Avengers Annual #17: The Evolutionary War Part 11

My last two posts were on Fantastic Four Annual #21 and X-Factor Annual #3, two comics I found in the dollar bin at BAM!.  As stated previously, I realized later that I've had this Avengers Annual #17 from the same series since my youth! No wonder these looked so familiar & appealing to me  :D   Lookit this bitchin' cover, will ya!

This issue is the end of the "Evolutionary War" story arc, spanning across 11 different titles, and is an interesting period in that Steve Rogers, stripped of his Captain America status by the U.S. federal government, is now a rogue hero going by a new alias, "the Captain" (I posted about this back in July).  The Avengers have been disbanded, but several reserve members answer an emergency call to the now empty Hydro-base, former island headquarters of the former team of heroes.

When the Hulk captures one of the High Evolutionary's "gatherers", the Avengers learn that a genetic bomb beneath the Pacific Ocean will soon be detonated, dangerously hurtling mankind's biological evolution forward in an unpredictably trajectory. With the help of Hercules, Beast, Hulk, and Falcon, Cap seeks out the warring Atlanteans and Lemurians in the Sunda Strait to put aside their differences and  assist in the fight against the Evolutionary's mad plan to reactivate the ancient volcano Krakatoa in order to fire his bomb.

The Avengers soon discover the ani-men have been enlisted alongside the purifiers in the Evolutionary's plot, and turn them against one another, using the similarly animalistic Beast to spread a quick rumor among the human purifiers. The Evolutionary discovers our heroes' plot, and temporarily cages them- short work escaping for the likes of Hercules, Beast, & the Hulk!

Cap then resolves that the only way to conquer their foe is to use the Evolutionary's instruments to evolve Hercules' powers above & beyond that of the villain. At first the Hulk violently insists that he be the one to undergo the accelerated evolution, but the Evolutionary shows up and simply teleports him to a random, out-of-the-way locale. A battle of the gods ensues, the Evolutionary discorporating from a fatal blow, but not before zapping the technology harness strapped to Hercules' body, causing him to grow/evolve at an uncontrollable rate until dissipating into the great unknown.

With the help of Yellowjacket, Jacosta  takes one for the team by plugging what's left of herself into the ship and taking one for the team, destroying the gene-bomb in the process before the ship reaches Krakatoa & ground zero!

The 11th and final chapter of the history of the High Evolutionary, "Beyond Life", concludes this book, telling a story of the High Evolutionary's dawning awareness of the awesome powers of the Beyonders, who took the artificial planet he created for observation, placing it alongside other heavenly oddities, rendering his finest creation nothing more than "an interesting if primitive experiment by a talented provincial".  Driven insane by the prospect of this idea and unable to destroy himself, the Evolutionary lures the Hulk to smash him into oblivion. The green-skinned goliath obliges, but after he stomps off, we see that it will take more than the Hulk to destroy the High Evolutionary.

Matthew Peterson had all kinds of interesting Marvel contextual/historical tidbits on this issue at MajorSpoilers.Com- go read! I'd certainly buy any of the other eight installments of this story arc, if given the oppurtunity at a reasonable price ( one dollar was good!). I sure love thumbing through these old annuals- there's so much good stuff to read from the past that I wonder why I'd want to buy any new comics-

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Fantastic Four Annual #21: Evolutionary War Part 6

Continued from my previous post on X-Factor Annual #3: Evolutionary War Part 1, this Fantastic Four was the other Evolutionary War installment I found at BAM! the other day. It's quite a skip from part 1 to part 6, but I feel these stories can be read independently, and the bulk of this Fanstastic Four Annual centers around Crystal, now a member of the F.F. and her family of Inhumans in "Crystal Blue Persuasion"!

The never-dull domesticity and unrest are resumed at the Fantastic Four Headquarters upon return from their adventures in the spaceways, revealing a budding romance in full bloom between The Thing and his female counterpart, Shary, while the tension between Johnny Storm & his old love, now F.F. partner Crystal. But their rest is short lived, as Black Bolt & the Inhumans appear to retrieve his young cousin and take her back to their home city Attilan, on the Moon, where her husband Pietro (Quicksilver) awaits.

Back on the Moon, the Evolutionary runs into The Watcher, who makes his presence & knowledge of the Evolutionary's transgressions known.  "Do you object to my designs?" asks a confrontational Evolutionary. "It is not for me to object or approve! I just watch!"

Crystal puts up a fight, and Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, and Gorgon take on the Fantastic Four! An evenly matched battle comes to a draw when word gets back that Atillan is under attack by the High Evolutionary and his army, after the terrigan mist for it's mutagenic properties. Back on the Blue Area of the Moon, the battle rages until the Evolutionary realizes his army is no match for the two mutant superhero teams, and must retreat, a knowing pair of Watchers there to quietly witness. Realizing her presence on Earth is tearing the Fantastic Four apart, Crystal acquiesces to Black Bolt's wishes for her to return to her family. 

In the next story included in this 64 page annual, Crystal attempts to reconcile with her husband Pietro, and adjust to life as an Attilan princess again. Pietro's mind had been controlled by Black Bolt's evil brother Maximus, turning him against his sister Wanda, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and everyone else, only to be undone by Maria Pym putting a mental block in his mind which temporarily removed his power of speed and shattering Maximus' spell. But after assuring Crystal of his unshaken love, a private telecommunication with a former enemy reveals a secret grudge to be avenged through a dubious alliance!

And finally, the third story "Silver and Crimson"  is a tale from the High Evolutionary's history. Attacked by a werewolf, Edgar Wyndham builds the suit of armor he will use later as High Evolutionary to use against the beast. He confronts and captures the creature after it attacks his subterranean helpers inside his Wungadore Mountain citadel, no doubt interested in the origins of it's genetic makeup! Of course we know what sick & twisted ways Edgar Wyndham will process that information as the High Evolutionary!

This was a fun book! There were all kinds of Fantastic Four history I knew nothing of inside this annual, some of it pretty cheesy, but interesting from a historical standpoint nonetheless. I read about F.F.'s meeting the Inhumans, and Johnny's teenage crush on Crystal when I read the Marvel Essential :Fantastic Four Vol. 3 last winter, but knew nothing of his marriage to Alicia (Ben Grimm's ex-girlfriend), nor Crystal's marriage to Quicksilver. I didn't know she joined the F.F., nor of the female Thing, Shary, and that Mr. Fantastic & the Invisible Woman were retired in suburban bliss! *GASP*  Zany!

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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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