X-Factor Annual #3: Evolutionary War Part 1

I found this in the dollar comics bin at BAM!, where I've been uncovering all kinds of fun stuff. With the economy in such an anemic state, and the price of comics so high, I find no reason not to dig into the past at this price, there being so much I haven't read. And what fun it is! The Evolutionary War  was an event spanning eleven Marvel title annuals in 1988. I found this one and a Fantastic Four from this series, realizing later that I've had the Avengers Annual from this series since my youth! No wonder these looked so familiar & appealing to me   :D

The High Evolutionary's purifier troops are surprised at the Subterraneans struggle against attempts to sterilize them- an effort to eradicate lower life forms that have failed to evolve, all part of the High Evolutionary's mad plan to accelerate mankind's evolution.

Jean Grey hears their psychic cry of anguish high above ground, endangering a restoration effort of the Empire State Building underway by her X-Factor team, and pleads with Cyclops and the others to help her find the source greatly distressing her extra-sensory perception and all-around ability to function. They discover the Subterraneans have a psychic leader of sorts- a "missing link" in their midst, a "mutant" of sorts, who at first feels threatened by the X-Men, but soon realizes their pure intentions.

Miles above the Earth, the High Evolutionary oversees the Purifier's efforts, when Apocalypse appears before him, arguing the flawed nature of his efforts. For Apocalypse believes only the strong survive, and the war & strife he perpetuates is the superior way to determine who should live or die. The impatient High Evolutionary attacks Apocalypse in defense of his methods, claiming his method of sterilization is more humane & necessary to expunge the unfavorable branches of the evolutionary tree, while his purifier troops below the surface have gladly resorted to violence in dealing with the frightened Subterraneans.

When the leader of the Subterraneans saves Beast's life, and the the tide is turned against the purifier troops, Apocalypse is proven right by the High Evolutionary himself- his own actions provided the necessary stressors to force the Subterranean's growth. "You do my work for me, High Evolutionary, whether you wish it or not... and you do it well!"

Also included in this 64 paged Super-Sized Annual from 1988 is a short origins-type story, "Changes", told via the X-Terminators (adolescent mutant team put together by X-Factor) stumbling into Beast and knocking an old X-Men photo album loose, prompting  a reminiscence of the X-Men, changes they've been through, and where they ended up. Corny, but by this point probably necessary: in the 20+ years spanning their creation in the early 60's up to the date of this publication in the late 80's, some new readers may not have realized what a history they had. Some things were mentioned that I did not know, either. My knowledge is growing by leaps and bounds lately, reading the original stories in the Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Vol. 1 & 2, as well as dipping into some of the Chris Claremont 80's stuff.

The third story is another featuring the High Evolutionary, "The Gift", telling the story of Herbert Wyndham's early genetics testing in London, his rejection by the scientific community, and a mysterious stranger helping him along the way- continued in Punisher Annual #1!  Also included are some pin-ups, icluding this one of the original X-Men by - Behold:

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Hey, Mr. Postman!

While I've had some trade paperbacks come in the mail recently, it's been a little while since an action figure showed up on my doorstep- I've had good luck finding so much Marvel Universe here in town this summer that I just hadn't ordered anything. So without further delay...

*Marvel Select Thanos

I preordered this from an eBay retailer way back in July. It was supposed to arrive in August, but I waited patiently, checking in occasionally to hear "Still waiting!". No big deal, though they missed the delivery date by two months, and should probably avoid doing that in the future as their rating/feedback reflected a substantial amount of unhappy customers (just sayin'). I wasn't surprised because action figures are notoriously late rolling things out. This huge Marvel Select Thanos is a "Best of" reissue, and he looks great! I LOVE the bigger Marvel Selects, like the Hulk I scored this summer.  You'll be seeing more of Thanos up close soon! Awesome!

ALSO...

I got a tip on MrSenCTVT's  YouTube channel that Target had the new Wave 16 from Marvel Universe on the pegs for $6.99 each, so I took advantage of that on Tuesday:

I'll show your more of all that next week  :)  More old comics up next, so check back in later on! 

Have a great weekend  :)

Marvel Select Captain Marvel

Since I seem to be on a Captain Marvel kick here at the Super-DuperToyBox this week, I thought finally opening this Marvel Select Captain Marvel I bought over 10 months ago would be in order. These look so impressive in the packaging you almost hate to open them. They could easily have made the packaging smaller on these things- they're HUGE! I must say, however, that the art on the carton's right panel there really wowed me, and later I realized it was lifted directly from Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion, which I just read. Greatness!

Marvel Select are to Legends as DC Direct are to DC Universe Classics, in case you didn't know, meaning you won't get the range of articulation in a Marvel Select as you would a Marvel Legends. Marvel Select are basically articulated statues, the focus being sculpt, paint, and in Marvel Select's case a detailed, themed base for the figure on which to stand. Capt. Marvel here came with the same base as his Kree Soldier variant, a vertical stand of twisted, metal wreckage that looks really cool!

As I said, his articulation is simple: hinged ankles, knees, & elbows, a swivel-hinge head, cut-joint waist & wrists, and ball-socket hips & shoulders. While it all feels really solid, his left wrist wouldn't move, and when I gave it some muscle it must have snapped the connection down in the forearm. There was plenty of post left, so I just poured some Elmer's Glue-All down in the wrist in order to tighten up the swivel. It doesn't fall out, so I'm not going to permanently glue it right now.

The sculpt on this figure reminds me a lot of Classical Greek sculpture- proportionately realistic, but not as flowing as later Greek Hellenistic. A lot of these Marvel Select have that sort of posture- it looks good, though somewhat rigid. There's a black wash applied over the figure that is meant to add some depth to the sculpt, though it's really uneven up close in some areas, which is a shame. It's hard to see in my pictures, so I suppose it can't be that bad. A wash is really unpredictable like that, and has got to be difficult to apply to a figure! I've got to say, that as much as I am a fan of Captain Marvel's outfit, the Kree Soldier variant is superior due to his paint, if not the extra accessory/gun- which, as you can see, this Capt. Marvel's left hand is sculpted to hold!

And a shot with the Marvel Universe Captain Marvel I just reviewed- you know how much I love to play BIG TOY/little toy!   :D

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Marvel Universe: Capt. Marvel & Ms. Marvel

To my surprise, I found these two on the pegs at local retail- he's a Wave 12/2010  and the Ms. is Wave 3/2009. But then it seems many of us saw a restocking of these earlier waves this summer- a good thing for myself, discovering these Marvel Universe late in the game. What a fun pair!

I've read more about Captain Marvel this year than ever, the bulk of it from The Life & Death of Captain Marvel trade paperback (Marvel, 2002), a compilation of Captain Marvel adventures from 1972 all the way to his death in 1982, the latter portion of which reprinted from what was essentially Marvel's first graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel. I read more of the Kree warrior's "space opera" adventures in The Avenger's: Kree Skrull War, a TPB the Avengers title, issues #89 - 97 (June 1971 - March 1972), and recently Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion, detailed in my previous blog post. The melodramatic nature of Captain Marvel stories are an acquired taste I almost didn't get at first, but I find his stories nostalgically charming now.

Revamped by writer Roy Thomas after his '67 introduction by Stan Lee & Gene Colan, the former Kree Imperial Militia officer sent to observe Earth's developing technology. Mar-Vell defies his superiors' orders and allies himself with Earth, the Kree Empire branding him a traitor. For this crime Mar-Vell is exiled to the Negative Zone by the Supreme Intelligence, only able to Mar-Vell  escape temporarily by exchanging atoms with teenager Rick Jones by clashing special wristbands called Nega-Bands, his superpowers and "cosmic awareness" a result.

In The Death of Captain Marvel, Mad Titan & defeated arch nemesis Thanos comes into the subconscience of Captain Marvel while on his deathbed, unsatisfied with the Kree warrior wasting away from cancer, and demands the once proud champion of Earth rise & fight him to his glorious death. The two enemies walk off to oblivion, hand in hand with Mistress Death after Mar-Vell kisses her on the mouth at the end. A great moment for sure!

The head sculpt on this Marvel Universe Captain Marvel is a great! Mine has some slight paint slop around the chin that is barely detectable in passing. I'm not crazy about the Nega-Bands being painted onto the wrists- ridges, a little sculpting there would've made it more dramatic. his articulation is pretty standard, though he does have bicep swivels and a ball jointed head that makes him more expressive. His coloring is good- dark red with a slight black wash for depth, and the dark navy is metallic like the gold in his chest emblem & Nega-Bands. He came with a figure base unlike the much earlier released Ms. Marvel. She also has dark metallic blue paint, but with highlights of lighter blue, and her chest emblem is light yellow, like her hair, instead of gold- this didn't cover the dark blue completely underneath. Her albino drumsticks are ...extremely caucasian. The girl is pale, what can I say?  :D

I've read very little with Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers, my most recent encounter with her in Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion.  There are two other Ms. Marvels in this line: the modern variant in the black outfit w/long blond hair (Warbird costume), and a Karla Sofen version that has the red & blue outfit w/long blond hair. I dig this first appearance version with the 70's hairdo. She was the first female produced in the 3 3/4" Marvel Universe line, and Hasbro got off to good start here. Her articulation is simple, but she's solid. I'd seen some with bowed legs, a result of Hasbro's posed positioning in the tight packaging of these, but mine didn't have that.

The scarf around Ms. Marvel's neck is a separate piece, and can be repositioned around her body, enhancing her poseability. She came with two translucent blast accessories for her hands that fit well. She has an upper abdominal crunch and a cut waist joint. She would have benefited from the newer thigh swivel & rocker ankle joints that came later in the line, but like I said, it was a good start. Like many of the first few waves, no figure base was included, though she stands well on her feet.

From Marvel.Com:

Following her affiliation with the C.I.A., Carol took a position with N.A.S.A. as the security director for Cape Canaveral. It was in this capacity that Carol first met Captain Marvel, the Kree warrior, Mar-Vell. In her official capacity, Carol was challenged with unraveling the mystery of this alien soldier. During her investigation, the two forged a unique bond, first as friends and then as lovers. It was this relationship that would change Carol forever.

Captain Marvel's mortal enemy, Colonel Yon-Rogg kidnapped Carol, using her as bait in his conflict with Mar-vell. In the course of the battle, Carol and Mar-vell were caught in the explosion of a Kree Psyche Magneton device. The energy bombardment somehow caused Carol’s genetic structure to be melded with Mar-vell's. While Mar-vell was apparently unaltered by the event, Carol was now a perfect hybrid of Kree and human genes. In addition, she possessed all of Mar-vell's Kree knowledge and training. Through this transformation, Ms. Marvel was born.

It should be noted however, that Capt. Marvel's final days were spent with Elysius, one of the Eternals of Titan whom he helped in purging Thanos' influence from ISAAC, the super computer that served their colony on Saturn's moon.

From Marvel.Com:

Grief stricken by her lover’s death, Elysius obtained Marvel's DNA code from ISAAC and it was used to impregnate her with a son. He would become known as Genis-Vell. Mentor felt that the son of Captain Marvel would be in danger from his fathers enemies. So he had ISAAC accelerate the child's growth into adolescence, and then implanted him with false memories of his childhood. This plan would enable Genis to defend himself from any would be attackers. Elysius raised Genis on the far flung planet of Paraxis. He believed Starfox to be his father. As he grew older he left Paraxis for fun and adventure. Elysius asked Silver Surfer to retrieve a pair of Nega-Bands, like those worn by his father Marvel, after which Genis began to follow in his fathers heroic footsteps. He took on various names such as Legacy, Captain Marvel and Photon.

 

*See my post on Thanos & Skrull Soldier pictured above!

*See Thanos & the Skrull Soldiers battle the Frost Giants!

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Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion

While I hated to plop myself square in the middle of a story arc without knowledge of the continuity pertaining, new stories featuring Captain Marvel was something that couldn't wait until I got caught up as far as I was concerned. In 2007, several ongoing Marvel titles were tied in to the one main Secret Invasion storyline. These were all collected in 26 separate trade paperback collections. Uugh! Captain Marvel: Secret Invasion includes Captain Marvel issues #1-5 and Civil War: The Return, centering around Captain Marvel's role in the story arc involving the Skrull invasion of Earth.

Having died from cancer, the result of an earlier exposure to toxic nerve gas during a battle with Nitro years ago, the late Kree warrior is a man out of time when he suddenly appears from beyond the grave inside a maximum security prison in the Negative Zone, much to the surprise of Sentry, Iron Man, and Reed Richards. Knowing he will die all over again, Mar-Vell resolves to spend his remaining days championing his adopted  home world of Earth, in spite of a suspicious Tony Stark's attempt to keep a lid on him.

The Church of Hala, a cult that worships Captain Marvel, has been waiting for the return of the long dead champion of Earth. The congregation hails his return as that of a savior of their world gone wrong, the recent Superhuman Registration Act having caused a violent civil war among the heroes of Earth. Widely disregarded as religious fanatics, Mar-Vell recognizes the good they do though uncomfortable with the worship aspects, and dons their ceremonial robe in service of the homeless & needy at a food distribution center in Sudan. Tragedy strikes as the leader of the church is killed by military shelling in the war zone where the mission workers are encamped, and Mar-Vell lashes out in anger, destroying the tanks as he recalls his vow to save the people of Earth even if from themselves.

Following of a failed attempt to put Mar-Vell back into the Negative Zone by Iron Man and Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers brings up the question between the two, and Carol asks, "We are supposed to be stopping bad things from happening. Why do we focus on guys in silly costumes and not people who are causing real harm?"  For as it had been observed that 24 hours following Marvel's renewed vow to end a wars on Earth and angry disarming of the warriors in Sudan, not a shot was fired, a missile launched.

Realizing this incarnation of Mar-Vell might be someone or something else entirely, S.H.E.I.L.D. Agent Sante tries to arrest him, but Mar-Vell reasons with her "If you want to end this now... you can destroy me and what potential I hold... or you can help me, Agent Sante... you can stand tall beside me and help me make the world a better place."

I 've read some reviews claiming this was an unnecessary book in the series- I suppose that's true if you aren't a fan of Captain Marvel (shut yer face)! Like I've said before, he was an acquired taste for the comics of Silver and Bronze Age- something I've grown to love. The story was well done with some surprises I wasn't expecting, having only been back into comics for a year or so, and unfamiliar with a lot of the Marvel mythos. I found Brian Reed's story detailed & far-out yet interesting. The penciling of Tom Raney & Lee Weeks meshed seamlessly going from Civil War: The Return into Captain Marvel #1-5. The colors & inking were perfection! There were several great variant covers throughout the book by Ed McGuinness, as well as a Ms. Marvel #25& Capt. Marvel #4 combined variant by Terry & Rachel Dodson that rules! Behold:

I loved this book! I'm a fan of Captain Marvel's cosmic melodrama- the stories are heroic, romantic, over-the-top space opera... perfect for comic books  :D

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ToyBiz Famous Covers Storm

According to Thomas Wheeler's "Flashback Review" on these, this is the second version of Storm in ToyBiz's Famous Covers line of 9" dolls action figures, created for the X-Men movie line of toys. I have dug deeply into the outer internet space and found zilch on her. I scored this on eBay quite some time ago from a seller who also had a Storm and Wolverine in black leather outfits styled after the movie outfits. He wasn't asking much for any of them, and I bought this white Storm on am impulse. To be honest, I can't find a thing about her on the internet- she might be somewhat rare!

She has a silky-feeling, luxurious cape- really nice! Some of the Famous Covers females looked as though they were ...a miss. But not Ororo, here- she's one of the prettiest dollies I've ever seen!  :D   The paint apps on her delicate face are flawless. Her head is on a ball-joint, too, making her more expressive than many of these sometimes "clunky" figures. She's a dainty flower. Ororo came to me with her silver mane banded in a long ponytail which I never let down- who would ever cover that angelic face?! *GASP*

The put some cool boots on this girl, thigh-high and fashioned from vinyl, simulating white leather. She does not like to stand in them, however. She definitely needs a doll stand. I just sold her off, so that's someone else's problem. Yeah, that's right... we broke up.

I had an initial photo session with this diva, and put her in the glass cabinet directly after where she lived the rest of her time with me. It's funny, feeling now I never appreciated her until I had her sold... maybe she was, ummm... a little too much like a Barbie doll pretty to live with me. Not that there's anything wrong with that!   :D   All joking aside, I've just been trying to thin the toy collection lately. Thankfully, I got a few decent photos of her before she left. I... I think I miss her...  Women! 

Believe it or not, I have another Storm figure by ToyBiz- one of those 10" Marvel Universe figures from the 90's. I've never opened her, and in retrospect somewhat wished she'd sold instead. While researching the Famous Covers Storm, I found that a 12" Storm that looked a lot like a Barbie was produced at some point- she was in white as well, and even included a casual change of clothes & accessories. If Hasbro produced a 3 3/4" Storm in white I'd buy it. I liked the Storm in the Marvel Universe Giant Size X-Men box set- Slangards gave her a thumbs down over at Joint Junkie. I wonder if Hasbro will take another whack. They gave us 35 Wolverines, after all!

Here's a shot of Storm with my Hasbro Cyclops- they made a dashing pair, don't you think?

I've learned a lot about Storm recently. I was unaware that Ororo married T'Challa (Black Panther) in 2006. She was created by author Len Wein & artist Dave Cockrum for the famous 1975  Giant Size X-Men #1 comic- I discovered who Cockrum was simultaneously, having read about him recently on Tony Isabella's blog. I've recently read some of the early 60's X-Men and 80's Uncanny X-Men. Chris Claremont took over the latter after Wein & Cockrum's Giant Size, fleshing out her backstory and making frequent use of the popular heroine in all the X-Men story arcs- even making her the leader of the mutant supergroup when Cyclops takes a leave of absence.

Ororo Monroe was the descendant of an ancient line of magic African priestesses, their shared physical traits that of white hair and blue eyes. She was orphaned at five, her parents killed when an airplane crashed into their home in Cairo, Egypt.  Found by a gang of street urchins who trained Ororo in the arts of thievery, she quickly became the star pupil of their master, Achmed el-Gibar. This was how Storm first met Professor X, having tried to pick pocket him long before she knew the extent of her mutant powers, and before he recruited her to the X-Men.

From the Comic Book Database:

Storm  possesses the psionic ability to manipulate weather patterns over limited areas. She can stimulate the creation of any form of precipitation such as rain or fog, generate winds in varying degrees of intensity up to and including hurricane force, raise or lower the humidity and temperature in her immediate vicinity, induce lightning and other electrical atmospheric phenomena, and disperse natural storms so as to create clear change. Storm can direct the path of certain atmospheric effects, such as bolts of lightning with her hands, and manipulate ocean currents. She is able to fly by creating winds strong enough to support her weight, the weight of others, and to propel her forward through the air. Storm can thus travel as fast as any wind can, and has reached speeds up to 300 miles per hour. Her powers over the atmosphere enable her to breathe at any speed, protect her from air friction, and grant her limited immunity to extreme heat and cold.

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Addendum 1/7/12

This figure was included in a "X-Mutations"2-pack that also featured a Halle Berry Storm from the X-Men motion picture (2000). A similar box set was also produced for Wolverine: