conflict). Once the introduction has run its course, Thomas has made it clear he intends to further cement the premise he began exploring when he was scripting the main title, which floated the probability possibility that the FF's individual powers were the result of their personality traits*--even roping in the Watcher to validate what at this point is now formalized as canon rather than supposition.

*How we could possibly apply this theory to the powers of the Red Ghost and his three super-apes, all of whom underwent the same cosmic ray exposure which created the FF, is a fair point to raise. Kragoff himself, for instance, gains the ability to become "unsolid," while the baboon of the trio of apes becomes a shape-shifter and the orangutan gains magnetic abilities.

Which begs the question as to how the four individuals from an alternate Earth take on powers and forms so radically different from their counterparts.

Curiously enough, this world's "Fantastic Four" have somehow managed to successfully establish their heroic reputation in the public eye as a group of three, given that their fourth member, "Big Brain," cannot operate in the field for obvious reasons and instead appears content to remain within the confines of the Baxter Building. (His counterpart in the Fantastic Five from 1999 was obliged to find a way around the problem.) But when the three foil a museum robbery attempt, their fourth member cannot escape the scrutiny of the one who set that plan in motion.

Spider-Man and Dr. Strange v. Dr. Doom Dormammu The Dread Dilby

 

It wouldn't surprise me if those of you who picked up the 1980 Amazing Spider-Man Annual found it to be something of a mixed bag--enjoyable, but falling short. There's the teaming of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, an unexpected chemistry between the characters which has worked out well in past stories but here is practically nonexistent. There's the prospect of the teaming of the two against the surprising pairing of Dr. Doom and the Dread Dormammu (the prospect, mind you). There's the artwork of Frank Miller, who is more than adept at laying out a story and who encloses this one in a clever and stylish theme comprised of passages from the Book of the Vishanti. And there's writer Denny O'Neil, who gets high marks from those within the industry and whose approach to a story I almost always find to be compelling, but whose scripting on Invincible Iron Man during the early 1980s I still recall as a trudging, enduring disappointment. In this issue, however, he turns in engaging work for nearly all of the featured characters. (O'Neil and Miller would also work on the succeeding year's ASM Annual.)

Combined, the issue's cover and its splash page give every indication of a page-turner story to look forward to:

But, caveat emptor. The cover caption, in particular.

In actuality, our two villains make little more than cameo appearances. (You'd think the Vishanti would have divulged that up front.)

These Odds and Ends Approved by Princess Zanda

 

Recently, I had occasion to go through a lot of graphics files that have been collecting dust over the years--looking them over after so long, clearing out the chaff, that sort of thing. Many of them consisted of content for old blog posts long since completed; some were curated as fodder for framework ideas for either home or office; and there were a few curiosities in the mix that evoked my earliest days of collecting comics memorabilia, a sort of digital "scrapbook" I hadn't even realized I was contributing to. By contrast, however, there were also a few such images that had me wondering just what I'd intended for them, but for whatever reason decided not to pursue or preferred to put on the back burner indefinitely.

Yet there were enough of these to share with Peerless Power readers and perhaps convey the same mixture of nostalgia and curiosity that I still have toward them--a sort of "grab bag" of comics tidbits that will hopefully evoke some thoughts on your part, as well.

We can start off with a montage of Alex Ross renderings that never made it to a wall hanging, but were most suitable for throwing together a desktop wallpaper montage:

(And if you're wondering why there's a Batman/Green Hornet graphic among the Marvel scenes, the only explanation I have is that it was too awesome not to have on my desktop! :) )

"The Heroes and the Holocaust!"

 

In 1981, Marvel Treasury Edition brought to an end its seven-year series with its "final edition" (so to speak) that featured characters from both Marvel and DC Comics in a whopping 68-page story--long overdue for a presentation in the PPC and, as a real treat for yours truly, one which I'm looking at myself for the first time, having initially passed on it at the counter over forty years ago.

Given the listing of credits, it's no wonder that DC gave its approval to those assigned to the job:

• Pencils: John Buscema, arguably Marvel's biggest gun on story art at the time;
  
• Inks: Nine different artists inking Buscema's backgrounds, with Joe Sinnott handling all of the characters;
  
• Letters: Joe Rosen, brother to fellow Marvel letterer Sam Rosen*;
  
• Front cover art: John Romita (layouts) and Bob Larkin

*In such stellar creative company, I almost expected to see Sam Rosen's name joining them; but by this point, he'd left Marvel, his final (albeit incomplete) work for the company having been submitted about nine years prior. But I think you'll find that Joe turns in exemplary work on this story.

While on scripting, we have Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter, with plotting suggestions submitted by Marv Wolfman--though initially different arrangements had been made, as Mr. Shooter explains**:

   "I picked Marv Wolfman to write the book for a number of reasons: he was a marquee name and deservedly so, he was in New York, conveniently, he was absolutely reliable, and most of all because he really, really wanted to do it.
   "Somewhere in the middle of plotting, Marv’s employment agreement expired. We weren’t able to come to terms on a new one. He had an offer from DC, and opted to take it. So, Marvel was obliged to provide another acceptable writer. I was the only Marvel writer who had written both Superman and Spider-Man. I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands, but neither did the other leading candidates. So, I took it on. DC had no objection."

**Condensed for brevity. You can find Shooter's full and fascinating remembrances of this project on his blog, in three parts.

Predictably, there are a number of things to look forward to here, as those of you already familiar with this edition know. For one thing, it's a fine overall story. The beginning lays out its direction with Spider-Man's discovery of suspicious activity; the heat is turned up a bit by out of the ordinary behavior on the part of the incredible Hulk (if one can even use the word "ordinary" in regard to his actions); Superman arrives and begins his own investigation, leading him to the doorstep of the Latverian Embassy and you-know-who; there's the added variable of the man named Parasite, an energy-draining character who had been imprisoned by Superman but becomes aligned with Doom; there is also Wonder Woman's presence, lured by Dr. Doom to New York for some unknown reason; while Spider-Man's own progress in the investigation leads to joining with Superman against both Doom and Parasite.

The key player in leading us through this story's developments, however, would be Doom--whom we come across early on and provides us with the knowledge of an ongoing plan that brings him closer to world domination. This early in Shooter's story we're provided with no specifics as yet; yet the master of menace, and manipulation, will be responsible for a good deal of what you and I will see from this point going forward.

Epitaph For A Demon

 

Can YOU

Name This Marvel Villain??

Favorite Scenes: Doctor Doom!

 

This new series came about from doing what any comics reader might find him- or herself doing when a certain character comes to mind--reminiscing about those scenes in which that character appeared, which often led to pulling out those issues and thumbing through those pages once more. In the case of Dr. Doom, arguably one of the most memorable characters in this medium, it seems like he and I are thinking along the same lines. (Though the comparison stops there.)

This armored man, once called a "living enigma" by the Sub-Mariner, became shaped by the tragic and harsh events of his past, going on to become one of the most dangerous figures in Marvel's line of comics. Following are some of the more memorable moments of his nefarious life which stood out for me, though you'll no doubt have a few of your own to add to this digital "scrapbook" of the good Doctor's exploits.

Power Begets Power

 

Amid all the battles taking place between heroes and villains during the 1985-86 limited series Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars, there were two characters who were instead more concerned with their own priorities in this strange setting they had been thrust into. For the world-devourer Galactus, his was to almost immediately seek out and confront this conflict's orchestrator, the Beyonder, and insist that this being use his clearly overwhelming and limitless power to end his endless craving for the life force of worlds; but for the infamous monarch of Latveria known as Dr. Doom, he, too, sought an opportunity to gain power for himself, having witnessed the great power which the Beyonder wielded to wipe out an entire galaxy as well as create a world on which the captured super-humans would battle.

The Beyonder would effortlessly rebuff both of them during the initial attempt of Galactus to breach the Beyonder's portal to his universe, and, from that point on, both would pursue their goals in their own way using their own methods: Galactus, by summoning his world-ship to facilitate his draining the planet of its life force (which would mean the deaths of all of those brought from Earth), and Doom, by turning his attention to the vast world-ship and its secrets. Finally, Doom's patience bore fruit, when Galactus, in preparation for facing the Beyonder once more, began consuming the incredible sources of energy which were available to him, starting with his world-ship.

Yet in his own preparations, Doom had secured the means by which he could take advantage of such a moment--and as the horrified onlookers on the planet fear the worst, Doom lays claim to nothing less than the power which Galactus looked to absorb himself!

In other words, Ms. Rambeau, it sucks to be you right now.

Given that Doom has always made bold claims of his "matchless mind" being able to adapt to situations that lesser men could not, it's fitting for writer Jim Shooter to show him having not so easy a time of it in attempting to keep his focus--and his sanity--regarding his own corporeal state of existence even as he struggles to cope with the perceptual shifts inundating him at these early moments of an entirely new existence. We're left to assume that Doom's prior experience in being able to absorb and control cosmic power has played some part in allowing him to weather the far, far greater flood of forces meant for the mind and body of Galactus--but we'll find his greater test in this regard is yet to come.

Yet even in as superior and overwhelming a state of being as he currently finds himself, there is still one other whose shadow falls over him (or, more to the point, in whose shadow he still remains), a realization that he cannot tolerate--and so he now girds himself for a winner-take-all struggle with the Beyonder, a contest which he has prepared for to a certain degree but will demand all the resources this man can bring to bear, just to stay alive.

The Coming Of Galactus! The Rise Of Doom!

 

When it comes to Marvel's Bronze Age tales of the 1980s, I don't often come across raves or even much discourse regarding that period's notable and heavily promoted event, the 1984-85 twelve-issue limited series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, which, at the time, was reportedly a financial success and sold more copies than any other comic in the previous twenty-five years. Almost nine years ago, the PPC featured its own review of the series as a whole--and while ultimately questioning the premise of the concept along with its outcome and immediate impact, there were also some positives to consider, though your own mileage may vary.

It seems clear that the story's selling point was in the select groupings of heroes and villains which were assembled on a newly-created planet to engage in a number of conflicts with each other, on a scale that went (forgive the word) beyond what could be found in regular monthly titles being published. (The scenarios being found in the 1977-1984 What If series, still being sold at the time, were perhaps the series' closest equivalent in that regard.) Yet if you look past the window dressing of the hero/villain battles (where, let's face it, only one group is going to be able to meet the Beyonder's condition to "slay your enemies" in order to claim the reward being offered), there were two characters in particular whose activities arguably made for more compelling reading--individuals who were literally worlds apart in power, but whose struggles coincided and came to overshadow the main focus on the heroes who were caught in the middle of it all.

A Riotous Roundup of Enormous and Explicit Exclamations!

 

As many of us who grew up reading classic Marvel comics can attest, not only did comic books immerse us in a world of heroes and action-adventure, but we impressionable readers were also finding our minds stimulated in other ways as writers took the opportunity to slip in words and terms which had the curious among us reaching for our dictionaries. And so as a homage to those whose choice of words both intrigued and educated young minds, the PPC has gathered a few scenes from the past where language reigned supreme, and thereby lit the spark of interest and creativity in others.

(A few sparks were flying in that paragraph alone!)

No doubt some of you have your own examples of weighty words which had you flipping the pages of your Webster's as a kid, so I hope you'll chime in with your own. As for myself, here are some instances which came to mind--starting with one which seemed to be all over the place, and often applied to a certain green goliath (or those he battled).

behemoth - a huge or monstrous creature
buh·HE·muhth

To this day I still find myself sometimes mentally pronouncing this as a two-syllable word (BEE-moth), when in fact it's pronounced with three, with the accent on the second. Interestingly enough, I have never had occasion to use this word in a sentence--but to see it bandied about in print, you'd think it was common usage. (We should all probably count our blessings that we never found ourselves in situations where the word behemoth was being applied.)

Many red-blooded males surely thought of a few words to describe the vivacious Mary Jane Watson, but I can almost guarantee that one word brought to life by Stan Lee never occurred to us, even though it's completely applicable in MJ's case:

pulchritudinous - beautiful
puhl·kruh·TOO·duh·nuhs

Wow, Mr. Lee--with such a vocabulary to draw on while introducing yourself to a beautiful woman, your dating life must have resembled something out of "The Grapes Of Wrath."

Thanks to Lee and others, the esteemed villain Dr. Doom also provided more than a few ten-dollar words in his path toward domination:

atavism - a reversion to something ancient or ancestral (i.e., a throwback)
AT·uh·vi·zm

misanthrope - a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society
MIH·suhn·throwp

escutcheon - a shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms
uh·SKUH·chn

Granted, all of Doom's references apply to the Thing in one way or another, but Lee coming up with a "blot on the escutcheon of humanity" feels like it deserves some sort of commendation for the effort.

When it comes to villains, of course, the Mandarin isn't about to be left out of this lineup:

munificent - larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
myoo·NIH·fuh·snt

Another word had the distinction of being exclaimed by villains and aliens alike (that is to say, alien villains):

poltroon or recreant - an utter coward
paal·TROON, REH·kree·uhnt

As Doom demonstrates, it looks like you can use the word "coward" even in instances where it doesn't appear to apply. (Well, at least Doom can, and I'm not about to call him on it.) As for the Super-Skrull, he's really piling it on, using three words which essentially mean the same thing--where any of us who called someone a "cowardly coward!" would look like we were at a loss for words.

The Skrulls are particularly adept at hurling epithets when they're furious--and being Skrulls, it's good to be reminded that they're not restricted to using our pitiful vocabulary when they have their own insulting terms for their foes, or their subordinates.

poxy concorth - EARTH TRANSLATION UNAVAILABLE
pronunciation unavailable

The pursuer in question does indeed catch up with the Skrull ship--which means that our unfortunate helmsman had a thousand agonies to look forward to after their mission, which didn't even go all that well for them.

Speaking of someone being at a loss for words, such a phrase might be difficult to apply to Hank McCoy, the Beast, an X-Man who can inject his own verbiage at the drop of a hat (or a threat).

efficacious - effective
eh·fuh·KĀ·shuhs

perspicacity - having a ready insight into things
pur·spuh·KĂ·suh·tee

sagacious - showing keen mental discernment and good judgment
suh·GĀ·shuhs

prodigious - remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree
pruh·DIH·juhs

capricious - given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior
kuh·PRIH·shuhs

propitious - favorable
pro·PIH·shuhs

Cut from the same cloth would be our plucky agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jasper Sitwell, who tended to try the patience of Tony Stark but proved his worth on many an occasion.

vituperation - bitter and abusive language
vuh·too·per·A·shn

You said a mouthful, security officer. (No small feat in this crowd.)

Even our vice-president from 1972, Spiro Agnew, had a tendency to inject a few lengthy words into his comments, which daunted even his Commander-In-Chief:

But the hands-down head-scratcher award for the most unlikely word to pass one's lips goes to Roy Thomas, who took a five-syllable, ungainly word and dispensed it among a number of characters.  Decades later, it also happens to show up in an announcement celebrating Stan The Man's 95th birthday.

brobdingnagian - gigantic
braab·ding·NĂ·ge·uhn

Which concludes this not so brobdingnagian sampling of vociferous mouthings that brought new perspective to our heroes and villains and gave our brain cells a pretty decent workout while enjoying their stories.