In This Corner... Champion!

 

The year 1982 saw the publication of the seventh and final Marvel Two-In-One Annual, which, like its companion monthly series, featured the Thing and a special guest-star in action together--only in this instance, the series ends with a bang (and more than a few punches) when Ben Grimm is joined by a group of Marvel's heaviest hitters in Madison Square Garden to answer the challenge of an alien bruiser to meet him in the boxing ring, where they will fight for the fate of our world!

Together with writer Tom DeFalco and penciller Ron Wilson, the six-man finishing crew of Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone joined to produce a 39-page story which features the first appearance of Champion, an Elder of the Universe who seeks out and contends with those who can satisfy his thirst for competition. Soon enough, however, we find that DeFalco has apparently taken a leaf from the planet Kral, a world in the Skrull empire whose population became fascinated with Earth's gangster era and mimicked the people and culture of that period. Here, we find the sport of boxing having an equally compusive effect on Champion and his entourage of alien trainers as well as a slick fight promoter, who bring along with them an Earth-style boxing ring, a training gym, the lingo of boxing and boxers, and even attire that carries the Everlast sporting goods logo--traveling to other worlds and seizing powerful individuals to offer them (what else?) a "title shot" against Champion, a confident and seasoned boxer who has embraced the sport of boxing to the fullest and who can weave and get in under your guard with the best of them.

We first meet our promoter, Proja, who surprises the Thing with one of the most offbeat offers our gravelly hero has ever heard--and who, as Ben learns, slyly won't take no for an answer.

Yet Ben is only the first of several stops Proja makes--extending his "offer" to a number of potential challengers for his master before finally arriving with them in a training area placed outside the fabric of reality, geared for terran clientele.

Finally, their host makes himself and his purpose known to the assembled heroes, while also making it immediately clear that refusal to participate in the upcoming match will exact a lethal cost.

Bonus Features: Spider-Annuals, 1964-1999

 

Aside from rogues' galleries, pin-ups, and, in all too many cases, reprinted material, a staple of Marvel "king-size" annuals has been the informative bonus features that came in the form of exploring a character's abilities, being provided with a tour of their headquarters, a rundown of their supporting cast, or a supplemental tale consisting of only three or four pages, on the occasion that the main story didn't fulfill the expected page count. You'll find many of these bonus features given their due throughout the PPC over the years--but for a little variety on the subject, we'll begin digging through and dusting off some of the more under the radar material where a little extra creative effort went into these features.

In this inaugural post on the subject, we turn our focus to one of Marvel's inaugural characters, the amazing Spider-Man--and as long as we're going that far back, it seems fitting to include a few of the bonus features from the character's first annual from 1964, itself packed with additional material to no doubt titillate Spidey's growing fan base and including a number of pages which spotlight the work of the book's artist, Steve Ditko.

Judgment Day (Or Not)

 

As an unofficial encore to Captain Marvel's role as chairwoman of the Avengers during writer Roger Stern's run on the title, those of you who have followed Stern's Marvel work and were fans as well of either The Avengers or X-Men might have caught the four-issue limited series The X-Men vs. the Avengers from mid-1987, which Stern would write ¾ of (at which time a different writer/artist team would take the reins of the story for its conclusion). The series takes place roughly between the time Captain Marvel accepts Captain America's nomination for the team's leadership position, and the Avengers' mission to Olympus which would conclude Stern's work on the book. The true focus of the series, however, would prove to be Magneto, the Master of Magnetism--and, more specifically, the resolution of the Paris trial which had been convened to hold him accountable for past crimes against the human race.

Yet the prelude to this story occurs years earlier, with the explosive arrival of an alien we would come to know in the New Mutants as Warlock.

Magneto survives the impact, thanks to the ministrations of Lee Forrester, who fishes him out of the ocean and brings him to the island where he once fought a pitched battle with the X-Men--the repercussions of which led, in part, to his trial. As for his asteroid, two sizable parts of it survive their fall to Earth a few years later, and draw the interest of not only Magneto but three super-teams which would vie to decide his ultimate fate.

Hero Reborn

 

It you stayed an Amazing Spider-Man reader until the series concluded its first run in late 1998, you may remember an unusual issue by writer Tom DeFalco that saw print shortly before then, which involved two enthusiastic archaeologists in the distant future who felt they had made the most remarkable discovery of their young careers.

Both Zack and Lana consider themselves authorities on the "Age of Heroes," which is not to be confused with this promotional banner that circulated on select titles over a decade later in mid-2010...

...nor is the term related to a four-issue series which coincided with the publication of the Heroic Age titles:

Rather, for Zack and Lana, the "Age of Heroes" is a historic reference to a period of time when super-heroes were alive and active on Earth. From what we can gather from the story, it's been hundreds of years since super-heroes existed in the world--and as we tag along with this pair on their excursion into the ruins of Manhattan, it's apparent that they hold one particular hero in the highest regard:  Spider-Man.

But as we'll see, their history of the wall-crawler's life is incomplete and, in some cases, exaggerated in terms of his standing with the public--factual misinterpretations which will also apply to other heroes from that era, as well as to his wife, Mary Jane Parker.

When Dies The Universe!

 

There probably isn't a comics reader alive who hasn't come across a story where a character appears to have or actually has returned from the dead--but isn't this taking things a bit too far?

And guest-starring Death itself (uh, herself), as well?

Having already taken a look at the various lineups of the Legion of the Unliving, the PPC now throws a spotlight on the 1987 Avengers Annual, which concludes a two-part tale begun in the West Coast Avengers annual of the same year by Steve Englehart that played out in Death's realm and now culminates with a threat to the entire universe. As we can see, the Grandmaster has found a way to cheat Death after being consigned to that realm following the events of the Contest of Champions limited series five years prior--as we learned that even Death was unprepared for the wily strategy employed by this Elder of the Universe.

So, having essentially conquered Death, where does the Grandmaster go from here with his obsession with contests? Unfortunately, there is only one arena, and one prize, now worthy of his interest--and he makes use of the realm of Death to supply his game pieces.

For this annual, Tom DeFalco takes over as scripter--but in an interesting deviation from the WCA tale, aside from the five Avengers teams that form to tackle the threat there are also artist "teams" assigned to this story's various chapters which offer a rare opportunity to see a number of different penciler/inker combinations, a development we owe to either a last-minute shuffle to meet a deadline or (presumably) a decision from the book's editor, Mark Gruenwald. In all but one chapter, you'll likely see more of the influence of the inker, given that the penciler limits himself to breakdowns--while bookending the tale features the work of Bob Hall and Tom Palmer.

As for the Legion of the Unliving, it's easy enough to accept the malicious instincts of those villains who are present in this particular lineup--but what throws off the concept is that, as with previous incarnations, there is no reluctance whatsoever on the part of Nighthawk, the Swordsman, Captain Marvel, Bucky, and the Golden Age Black Knight in falling in with the rest and being just as out for blood as their fellow corpses. Even the Executioner, who nobly sacrificed himself and ended his life with honor, is given a cobbled-together reason for going after Thor with a murderous vengeance--while Bucky apparently harbors resentment toward Captain America for failing to protect him from the explosion which caused his death. As for the Legion's opponents, you can expect many pairings to make sense from a commercial standpoint, though there are a few which will be unexpected and fresh to the eye.

So let's break it all down.

Marvel's Classic Corner Boxes: Fantastic Four Vol. I

 

Nine years ago, the PPC briefly took a look at those eye-catching corner boxes which once graced the left corner of issue covers and featured the character(s) which starred in the comic you took home to read. At the time, we explored the subject within the context of where the art for the characters might have originated from; but during this week, we'll expand our look to showcase a near-entire run of a title's first volume of corner boxes in all their mini-glory, from beginning to end. And why not begin where Marvel began, in the comic which set the standard for its new line of super-hero books?

It took a year and a half for the first corner box to appear in the Fantastic Four comic since its launch--but with variations, that box would endure for the next four years and appear in nearly fifty issues.

Turmoil on War World!

 

OR: "This Isn't The Wife You're Looking For"

With the 20th anniversary issue of Fantastic Four in our rear-view mirror, let's jump ahead ten years to 1991, and the book's 30th anniversary--the last anniversary acclamation to appear before Volume 1 of the series came to an end. Billed as a triple-sized issue, and clocking in at nearly 80 pages, issue #358 would include only seven pages of ads, while buffering the forty pages of story with 29 pages of FF memorabilia that included pinups, a look back at the series by writer Peter Sanderson, a brief Dr. Doom tale by Tom DeFalco and Arthur Adams, as well as a reprint of Stan Lee's original working synopsis for Fantastic Four #1.

Unlike issue #236's stand-alone story by writer/artist John Byrne, #358 didn't have the luxury of presenting a special FF tale that subtly but effectively evoked a sense of nostalgia for the FF's beginnings even as those elements were woven into a contemporary story; but DeFalco, along with artists Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi, do alright with bringing to a head a continuing story involving Johnny Storm and his wife, Alicia Masters, which reaches its climax with a shocking scene that cliffhanged the previous issue, thanks to information delivered to Ben Grimm by Alicia's stepfather, the Puppet Master.

To add fuel to the fire, Lyja, the Skrull spy who has been masquerading as Alicia since before Johnny and "Alicia" began their relationship, announces to Johnny that she is pregnant with his child--a development which, with the exception of the Skrull twist, you could no doubt find in one form or another on any number of daytime dramas when they still saturated network television. There is also the added complication that Lyja truly loves Johnny, with Johnny, despite his anger and frustration toward this situation and toward Lyja, feeling the same.

And so this issue proceeds to wrap up this storyline, one way or another, as the FF take off for the Andromeda galaxy with the intention of rescuing the real Alicia from Skrull captivity, with Lyja volunteering to help as their guide. But considering the level of danger involved, and that this team's visits to the Skrull galaxy often has them barely escaping with their lives, will this issue truly be a cause for celebration?

The Future Is Now: The Iron Man of 2020

Having seen a number of grim future scenarios portrayed in Marvel's line of comics, which we eventually caught up to in real time and passed without incident, it seems fitting to take a look at what the company once had to say about the year 2020, the year in which we now find ourselves. Such a story was published in mid-1994, nearly twenty-five years before the ball would drop on 2020--and once again, there wasn't really a silver lining to be found in our future, no idealistic prognostication of mankind having finally gotten its act together and resolved to build a better world and a brighter future for itself. On the contrary, there was only the stark realism of the same-old same-old--while the only thing that had improved, for what it was worth, was our technology.

And speaking of "stark," we discover that a certain industrial conglomerate has survived to claim a place in that world--but neither the company nor its chief executive is thriving.

Meet Arno Stark, who in taking on the mantle of Iron Man has tarnished the golden Avenger's legacy. Instead of living an altruistic life, Stark instead uses the armor as a mercenary, hiring out his services as Iron Man to equally ruthless business leaders like Sunset Bain (CEO of Baintronics) while having established for himself a reputation as someone who has no compunction against committing corporate espionage in order to cripple his competitors for his own company's gain.

When we first meet Stark, a character who appears in the 1984 Machine Man limited series based in 2020, that amoral man fits all too well in the corporate cutthroat environment where Bain et al. are looking for any edge to prevail against their competitors. The plot revolves around Machine Man, whose remains have been found and reassembled by a group of technology raiders calling themselves the Wreckers--whom he then joins forces with against Bain (who subsequently hires Iron Man to take out Machine Man).

Stark of course believes what he's saying about the fate of Iron Man, though the truth would only be revealed to the reader in the later '94 story--but more on that in a moment.

Once More--The Fantastic Four!

Given the grim subject matter, it's probably best if we do a brief visual recap of where we left things last time. And what a visual:

Having witnessed the death of Reed Richards at (literally) the hand of Doctor Doom, as well as having heard the reading of Reed's last will and testament, it seemed certain that the leader of the Fantastic Four had met his end--to say nothing of the equally shocking news that Doom had perished in the same stroke. What wasn't certain was, how would the FF go on without Reed? How would the book?

We would see that for ourselves in the following months, as writer Tom DeFalco and artist Paul Ryan did their level best to assure readers that Reed was gone for good, and that the Fantastic Four would have to continue without him. The only member of the team who didn't fully accept Reed's death was his wife, Sue, though she stepped up to lead the FF and grew into the role--while membership in the FF fluctuated, with Johnny Storm leaving to oversee the new Fantastic Force, leaving Sue and the Thing to go into battle with characters like Ant-Man, the Sub-Mariner, Doom's young protégé Kristoff Vernard, and the Torch's ex-wife, the Skrull named Lyja.

Yet still readers waited, drumming our collective fingers until Reed would surely reappear from wherever he'd been. Because with apologies to Ben Franklin et al., in comic books only taxes are truly certain, while death can be overridden with the klackety-klack of a typewriter. And though we would see twenty-five issues and two years go by before learning the truth, eventually we would be greeted with back-to-back issues which revealed all--emphasis on the word "back."

Titania Strikes Back!

During the events of Secret Wars, the villain well known as Dr. Doom supplemented his forces by using the advanced machinery he'd discovered to endow two willing subjects with abilities and powers which made them forces to be reckoned with--a status which others before them have embraced, though none more so than Skeeter MacPherran.

And the woman called Titania does indeed get the chance to prove her might, when the heroes also trapped on the Beyonder's world attack their foes' fortress while coming to the aid of the embattled She-Hulk. Yet instead of overwhelming the equally well known hero who takes her on, Titania learns a harsh lesson in both overconfidence and underestimating her opponent that will remain with her well after her return to Earth.

But where other villains have bounced back from prior defeats (and stints in prison) to menace anew, Titania was among those who became gun shy about meeting other super-powered opponents in battle once more--particularly Spider-Man, who seemed to deal with her without effort. Considering how arrogant Titania was, out of the gate, we could rightly assess how the mighty have indeed fallen.

Yet in her rematch with the wall-crawler, one thing that may tip the odds in her favor is the fact that this time, her boyfriend's come to the party!

With Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, by her side, is this the day when Titania gets her moxie back?

...And One Will Fall!

After trying to contain the fury of the alien known as Firelord and failing, while leaving Firelord so enraged that he now hunts his wall-crawling foe with the intent of ending his life, the amazing Spider-Man was on the verge of abdicating his responsibilities and slipping into his Peter Parker identity to avoid being found. Spider-Man--packing it in?? The realization brought an attack of conscience for our harried hero, who knew that Firelord, in the state he was in, might go berserk and lash out at innocents if he was denied his vengeance because the web-spinner eluded him.

And so Spider-Man, overmatched and on his own, prepares to fight the battle of his life!

(But somebody had better tell him it's hopeless!)

...In Battle We'll Meet!

It all started when Firelord, the former herald of Galactus, arrived on our world to use it as a "rest stop" while deciding on his next destination, but who then developed a craving for a certain type of Earth food he'd sampled before--"a culinary achievement which has been mastered nowhere else in the universe!"

(And he may be right about that!)

Did I mention Firelord's temper which, combined with his enormous sense of entitlement, basically placed Earthlings at his beck and call, as far as he was concerned? Perhaps someone should have clued in Tony.

Regrettably, Firelord has arrived during the anti-mutant sentiment that had taken hold in the country and had begun to saturate the airwaves. And with Tony of Tony's Pizza being forced to serve this fire-haired intruder, Tony's human clientele aren't making the distinction between "alien" and "mutant":

Firelord scatters his attackers like tenpins, but persists in his attack when his human foe armed with the firehose targets him once more. Fortunately, someone's spider-sense is going off like *ahem* a four-alarm fire, and our rash "mutie" attacker lives to see another day.

Which puts the amazing Spider-Man in *a-hem* the line of fire,

against a being who was once the herald of Galactus!

And that means...

(Last one, I promise!)

...the fat's spider's in the fire now!

The Ultimate Reed vs. Namor Battle!

The matchup of Mr. Fantastic vs. the Sub-Mariner has always been one of the more unusual recurring clashes that Marvel has presented over the years; it's also, frankly, one that's difficult to look forward to with any feeling of anticipation, since it's almost always the result of tension between the two characters over their feelings for Sue Storm (Richards) rather than genuine enmity between two classic Marvel characters who each feel the other is a threat. Otherwise, their conflict is the result of Namor moving against the human race, with the rest of the Fantastic Four taking a hand in fighting him.

But as far as Reed and Namor being the headliners in a battle issue--chances are a reader is picking up the issue not because of the potential for a surefire, cover-to-cover blockbuster, but because they're wondering if the writer and artist are going to succeed this time in pitting a stretching man against the power of the Sub-Mariner, in a story that would hopefully go down as a classic. By 1996, you would have thought there had certainly been enough time for Marvel to figure out what worked and what didn't as far as pulling off a no-holds-barred Reed vs. Namor clash--and so, just a few issues before the events of Onslaught would effectively end the first run of Fantastic Four, the title took another crack at it, and we were presented with what was billed as "The Ultimate Reed vs. Namor Battle!"

(Though after so many misfires, such a claim may have been pushing their readers' status as "true believers" to the limit!)

Where Auditions The Dazzler!

Following her 1980 introduction in the pages of Uncanny X-Men, and her guest-appearance two months later in Fantastic Four, the character known as Dazzler was rewarded with her own series a year later. It's a series I passed on, feeling a little underwhelmed at a character whose super-power boiled down to a light show that stunned those she fought, the effect's severity depending on the level of sound that was available to her to fuel her power. It also didn't bode well that her premiere issue was brimming with guest-appearances by Marvel heavy-hitters that covered all the bases for those, like myself, who might have thumbed through the issue at the store to make a quick assessment of its content.  (In this case, the enticements included Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers, with a little Asgard thrown in.)

During the 42-issue run of the book, the list of guest-stars would be expanded to include even more familiar faces considered to be draws for readers, such as Dr. Doom, the Hulk, the She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Power Man and Iron Fist, and more of the X-Men, as well as the biggest gun available, Galactus. I doubt Thanos and Eternity would have been far behind.

Nor did Alison Blaire, who hoped to catch her big break as the Dazzler, seem like anyone a reader would feel like investing time in, with writer Tom DeFalco doing a virtual hail Mary and cramming the sum total of her characterization into just a few panels of brooding, making it clear she was facing an uphill struggle.

As for her power, it apparently takes Spider-Man's opinion to make it seem more interesting than it is.

Then there's the first issue's villain--the Enchantress, whose appearance definitely lends this nascent book some credibility, even if it seems laughable that the source of power that she covets will manifest in a mortal discotheque.

The circumstances that have the Dazzler and the Enchantress crossing culminate in what amounts to this premiere issue's main dramatic scene--open auditions at the club managed by Stevie Wildfire. And guess who his two choices for headliner come down to?

(Admit it:  You're more than just a little curious to hear the Enchantress's singing voice--not to mention the song she chose to audition with. Maybe Annie Lennox's "I Put A Spell On You"? Or Heart's "Magic Man"? Or maybe a more up-tempo, cutting-edge arrangement of "Devil Woman."  Take your pick!)

Finally, the choice is made--and the Enchantress is not happy.

This *cough* power-packed story, filled with *cough* potential, ends with the Enchantress throwing a tantrum swearing vengeance because she didn't get a singing gig, a reaction which may have made her a laughing stock not only with the Asgardians but with mortal comics readers.

Good lord, I can only imagine how many of you were camping out at the comics store for the next issue after a spine-tingling cliffhanger like that.

BONUS:

Johnny Storm checks out the "Disco Dazzler"!