Marvel Comics Heroes & Villians

Spider-Man

He’s not just your average radiationinfected geek or castaway alien, for Peter Parker, Spidey’s alter ego, is closer to the heart of the average Marvel fan than any other hero going. Peter got his start some years back when, as a scientifically talented teen, he was bitten by a spider that had gotten a dose of radiation, and that’s when the trouble started ...

The real appeal here is probably not so much Spider-Man as Peter himself, and the impossible situations he gets into. After some years as a social nonentity and tormented super-hero (as a wall-crawler, he can scurry along the sides of tall buildings until alerted by his “spider-sense” that danger is near, at which point he checks his cartridges of sticky, super-powerful “web-fluid”), Peter moved out of his frail old aunt’s home and into an apartment. He got a motorcycle — albeit a small one — continued his success as a science whiz in college, and even got himself an old lady. Gwen is the dazzling lady in question and she knows nothing of Peter’s crypto-arachnoid activities, but bears with his habit of disappearing into the woodwork (to change into costume, natch) whenever trouble looms. Pete’s most convenient excuse is that he was off taking hot action shots for J. Jonah Jameson, the tyrannical, Spider-Man hating newspaper publisher who also happens to be Peter’s boss.

For Peter Parker, all this inevitably leads to anxiety and self-doubt. Lately, it’s gotten so bad that the celebrated Spidey has gotten an ulcer, which is in constant danger of flaring up while he battles Doc Ock, the Kingpin, Kraven, Puppet-Master, or his own fear of the existential void.

Like other Marvel heroes, Petey has grown up some, gotten older and wiser, but still moves in the same ambiance as the perpetual teenager with the perpetual face full of zits, facing the perpetual classroom full of snide punks who seem to have limitless cool. Sample: After drinking a wierd potion he concocts to cure him of his socially untenable spider-powers, Peter discovers that he has sprouted four more arms and become the compleat spider. The telephone rings. The caller is luscious Gwen:

S-M: Huh? Now who the devil’s that? Whoa, Mr. P .. . that way lies the everlovin’ paranoid ward. After all, nobody but you knows about your “delicate condition.”

Gwen: Peter? I was hoping I’d corner you at home. Now, don’t say a word... Just settle back and listen. This is your lucky night, man o’ mine. In honor of Betty Friedan’s birthday, I’ve decided to play liberated woman and treat you to the r-rated flick of your choice. I should warn you, I’ve already seen Love Story ... but I’ve got enough Kleenex left to sit through it again. Or we could take in “I Am Curious (Yellow).” You could cover my eyes during the spicy parts.

S-M: Gwendy ... I...

What else could the poor boy say? Six arms or not, there’s lots here for everybody to identify with.

The Fantastic Four

One of the most durable super-hero teams of the Marvel lineup, the Fantastic Four always manage to combine their talents to escape from the tightest clutches and schemes of a variety of super-villains. None of the FF tries to hide their identity, and they run an up-front research lab on the top floor of the Baxter Building in New York. Their leader is Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, who has the uncanny ability to stretch any part of his body a considerable distance. A handy talent when it comes to tying up baddies without rope, turning into a parachute when thrown from incredible heights and catching high flies. Mr. Fantastic is also the husband of the lone woman in the group, Sue. Besides having the power to make herself invisible, Mrs. Richards has a certain telekinetic wierdness that lets her move objects without touching them and she can set up powerful mental force fields to resist the aggressions of ungentlemanly heavies. Sue’s brother, Johnny, is the junior member of the group. When he cries “Flame On!”, his body is covered with a sheet of flame which he can throw as fireballs, propel himself through the air, or in its most devastating form, use to produce a super-nova. Ben Grimm is the fourth member of the . group and, though he be blessed with the strength of at least a hundred men, his skin looks like it is made from jagged chunks of orange concrete.

HEROES and VILLAINS

SPBLU ■ \e OPOKEHI THE P/B t . ISCA&T 1/

THE FATE OF THE THING!

DR. DOOM

NOW, NO LIVING THING REMAINS TO MENACE WORLD OR WIZARD!

HEY, YOU GUYS! LOOK WHAT’S COMIN’ AT US!

NO, MAGICIAN? THEN LOOK BEHIND YOU AT--

THE DOOM THAT BLOOMED ON KATHLILOS!

TM

ACTION SHOCK! MYSTERY! THIS ONE HAS EM--AND HOW!

TOO LONG HAVE THE LAND-CRAWLERS DEFIED THE WILL OF MY PEOPLE!

Ben, or “the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing,” as he is affectionately known, helps make the FF what may be the best team of super-heroes Marvel has to offer. He’s gruff, impetuous, ugly, and always ready for a fight; and if not a fight, at least a spirited squabble with Johnny. Their “squabbles” sometimes result in the near-destruction of the Baxter Building as Reed’s totally impossible inventions get utterly smashed and the landlord runs up to threaten eviction only to be faced down by the untouchable Thing. The' Thing, you can be sure, has little patience with threats.

Dr. Doom

In the world of Marvel, villains, almost by definition, are uninteresting people. One may be an ex-gangster disfigured by Gamma radiation but also given strange,powers by it. Added to his normal criminal tendencies, one might find a hefty dose of Gamma-induced megalomania and presto! we have a potential universal tyrant for some hero to thwart.

The evil plan might be the construction of hydraulic lifts under every city of the world. Sink every city into the earth for a million mindless subterraneans to control, or suspend it in the clouds at the mercy of bird-men. Either way, the baddy can proclaim himself world ruler and get down to the heavy work of rapine and pillage. The villain’s only singular quality is his plan, and no matter how many times he gets his ass kicked, he’ll somehow escape and be back with another plan. The villain is the same single-minded paranoid schiz when he returns, but this time he wants to drain all the oceans in the world and send them flying off into outer space.

From Beyond The Grave:

Spiderman Made Flesh

Spiderman made his first grope toward appearance in flesh with the issuance of a record album. From Beyond the Grave, the first in ¶ projected series of “Rockomics” (put out by Buddah Records and Marvel) is a perfect introduction to both Marvel and the Webslinger for the semi-, postand illiterate few who don’t know already. It chronicles Spidey’s acquisition of Spidey power (from an insect — er, arachnid bite) the death of his uncle (more precisely, Peter Parker’s uncle) and his (Spiderman/Peter Parker, it doesn’t make any difference because they’re the same by that time) alienation from both overground society and the criminal underbelly.

It’s not quite what Jan & Dean had in mind with their ingenious Batman album, since it’s mostly played straight (well, almost straight) but From Beyond the Grave is a whole lot like the Batman TV show. (Which we loved, even if you didn’t.) The music is updated, but still a little on the cornball side of heavy; the dialogue is straight comic-book stuff and you can almost see the “Screech” and “Thwip!” bursts (full color) on the screen. It’s great, like the return of a radio serial. Airplay being the reason, we suppose, that the album is divided into 5 cuts per side. A perfect ten day serial.

Doctor Doom is a villain who escapes the shallowness of many of his cohorts in evil. Doom, from behind his thick body armor, rules the mysterious European country of Latveria. There, he plots and plans, governs his army, develops dangerous weapons and prepares for world domination. Doom is most often the nemesis of the Fantastic Four and his powers ai*e sometimes their equal, but his yanity or submerged sense of humanity always results in his speedy retreat t6 Latveria.

Future issuances from Buddah/Marvel Rockomics could be great. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to hear the Hulk shout “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!” from a pair of Voice of Theaters at full volume? And there are all kinds of interesting possibilities for Marvel music too. How about Pink Floyd scoring Doctor Strange? Or the Beatles singing on an album by the Fantastic Four? Or even, the remotest of fantasies being fully permissible in the Rockomics world, the Beach Boys and Black Sabbath having a battle of the bands while The Silver Surfer and Doc Doom fight it out in outer space?

Dave Marsh

Doom is a large villain. He seldom gets stalled by petty animosities and avoids mayhem if it doesn’t work toward his ultimate goal. He also is not immune to self-doubt, but rest assured, there’s no doubt as to whose side he’s on.

Captain America

Captain America is a living anachronism, as he continually reminds himself. Cap became a semi-superman back during World War II when American scientists developed a way of producing men who would be perfect Cap, however, was the only graduate before the whole thing went bust.

Sometime near the end of the war, Cap’s right hand man, Bucky, got totaled in close fighting with the sneering Nazis, when he rode one of Der Fuehrer’s rockets to destruction. Not long after, Cap somehow was frozen in an iceberg, and it was only a few years ago that he was discovered and thawed out. Needless to say, he had to cope with a dose of culture shock. He’s still coping, and still tormented by guilt about his faithful sidekick’s fiery demise.

Captain America, with his indestructible red, white and blue shield and matching costume (with little white wings above the ears) is indeed from another era; one that smacks of militarism and white America right or wrong, even more than our own age. Trusty Marvel, however, has seen to this and made Cap something of a liberal. His ideals are equality and individualism, and the idea of cultural diversity seems to sit well with him. And just to prove it, he pals around with a black social worker from Harlem, who has his own secret identity as the Falcon.

Captain America may be something of a relic and super-hero cum liberal to boot, but he’s also a flashy, indispensable aid when it comes to battling the forces of immoderation.

Important Villains

Captain America is not without favorite villains of his own. The ghastly, scarlet head of the Red Skull is another holdover from the 40’s who seems to have survived the ravages of time as well as Cap himself. There was once a suggestion that the Red Skull, who got his start as a dedicated, remorseless Nazi, had his identity pirated by a Commie who had the same ideals of world domination as the original Red Skull. Whether this was just a flight of Cold War paranoia or whether Red is just another high technology kraut has yet to be determined.

Hydra is another nefarious organization to be reckoned with. Hydra has a stupendous technology of its own and Cap is not above teaming with Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. to deal with the threat of the Head Hydra’s numerous minions.

Hulk

The Hulk definitely veers toward the anti-hero side of the Marvel lineup. Originally a rather spindly looking physicist named Bruce Banner, Hulk is often described as “the green-skinned gargoyle.” Mr. Banner, after suffering a dose of radiation in his lab, turned into a dim-witted, tousle-headed green monster who wants nothing more than to be left alone and perhaps enjoy himself with a friend or two.

It seems, however, that the Army, under the command of General “Thunderbolt” Ross is not too happy having a creature as powerful as the Hulk roaming around. Consequently, “Project Greenskin” is always trying to nail the poor guy down. Faced with all this antagonism, Hulk, who happens to be the most powerful creature on earth, is not above a little aggression of his own. And, as Hulk says, nothing can hurt him because the madder they make him, the stronger he gets. He even accomodates contradictions of the sort that let us see him cast adrift in space without an air supply, and then s^e him later, xompletely, if temporarily, subdued by a new tranquilizing gas' that the CBW guys have cooked up.

Hulk is a paradoxical creature with some of the qualities of Frankenstein’s monster. He exists in a basically hostile environment, lacks the brains to deal with it, and is given to childish excess. When he is particularly relaxed, the Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner, who puts his head in his hands and wonders just what in hell is going on. The love interest enters here, for Banner is enamored of General Ross’s fair daughter and it seems that whenever he gets it together to do something about improving his love life, poof! he turns back into the Hulk and heads out to the desert for some peace and quiet.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45.

Dr. Strange

The venerable Dr. Strange of the East Village moves out of the mainstream of Marvel heroes and villains. Strange is “master of the mystic arts” and is unfailingly guided toward the right incantation or insight of the mysterious amulet he wears around his neck — the “all-seeing eye of Agamotto.”

Dr. Strange moves in odd circles. His battles against evil are sometimes carried out in uncharted dimensions that give free play to the imaginations of Marvel’s artists. Other times, Strange moves in relatively mundane frames of reference to battle age-old earthbound mystic horrors. His knowledge of magic is almost limitless and his speech is salted with curses that use the names of gods yet undreamed of by ordinary mortals, and he commands spells that invoke ineffable demons and other evanescent yet powerful forces.

For all his mystic mastery, Strange is not beyond earthly concerns:

Mystic Supplicant: Man named Caleb Starke was their leader... and ... Dr. Strange, I bet you haven’t heard a word I said.

Dr. Strange: Not quite true ... but I confess that, having grown used to dealing with cosmic mysteries beyond the ken of most mortals ... I’d forgotten what a simple and subtle delight there could be in consuming an ordinary hot dog.

May the Rings of Raggadorr protect you.

Sub-Mariner

Sub-Mariner is another Marvel oldtimer. His domain is beneath the waves where, for some years, he reigned as the king of Atlantis. When his beloved was murdered, the ever-tempermental Subby gave up the throne and set off in a middle-aged search for Self.

Sub-Mariner, with his pointy ears and winged heels, is not always a good guy as far as the surface-dwellers are concerned. Subby is not entirely above wiping out a tanker that dumps oil or pesticides on his head, and his internationalism in disregard for us airbreathers is admirable. Sometimes, when danger from above or below demands that he walk around on land for a while (indeed, his father was a regular human), Sub-Mariner shows himself to be not without human feeling. Cause trouble on Subby’s own turf, though and, Imperius Rex! it’s curtains.

Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer is a relatively new arrival on earth, and few know that he is really its savior. Galactus, one of the supreme villains of all time, is a cosmic world-gobbler who used to employ the Silver Surfer to scout out energy-rich worlds for him to consume. Though no match for Galactus, the Surfer felt pity for us earthlings and took him on. He saved the earth, but wound up restricted from his inter-galactic wanderings on a silver surf board (no kidding) by a special force field that Galactus placed around the earth.

Forever apart from his beloved ShallaBal, who’s back on his home planet, the Silver Surfer is a melancholy figure who rides his board round the world, hoping to find some place where men are not constantly at each other’s throats. Needless to say, he never succeeds, but his meanderings do occassionally put him on. the spot and force him to use his almost limitless cosmic power.

The Silver Surfer was the first Marvel character to make heavy use of the “savior” theme, and other Marvel titles like Warlock have picked up on it, but with considerably less success.

The Avengers

The Avengers are something of a second-string team of super-heroes. It’s not that their abilities are lacking, but that they function with a lot more panache as individuals. Also, the makeup of the group has changed so often that you can’t always tell who’s an Avenger and who’s not.

Currently, Captain America is the head honcho in the Avengers. Backing him up is the red and yellow armorplated Iron Man (who in reality is an industrialist with a bum ticker, and a burgeoning liberal himself, having recently shifted the output of his factories from munitions to devices for saving the environment), the Vision, a remarkably outfitted android with human brains and emotions, and Hawkeye, an archer supreme who of late has been know to grow about 10 feet when danger appears.

Other frequenters of the Avengers’ clubhouse include Thor, a Nordic immortal from Asgard, the Red Witch, with her unstoppable “hex power” and T’Challa, an African tribal king who is otherwhise known as the Black Panther.

Loose Ends

Of late, Marvel has released scads of new titles that typically have nothing to do with the super-hero business. Much of it is classic horror stuff — Monster of Frankenstein, Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night - while other mags rely heavily on H. P. Lovecraft stories and yet others deal in more obscure fears and terrors — Where Monsters Dwell, Monsters on the Prowl, Where Creatures Roam, Creatures on the Loose — and generally, any combination of the words fear, monster, crawl, shadow or tomb with appropriate prepositions, produce a usable (and likely) title.

The only notable personality to emerge from this new collection of terrors is the Werewolf. And then, he can hardly help it. He’s sort of like Hulk with a mystic background; basically a peace-loving creature who resists the temptation to tear into soft young flesh, and knows real evil when he sees it. The young man in question, Jack Russell, dreads the few nights a month when the full moon signals his lycanthropic transformation, and inbetween full moons he searches out mystic tomes for the cure to his toothy problem. Naturally, he encounters a full share of villains on the way.

The other mags, like Crypt of Shadows, are basically mortality plays. The man-hating vamp is lured by her latest love interest to a witch's feast, whereupon the man is revealed as Satan and the woman becomes a tortured, immortal witch forever. The blind man, constantly made fun of by the kids in the park, saves the earth from an alien horror who frightens all the earthlings into submission with his awesome visage. The blind man, of course, only has to act like he can see and the frustrated alien leaves the earth in fear of human powers of resistance. Like most titles in Marvel world, the wicked are crushed or damned, and the meek vindicated. ^

Terry Byrnes