Is anybody using the Nomad tag right now? Maybe, time to bring that back?

Although, that may fall under the "Michael Bolton" rule; but every year it gets exponentially more difficult to imagine being "proud" of being an American. (Bill Hicks nailed that one years ago.) The closest to Fourth of July festivities around here is going to be Jello in my Captain America-shield mold--lemon, just slightly less yellow and spineless than your typical ICE agent--and maybe an old Cap comic here. From 1986, Captain America #316, "Creatures of Love" Written by Mark Gruenwald, breakdowns by Paul Neary, finishes by Dennis Janke. ("Creatures of Love" is another of Gruenwald's occasional Talking Heads references!)

On his little sky-cycle, recent newlyweds Hawkeye and Mockingbird are going to drop in on Cap for a visit, and their timing couldn't be worse if the Red Skull was nuking the city: Steve was having a hard conversation with his girlfriend Bernie, who was going off to law school. She had wanted to talk it over with him first, but he had never been around. Bernie thought their relationship would survive, if it was strong enough, but...Clint and Bobbi show up plainclothes, and Bobbi realizes right off it wasn't the time, and Clint figures it out after suggesting to Steve that marriage had been great for him, so...(Bernie doesn't know them, but also figures they were superheroes: Iron Man and Ms. Marvel, maybe?)

Changing the subject, Steve asks whatever happened to Armadillo? Well, things were looking up for him: his wife Bonita had been cured, and he was an up-and-comer in Unlimited Class Wrestling. Now in town, Bonita was thrilled to see the city, but tells Armadillo he can't go shopping or dancing, he was too big and it would make a scene. She had Ramon to take her, though...I am not sure what Ramon's purpose in Armadillo's entourage was, since he had a manager? While at dinner, Steve sees an ad for Armadillo's upcoming match, and Clint suggests they should all go, which they do, at Madison Square Garden the next night. The crowd seems to love Armadillo, and Steve is pleased the guy found honest work, anyway. He decides to see him after the match, since how many of his bad guys had ever gone straight? You could maybe count that on your thumbs at that point. Going backstage, Cap accidentally steps in on Ramon and Bonita, in an embrace and seemingly plotting. Cap chats with Armadillo, who starts to mention he wasn't cured of his condition at his wife's suggestion; then when Bonita comes in, Cap doesn't feel like it was his place to say anything; later Clint, Bobbi, and Bernie have to agree. Yes, but...

The next day, while packing up Bernie's apartment, breaking news: the Armadillo was tearing up 34th street, which looks like a crowded mess maybe before that. His manager tries to talk him down, and gets thrown away: a cop manages to break his fall, possibly with his spine. The cops then try to tear-gas him, which doesn't work; then Cap tries to talk him down. Armadillo considers Cap got lucky beating him before, and throws a manhole cover at him--not unlike Cap's shield! Cap has to block it, then has to save onlookers when Armadillo throws a car. Cap catches up to him, starting to climb the Empire State Building: I'm sure he doesn't mean to nag, but when Cap yells "Now what do you think you're doing?" it kinda feels like that.

Armadillo just wants Cap to keep the street clear, so he can kill himself without squashing anybody else; but Cap climbs up after him using the same clawed-in handholds he made. Cap tells him, he understands that pain: he was in the middle of a break-up himself. Still, Armadillo had been turned into, and then stayed, a monster for Bonita; who had been unfaithful maybe the whole time. Before Cap and try to argue against that, Hawkeye shows up on his sky-cycle: Cap tries to wave him off, but Armadillo takes the opportunity to jump. Despite putting a good-sized crater in the road, Armadillo survives, but too hurt to keep fighting. It's somehow more of a downbeat ending than if he had died, since next time we'd see him, Armadillo would be in the Vault. Oh, shoot: I remember the next issue also guest-stars Hawkeye, and maybe has an even sadder ending. Bernie goes off to law school, and Steve misses saying goodbye to her, because he was fighting...the Death-Throws. Man, I know you're a paragon of honesty, Cap, but nobody would've faulted you for a white lie on that one. "Sorry I missed you, sweetie, I was, uh, fighting Godzilla." Read more!

No Born Again today? Boo.

I've had Disney+ since like day one, on some cheap introductory offer that got progressively less cheap later, but I'm not sure it's ever been a huge value: sure, I can watch Avengers movies whenever, but I think I can count on my thumbs how many times they've had two new shows that I wanted to watch running new episodes at the same time. (To be fair, I'll watch new Doctor Who soon!) Still, I really did like Daredevil: Born Again, even though I was very disappointed at the end of episode 8, "Isle of Joy," that a creator or two didn't get their names in the thank-you section at the end. 

Spoilers after the break!  Read more.

In that episode, Bullseye--or rather 'Benjamin Poindexter,' since the show doesn't always use costumes or names--breaks out of prison; and he does it about the same way he did in this issue: from 1990, Captain America #372, "Sold on Ice!" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Danny Bulanadi.

This was the start of the bi-weekly serial "Streets of Poison," best remembered for Captain America on crack; but Mark Gruenwald was trying to reconcile how, in the "Just Say No" era, was it okay that Cap got his powers from drugs? And the answer is yes, of course it is, because he got those drugs as part of a complicated regiment administered and monitored by the finest doctors and scientists in the world at the time; it wasn't something he was peer-pressured into huffing out of a glass pipe in an alley. Cap ends the storyline after a blood transfusion, with the Super-Soldier Serum no longer in his blood; but Gruenwald himself would backpedal on that shortly: the changes the Serum made in Cap were more than just serum floating around his bloodstream. Yet, despite starting on an iffy premise, "Streets of Poison" is a banger, with the cracked-out Cap becoming increasingly deranged, a Kingpin vs. Red Skull fight, and guest-star Daredevil getting wrecked so hard he'd lose his memory in his own title! (Setting up another classic, building up to DD #290!) But, today we're here for Bullseye's escape:

Most of his introduction here, regards his specialized cell in an upstate prison: because he could throw about anything as a deadly weapon, precautions had to be taken, like him sleeping on a mattress cemented to the ground and forced to eat mush out of a bowl on the floor like a dog. Was it cruel and unusual punishment? Gruenwald mentions the ACLU trying to get him moved; but after a hunger strike, Bullseye "trips" and smashes his face into the wall of his cell. When the guards go to check on him, Bullseye spits one of his own teeth into a guard's eye! Even with a mangled mouth, his cruelty still shows, as he tells the guard "Haff no illusions. You're gonna die." It's a horrifying bit, that Bullseye would use later in "Streets," as he spits a false tooth at Crossbones to get out of a headlock. (Crossbones is a quality thug, but not in Bullseye's league, except up close!) I'm not sure if I've seen Bullseye spit teeth since; although he very likely could've in his Thunderbolts stint.

Lim and Bulanadi are at their best in this serial; but Gruenwald may have unintentionally sold ice, as a weight-lost supplement: tech doofus Fabian is described as having lost 30 pounds since the last time Cap had seen him! Sure, he was paranoid and weird now, but still. Anyway, they should have got a mention at the end of the episode; but I'll thank them here.  Read more!

I have to wonder how many Punisher fans stuck around after this issue, if any.

It's a little weird for that lot, I think. From 1993, Quasar #42, "The White Room" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Andy Smith, inks by Ralph Cabrera.

Quasar was still dead, after Infinity War, and Thanos had released a copy of Marvel Boy--now calling himself Blue Marvel to serve as a pawn. (I don't know that Gruenwald had a great handle on Thanos; and I'm not 100% sure what Thanos allegedly even wanted Blue Marvel to do. In fact, that maybe was the Magus's duplicate Thanos.) Blue Marvel had quantum bands like Quasar, but was childish, petulant, and just an all-around jerk. I'm not sure I've ever read old Marvel Boy comics--there weren't a lot of them--but I wonder, was he a jerk in those? I know he'd eventually be updated into "the Uranian," and be more alien and weird than just a brat. Anyway, Blue Marvel had fought Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and here fights Hercules, Black Knight, and the Eric Masterson Thor. He does manage to get a shot in on Thor, knocking his helmet crooked so he couldn't see out of it, predating the classic Black Canary twists the Flash's mask from JLA: Year One. He then nearly gets choked out by Captain Marvel, and has to quantum-jump away.

Meanwhile, Quasar himself was in the White Room, seated at a long table, with various other Protectors of the Universe from the past. The other Protectors did not seem to have a concensus on what exactly the White Room was: heaven? A trophy room? Purgatory? Storage? Not particularly spirtually inclined, Quasar believes this to be "a crazy hallucination in the dimension of manifestations," which he had visited in an earlier issue, and was where abstract beings took shapes to appear in this universe. The other Protectors think, there might have been somebody else in that seat before him...

Then, we get to our big guest-star, the Punisher, gunning down some nobodies. He is approached by Blue Marvel, who's impressed that he kills people, without powers, and wants to learn from him. Frank isn't interested, so Blue Marvel tries a more battle-ready 90's look, with a helmet and guns. And in another subplot, on the planet Scadam--from the computer game tie-in Questprobe--Kayla Ballantine, Quasar's girlfriend, destroys the malevolent Black Fleet with the Star Brand. 

Back in the White Room, Quasar is arguing against reincarnation, claiming it didn't make sense from an administrative viewpoint: it would take too much energy to figure out what souls should be brought back as what. He's then approached by the spirit of his original mentor, Eon; who wants Quasar to kill him, saying that would free him...and lessen his own guilt. Quasar doesn't seem to be buying it, and wants to free himself without killing. Next, he's visited by the "Angel of Vengeance," who appears as a more-chiseled version of himself; Quasar's pretty sure that's still Eon, and isn't into vengeance anyway.

On earth, the Punisher finds himself surrounded by a SWAT team--either they had staked out the nobodies he killed, or Blue Marvel delayed him too long, but Frank was kicking himself. Blue Marvel opts to prove himself to the Punisher, by using his bands to just wreck the cops, in about three panels. Frank isn't impressed, and tells him if any cops were killed, he'd be coming for him next. He turns his back on him, and Blue Marvel considers killing him, but is interrupted by Thanos, who tells him someone was trying to free Quasar: stop that. Teleported to the White Room, Blue Marvel blasts the "Angel of Vengeance" apart, then turns his gun on Quasar...to be continued?

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Bask in the glory of Ikaris's Billy Ray Cyrus mullet! I'm sure that's keeping in Kirby's vision there.

Technically, Convergence is probably a better crossover...he typed, grudgingly. But, did this one have anything going for it? From 1994, Quasar #55, "In a Stranger Land" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by John Heebink, inks by Aaron McClellan.

We looked at--okay, we lambasted--Starblast #4 some time back, but this was a mere six issues into the crossover...say, what did this crossover with, anyway? There's a ton of heroes here with Quasar and not a one of them had their own title at the time! Looking it up, besides the four-issue titular limited series and Quasar, Starblast had tie-ins with Namor, Fantastic Four, and Secret Defenders; but those three might not have had much to do with the main storyline and might be "red skies" crossovers at best. Anyway, Quasar's put together a solid crew of hitters, whether or not they could carry their own title; to go after aliens that kidnapped his girl Kayla Ballantine, to try and get the Star Brand from her. Here, the heroes have commandeered a ride with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, but at the cost of the injured Hyperion. Gladiator takes them to the world of the Stranger, but can go no further: the Shi'ar had a treaty with the big freak, to keep him from experimenting on their citizens. Although, three new members of the Imperial Guard, had been imprisoned and experimented on by the Stranger, and want revenge; they quit to join Quasar's forces.

Also this issue, Nightmask wakes up: he had been racked, and wrecked, by guilt after the War, which I believe was the last New Universe title before it appeared in Quasar. Nightmask knows something is coming, but also seems resigned that no one is going to believe him and he's going to have to take action himself. (He seemed to prefer being asleep, and I can relate!) Quasar's guys fight Skeletron's alien pirates on the Stranger's world, and do pretty well, except for Vanguard, who is about to get killed here shortly; and his sister Darkstar would hold a grudge against Quasar later. 

Also also this issue, the U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, which I'll crib from the GCD rather than read the fine print: Total Number Copies Printed (net press run): Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 81,213. Single issue nearest to filing date: 48,710. Ow, that feels like a dip.

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I'm guessing he was the biggest fan of Iron Man's old skates. Somebody had to be.

I was thinking of this storyline the other day; and then happened into another copy of this issue: from 1986, Captain America #318, "Justice is Served!" Written by Mark Gruenwald, rough pencils by Paul Neary, finishes by Dennis Janke.

I don't know why the Marvel Database uses their "real" names, but his is used multiple times in the opening here: Roland Burroughs, better known as Death Adder. He was one of the creepier of the Serpent Squad and later joined the Serpent Society, and was the final hitter in one of their early successes, the assassination of MODOK. Today, he's ransoming Society washout Princess Python back to the Circus of Crime, when his serpent saucer is shot down and crashes into a tenement; which seems like it should attract more attention then it does. Adder was mute, an accident from when he was given gills, but was usually able to get his point across: he stashes the Princess, then hails a cab...and is promptly shot, another victim of the latex-mask wearing Scourge. (While it looks cool, nowadays you probably can't leave the masks behind like that; they're probably full of DNA!)

The next day, at Avengers Mansion, Captain America is moving in; although he tells current team chairwoman Wasp he probably wouldn't be around much. He planned on travelling the county, answering calls to his hotline, and helping where needed. He was going by van; and while Cap bought American, he does have it tricked out by Wakandans! Elsewhere, a nondescript car approaches a run-down looking bar; but it's nicer on the inside: the Bar With No Name, a hotspot for super-villains to drink, meet, and network. A lippy redhead stops in for a beer, and the bartender advises he might want a word with another patron: former Iron Man baddie Firebrand. Firebrand has a collection of newspaper clippings with murdered super-villains, and knows something is up, so he's trying to round up a group to find and kill the killer. The redhead, Blue Streak, claims he isn't a joiner and brushes him off.

Blue Streak? We've at least mentioned him before: along with fellow traitor the Vamp, he was part of the Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He appeared in Cap #229, which was part of a Whitman three-pack back in the day, and one of my first comics! He has a string of bad luck here, though: while he's able to run a cop off the road, later at a rest stop he's recognized by the plainclothes Cap. He tries for his laser and manages to blow up his own car, so he changes into his roller-skating gear; which likewise gives Cap time to suit up. With his shield, Cap clips one of Blue Streak's jets, so he wasn't able to escape at full speed, and Cap gives chase on the motorcycle he kept in his van. Fleeing on a curvy mountain road, he leaves tacks to try and stop Cap, and nearly gets him.

Coming around a corner, Cap finds a bent guardrail and a skate. Over the side, Cap can see Blue Streak's helmet, and climbs down to see if there was anything he could do. But, that was a trick: Blue Streak had left his skate and tossed his helmet. Unfortunately, Cap had taken the key to his motorcycle, so he couldn't just steal it and escape, but a passing truck offers him a lift...and promptly shoots him, Scourge again! "Justice is served, Blue Streak."  (How the truck got there is a bit of a mystery, since Blue Streak had left tacks all over the road.)

Like a bunch of Scourge's victims, Blue Streak was later brought back to life by the Hood...and then, like a bunch of Scourge's victims, killed again. His costume may have been passed on to someone else since; although I'd think twice. Seems unlucky.

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Only a thin sheet between you and er, the full MODOK.

Despite the late arrival of Khonshu, last year still seemed a bit disappointing in the Build-a-Figure front (despite miscounting!) but I'm looking forward to this year's more than any figures from their waves! I already have ideas for both Ch'od and Puff Adder, the latter if I can find my other Serpent Society figures. Hasbro has been adding to the team extremely slowly, and most of the guys we see this issue are still waiting! From 1986, Captain America #315, "The Hard Sell" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Paul Neary, inks by Dennis Janke.

In Cap #313, the Serpent Society achieved their biggest win to date; assassinating long-time Cap villain MODOK! His track record had been pretty bad at that point, and I suspect Marvel thought he was becoming a joke and wanted to phase him out: the 80's were more about grit and realism, after all, not guys with giant heads. This month, the Society adds insult to injury, stealing MODOK's corpse from the morgue, to collect $100K from A.I.M, which had been pretty tired of his leadership for some time. On the way out of A.I.M.'s posh office, Cobra gets cornered by Alexander Gentry, who might be better known as the Porcupine! ...crickets. Gentry was trying to sell out, but no one was buying; Cobra foists a Society business card off on him to brush him off.

The Society's head, Sidewinder, was torturing Princess Python, since she had chickened out and run up against MODOK: admittedly, she didn't have any powers for that kind of fight, but Sidewinder felt he had to make an example out of her. Not fatally, though: he figured they'd be able to sell her back to the Circus of Crime. He's less thrilled, to get a phone call from Gentry; what idiot gave out their work number? Back in his dive apartment, Gentry laments his lot, but has an idea: if no bad guys want to buy his suit, maybe a good guy would? He calls Cap's hotline, and gets a visit from him right away, interrupting an unproductive penciling session and a talk with his soon to be ex-girlfriend Bernie. (She was a holdover from before Gruenwald's run and wouldn't be around as a regular for much longer.) Gentry makes his pitch to Cap, who is more interested when he mentions the Society; and Cap gets an idea...

Cap has the Porcupine suit up, and call the Serpent Society and tell them he captured Cap. Rattler, Cottonmouth, Death Adder and Diamondback show up, with the guys chomping at the bit to kill Cap immediately: Diamondback is already kind of sprung on Cap and doesn't wanna, but is overruled. Unfortunately for them, since they didn't check if Cap was really tied up, he's able to smash Cottonmouth's teeth and starts slapping around the others. (He's mildly dismayed that both Death Adder and Rattler's tails seemed to be real, and attached to them!) Not wanting to fight Cap, Diamondback opts to take on Porcupine instead, damaging his suit with an acid diamond, which makes Porcy mad enough to fight back. By the time Cap beats the serpent guys, Diamondback had split, and Porcupine was...mortally wounded. Trying to run, he had tripped, fell, and a quill had pierced his heart. Before he dies, Cap tells him they won that day, and he had respected him.

Later that night, Cap waits in jail with the serpent guys, since they had been arrested before and kept escaping somehow, and he finally gets to see how: Sidewinder teleports in. While he's not able to rescue his boys now, he gloatingly tells Cap he'll get them out later; but Cap knows who he's after now. And in Avengers' Mansion, in a glass case, the Porcupine's armor was put on display, as an honored foe. 

Diamondback's face-turn would continue in her next appearances, but the conversation on the letters' pages was, was she liable or culpable in the Porcupine's death? Or any of the other, multiple deaths caused by the Society? Furthermore, how much of Porcupine's figurative blood is on Cap's hands? Also, I honestly thought the Porcupine that appeared in Spider-Woman was Alexander, but nope! He stayed dead, unlike MODOK, who would return on or around 1995's Cap #441.

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Ereshkigal is a lot more sympathetic now, I think.

I said I was going to do more of a write-up on this issue, um, twelve years ago. Better get started! Actually, maybe we'll appreciate it more now, since something else from it has come up since. From 1993, Quasar #50, "Horizon of Holes" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Andy Smith, inks by Ralph Cabrera. 

In the Man-Thing's swamp in Florida, the Nexus of Realities is visible today, which I think means the barometric pressure is dropping. No, it may be because of recent events in New York City: up until a couple minutes ago, Kayla Ballantine had possessed the Star Brand, accidentally passed to her by her boyfriend Wendell Vaughn, Quasar. Since she thought she misused it while lost in space, she gave the Brand to her friend Holly Steckley, who turned out to really be Ereshkigal! 'Holly Steckley' was the identity previously used by Moondragon to get close to Quasar; Ereshkigal picked it up when she stopped using it; there may have never been a real Holly. Ereshkigal claims to have tricked much smarter people over the millennia, but I didn't think Deviants lived anywhere near that long, usually. She also says she's not really evil, just "motivated in a very egocentric manner." (I like her motivation from the database better, trying to free herself from restrictions, even if the restrictions are from Eternity and the Living Tribunal. They're not the boss of her!) 

Quasar had been nearby in the hospital, visiting his mother; and was surprised to realize Kayla was back. After catching up with her and realizing what had happened, Quasar goes to check on Kismet, who had lost a fight with Kayla and was currently in a cocoon in the East River. (Think Adam Warlock!) Erishkigal hadn't just been sitting on her wings, though: she went to the Nexus of Realities, slightly annoyed that it was in a swamp. Attacked by Man-Thing, Erishkigal blows him up with the Star Brand, although not necessarily maliciously: she just didn't want it to stop her, and it was "a miserable creature doing a thankless job." Now, she had easy access to multiple realities, and checks a few out, before sending a pulse into several. 

The Silver Surfer cosmically notices something is up, and approaches a lava planet to use another Nexus of Realities, but finds it guarded by a creature calling itself Anakalak. (I didn't think there were multiple Nexuses here and there; just one per reality!)

Several extra-dimensional entities answer Erishkigal's summons, since the Star Brand was a power none of them recognized. She gives them the option of maybe doing something other than being multiversal custodians, and some side with her, including a big green cheese, and off-brand Starro and Ren & Stimpy! Erishkigal wipes out the rest. The Living Tribunal then appears, with Lord Chaos and Master Order; but that just tells her she's on the right track, and she's willing to destroy as much multiverse as she has to, to get out from under their thumb. Quasar and the Surfer arrive, as she starts using her power, increasing Lord Chaos and diminishing Master Order. The Tribunal doesn't let them hear the conversation, but offers a tournament of champions, because direct confrontation would do too much damage. With both heroes convinced the other was "fighting for little Miss Universe Wrecker!" they start the fight. 

Quasar may not have had the juice the Surfer did, but was adept at redirecting power. However, after taking a couple hits in a row, he notices Master Order grew when the Surfer hit him, and realizes he was going to have to throw the fight! He fights enough to not make it obvious, but gets thrashed. Erishkigal seemingly immolates herself with the loss, but I'm glad she would return. The Living Tribunal takes the Star Brand away, to determine how to dispose of it, and the Surfer and Quasar return through their Nexuses; Quasar to a ton of guest-stars that had come to help him out! (Pity they didn't squeeze Excalibur in there!)

This issue has a "foil enhanced prismatic cover," so I think it sold fairly well? You can probably find one pretty easily; even if I have more than one around here somewhere...

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Ooh, I was a page off there.

I mentioned last week the Demons entry from 1983's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #3, first series; but I slipped up! I thought Erishkigel was in there...

...but she was on the next page, since she was a Deviant! I thought she had passed herself off as a demon or devil here and there, and she might have. Erishkigel also appeared in another book I've been meaning to blog forever--about twelve years! Maybe I'll finally blog it if I ever get that friggin' Quasar figure...I don't think I've read the Thor issue she first appeared in, though.

Mark Gruenwald is credited as head writer--and editor and designer! And it's Dave Simons on the Demons, Paul Smith for Destiny, and Mike Mignola on the Deviants! The cover was the massive interlocking Ed Hannigan piece, with Daredevil and Doctor Strange front and center, pushing Cyclops and Colossus to the back cover! They halfassed the Dracula shot, though.

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I kinda want him to show up in the MCU, so the hero can say "Inhumans? Never heard of 'em" while looking directly at the camera.

I think I blogged one issue of this storyline twice already; but maybe we'll finish it before that Quasar figure shows up! From 1991, Quasar #24, "Maelstrom Manifest" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Greg Capullo, inks by Keith Williams.

Quasar is already dead, his corpse mutilated, and his Quantum-bands now on the wrists of Maelstrom, the "cosmic assassin" and threat Quasar had been trying to find and stop since like his second issue or so. With an Inhuman dad and Deviant mom (and surprisingly plain kid!) Maelstrom had the power to absorb and redirect kinetic energy, and had stopped the earth from spinning to give himself a massive boost. He had also stolen Eon's cosmic awareness, and next on the list? Create a black hole at the new center of the universe, and destroy all reality! That's not a quick process, though; so after telling Uatu to get lost and starting the black hole, he had time to visit the universe's big names and gloat a bit. Maelstrom stops by to see Galactus, Thanos and Mephisto during Infinity Gauntlet(!) and Arishem the Celestial, before realizing Quasar had returned.

Sort of: Maelstrom earlier calls him an "energy simulacrum," a yellow-hued, handless, quantum ghost. In the quantum realm, Quasar had met Infinity, one of the manifestations of the universe like Eternity: he tries to warn her about Maelstrom's plot, but charmingly, she had "utter confidence" that Quasar could handle it. He tries to stop the black hole, but isn't able to from the outside, and isn't sure if even his energy form could survive the inside. Maelstrom arrives in time to stop him, but tackles Quasar and knocks them both into the black hole, which doesn't quite dissipate Quasar, but squeezes Maelstrom's physical form into nothingness. But the black hole is still growing... 

Also this issue: Moondragon guilts the Ghost Rider into taking care of Wendell's friends, and mourns Quasar and Makkari's seeming deaths; while Dr. Strange and a ton of mystic types try to keep earth from being destroyed, but can't start it rotating again. I should've scheduled this for the solstice or something. 

I actually worked extra overtime this last week (more than I usually do!) to try and justify biting the bullet and coughing up for Quasar on Mercari. Best price out there right now was still over double retail, and I don't wanna reward some scalper with that. Also, the chest emblem looked crooked, which probably did more to dissuade me...

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"The End" Week: D.P.7 #32!

The Transformers had more of a claim to the "# in a (blank) issue limited series" joke, since it began as one; but that didn't stop the New Universe titles from using it. From 1989, D.P.7 #32, "The Cure" Written and co-created by Mark Gruenwald, penciled and co-created by Paul Ryan, inks by Danny Bulandi.

Almost three years after the White Event that gave about 2 people in every million paranormal abilities, most of the seven that escaped from the Clinic in the first issue have settled into new lives in New York City. Paranormals were common knowledge now, with NYC having most of them; but today strongman David Landers is dismayed at the headline of a paranormal cure. He had been a normal man before growing about two feet and several hundred pounds of muscle, and wonders if he could get his long unrequited love Stephanie if he was cured. David did already have a girl, though, the water-absorbing Merri. So it's kind of a surprise when Stephanie and her kids show up at the group's loft: her healing powers made her sparkle, which had made her an obvious target for anti-paranormal sentiment. Merri sees her former teammate as a threat, to her domestic bliss with David.

Meanwhile, Charlotte wasn't having any luck with auditions, but does meet a handsome man who claims to have been at the Clinic as well; a telepath who could only read minds that were at least a mile away. The man does seem familiar, but she can't quite place him. And further downtown, at a mission for paranormals, the news of a possible cure is greeted with scorn and derision: their leader claims God doesn't make mistakes, and wanted them to be what they were. Scuzz, another of the original seven, isn't sure about that: the young man's acid touch kept him from, well, getting any, so you can understand his interest. The young girl he has his eye on, says it's a test of his faith. Local superhero Captain Manhattan and his partner, Chrome, visit the Cure (not that one!) to see if he was on the up-and-up: the Captain has no interest in giving up his powers, but Chrome used to be Jenny Swensen, Spitfire of her own New Universe title. She had been mutated from exposure to "Pitt juice" after the destruction of Pittsburg, which gave her metal skin, but left her in a predicament not unlike Scuzz's.

Merri tries to drive off Stephanie, which just sends David off to find her, and he's able to finally proclaim his love for her. Stephanie reciprocates, and Merri leaves with an angry note. Charlotte brings her date over, who is relieved that "Antibody" Randy O'Brien doesn't recognize him. Later, he has to confess to Stephanie his real name, which didn't mean much to her, she had known him by his derogatory nickname, Mutator: he took a new, and usually monstrous, form every twelve hours: when he finally got a handsome one, he wanted to spend the day with "the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen." Mutator says he's going to see the Cure later, but admits his old self wasn't as good looking; tough break.

A surprising amount of people seem to be opposed to the Cure, claiming "God loved paranormals." I suppose it could be a different tune elsewhere in America...the Cure says it's no one's fault if they're sick and want help. He can't cure everyone today, but promises to stay in town until he helped everyone who wanted it, and cures Mutator and Merri. (Merri would occasionally gain a lot of water weight; she didn't particularly love her power.) Randy, who had been trapped inside of one of his antibodies, almost takes the Cure up on it, but doesn't want to harm the little antibodies he made, tiny flying versions of himself. Charlotte doesn't want to give up her friction powers: they didn't show, and she admits they had been handy sometimes. Jenny plans on it, although she thinks she will miss the Captain; but Scuzz acts like he wants it, then attacks the Cure with his acid.

Stephanie is able to heal the Cure, while Scuzz has lost his powers, but kept his weird culty peer group. Stephanie wonders about the missing two members of their original seven, tranquilizer Lenore and speedster Jeff (the latter would show up in the MCU years later!) and they head off for ice cream; a happy enough ending. 

Jeff may have shown up in the final real New Universe project, the War: they may have hoped to continue the NU in some format, but that was about it. Quasar would end up there in his series, there have been a few one-shots since; and Marvel seems bound and determined to keep trying to make the Star Brand happen, but still. I had a subscription when this was cancelled--it was far and away the best of the New Universe titles--but can't recall what Marvel offered as a replacement for the issues I had left in the sub. I wanna say Solo Avengers, and thinking about it again that might be right. I found a copy in the quarter bins just this afternoon, so thought I'd better squeeze it in.

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Expanding your mind is one thing, but this is probably a bit much.

Probably the most famous example or theory about the circulation of air molecules, if not the only one anybody's heard of; is that every breath you take, you are probably breathing one molecule that was in Julius Caesar's dying breath. I have to wonder if in the Marvel universe, the Eternals aren't always aware they're breathing in Kronos. From 1991, Quasar #19, "Refugees" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Greg Capullo, inks by Keith Williams. 

This was the opener for probably the book's greatest epic, the seven-part "Cosmos in Collision," and opens in prolog with the Eternal Kronos. Who, while investigating the "life force" of his people, was blown apart, but didn't die. For five thousand years, his mind and consciousness had been expanding: in volume, he was larger than Saturn, but in density far, far less so. Oddly, today he meets another not unlike him, another virtually immaterial being, who says he has no name, anymore: he explains, "beings jealous of my power forced me to hyper-enlarge," which is technically true. So, what to do with this new existance? Kronos says he used to keep busy with "parochial concerns," as a god to the Eternals of Titan, but as he expanded he seemed to lose focus on them, which meant he wasn't super-paying attention when Thanos rose up. Kronos may have made a bit of an attempt to stop Thanos, but the Mad Titan had returned yet again, and...enh. His new thing, was trying to see Infinity, one of the abstract entities of the universe, which intrigues the newcomer, who immediately leaves, intent on partnering up with one...

Back on earth, Quasar is hanging out with the ex-Squadron Supreme, who were still trapped on our earth, at Project: Pegasus; awaiting a house call from Doctor Strange. Strange warns Quasar he had felt "a presence...something evil," which Quasar worries could be the big threat he had been watching for; but the Squadron interrupts, anxious to return to their earth. Unfortunately, his spell doesn't work, only sending them halfway--literally! Quasar has to pull them back together on this side, as something is blocking their return from the Squadron's earth. Namely, that dimension's new Sorceror Supreme, Dr. Lightner; and Strange had to respect his "proprietorship," that was out of his jurisdiction. Moonglow, the Squadron's magic-user, thinks her son would eventually be able to get them home, but not yet.

Meanwhile, in space, Jack of Hearts is towing a chain of small ships towards earth, refugees and escapees from the Stranger's laboratory planet in Quasar #16. They're a few pages away from arriving, though: Quasar makes an appearance at his security company, where he finds the mysterious Ms. Steckley returned, after being missing for two weeks. He doesn't know she peeked behind the bookcase where his cosmic mentor Eon stays, though, or that she was still in psychic contact with him. Still, she had been neglecting her own well-being, and needed time to recover: back at her place, she undresses for a bath, removing everything including her hair! This would be a big clue to who she really was.

Later, Wendell Vaughn has a date with his secretary Kayla, when of course his bands detect Jack's arrival. Forced to bail, he does the unusual-for-the-time option of being honest, and tells Kayla his secret identity right there, then takes off, leaving her a bit stunned. Finding Jack, Quasar tries to ask what's up, and the often-cranky Jack tells him to piss off, then takes a shot at him. Knocked backwards since he used both hands to shoot at Quasar, Jack breaks a porthole on one of the ships, and the Gargoyle nearly gets sucked into vacuum before Quasar saves him. (Sorry, Gargoyle fans, I think that's it for his appearance in this storyline!) While Jack rants, Quasar realizes what happened to him on the Stranger's planet, but is unwilling to let who knows who loose on earth; including the unstable Jack. He had a pretty standard playbook by then, though, and starts by using his quantum-bands to drain Jack's energy--which he needed to live!

Quasar lets up, not wanting to hurt him, and gets in a bubble with him, intent on getting him medical help. Furious, Jack lashes out, a blast that ricochets around the bubble until it knocks Quasar out. Great, now kill him, suggests a new player: Sergei, better known as the Presence; accompanied by his girl, the second Red Guardian. (I swear she used to be a character in old Defenders comics, but even prior to this had been reduced to little but arm candy, and completely ineffectual or uninterested in stopping the Presence from consistently and repeatedly being a dick.) If Jack won't kill Quasar, the Presence will, then "nothing can stop us from making our presence known to Eon!" First off, using your own alias in a threat like that? I'm not sure if I should be impressed, but there you go. And is the Presence the big-bad Quasar had been waiting for? What's his beef with Eon? Well, there's still a couple issues of this one I haven't blogged, which I'd bet we get to before I get that friggin' Quasar figure... EDIT: Smurfberry crunch, it finally happened: I already blogged this issue, like six years ago! Ugh. We'll be more careful for reruns going forward.

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Ain't no party like an Avengers party...which is probably just as well, if we're honest.

We're so close to today's line-up in Marvel Legends! Maybe. If you squint. From 1990, Avengers #325, "Party Games!" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Rik Levins, inks by Fred Fredericks and "D.Hands." (As in, whoever was nearby that could hold a brush or pen!) 

I absolutely know I read the previous six issues, the bi-weekly "the Crossing Line" and have absolutely no recollection of it or the back-up features! As Avengers Captain America, Vision, Quasar, and Sersi return to their rebuilt headquarters, after a bit of housekeeping and logging, Sersi lays down the law: she's having a party this weekend, and everybody is going. The guys, the staff, the visiting Wakanadan design group, everybody. Couple of problems, though: the Vision, currently white and robotic, wonders if the invitation was meant for synthezoids. And, their headquarters was bugged up the wazoo and the staff hypnotized, courtesy of the Red Skull!...'s support staff, Mother Night and Machinesmith! That's somewhat less dramatic, but still bad for the Avengers.

Passing through a wall and a bug, the Vision traces back Machinesmith's signal, and confronts him, apparently without telling anyone. Machinesmith attempts to take over Vision and fails, but his failsafes paralyze Vision when he attempts to disrupt the villain's robot shell. Machinesmith is forced back in the computer, or cyberspace, but the Vision is apparently out: lacking a lot of imagination, Mother Night and crew dump the bodies in the river: it counts as one less Avenger, so that's probably enough of a win for them. They are dealt a reversal the next day, though, when young security consultant Wendall Vaughn--aka Quasar in a pair of glasses, which everyone supposes means they should pretend they don't recognize him--demonstrates an anti-eavesdropping device, that destroys Machinesmith's bugs. Furious, Mother Night refuses to go down without a fight: she could still force the hypnotized staffers to kill themselves...and there is a party coming up.

It's a little clearer on the John Byrne cover: Mother Night infiltrates the catering staff, to get guns to her hypnotized victims, making them see their enemies or fears. Jarvis sees his girlfriend turn into the Crimson Cowl, John Jameson sees the Man-Wolf, Peggy Carter sees the flaming corpse of her sister Sharon...wow, that is a mess. When the shooting starts, the Avengers move quickly to disarm them, but the Vision has taken care of most of the problem already: once he repaired himself, he had burned their bullets down to blanks, but had to let the situation play out to see who all was hypnotized. He captures Mother Night and her dimwitted brother, and a seething Sersi says she can make them un-hypnotize everyone, since otherwise she'll turn them into furniture. (Is the below where She-Hulk met John Jameson? She nearly married him like 15 years later.)

This is a slight one, but Gruenwald seems to be having fun tying into his Quasar and Captain America runs: Diamondback makes an appearance as Cap's date! The next issue was more substantial, with the debut of Rage.

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