Marvel Flipside

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?

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.

Top 10 Most Inhuman X-Men

I've long been a proponent of making the X-Men truly inhuman. Regardless of their mutation, X-Men should be creepy and a little unsettling to be around, to really reinforce the metaphor that there is something "all-different" about such beings. And when it is something tragically unsettling, even better!

10. Chamber

He's a little low on the list, perhaps because he is not truly inhuman looking aside from his massive disfigurement. In fact, his body is a "chamber" of psionic energy, made obvious when his face and chest ripped away to reveal the glowing innards inside. Hey, I said this list would be tragic and unsettling, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Rockslide

He's definitely inhuman, and he kind of takes the role filled by the Fantastic Four's Thing, when the Thing was always wondering if he was a monster or not. However, Rocky here isn't too hung up on his appearance by contrast. Still, since Rockslide can't really be anything BUT Rockslide, his tragic form grants him a place on this list.

 

 

 

 

8. Lockheed

Okay, so he's not really a mutant. He's an alien dragon sidekick. But let's face it, if you saw a purple iguana in some pet store flying around and breathing fire, you'd be pretty freaked out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. (tie) Mercury / Pixie

 

One is basically that liquid Terminator and the other is basically, well, a fairy. Either way, neither should have pupils when drawn correctly, and that is pretty much a lock for 7. What's interesting to note is that there aren't that many girls on this list, anyway. Usually, any inhuman mutants that are women just happen to have a different skin color (gold seemed to be in fad during Lifeguard and Stacy X's tenures.) Mercury might fall into that latter, although she is permantly transformed and therefore not truly "human," you could say.

 

 

6. Darwin

Remember how freaky those aliens were in that movie, Signs? Well, here's an X-Man hero that basically looks just like that. Of course, perhaps what's even more unsettling is that no one seems to know how to color him consistently from book to book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Anole

Lizard-person? Check. Bald, but only sorta? Check-plus. Grossly mutated right arm? Check and mate.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Maggott

Yes, that's right. I put Maggott on this list. Maybe it's just a guilty pleasure, but I kinda like the guy. Or at least, I like the concept and the visual. The backstory became too convoluted too quickly, forcing the readers' sympathies in a kind of "very special episode" way, which killed any chance the guy had to establish himself. Still, if this list is all about inhuman, unsettling, and downright uncanny X-Men, he's gotta top the charts. His freakin' guts are embodied by giant worms, people! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Beast

The most inhuman of the original 5 founding members, Hank McCoy has never truly been "normal," even in those early days. Just a bit too blocky, a bit too stunted, with hands and feet disproportionate. Later, add blue fur, fangs, and etc. Later still, throw some cat-features on. This guy is the poster child for inhuman mutants. During his time as an Avenger, however, what was interesting was that he never experienced such anti-mutant hysteria-- in fact, he was regarded as a bit of a celebrity. When he IS played for inhuman ferocity, however, no X-Men can really compare.

 

2. Glob Herman

Man, I love this guy. And he showed up in, what? Less than a dozen issues? And always pretty much in the background? There was always something so unspokenly tragic about him, and therefore both unsettling and comical at the same time. He was brought into the X-Men about the time that all mutants were acknowledged as being something more than just pretty-people-with-powers, and as such his very presence forces that issue. (Although you can say this about pretty much all the young mutants introduced by author Grant Morrison, Glob Herman gets bonus points for straddling that bizarre/loveable line.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  and 1: Nightcrawler

I doubt you could really find a member of the X-Men that best embodied the spirit of what the X-Men really were all about. This guy was at times an outcast and a friend, a hero and a monster, a leader and a faithful supporter. His gimmick was that he looked, moved, and yes even smelled, like a demon, making him the most unsettling of the core X-Men. And yet, he was also the most stalwart and purehearted, making him the true example of a hero at the same time. Congrats, Kurt Wagner!

 

 

 

Whew! This list making takes too long. All those other sites make it look so easy!

Guardian, etc.

Here are some more fun facts about Guardian that didn't make it into yesterday's post:

• "Mac" Hudson was an inventor who created a power-suit for exploration of the earth's crust, but was fired by petty, petty businessmen. He stole his prototype powersuit helmet instead, seeking refuge and help with his government, which led to Department H declaring, retroactively, that Hudson had been a government employee all along in the first place. This allowed him to be cleared of stealing company secrets, while also being a legitimate, in-universe, literal "retcon." Of course, these guys turned out to be petty, petty politicians, and Dept. H was disbanded and Alpha Flight abandoned. (At least, for the first time.)

• Mac married his former co-worker's secretary, Heather McNeil. This was after Heather quit the company at the same time Mac did, in order to profess her love to him. Even though she wasn't yet eighteen at the time, they stayed together and were married soon after. (At least, soon after her coming-of-age!) 

• Mac and Heather's honeymoon in the Candian wilderness was crashed by a feral Wolverine who just escaped his origin-making captors of the Weapon X program. Years later, it was suggested that Mac kind of knew about this and/or may have been somewhat responsible for Wolverine's condition, which explains their particular honeymoon location. (But doesn't explain why Weapon X is sometimes portrayed as an American program.)

• Mac's first code name was Weapon Alpha, when he fought the X-Men for the first time over the "guardianship" of Wolverine. When he accidentally injured the X-ally Moira MacTaggart, he took the name Vindicator to indicate that he wanted to vindicate himself for his deed. Later still, he took the name Guardian as a less aggressive and more noble code name. When he died the first time and was revived, Heather had taken the name Guardian, so he became Vindicator once more. When he died the second time and was revived, he was called the Antiguard in order to fight  his former friends. Rejoining his team as Guardian, Heather once again became Vindicator. There have been other iterations of him here and there, but in the past few years looks like he's settled on "Guardian."  (At least, for now!)

 

 

Guardian

All you really need to know to know about Guardian: 

Canadian James MacDonald Hudson helped his government create Department H, a research and development branch that allowed him to create his Guardian battlesuit as well as to train and develop superheroes. Alpha Flight was its first tier of champions, with Beta Flight and Gamma Flight below it. When the government shut down the program, Guardian and Alpha Flight nevertheless continued to fight the good fight on their own.

 

What you may or may not need (or want) to know to know about Guardian: 

Mac died (the first time) when his former co-worker created the team of Omega Flight to take revenge against him and his battlesuit exploded.

    BUT in fact he was not dead, just thrown backwards through time and space and captured by aliens who revived him by turning him into a cybnertic composite with the leftovers of his battlesuit and left him buried in the Earth. His former company discovered him and used him until Alpha Flight rescued him. But the aliens all along had wanted to use New-Mac as a weapon against Galactus, calling Alpha Flight to a distant galaxy. Successful in thwarting Galactus, Mac apparently sacrificed himself (again) in order to return his teammates back to Earth.

    BUT in fact he did not die; he was just shunted to into "null space" where he was later discovered by Alpha Flight's archenemy, the Master, who bent Mac to his will and sent him against Alpha Flight. It was Heather`s love for him that broke him free and help defeat the Master. They would have lived happily ever after except, years later, a new Department H tried to force the New-new-Mac into performing dubiously criminal experiments. The New-Department stripped Mac of his mind and shot him into space. 

    BUT a 19-year old version of Mac appeared in cahoots with this New-Department H and started a New-Alpha Flight. Turned out this guy was a clone, and the Old-new-new-Mac was found and revived by his teammate Sasquatch (the original one, not the New-Sasquatch that was on the New-Alpha team at the time) so that together they could re-form a New-new-Alpha Flight to confront Department H. The two versions of Alpha Flight soon reconciled and joined together as one. It was a confusing time. Thankfully, Clone-Mac and Original-Flavor-Mac were soon kidnapped by evil A.I.M. scientists who wanted to study them both. Alpha Flight and Wolverine freed them, but Clone-Mac was killed during the escape.

    BUT another alternate-version of Mac (along with alt-versions Heather and original Alphans) were brought into the present after a New-new-new-Alpha Flight (yes, even I am starting to lose track at this point) messed around with a time-warping villain. We're pretty sure that these guys were all killed off later by the emergence of some guy called the Collective (who was created by absorbing all the left-over energies when the world's mutants… you know what, never mind about that. I'm not going to tangent into all of that.)

    BUT Mac and Alpha Flight reappeared, most likely because the Real-Mac (can I even say that anymore?), Heather, and the gang had previously left Earth at one point to make sure some alien eggs that threatened to invest the planet would be cared for, and they came back after the whole Collective thing.
    OR perhaps it's because Mac, Heather, and the gang were briefly released from death when the Chaos King/Japanese god Mikoboshi defeated death in order to collapse reality during the Chaos War, and they just stuck around.

    EITHER WAY, Mac Hudson is currently starring in Alpha Flight's latest comic series, together with Vindicator, Sasquatch, Northstar (sorta), Marrina, Aurora, and Snowbird.   
   
Ah, comics!

Power Man

While 2010 seems to be winding down with less and less "progeny" characters on the shelf, there are still several protagonists whose origins / backgrounds are tied to being a child of an already-established Marvel character. One of the few breakout stars that I've failed to mention has been also born out of an event-- Shadowland's Power Man.

From Shadowland - Power Man #1 (2010); cover by Michael Perkins

Actually, this legacy character isn't related to Luke Cage, the former Power Man, himself. Instead, he's a chip off the old block of one of Cage's old enemies… Shades.

Shades was the former criminal partner to Comanche, although the two were little more than common thugs, but they shared a common origin, of sorts, to Luke Cage in Cage's previous life as a man in prison (for a crime he didn't commit, though!) The two were helpful in a story that finally brought Luke Cage's past out into the open, as the three started out on a mission of mutual revenge, but once the truth was out, Shades and Comanche were re-imprisoned while Cage was vindicated.  Still, these guys were pretty close to being archenemies of Luke Cage because of their sort-of kind-of shared background, and they were trotted out a few times accordingly. Once they even got serious power upgrades, with shades given a visor not unlike a certain Cyclopean X-Man.

Which is where the new Power Man's story kicks in. Apparently, Shades had a family and kids all along! He and his son happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they were in a house that got exploded by Daredevil when he went crazy and made a Shadowland appear in New York. This also exploded Shades' glasses, also known as shades, and the fragments embedded into his son, Victor, changing him. Now with the power to absorb the "chi" of area around him, he set himself up as a new hero-for-hire to pick up some of that cash that people keep wanting to throw at heroes for solving their problems for them.

Until Nightshade wanted to reclaim her property, and such property being Shades' original power shades. Ah, Deadly Nightshade! One of my favorite villains! I suppose it will take a new Power Man +  ol' Iron Fist team up to solve the day, hm? 

Nick St. Christopher

Yeah, that's right. I'm tired of all the Halloween themed blogs out there right now. Just deal with it!

Real Name: Kris (full name unrevealed)

Occupation: world's greatest detective

Powers: The full powers and abilities of the man known as Nick St. Christopher may yet to be revealed. He appears to have some psychic sense, enabling him to know when a person is sleeping or is awake, as well as knowing if a person has performed acts that can be classified as either "naughty" or "nice." St. Christopher has also exhibited space-altering powers, enabling him to transverse any place on the globe in the blink of an eye, to enter dwellings by way of small openings such as a chimney flue, and to produce gift-wrapped items as if out of nowhere.

History: The full origin and history of the man known only as Nick St. Christopher remains unrevealed. He claims to have many stories regarding himself but will not claim any version as the definitive one.

When the hero She-Hulk was working for a New York district attorney's office, she was asked to prosecute a man believed to have performed six murders, despite the fact that the evidence against him was entirely circumstantial. She-Hulk was approached by Nick St. Christopher, who claimed to be the world's greatest detective. Although skeptical, She-Hulk agreed and, with St. Christopher's seemingly magic powers, was finally able to find concrete evidence to ensure the defendant's conviction. Nick St. Christopher had forced numerous, if unrequited, amorous advances on She-Hulk during their adventure, but after the arraignment, was ultimately stopped by the sudden appearance of his wife, who forced her henpecked husband to leave.

Appearance: Sensational She-Hulk #8 (1989)

Tangerine

There was a recent thread featuring this hero on Comic Book Resources, and I couldn't help but sketch her out. It's such a striking design, especially when paired alongside other, more "EXTREME!" costumes. It immediately makes a quirky impression, and it makes you want to know more about this character. Graphic Design Lesson, kids: Sometimes edgy doesn't immediately translate into "cool." Sometimes coolness comes from being so unique.

She was only a throw-away line by one time-traveling character, but five years later, that one line was picked up and an entire character was developed around it, as the character Phoenix (Rachel Summers) regained her memories and time-traveled with her team Excalibur to help save the future. Tangerine was a telepathic hero who helped the mutant resistance against their robotic exterminators.

Apparently, she made a later appearance, with a complete make-over that turned her into Yet-Another-Matrix-Looking-Hero. Disappointed.

For more info on telepathic afro-sporting freedom fighters, check out your local library, or this blog.

Le Cowboy

French Week continues! (Sort of)

Consider this guy a direct response to Le Peregrine and others of his kind. (Yes, Shamrock, still talking about YOU.) In other words, it:s really kind of funny that any hero that comes from another country is the most stereotypical representation of that country. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but come on-- Shamrock? Arabian Knight? Dreamguard?

So, in the spirit of "turnabout is fair play," here is a hero in France who takes for his identity one of the most stereotypical representations of our own country-- Le Cowboy!

He is a member of Les Heroes de Paris, appearing in Fantastic Four #541 by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike McKone/Andy Lanning. In this comic, the Thing is dodging  a draft of superheroes in America by making his way to Paris, and teaming up with their version of the Justice League, or would that be La Ligue des Justiciers?

Also? I don't recall if it's a problem throughout the book, but at least judged by this picture, Le Cowboy is left-handed but draws from a right-handed holster.

Le Peregrine

I'm sensing that we should have a French theme this week. In that spirit, what comes to my mind is France's national hero, Le Peregrine!

This is because one of my favorite comics as a kid was the Contest of Champions mini-series, in which heroes from all over the world (but mostly America) were gathered to perform some sort of contest. Token heroes from major countries were invited, but I loved that. It made the Marvel world seem so much bigger than just New York. 

Le Peregrine is from France, but interestingly he wasn't just given a stereotypical costume and power set (I:m looking at YOU, Shamrock!) Although maybe I spoke too soon about his powers. They *were* basically just flight and "the French martial art of savate" or kick-boxing. It makes me wonder if savate was the de rigeur talent during those days, and if Contest of Champions were made today, that Le Peregrine would be given powers of par kour. But anyway, if you have a character with flight powers, I think it makes great sense to have him an expert in kick-boxing.

Fun Fact: Le Peregrine doesn't translate into "The Falcon." It should be "le Faucon Pèlerin."