Hello everyone again. We’re still going threw a ton of emails and getting more as we go. That’s a good thing. I think Daron would agree.
I’m sure he would…if he were here. Instead, you’re stuck with me, Tim Stevens. So deal, jerk face! (Was that too harsh?)
Just hope you keep sending them I don’t want Daron going out and eating peoples’ kids.
You and me both pal, you and me both
Dave emails
Great column, love to read it! With another time traveling Kang entering the Young Avengers, I have a question about the relatives/descendants of Kang the Conquerer. I always thought according to his earliest Avengers appearances that he was a descendant of Dr. Doom. But I also think I read somewhere he was realated to Reed Richards. I was wondering if Kang was related to either, neither, or both. Thanks and keep up the great work!
Well Kang’s real name is Nathaniel Richards, so he is a Richards. But that doesn’t mean he’s not related to Doom. He could be a descendant of Valarie Richards, the tiniest of the FF brood. She does consider Doom to be her father so in essence both would be related to Kang.
Just imagine those family reunions, eh?
s
(God…I hate myself for that joke).
For more on Kang check here
Through the magic of the “internet” Soak asks
ok ok…i’ll ask a few questions! let’s see how about a list of all of Galactus’s heralds?
Let’s see:
Tyrant
Silver Surfer
Air-Walker
Air-Walker Robot
Firelord
Destroyer
Terrax
Nova
Morg
Red Shift
Stardust
i remember 1 in particular that I thought was pretty bad ass, but I can’t remember his name. He was around in the mid-90s and had some cosmic axe or something. I remember him even breaking away from galactus because he was too powerful. I also remember terrax going after him for some reason. any insight?
That was Morg. Big red dude. He stole Terrax’s axe and killed Nova. In the end, it took the rest of the Heralds to kick his ass.
also does he have a current one?
Stardust is his current emissary.
i would also like to ask what happened to the former ones. Was there one before Silver Surfer?
Tyrant was the first. We found that out in Surfer’s series. Mostly all of them are still around.
Is that enough for now?
It is never enough. Much like Galactus’s hunger for planets, Jim’s hunger for questions is insatiable.
I don’t want the DOL coming to eat my children. Not that I have any, but I do have a dog who is rather plump.
Don’t worry, he’s on a strictly child only diet. No dogs for him.
Les inquires
Dear Jim,
1) What’s the deal with the Runaways? Who are they, what are there powers and backstory?
The Runaways are six kids who discovered that their parents, along with being prominent members of upper class Los Angeles society, were also a super villain group called The Pride.
Nico Minoru called herself Sister Grimm and has the ability to manipulate magical energies.
(A “witch” in the common vernacular)
Alex Wilder chose to keep his given name and no powers or gadgets.
He was the thinker/leader of the group. Think an unparalyzed non-mutant Professor X meets the detective interests of Batman…I’m sure there is a better way to put it, but I can’t think of it right now. He is currently deceased.
Gertrude Yorkes aka Arsenic inherited a genetically engineered velociraptor that responds to her commands.
She calls the raptor Old Lace, making them the superteam “Arsenic and Old Lace.” As near as I can tell, they are the only superhero duo who’s name is inspired by a true about two women offing eldery gentlemen and hiding their remains in their cellar. (Fun fact: a portion of that story occured in a place called the Pillars in my hometown of Newington, CT)
Karolina Dean, a big Beatles fan, christened herself Lucy in the Sky flies and manipulate energy.
She also happens to be an alien and wears a special bracelet to contain her abilities because she glows all sorts of pretty colors otherwise.
Molly Hayes aptly refers to herself as Bruiser because of her super-strength.
She is the token mutant of the group and the youngest memeber. That is affirmative action at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.
Chase Stein took the name “Talkback” and his father’s wrist gauntlets.
He also took Gertie’s heart, in a sort opposites attract, we bicker all the time kind of way.
2) What’s the deal with the team Excelsior?
Teams going to consist of former teen heroes: Chamber, Darkhawk, Turbo, Julie Power, Ricochet and Green Goblin (Phil Urich). The team just came about in Runaways vol. 2 # 1
The “team” actually began as a young superhero support group as organized by Phil and Turbo. However, the promise of money to set up several more such groups across the country motivated them to put back on the gear and bring in the Runaways for “their own good”.
3) How many “heel/face” turns has Namor had over the years? And could you give the reasons why for them?
Hmm how many. Let’s say a rough number of 6-8 times
Most times he found fault with what the surface world did to the ocean over the years and went against it. He normally went back to Hero rather easily. There where times he got controlled that he went rogue as well.
4) If you had a battle royale between every Avenger and every JLA member ever, what team do you think would win?
As much as I love the Avengers, I’d think it would come down to the Flash being the deciding factor. Since he could whoop the crap out of quicksilver easily, he’s left free to run around and help out everyone else, making every fight for the Avengers “two-on-one” until either he’s eventually put down ( I could see Cap bouncing his shield off like 17 different objects and then nailing Flash in the face with it and it being awesome in my mind ), or the Avengers are eventually defeated.
So yeah, there’s something for next week for ya!
Well since JLA has basically had every known character in their universe on the team at some point and they keep powering up the characters there’s almost no way in hell Marvels’ Avengers can defeat them without like Surfer, Warlock, Doctor Strange and a few others to help even the odds.
J G emails
Hey Jim, Just wanted to say keep up the good work. Seeing as how you needed more questions, i thought i might help out :)…
Cool thanks
1) In terms of leadership skills, how would you rank the following, and also what makes each of them right for the job, and what makes them the leaders we know and love:
Cyclops
Captain America
Mr. Fantastic
Cable
Havok
Night Thrasher
Alright in order I see them:
1. Cap
2. Mr. Fantastic
3. Cyclops
4. Cable
5. Havok
6. Night Thrasher
I’d agree with the top 3, but the list falls apart after that. I’d actually have the final 3 inverse with Cable bringing up the rear. Then again, I hate Cable, so I could be biased.
2) Who’s team from the above question would win in a huge battle?
Based purely on the number of members and how many of them are powerhouses on the team I’d say Cap’s Avengers.
3) I’m sure you played a few of those Marvel vs. Capcom games, just wanted to know who’d you pick as a team? I always pick any of the combination of Gambit, Spider-Man, Captain America, Ken, Mega Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Cyclops and Stryder
I’m always using the Marvel guys.
I love using Wolverine. Also use Spidey a lot. The other I change up a lot. Between Cap, Iron Man, Cable, Hulk, Gambit and a few others.
4) I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but i remember a Captain America villian named Protocide. Whats his story and what became of him?
He was an Agent of AIM.
He was a convict was injected with an earlier version of the Super Soldier Formula prior to Steve Roger’s treatment. Protocide was killed by guards, and the body put into a preservation capsule. (Which I am sure seemed like the right thing to do at the time A.I.M. scientists found and successfully revived him in the present day.
Other then that no clue about him.
RC emails
Saw your short of questions so I thought I’d send a couple on a little Marvel/Transformers problem.
I remember when Transformers was first a Marvel comic, that Spider-Man made an appearance. Friend had the issue and I believe he was in the black and white outfit. Later I read they changed it that Transformers wasn’t in the Marvel Universe.
So no problem.
But I remember a human character from Transformers was in Secret Wars II. Circuit Breaker who hated the “robots”. Beyonder even met with her I think.
I bet there was no explanation given for that, since it was Transformers but I guess Circuit Breaker could be in the MU somewhere. LOL.
Circuit Breaker is a copyrighted Marvel character. No one else can use her and Marvel has full rights to bring her back if they wished to.
Which they soon shall as a Max title. She and Skrull Kill Krew will wander the countryside killing Skrulls and Robots and eating french fries until they’re all dead by that creepy mad cow-esque disease, combat, or their skyrocketing cholestrol.
Wow…I meant that to sound silly, but actually… If Morrison wrote it, I’d definitely buy it.
WarriorProphet1 posted
Okay, since you are low on questions….
Can you explain the Banner/Hulk dynamic now?
Well since Banner is still trying to rid himself of the curse and PAD is back you can expect that it’s going to be a fight for control over which Hulk and Hulk still hating Banner.
Last time I read it seemed like he could turn to the Hulk at will (even getting the big pants on before turning into the Green Goliath). Does the grey Hulk persona still exist?
Grey Hulk still exist and is back with Peter Davis now writing it. He actually had both Hulk’s fight again.
Neil emails
Hey, big fan of your column, I always make sure to check it out every week just to get a bit more information about the Mighty Marvel Multiverse. there’s been a few times I’ve thought about writing in, but just never got around to it before.
Just wanted to say I loved that 20 years of Spider-Man that you did, and would love to see you try to sum up the past twenty years of the X-Men, just to get an overview of THAT messed up continuity.
Seriously though, one character I would actually love for you to do a past summary of would be the Hulk. I dropped Hulk from my reading list right around the time of the Pantheon and the intelligent Hulk days (personally, I always loved the Gray Hulk/Mr. Fixit the best). So if you could do a history of what Hulk’s been up to since then, I’d love that.
How about I save them both for later dates. With this column here I can’t fit to many of these 20 year things. I’ll do a favor here and come up with a schedule for these 20 year things after I finish with all the emails
Also, just for actual question sake, one character that I thought had a lot of potiential in the Spider-Man canon, but unfortunitly debuted during the bomb that was the Clone Saga (which is when I dropped the book and never looked back) was Kaine. He was such a cool character, in my opinion. A clone of Peters, whose powers were messed up somehow, but like Venom, he had a twisted sense of honor about him. He was like Peter’s dark guardian angel, killing off villains that he thought were threats to Peter’s happy life, because he wanted Peter to have that perfect family that he could never have. So, my question is, what ever happened to Kaine. I simply cannot remember if he died during the Clone Saga or not (and I just don’t feel like searching through my old bins to find out), and if he did, did he ever come back? if not, what’s he been up to. if you could answer that, I’d be really appreciative.
Actually Kaine went to prison for a time and got set free. He’s alive and out there somewhere. Hiding likely and holding a grudge against Norman Osborn as well.
Steve emails
You asked for questions, and I deliver them unto you.
1. Waaay back in the so-called golden age of Marvel/Timely/Atlas Comics, there was a character named the Vision who is most certainly NOT the recently disassembled synthezoid seen in Avengers. Who was that guy and what has he been up to?
Alright here’s what I can tell you
Real Name: Aarkus the Destroyer
Occupation: Keeper of Law
Place of Birth: Somewhere in the Smoke World dimension
Group Membership: Battle-Axis
Powers: The Vision has the power of flight, also has the ability to generate intense cold and ice.
First Appearance: Marvel Mystery Comics #13
The Vision was one of first superheroes created by the legendary Jack Kirby. He had possibly three different origins and was a hero although he was forced to work for the Axis once. I can suggest reading this site: here
2. I am aware that a Punisher/Archie crossover exists. What was the premise of this unlikely match-up and more importantly, did the Punisher murder anyone in it?
Red Fever aka Melvin “Mel” Jay was the villain in the book. Punisher never killed anyone in the book though.
No one that we saw anyway. I guarantee he took a shot at Mr. Weatherby, just for haha’s sake.
3. I read and enjoyed the Earth X paperback, but I am much too cheap and lazy to check out Universe X. Could you provide a brief synopsis of it?
Captain Mar-vell is reincarnated as the child of Him and Her, while his soul simultaneously remains in the Realm of the Dead. Reed Richards hides the Mar-vell child in Atlantis with Prince Namor. Her is abducted by a crowd of mutants, fearing that the rebirth of human children will lead to the elimination of mutanity’s power. Mar-vell is left in the care of Agatha Harkness. The loss of the Celestial embryo reduces Earth’s mass and vibranium supply. Earth’s orbit and polarity begin to shift. Climates worldwide begin to shift. Immortus begins to assemble a Church promoting “mutanity” and its destiny to colonize the stars under the direction of Mephisto, disguised as Mr. Church. Immortus recruits the Spiders-Man to use his illusions to persuade Church members. Captain America becomes the guardian of the Mar-vell child. Mar-vell and Captain America begin a worldwide quest for various artifacts and weapons in a dual-mission of disarming Earth’s mutants and gathering weapons for the upcoming war in Death’s realm.
For the full story how about checking out here
Let me go on record right now and proclaim those stories to be the worst thing Alex Ross has ever been associated with. Ever.
4. In the midst of X-men: The End, Marvel: The End, and Wolverine: The End, I noticed in Wizard that there is a Hulk: The End. It has art by Dale Keown, one of my favorite Hulk artists, and Peter David, writer of my beloved Fallen Angel and other great titles. My questions are:
a) How did the Hulk “end” and…
Hulk is the only being left on Earth after a war and Banner wants to die while the Hulk doesn’t. It’s rather interesting to read. I don’t want to spoil the end though.
b) …Would you recommend picking up the book? According to Wizard it appears to be quite pricey.
Let’s just say Peter David wrote the book. He’s one of the best Hulk writers ever. He wrote it and it was an interesting story.
5. In light of Phoenix/Jean Grey’s recent reappearance in Phoenix: Endsong, do you feel an overuse of deaths and subsequent resurrections has diluted her appeal as a character? I understand that the idea of the Phoenix is intertwined with the “rising from the ashes.” But I thoroughly enjoyed Morrison’s run on New X-men, including Jean’s demise and the introduction of the Scott/Emma dynamic. Personally I would’ve preferred that she stay dead, at least for a few more years.
You know it always seems people think Jean’s died to often and come back a whole hell of a lot. Not to say she didn’t die a few times and come back.
The Phoenix Saga: She was replaced by the Phoenix Entity and put in a cocoon
Dark Phoenix Saga: Phoenix dies
Uncanny X-Men #168: Madelyne Pryor appears
Fantastic Four #286: Jean returned
Uncanny X-Men # 206: Maddy almost assassinated
Uncanny X-Men #227: Maddy died with the X-Men and came back
Uncanny X-Men # 243: Maddy died again
Uncanny X-Men # 281: Jean killed by Sentinels survives by transfering mind to the comatose body of Emma Frost
X-Man # 5: Maddy came back
Cable # 76: Maddy revealed dead again
New X-Men # 148: Jean killed to bring back Phoenix
New X-Men @ 150 Jean dies again
Phoenix Endsong: Phoenix returns
Jean comes back because the fans request it a lot to. But Phoenix itself is one of those entities that just keep returning to help Earth in times of need.
Her resurrections can be a bit annoying by this point, but it is in keeping with the mythology of the Phoenix, so I guess it kind of works.
6. A great amount of ill will seems to exist towards the works of Chuck Austen. Having only recently returned to reading comics, I checked out his run on X-men preceding Milligan. His writing on the series was confusing, and the majority of his characters seemed to have at best vaguely defined voices. What I’m wondering is, how did Chuck Austen rise to prominence? Did he have a classic groundbreaking run on some series of which I am unaware?
Chuck actually started his carrier as an artist on Miracle Man. When he started working for Marvel Comics, writing and illustrating U.S. War Machine, illustrating Elektra, and writing a number of series, including Uncanny X-Men, Captain America, and The Avengers.
7. I find the lack of clarity in the whole Xorn/Magneto/Xorn II debacle to be extremely annoying, and everytime I try to unravel it with my feeble, booze-addled mind I become one step closer to having a blood vessel explode in my brain. In such tumultuous times as these, there is only one man who can bring sense to the madness: continuity master and close friend (ex-lover?) of Who’s Who in the DCU editor Tim Stevens, Geoff Johns. DC should recognize the seriousness of this situation and exempt him from his exclusive contract specifically to weave a cloak of comprehensibility to cover this god forsaken Magneto-ridden mess. Please Geoff! Do you agree?
I’m not to sure Geoff Johns could fix the problem since the problem is done and over with basicly. Morrison is no longer on X-Men. They are going to clarify it more I think with Whedon, Morrison and Claremount in the reigns. Also I’m not sure what Geoff knows about Marvel or the X-Men. I’d do a better job fixing it. Daron can fix it himself. Heck a few others could to.
I can’t speak to the question, but I love/am horrified how Mr. Johns has morphed from guy I know to best friend to now “ex-lover?”
8. Why don’t I have a girlfriend right now? Is it because I read too many comics?
Actually I think it’s because you don’t read enough damn comics. Go to the store right now and get every Marvel title out there.
If a woman won’t accept your love of comics, she just isn’t worth the time.
I’m still going throgh emails gradually here. So I’m just hoping you guys don’t get upset and keep sending them. I’ve got everyone’s emails so far. Just have to answer and fit them into articles. In fact I’ve had to hold off the 20 years of Thanos this week for next week for now. I’ll make sure to fit it in. Also just keep sending them. I like the fact we’ll be recovering some stuff later and handling some debates to along the line. I can see that with a few emails I have now so keep them coming.
I think I just had a nice big send off above Daron so let’s finish this up.
This is Tim Stevens, for Daron K., bidding you all adieu.
Reporting from the Marvel Universe I’m Jim Trabold. Have a great week and see you at the comic shop
