Agent Carter (season 2) creator credits

Well, the 2nd season wasn't as good as the first. It certainly felt like one of those Marvel Netflix shows - lots of characters moving back and forth but with very little plot in between scenes. Still, it was decent enough television.

The full list of creator credits can be found here.

Jack Kirby: creator of Chadwick, an elitist who believes himself above other Americans and belongs to a secret criminal society (Captain America #195, 1976); co-creator of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a patriotic wartime hero (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of S.H.I.E.L.D., an international espionage agency; of Stark allied with S.H.I.E.L.D.; of Stark designing a flying car (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Jason Wilkes, a scientist whose research into alternative forms of energy causes him to be trapped in an alternate dimension, losing his ability to interact with the world around him; of Wilkes being employed by criminals to profit from his research (Tales of Suspense #25, 1962); of Jarvis, a butler who serves Tony Stark's family (Tales of Suspense #59, 1964); of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966); of the Secret Empire, a clandestine criminal organization (Tales to Astonish #81, 1966)

Stan Lee: creator of the title "Tales of Suspense" (Tales of Suspense #1, 1959); co-creator of S.H.I.E.L.D., an international espionage agency; of Stark allied with S.H.I.E.L.D.; of Stark designing a flying car (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963); of Jarvis, a butler who serves Tony Stark's family (Tales of Suspense #59, 1964); of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966); of Whitney Frost, a beautiful woman involved in organized crime (Tales of Suspense #98, 1968); of the Secret Empire, a clandestine criminal organization (Tales to Astonish #81, 1966)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of western heroes such as Kid Colt being real historical figures (Avengers #142, 1975); of Peggy Carter's name (Captain America #162, 1973); of Hugh Jones, director of Roxxon Oil; of Roxxon Oil, a corporation involved in criminal activities (Captain America #180, 1974)

Bill Mantlo: co-creator of Darkforce, a form of black energy which emerges from an alien dimension, has various uses including teleportation (Champions #7, 1976); of a form of mutating matter called "Zero" (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #23, 1976)

Don Heck: co-creator of Joseph Manfredi, a criminal mob boss (Daredevil #118, 1975); of Howard Stark, head of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970); of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Sal Buscema: co-creator of Peggy Carter as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Captain America #169, 1974); of Hugh Jones, director of Roxxon Oil; of Roxxon Oil, a corporation involved in criminal activities (Captain America #180, 1974)

Gene Colan: co-creator of Whitney Frost's name (Iron Man #1, 1968); of Whitney Frost wearing a golden mask (Iron Man #17, 1969); of Whitney Frost, a beautiful woman involved in organized crime (Tales of Suspense #98, 1968)

Mark Bagley: co-creator of Stark working with gamma rays (Original Sin #3.1, 2014); of Chadwick as a member of the Secret Empire; of Thomas Gloucester, a member of the elitist Secret Empire (Thunderbolts #31, 1999)

Jonathan Hickman: co-creator of Leviathan, a Soviet-made intelligence organization who are enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Secret Warriors #11, 2010); of Howard Stark as an early operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Shield #1, 2010)

Archie Goodwin: co-creator of Whitney Frost's name (Iron Man #1, 1968); of Whitney Frost wearing a golden mask (Iron Man #17, 1969); of Howard Stark, head of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970)

Mark Gruenwald: creator of Jarvis' first name, Edwin (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1, 1983); of Joseph Manfredi's name (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #6, 1983)

Kurt Busiek: co-creator of Chadwick as a member of the Secret Empire; of Thomas Gloucester, a member of the elitist Secret Empire (Thunderbolts #31, 1999)

George Tuska: co-creator of Darkforce, a form of black energy which emerges from an alien dimension, has various uses including teleportation (Champions #7, 1976)

Stefano Caselli: co-creator of Leviathan, a Soviet-made intelligence organization who are enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Secret Warriors #11, 2010)

Dick Ayers: co-creator of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966)

Ernie Hart: co-creator of Kid Colt, a cowboy hero garbed in a red shirt, blue jeans, cowhide vest and white hat (Kid Colt #1, 1948)

Joe Simon: co-creator of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a patriotic wartime hero (Captain America Comics #1, 1941)

Carmine Infantino: co-creator of S.H.I.E.L.D. opening offices in Los Angeles, California (Spider-Woman #1, 1978)

George Perez: co-creator of western heroes such as Kid Colt being real historical figures (Avengers #142, 1975)

Robert Bernstein: co-creator of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, an eagle within a circle (Strange Tales #154, 1967)

Terry Kavanagh: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Mike Friedrich: co-creator of Peggy Carter as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Captain America #169, 1974)

Bob Harras: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Roger Cruz: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Jim Steranko: co-creator of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, an eagle within a circle (Strange Tales #154, 1967)

Dustin Weaver: co-creator of Howard Stark as an early operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Shield #1, 2010)

Marv Wolfman: co-creator of S.H.I.E.L.D. opening offices in Los Angeles, California (Spider-Woman #1, 1978)

Gil Kane: co-creator of a form of mutating matter called "Zero" (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #23, 1976)

Joe Maneely: co-creator of Kid Colt wearing yellow gloves (Kid Colt, Outlaw #40, 1959)

Stan Goldberg: co-creator of Kid Colt wearing yellow gloves (Kid Colt, Outlaw #40, 1959)

David Kraft: co-creator of the Los Angeles Tribune, a newspaper (Savage She-Hulk #3, 1980)

Mike Vosburg: co-creator of the Los Angeles Tribune, a newspaper (Savage She-Hulk #3, 1980)

Gerry Conway: co-creator of Joseph Manfredi, a criminal mob boss (Daredevil #118, 1975)

Mark Waid: co-creator of Stark working with gamma rays (Original Sin #3.1, 2014)

Linking the Shadow to Lights Out!

Recently I was listening to a few episodes of the old-time radio series The Shadow which I hadn't heard before. The earliest episode I hadn't heard was called "Fountain of Death" and first aired in 1938, pretty early in the series! The early Shadow episodes have always been my favourites and this one, with Bill Johnstone in the lead, was a very good one with an unusual science fiction plot. You can hear the episode on the Internet Archive here.

The strange thing is, this episode of the Shadow is partially recycled from the horror program Lights Out! "Fountain of Death" concerns a female scientist who has created a formula to restore people's youth. She demonstrates its power by restoring youth to a dying woman. Thereafter, an agent from a foreign power kills the scientist and takes the formula, but while returning to his homeland by plane, the Shadow catches up to him. The Shadow makes the agent think he's consumed the youth formula; afraid to die by regressing into nothingness, he jumps from the plane to his doom. As it turns out, the Shadow merely bluffed the agent into thinking he'd taken the formula; he didn't even have to use his mental powers! His hard and relentless fight against the forces of evil is certainly aided by the credulity of those evil forces.

Much of this is quite similar to Arch Oboler's Lights Out episode "Nobody Died", which debuted two years earlier in 1936. Again, the plot is about a female scientist who creates a youth potion and restores a dying woman to life. Then a dictator comes for the formula and kills the scientist. He schemes to youthen his entire army so he has an unstoppable force forever in their prime, but the formula keeps rejuvenating people and because the dictator took the most, he regresses into infancy and then, apparent nothingness. You can hear it on Youtube here.

"Fountain of Death" does not credit it's author, but I'm pretty sure it must have been Arch Oboler. He had been writing scripts for the Shadow around that time and, according to the Library of Congress, their Arch Oboler Collection contains a script titled "Fountain of Death" (the library listing doesn't indicate what series the script belongs to). The scenes in which the female scientist saves the dying woman and where the foreigner kills the scientist are virtually identical to those in "Nobody Died". They differ primarily where the Shadow himself is concerned and especially in how the villain is defeated not by consuming the formula but by being made to think he had. Certainly that has something to do with the differences between Lights Out and the Shadow; Lights Out was a late night program for adults, while the Shadow was an afternoon program for juveniles. If the villain in the Shadow had regressed into nothingness it would have been a bit too disturbing for children. Much better that the villain jumps to his death from an airplane, that's not disturbing at all!

Agent Carter season one creator credits

I've just caught up on the first season of 2015's Agent Carter; I'd previously seen (and covered on this blog) the Marvel Netflix shows, but this was a pretty decent show - better than the average Marvel Netflix program.

So, as usual, I've compiled the names of the comic book creators most responsible for what appeared on the show. It's pretty weird to be listing my own name for a change, but given everything I did for Marvel, it was inevitable something I did would be adapted. The full list of creator credits can be found here.

Jack Kirby: creator of Arnim Zola, a criminal scientist (Captain America #208, 1977); co-creator of the Stark family manor in New York City (Avengers #2, 1963); of Captain America believed dead after his disappearance during World War II (Avengers #4, 1964); of Dr. Faustus, a psychiatrist who uses hypnosis to control people's sensory perceptions for criminal purposes (Captain America #107, 1968); of the vita-ray treatment which helped activate the Super-Soldier Serum for Steve Rogers (Captain America #109, 1969); of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a thin and weak young man who is the chief experiment of Operation: Rebirth, injecting him with the Super-Soldier Serum which makes him a perfect specimen of humanity; of the scientist who creates the serum; of Captain America's red, white and blue costume with stars & stripes on his chest; of Captain America's triangular red, white & blue shield (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center; Captain America's mask fastened to his costume (Captain America Comics #2, 1941); of Zandow, a former circus strongman who becomes a 1940s criminal (Captain America Comics #5, 1941); of Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, a US soldier who wears a derby and serves in the Howling Commandos; of "Junior" Juniper, a young soldier in the Howling Commandos; of "Happy" Sam Sawyer, a soldier in the Howling Commandos; of the Howling Commandos, a squad of World War II soldiers whose battle cry is "wah-hoo!" (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, 1963); of Junior Juniper dying in battle on a mission with the Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #4, 1963); of Captain America working alongside the Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #13, 1964); of S.H.I.E.L.D., an international espionage agency; of Stark allied with S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Dum Dum Dugan working with S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strange Tales #137, 1965); of Jarvis, a butler who serves Tony Stark's family (Tales of Suspense #59, 1964); of the Super-Soldier Serum's creator being named Abraham Erskine (Tales of Suspense #63, 1965); of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966)

Stan Lee: co-creator of the Stark family manor in New York City (Avengers #2, 1963); of Captain America believed dead after his disappearance during World War II (Avengers #4, 1964); of Dr. Faustus, a psychiatrist who uses hypnosis to control people's sensory perceptions for criminal purposes (Captain America #107, 1968); of the vita-ray treatment which helped activate the Super-Soldier Serum for Steve Rogers (Captain America #109, 1969); of Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, a US soldier who wears a derby and serves in the Howling Commandos; of "Junior" Juniper, a young soldier in the Howling Commandos; of "Happy" Sam Sawyer, a soldier in the Howling Commandos; of the Howling Commandos, a squad of World War II soldiers whose battle cry is "wah-hoo!" (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1, 1963); of Junior Juniper dying in battle on a mission with the Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #4, 1963); of Pinky Pinkerton, a British soldier in the Howling Commandos who wears a beret, scarf and gloves (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #8, 1964); of Captain America working alongside the Howling Commandos (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #13, 1964); of Ernst Mueller, a Nazi soldier (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #14, 1965); of S.H.I.E.L.D., an international espionage agency; of Stark allied with S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strange Tales #135, 1965); of Dum Dum Dugan working with S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strange Tales #137, 1965); of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963); of Anton Vanko, a Russian scientist who works for Stark Industries; of Stark's business being under scrutiny by the Pentagon (Tales of Suspense #46, 1963); of Jarvis, a butler who serves Tony Stark's family (Tales of Suspense #59, 1964); of the Super-Soldier Serum's creator being named Abraham Erskine (Tales of Suspense #63, 1965); of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966)

Joe Simon: co-creator of Captain America, Steve Rogers, a thin and weak young man who is the chief experiment of Operation: Rebirth, injecting him with the Super-Soldier Serum which makes him a perfect specimen of humanity; of the scientist who creates the serum; of Captain America's red, white and blue costume with stars & stripes on his chest; of Captain America's triangular red, white & blue shield (Captain America Comics #1, 1941); of Captain America's round, red and white shield with star in its center; Captain America's mask fastened to his costume (Captain America Comics #2, 1941); of Zandow, a former circus strongman who becomes a 1940s criminal (Captain America Comics #5, 1941)

Sal Buscema: co-creator of Dr. Faustus as an enemy of Peggy Carter (Captain America #161, 1973); of Peggy Carter's name (Captain America #162, 1973); of Peggy Carter as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Captain America #169, 1974); of Hugh Jones, director of Roxxon Oil; of Roxxon Oil, a corporation involved in criminal activities (Captain America #180, 1974); of Dr. Faustus using gas to drive people insane (Captain America #235, 1979)

Dick Ayers: co-creator of Pinky Pinkerton, a British soldier in the Howling Commandos who wears a beret, scarf and gloves (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #8, 1964); of Ernst Mueller, a Nazi soldier (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #14, 1965); of Peggy Carter, intelligence operative and wartime love interest of Captain America (Tales of Suspense #75, 1966)

Don Heck: co-creator of Howard Stark, head of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970); of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963); of Anton Vanko, a Russian scientist who works for Stark Industries; of Stark's business being under scrutiny by the Pentagon (Tales of Suspense #46, 1963)

Steve Englehart: co-creator of Dr. Faustus as an enemy of Peggy Carter (Captain America #161, 1973); of Peggy Carter's name (Captain America #162, 1973); of Hugh Jones, director of Roxxon Oil; of Roxxon Oil, a corporation involved in criminal activities (Captain America #180, 1974)

Robert Bernstein: co-creator of Stark Industries, the Starks' technology company (Tales of Suspense #45, 1963); of Anton Vanko, a Russian scientist who works for Stark Industries; of Stark's business being under scrutiny by the Pentagon (Tales of Suspense #46, 1963)

Jonathan Hickman: co-creator of Leviathan, a Soviet-made intelligence organization who are enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Secret Warriors #11, 2010); of Howard Stark as an early operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Shield #1, 2010)

John Byrne: creator of Roger Dooley, a misogynistic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent whose mind is taken over by enemies and dies (Marvel Graphic Novel #18, 1985)

Bill Mantlo: co-creator of Howard Stark storing some of his dangerous inventions in a vault within his New York City manor (Avengers Annual #9, 1979)

Roy Thomas: co-creator of the codename "Union Jack" (Invaders #7, 1976); of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, an eagle within a circle (Strange Tales #154, 1967)

Don Newton: co-creator of Howard Stark storing some of his dangerous inventions in a vault within his New York City manor (Avengers Annual #9, 1979)

Stefano Caselli: co-creator of Leviathan, a Soviet-made intelligence organization who are enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Secret Warriors #11, 2010)

David Michelinie: co-creator of Stark technology being stolen by criminals, prompting Stark to regain it by any means (Iron Man #225, 1987)

Bob Layton: co-creator of Stark technology being stolen by criminals, prompting Stark to regain it by any means (Iron Man #225, 1987)

Mark Bright: co-creator of Stark technology being stolen by criminals, prompting Stark to regain it by any means (Iron Man #225, 1987)

Peter Sanderson: creator of Dr. Faustus' real name Johann Fennhoff (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #10, 1991)

Devin Grayson: co-creator of the Red Room, a Soviet academy which trains young women to become assassins (Black Widow #2, 1999)

J. G. Jones: co-creator of the Red Room, a Soviet academy which trains young women to become assassins (Black Widow #2, 1999)

Randall Frenz: co-creator of Howard Stark working with Captain America during World War II (Captain America Annual #9, 1990)

Mark Bagley: co-creator of Howard Stark working with Captain America during World War II (Captain America Annual #9, 1990)

Salvador Larroca: co-creator of Stark technology being repurposed into a suicide vest (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2008)

Matt Fraction: co-creator of Stark technology being repurposed into a suicide vest (Invincible Iron Man #1, 2008)

Terry Kavanagh: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Mike Friedrich: co-creator of Peggy Carter as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Captain America #169, 1974)

Bob Harras: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Roger Cruz: co-creator of Edwin Jarvis as the family butler to Howard Stark (Avengers: Timeslide, 1996)

Roger McKenzie: co-creator of Dr. Faustus using gas to drive people insane (Captain America #235, 1979)

Mark Gruenwald: creator of Jarvis' first name, Edwin (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1, 1983)

Jim Steranko: co-creator of the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo, an eagle within a circle (Strange Tales #154, 1967)

Archie Goodwin: co-creator of Howard Stark, head of Stark Industries (Iron Man #28, 1970)

Dustin Weaver: co-creator of Howard Stark as an early operative of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Shield #1, 2010)

Howard James: co-creator of Leet Brannis, a 1940s criminal (All Winners Comics #4, 1942)

Ed Brubaker: co-creator of Arnim Zola working with Dr. Faustus (Captain America #26, 2007)

Steve Epting: co-creator of Arnim Zola working with Dr. Faustus (Captain America #26, 2007)

Mike Perkins: co-creator of Arnim Zola working with Dr. Faustus (Captain America #26, 2007)

Michael Hoskin: creator of Ernst Mueller's last name (Marvel Atlas #1, 2007)

Frank Robbins: co-creator of the codename "Union Jack" (Invaders #7, 1976)

RIP Joe Sinnott

Joe Sinnott has passed away, aged 93. He was one of the all-time greatest inkers in comic books. He was especially renowned for the years he spent inking Jack Kirby, especially for inking most of the second half of Kirby's run on Fantastic Four. It's hard to overstate how important Sinnott's inks were to establishing the character of the Fantastic Four. From the craggy lines in the Thing's skin to the weird energy swirls of the Negative Zone, he provided a sense of consistency to the Fantastic Four series, returning to it again and again for about 25 years. He was so identified with Kirby's art that when Ron Frenz drew his Thor in imitation of Kirby, Sinnott inked him to exemplify the comparison.

Sinnott is especially important to me because of my fascination with Atlas Comics; in those days, Sinnott tended to both pencil and ink his work and he drew plenty of war, western and sci-fi comic books. Later in his life, he became involved with the Inkwell Awards, an organization which I've assisted by serving on their nomination committee for 10 years. Sinnott was so identified with the art of inking that his endorsement of the Inkwell Awards was a huge boon to the organization and made them a credible group. Although I never interacted with him in any of my comics gigs, I've always respected his art and it amazed me to see how long he continued to work, long past retirement!

Rest in peace, Mr. Sinnott.

Marvel Super Villains and the Status Quo

I was recently going over some 1980s Marvel Comics and it got me thinking about villains and their status quo. Usually in fiction, the protagonists achieve some sort of status quo -- a basic structure that you can depend on being upheld from one installment to the next. It's more rare for the antagonists to have a status quo, because they're less likely to appear on a regular basis - they tend to turn up when there's a story to be told with them, then disappear until the next one.

And yet, when I was coming of age as a comic book reader, there were various Marvel Comics villains who had a status quo, one which would be reflected across the entire line of Marvel titles. It's basically gone away since then; villains may effect a temporary status quo -- as when Norman Osborn became the head of the Initiative in the company-wide Dark Reign -- but when the story wraps up, the villains are packed up until the next time they appear.

There are three villains whose 1980s status quo is, I think, interesting to reflect upon: the Kingpin; the Hellfire Club; and Freedom Force.

Although the Kingpin had been a New York crime boss in the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man since 1967, it wasn't until 1981 that Frank Miller reinvented him in the pages of Daredevil and the villain became a real mainstay of the Marvel Universe, one with a very identifiable status quo. The Kingpin became an untouchable criminal mastermind, maintaining the public facade of Wilson Fisk, philanthropist, while in actuality spearheading all organized crime in New York. Heroes such as Daredevil and Spider-Man would confront the Kingpin, but ultimately acknowledge they were powerless to stop him; the Kingpin had worked the system, had allies in law enforcement and the government. The heroes could fight back against him, but he could never be fully overcome.

Until, of course, he was. In 1992, Dan G. Chichester's storyline 'Last Rites' brought down the Kingpin, with Daredevil and S.H.I.E.L.D. employing evidence going back to the Miller run to bring about his downfall. This was not the end of the Kingpin as a comic book villain, but it was the end of that 11 year stretch when he was an undefeatable crime boss. Writers since then have frequently brought him back, but just as frequently brought him down again. The Kingpin has no staying power as an antagonist anymore. He'll always be around the fringes of Daredevil, but ever since we readers saw him taken down once, we've known he can't win.

The Hellfire Club had been a concept Chris Claremont had been toying with in many of his comic books until they made their proper debut in he and John Byrne's Uncanny X-Men in 1980, right in the middle of what would become known as "The Dark Phoenix Saga". Most (but not all) of the Hellfire Club's membership were mutants, but they saw themselves as elites, above the rest of their kind. They represented an interesting "third option" to the X-Men's "peaceful co-existence" with humans or Magneto's "no peace" with humans. The Hellfire Club didn't care about co-existence or waging war, just to feather their own nest. It was something of a libertarian approach to the mutant-human conflict -- the Hellfire Club had money, influence and power; they didn't care about the rest of mutantkind except as to how they might profit from them. For instance, they made a deal with the US government to manufacture Sentinels, doing so in part because it meant they could prevent themselves from being targeted by the Sentinels. Like the Kingpin, the Hellfire Club had power -- they were a resource the X-Men themselves had to occasionally make peace with to fight another foe. No matter who made up the club's ranks, their purpose remained the same.

Until Chris Claremont was unceremoniously booted from the X-Men franchise in 1991. The new writers spent a lot of time dismantling the status quo they had inherited, and for some reason took aim at the Hellfire Club. In a series of brief subplots mostly scattered in different X-Men titles (but principally in those by Whilce Portacio), the Hellfire Club's leadership were killed off by a new group called the Upstarts who had a sinister purpose of their own, and that was... erm...

The Upstarts were a pretty lousy replacement for the Hellfire Club. Their goals were only hazily defined and mostly were playing a "game" that involved attacking different X-Men characters. It was typically bad 1990s super villain plotting. With the failure of the Upstarts there were various attempts to bring back the Hellfire Club, but none of them stuck. Virtually every time the Club appears now, it's with a brand-new membership and the promise of many stories to come... until the next time they appear and have been completely revamped again.

Finally, take Freedom Force. This team debuted in 1981 in Claremont & Byrne's X-Men as a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Mystique, but in 1986 Mystique cut a deal with the US government, obtaining status for her team as an official government group. Renamed "Freedom Force", Mystique and her allies were now on the right side of the law -- emphasizing the X-Men as an outlaw group. Freedom Force would sometimes respond appropriately to criminal threats, but at their core they remained the X-Men's enemies and took a ghoulish delight in going after the X-Men with the blessings of the government!

This lasted up 'til 1991 when, again, Claremont was let go. Several members of Freedom Force were killed and the rest absorbed into a new version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (which didn't last very long). The US government replaced Freedom Force with a new team called X-Factor, made up of various heroes adjacent to the X-Men. Unlike Freedom Force, the characters in X-Factor were genuine heroes; they would still be forced to play the part of government stooges from time to time, but it certainly eased the tensions between the X-Men and the government.

Change is good and no status quo should last forever. Creators should also try to make their mark on a series, not simply mimick what came before. Bringing down the Kingpin isn't a bad idea (in fact, "Last Rites" is a very good story); dismantling the Hellfire Club could have led to an interesting new threat (if the Upstarts hadn't been so lame); perhaps the time had come for Freedom Force to be retired, as with the end of the Cold War events such as the Iran-Contra affair seemed mere history (and Peter David's X-Factor was fun).

And yet, something was lost for each of these groups and to the Marvel Universe. The Marvel Universe became a gentler place to live; it seemed to say organized crime could be dismantled; profiteers would be engulfed by fellow consumers; government corruption would cease.

In the 1980s, most of Marvel's super heroes were vigilantes and outlaws; not just Daredevil, Spider-Man and the X-Men -- the Hulk barely counted as a hero; and while the Avengers had security clearance with the US government, it was as much as a curse as a blessing as the government constantly interfered with their activities, dictated who could be on their team, withdrew equipment and funding at a moment's notice, etc. Nick Fury was one of the only reasonable government figures in the Marvel Universe yet even he would be kept at arm's length from the Marvel heroes because of his allegiance to S.H.I.E.L.D.

There was a sense that the Marvel Universe was being run by forces beyond the heroes' ability to counter. Like the greatest villain of the Silver Age, Doctor Doom, many Marvel villains were untouchable. Their schemes could be beaten, but they were part of the system, as the Kingpin, Hellfire Club and Freedom Force were. In the 1980s, the Kingpin's status as crime boss of New York was not a problem the heroes had to solve -- it was a status quo they had to endure.

Today, of course, everything is different. Marvel's villains hatch schemes which have vaster implications, playing on bigger scales, but defeating the plot is basically the same as defeating the villain. It's now understood that whatever new modus operandi the villains may have, they will be defeated eventually, then come back again with a different scheme. And the heroes? Far from being persecuted by the government, these days to be an Avenger is essentially to be a government agent (certainly it seems to be paired with membership in S.H.I.E.L.D. now).

Is it any wonder that so many of the big 'events' from Marvel in the last two decades have been about the heroes fighting each other? (Civil War, Civil War II, Shadowland, World War Hulk, Secret Empire, Time Runs Out, Avengers vs. X-Men, Inhumans vs. X-Men) It feels as though the heroes' great existential battle against the system (the status quo) has been won -- so what's left except to fight each other?

All images from the Grand Comics Database

Rest in Peace: Dennis O'Neil

A few days ago, comic book writer and editor Dennis O'Neil passed away at age 82. He was best known for his work at DC Comics, especially as the Batman group editor during the franchise's biggest years. As a Batman writer, he'll always be remembered for creating Ra's Al-Ghul and Talia with artist Neal Adams. I don't think it can be over emphasized just how significant it is that Ra's and Talia have become mainstays of the Batman franchise. Batman villains tend to be 'gimmick' villains in the fashion of Dick Tracy, so to grant Batman adversaries whose schemes were big, globe-spanning events, was a huge step-up from the hero's usual gutters. Although I've never been especially fond of Batman, I do think the late 90s status quo under O'Neil where Nightwing was in Bludhaven, Tim Drake was Robin, Cassandra Cain was Batgirl and Oracle led the Birds of Prey was a pretty great status quo for the cast of characters.

Aside from Batman, he's also renowned for his Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories with Neal Adams from the 1970s, the "hard travelling heroes" era where the duo faced contemporary social problems. It led to the scene above, which I do have some problems with -- namely that Green Lantern, as a hero whose stage of operations is intergalactic, has frequently been in a position to save the entire planet, so this armor-piercing question seems rather unfair; it would be better to fire this question at a hero such as Batman, a hero who, even now in 2020, pretty much exists to defend a white status quo. But this was pretty provocative stuff in 1970 and even today it's not a question publishers seem eager to have asked of their heroes.

I'm really a Marvel fan, but although worked there for several years there's little that I like; he wrote one of the most forgettable runs on Amazing Spider-Man, his only lasting creations being Madame Web and Hydro-Man. But his biggest writing assignment has to be Iron Man, where he picked up the alcoholism which previous creators David Michelinie & Bob Layton had given Tony Stark, and made it the defining struggle the hero would grapple with for his run. It was during O'Neil's run that James Rhodes became Iron Man and the master villain Obadiah Stane's story was told, and the tailend of the run features the debut of Iron Man's red & silver armor. Heck, O'Neil's Iron Man was the first I ever read of the series.

However, I've had a difficult time appreciating the series. Even now, it bothers me to see how O'Neil so dismissively cast out Michelinie & Layton's supporting cast (with the exception of Rhodey). Most of his new villains were losers like the Chessmen and the Termite. Although Stark was quickly demoted from the series' lead, he continued to appear in every issue and for a long time simply wallowed in his drunkeness, which got to be tiresome month in and month out. Heck, later on in the run there's a subplot about Bethany Cabe searching for her ex-husband which seems to go on forever and achieve nothing. I also feel that Luke McDonnell's art wasn't quite right for Iron Man -- too loose and curvy for a hero whose name implies rigidity and strength.

What tips the scales for me is Iron Man #182, one of the all-time finest Iron Man stories ever told; this is the issue in which Tony, now a homeless man, delivers a baby in a snowy alleyway; the mother dies and in trying to keep the baby alive, Tony finally reaches an epiphany and starts to regain his sobriety. I love so much of what follows from there -- Tony and Rhodey's frosty relationship, how Tony ultimately regains Rhodey's trust by being vulnerable, the final showdown with Obadiah Stane -- it's gold. The latter part of O'Neil's run is so good that I don't hesitate in calling him one of the greatest Iron Man writers of all-time.

Rest in peace, Mr. O'Neil.