Hi everyone I’m Jim Trabold. Welcome back for another edition of the Handbook.
Hey Daron how’s it going?
Well, other than my crazy @$$ schedule, I’m ok. One day instead of closing on Tuesday and opening on Wednesday (keeping me from getting this puppy out on time), I may get an open on Tuesday and a close on Wednesday”¦but who am I kidding?
Well I know your going to say something about the length of this week’s piece. I already decided to cut some of it. I’m pretty sure you’re going to enjoy this though if you’re in a debating mood.
Actually, I’m not really”¦
Let’s start this up
Frosty emails
Hey Jim and Daron (poor Daron..he seems to be ignored a lot), great column as always, you guys are a Monday afternoon at work staple for me. Anyways, I’d hate for you to get a big head, so I’ll ask my question. I’m wondering if you guys can give me a list of characters who have ice/cold/freezing type of abilities (powers or mechanical).
Thanks
Yeah I’m not sure how I ended up as the comical “sidekick””¦seeing as I’m Jim’s boss. I’ll tell you what I tell everyone else. It’s Jim’s pool, we just pee in it.
Well I can cover Marvel for you at least:
And seeing as this is a Marvel column”¦I’d say that’s a good thing.
Arkon
Blizzard I
Blizzard II
Crystal
Elemental Creatures of Taaru (ice one I would say lol)
Elementals of Doom (again ice one)
Emma Frost (in Iceman’s body)
Frostbite (2099)
Ice Giants (Asgard)
Jack Frost
Icemaker
Iceman (Bobby Drake)
Icemaster
Ice Princess
Ice Queen
Ice Worm
Ikthalon
Phoenix Force
Rogue
Storm
Tempest
Thor
Weathermen
Xartans
I think I’m missing a few. But the list is basically complete.
Colin emails
Good Day,
It’s been mentioned numerous times that while armored, Colossus has no need of air, food or water. That said, does he ever tire? Does he ever lose energy? Could he conceivably armor up and run from one end of the world to another?
I suppose he does tire. I mean it’s not like we haven’t seen him tire or need rest. We’ve seen him get injured at times as well. Although I suppose if he wasn’t fighting at the time and really want to he likely could run around the world.
Just to try to clear this up let’s explain his powers here from the old Handbook in my head.
Colossus is a mutant with the superhuman ability to convert the tissue of his entire body into an organic steel-like substance, granting him superhuman strength and a high degree of resistance to bodily harm. This substance, resembling organic steel, is of unknown composition but appears to be analogous to osmium and to carbon steel. He is able to transform into this armor-like state at will (the process is virtually instantaneous) and remain in that form for an as yet undetermined amount of time. (The longest time he has remained in armored form so far has been five days). Once in his armored form he remains so until he consciously wills himself back to normal. If he is rendered unconscious, however, he spontaneously reverts to his normal form. While in his armored state, Colossus possesses the same degree of mobility that he does in his normal form.
The process by which Colossus transforms himself to armored form and back (including his gain of additional mass from an unknown, perhaps extra-dimensional, force) remains unknown. Colossus cannot become partially or selectively armored; his body is either entirely converted or not. Even his eyes become steel-like; his eyeballs can withstand and deflect the impact of a .45 caliber bullet.
In his armored form Colossus is highly resistant to most forms of bodily harm. His armor is capable of withstanding ballistic penetration, including that of a 110 millimeter Howitzer shell. He could survive a collision with a loaded, one-ton flatbed truck at 100 miles per hour or an explosion of 450 pounds of TNT. He can survive extremes of temperature from 70 degrees above absolute zero (-390 degrees Fahrenheit) to approximately 9000 Fahrenheit. However, it is theorized that above the latter temperature, his armored form would begin to melt. Colossus’s armored form cannot rust under normal Earth conditions.
Colossus is in unusually fine physical health, permitting the transition back and forth from his normal organic flesh state to his armored form to occur with minimal stress on his system. His normal lungs are capable of holding his breath for 3.6 minutes. In the past he has exhibited a minimal or nonexistent need to breathe while in his armored state. However, it is believed that he could not survive for long in a vacuum. His endurance and speed are somewhat greater in his armored form.
So he could do it just don’t make him have to stop to fight someone like the Blob or Jugernaut. Good question.
See now when I read this I would say that he can’t run that long. This says that he does likely still breathe (just not as much as when unarmored), and that his endurance is “somewhat” greater”¦
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m pretty sure that it’s been mentioned that Kitty Pryde’s natural state is her phased form. While this may have been forgotten, if she got badly injured or set into a coma, wouldn’t she die, as if her body reverts to its naturally phased state, she couldn’t accept nourishment?
This sort of got explained back after the Mutant Massacre in a way. Remember at the time Colossus, Kitty and Kurt all got badly injured. She was hit by one of Harpoon’s energy spears, which interacted in unpredicted ways with her phasing power. Suddenly, she was locked in her phased form, unable to solidify. The condition progressed and was bound to lead to Kitty utterly dissolving. Without the combined talents of Doom and Reed Richards she would have died.
thanks,
You’re welcome.
James emails
Love the column and have been reading for a long time. A few questions I had on my mind lately:
I believe Cap’s shield is made of vibranium. Where exactly does this material come from? How did Cap get the shield to begin with? From what I understand it is pretty much the strongest material on earth, so could wolverine scratch it with his adamantium claws if he wanted? Finally…what’s the deal with the original triangular shaped shield and how did Cap ditch that for the silver age round one?
Actually his shield is described as such:
Captain America’s only weapon is his shield, a concave disk 2.5 feet in diameter, weighing 12 pounds. It is made of a unique Vibranium-Adimantium alloy that has never been duplicated. The Shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. During his experiments, MacLain combined Vibranium with an Adamantium-steel alloy he was working with and created the disc-shaped shield. MacLain was never able to duplicate the process due to his inability identify a still unknown factor that played a role in it. The shield was awarded to Captain America by the government several months after the beginning of his career.
The shield has great aerodynamic properties: it is able to slice through the air with minimal wind resistance and deflection of path. Its great overall resilience, combined with its natural concentric stiffness, enables it to rebound from objects with minimal loss of angular momentum. It is virtually indestructible: it is resistant to penetration, temperature extremes, and the entire electromagnetic spectrum of radiation. The only way it can be damaged in any way is by tampering with its molecular bonding.
So it would not be affected by Wolverine’s claws. Cap’s shield is actually stronger.
– I imagine you have probably answered this before, but I’ve always been curious about all the different Hulk incarnations. How many exactly are there beyond the obvious raging green, grey, and Peter David’s intelligent green versions? What are the differences and what have been the explanations for the changes in appearance and personality?
Actually there are 100s of Hulk personalities in that head of Bruce’s. Due to Bruce Banner’s personal history, he had developed MPD (multiple personality disorder) and each personality developed it’s own abilities and characteristics and thus incarnation. Other incarnations have developed over the years, which have all been based on the four core personalities. A recent self-exploration into his own mind has shown Bruce that there may be other core personalities, formed due to MPD, which have not yet seen the light of day.
You see we know the bigger personalities for the most part:
Bruce Banner
Savage Hulk (Hulk Smash!)
Grey Hulk (“Joe Fixit”)
Merged Hulk (“The Professor”)
The Maestro
Post-Onslaught/Unleashed Hulk:
Post-Heroes Reborn Hulk:
Mindless Hulk
Bannerless Hulk
Guilt Hulk
Devil Hulk
Monster Hulk
Savage Banner
Banner-Hulk
There are tons of others we don’t know of and might see again in the future.
– I never read Thor’s solo book…just the Avengers title. Who exactly is Beta Ray Bill? Does he have ties to classic mythology like Thor, Loki, and Odin? If not, where did he come from?
Actually Beta Ray Bill is not a God. He’s actually different all together.
The Burning Galaxy was destroyed through the machinations of Surtur. The surviving Korbinites decided to choose a champion who they would follow to their new home. The Korbinite known as Beta Ray Bill was successful and was transformed into a cybernetic being resembling a fierce creature. The Korbinites then amassed their fleet, put themselves into stasis, and followed Bill’s ship, Skuttlebutt. Bill fought legions of demons sent by Surtur.
When the fleet approached the Milky Way galaxy, it was detected by a SHIELD satellite. Nick Fury asked Thor to investigate. Thor was deemed a threat by Skuttlebutt, so Bill fought him. During the battle Thor was separated from Mjolnir and reverted to Donald Blake. Curious, Bill picked up Mjolnir and the hammer deemed him worthy, granting him the power of Thor. Skuttlebutt
He battled Thor again in front of Odin and gave the hammer back to Thor in the end. Odin ordered the creation of the hammer Stormbreaker for Bill to use. Bill continued to protect his people and assist the Asgardians.
He can use Stormbreaker to fly, manipulate weather, absorb and channel various energies, as a detector. He can also turn into his pre-cyborg Korbinite form, or currently the form of Simon Walters by stamping the hammer, which then turns into a cane.
Thanks dude!
Your welcome.
Thanks beadle baily and hops, I didnt recall ever mention her of much changing nationality. Though i enjoyed being named dropped like a mother funker this week.
I do have a question for the hand booger this week. I just want all kinds of info on old pale face himself, Mr. Sinister. great character design, but seemingly wasted potential (sounds like most X-men villians.)
Hmmmm information you say. Alright let’s go with information:
Name: Nathan Essex
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Aliases: Mr. Sinister, Nathan Milbury, Michael Milbury, Arnold Bocklin, Dr Windsor
Occupation: Geneticist
Legal Status: As Essex, citizen of England during the 1800s in poor standing with his scientific peers.
Identity: Secret
Marital Status: Marital status unknown
Group Affiliation: Marauders, Nasty Boys, Four Horsemen.
Base of Operations: Base of operations unknown
Place of Birth: London, England
Known Relatives: No known relatives
First Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN #221
Height: 6 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 285 lbs.
Eyes: Shining red, no visible pupils
Hair: Black
His skin is a whitish color and he can change what he looks like to suit his own purposes.
Powers: Mister Sinister possesses a wide array of powers. He has exhibited limited shapeshifting, able to resume his “normal” human form and that of Apocalypse; he once reduced himself into a semi-liquid state. He has frequently shown a remarkable resistance to injury and excellent regenerative abilities. Demonstrated telepathic powers in the past, including the ability to mentally paralyze a foe he’s touching and the ability to psionically “turn off” the superpowers of any Mutants. He has also exhibited some telekinetic abilities. the power of teleportation. genius, and a geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA to create mutants to his whims. Can also produce large amounts of clones.
Weakness: susceptible to the Optic Blasts of Cyclops and most anyone named Summers with powers.
Known Abilities: Sinister is extremely intelligent and a geneticist of the highest order, able to predict genetic mutations and splice DNA. (It is quite probable his are the result of self-experimentation – his shapeshifitng power is due to a procedure he performed on himself with help from a time-traveling Gambit.) He can also produce large amounts of clones; he has done so with all his Marauders, and with Jean Grey. He at one time possessed tissue samples of thousands of people, dating possibly as far back as the 1860s, including several American Presidents. He is a master surgeon, having excised a portion of Gambit’s brain, and then later restored it (although from Sinister’s point of view, he restored a portion of Gambit’s brain and later excised it, as Gambit was travelling back in time when the restoration was completed, possibly a Predestination paradox), and a skilled mechanical engineer, having created devices that seem taken from the tales of Jules Verne. He possesses a good deal of knowledge in psychology, and is a skilled manipulator. Many of his bases seem to have some quasi-biological properties, able to “grow” tentacles from a surface to hold a prisoner at Sinister’s mental commands.
Personality: Sinister is a ruthless man who has no compunctions about ruining the lives of others to get what he wants. He prefers to operate in the shadows, letting lackeys and unsuspecting dupes do his dirty work. He is arrogant, confident, and expects total obedience from his underlings. He is known to have collaborated with members of the Nazi party.
Nathaniel Essex was a 19th-century scientist in Victorian England obsessed with Darwin’s theory of evolution, though he felt Darwin and his contemporaries were shackled by too many moral constraints. While pursuing his own research in 1859, he discovered that humanity was undergoing increasing mutation, due to what he called “Essex Factors” in the human genome. His theories were mocked, making him bitter; his son’s death drove him deeper into his work. He approached many groups in search of funding, including the Hellfire Club, though all turned him down. He hired a group of thugs, which he named Marauders, to kidnap people off the streets of London so he could perform experiments on them; he even went so far as to dig up his dead son and experimented on him. During this time, Essex came into contact with Apocalypse, accidentally educating that ancient mutant about the facts surrounding his nature. The two subsequently formed an alliance, during which Apocalypse used his advanced technology to activate dormant mutant traits within Nathaniel. With his new abilities and dispassionate outlook, Essex took a new name – Sinister, the last word his wife spoke to him as she died, after discovering the horrors he’d been engaged in (the stress also caused her to miscarry their unnamed child). During his “uplifitng,” a time-traveling Cyclops & Jean Grey interrupted the procedure — Cyclops’ optic blast struck Essex soon after he emerged from the machines, damaging his “newborn” form. Cyclops & Jean also freed many of Sinister’s captives, two of which traveled to America and took the name Summers. Apocalypse’s first command was to create a plague to destroy the weak of the world, but Sinister would not do it – he had clarity of purpose, and cruelty for its own sake was not part of it. The plague Sinister created attacked only Apocalypse, driving him into hibernation. In 1882, Sinister was present at Darwin’s funeral, reveling in the irony that the man who was once vilified was being buried in Westminster Abbey, the highest church of England. Soon after, he left for The United States.
For over a century, Sinister continued his work, just as often allying with Apocalypse as against him. In 1891, he moved to New York, and posed as an obstetrician named Nathan Millbury; here he had unrestricted access to an abundance of generational genetic material to study, including that of the adult Daniel Summers and his wife, Amanda Mueller. It was in 1891 that Sinister came across another pair of time traveling mutants from the future, the X-Man Gambit and a shape changer called Courier. Using his scientific equipment, Sinister managed to replicate the shape shifting abilities of Courier; before that, he’d hidden his pale complexion with common makeup. Gambit needed help getting back to the present, and to do so had Sinister re-implant a piece of tissue into his brain. Once the piece was restored, Gambit’s powers increased exponentially and he was able to return himself and Courier to the present. A century later, Gambit and Sinister would meet again.
In 1915, Essex went back to England and granted Jacob Shaw the ability to shapeshift. Jacob was the brother of Esau Shaw, and was extremely envious of his bother’s better lot in life, such as having been recruited into the Hellfire Club’s Inner Circle by Sir Waltham Pierce. Jacob uses his newfound powers to imitate Sir Waltham Pierce, then killed his brother Esau. Jacob planned to then take on Esau’s place, but first he shapeshifted into a woman and planned to kill Waltham. Before he could finish his deed, however, Union Jack Montgomery Falsworth, a friend of Esau’s stepped in and accused Pierce of sedition against the crown and the murder of Esau. Before Waltham could answer, Jacob shot at Union Jack, then ran off into the night. Jacob Shaw is the father of Sebastian Shaw; Sir Waltham Pierce may be an ancestor of Donald Pierce.
In the 1920s, Essex encountered a man named Herbert Edgar Wyndham, who dreamed of doing what Sinister had already accomplished breaking the genetic code for human DNA. Essex worked side by side with Wyndham, who would later become better known as the High Evolutionary. By 1928 Wyndham had begun crude experimentations on lab animals with radiation exposure with little success. During a trip to an international conference on genetics in Geneva, Switzerland, Wyndham suddenly felt ill. Stumbling out into the street he met the hypnotic gaze of a man in a top hat and coat, shrouded in darkness. From this stranger Wyndham was handed a gift that should not exist in that time – a blueprint for breaking the genetic code.
In the 1930s, he spent some time in California, gathering subjects for his experiments; while in Los Angeles, he met and fell in love with radio comedienne Faye Livingstone, though he never admitted his feelings. Discovering his secret laboratory one night, Essex confronted her with the truth — she carried the x-factor in her genes, and her offspring would produce special children, children that would be more than human. Horrified, Faye tried to leave, but Essex kept her prisoner. Months passed, filled with degrading examinations; affected pity gave way to foul contempt. Essex broke her in mind and spirit, and made her (not let her) see behind the illusion that was Nathan Essex. Then, in the middle of a raging storm one night, Essex flung the door open and released her, without speaking or gesturing. In time, Faye was brought to the Carlysle Nursing Home in San Diego, California, her mind & body falling to cancer. Due to her love for Essex, Livingstone had never married, and never had children. The offspring Sinister so eagerly anticipated never came to exist. Once a year, a Mister Essex would come and visit her, though he would never admit to anyone (not even himself) why. Genesis forced Sinister to confront both her and himself about the relationship, but Sinister refused, adamantly maintainnig that she was nothing more than a useless husk to him. After sharing a telepathic dance with Essex, Faye passed away in his arms.
In 1944, Essex came across a man named John Greycrow, who would become Scalphunter, his first “new” Marauder. While working with the Nazis, he earned the nickname “Nosferatu,” due both to his pale visage and his habit of taking blood from everyone; he frightened even the Nazis. Oddly, he often gave children candy in exchange for their blood. During this time, he created Experiment N2, a clone of Namor the Sub-Mariner, which could forcibly suck the water out of Namor and use it to douse the android Human Torch’s flames. To Sinister’s considerable surprise, though, Captain America was able to defeat N2.
In 1946, a Dr. Nathan Milbury was involved with Project: Black Womb, a secret government project headed by Amanda Mueller & aided by Brian Xavier and Kurt Marko and Irene Adler, which studied, but did not alter, thousands of children, mostly mutants, in post-natal holding tanks. For decades, Sinister secretly observed the development of mutant children as they grew in the State Home for Foundlings in Omaha, Nebraska. He cruelly manipulated their childhood developmental processes and even tried to control their adult lives so they might become his minions. The hero Cyclops was among his subjects; one of Scott’s roommates in the orphanage was named Nathan, and another alias of Sinister’s was Mike Milbury, neighbor to Scott’s grandparents up in Alaska. It was from his laboratory under the orphanage that many evils issued, and most likely will issue.
At some point, Sinister spliced mutant genes from Alex Summers into Ahmet Abdol, who became the Living Monolith, able to absorb cosmic energies and use them to grow to enormous size.
Sinister is responsible for the Morlock Massacre, ordering his band of Marauders to kill all of the sewer-dwelling mutants. It was later revealed that Gambit was the one who had assembled Sinister’s Marauders. Gambit did this, and many other tasks, for Sinister because he owed the geneticist a huge debt. When Gambit’s powers first manifested, they were largely uncontrollable. He heard through underworld contacts of Sinister, and approached him, asking for help. Sinister agreed, and removed a portion of Gambit’s brain, which reduced Gambit’s power but allowed him a greater degree of control over his abilities. In exchange, Gambit had to perform many tasks for him, such as assemble the Marauders for the Morlock Massacre. It is possible that Sinister recognized Gambit from a century prior, and agreed to help him in order to insure the series of events that lead to Gambit going back in time which allowed Sinister to gain Courier’s powers occurred. As for the reason behind the Morlock Massacre due to various twistings of time and dimensions, the Dark Beast from the Age of Apocalypse timeline arrived in the mainline reality twenty years prior. Many of the Morlocks were experiments of the Dark Beast’s. Since AoA Beast had learned genetics from AoA Sinister, and AoA Sinister’s methods were similar to mainline Sinister’s, Sinister could see his “signature” in the Morlocks. To prevent further unauthorized usage of his theories, he had the Marauders kill the Morlocks. Though some of his Marauders died during the Massacre, Sinister’s mastery of genetics and cloning technology allows his Marauders to live again and again and again.
Sinister is obsessed with the Summers genetic line, including Cyclops and Havok, in part because it is “his” Daniel Summers is a direct ancestor of Scott & Alex Summers. For a time, Sinister continued to advance his master plan to serve Apocalypse and his own evil ends. Sinister prefers to let bloodlines breed naturally to produce the most racially supreme beings, rather than hastily transforming them; he believes that Scott Summers’ and Jean Grey’s genelines would create a Mutant of unparalleled power, one that could destroy Apocalypse and thus free him from the yoke of that ancient tyrant. To this end, he created Madelyne Pryor, a clone of Jean Grey, though he was disappointed that the clone manifested no powers at adolescence and he considered the whole project a waste of time and effort. Upon “Jean’s” death on the Blue Area of the Moon, the Phoenix Force left her body and entered Madelyne’s, much to Sinister’s delight. He arranged a set of false memories for her, and left her where Scott would eventually encounter her. Eventually the two wed and produced a child, Nathan Christopher Charles Summers. Madelyne convinced Scott to move with her back to Alaska and live out their lives there, a subconscious suggestion implanted by Sinister – the remote location made it easier for him to study and if need be abduct the child. Sinister eventually took the child, then lost it to Madelyne, then regained it, then lost it to Cyclops, who blasted him with a supercharged Optic Blast and reduced him to a skeleton. It is unknown how Sinister came back from that it may well have been a clone he had sent in his place for that battle, or he may have teleported away at the last second and placed a body in his place as Cyclops’ blast struck but return he did, now safe under the cover of presumed death. Before Sinister could re-claim young Nathan, however, Apocalypse awoke. Sensing the threat posed to him, he infected Nathan with a technorganic virus which threatened to consume him. The only hope of saving him was for Scott & Jean to give him to a woman known as the Askani, who spirited him away to the future. Nathan survived, and came to be the man better known as Cable.
Later, a group of Mutants known as the Nasty Boys appeared, working alongside an evil duplicate of James Madrox. The evil Madrox wished to kill the true Madrox, and sought Sinister’s help in doing so; he sent the Nasty Boys to aid Evil Madrox by fighting X-Factor. Eventually, the Evil Madrox was re-absorbed by the original Madrox, and subsumed into him. Meanwhile, Quicksilver’s powers were being secretly overcharged by Senator Steven Shaffran, who was trying to discredit X-Factor in order to spur on his political career. Unknown to Shaffran, though, Sinister took the senator’s appearance and revealed Shaffran’s deeds to the team. Shaffram later confronted Sinister, and planned to kill him, but only succeeded in killing himself when his bullet ricocheted off of Sinister’s armor. Later, Sinister sent his Nasty Boys to track down a rogue Malice, who was trying to break free of Sinister. In an earlier confrontation with X-Factor, Malice had possessed Polaris, but Polaris’s powers prevented the possessing entity from departing Lorna Dane’s body something Sinister knew would happen. Malice did eventually break out of Dane’s body, and was determined to escape Sinister’s control for a being used to existence as an incorporeal energy being, entrapment in a physical body, even one as powerful as Polaris’s, was Hell for her. A massive fracas between Sinister and the Nasty Boys, Malice, and Havok and Polaris broke out. Both Alex and Lorna tried to absorb Malice, but the strain wound up fatally disrupting Malice’s energy form. Seeing as the conflict had no meaning anymore, Sinister and his Nasty Boys withdrew.
After the events of the X-Cutioner’s Song saga, Sinister unwittingly unleashed the Legacy Virus upon the Earth, a plague engineered by Stryfe, a clone of Cable . Sinister revealed to Cyclops Stryfe’s trick, and let slip of the existence of a third Summers brother. Sinister later took in the mutant Threnody, and used her unique powers to track down victims of the Legacy Virus, which he could then study and work on to develop a cure. Moira MacTaggart, long-time ally to the X-Men and one of the top genetic immunologists on the planet, eventually developed a cure for the Virus.
Fortunately for Sinister, Cable also had a deep grudge against Apocalypse, and when Apocalypse merged with Cyclops at the climax of The Twelve stoy arc, Cable and Jean Grey tracked the merged being back to Apocalypse’s birthplace of Egypt. Jean separated Apocalypse’s astral form from Cyclops’ body, and Cable sundered the freed spirit, fulfilling his destiny as written by Sinister. This gave Sinister the freedom he’d long sought, as Apocalypse had always kept him on a tight leash.
While Sinister has succeeded in his quest to eliminate Apocalypse, this has by no means ended his task. Mister Sinister desired research above all else in his world of genetics; bloodlines and gene pools are his chess pieces. Apocalypse was a threat to this work. Now without hindrances, Sinister can truly begin his work in genetics, now matter the cost in lives or suffering. By eliminating Sinister’s former master, the X-Men may have unleashed an even greater threat to the world. Sinister continues his research into mutant genetics, and recently reappeared in the pages of the new Weapon X series, in the guise of Dr. Robert Windsor. He has apparently departed to Genosha (he was to be in Excalibur but didn’t appear)
I personally like Sinister. He’s actually one of my favorite X-villains in fact. I would love to see him used more myself.
TherCanBeOnly1 emails
Hello there. I have to compliment you on your column once more. You do good work.
Thanks
But I have to comment on the Iron Man/X-Men debate going on. I have to qualify my opinion here. I think the Iron Man armor could take a team of X-Men, excluding telepaths. That’s the catch. The armor is powerful enough to do it. What it all boils down to would be Stark’s motivation in fighting. Tony limits himself a lot in fights. He hardly ever seems to use the suit’s full power, not wanting to kill his opponents. If you either gave him a reason to totally let loose, or else put someone else in the armor equally trained but far more bloodthirsty, I think IM beats the X-men. It really comes down to a matter of defense. Take any single X-man. Have them exchange fire with IM. Sure, Havok could damage the armor if he gets a clean shot in. But IM could kill Havok with one shot. Havok would have to really power up to get a shot that would hurt the armor, and at that heat he’s probably killed the rest of the X-Men anyway. IM can fly, so that pretty much eliminates Shadowcat and Wolverine right there. People forget how fast and maneuverable the armor is because Tony a lot of times will just duke it out and overpower opponents. And remember, Spiderman and the Wasp both by themselves beat the X-Men in the first Secret Wars. The F’ing Wasp.
I don’t think Cyclops blasts hurt the armor at all. If Wolverine can take a full on blast and get up, IM has no problem. Wolverine doesn’t hurt the armor unless it gets grounded, but Wolverine can be taken easily out of the fight. Tony grabs him by the wrists and jets off into space and lets go. Wolverine asphyxiates. Storm can’t hurt the armor at all. Tony once was able to absorb Captain Marvel throwing all sorts of energy at him all at once, so Storm’s lightning isn’t going to hurt the armor or cause any type of malfunction with any electrical systems. Storm starts a hurricane, IM just flies away from it while the rest of the X-Men in the hurricane’s path get killed. Storm is also another character Tony kills with one shot. In fact, Tony can kill the majority of the team all at once with his targeting systems and repulsors. Only Kitty and Colossus and Wolverine would survive a laser blast, and it’s debatable about Wolverine.
That pretty much leaves Shadowcat, Rogue, and Colossus. Unless Kitty stays phased the entire time, the first time she’s normal Tony blasts her. I think hand to hand Tony can beat Colossus. He’s fought the Hulk in his regular armor. That just leaves Rogue, who can’t steal any of IM’s powers. Then it’s just a matter of time.
So, that’s my argument. You give Tony a little bit of Punisher in his blood and that armor beats the X-Men. You have it be a regular type good guy vs. good guy fight where he holds back, and he loses.
That’s just my opinion tho. I don’t think any writer at Marvel would have another hero beat the X-Men, unless it was Spiderman. The X-Men is Marvel’s sacred cash cow. It would be refreshing though, to have a big time super powered hero be really ruthless. Are there any out there like that?
Ruthless Marvel heroes? Of course there are a bunch out there.
I mean we have
Punisher
Wolverine
Deadpool
Agent X
Black Cat
Elektra
Fantomex
Ghost Rider
Hellstorm
Juggernaut
Magik (while she was around)
Namor
Hulk (certain personalities)
Toxin
Night Thrasher
Likely others I’m missing. It’s not uncommon though. But you make a point Tony doesn’t really have a killer instinct to go after X-Men.
No offense TherCanBeOnly1, but wow”¦ Suffice it to say, I completely disagree with you.
To start I feel I should clarify some things:
1. The important thing you’re missing in your “situation” is the same thing that’s been missing in most of the “pro Iron Man” arguments, and that is that this is supposed to be a battle between Iron Man and the X-MEN (emphasis on men – i.e. team). I don’t think anyone is arguing that Iron Man couldn’t take just about any X-MAN in one-on-one combat. But against any team of X-Men the odds just aren’t in his favor.
2. What’s up with everyone conveniently forgetting about Alex Summe’s power levels? It seems every month or so I have to remind everyone that Alex is likely the most powerful member of the team (in terms of energy output). Alex’s powers have been rated at a cosmic level, and does anyone remember when he turned the desert into glass? To say that he “might” be able to power up enough to possibly hurt the armor is ludicrous to me. I’d say if Alex got a shot he could incinerate Iron Man in a single shot.
3. Similarly, in regards to Scott Summers, your example about Wolverine is actually off as well. I’m pretty sure I’ve stated this in the past as well, but it has been stated that Cyclops’ blasts can pulverize adamantium. Sure he doesn’t let loose on Wolverine to do this, but that’s not to say he couldn’t. I think it’s safe to say that if he can pulverize adamantium he can probably do the same to Iron Man”¦
Now past these clarifications, I can probably rebut just about every point you made (from Colossus throwing Wolvie at Iron Man to put him in range – something he’s done quite often, to Iron Man just not being able to take Colossus in a one-on-one – my personal opinion), but my biggest problem with your argument is the whole Iron Man with a blood lust thing. To make this argument (an argument that places heroes in combat with each other) I’d argue that you’d have to level the playing field. You’re adding an “unrealistic” variable to this situation (and please no comments on the whole reality of comic characters fighting – I talking about realism in the context of the facts that we have in this unrealistic world). Besides the fact that stating only Tony the bloodthirsty maniac can take down the X-Men pretty much means “regular continuity” Tony probably doesn’t have a chance, if we are going to arm Tony with this “advantage” we have to arm all of the X-Men the same way”¦which pretty much negates the advantage, and just turns this into a villains vs. villains fight.
Lastly, I apologize if this comes across as harsh, I’m just trying to get all my points out here as quickly as possible before nap time :)
Beadle posted
Quote:
“I think Faceless name forgot Psylocke’s telepathy.”
a) It wasn’t AFN that listed Psylocke, it was me.
b) She’s not a telepath anymore, she’s a telekinetic (never known how that always happens with X-Men). Otherwise putting her and Rachel on the team together would be a really crappy idea.
Yep Psylocke is no longer a telepath thanks for helping clear it up Beadle.
Beadle
Tony just seems to enjoy living, while Bruce just seems to be waiting to die.
That I’d go with. Like Cable & Deadpool, Nightcrawler & Wolvie, Speedball & Night Thrasher. There are quite a few combos like that. Thinking about it, Cloak & Dagger are one of the clearest examples.
Never saw Cable in that way other then when he fought Apocalypse.
Kurt either. He has too much faith in his life.
Speedball was just out for fun.
Cloak/Dagger had their own problems to deal with.
nalydpsycho (brings in the question that is important here.)
But doesn’t Tony hate his dad? Tony’s parents died when he was older and so he doesn’t have the deification of them Bruce has. Also, Tony’s parents enable him to be Iron Man, but they aren’t the reason. Although there is still an element of vengeance as wasn’t there a scientist who died in China when Tony first created the suit?
Which leads to a QUESTION!
Jim, could you go over Iron Man’s origin? Just why is Tony Stark a hero?
Alright here’s where we cover Iron Man’s origins:
Anthony Stark, son of industrialist Howard Stark, demonstrated his mechanical aptitude and inventive genius at a very early age, enrolling in college electrical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15. When he was 21, he inherited his father’s business, Stark Industries, and within a few years turned it into a multimillion-dollar industry complex whose chief contracts were for weaponry and munitions for the U.S. government.
Howard Stark (or his father since a Howard Stark Sr. has been mentioned) worked on the Manhattan Project, encountered Uatu the Watcher with the V-Battalion, was kidnapped by the Red Skull, and worked on the Arsenal robot. Secretly, Hugh Jones caused the car accident that slew Howard and Maria Stark on the Ides of March. According to one account, the Crimson Dynamo attacked Stark Industries, but a young Tony Stark persuaded him to defect.
While on a visit to Vietnam to see how his new mini-transistors could assist the American war effort, Tony Stark was caught in a booby trap. Captured by a Vietnamese warlord, Wong Chu and dying from a piece of shrapnel lodged in his heart from the booby trap, Stark was pressed into building weapons for Wong Chu, along with a fellow prisoner, the famed physicist Yin Sen (later spelled Ho Yinsen).
However, Stark and Yin Sen used the workshop to secretly design and construct a suit of powered armor, an iron exoskeleton that gave Stark tremendous strength as well as other abilities that would keep Stark’s heart beating, but allow him to escape. Yin Sen sacrificed himself to buy Stark time to charge the bulky suit of armor, and as Iron Man, Stark made short work of Wong Chu and his men.
On the way back, Iron Man encountered a wounded US helicopter pilot, Jim Rhodes. Introducing himself as Stark’s bodyguard, Iron Man and Rhodes managed to defend themselves against the pursuing North Vietnamese before making it back to American lines. On his return to the US, Stark continued to improve the armor, establishing a dual identity as the adventurer and superhero Iron Man. He also greatly expanded his father’s company, Stark Industries, eventually renaming it Stark International.
Remember his funding for the Avengers comes from a fund in his mothe’s name: Maria Stark Foundations
Ratcat with one more response
Oh yeah. I almost forgot about Tony’s drinking.
But what was the ultimate cause of his alcoholism? I’m actually surprised that Bruce never went down that path (or did he?) he seems like a prime candidate for it.
I thought Tony was the ultimate case of alcoholism in comics. Who could beat Tony at drinking? Well other then Wolverine. But you get my point he lost everything he had to his drinking.
I mean look at the list of others who are in Marvel at least:
Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers) was really the only other Marvel character without a fast healing factor that drank a lot.
House of M
Well another week of the House of M and this week in the main title the biggest information is given. Who was the once behind it. But I’ll leave that for the last review. Let you all drool in waiting if you haven’t read it.
We start with Exiles 71
Our heroes learn from Heather Hudson how the X-Men from 616 Marvel universe defeated Proteus (it took Colossus in his metal form in case anyone forgot)
The Exiles prepare to fight Angel/Proteus and are attacked by her/his reality altering powers. Even having to fight their worst nightmares
In the end Moira shoots Angel and unleashed Proteus true form Beak goes help Angel as it’s up to Mimic to deal with Proteus.
Mimic of course made an oath not to kill and is taken over by Proteus. It turns into a rather good Mimic/Sabretooth fight
The team is gathering back together as Blink makes Mimic disappear.
They leave House of M world leaving Beak behind as the flash from House of M 7 hits.
Wolverine 34
We go back to the talk between Shaw and Mystique as they talk about Logan and Nick Fury. Here we find out what happened to Nick
We go back 23 years ago where Nick Fury is sent a bunch of raw recruits as Nick’s son is kidnapped. He is forced to train this new Red Guard group under the House of Magnus
He meets up with his new recruits and pushes most of them around including a Travis Sprangler (also known as Earshot)
This is where he meets Logan and calls him Wolverine of course. Logan is made squad leader as well.
Of course Nick and Logan hated each other off the bat. This would lead to a fight between Nick and Logan in which all information leads to Logan killing Nick Fury with his claws.
We find that this might all go back to Earshot but he likely didn’t do it alone. We find one of the many locations on the base exploded with some leaving a cigar behind there the next day.
Nick Fury’s body was never found either. Leading Shaw to ask where Logan was after the attack on the Embassy. He was missing from his bed.
Logan knew Nick Fury was behind the attack and also knew he was really alive. Since during the fight Nick actually had defeated Logan and lived threatening to destroy all the mutants.
To be continued from there for the next issue
Mutopia X 4
We start with an operating table where they change Popova’s face and disfigure her for Kaufman. She don’t like it of course. He shows his wife this and tells her that Popova is being sent to kill Ismael.
We go to the Ortega home where we see him and his wife viewing his daughter in her dress for her change to being a mutant.
We head now to the Trnsformation center where Popova in her Beak face is dropped off. Bishop sees the Ortega family off into the building being part of the security.
Back to Kaufman who is watching the events with his men. His wife fakes her death and deals with his men to escape.
Back to the events of Chamayra’s mutant rebirth. She’s changed into a mutant in front of all (we all know of course in reality mutants are born .She was just at the right age to gain powers.)
Kaufman’s wife shows up and gets Bishop and tells him Popova is there. They help the Ortega’s as she shows up and tries to kill them. In the end Popova kills his daughter. Kaufman’s main guy kills Popova as well.
He tells Kaufman who find out his wife escaped to but it’s to late for him as she had freed Frankie and he kills Kaufman
The Ortega’s grieve over their daughters death. The man who changed her can’t save her. The world ends with a burning light as he says that.
Back to 616 Ortega where he gets a call from his wife about his daughter there as well.
Alright folks it’s time for the big title.
House of M 7
We start our story with the fight between the heroes and the House of M side. The heroes fight their hardest as they try to find a way to take down Wanda and the rest who they think are behind this.
Wanda fades away as Doctor Strange flies off to go find her. Wanda and him talk over how this new world came to be and he ask who Layla Miller is and she don’t actually know. The fight continues outside as he mentions if Magneto told her it would be perfect and no fighting
We go back to where this started. Arguing between Magneto and Pietro over how to save Wanda. After Magneto leaves Pietro talks to Wanda about their life and he’s the one that actually convinces her to recreate the world. To make it perfect for everyone
Strange is shocked over this and tells Emma. He ask where Charles is but she is shot by an arrow before he can answer
Elsewhere Layla and Emma meet with Magneto suddenly as he shows up. Layla uses her powers on Magneto.
Hawkeye and Wanda argue over his death. He wonders why she killed him. She argues she brought him back of course. With all the arguing one of her sons makes Hawkeye fade away.
The heroes are attacked and taken down by Quicksilver but he’s taken down by Magneto who attacks him and almost kills him for doing it all in his name.
Wanda saves Pietro and heals Pietro as well. She has a long speech with her father about doing this for him. For everyone. To make everyone happy. Then she says it “Daddy……. NO MORE MUTANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” As things begin to break down and everything burns out to white once again
Well Daron you know this whole Iron Man/X-Men thing has made the biggest debate I’ve seen in a long time. Even taking over the Handbook topic on the board. Didn’t take all the comments made from the board. Would take way to much space so I suggest everyone read it ÂÂhere
So if you care to Daron you may sign off first.
I think I missed something in those last couple emails about Iron Man”¦not sure if they were about the battle or not. Other than that, I say good show. See ya next week.
Alright I’m going to do just a short sign off here this week. Reporting from my corner in the Marvel Universe I’m Jim Trabold. Have a great week and see you at the comic shop.
