Hey all and welcome to another edition of the Marvel Handbook. I‘m Jim Trabold of course. Let‘s see if Daron is back though. Daron you there?
Indeed I am good man, indeed I am.
Very cool. Well we have a good amount of emails to cover which is always a good thing. So let‘s start.
Man…I don’t even have my seatbelt on and you’re already doing 60…
Manolis emails
Hello Jim!
Not editing you this week, but I still have a ‘burning’ question. Can you help me with ‘Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch’ which came out this week: apart from Margali Szardos (nightcrawler’s foster mom) who are the other two witches of the coven? Also who were the other two wizards, and what was Cthon referring to when he says that they will
all spawn children significant for magic? Margali mothered Amanda Sefton (Magik II) and Nightcrawler (the devil’s son), but who are the other characters connected to?
Very good question Manolis. Allow me to help out
Coven:
Maria Russoff: possesses limited psychic powers, which were sorceress in nature. She had sufficient power to enslave the young Topaz, whom she used as a familiar to amplify her powers. Using Topaz, she could reanimate and control the dead, affect the dreams of others, and presumably many other effects. She also used a trained bear who wore a silver spike-studded collar and silver-clawed gauntlets.
Margali Szardos: Magic type called “The Winding Way” taught by her mother
Lilia Calderu
None covern involved:
Damballah
Taboo
Gregor Russoff
Maria Russoff and Gregor Russoff had a son named Gregory Russoff who is the father of Werewolf by night in fact
Margali Szardos of course mothered Amanda Sefton and Nightcrawler
Lilia Calderu might better known to be the mother of Astrid Mordo the daughter of Baron Mordo.
Damballah is the complication. I’m thinking this one is the mystic or god could be linked to Brother Voodoo
Taboo is the adoptive father of Topaz
Great email Manolis, and thanks for the assist in editing last week, while I was gallivanting through New York!
Jeff Ritter emails
What is this, The Marvel Handbook: Staff Edition?
The Man They Call Jim, What a breath of fresh air this week! No Dark Overlord and his massive helmet (I hear it’s over-compensating for his small…ahem…head) to crush our souls beneath his tarnished boots made of monkey pelts and steelwool. Ain’t it great? Too bad it’ll probably be over by the time the next UMH sees print.
Daron isn‘t THAT bad. Although…… I better keep that to myself. He‘s right behind me
You know…I’m really not sure if should be insulted or proud???
Anyway, I wanted to give a big Nightmare shout out to your buddy Cory. As everyone knows, I’m a big fan of casting calls. And his casting of Heroes For Hire was extraordinary. Kerry Washington and Maggie Q would seem to be well matched for the roles of Misty and Colleen. The rest of the casting was likewise very well done (even Doogie as Humbug, it’d be a breakout role!), except for Paladin. That one wasn’t just well done, it’s damn near perfect. Jeffrey Donovan is terrific in Burn Notice (my favorite show currently) and I can absolutely picture that cheesy grin of his under Paladin’s goggles. We gotta get Bruce Campbell in the Heroes for Hire somewhere, maybe as a SHIELD laison? Or as a member of the Serpent Society? Cory, who would you pick for Orca (besides Michael Clark Duncan, poor guy)? Fine job, my man! Now, if you ever say “Hizzzouse” again Daron and I are going to hunt you down like two things that hunt extremely well and do considerable felonious harm.
I can get behind that, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a good manhunt. My nefarious hunting hamsters could use the exercise!
ok I don‘t want to know what that last part was about but as I had stated I think Cory‘s Heroes For Hire was perfect. I did wonder who could be the villains or villain involved of course
Jim, did I hear something about Marvel doing a second “Acts of Vengence” storyline sometime next year, or was I just dreaming of doing that myself? What a great idea. These companies always try to shake things up to keep things fresh, but they miss the obvios solution: rotate your bad guys! Like tires on a car, the same old battles get old after 40 years…say, I’m gonna write a WTMN column on that. Interesting thought about body counts. I’d have to agree that Logan has slaughtered many more people than Frank Castle (and all of them deserved it, I’m sure), but I have a hero in mind that I suspects trumps even Logan’s body count: The Mighty Thor. How many warriors hath he cast unto the Stygian depths of Hela’s infernal realm? Less than the Punisher? I SAY THEE NAY! But then again, Wolverine goes through a LOT of ninjas…and Hydra…and AIM…and those guys who used to work security for the Hellfire Club…and Brood…and… So who ya think wins the battle of the body count: Thor or Wolvie?
I‘ve actually read and heard the same rumor you have, Jeff. It‘s sort of come out of the fact that the villains haven‘t done to much since before the pages of Civil War. With the massive breakout that started the New Avengers and Ronin and various other villains making their moves now I could see something like it. Especially after say the big Skrull arc that‘s on the way. The heroes are going to be put threw a lot and what a perfect time to strike then at that time. I would not be surprised to see something much like Acts of Vengeance returned to.
Until Wolverine defeats the nigh innumerable ninjas of the Hedge (Tick reference), Jeff Ritter
Leter Jeff
Whew, that guy’s such a nightmare to work with… *drumroll*
Shay emails
Hey Guys With all the Superhero shows (Heroes, Smallville) and Movies being made at the moment I’d love to see a Daredevil TV based around Bendis’ Out Storyline. I can see it now “Outed, what’s in the closet is not what you think!” You have it all comedy, Drama & loads of hot women. Do you think this could work and who would you cast in the roles
It‘s not a horrible idea but let‘s think on this matter a bit. We know Blade failed recently. Moon Knight is about to give a go at this. If it does well I could see more live action done for tv. We know movie wise that Daredevil failed. That will also hurt the idea of a show. I would try something on an animated scale of course though. Like Avengers and Strange.
Unlike many characters, DD could actually be a great TV show. Why you ask? Well because Matt is a lawyer in his day job, and we already know Court shows do just fine on TV. It would be like Law & Order, only instead of the first half of the show being about cops, it would be about DD, and then Matt prosecutes the criminals he catches!
Not sure who would be best to play him though. Maybe a no name? What about Matthew Fox from Lost? I don’t know I’m just spitballing here…
Cory emails
Cory’s here…What’s up J & D or J & M…. or whomever. Ready guys…away we go:
1- So lemme get this straight. In terms of an estimated total Wolverine has offed over 70,000 people, demons, ninjas, etc?
Yeah and that‘s a LOW estimation. I have to think I‘ve gone low with the number.
2 -This question lead me to this: What major heroes/villians in the 616 MU, have Wolverine defeated….or to make it easier what major heroes/villians has he yet to defeat?
Oh this is going to be fun. The funny part is me and the guys at the shop where talking about this yesterday. Wolverine is proving point for tons of characters. I mean he‘s faced almost EVERYONE at this rate in Marvel.
3- At the end of WWHulk #3, we saw Dr. Strange use the “forbidden” power of Zom to combat the Hulk in issue #4….who the heck is Zom, and what makes him such a force?
This one should be good…
Real Name: Zom
Identity/Class: Extra-dimensional demon
Occupation: Destroyer
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Ancient One, Dr. Strange, Dormammu, Faeries of Dr. Strange’s sanctum, Living Tribunal, Rintrah, Umar
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Zomling
Base of Operations: Currently unknown; formerly within an amphora (a type of vase) in an unnamed dimension (possibly outside the timestream)
First Appearance: Strange Tales I#156/2 (May, 1967)
Powers: Zom has vast mystical power, dwarfing that of adepts such as Dr. Strange, or even of extremely powerful beings such as Umar. However, his own power is far below that of a virtually omnipotent being such as the Living Tribunal. He uses his powers primarily to destroy everything around him. Apparently his long lock of hair acted as a mystic shield which protected him from the detection of more powerful mystic entities. The removal of this forelock awakened the “sense of evil which had slumbered for ages in the bosom of the mystics of mankind.”
Height: 20′
Weight: 9 tons
Eyes: Yellow
Hair: Brown
The Zomling possessed the tiniest fraction of Zom’s virtually limitless power. However, it absorbed magical energy to grow in size and power. At some point, it would become powerful enough to completely reform Zom, and regain its full power.
History: Zom is an extra-dimensional monster of unknown origin. He claims to have been created to destroy, but his creator and the methods of his creation are unknown. Ages ago, he was defeated under unknown circumstances, which may have involved a union of several other extremely powerful beings, including Dormammu (the ruler of the Dark Dimension) and Eternity (the cosmic being representing the entire temporal axis of the Earth dimension). To protect the universe from his might, Zom’s hands were bound with Chains of Living Bondage by Dormammu. Zom was forced to wear a Crown of Blindness, and his essence was imprisoned by Eternity within an Amphora in a “world beyond all worlds” in a “time beyond all time.”
When Dr. Strange first encountered Umar, the sorceress of the Dark Dimension, his power and training were insufficient to oppose her directly. Under the guidance of his mentor, the Ancient One, Strange journeyed to the extra-dimensional realm which held Zom’s prison, and shattered the vase. Zom instantly began to rampage, tearing off his crown and bringing down the temple which formerly held his prison. Dr. Strange got Zom’s attention and opened a portal, pretending to flee from him, and led him to Stonehenge, and to Umar. Zom recognized Umar as the sister of Dormammu, who had been involved in his previous defeat. Confronted with Zom’s immense power, Umar immediately fled back to the Dark Dimension. However, Dr. Strange and the Ancient One were now faced with the question of how to get rid of Zom, who shattered his bonds and threatened to shatter the entire Earth.
Zom attacked the Ancient One, fusing his form with the rock of Stonehenge–but not before he could say, “The–Forelock–“, and pass his mystic might on to Dr. Strange. Strange had no idea what this meant, but he managed to stay out of the path of Zom’s attacks until he could rip off the “Mystic Topknot” (I kid you not). Zom screamed in pain and anguish, but recovered and attacked Strange, telling him he had brought about the destruction of them all. Zom assaulted Strange, but then the Living Tribunal appeared and banished/dispersed Zom. The Tribunal told Strange that his actions awakened a sense of evil on Earth that necessitated the destruction of the entire planet.
Following Zom’s banishment, Strange magically stitched the Amphora back together and sealed it with a spell.
A struggle in Doc’s sanctum shattered the Amphora. A remnant of Zom’s evil essence, the Zomling, was released. The only one who saw the Zomling was Wong’s then-fiancee, Imei Chang, but the Zomling magically stopped her from mentioning it. The Zomling scurried around the mansion, absorbing power from various sources. After growing in power, it discovered the Faeries who inhabit the sanctum, and managed to capture the Faery Queen.
Strange discovered the shattered Amphora and sent his associates on a mission to locate the Zomling. Rintrah found it and attacked it before it could consume the queen, but Rintrah’s magical attack only made it all the more powerful. However, Strange then arrived, and knowing that 1) The Zomling fed on magical energy, and 2) It was composed mostly of energy, but also of the dust it had consumed in the process; Strange used a vacuum cleaner to suck up and entrap the Zomling. He then magically repaired the Amphora and reversed the suction on the vacuum to spit it back into its prison. Strange resealed the Amphora, and then put it a little more out of the way, where it was unlikely to be shattered again.
Am I experiencing deja-vu or did we just talk about Zom a week or two ago? Oh well…
4- Ok, ok, ok! These X-Men relationships….I gotta ask. Where these all 616-based, or all realities? A- Beast & Dazzler? B- Cable & Storm? C- Kitty & Caliban? D- Cannonball & Lila Cheney? E- Domino & Wolverine? F- Gambit & Storm? (was this during his first appearance?) G- Magneto & Lee Tyler? (who is Lee Tyler) H- Stacy X & Nightcrawler (a prostitue & a demonish looking priest)? I- Storm & Slipstream? J- Where did this Ms.Marvel & Wolverine tryste come from?
I‘ll go threw the ones I did:
Beast/Dazzler: Beauty and the Beast limited series in the 80s
Cable/Storm came really close in the 90s when Cable started hanging around Xaviers for a time and joined the X-Men
Caliban liked Kitty. Kitty and him almost where forced to marry as well for the life of Colossus
Cannonball/Lila: This is very real. In fact it‘s very classic and goes back to New Mutants
Domino/Wolverine: New X-Men Annual – 2001 explains they have a past
Gambit/Storm: This was more first appearance talking here
Storm/Slipstream: X-Treme X-Men did have this one
Ms Marve/Wolverine: They’ve known each other for a long time and have had relationship close to being buddies or lovers.
5- Wasn’t there some sort of romance between Bishop & Storm at one point? One theory that has prevailed is that Bishop is one of Storm’s descendants.
Well this one actually was close to done until they revealed Storm was Bishop‘s great grandmother I believe.
6- Spider-Man & Sue Richards!!! What? How?
This ones a bit funny. A little classic too. Spidey had liked Sue when he met her. She actually went on a date with Spidey in fact. Now this didn‘t turn into anything though.
7- Who is this Jackpot character, that was mentioned during the Spider-Marriage question from last week?
Jackpot was first introduced in this years Free Comic Day Spider-Man issue. She looked very much like Mary Jane. Now how this will affect Spidey post One More Day is the question
Could this be Joey Q’s way of getting rid of Mary Jane and having his cake too?
8- Speaking of Deadpool & Siryn, didn’t they team up with Cannonball to stop Cable last year?
Yep that happened not to long ago during the House of M stuff in fact. The baby Cable stuff.
9- Honestly, can ANY superheroes have a regular marriage? If not, who comes the closest? I say Reed & Sue.
The closest is Sue and Reed in fact. There‘s not many others that come that close as those two. In fact it‘s not like there‘s tons of married couples.
10- How is it that the X-Men seem to make the same mistake of inviting Sabretooth or Mystique to their team, only to have them screw them over as usual? Wouldn’t they learn the first time? X-Factor, and the X-Men at least twice. The worst for Sabes is when he “eviscerated” Psylocke, and Mystique probably in the opening of Endangered Species.
Bad judgement? Continued thinking that it‘s possible all mutants will get along being they have that in common? Professor X seeing good in everyone? I mean there‘s so many calls on this one. All I know is it‘s a big mistake each time.
Plus as I’ve said many times now, can’t we just leave the bad guys as bad guys? Why does Marvel (and DC to a lesser extent) feel the need to keep turning their villains? Who are the damn heroes gonna fight when all the villains are sided with them? It’s not like they’ve come up with a bunch of cool new villains to replace them or anything…
11- Besides the obvious (Cap/Cable), what deceased characters would you love to see come back to life in the MU? and why?
Hmmmmm let‘s see:
Mar-Vell. No he‘s back
Hawkeye? Nope back already
Can I say almost no one? I mean it‘s not like there‘s that many really cool characters dead. I‘d like some back maybe but no one that desperate or anything. Maybe someone like Mockingbird. She would be one heck of a come back. Her husband is back and she‘s been dead longer
Yeah…are there really that many dead heroes anymore in Marvel?
12- I know that the marauders are Mr. Sinister’s primary enforcers, but on the animated X-Men cartoon he had a different group: The Nasty Boys. What ever happened to them?
I haven‘t actually seen any of them since 1994 myself. Although Ruckus did appear in X-Men Forever #1
13- I also hear that in the late 60’s that the Mimic blackmailed his way into membership. How did he go about this method?
Yep he actually did. This ones interesting:
A lab accident in college he regained his powers and memory of the X-Men. Seeking revenge he demanded that he become a member of X-Men. Xavier reluctantly accepted and made Calvin the deputy leader. During the next several missions Calvin faced off against Banshee, Ogre and the Factor Three. After that Calvin was offended by Cyclops and attacked him. Xavier finally fed up with Calvin’s attitude kicked him off of the team. Calvin left the mansion later to find the Super-Adaptoid attacking the X-Men. Hoping to become even more powerful Calvin offered to join the Adaptoid in his plan to conquer the earth. But upon learning he would become a mindless pawn, he changed his mind and attacked the Adaptoid, losing his powers in the process.
Well it’s a short week for me fellas…I promise more questions next week…till then take care. Thanks a mil (as always), see ya in 7, and Make Mine Marvel!
See you next week, Cory
See ya Cory.
This week I’ll take off the Wolverine updates but expect them back next week as we finish what we know of Wolverine’s history since HOM
Initiative update
Avengers Initiative #5: All test fail on Armory’s old weapon with other users. Gyrich checks in on Trauma’s progress before gathering the Black Ops and giving them a report of events. Warbounds beat and captured the recruits working with Rage and they are to free them. Henry and War Machine talk ov3r Tony’s plan. Bengel, Constrictor and Trauma take out Death’s heads with Weapon Zero’s help and free the recruits taking on Warbound members to escape. Hulk arrives to stop them and Trauma faces him getting no where as Hulk isn’t afraid of anything but Hulk lets him leave to give a message.
Black Panther #30: The FF and Skrull zombie FF fight with each other with the FF taking out the zombies until the Mr Fantastic one bited the captain of the Skrulls. The other zombies show up and debate as the FF teleport away. Thanos and Death show up to confront the zombies only to be Skrulls in disguise. The FF run for it. The Zombies use the Galactus power to make the planet fall apart. The FF face the bug as the planet explodes
Fantastic Four #549: Klaw prepares to fight BP using his powers to knock out the FF except Thing who gets up and takes Klaw out of the battle thanks to earplugs. The Frightful Four start reviving as Sue shows up and takes out Titania and Hydro-Man before confronting Wizard and making him faint. The Frightful Four are sent to Earth. We find out the device Reed took to Earth was a weapon. The FF go to aid the one alien race passing the Watchers only to be attacked
WWH Synopsis
Avengers Initiative #5: All test fail on Armory’s old weapon with other users. Gyrich checks in on Trauma’s progress before gathering the Black Ops and giving them a report of events. Warbounds beat and captured the recruits working with Rage and they are to free them. Henry and War Machine talk ov3r Tony’s plan. Bengel, Constrictor and Trauma take out Death’s heads with Weapon Zero’s help and free the recruits taking on Warbound members to escape. Hulk arrives to stop them and Trauma faces him getting no where as Hulk isn’t afraid of anything but Hulk lets him leave to give a message.
WWH X-Men #3: Hulk takes on X-Factor and the Uncanny teams and starts defeating them much like the Astonishing team. Strong Guy even can’t get no where as Emma tells him to back off before killing himself. They try to crash and X-jet into Hulk getting no where as well. Cain rebecomes the Juggernaut as Wolverine attacks Hulk again getting taken out. Juggernaut and Hulk fight with Hulk using his smarts to win. Mercury tries to stop Hulk from harming Xavier and gives him a speech which makes Hulk leave. The X-Men start to heal as Hulk rejoins his Warbound.
I was hoping for me emails this week, hopefully our readers will help us out with that more next week. So let’s sign off .
Right O. Stay tuned after Jim’s closing for a quick announcement though…
1. Digital comics Comics you can read online
2. Marvel is in the process of adding new bios and added a ton of new ones. Check them out here
3. As always your opinions on anything in the article or out on the shelves is welcome. After all you never know what type of response you will get.
4. Keep those emails coming and make sure to label them Marvel Handbook. The more emails the better the article is. Till next week Make Mine Marvel.
Indeed, make his Marvel.
However while you’re doing that, I wanted to make a quick announcement, as I said above. In recent week, we’ve been working on some ways to improve our fun little site here. I started this process by promoting my good buddy Manolis to editor (thanks again for helping me out last week Mano!) And as I’m sure you’ve already noticed this week, our reviews are on the come back with many more to follow.
To that end of shaking things up, Jim and I have decided to try and take the Handbook to a multi-day posting schedule each week. Our goal is to try and get 3 editions out each week, though 2 may be a bit more realistic to start. The columns won’t be as long as normal (probably 2-3 questions a day), but of course without your emails this will never work. So if you’re with us in having more Handbook each week make sure to keep those emails coming as often as you can.
Oh and with this change in status, we’ll be going away from a “set†posting day (hey look we’ve already accomplished that!) So make sure to come and look for us everyday cause you won’t want to miss a moment!
Thanks everyone!
-Daron
