Marvel Flipside

Summer Hiatus, redux

Well, looks like summer is just about over, I guess. I mean, if you ignore the heat and humidity that still blasting the majority of the northern hemisphere and all that wacky hurricane weather that is blasting wherever the heat isn't.

*cough, cough* Would you look at that date? Things are a bit dusty around here. It seems I always have lofty ambitions over the summer about this blog, but it never really comes together like it should. And then, at the beginning of a new autumn, I always think things are going to turn around and I would return with new vigor to all of this. But after months of not being in a routine, it can be VERY hard to get it come around again, you know?

So perhaps as I start to turn my thoughts again to all things Marvel Flipside, this is an open call to anyone who wants to see a return of a feature or two. Got a favorite, or even a new idea you'd like me to try? Any sketches you think would be good to tackle? I'll be asking myself those same questions, and let's see what the answers might be! Feel free to drop a post here or an email.

(Did you know that many of the comic book panels that  get featured here are the result of contributions? If you have a panel you'd like me to comment on or think is noteworthy, pass it along!)

See ya on the Flipside, this time sooner rather than later!

Dating Deadpool & Fear Itself

Get it? Because there are hammers involved in Marvel's big summer publishing event? Isn't that ... funny?

MC Hammer was the stage name of Stanley Kirk Burrell, and left his indelible mark on pop culture in the days when old school rap was simply just called rap. Those pants and signature shuffle were most popular with 1990's "U Can't Touch This." That only makes this reference 21 years old!

In case you are a teenager reading comic books, here is the music video the cover artist wants you to remember:

 

Dated, obvious, tired and cliche.

Thus:

Deadjoke-o-meter:

1 out of 5 Deadpools. (If only I can remember what that's supposed to mean.)

 

Titania

Villains of Summer! 

What's Her Deal? Weakling no more, Dr. Doom turned Skeeter MacPherson into the mighty Titania for some good ol' fashioned throw down against the Marvel heroes. I think her name is taken more because it's like "Titan" than it is because it's like the fairy queen from Shakespeare, but because she shares the name of our famed character of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is a perfect, if oblique, Villain of Summer!

What Should She Do? Well, as we speak she's throwing down as one of The Worthy, agents of The Serpent, and causing massive mayhem. But other than than, she is always good for a one-off tussle with the likes of She-Hulk and Spider-Man. If you want to use her more purposefully, her backstory contains themes of self-esteem, "might makes right", and self-indulgence. That would play perfectly with Ms. Marvel and the new Power Man/Iron Fist combo, or even folks like the Runaways and Power Pack.  

Of course, you could always run with the oblique reference, and have her fight with Alpha Flight's Puck, and see if anyone other than me would pick up on it.

Sunstroke

It's the Villains of Summer!

SUNSTROKE!

What's His Deal? There's a lot of sun-themed villains, but named after the a serious sun-related health risk! This guy was a human test subject to the alien Dominus, but that's all we know about him. His powers are to absorb solar energy and then generate light offensively. And flight, of course. I always liked his costume, too, which was very retro and also very sleek and modern. His teammates were perhaps not so memorable, but they had a kind of quirky coolness that kind of worked. I'm talking, of course, of Cactus, Gila, and Butte. This was how I learned that Butte was pronounced "Bee-yoot" and not, well, you know. 

What Should He Do? Sunstroke doesn't have much cred on his own, but he would be just fine for a simple one-off villain that needs to rob a bank or two. And that would be fine for a simple tussle with Spider-Man (or even Spider-Girl!) Since this guy is also a West Coaster, he's all set to throw down with Moon Knight nowadays (Moon vs. sun, get it?). And even though he's been more of a lackey than a solo guy, maybe it's time for all of Dominus' former minions to take the name "Dominus" for themselves, and make a go at some petty crimes. There's enough comedy in these cheesy folks to feature in a Deadpool comic, though I fear for their survival. And they better not try those crimes anywhere near the Punisher, but that might be comedy in a different way.

Thanks for the summer inspiration, Sunstroke!    

Art from West Coast Avengers #17 (1987) by Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott

Smartest Marvel Women!

Here's my attempt at the Top 10 Smartest Women in the Marvel World!  I hope you enjoy what I've come up with. I tried to narrow it down to women involved in the "hard sciences," as well as those native to Earth, obviously. I think what's amazing is that there is actually a variety of ages, ethnicities, appearances, and dates of origin. Other people more better than me can take this info and read into what they like!

10


Lady Octopus

    Carolyn Trainer was the protege of Doctor Octopus (and perhaps more?!) who obviously liked her credentials of being a genius-level intellect and an amoral sycophant. She helped him become a cyber-something with her technical prowess, transforming Otto into the Master Programmer, and even took on his trademark mechano-tentacles to become Doctor Octopus in her own right. (Later, she got downgraded to Lady Octopus to avoid confusion.)  She was created by JM DeMatteis for Amazing Spider-Man #406 (1995).

9


Starlight

    Tania Belinsky, another product of the mind of Steve Gerber, this time for the Defenders #35 (1976), broke all kinds of expectations that were products of the culture of the times. She was a heroic Soviet as well as a brilliant neurosurgeon, one of the best medical minds in the world.  She later was transformed by the evil Presence to become his radioactively-powered companion, and as Starlight, I wonder if she belongs on this list anymore.

8


Nightshade

    It seems to be a theme for a few people on this list, as Tilda Johnson took control over her own education and fought her way through many obstacles  to become the brilliant scientist she is today. Well, that and also the heartless criminal she is today. Fun fact: She was second in command to Superia during that villain's selective-breeding scheme (that's how Captain America was briefly transformed into his opposite gender… oh, comics.)  She's a Steve Englehart creation for Captain America #164 (1973), where she transformed the Falcon into a werewolf. (I just… ah, nevermind.) 

7


Ruby Thursday

    We don't know much about Ruby's pre-villainous career, except that she was such a brilliant scientist that she created a sophisticated organic computer more advanced than anything before. Of course, she proceeded to replace her own head with said computer, but other than that, that sounds pretty intelligent! Oh, also, she tried running for President of the U.S. once, so that might also be a strike against her, depending on what you think of politics. She shows up every now and then, often in the company of the Headmen, and really needs a stand-out story to show us all what's she's capable of. Created my Steve Gerber in Defenders #32 (1976).

6


Superia

    This woman is so superior it's in her code name! And she got that way because she was intelligent enough to clamber her way through various scientific disciplines, although her first major achievement was a bomb that would ensure human sterilization and selective breeding. More recently, she's been able to gather up some remnants of H.A.M.M.E.R., which were once the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D., to maybe make a name for herself once more. Created by Mark Gruenwald in Captain America #390 (1991).

5


Sunset Bain

    Here's a woman that displays not only scientific breakthrough but also business acumen. CEO of her own company, named appropriately enough Baintronics, she's a power player in the arms race, technological advancement, and corporate marketing/leveraging. She was originally an opponent of Machine Man in issue 17 of his series in 1980 by Tom DeFalco, then became a villain by name of Madame Menace, and after a supposed death by the Punisher in 2008, she has since returned to become a premier villain of Iron Man's. 

4


Kavita Rao

    If Moira MacTaggart, now deceased, was necessary for the X-Men's storylines, someone's gotta fill that position. Enter: Kavita Rao, scientist extraordinaire, thanks to Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men in 2004. She was the driving force behind finding a "Cure" for mutantcy, or kind of, anyway, because there were some aliens involved in that whole scenario. She must have impressed someone, however, because she was among those selected to become the so-called X-Club, a group of scientists who were charged with undoing the effects of M-Day, where thousands of mutants were unwittingly "cured" by the Scarlet Witch. She's been a mainstay among the X-Men ever since.

3


Valeria Richards

    As the daughter of Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic himself, and the god-daughter of Victor von Doom, how can this girl *not* be smart? In fact, recent appearances seem to have her almost on part with her father, which isn't too shabby for a TWO YEAR-OLD! (Admittedly, the artists often depict her as seven or eight, so there's that.)  Created by Chris Claremont for Fantastic Four #15 (1999) but reborn by Rafael Marin in issue 50 (2002) as an incarnation of the concept created by John Byrne in Fantastic Four #267 (1984) and later still reinvented into the genius she is today by Mark Millar in Fantastic Four #558 (2008.)

2


Suzi Endo

    She was head of research for Stark Industries' Far East Division, at least when there was a Far East Division, let alone when there was a Stark Industries. There was some confusing times when she was replaced by a future version of herself, a superhero called Cybermancer, but it was on a team called Force Works, and no one really noticed. In more recent times, she again was running some division of Stark stuff and assisted Jim Rhodes/War Machine, where she helped him take control over an entire satellite. More recently still, she was granted power cosmic by a cosmically-powered High Evolutionary and made into his Herald, called the Seeker, but she got better. Created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning for Force Works #4 (1994)  

1


Monica Rappicini

    Monica Rappacini's code name is the "Supreme Scientist," the head honcho for the techo-terrorists of AIM-- Advanced Idea Mechanics. Why? Because she relishes in the unbridled knowledge that only unethical science can bring. She single-handedly worked her way into wresting control of AIM from MODOK, and thrown down with Hank Pym, Ms. Marvel, and the Hulk on separate occasions. Created by Fred van Lente for Amazing Fantasy #7 (2005).

 

So... aside from these and the Honorable Mentions from yesterday, how did I do?

Smartest Marvel Women: Honorable Mentions

I was inspired to write another list, as hard as these things are to put together. This time, I would tackle the question: "Who are the seven smartest women" on Marvel-earth? There has been this phrase "the world's seventh smartest man" when used to describe the character Amadeus Cho (a favorite of mine, by the way!) but as has been pointed out, this phrase doesn't seem to be very gender inclusive. If it is supposed to be using the term man to mean human, then why not just say "world's seventh smartest person?" Does it throw off the idea? the intent? the lyricism?

So I made my list, and I after much thought, I decided upon 12 names that I could write about, with varying degrees of obscurity. However, I ran into an unfortunate roadblock. When trying to research these names to make up some tiny blurbs about each woman, I found out that my top three were actually … dead. (To be fair, I already knew about one of them, but two of the three were surprises.) These three would definitely have been in my top 3 in some order, until their passing. So today I'll post these as Honorable Mentions, with a more complete list on Friday.

Smartest Women in the World! Honorable Mentions:

Alyssa Moy
   She's often been compared to Reed Richards, which explains why they briefly dated as colleagues before Richards formed the Fantastic Four. Created by Chris Claremont in Fantastic Four #5 (1998) as a unique character to play off both Reed and Sue. After losing track with her, my research now tells me she is dead, killed in the last days of Nu-World, an artificial Earth she helped create, when its sun collapsed-- and this somehow after she had lost her body and existed as a disembodied brain in a spider-bot. An ignoble way to go for a promising character that was both bright and adventurous.

Moira MacTaggart
    A long-time mainstay of the X-Men's universe, she had always been involved in Professor Xavier and Magneto's pre-X-Men days. She helped make the X-Men Mansion what it was, helped outfit many a mutant with costumes and accessories, served as love interest for Banshee, was the mom to the villain Proteus, hosted an erstwhile X-Men team on several occasions, even the team Excalibur. She was killed, in a way, by literally working herself to death, seeking a cure for the Legacy Virus that attacked only mutants up until her infection.  Created by Chris Claremont in X-Men #96 (1975).

Tessa
    A.k.a. Sage, Tessa's mutant abilities make her mind nigh unto a living computer. That nebulous ability has been expressed in a range from having an eidetic memory to "seeing" and switching an individual's genetic code, and has been called "cyberpathy." She was Professor Xavier's right-hand woman for many years both prior to the X-Men's history and in the team's formative years (although that was only revealed very recently, as she was only seen at the time as a toady for the Hellfire Club.) At one point, Sage is caught up in a battle between Merlin and a team of Exiles, and she is given all the knowledge of the Multiverse when its guardian, Roma, dies. Sage helps the Exiles on their multi-versal missions while based in the Crystal Palace, and was last seen bodily merged with the Cyrstal Palace in order to stabilize the Multiverse, and for all intents and purposes, she has passed away. Created by Chris Claremont in X-Men 132 (1980) .