Who do we know with green hair? That doesn't exactly narrow it down.

I've often referred to this blog as a hedge against senility, but I thought I had just read this issue recently, with the Hulk saving a damsel-in-distress that's more afraid of him. (I may have been thinking of this one with the Defenders.) This time, the damsel in question has green hair...and it still took me a moment to recognize her! From 1972, The Incredible Hulk #150, "Cry Hulk! Cry Havok!" Written by Archie Goodwin, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by John Severin. You know, come to think of it, I may have read the Marvel Super-Heroes #99 reprint lately, that would explain that!

The Hulk's usual, and ongoing, fight against the army, goes a little differently than usual. First up, Hulk is smart enough to pick up a soldier's dropped gas mask, to protect himself from the "funny smoke that makes Hulk sleep!" Next, while Thunderbolt Ross is at least trying to not use lethal force, he gets called off mission, as "all Hulkbuster activities are to be suspended--pending Congressional hearing!" There's a brief bit of back-and-forth between a tenured senator and a first-term representative--why would they even be talking to each other, that's not how the House and Senate work, right? The senator is an anti-Hulk hawk, while the rep argues a lot of money has been wasted trying to waste the Hulk: there is probably a ton of story material in that. Government contractors trying to build bigger and bigger weapons for the Hulkbusters and that green: money, in that case. States fighting over Hulk-related FEMA cash. Hulk related budget pork and padding: "Um, yeah, the Hulk totally destroyed that bridge. It didn't just fall down by itself..." I don't think they went deep on that, but they could.

Major Talbot had been driving Betty around to try to get to Bruce, and lamenting that she would never love him as much as Banner. Talbot considers tattling about Jarella, but to his credit keeps quiet. Meanwhile, the Hulk takes off after a girl that reminds him of his microscopic love; a girl with green hair, on the run from a gang of bikers! But she's not overly concerned: she's Lorna Dane, Polaris! And she's there to see Alex Summers, Havok! Alex had bagged out of the X-Men, after nearly killing Iceman while fighting over Lorna. Lorna explains Iceman wasn't really hurt, and Alex should come back; but he wants no part of that; which makes her think he doesn't want her, either. Then the Hulk shows up to defend Lorna, forcing Havok to suit up again.

Hulk is confused, and thus angry, when he realizes Lorna wasn't Jarella, and thinks he's been tricked. In the ensuing fight, Hulk picks up a massive chunk of cliff-face, with Lorna on top of it: Havok is forced to gut-check, and zap the Hulk with a long, focused beam between the eyes, knocking him out! (He also uses "a force beam to counteract the pull of gravity!" which I'm not sure he ever would again...) As Alex and Lorna head back to the X-Men, Talbot and Betty find Bruce, who, barely conscious...calls out for Jarella! Awkward.

I like Lorna and Alex, but I swear every third story with them they're quitting, or have to be talked out of quitting, or are coming back after quitting. Seriously, count it out yourself, the numbers don't lie...
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"Lorna."

Sometimes, when a long-standing character finally gets an action figure, even if they've been waiting years for it, collectors can still feel pangs of regret if they don't get a preferred look for said character. A superhero--or heroine--could have dozens of outfits or variations over the years, but only get one plastic incarnation. Ask some fans about "safari jacket" Wonder Man, or '80's Outback/video game Dazzler. Today, we've got the brand new Marvel Legends X-Men Polaris, who features a somewhat modernized version of her best-known costume. And looks positively thrilled about it. Seriously, she seems a bit glum.

I liked Polaris's first X-Factor uniform, but I think the only Marvel Legend in that era's style would be Quicksilver. Probably not finishing that lineup any time soon.

We're referencing an old bit of continuity, from 1976's X-Men #97, when the Shi'ar agent using the alias Eric the Red (which had been previously been used by Cyclops!) abducted and brainwashed Havok and Polaris to fight the X-Men. It's a great fight there, although I'm not sure Eric the Red's storyline was resolved that cleanly.

Also, it took me a bit to balance, but Juggernaut is standing on Wolverine's back in the third picture--but he's blocked by Alex and Lorna!
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An X-Men post, with no scans of the X-Men, 'cause that's how we roll...

Today, a book from the dollar bins that I was thrilled to get a replacement copy of; since I bought it off the spinner-racks in 1989 for a dollar! From Uncanny X-Men #245, "Men!" Written by Chris Claremont, pencils by Rob Liefeld, inks by Dan Green.

This was the second in a pair of more humorous issues, since Uncanny X-Men was about to get pretty grim again in short order. Uncanny #251 was the cover that sprang to mind there, as the team is whittled down seemingly month by month. But #244 was the ladies' night out (and the first appearance of Jubilee) and the guys' night is far more broad; as well as being a parody of DC's Invasion! While Wolverine, Havok, Colossus, and Longshot get ready for a night out; a somewhat familiar looking batch of aliens invade Australia. The Australians, for their part, are nonplussed.

While Colossus brawls with the alien troops, Longshot charms the pants off of (figuratively speaking) the winged woman warriors, and Havok drunkenly shoots down an alien battlecruiser. Wolverine faces an alien commander in poker, and bets his life against the commander's...on a bluff. The guys have a fun night, but the issue ends on a dark note, as Donald Pierce has escaped from the Hellfire Club.

Actually, despite a lot of jokes, Claremont keeps most of his regular plots going as well: Colossus still couldn't turn back into human, Dazzler was worried that her powers seemed to be leveling up, and Wolverine didn't like the Reavers' surveillance systems watching him, telling Havok they may have corrupted Madeline Pryor and could do the same to him. So still a lot going on!

Still, I was glad to get this again, because I had a friend that just hated the cover...
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Retro Toy Week: Toy Biz's Mutant X Havok!

The temptation was to keep this post until 2013, but here's the fourth and final of Toy Biz's Mutant X figures. Still had it on a shelf, as a matter of fact; although on closer inspection I'm not sure why. Possibly because it may have been Havok's only figure for a number of years, or at least the only one I had. (There was one in his X-Factor jacket in the X-Men 90's line, wasn't there?)

Havok's head seems...thick, here. I almost prefer the classic headgear, like he has in his Marvel Legends figure. In the pictures, his eyes seem really cross-eyed; but I'm not sure I noticed before.

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"The End" Week: Mutant X #32!

We checked out #31 earlier, but here's the double-sized conclusion to the storyline and the series: Mutant X #32, "The End" Written by Howard Mackie, pencils by Ron Lim, inks by Andrew Pepoy.

Alex Summers, Havok, has been trapped for a good thirty-some issues and some annuals in an alternate reality where he led a team of mutants called the Six. It's debatable how much of this is his fault, but this earth is pretty well doomed: Dracula and the Beyonder are after the Nexus of Realities. Alex thought it was destroyed; instead, it's inside him. (I can't remember if that was the same Nexus that Man-Thing guards in a lot of his appearances, but that would've been something.) Most of earth's heroes are already dead, and Dracula's deal with the Beyonder lets him drink the blood of many more: Dr. Doom, the Inhumans, and the Eternals are all killed (and possibly turned?) off-panel...

Using equipment built by the evil Reed Richards, and powered by Strange, Baron Mordo, (evil) Xavier, Magneto, and his (alternate) son Scotty; Alex faces the "Beyonder," who is actually the Goblin Queen. (Possibly for time, the reveal seems stepped on a bit.) The Queen had possessed the alternate-Alex's wife Madelyne for some time, probably the entire series. Freeing Maddie, Alex then casts the Queen into the Nexus, claiming it will destroy her in all realities. Madelyne is returned to her son, who knows his dad sacrificed to save them all. Floating in darkness, Alex grins: "I remember...dying. But mostly...I remember......Living!"

Of course, Alex would turn up in the Marvel Universe proper again; in Exiles and some terrible Uncanny X-Men comics around "the Draco." I think Peter David is going to get another shot at Havok in X-Factor soon as well...

The Mutant X universe didn't go complete apocalypse like Days of Future Past, but I'd say 90, 95% of the heroes and villains' counterparts that we saw, along with a good chunk of the normal population, end up dead. (That was a big gimmick of this book: look, an alternate Fantastic Four! Look, they're evil! Look, they're dead!)

If memory serves, I think Mutant X was cancelled not due to sales (or at least not completely) but as part of a paring-down of X-Men related titles. Yeah, how'd that turn out?

Oh, and Dracula?

Yep, it's just that easy.

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There's a side of Canada you don't see everyday...

So, we've looked the Mutant X figures a few times, but here's a look at the second-to-last regular issue of the series, Mutant X #31, "You Say You Want a Resolution?" Written by Howard Mackie, art by Ron Lim and Andrew Pepoy.

I had mentioned before that the Mutant X universe seemed to have a lot of events go wrong before the Havok of the Marvel Universe ended up there, but that earth seemed to have a lot of problems earlier than I had thought: Storm and later Gambit being turned into vampires, Madelyn Pryor and Warren Worthington possessed by demons and going evil, the defeated Beyonder imprisoned in the earth; and now Canada as "the most militarily aggressive nation on the planet." Weapon X's current batch of super-soldiers has chased Wolverine, his family, and Havok's team across the border; and now World War IV could be the result unless Wolverine goes back.

Unfortunately, that pisses off Captain America, and in the Mutant X tradition of worst-case scenario, he's not Steve Rogers, but a latent mutant that went through what was left of America's Super-Soldier program. (The Director of Weapon X points out that was before Canada killed the inventor and pillaged the program for themselves...) Now with powers off the charts, Cap hulks out, unleashing huge amounts of energy, and destroying all the enemies of America that he can. I haven't read all of this series, but I think this Cap was relatively stable up to this point. Now, he can no longer tell friend from foe, fighting his old teammates, the Avengers. Quickly defeating "Iron Giant Man," Cap kills him, and the others including Hawkeye, Typhoid Mary, and Deathlok? Maybe Mary had a more hero-friendly name there, but she's dead now, so... Havok is forced to put his teammate down, although it appears that the energies they have released may have even damaged the moon, so it's tough to say what's left of America, Canada, or earth; except that after Cap is beaten, the Beyonder pulls his body underground. Havok and what's left of his Six return to their headquarters, where Alex is starting to realize this world has problems beyond what superheroes can deal with, when he promptly gets bitten by Dracula...

I can't tell if this is a typical issue of Mutant X, or if a little more is crammed in this month since the end was near. Frankly, from what I've seen, this was par for the course. Although, now I'm wondering how much of that world was doomed, and how much was wrecked by Havok.
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