And this time, it looks like the Beyonder is headed for them.
Gee, I wonder who that is … could it be…… shocking… didn’t see that coming based off that costume…
Not sure that hiding his face was ever needed. That uniform distinctly marks him as The Beyonder.
Way back, when I first started collecting comics (late 70s/early 80s), I was picking up everything Marvel. While Defenders was one of the books I collected, I didn’t really get into the Defenders until Defenders #125 where it was changing to New Defenders from 126 to 152 (check out some digitally colored images I did here, here and here). This was when I enjoyed The Defenders the most – because they felt like a rag tag team, rather than “big four characters” (Doctor Strange, Namor, Hulk and Silver Surfer) who seemed to be forced to work with one another.
I loved Valkyrie and Gargoyle the most, but loved the familiarity that Iceman, Beast and Angel brought from the pages of the X-Men. And I firmly believe that in those issues of New Defenders, all three of those characters got more development and felt more alive and real than they ever did for their years in the X-Men books.
Back in 2019, when I heard Jason Aaron (who may be a great writer, but I strongly disliked his Thor run – and I mean, Thor as Thor, not Jane Foster as Thor – I was already on the verge of stopping my collecting of comics by the time Jane Foster had taken the Thor mantle) – but when I heard he then slaughtered all the Valkyries and then made Jane Foster a Valkyrie, I knew my departure from comics was the right move. While, new comics were bringing in new fans (which is great!), for old timers like myself, I stuck to re-reading older comics and finding my enjoyment there.
I never picked up the latest version of The Defenders mini, because I’d stopped collecting by this point – despite, by the cover it looked like it may have had characters from New Defenders such as Valkyrie and Cloud.
So when I saw Beyonder was coming back – and in a new Defenders comic… It was curious. The original Secret Wars was probably one of my all time favorite limited series. I think one of the things that I really enjoyed about the original Secret Wars was that we got to see things from the villains perspective – and they were given personalities, rather than just being bad guys of the month. Yes, they were all still villains – but we saw Absorbing Man, for example, develop a relationship with Titania, and then Molecule Man and Volcana – these were all things you’d never get to really see, except for an issue or two, in the pages of the hero’s books (Captain America, Thor, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc). But, because Secret Wars was so well done and so well received, like all things – it got a sequel.
Naturally, Marvel did Secret Wars II where Beyonder comes to Earth. This was a horrible idea. Well, not a horrible idea, just horribly executed.
And I just read how they did a Secret Wars III where – in short, Beyonder isn’t the Beyonder, but a piece of the cosmic cube. I get trying to explain things away – but some things don’t need to be explained (say, like when Lucas decided to explain the Force as being metachlorians or whatever…)
I am curious with what they plan to do with this Defenders comic coming up… and how they will handle the Beyonder and who will be the roster that makes up this Defenders team…
So when I was reading comics, I remember reading Captain Marvel when it was Mar Vell. He was an interesting character, I read a few of his solo issues, but wasn’t really sold – until The Death of Captain Marvel.
It was during The Death of Captain Marvel where I found myself getting really invested in the character – mostly because I felt killing a character ruins anyone else’s ability to tell an interesting story with the character. And at the time, other than villains, heroes tended to stay dead (unless it was some ruse).
So when they killed Captain Marvel, it felt like this was going to be forever, especially since they went the route of not just telling it in his own series.
No, they went the Graphic Novel route, and told a very real and touching story. This made this galactic hero, suddenly feel far more mortal and I connected with the character, far more – and far too late. But I’d gone back and collected the rest of his series I had holes in and would – from time to time, re-read it and really regret that the character had perished.
However, over time – as more characters were introduced – and I was at the height of my passion for the Avengers title – a new Captain Marvel had come along. Sadly, I never got her first appearance (over in the pages of Spider-Man) when she became a member of the Avengers (I wasn’t into collecting first appearances of characters, for the sake of having the key issue – unless I already collected the title – which at the time, I wasn’t collecting Spider-Man actively).
I absolutely fell in love with this Captain Marvel. Monica quickly rose to the top of my favorite Avengers list – and really felt like she was growing in the book. However, the Avengers would go through a change of writers, who then essentially depowered her and got rid of her and the entire team of Avengers. (You can follow me on the Avengers account on Twitter as I go over this).
In the 90s, Marvel would go on to do an event – where in the annuals, they would introduce new heroes and villains into the Marvel Universe.
A lot of these characters didn’t stick. Most lasted for the annual, or made scant few appearances anywhere else. Most writers just planned it to be a part of the annual event, and didn’t want to take it beyond that. Others, actually planned to do more with the characters, such as Fabian had planned for Adam-X (X-Treme) which finally got to be told, some 30 years later.
The 1993 Annual characters and where they appeared:
Annex – Amazing Spider-Man Annual #27 Bantam – Captain America Annual #12 Darkling – New Warriors Annual #3 Bloodwraith – Avengers Annual #22 Cadre – Web of Spider-Man Annual #9 Charon – X-Factor Annual #8 X-Cutioner – Uncanny X-Men Annual #17 Wildstreak – Fantastic Four Annual #26 Kyllian – Dr. Strange Annual #3 Dreamkiller – Darkhawk Annual #2 Hit Maker – Wonder Man Annual #2 The Assassin – Namor Annual #3 Lazarus – The Incredible Hulk Annual #19 Devourer – Daredevil Annual #9 The Flame – The Mighty Thor Annual #18 Face Thief – Iron Man Annual #14 Phalanx – Punisher War Zone Annual #1 Irish Wolfhound – Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #3 Khaos – Excalibur Annual #1 Nocturne – Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #13 Raptor – Avengers West Coast Annual #8 Night Terror – Ghost Rider Annual #1 Legacy – Silver Surfer Annual #6 Empyrean – X-Men Annual #2 Eradikator – Punisher Annual #6 Tracer – Deathlok Annual #2 X-Treme – X-Force Annual #2
Now, I was a Marvel Zombie/Junkie – and there’s nothing more than new characters, with untapped potential – so back then, I’d picked up most of these. Almost everyone on this site is already aware of my fandom for X-Treme… but another one that was of interest was Darkling (in New Warriors), Bloodwraith in Avengers, X-Cutioner in X-Men, Khaos in Excalibr, and Legacy in Silver Surfer. Now of those, most had significant re-appearances, except for Khaos.
But the focus is on Legacy, who would go on to be none other than the “son” of Mar Vell, and be named Genis Vell. Admittedly, what got me more interested in him was Fabian’s all too short, Captain Marvel series, where he takes his father’s name and fights Adam-X.
This would really capture my interest in the character, especially as he moved into – none other than Thunderbolts which I was an avid reader of.
Now, the downside here is – that, he would go on to visit Monica, who was going by the Captain Marvel name – and the two would get in a discussion about the name “Captain Marvel.”
This would begin a tragic trend of her name changing so frequently – that I need to google to see what alias she’s going by. First, she went by Captain Marvel; then changed her name to Photon in Avengers Unplugged #5, then changed her name to Pulsar in New Thunderbolts #9, then change it again to Spectrum in Mighty Avengers #1 (which, if it’s not going to be Captain Marvel, Spectrum is probably the best name for her thus far).
As luck would have it, Genis Vell would eventually meet his demise in New Thunderbolts.
Did Monica take back the Captain Marvel name, then?
No – Marvel had other plans.
They handed the Captain Marvel name over to Carol Danvers, who I had always known as Ms. Marvel – a series I enjoyed for the brief time it lasted, and her time on the Avengers.
What I loved about the Ms. Marvel series is that it truly felt like they were giving women some respect – and this was back in the day when there really wasn’t any female led solo titles, save for a small handful (this was 1977).
And Ms. Marvel read like Spider-Man, a woman with this incredible power, trying to understand her powers and make a difference in the world.
Now, granted, the transition from Ms. Marvel to eventually claiming the Captain Marvel title, does make progress sense, if you think about it. After all, she essentially got her powers from Captain Marvel after an explosion melded some of his genetics into hers, giving her powers very similar to his own.
However, Ms. Marvel would go on to lose her powers and personality – to none other than Rogue. Yes, Rogue was once a villain belonging to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (at the time being led by Mystique, her “adoptive” mother).
Due to Carol’s unique genetic structure – what was normally just a temporary thing, became permanent – and Rogue nearly went insane having Carol’s thoughts and personality sometimes take control.
So naturally, she would eventually seek the help of the X-Men to help her find a way to set things right. Carol would show up while Rogue was there and pound Rogue into the galaxy with an uppercut.
You see, during this time – the X-Men had been in outer space not too long ago – including Carol – and had battled aliens known as The Brood. The Brood sensed the X-Men were mutants and implanted eggs in them that would hatch with their powers – however, in Carol they sensed something different and experimented on her. This led to an unpredictable reaction.
And my all time favorite version of Carol, even to this day.
Enter, Binary.
Now, Carol – as Binary, was far more powerful than she ever was as Ms. Marvel – flying around in space, powering ships with her powers – and just over all, looked far more visually appealing than she’d ever done as Ms. Marvel.
Carol would remain as Binary for a number of years, but only made guest appearances here and there in either the X-Men or the Avengers title, and despite this incredible character, no one used her as Binary.
Much to my dismay.
(What I wouldn’t have done for a Starjammers series… we did get a few limited series, the two issue limited series is great, but I digress).
Carol would return to Earth, no longer looking like Binary, and more of a modified version of her Ms. Marvel appearance and adopt the name Warbird and she’d go on to join the Avengers as Warbird. She did have a series or two, again as Ms. Marvel – but she would eventually, as I said, claim the title of Captain Marvel.
This was when they really gave Carol a push. This would go on to do very, very well – and end up having – severalCaptain Marvel reboots of the series, with Carol still at the helm of the book. Carol would go on to give her Ms. Marvel costume to Ultra Girl, who was half Kree/half human (similar to what had happened to Carol’s genetics) – however, that didn’t last long, before the title of Ms. Marvel fell on a brand new character, named Kamala Khan who first appeared Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013) and a 16-year-old Pakistani-American from Jersey City, New Jersey, who idolizes Carol Danvers.
Kamala, as Ms. Marvel, would go on to get her own series, which would also go on to be quite successful, and she would go on to appear in and join the Champions title as well, with other teenage super heroes.
He’s back! Recently resurrected in ‘The Last of the Marvels,’ the latest story arc in Kelly Thompson’s hit run on CAPTAIN MARVEL, Genis-Vell will go on to star in an all-new limited series this June written by the creator who helped define him: the legendary Peter David! Announced earlier today at ComicsPRO, GENIS-VELL: CAPTAIN MARVEL will be a five-issue epic featuring artwork by electrifying artist Juanan Ramírez (DARKHAWK). The series will see the fan-favorite Captain Marvel reunite with his former partner, Rick Jones, for the first time in decades for an adventure that spans the Marvel cosmos and a mystery involving Death itself.
Both now back in the land of the living, Genis-Vell and Rick Jones are about to come crashing back into each other! Can Rick Jones save Genis — and himself — before they both fade out of existence? Is Rick’s ex-wife, Marlo, the key? Find out in this surprising saga that will chart a new course through the Marvel Universe for Genis, Rick, and more!
“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to return to Genis, what with him being dead and all. But apparently death never lasts… which is actually one of the themes of the limited series I came up with,” David said. “It’s great to be back with Genis, Rick, Marlo and the whole Genis-Vell gang.”
GENIS-VELL: CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 (OF 5) Written by PETER DAVID Art by JUANAN RAMÍREZ Cover by MIKE MCKONE Variant Cover by DAN JURGENS Variant Cover by PEACH MOMOKO Variant Cover by JUNI BA
“The Last of the Marvels,” the current saga heating up the pages of Kelly Thompson’s CAPTAIN MARVEL run will come to a cataclysmic end in next week’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #36. The story was packed with developments that will have a major impact on the Captain mythos including the return of Genis-Vell and the reemergence of Carol Danver’s powerful cosmic form known as Binary! But this Binary isn’t Carol Danvers at all… The mysterious origins and powers of this new version of Binary will be further explored in a new arc beginning in May’s CAPTAIN MARVEL #38. This perfect jumping on point will see Binary take over as Captain Marvel when Carol Danvers goes missing. Fans can check out Marvel Stormbreaker R.B. Silva’s cover of the issue showcasing some of Captain Marvel’s most iconic costumes over the years as well as Russell Dauterman’s original design sheets for Binary’s new look, a modern spin on the legendary Dave Cockrum’s classic design.
Carol’s disappearance has left the newly sentient Binary to fill in, but stepping into the shoes of one of Earth’s greatest heroes is no easy feat. As Binary finds herself plunged into a world she barely understands, the questions about exactly who and what Binary is grow deeper. And where IS Captain Marvel anyway?!
“I’m really excited about this wild new arc for Carol and Binary — it’s called TRIALS — and lemme tell you, these ladies are going through it,” Thompson said. “Carol Danvers’ time as Binary was one of her most fascinating — and also one of her best and most powerful looks. And while Carol sometimes taps into that power — it’s a name and look that’s been just sitting on the shelf, unused — so we thought, why not have both? There’s no reason we can’t have Captain Marvel and also Binary — and with that the wheels started turning on the creation of this awesome new character. It’s been such a fun ride so far and there’s so much more in store for her!”
“I was very happy to design this!” Dauterman said. “I love Dave Cockrum’s original design (ever since I first saw Binary, when she punched Rogue through a roof!) — I wanted to keep that vibe, but modernize the look a bit and pull in some of Carol’s current iconography.”
“It was such a thrill to get Russell Dauterman to do the Binary design,” Thompson added. “The original design is SO strong that we knew we needed someone with Russell’s incredible gift for costume design if we had any hope of doing it justice.”
Don’t miss this brand-new arc in Kelly Thompson’s award-winning epic series continues when CAPTAIN MARVEL #38 hits stands on May 4.
So – who was your favorite Captain Marvel? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
Did this one as a “speed color” – to see how quickly I could color it in 30 minutes and how it’d come out.
Mostly love this one because three of the women are from ALPHA FLIGHT (a comic I enjoyed) – Left to right: Marrina (Alpha Flight), Invisible Woman (Fantastic Four), Snowbird (Alpha Flight) and Aurora (Alpha Flight).
Helps ease the mind, it does. I am, as always, no expert. I just google for B&W images from comics – sometimes I find great, large scale images, sometimes they’re smaller, which means blurry and such. But it’s just about coloring and keeping my mind occupied/distracted.
Found a cool B&W image of Judge Dredd. Decided to relax my brain by digitally coloring it. I am by no means even remotely close to ANY level of professional. I just dabble in digital coloring mostly because it helps me relax.
Found this cool B&W image of Power Pack and decided to color it. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, even close to any level of “good” – but coloring B&W images often helps relax my brain.
Back in March of 2019, I posted how it’d been a year since we’d done a podcast. And here we are – come end of December of this year – we will once again have a year gap before having released another podcast (the last one we’d done was about The Mandalorian).
Obviously there’s been shows and movies that have come out since then.
WandaVision.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Black Widow.
Loki.
And now Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
What If…?
So why haven’t we covered this?
Honestly? Simple answer is, real life has gotten in the way.
My own wife has had a number of health issues; almost back to back. A major seizure during the height of COVID, due to a bleed on her brain. She was recovering when in July of 2021, she suddenly couldn’t walk. I was fearful it was due to complications from the bleed on her brain; but the doctors found she had a compressed nerve in her sciatica. She stayed in the hospital for a few days, and came home. She was on the road to recovery, when just this past week – she suddenly couldn’t walk again. I assumed it was due to her compressed nerve, but at the hospital, doctors have been puzzled as to the cause. There’s been other health issues she has been experiencing as a result of the seizure.
Both time, and life, simply have not been on our side to be able to sit down and do another podcast.
I’ve seriously considered simply closing up shop on the podcast; because I am paying for the domain and the site, out of pocket – and we’ve never done anything to generate revenue for the podcast. We never have. And I didn’t mind before, because I was having fun. But – not doing any podcasts, and with everything going on – it’s not as easy to toss coin about.
If you follow us Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, you would see I’ve been re-reading Avengers – and posting brief summary about issues. I thought about – if I ended it and closed the site down – I’d leave the Twitter and Facebook pages up (just rename them) – because all of our episodes are on Youtube. So at least they’d be preserved there.
So what’s the future of the podcast? Not sure. I’d like to do one when the time comes up; but that could be done on Youtube with the cost of the site. So it’s something I’ve been considering. Downside to that is, the podcast would be limited to Youtube (and would fall off of Spotify, iTunes, etc) which means reducing our audience reach (which, because we’re not consistent – isn’t that large to begin with – so I am not sure if that’s a big loss).
I just figured I’d post a small update about the status of the episode, and why there’s not been any – in almost a year.
A few years back, I colored a black and white image of ROM shooting a Dire Wraith. And for some reason, had ROM on my mind. I’d enjoyed the run in MARVEL Comics – it started strong (when it got near the end of the series, it got a little weird). But ROM was never a toy I owned back in the day (it’d been released in 1979).
ROM Space Knight from Parker Brothers 1979
Now, Marvel let the rights lapse on ROM and eventually IDW Publishing picked it up, and released a ROM #0 on Free Comic Book Day – which as a fan of the original series, I picked up. Then proceeded to pick up ROM from IDW, when it was released as a regular series. I didn’t make it all the way through (not sure if it’s still running?) – I think I collected the first five issues.
Now what was interesting is that IDW was using Dire Wraiths which was something created at Marvel, specifically for the ROM comic. But, as ROM was integrated into the Marvel Universe, so too were the Dire Wraith (seen in Uncanny X-Men, Avengers, New Warriors just to name a few). Now Marvel, when they do reprints of comics, tend to skip it if ROM appears in it; but have had no issue publishing it if Dire Wraiths were in it.
Apparently Marvel let it slide, and Parker Brothers – now Hasbro – grabbed the rights to Dire Wraiths. Marvel filed an injunction; but withdrew as apparently some kind of agreement was settled between the two (the Dire Wraiths from IDW look different than the Dire Wraiths in Marvel; which may be the agreement to keep them visually different but continue to allow both companies to use the alien species). ROM however, can not appear in new books of Marvel – in his armored form – so Marvel has made references to ROM in his flesh form.
What’s interesting is Marvel has made a female Space Knight named IKON that bares a close resemblance to ROM, but female –
From the ANNIHILATORS series from Marvel – HIGHLY recommended
I also, while going down the rabbit hole, discovered that IDW released a comic (maybe series?) called ROM: Dire Wraiths which saw Sal Buscema return to the pages of a ROM book.
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