Marvel Flipside

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) .   

The Fantastic Fourth

Well, if you don't know that the Human Torch, long standing member of the Fantastic Four, made the supreme sacrifice in Fantastic Four #587, then either you aren't a follower of comic shop news or you have been in a coma and this blog was the first thing you read after you woke up.

One of the questions then, is what happens now? (Another question being, shouldn't you have other priorities if you just woke up out of a coma? Give your parents a call, already! Sheesh!) The author James Hickman is rumored to have no replacement in mind, in the traditional progression of this kind of story that has led to membership shake-ups in the past. This was how members like Scott "Ant-Man" Lang got onto the team, and to a certain extent, every replacement member from Luke Cage to She-Hulk to Sharon "Ms. Marvel" Ventura.

Here are some possibilities that range from the outrageous to the ludacrous. In other words, I started off seriously considering this question but it quickly degenerated from there!

First off, let's go in a different direction from Johnny Storm, a human torch, with a completely opposite powerset:

But maybe opposite doesn't have to mean with powers. What if we try a simply gender reversal:

Or you could combine the two approaches-- an opposite powerset (water, this time) with a new female member:

Technically, Namorita even helped Johnny form an erstwhile team of Four when the other members of the Fantastic were stuck in the Negative Zone dimension. Hey, they even were dating at the time. Of course, technically, Namorita is dead right now, unless you count her other-dimensional counterpart that was recently pulled into our universe by her previous boyfriend who was fighting off an invasion from the said dimension at the time. Sigh. Comics.

Oh, and also, Nova:

If you want to go with someone more similar to the Human Torch, you might consider Johnny's recent characterization as somewhat of a player, er, "playa?", and go with this guy:

But now we're just getting crazy, right? Hmmm:

Nah, that guy just joined X-Factor for some reason. In all seriously, you could go with someone who could replace the Torch with some good old-fashioned hot-headedness, and he's had a history with the Four in that his ex-wife was a member for a time...

But without Crystal nor Johnny around, maybe there wouldn't be a good foil to his character.

Lastly, a character I have always loved and would want to see more of, I suggest Monica Rambeau. However, she does lack a certain "FF-ness" that would be required of any replacement, and without some serious shoehornin', I doubt we see her stories intersecting with the Fantastics:

So, any other bright ideas out there?

There's always Hanna-Barbara's great idea, way back in the 70s:

My Christmas Wish for the Fantastic Four

My Christmas wish for the Fantastic Four is to have a truly extended family.

Don't you always feel that the Fantastic Four have so much potential? Don't you feel that its prestige as being the formation of the Marvel universe should lend it a high standard?

One of the indicators that a comic book property is "important" is how much it affects the entire imprint. Currently, the Avengers seem to be driving the product line for Marvel, with New, The, Academy, Prime, and et cetera. At one point, you could have even added Mighty and Dark to the list. Over the years, you could see other trends, such as the whole reign of the X-Men, and another time a brief sergeancy of Ghost Rider/Midnight Sons.

But what about the Fantastic Four?    

I'm not saying that you have to make MORE titles. There was a time, of course, that there was Fantastic Force and FF Unplugged or what have you, but that didn't really work out, you see, and of course pretty much every solo title was branching out like that at the time, too. But what you CAN do is to make sure that the FF live up to its full potential. 

One of the FF's greatest strength might also be its greatest weakness-- it's got a strong central premise/theme as "family," or even "first family."  It helps solidify the property, its characters, its signature brand. It is a clear idea that many story hooks, both personal and adventurous, can hang on. But it also keeps the book locked into certain patterns, locked into keeping characters around, and threatens staleness and "been there, done that" apathy.   

But "family" is so much more than just immediate family. Why not "extended family?" You could expand the focus of characters, subplots, supporting cast, even locations and setting, while never forsaking its central theme. You could have the "Four" truly being a group of adventurers and heroes-- featuring the Thing and the Human Torch but allowing for new members to round them out. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman could still be involved in the "other" focuses of the book, for example, proactive laboratory work and charity. There are the lives of the kids, and we could even make grandpa Nathaniel Richards a regular.

By point of comparison, look at the X-Men. There may be a central cast of characters, but there are appearances, even featured appearances, of dozens and dozens of mutants in the issues.

There is so much of the Marvel Universe that is truly of the Fantastic Four, so it would be with a sense of wonder and majesty that they truly take over the Marvel line like they should!

Thanks, Fantastic Four!

Although I wonder how genetically modified this turkey was after it came from Reed Richards' lab...

I'll be back on Monday everyone! Enjoy your holidays!

Fantastic Four Redux

Thinking about my salad Spider-Ham days (ham salad? Don't look at me. "salad days" is apparently an appropriate expression) got me to thinking about my good ol' Marvel role playing game. Often, I would get to play with friends, but more often than not, I would simply imagine scenarios on my own, and with a few quick dice rolls, determine the fate of a Marvel universe of my very own. I'm sad to say, the Fantastic Four didn't last too long, but they took out several of my home-brew house-cleaning villain team, the Marauders. (No, not these guys.) At least the Thing survived (making him grow considerable in my estimation) and the team took a few Marauders down with them... but what to do to replace the old "fuddy duddy" FF? Why, with my perennial faves, the Avengers, of course!

At the time, Hank Pym, scientific adventurer, was going through a severe depression and identity crisis. He was helped by Firebird (then, La Espirita) and would soon later go on to become a backbone of a West Coast Avengers team. But what if, instead, La Espirita convinced Pym to take on the role left behind by Mister Fantastic, becoming a true scientific adventurer by way of the FF's super science fiction legacy? He'd be aided by the Hulk, who had a merged personality with Bruce Banner, fulfilling both brain and brawn at the same time. In my story, they fought back the U-Foes (who had a similar origin story to the FF, actually) and recruited their member Vapor as their fourth.

It's just so crazy, it just might work! Hank Pym would have an enlarged role in the Marvel universe, but still grapple with insecurity at filling such a role. Espirita would have to straddle both the role of inspiration and of faith (in a science-based series as well as being the only non-science member-- even Vapor has some legitimately scientifically-based experience!) Hulk is also battling a legacy-- his own as a monster-- while avoiding the temper that could ruin everything. And Vapor also adds that edge with a villain who may not be as reformed as you'd think. Great dynamics, great mix of powers and personalities, and you'd have a great little "bold new direction!" What do you think? I was a genius little storyteller!

FF: Hard to Write?

Is the Fantastic Four hard to write?

Listening to the podcast extraordinarrie of Awesomed by Comics, and they mentioned that the Fantastic Four must be hard to write. (Uh, I think it was them. I also listen to House to Astonish and sometimes I get confused.) But I remember the point!  The point was that the Fantastic Four have so many expectations put on them by their readership and by the place it has carved out for itself in the Marvel universe-- they are science fictiony, super-heroey, and family while also being a cornerstone and tacitly involved in many if not all major crossover events… any one of these things go missing and people feel like it's not a "Fantastic Four" comic, but playing up any one of these things too much and people feel like it's not a "Fantastic Four" comic. They also feel like there have been definite movements during recent years that feature one FF cast member more than others, and often to the sidelining of the others. (All of this to point out that they are right-- recently the book has been overall more science-fictiony and more Reed-y.)

But here's where I think the Fantastic Four could be actually easy to write. (Well, admittedly that is a relative term!) What drives a plot of a FF story doesn't have to be what drives the FF book itself. That's your key. The FF book is all about the characters, and the plot comes in and shakes things up. These are comic books, and often times comic books are all about reacting to things, and in most cases, to villains. In other words, what drives an FF story is actually the villains!

Think about the awesome FF stories in the past-- they often center around the villains. And think about what an awesome rogues' gallery the FF has, as well! Galactus, Doctor Doom, Mole Man, Annhililus… etc. But where are the mighty rogues of the FF nowadays? They aren't driving any of the plots, making the characters kind of boring as they have little to react to but themselves or each other. (Small doses of that are fine, but come on! Bring on the bad guys!)

Hopefully, the very current FF stories are building to have some interesting villains-- something with this Immortus or Nathaniel Richards or an alternate Franklin/Valeria?  

And no, the daughter of Psycho-Man doesn't count.

Fantastic Four Doesn't Work

Fantastic Four #582 by Jonathan Hickman, Neil Edwards, Scott Hanna, and Paul Mounts.

Okay, so here's the problem. Sometimes, comic book creators feel the need to use more than one panel for a simple action. That's logical, right? I mean, here, Reed Richards gets angry then pulls a gun out to shoot down an evil version of his father (it's a long story. Well, not really.) So it SHOULD be two panels, right? One for him to reach back and grab the gun, and one for him to fire the gun. After all, if a writer writes "Reed grabs the gun off his shoulder, yelling 'Ben! No!,' firing at his evil-dad," then you would visualize it as at least two separate actions, right? Can you picture it as a movie? You might have a long shot, then cut to a medium shot.

But may I remind you that comics should NOT be storyboards. There are different techniques to visualize actions within a storyboard. All the above I just mentioned would be ONE panel on a storyboard, with visual notation in that same panel, over the drawings if necessary, if the camera panned or tilted or something to dramatize the action. In a comic book, instead, it's all or nothing-- meaning, it's all one panel or it's multiple.

And you know what? I'm really just mentioning that part for the sake of argument. Maybe the image above  really :does: need two panels to convey the scene. 

But even if that were true, what STILL doesn't work here is the positioning of Reed's hands. How did he reach for the gun behind his back, grab it with his right hand, then bring the gun around over his shoulder to grip the trigger with his left hand and REPLACE his right hand to hold the barrel? All in the time it takes to shout "NO!" If the decision to have two panels here still represents ONE split-second action, then this complex arrangement of hand-jivin' means this part of the Fantastic Four #582 ... Doesn't Work.

(Also, that foot and those tiles aren't exactly meshing well together, but that's a whole 'nother rant about perspective and line weights.)

Worst Marvel Cover: August

Again, there wasn:t THAT much that seemed Worst about the covers for August, but there sure were a heck of a lot that were just  bland. So, I'm sorry, Mario Alberti, for having to single out your comic cover here, but you can blame my own high standards.

The cover has a nice asymmetrical element because of the area on the side for the logo, but I'm tempted to think that wasn't the original design, as the whole thing seems compressed and shunted out of the way. There are other little problems that bug me, such as the elongated torso of Spider-Man and the Human Torch's leg shortage. I also don't like it when artists get kid's faces wrong, and they end up looking like miniature adults, as with the case of Franklin's face, here. But the biggest problem I have is the coloring. It throws off the whole picture. The coloring is brightest and in most contrast with the green in the Human Torch, drawing your eye up there instead of toward Franklin, where the real drama is. The duplicated shadow of Venom is lost by virtue of the background that's literally awash with the green, instead. There is an idea of a motif, but really some other variation of colors would be better than to simply have an overlay with the entire picture.  The tension is pretty dramatic, of course but that seems lost because the whole this is so muddy. I like the almost pencil-like quality, however. That was nice.

Spider-Man/Fantastic Four # 2, cover art by Mario Alberti, on sale Aug. 4

Psycho-Woman

Marvel Child Explosion 2010 Continues!

Not a month, nay, nary a week goes by without yet another Marvel prodigy appearing the pages of the House of Ideas. If that sounds sarcastic, it:s only because of the frustration I feel for this recurring trend that I, Cassandra-like, cry to unhearing ears about what is a doomed practice. 

This time we have Fantastic Four Annual #32, written by Joe Ahearne and drawn by Bryan Hitch/Andrew Currie. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: PSYCHO-WOMAN!

She's the daughter of long-time FF Foe, the Psycho-Man! We know this because when asked if she uses an emotion-controlling box like the Psycho-Man, with its dials for specific emotions, she says "Hate, Fear, and Doubt are my father's tools. My weapons are far sharper." In order to harvest "tissues ... for an army of cosmic warriors," the Psycho-Woman and, uhm, synthetic (?) warriors of some kind invade the body of Johnny Storm and his girlfriend, drug the two, and some time later his girlfriend is pregnant with his child. The details are a bit murky (which might explain the art. Zing!)  

So, the question remains. What does this add to the Marvel universe? Why did it have to be a progeny character? If it was to add a female villain to the FF's repertoire, then why not make it a female scientist, colleague or rival of Psycho-Man? Why did it have to be a female version at all-- it could have been the Psycho-Man himself, which might have even been creepier given the ... invasive nature of the villainy performed. All it does is simply perpetuate the idea that the Marvel universe is, again, aging, and that robs it of its magical realism a little bit.

The Fantastic Fifth, part 2

Tried a bit of color to the Plant Master Rajah. Looks a little dark, so I would probably embellish with some more light blue or maybe have him turn green when using his powers-- besides, otherwise he'd be a little out of place when every other member can somehow transform/become inhuman. (An interesting element that I haven:t seen explored much. Really, when all the Four are doing their signature moves, they somehow become more than human. And yet nowadays we don:t really depict them that way. It:s rare for Mr. Fantastic to be as directly plastic-powered and for the Invisible Woman to be so transparent, even during fight scenes. I wonder why?)