Not pictured: Longstrike
Not pictured: Boulder, Water Witch, A.P.O.L.L.O.
I thought it might be interesting to go back and see how the earlier appearances of Firestar, Speedball, Nova, Namorita and Vance Astrovik all fitted together in the Marvel Universe timeline before tracking their comics chronology as a team! So here we are… “Before the New Warriors”!
Power will be turned off just before midnight on Tuesday (11:59 p.m.) and restored by Wednesday, July 1 at 5 a.m. Communities affected: Sydney, Sydney River, Coxheath, Balls Creek, Leitches Creek, North Sydney, and neighbouring communities
You can see a map of affected areas.
You can also read about it in CB Post: https://www.saltwire.com/cape-breton/planned-power-outage-in-sydney-river-area-set-for-early-wednesday
Not pictured: Sneak Thief, Spoiler
Not pictured: Trapper, Pulsar, Seeker, Scanner, Unseen
There are lots of teams out there that are basically knock-offs of the Fantastic Four in concept. Sometimes it's very obvious (e.g., the Fantastix) and other times it's a bit harder to see.
I'm wondering if anyone has compiled a list of all the FF knockoffs, homages, parodies, etc. within the 616.
I have three examples.
Bogatyri
Peristrike Force (this one's a bit more of a stretch)
U-Foes (probably the most famous and they intentionally tried to re-create the FF experience)
Any others?
Not pictured: Herod, Bloke
Spoilers!
Since the last time we saw Alpha Flight in Wolverine, he's been experiencing some health issues. One set of his claws have been snapped in half - and aren't healing. His healing factor is generally going far slower than it should be.
>!In this issue... Wolverine discovers (via consultation with Dr. Cecilia Reyes) that he has been infected with nanites that are sabotaging his healing factor. But they would have to be surgically implanted. The last time Logan went 'under the knife' was earlier in this series when Puck tagged him with a device that affected his heart. Logan deduces that Department H infected him. !<
>!He reaches out to Puck who mentions that a Department H scientist has stolen some nanite technology. He says the team is heading to the USA to capture the scientist.!<
>!Wolverine is then attacked by Taskmaster who - gasp - has developed healing powers just as Dr. Reyes realize his powers aren't just being stopped, they're being stolen. !<
>!So it seems like Taskmaster is working with or for someone at Department H? Possibly the rogue scientist?!<
Not pictured: Solomon O'Sullivan, Anti-Matter, Sycamore, Mant, Lightning Bug
Welcome to Acts of Vengeance: Reddit Edition! Each day we’ll feature a new hero, and your job is to decide which villain becomes their surprise opponent. It can be a person, a team, an organization or whatever.
Top comment wins, no one can be picked twice. Be creative, try to explain your choice, and let's have fun with it!
The results so far:
| 1. Black Panther - Apocalypse | 2. Spider-Man (Peter Parker) - High Evolutionary | 3. Black Widow - Mystique | 4. Iron Man - Moonstone | 5. Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) - Mr Sinister | 6. Professor X - Nightmare | 7. Wolverine (Logan) - Absorbing Man | 8. Squirrel Girl - Boomerang |
| 9. Deadpool - Impossible Man | 10. Thor Odinson - The Adversary | 11. Cyclops - The Growing Man | 12. Jean Grey - Xemnu | 13. Hulk - Radioactive Man | 14. Captain America (Steve Roger) - Bushman | 15. Hawkeye (Clint Barton) - Sandman | 16. Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur - Sauron |
| 17. Fantastic Four - Nimrod | 18. Doctor Strange - Kang | 19. Scarlet Witch - Magus (Adam Warlock) | 20. Vision - Magus (Technarch) | 21. Beast - Jackal | 22. Spider-Woman - Scarecrow | 23. Captain Britain (Elizabeth Braddock) - Fin Fang Foom | 24. Howard the Duck - Screwball |
| 25. Drax - Terrax | 26. Ms. Marvel - Electro (Francine Frye) | 27. Nova (Sam Alexander) - Graviton | 28. Spider-Man (Miles Morales) - The Hood | 29. Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) - Morlun | 30. Rogue - Mister Negative | 31. Gambit - Nitro | 32. Gwenpool - Zodiac |
| 33. Shadowcat - Will O' The Wisp | 34. Colossus - Klaw | 35. Captain America (Sam Wilson) - Vulture | 36. Tigra - Lizard (Curt Connors) | 37. Sersi - Hela | 38. Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) - Ultron | 39. Angel - Hobgoblin | 40. Doop - Paul |
| 41. Gamora - Taskmaster | 42. Major Victory - Immortus | 43. Ghost-Spider - The Maker | 44. Askani - Santa Doom | 45. Hyperion - Galactus | 46. Bishop - Punisher 2099 | 47. Cable - Technovore | 48. Spider-Ham - Mojo |
| 49. She-Hulk - Beetle (Janice Lincoln) | 50. Namor - Hydro Man | 51. Ant-Man (Hank Pym) - The Leader | 52. Wasp - Swarm | 53. White Tiger (Ava Ayala) - Black Tarantula | 54. Cloak & Dagger - Nanny & Orphan Maker | 55. Man-Thing - Minotaur | 56. Pip the Troll - Ursa Major |
| 57. Moon Knight - Doctor Faustus | 58. Venom (Eddie Brock) - Typhoid Mary | 59. Daredevil (Matt Murdock) - Gorgon | 60. Jessica Jones - Marcus Kang | 61. Luke Cage - Sebastian Shaw | 62. Iron Fist (Danny Rand) - Mandarin | 63. Echo - Viper | 64. Aunt May - Hordeculture |
| 65. Storm - Mole Man | 66. Iceman - Laufey | 67. Silver Surfer - Juggernaut | 68. Havok - Maximus | 69. Ironheart - Mad Thinker | 70. Valkyrie (Jane Foster) - Lore | 71. Nightcrawler - Kraven | 72. Chewie - Two-Legged Rat |
| 73. Hazmat - Doctor Octopus | 74. Doyle Dormammu - Brimstone Love | 75. Surge - Elektro-1 | 76. Power Pack - Red Hulk | 77. Wiccan - Legion | 78. Hulkling - White Sword | 79. Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) - Ghost | 80. Willie Lumpkin - Post |
| 81. Black Bolt - Sublime | 82. Medusa - Destiny | 83. Jubilee - Mysterio | 84. Winter Soldier - Chameleon | 85. Rocket Raccoon & Groot - Detroit Steel | 86. Emma Frost - Helmut Zemo | 87. Punisher - Grim Reaper | 88. Hit-Monkey - Sabertooth |
| 89. Old Man Logan - Vulture 2099 | 90. America Chavez - Rama-Tut | 91. Spider-Girl (May Parker) - Phil Urich | 92. Deathlok - MODOK | 93. Spider-Man Noir - The Rose | 94. Killraven - Greycrow | 95. Nocturne - Umar | 96. Forbush Man - Googam, son of Goom, and Goom, father of Googam |
| 97. Werewolf by Night - Demon Bear | 98. Black Cat - Nighthawk | 99. Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) - Death (First Horsemen) | 100. Wolverine (Laura Kinney) - Chasm | 101. Viv Vision - Danger | 102. Blade - Cullen Bloodstone | 103. Adam Warlock - Maxine Danger | 104. HERBIE - Trull the Inhuman! |
| 105. Elsa Bloodstone - Silver Dagger | 106. Quicksilver - Spot | 107. Dazzler - Shriek | 108. Monet St. Croix - Death's Head II | 109. Ant-Man (Scott Lang) - 8-Ball | 110. War Machine - Tyrant | 111. Nova (Richard Rider) - Ares | 112. J. Jonah Jameson - Ratatoskr |
| 113. The Watcher - The Profile | 114. Wonder Man - Dark Beast | 115. Valkyrie (Rūna) - Zadkiel | 116. Shuri - Supreme Intelligence | 117. Sunspot - Grandmaster | 118. Cannonball - Whirlwind | 119. Mantis - D'Spayre | 120. Lockheed - J'Son |
| 121. Star-Lord - Norman Osborn (Iron Patriot) | 122. Black Knight - Red King | 123. Blue Marvel - Hexus | 124. Angela - Isca the Unbeaten | 125. Photon - Doctor Spectrum | 126. Magik - Baron Mordo | 127. Gladiator - Psycho-Man | 128. X-Babies - Loki |
| 129. Spider-Man 2099 - Zarrko the Tomorrow Man | 130. Marvel Boy - Lizard (Peter Parker) | 131. Captain Marvel (Phyla-Vell) - Corruptor | 132. Moondragon - Snowblind | 133. Iron Lad - Iron Man 2020 | 134. Cosmic Ghost Rider - The Void | 135. X-Man - Gorr | 136. Galacta - Promoter |
| 137. Shang-Chi - Steel Serpent | 138. Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell) - Andreas von Strucker | 139. Mockingbird - Lady Bullseye | 140. Beta Ray Bill - Nul, Breaker of Worlds | 141. Luna Snow - Hypno Hustler | 142. Quasar - Exodus | 143. White Widow - White Rabbit | 144. Great Lake Avengers - Circus of Crime |
| 145. Sentry - Nightwatch | 146. Valkyrie (Brunnhilde) - Deathbird | 147. Bloodline - Max Frankenstein | 148. Multiple Man - Bullseye | 149. ROM the Spaceknight - Cordyceps Jones | 150. Misty Knight - Black Specter (Ryan Trent) | 151. Thunderstrike - Obliterator | 152. Lockjaw - Stegron |
| 153. Mister Fantastic - Maestro | 154. Invisible Woman - Malice (Alice MacAllister) | 155. Human Torch (Johnny Storm) - Achilles Fairchild | 156. The Thing - El Muerto | 157. Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) - Sin-Eater | 158. Psylocke (Kwannon) - Purple Man | 159. Daredevil (Elektra Natchios) - Ogun | 160. Jeff - Tigershark |
| 161. Longshot - The orde | 162. Kid Omega - Emma Steed | 163. Darwin - Super Adaptoid | 164. Polaris - sin | 165. Hope summer - Victor Timely | 166. Forge - The fixer | 167. Strong guy - Rhino | 168. ForgetMeNot - Evil Gweenpool |
| 169. Quake - Vibro | 170. Ka Zar - Arcade | 171. Nick Fury - The hand | 172. Patriot - HateMonger | 173. Ghost rider (Robbie) - Overdrive | 174. Phill coulson - Dark phoenix | 175. Agent Venom - Nuke | 176. DumDum Dugan and the Howling commando - The Leviothon Mother |
| 177. Skaar - Kulan Gath | 178. Silk - Skein | 179. A-Bomb - Armadillo | 180. Scarlet Spider (Kane) - Dr Statis | 181. Hercules - Set | 182. Scarlet Spider (Ben reilly) - Joe Fixit | 183. Hulk 2099 - Kraven (Alexei Kravinov) | 184. Rek-Rap - Dopplegänger
| 185. She Hulk (Lyra) - Ragnarok |186. Hellcat - Bookworm | 187. Darkhawk - Venom (Yaleo) | 188. Americop - CrimeMaster | 189. Starhawk - Red shift | 190. Power Princess - Morgan Le-Fay | 191. Sunfire - Aqueduct | 192. Slapstick - Dreadpool |
| 193. Sasquatch - Mr. Hyde | 194. Domino - Chance | 195. Guardian - Centurion | 196. Jack Flag - Crossbone | 197. Northstar & Aurora - Knight & Fogg | 198. Human Torch (Jim Hammond) - Annihilus | 199. Shaman - Warren Traveler | 200. Cosmo - Red Ghost and his Super Apes |
| 201. Conan the barbarian - The wizard | 202. Justice - Senator Kelly | 203. Lady Sif - Firestar | 204. Firestar - Frostbite | 205. Stingray - Electro | 206. Night trasher - Tombstone | 207. Sleepwalker - Morpheus | 208. Speedball - Blob |
| 209. BoomBoom - Joystick | 210. Doc Samson - Carnage | 211. Warpath - Capitan America (William Burnside) | 212 Union Jack - Spymasterer | 213. Shatterstar - Dracula | 214 Punisher noir - StiltMan | 215 Ferral - Nighteyes | 216. Puck - Delilah
| 217. Corsair - Capitan Glory | 218. Clea - Glorian, shaper of worlds | 219. Blur - Speedfreek | 220. Brother Voodoo - Shadowking | 221. MachineMan - Quicksand | 222. Nico Minoru - The answer
Not pictured: Hijinx
For the month of June, I’m going to make daily posts about canonically queer characters I love.
JEAN-PAUL BEAUBIER AKA NORTHSTAR!
First Appearance: X-Men #120 (1979)
Created by Chris Claremont & John Byrne
Sexuality: Gay
Happy Father’s Day to everyone’s favorite (former) radical Quebec separatist, Marvel’s first out gay character who came out in the way we all aspire: yelling, while punching a cop in the frozen food aisle of a Loblaws!
First off, I want to say that, as much as Pride is about celebration, it’s also a fight, and, in that spirit, I want to say: Fuck John Byrne. A great artist, a decent writer, and a vile transphobic cunt. This will not be a full history of Northstar, I will be skipping Byrne’s Alpha Flight and will be focusing strictly on Jean-Paul’s journey of coming out and fatherhood, in honor of the day.
Jean-Paul, mutant speedster, former terrorist, former Olympic skier (the second on my list for the month. Huh), and Alpha Flight member, came out in Alpha Flight #106 written by Scott Lobdell (fuck Lobdell as well but for a different reason) and drawn by Mark Pacella unfortunately doing his best Liefeld.
Despite the rough art and the sex pest writer, AF #106 is a a surprisingly poignant discussion of who’s struggles get valued in society. During an Alpha Flight mission, JP finds an abandoned baby girl and rushes her to the hospital. Turns out the girl, named Joanne, was born to a HIV positive mom who has since passed and is dying of AIDS.
The comic covers a few month period where JP becomes very attached to the child and officially adopts her. This becomes a headline news story as all of Canada follows this dying girl’s plight with sympathy. Except one…
Major Mapleleaf had been a hero who’d represented Canada in the fight against the Axis in WWII. Since then, his son, Michael, who was gay, had caught and died of AIDS as well, despite the Major’s best efforts to find help for his son. Because Michael was gay, he had been treated as though he had deserved the disease.
Seeing this girl get treated like a tragic victim while his son had been treated so awfully, broke the Major (Louis) and he attacked the hospital, starting a fight with Northstar that ended up moving to a supermarket where Northstar declares his long implied homosexuality on panel for the first time. He is eventually able to knock some sense into Louis, who is there to comfort JP as Joanne finally passes away
After that, Northstar becomes more of a loner, starting a successful sporting equipment company and retiring from hero work. That is until Xavier comes and asks him to join the X-Men and the Xavier institute as a teacher. Initially reluctant, JP agrees, at the very least, to assist the X-Men in a mission of helping a mutant boy (Peter) with the uncontrollable power to explode. JP attempts to fly Peter to a place his power can be contained but is unable to get there fast enough. Peter ends up dying but not before he and JP have a heart-to-heart about love, family, sexuality, and feelings. The experience inspires JP to take the teaching job after all
JP eventually is introduced to a successful PR manager and friend of his sister Kyle, the two fall in love and date for a while. Eventually having the first gay wedding in Marvel in the pages of the excellent Marjorie Liu run of Astonishing X-Men. I’m not going to say much more about it. I like Kyle but I know a lot of people find him and JP’s relationship boring. To each their own.
Which brings up to Krakoa! JP and Kyle move to the island and end up starting an investigation agency X-Factor to help determine if missing mutants are alive and need rescue or dead and need resurrection. The team includes a number of younger characters including Eye-Boy and Prodigy. Northstar grows progressively more protective of the teens, and, as Kyle points out, a lot more fatherly.
This cumulates in the end of the Trial of Magneto mini where Scarlet Witch creates the Waiting Room, a magical pocket dimension where the spirits of mutants can enter from the afterlife and choose to be resurrected. One spirit that ends up there is the baby Joanne who apparently would have grown to be a mutant, and is now in the resurrection queue, meaning Jean-Paul will be reunited with his adopted daughter after all that time.
We haven’t seen the family reunited yet but I genuinely feel that the growth Northstar has gone through over the years would make him an excellent dad, maybe the only gay father in Marvel comics
Recommended Reading (not a complete reading guide, just what’s relevant to what I talked about above):
- Alpha Flight #106
- Uncanny X-Men #414
- Uncanny X-Men #508
- Alpha Flight (2011)
- Astonishing X-Men (2004) #48-68
- X-Factor (2020)
- Trial of Magneto (miniseries)
Not pictured: Genegineer, Wipeout