Traditionally, it used to be the last issue of a title might wrap up their plotlines; but not always. Based on Priest's first issue of Deadpool, I thought Ka-Zar might've got cancelled out from under him while the hero was still blind and deaf; but that might not quite have been the case. Well, at least he wasn't left a horse. From 1991, Power Pack #62, "Lo, There Shall Be an Ending." Written by Michael Higgins, pencils by Steve Buccellato, inks by Don Hudson.
Alex Power isn't a full-on horse, but he been transformed into a horse-like Kymellian; the alien race that originally gave the Power children their powers. The family had come to Reed Richard's for help, and their attempt to change Alex back was interrupted by the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, who have knocked out the Pack, the Fantastic Four, but seemingly not his dad. As his dad fights the apes, Alex manages to return to solid (horse) form at least; but the Ghost defeats 'dad,' really a shape-shifting Elan. (From waaaay back in Fantastic Four #24; the third green shape-shifting alien the FF would face in like 13 issues. The FF ostensibly guest-star here, but while the Invisible Woman shows at least a bit of reasonable concern at little kids fighting super-villains, the Torch and the Thing may have ducked out for a drink midway through.) Red Ghost wanted the brain of Friday, the Powers' "smartship," and nearly bluffs his way out taking their addled mother hostage; but Franklin Richards checks: the real Mrs. Powers was with their friend, Raymond--the original Human Torch's sidekick Toro, although he splits before anyone sorts that out--and the Ghost was using the shape-changing ape. Franklin must be responsible for interfering with the Ghost's powers, which gives Mr. Powers the opportunity to punch him out.
Reed has to tell Alex he can't make him human again--look, Reed had never had a lotta success on that front, had he? Seeing the then-human Ben Grimm with She-Thing Ms. Marvel makes him feel a little better, but he does have to let his girlfriend move on with her life. Intent on curing their mom after mental tampering, the Pack would guest in Excalibur, and another issue would be burned off in Marvel Super-Heroes, but with no luck they decide to head into space, out to Kymellia, to see if they can find help there. That would be it for Power Pack for several years, and I'm not sure their mom was ever herself again.
I do believe Power Pack got spoofed in an issue of What The--?!--the first issue, as it turns out!--that depicted the Power parents as blind; utterly clueless to their kids' super-powered activities. And I think they were for a good chunk of the run; but here the dad seems like a too-active participant, while the mom is a pliable victim in a nightgown clinging to him. That's...weird and icky. Am I reading too much into this, or was this going to turn into Power Dad if it had continued?
No comments:
Post a Comment