Marvel Flipside

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?

Horsemen of Apocalpyse

These guys were the original Horsemen of Apocalypse, way back before Apocalypse was the uber-baddie he is today.

But where are they now?

from X-Factor #24 (1988), drawn by Walt Simonson

WAR (Abraham Lincoln Kieros)
What's his deal: A paralyzed war vet confined to an iron lung, made healthy by Apocalypse, until for some reason his condition returned so that Archangel could show off his new powers of healing-blood. True story. Well, as true as any comic.
Special Shtick: As War, every time Abe Lincoln clapped his hands, an explosion exploded.
Where's he probably at?: A.L. Kieros is a regional spokesperson for the NRA, and in any other given moment is playing Playstation 3. You know which one…. No, not God of War, silly. It's actually Big Little Planet.

FAMINE (Autumn Rolfson)
What's her deal: Just your average anorexic mutant lashing out against the world.
Special Shtick: Dehydrates and/or emaciates any living organism.
Where's she probably at?: She recently opened a weight-loss clinic in Dana Point, CA. 

PESTILENCE (Name Unknown)
What's her deal: A no-name Morlock living under Manhattan. Oh wait, he did have a name. It was Plague. Honestly, you name your kid Plague, and look what happens.
Special Shtick: Infects people.
Where's she probably at?:  She's dead, yo! Died fighting Power Pack in the 80s, those bloodthirsty sickos. (Okay, you've probably guessed it was an accident.)

DEATH II (Caliban)
What's his deal: A Morlock whose power was to sense other mutants, his feelings of inferiority caused him to fall into the wrong crowd and become an embodiment of Death. I'm sure there's a Very Special After-School Special in there somewhere. Later, like pretty much every mutant villain, he ended up joining the X-Men.
Special Shtick: Know where his mutant brothers be, then later generic super-everything and the power to exude waves of fear. 
Where's he probably at?:  Facebook-stalking his BFF, Apocalypse.

Marvel's Green Lanterns

One of the (many!) superhero films out this summer include the Green Lantern, which attempts to answer the question, "if you had a ring that gave you the power to create anything you imagine, what would you make?" Apparently, the answer is "a film with pretty tepid reviews." But the idea of a Green Lantern has fascinated comic book readers and creators for decades, and from time to time you get a Green Lantern-kind of character in the Marvel Comics' universe. Here's a few of them:

Doctor Spectrum

Perhaps the most obvious Green Lantern parallel, the original Dr. Spectrum was created to be quite literally Marvel Comics' answer to the ring-bearer. The alien Grandmaster created the Squadron Sinister as analogs to the heroes he saw when he visited a "strange world" at some point in his intergalactic travels (as if it weren't clear these guys were inspired by a different comic's universe!) How people inspired to be heroes ended up becoming villains is just one of those comic book tropes, I guess. The cool thing about the original Spectrum is that he was a doctor from Africa. The lame thing was that Iron Man pretty soundly defeated Spectrum since Specky's powers contained an impurity that made in vulnerable to ultraviolet light. Again with the not-so-subtle commentary? Perhaps writer Roy Thomas realized how goofy was the Lantern's vulnerability to, of all things, the color yellow!

The current Spectrum is a member of the Squadron Supreme, which Marvel publishes every now and then when they want to write stories with DC characters. The first Spectrum had a "power prism" instead of a ring, and he held it in his outstretched palm when projecting its power. This other Spectrum (from an alternate dimension so you don't have to include the Grandmaster in his origin) had the prism shattered in battle, and his body absorbed its fragments. In fact, there could be up to FIVE (maybe six?) different Doctor Spectrums that Marvel has published over the years. But you can check wikipedia if you're really interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Spectrum 

Quasar
This guy is the most viable of all the pseudo-Lanterns, as he is both the most heroic and is the guy who actually had his own comic series for several years (and currently headlines in the Annihilators team/miniseries at the time of this writing.) Not bad for a guy who has died at least twice and was once sidelined after being bodily merged with the essence of Ego the Living Planet. (Sounds gross, don't it?) The funny thing is, Quasar was originally created as a legacy character to Marvel Boy (a hero published in the 50s) who didn't really have the same kinds of powers. When Quasar got his own book in 1989, he "discovered" his "true" legacy and unleashed the powers of the Quantum Bands, which gave him Green-Lantern powers. Ironically, Quasar's display of power was always anti-Green, or in other words, yellow. (It's more than just powers that make this guy Lantern-like. Quasar is one of a legacy of "Protectors of the Universe," although there is only such protector at a time.)    

 

 

 

Klaw
This guy predates all of the Lantern-analogues, debuting all the way back since Fantastic Four #53 in 1966. And instead of having vague, hand-wavy "energy" powers, this guy's powerset stems very specifically from "sound," although just how you create "solid sound constructs" is, well, just comics. This guy's gimmick is more than simply creating things like hammers and spiky balls and cages. This guy creates full-on beasts and giant creatures that move around on their own accord!

 

 

 

 

 

Songbird
What mention of Klaw wouldn't be complete without mention of Songbird? (Since it was technology cribbed from Klaw by way of the Fixer that helped Screaming Mimi become Songbird to join the Thunderbolts, but you already knew that, didn't you?) Lately, I haven't really seen her explore her powers like a Green Lantern, however. Instead, it's usually just giant pink wings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blackout
As far as I know, this guy is still dead. But if the Marvel world needs another Lantern-villain, they could do worse than this guy. He started off as a villain for a man called Nova, and his baring was quite unhinged after he was exposed to energies from a "black star" he was observing. Not only was he a bad scientist for allowing his contraption to explode, he was a bad scientist for never knowing he was actually tapping into the Darkforce dimension. His Lantern-like powers were all black, coming from the Darkforce, of course, but he gets bonus points for actually being able to draw then entire Avengers Mansion into the Darkforce dimension during the Masters of Evil's attack on the team in the mid-80s. I guess the only way out of that was to kill the guy, and that was that.

Ms. Marvel Revenge Squad

Pretty sporadic updating here, I know. There are still quite a few readers according to whatever Typepad tells me, but hey, for all I know you are all phishing robots or something. Shrug. Do people even read blogs anymore?

Anyway, my entry for Comic Book Runway last week got me thinking about Ms. Marvel (again,) and I did a bit of sketch of Ms. Marvel enemies. A very rough, quick sketch I might add. I'll be updating this post throughout the week with a selection of rogues from the pages of Ms. Marvel.

First up, Deathbird!

Ms. Marvel #9 (1977) by Chris Claremont, Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott, and Sam Grainger

Did you know Deathbird started as a Ms. Marvel villain? It was never made clear what her origin was at the time-- that is, her background as member of the alien Shi'ar royal family, her traitorous act, her exile on earth, etc. It was all very mysterious and enigmatic-- although she certainly talked as if she were not human, calling Ms. Marvel a "hatchling" and talking about something called "the Aerie." For some reason, she was working with A.I.M. and MODOK, so when Ms. Marvel investigated A.I.M.'s headquarters underneath a department store (?), they naturally battled it out. Deathbird immediately after abandoned A.I.M./MODOK and showed up battling Hawkeye before ending up as a regular X-Men villain.
  
The ship has probably sailed to have Deathbird as a true archenemy for Ms. Marvel. D-Bird is on a whole 'nother scale at this point, wheeling and dealing at the level of interstellar empires. She's now become a boss-level villain that Ms. Marvel would have to get to only after several side-scrolling screens of lackeys and underlings. Still, these two would have been great rivals-- the exiled Shi'ar empress versus the Earth-born Kree warrior.

 

Next, Mystique!

Ms. Marvel #17 (1978) by Chris Claremont, Jim Mooney, and Tony De Zuniga

Did you know Mystique ALSO started as a Ms. Marvel villain? I never realized it in my early years of reading Marvel Comics, but in retrospect it makes Mystique's order for Rogue to attack Ms. Marvel (and subsequent absorption of all her powers) make more sense.

Mystique appeared in her then-often-used but now-abandoned secret identity of Raven Darkholme,  who had infiltrated a high position in the U.S. government. She helped some guy in SHIELD steal armor and weaponry to become the Centurion and attack Ms. Marvel, only to have to take on the whole Avengers (and lose.) Mystique was only refered to as "Raven Darkholme," and also to be working on behalf of someone she had to call "lord."  I have no idea how that was resolved; as far as I know, she next showed up with a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to call her own, and she's been an X-Villain ever since. (See a pattern developing here?)

Who is Kang?

Darn that master villain of time itself!

Time has been lost to me... by KANG!

In other words, I'll try to get up a sketch for Friday Night Fights, but don't expect regular posts until next week!

Incidentally, the page is from Spidey Super Stories #17 (1976) by Jim Salicrup and Winslow Mortimer

The Big One

Most bloggers try to find some kind of crazy theme to help them create topics or generate conversations. Most of the time I tend to miss those memes when they happen, which reminds me a lot of middle school-- coming to school one day with rolled-up jeans only to learn that "everyone" wears boot-cut instead.

But even *I* can't miss out on such an obvious crazy theme prompt as 1-11-11! The theme for today is ONE and I can't think of a better "one" than this villain…

The Big One!

from Avengers West Coast #70 (1991) by Roy & Dann Thomas, Steve Bulter, and Danny Bulandi

When the West Coast Avengers were tracking down the theft of some sort of "Lifestone," they investigated what they thought was an empty warehouse. Instead, they found The Big One! It was a giant with a giant #1 on his chest! In case you don't live in Southern California, the "big one" is a reference to a mythical earthquake that threatens to be so catastrophic as to reach Biblical proportions. Yes, in a name pun-worthy enough for the Silver Age of comics,  The Big One has the power to generate powerful earthquakes.

That's not the crazy thing. The crazy thing is that The Big One is actually a giant mutated baby. This toddler was transformed by the evil Doctor Demonicus who was creating several so-called Pacific Overlords at the time-- villains who represented the Pacific Rim. And you thought having stereotypes like Captain Britain, Shamrock, and the Arabian Knight were bad? How about Pele the Hawaiian fire goddess, Kuroko the invisible Japanese ninja, Taifu the Japanese typhoon air-bender, etc.

But don't get sidetracked. The Big One was a giant baby, left behind, ALONE, by Doctor Demonicus to guard an abandoned warehouse against superpowered heroes. Talk about reckless child endangerment! (Well, and the mutatations in the first place.)     

Don't worry! Pele and Taifu remembered they were unwitting Demonicus-created mutants themselves, thanks to the Avengers saving the day, and they reunited with their baby, who thankfully was returned to normal. Thank god! I'm trying really hard not to make giant-diaper jokes here.

But maybe The Big One is due for a comeback? He's gotta be a bit older by now, and even a mild relapse of his power can allow him to maybe team up with Power Pack, or even become a member of the Runaways. Or you can always leave him as a villain… a potential menace whose his temper causes massive property damage.  Let the heroes try a simple babysitting job and see how far it gets 'em.   The Big One in his Terrible Twos? Better call in Squirrel Girl!

Matador

Free-for-All Brawlin'!

  Those old Daredevil villains sure are something else, aren't they? Take, for example, El Matador...

Wanna join the rumble? Here's how it all goes down!

    * Take a look at all of Fights participants, hosted by spacebooger.com!
    * Before Sunday at 11PM (EST), cast your vote for the best Friday Night Fights by posting a comment on that site! Voting is encouraged and will be open to all visitors and participants.
    * The winner of the round will be posted on that site the following Tuesday, with the Pre-Fight Rules for next time!

Rampage

This guy was a small business owner slash scientist who developed a powerful exoskeleton, but the Fat Cat corporations basically squeezed him out of business. Naturally, he became a supervillain, calling himself Rampage, and was determined to fight back against the economy in pretty literal terms. You see, it was for the Champions comic, dated 1976, and there was a recession going on.

Years later, Rampage created a several suits of armor in order to outfit an entire team to follow his modus operandi of performing robberies in the name of an anti-economic crusade. He even called them his Recession Raiders. You see, it was for the Wonder Man comic, and it was dated 1992, and there was a recession going on.

Years later, now just plain ol' Stuart Clarke, this guy was discovered as a kind of Tinkerer who outfitted supervillains with their weaponry.  He then became the supplier for the Punisher in that guy's quest to fight against such supervillains. You see, this was in Punisher War Journal in 2007 and, well, uh, wow. Would you look at that? There was soon the most severe economic crisis of the past century. 

Damn! Forget financial indicators! You gotta use this guy as your barometer for economic stability! 

Also, there have been a lot of financial crises over the years.