Did I only just this year realize his name was supposed to be pronounced like 'morgue,' or did I know that already but keep forgetting? Anyway, from 1994,
Cosmic Powers #5, "The Question is... Which is to Be Master, That's All" Written by Ron Marz, pencils by Tom Grindberg, inks by Don Hudson.
Since I pre-ordered the HasLabs Galactus, I guess I have a Marvel Legends Morg coming, but...I've always felt he was a pale copy of a better herald, Terrax. But if you give Terrax too much nuance--and he didn't have a lot--it can take him out of the role of "mindless cosmic murder thug," and you need a new one; hence Morg. This issue gets a little into his backstory and motivation: a warrior from a barbaric world, where he looked like Conan with male pattern baldness and bad skin, Morg believed in nothing except power. And seeing Galactus as the ultimate power, his loyalty was absolute; although Tyrant is attempting to convince him Galactus wasn't all that.
You may have also forgotten Tyrant, the big-bad from around
Silver Surfer #82, which I don't have next to me but don't recall as being great. To build him up as a big deal, Galactus supposedly remembers having fought him centuries prior and acts like he could be a threat again, but I'm not buying it. I almost feel like Galactus could be playing with him, oh noes, not Tyrant, whatever shall I do; and maybe wanted to use him to keep other cosmic forces and his heralds occupied, like a play date or something.
Elsewhere, warrior woman Ganymede has been captured by Thanos and Terrax, but is more than willing to tell them whatever they want to know about her enemy Tyrant. Terrax is bristling at Thanos treating him like a lackey, but come on, man: know your role, and shut your mouth. Likewise, Tyrant gives Morg back the power cosmic, as well as a brain-clamping doodad, and sets him on Thanos. After a few pages of scuffle, Terrax gets into that fight, since he and Morg already hated each other from before. Instead of killing him, Terrax accidentally frees Morg from Tyrant's control; and although he had sworn to kill him, Morg has to get back to Galactus and splits, almost running into the just-arriving Legacy (Genis-Vell) and Jack of Hearts! Jack and Ganymede's relationship definitely moves into the "it's complicated" status, since he's dismayed she would work with Thanos just to get Tyrant. She, not unlike Thanos, was deeply pragmatic: whatever it took. Thanos reaches out to Jack and "the boy," since they were all needed to survive against Tyrant, but Tyrant promises "...you won't." Really feel like that whole sequence needed old-style soap opera dramatic music stings.
Yeah, I kinda think they all survived the next issue, since I know I remember Morg and Tyrant would make it to
Silver Surfer #109, in which they and Galactus are all seemingly destroyed by the Ultimate Nullifier. Sure, and if a goat had wheels he'd be a bobsled...or something, I don't know, I'm tired. Galactus just shows up again later and I'm 90% he let everyone think he was dead to get them out of his face for five minutes; but nullification didn't appear to do Morg or Tyrant any good. Morg's corpse--ah, see what they did there--appeared in
Annihilation, but Tyrant hasn't been seen since.
Ahh Morg. Now I think about him, his name seemed to be too 90's Image Comics inspired. Him along with Tyrant probably would've fit in really well over there too now that I think about it. Can't say I really cared about him one way or the other, Tyrant too, although at least with Tyrant I remember him having captured big deals like Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill, Jack of Hearts and some others w/o showing how he did it, in an attempt to build him up. Didn't Morg kill Nova (female version) during the Herald Ordeal? I remember owing all of that at one time but I can't remember. I think she took a killing blow meant for Surfer and that was the end of her.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, not surprising either Morg or Tyrant has shown up since, but then again, 2006's Annihilation would've been a good opportunity.
I always liked Terrax myself, plus his color scheme helps. And he's a really nice figure.
I do remember seeing random issues of various Cosmic Powers minis about Thanos & Terrax but never bought them for some reason even though I was a regular Silver Surfer reader back then. Or at least I was until Ron Lim left. No Lim, no me, as this was back when I was a silly, shallow youth who valued art over story. Thankfully I grew up, but I do wish Lim had stayed on Surfer longer, as his replacements never quite grabbed me enough to come back, not even during George Perez's brief run (why did he NOT draw the damn thing as well if he was writing it?)although I did buy one when Ron Garney briefly drew the book in '96 I think?
I don't remember Perez's run being great, but I could stand to try re-reading it. The Garney stuff is great, and they had Grummett then Muth after that?
ReplyDeleteThis one rang a bell with me, because I think Thanos tricks Terrax into jobbing out to Green Lantern in the Surfer crossover! Even Terrax is like, damn, got me again!
He does!? Ha! Classic Thanos.
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