Welcome to another edition of the Marvel Handbook, I’m Jim Trabold, but I’m not sure who my editor is this week. Please tell the readers who you are.
Hey Jim, everyone, I’m back. Sorry about last week’s edition, I had an interesting week. I hope Chris did a good job of entertaining you all…
Good to see you made it here on time for this week’s addition. We’ve got a lot in store so let’s start.
Colin emails
Good morning,
Thank you for not putting any bios into the Handbook this week. Don’t get me wrong, I think the bios are a clever idea; however, the content of them is suspect. How about putting in the person’s powers and/or motivation for what they do in whatever universe you’re chronicling? Who cares about height, weight, and hair color?
Could do that and likely will add that information for the next groups of bios. I just don’t really want one of these bios sites getting pissed at me, lol.
I tend to agree with Colin that a little more info in the bios would be good. As far as the other sites go…if you’re taking info from they’re pages just make sure you credit them in our column. You should be good at that point. – The Overlord
And now some questions, so as to take up space from the bios:
A few years ago, when the Daredevil/Batman one-shot came out (with Mr. Hyde and Two-Face), they fought briefly, of course. Who would really win? Bats jumped down from the ceiling and snuck up on Hornhead; I don’t care how good Batman is, DD would hear something when Bruce hit the floor. It was a stalemate, but I think Batman would ultimately win, through preparedness and dirty tricks. Although, DD would really give him trouble with his unpredictable fighting style. But of course, Batman can never lose. Thoughts?
Batman can lose and DD would be tricky. He’d know where Bats is at all times and could just throw in some major surprises. Hell Bullseye would be interesting to watch fight Bats too.
Among the guys in Marvel who could beat Bats (not counting powerhouses or really powerful foes):
Wolverine and Taskmaster. I would say Cap actually could’ve if the fans would’ve voted for him. Cap should’ve had a better fight with him.
And what’s the controversy with Bendis and Claremont over Magneto? Is it that Claremont wants him as a complex and misguided anti-hero, and Bendis wants him as a megalomaniac, frothing-at-the-mouth villain?
Basicly you spelled it out right there. Bendis likes the megalomaniac version of Magneto and Chris of course goes more for anti-hero. It’s also how Bendis sort of played him in Avengers Disassembled. Of course Chris has Magneto good again in Excalibur and is working on building more into the relationship between him and Charles as well. He went to Avengers 502 seeming pure megalomaniac again because of Bendis’ writing and bango Chris gets pissed off. Now Chris has to build up to House of M in Excalibur with Wanda, Magneto and Charles. Bendis is involved the most in House of M so we’re talking clash of the titans for a big story arc.
Green Arrow and Speedy. Flash and Kid Flash. And of course, Batman and Robin. Why doesn’t Marvel have sidekicks? Bucky doesn’t count, as he’s been dead forever. Or are DC heroes just…. “funny”. ?
Marvel had the kid sidekicks more in the old days of WWII
Cap/Bucky
Torch/Toro
When Stan created what we call the modern Marvel Age he didn’t see a need for a young sidekick hanging around the hero too much.
I mean we had Ricky Jones the sidekick at the time who hung around the Avengers, Cap and Hulk. Of course that was before he got Captain Marvel I and Captain Marvel III connected to him. Rick also wore the Bucky costume for a time to.
Wolverine did have Jubilee hang around him for a time period as well.
Kitty has Lockheed around still too.
Yeah even DC’s not real big with the sidekicks anymore. They’re still around, but none of the heroes actively “heroing” actually have sidekicks running around with them in the classic sense. – The Overlord
B.J. Emails
Jim (and Over_____),
Great job as always. Lord knows it’s not easy keeping track of Marvel continuity since they started putting less stock in consistency. My opinion, of course, and I’ll spare you the “I’ve been reading since 1976 speech” that I sometimes feel inspired to give. :)
Blame the damn editors now a days.
Anyway, just thought that perhaps as an addendum to the Comics written by Stan Lee. First off, he scripted “Amazing Spider Man Annual # 18 (1984)” over a plot by…Jim Shooter, maybe? Secondly, it might be worth noting (if anyone’s really interested) that a lot of the comics listed were simply reprints of his earlier work. For instance the Human Torch series featured reprints of the old Strange Tales feature. I also believe that to be the case with most, if not all, of the “Giant Size” titles. There would be a main story by whomever the current team was followed by a Lee-Kirby or Lee-Ditko reprint or two. Although, I would have enjoyed seeing a Lee Man-Thing story, now that I think about it. Just a note, since Lord knows it’s easier to get a run of the Supernatural Thrillers reprints than to find the 1950’s issues of Journey Into Mystery.
In any case, keep up the great work!
See, I knew I left in some reprints. Thanks for helping me with those.
Abdul emails
Jim, you’re a great guy and we all love you but what kind of recreational drugs are you on that persuaded you to believe that Redstone is the DC analog for Captain Marvel/Shazam/Billy Batson? How in anyway are the two similiar? One is a ex con homicidal maniac with tendencies to rip hookers limb from limb while the other is a kid who shouts the word Shazam is transformed into a grown man empowered with the strength of Hercules, etc. etc.
Ok, ok I know. I sort of actually have no clue on who Redstone is or most of the newer members. Reason: NOT A DC GUY. I was hoping Daron would’ve cleared me up but he was away on vacation. What I need is a good JLA site with all the members listed to come up with comparisons.
*Looks away innocently*
Graham emails
1) Madrox the Multiple Man’s power allows him to absorb information collected by his “multiples” and integrate it into his own mind/memories. Do other things get “integrated” into the base Madrox from his multiples? If one of his multiples gets a serious disease (AIDS, cancer, TB), will that disease be passed on to the base Madrox when reintegrated? What happens if a multiple loses a limb and reintegrates, does something bad happen to Madrox? Can Madrox reintegrate a dead/dying multiple? What about new physical benefits the multiple might have acquired? If one of them got Lasik eye surgery, would the base Madrox reap the benefits too? What if one of the multiples was somehow “transformed” and given new/more power (second mutation, gamma-rays, irradiated spider bite), would the base acquire this “upgrade” as well?
Wow long one.
He would get a serious disease if he reintegrated the doop. Which is why he didn’t do it with the one with the legacy virus. He feels all pain of a doop. He always knows when they are harmed and the like. Never been explored what might happen if a doop lost a limb though. But I doubt he’d reintegrate it. He would likely not reintegrate a dying one either. Not sure he’d survive if he tried it. Yes if he reintegrated a doop with new benefits those would pass to him. Yes he’d gain any new powers as well.
2) Given Madrox’s “enhancement” on his original powers when he was first introduced (“He can multiply! And that’s about all!), I was wondering if there were other “enhancements” (or “tricks”) that Marvel superheroes (or villains) have had that have been as cool as Madrox’s. And I’m not talking about “second mutations” or anything, I simply mean “well, if he can do this, then I guess he also has this ability” enhancements.
Some examples that I can think of:
Magneto now seems to have control over the ENTIRE electro-magnetic spectrum, not just “magnetism” as he was originally conceived.
Kitty Pride was originally able to phase only her entire body, but now has “learned” to phase other people, just parts of her body, and her phasing disrupts electronics.
Invisible Woman was strictly “me invisible” and “protective force fields”, but now turns other people invisible (and visible!), and has WAY too many cool tricks with the shields (like using them as projectiles to pummel people).
Any other cool “enhancement/tricks”?
Hmmm, Jim apparently forgot about this one. Without going into them all, I’d guess that just about every character with powers has shown some sort of advancement since they first appeared. If you have any specific characters you’d like to know about that might be easier. – The Overlord
3) It seems in the world of the Distinguished Competition, sidekicks are FAR more common (Batman & Robin, Superman and Krypto, Green Arrow and whatshername, Joker and Harlequin). What are the Marvel sidekicks, and how many are still around (either as a sidekick or going solo)? I know that Bucky is dead, Nomad is no longer in the hero business (if I recall) and Lockheed the Dragon just made a reappearance in Astonishing X-Men.
Read above, I actually covered it for another reader.
Beadle on the board post
Here’s a question for you – What powers did Michael Korvac have? I think he had some sort of reality-altering powers (kind of like a human cosmic cube), but I’m not certain. Also, maybe a bit of history on him would be cool.
Thanks
Powers: Superhuman strength, stamina, and durability; able to tap and synthesize any form of energy, raise the dead, travel through time, and absorb the energies of others; telepathic, telekinetic, able to project astral form
History: Michael Korvac was once a normal man. Well normal by physical appearances. Korvac considered himself a genius and because his supervisors didn’t recognize his superiority when the Badoon invaded the Earth Korvac became a collaborator. It seems like his new bosses didn’t appreciate his work anymore than his old bosses did. One day after collapsing from exhaustion Korvac awoke to find his legs were gone replaced by a computer that was fused to his central nervous system. Korvac took his transformation less than heroically and has since that day become a terror to the cosmos.
Full list of appearances:
Giant Size Defenders 3
Thor annual 6
Avengers 167-168, 172-177, Annual 16
KS
Captain America vol 3: 14-19
Fantastic Four Annual 24
Just to be nice to. How about a link to a short history:
Coren posted
I know what a Fastball (or Cannonball, I’ve seen both) Special is. But where did the term actually come from? And to pad out the question, who has ever done it? I’ve seen a few different strong guys involved, but is it always Wolverene?
Actually as a poster said it does originate back to old X-Men days. The team up at that time was Beast and Iceman I believe.
The classic team that made it really popular was Colossus/Wolverine. I believe there where others as well.
Polaris/Iceman
Colossus/Rogue
Rogue/Wolverine
I think there are others to but can’t remember them all.
For those not in the know: A Fastball Special is where one guy uses the other for a missile weapon. A Fastball Special must be performed by two people, one of whom must be able to lift and throw the other.
Cannonball Special? Where did you ever see that? I’ve never seen that or heard it mentioned before… – The Overlord
Doctor Bat emails
I know this is a little old but I wanted to point out something you said in The Marvel Handbook 3.11.04.
When Magneto became a “good guy” circa X-Men 200, was it always planned, long term, that he would revert to his evil ways again? Or was the original plan to have him stay as an X-Man?
If the original plan was to have him stay with the X-Men, why was he turned back into a villain? Was it considered that the change into an X-Man was a failure?
Actually when they had done it Chris wanted him to be X-Men leader for the team and mentor to the New Mutants for a year or more. Basically it’s exactly what happened. He was somewhat good yet everyone knew he was going to return to evil. Especially when he joined the Hellfire Club to help form an alliance. He would go back to evil in New Mutants 75 I think when he battled Shaw. He returned to evil saying to the New Mutants the world needed him more as a villain basically.
This is incorrect. Claremont had intended for Magneto’s redemption to be permanent. (He had actually planned for Xavier to die fighting the Shadow King in #300, and Magneto would fully take over the X-Men)
New Mutants #75 was written by John Byrne, who has never liked the idea of Magneto being a ‘good guy.’ Thats why he wanted to retcon Magneto’s redemption in #75.
Anyway, Claremont re-retconned what happened in #75 when he had Magneto tell Moira and Sean in Uncanny #254 that he was only pretending to be a villain again so he could draw everyone’s attention away from his ex-students.
And the reason why Magneto did ultimately become a villain again in 1991 was because Marvel thought he was more profitable as a villain than as a hero. Claremont left the books around this time (for different reasons) but Claremont is back now and he’s writing Magneto over as a good guy in the new Excalibur series.
Thanks Doc for clarifying and helping explain why CC and Bendis are not getting along.
That’s it for the emails. No Ben Morse this week though, which is a shame. He was a good guest star. Why don’t you sign off my dear editor friend.
Oh how I do enjoy keeping you on your toes, Mr. Trabold. Maybe I’ll have some other people sit in for me in the future. Anyone have a particular writer you’d like to see sit in with Jim for the Handbook, I’ll take all nominations under consideration.
Past that, the only thing I have to say is that if you haven’t applied for our Small Gods Contest yet, well…I don’t even know what to say. There are only a couple days left to get in on the game, so do yourself a favor and get your applications in.
Okay my turn.
First the Trailer for FF is online in case you haven’t seen it.
2. question on Marvel.com: Who do you think ordered the breakout in New Avengers? Go answer
Reporting from the Marvel Universe I’m, Jim Trabold. Remember to keep those questions coming and see you all next week.
