Avengers #9 (October 1964)

The Mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe marches on! In honor of the miniseries Wonder Man, I thought I'd take a look at his first appearance in the comic books. 

Simon Williams has actually been around for quite a long time. In fact, 2026 is his 62nd anniversary. He has been regarded as a stalwart member of the Avengers, most notably in their 1970s heyday and in my favorite era of the team, the Kurt Busiek era. He's also been a founder of the first incarnation of the West Coast branch. He's also appeared in other media, like the Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series, the MODOK animated series, and as I mentioned earlier, he was portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the titular MCU miniseries. 

So, how did it all start? Let's find out in Avengers #9!

The cover is a Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers piece. It's pretty cool. It depicts Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil empowering Wonder Man, with the heads of the Avengers looming over it. My only real critique of the covers is the Avengers' faces. It would be nice if they showed fear or at the very least concern about this strange new character in their midst.

"The Coming of the...Wonder Man!" 
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Don Heck
Inker: Dick Ayers
Letterer: Art Simek
Colorist: Stan Goldberg
Editor: Stan Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Stan Lee

The story begins with Steve Rogers, aka the original Captain America, seemingly attacking his old foe from World War II: Baron Heinrich Zemo, father to future Avengers villain and Thunderbolt Helmut Zemo. However, it's only in his head. 

"HE ATE MY ICE CREAM! I'LL KILL HIM!"

I do find it funny that Iron Man, Giant-Man, and Thor have trouble holding Steve back. Rogers still wants Zemo's head, but the thing is after the events of Avengers #7, Zemo fled in a ship. He could be anywhere...even in the Twilight Zone. 🎵 Help, I'm slippin' into the Twilight Zone... 🎵

Right, right. In actuality, Zemo has headed to his hidden jungle kingdom located in the Amazon rainforest, where he's been living since the war. With him is his allies, Skurge the Executioner and Amora the Enchantress. And he's hatched a new plan to take down Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Part of that plan? A trip to New York City.

Nope, the three are not planning some sightseeing, although Amora and Skurge doing that would be pretty funny. Their actual mission is to recruit a man who got himself into a bit of legal trouble.

"We also have an excellent dental plan."

Meet Simon Williams, the MCU's newest star. An industrialist by occupation, his company (Williams Innovations) was going under thanks to the innovations of Stark Enterprises, so he ended up committing embezzlement in desperation. And he got caught. A disguised Enchantress and Executioner offer him the chance to get some payback on Stark. 

They bring him to Brazil, where Zemo makes him a guinea pig. He pumps Simon's body full of ionic radiation. Now, being pumped with lots of radiation would normally kill a man. So, Simon's dead, right?

Simon and death would become acquainted, but not on this day. Instead, Simon is transformed. He's bigger, stronger, tougher. He is a wonder, man!

"'Wonder Man' is still a better name than 'Big W Guy', you have to admit'."

Amora gets...very impressed with him, let's just say.

Skurge isn't happy about that, naturally. So, what's the plan here? Well, Zemo figures that maybe the best way to destroy the Avengers is from within. Simon will join the Avengers...and then break them up...somehow. I have no idea. I'm betting Zemo is just making this up as he goes.

My guess is he'll try to earn their trust and turn them against each other. Simon's a lot of things, but he has never struck me as the manipulative type. Anyway, we get a scene with Simon showing off his new powers. He's got incredible strength, tough as nails. He's even strong enough to wrestle Skurge into a river. Keep in mind, Skurge is half-Asgardian, and half-Jotunn. As in, half-Storm Giant. He's no stereotypical 90-pound weakling.

Simon may be a powerhouse, but that power comes at a price: The ionic energy will kill him in a week. However, Zemo has a treatment for it, and as long as Simon stays loyal, he'll get it. 

Later, Zemo's Masters of Evil brawl with the Avengers as they try to steal a company's payroll.

Simon makes his debut, seemingly easily thrashing the Masters.

"This was not what Amora had in mind when she wanted Simon to take her for a spin."

Zemo flees, happy the plan seems to be working. Simon introduces himself to the Avengers and gives them an altered version of his origin story: He was a man captured and experimented on by Zemo. Captain America smells a rat. 

It's not hard to see why. Cap knows Zemo. Zemo certainly has the scientific expertise to give Wonder Man his powers, but he certainly isn't stupid. He would have anticipated Simon trying to escape. Amora casts a spell to dampen Cap's suspicions...and also announce that Simon is dying of a rare disease. The Avengers are happy to help. They get to work finding a cure using their expertise.

"We're going to science this guy so hard!"

A few days pass. Simon reports in, wanting the antidote for his radiation sickness. He's also managed to capture the Wasp and brings her to the Masters. Simon tells the Avengers that they were captured by Zemo. Naturally, the unaware heroes race to the rescue. 

Zemo deals with Iron Man thanks to a giant magnet. Like the one Jim likes to use against ROM. Captain America and Thor come to the rescue. Wonder Man, able to match the Thunder God in power, KOs him and traps him under a boulder. Giant-man tries to help, but Wonder Man brings him down with the help of a boulder. Before he goes unconscious, Hank is able to smash the magnet, freeing Iron Man. 

Cap gets ambushed by Zemo with a stun-gun. Iron Man engages Simon, but the Wonder Man is able to beat the Armored Avenger into a mountainside. But the armor is made of stern stuff, and he's able to fight Simon. As this brawl goes on, Simon notes that the Avengers only seem to fight harder when the odds are against them, like being the underdog fuels them. Thing is, he's fighting for his own life (literally), and he must win. Amora makes that happen by putting a sleep spell on the Shellhead.

With the Avengers beaten, Zemo calls for them to be killed. Simon notes that they don't have to. They can just be captives. After all, they beat the Avengers once, they can do it again. Zemo tells Simon not to question him, as he can keep the ionic man alive. Simon thinks back to when the Avengers tried to help him. They did it without asking for anything in return, not because they wanted to have something over him. He was just simply someone in need, and they had the resources to try and help. This seems to spark a realization in the future Avenger.

This inspires Simon to embrace his inner hero. He destroys the ray machine that Zemo intended to use to execute the Avengers. He then moves to free Thor and gets tackled by the Executioner. Zemo activates a self-destruct device for his lair. The Avengers manage to escape.

The group then find a dying Wonder Man. Tony asks him why he betrayed the Masters. Simon tells them that he wanted to do one noble thing before the end. The story ends with Simon seemingly dying in Stark's arms.

I enjoyed this comic. What I found interesting about it was that this whole plot was a done in one issue story. In modern comics, Simon's intended betrayal and eventual heroic sacrifice would be an on-going subplot. Yes, the comic does establish that the events of the story do take place over several days, but it does feel like it was all in a very short time. I also really liked the scene of the Avengers working to help Simon. I've got nothing against the omnidisciplinary scientist trope in fiction, but it's nice to see here that while the Avengers did have a few brainiacs on their team, they are experts in different areas. Donald Blake was a doctor. Hank Pym was a biologist. Tony Stark is an engineer. Makes them seem more unique as characters. And of course, Simon turning out to be a better man than it was thought. 

I do think the dialogue was a bit awkward at times, most notably Tony's last words about Simon being a "mix of good and evil". Also, Don Heck's art comes of a bit...grittier than what was expected of a Silver Age artist. It also really needed the narration to tell what was going on at times. I liked the jealous face he drew for Skurge. Really showed the emotion well. 

It would turn out that reports of Simon's death were greatly exaggerated. Later issues would reveal that Simon was actually in a coma-like state, and that Hank Pym had recorded Simon's brain patterns to hopefully revive him one day...which would be used by Ultron to rebuild the body of Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch into the Vision. Simon's "death" would drive his brother Eric into becoming the villainous Grim Reaper, beginning a years-long grudge against the Avengers. The 1970s would become a heyday for Simon, as he returns to life, fully joins the Avengers (in which he becomes friends with Beast), and has been associated with the group since. You can read more about his history here.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Avengers Epic Collection Vol. 1: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

World Pangolin Day

Today is World Pangolin Day!

Pangolins (aka scaly anteaters) are mammals native to sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia. 

They are known for having a scaly-looking hide. This hide is made from keratin, the same substance in human finger and toenails. They mainly eat ants and termites. Much like anteaters, they use long tongues to capture said insects. They hunt insects with their powerful senses of smell and hearing, as they have poor vision. In fact, they help keep termite populations under control in their habitats. Interestingly, they also ingest small rocks. This is an aid in digesting the insects they eat because they have no teeth.   

Some pangolins are arboreal, which means they live in trees. Others live on the ground and dig tunnels. Most pangolins are nocturnal. They're also solitary animals, only meeting other pangolins for reproductive purposes. Pangolin pregnancies can last from 70 to 140 days, depending on the species. They have live births (like humans), the African pangolins having one baby at a time, and the Asiatic ones can have one to three at the time.

Pangolins' biggest threat is humans. Their scales are harvested for traditional Chinese medical treatments. There is a demand for these treatments, despite the lack of scientific evidence of effectiveness. Attempts to breed pangolins in captivity have not worked very well due to their specialized diet and need for lots of space. In Taiwan, though, attempts at pangolin conservation have been more successful, and they now have the most pangolins in the world. 

So yeah, pangolins are fascinating creatures. Hopefully, they'll be with us for a very long time. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

National Muffin Day

 Happy National Muffin Day, everyone!

This day celebrates the muffin. After all, muffins are great. But where did the muffin come from? Well, it's believed that the muffin evolved from flat breads baked in pans in Wales in the 10th century. These muffins would evolve into what would be known as "English muffins" by the 18th century. In the 19th century, quickbread or "American-style muffins" would start to appear in cookbooks.  

Muffins have become a beloved food, whether as part of a breakfast or as part of a treat. I hope you got to enjoy one today! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Detective Comics #556 (November 1985)

Love can be a funny thing in the DC Universe. Love can make a person into a hero, it can put them through trials, and it can also make a person go completely mad. And no one is immune to love. Not even the Caped Crusader. 

The mid-1980s was quite a time for Batman when it came to romance. While his Earth-Two counterpart managed to settle down with his world's Catwoman and have a daughter with her before his retirement and death, the Earth-One Batman was unattached. But a new wrinkle would come into the Bat's love life: a pale astronomer named Natalia Knight, better known as Nocturna.

First appearing in Detective Comics #529 (August 1983), created by Doug Moench, Don Newton, and Gene Colan, Natalia Knight was the adopted daughter of rich gangster Charles Knight. Despite this, she originally had no intention of following in his criminal footsteps. Instead, she followed her passion for astronomy, going on to work at the Gotham City Observatory. It was there that she was hit by a radioactive laser beam, causing her skin to lose all its pigment and making it difficult for her to live in sunlight. Combined with a taste for living in luxury, she would go on to become a criminal.

Her relationship with Batman would become rather complicated thanks to not only a mutual attraction between the two, but because she got involved in the life of the current Robin at the time: Jason Todd. She got involved in Bruce Wayne's legal battle to adopt him as part of an attempt to make him marry her so she could stay in the black finance-wise. It left Todd rather mistrustful of her. She would then leave Gotham, allowing Jason to stay with Bruce and continuing to fight crime as Robin.

But one day, the DC multiverse faced its last crisis. The skies had turned blood red, and it brought Natalia to return to the city, seeing her beloved night under assault. The pale criminal still harbored feelings towards Batman, and the Dark Knight still had a thing for her. In the midst of the end of the DC multiverse, the Caped Crusader still has to deal with matters of the heart...and a new threat to Gotham. Appropriate that for Valentine's Day that I look at a comic dealing with love troubles, huh? This is Detective Comics #556!

The cover is a Gene Colan, Dick Giordano, and Anthony Tollin piece. It's pretty good, depicting Batman and Nocturna making out. The blank red sky and rain helps put them front and center, their blue (supposedly black) outfits and Natalia's pale skin allowing them to stand out. One thing I find interesting about this cover is that it's missing the "special Crisis crossover" ribbon that decorated DC books coming out at this time. You see, in this comic, the skies are red from the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Nocturna does notice it in-story, but it's not really a tie-in? Is that why it lacks the ribbon? I'm assuming that's the reason.

"The Bleeding Night"
Writer: Doug Moench
Penciler: Gene Colan
Inker: Bob Smith
Letterer: John Workman
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Editor: Len Wein
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins in Gotham City, on a night of foul weather. While bad weather is not unusual for this place, it's especially bad tonight as the crimson skies of the Crisis on Infinite Earths bathe the metropolis in red. But even though the superheroes of several Earths fight to save the remains of the Multiverse, life still goes on in Gotham. Crime never sleeps, after all. Although it really should, as it's a bear when it doesn't get its eight hours.

A man in a Hopi mask breaks into a jewelry store, hoping to score some free bling, as the kids say. A man clad in black Zip-A-Tone from head-to-toe attacks the Hopi-masked man. However, he's not here to play vigilante, he wants some information. 

"Your ugly mask makes me angry. I hate ugly masks!"

Anton Knight, the Night-Slayer, wants to know where the Hopi-masked man's new boss, Nocturna, is hiding at. Hopi Mask screams he doesn't know, but Zip-A-Tone man doesn't believe him.

He stabs Hopi Mask Man, claiming that she has bewitched him, like she does to every man she meets. So, where is Nocturna herself? Well, she's at an abandoned observatory in Gotham, looking up at the sky with her adopted son Jason Todd, who was active as Robin at the time. 

Natalia Knight laments that her beloved sky has turned red thanks to the Crisis. Jason talks about how Natalia has been like a second mother to him after losing his own parents. Yeah, pre-Crisis, Jason's origin was a carbon copy of Dick Grayson's: orphaned circus kid taken in by Batman. Nocturna wants to know how Jason found her. It wasn't hard, considering she's seen as an urban legend in Gotham. The mysterious pale lady that scared off a street gang from the observatory. 

It's here that Harvey Bullock shows up. He's none too happy with Jason, as it turns out that he had claimed Nocturna wasn't here. Yeah, Jason and Harvey had formed a bit of a bond at this time thanks to a mutual love of old movies. Nocturna is not intimidated by Bullock or his gun. She's leaving to take care of some...business. 

She tells Jason if Bullock wants to shoot her in the back, he's welcome to do so. A shot is fired...

...and it hits its target: a bullseye on paper. Yup, Bullock is now at a shooting range, presumably at a police station. Turns out he let Nocturna go, thinking of himself as Capt. Louis Renault in Casablanca, portrayed by the late British-American actor Claude Rains. He goes to talk about this with Gordon. Gordon's not worried about Nocturna, as Batman claims she's reformed. 

Elsewhere, the former members of the False Face Society have decided to hang up the masks, as it were.

"I think one of the problems we had was these cheap masks."

It's understandable. The Night-Slayer has been stalking their members and killing them as part of his crusade against Nocturna. It's become too risky, not to mention that with Black Mask still rotting in Arkham Asylum, they've becoming nothing more than a bunch of mooks in masks. Nocturna is all like "You're not retiring yet, boys. I'm taking over this gang." 

Over at the police station, Bullock and Gordon continue debating Nocturna and Batman. Gordon points out that Batman is technically breaking the law himself, being a vigilante. However, he has been effective, so Gordon is willing to give him some latitude and trust. Bullock also notices something...Robin isn't Robin.

It's not an impersonation job or anything. It's little things Bullock noticed. His height, and presumably other things like the way he talks. It does make sense. More on that later. He also believes he's Nocturna's son, considering how protective he got over the pale astrophysicist. 

It's revealed that Jason jumped in front of Nocturna, telling him that he's going to have to shoot him to get to her. Bullock has his flaws, but he is still not going to shoot a kid. Nocturna leaves, and Bullock heads to the firing range to take out his tension. 

"I need a beer. A BARREL of beer."

Bullock's theory goes like this: Nocturna's kid joins Batman as the new Robin. This infuriates her, so she returns to crime to get back at the Dark Knight, and kidnapped Jason Todd to replace Robin. If you're laughing at this, don't worry, I am too. Gordon makes a revelation.

"We were hoping to reveal this for your birthday, Bullock!"

Gordon's reasoning as to why there's a new Robin is a bit saner, and less complex. He theorized that the old Robin grew up and moved on. Batman not having a partner in crimefighting worried the commissioner for a while. Seeing a new Robin was very relieving to Gordon, as he felt a partner helped make Batman more human and approachable while still being intimidating to the criminal element. 

Also, even if this new Robin is Nocturna's kid, Gordon sees it as unfair to blame him for Nocturna's supposed sins. And even if it does turn out she's a criminal, Batman can take her in. 

Elsewhere in Gotham, another masked man is stalked by Anton.

"I know you're working with the Shadow Demons to steal my toejam!"

The Night-Slayer demands to know where Nocturna is. Mask Man has no clue. She just appears and tells them who to steal from. The mad killer doesn't believe him, intending to use him as a cushion for his stiletto. But thankfully, the Batman arrives. The Gotham Guardian and the Night-Slayer scuffle.

Night-Slayer is able to get to his knife and make another attempt at Mask Man, but that is foiled by Bats. The Slayer leaps away and vanishes. The Caped Crusader thinks it's time to pay Nocturna a visit. Naturally, she's at her observatory, studying the red skies.

"Uh, Bruce? Shouldn't you be out there taking care of this Crisis?"

She tells Bats that he should be proud of Jason. He's doing well. She's here because this was her birthplace in a way. It was where she became Nocturna. He realizes she has relapsed back into crime, but she's only wanting funds to reopen the observatory. He warns her the Night-Slayer is after her. Natalia is accepting of this, as if this is the time the night dies, then she should as well. And better she die at the hands of Night-Slayer than to the multiverse-wrecking Crisis.

She confesses that she loves Batman as much as the night itself. She's only ever kissed him once, when he was wounded by the Night-Slayer, and he was too delirious to realize it...

Yeah, time and place, Nattie. She approaches him, Batman saying he's fine now. The story ends with the two of them sharing a kiss as the red rains pour down on them. 

I enjoyed this comic. In fact, having read some of Doug Moench's 80s Batman stuff, I have begun to find it criminally underrated. Yeah, the late 1980s was a good time for the Dark Knight, what with Year One, the Dark Knight Returns, and the cap being the juggernaut that was the 1989 Batman film. However, Moench was doing some pretty darn good work on the mainline Batman comics during that time. 

One touch I liked in this issue is that Bullock determining that Jason is not the original Robin. It does make sense. At this point, Dick Grayson had given up the Robin mantle and become Nightwing. Jason isn't Dick, despite his having the same origin at the time. He's younger, presumably slightly different in attitude, and also presumably shorter than Dick. It's a good way of showing that Bullock isn't some stereotypical brainless donut-muncher. He's quite a bit sharper than he looks. 

Gene Colan has been heavily praised for his moody artwork, and I can certainly see why. His style certainly fits the Dark Knight. I do think there's something a bit "uncanny valley" about faces in close up, but it's not overly distracting. 

The original version of Nocturna would disappear with the Crisis, but over the years, the character would be revamped to be more villainous and even made more outright vampiric. Of course, it's likely her connection to Jason Todd is no longer canon, but of course, as with any character's history in the DCU, it's nowadays all up in the air. If you want to read this comic for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2025 trade paperback DC Finest: Batman - Red Skies. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

That's right, it's Valentine's Day! The holiday originated as a feast day celebrating the martyr-turned saint named Valentine (Valentinus in Latin). Appropriately enough, one of his symbols was a rose, which is a reason why roses are prominent on this holiday.

it would evolve into a holiday celebrating romantic love in the 14th century thanks to Geoffrey Chauser and his circle of friends. 

By the 18th century in England, it would evolve further into essentially the Valentine's Day we know today, with the offering of chocolates, flowers, and cards to loved ones that we know today. You can read here for more info on this day and its history.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy yourselves on this day! Spend some time with someone you love, where it'd be family, a significant other, friends, or even a pet or two! Have a great day!

May this day be a good one for you, full of joy and happiness!

Friday the 13th

 Friday the 13th is a day that is associated with bad luck. The idea of it being bad luck can be traced back to the Middle Ages, tying back to the tale of the Last Supper. There were thirteen people at it (Jesus and his Twelve Apostles) and he was crucified on Good Friday. You can read more about it here.

Generally, Friday the 13ths tend to come once a year, but it is possible for one year to have as many as three of them. For a month to have this day, the first day of the month must land on a Sunday. While Fridays and the number 13 have been considered unlucky separately in the past, it's only been around since the 19th century that this day is considered unlucky. It's not known exactly how this came to be. One possible way this myth got popularized was thanks to the publishing of the 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth by Boston novelist/businessman T.W. Lawson. In the book, an unscrupulous broker used the superstition to create a panic on Wall Street.

Other countries have similar superstitions. In Hispanic countries (Countries in which Spanish is the main language), Tuesday 13th is considered unlucky. This is also true in Greece. In fact, in Greece, Tuesday in general is considered an unlucky day due to the Greek word for Tuesday meaning "third day of the week", and Greek superstition states that bad luck comes in threes. In Italy, Friday the 17th is considered an unlucky day. This is believed to be the Roman numeral rendition of 17 (XVII) being able to spell the word "Vixi" (I lived), which is seen as an omen of death. In fact, Italians consider 13 a lucky number, but some have adopted the "13 is unlucky" myth thanks to the influence of American culture.

In more modern popular culture, it's associated with this guy.

Hope you all managed to avoid him, as he tends to...not be a friendly dude. Got some weird thing about machetes and his mother and going all Mortal Kombat on people, yada yada yada. The last one was back in June of last year. There will be three this year, the next two coming in March and November. So, if you're a bit superstitious, I'd not make plans on those days.

Friday the 13th has a fascinating history. I suggest you look more into it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!

Spider-Noir Trailer, My Thoughts

In Spider-Man: Noir #1 (February 2009), a new version of Marvel's mascot superhero was introduced as part of an alternate universe set of comics called Marvel Noir. Marvel Noir reinterpreted Marvel's classic heroes and villains in a film noir style set in the 1930s. This version of Peter Parker didn't wear a colorful costume, and was more brutal in his dealing with criminals, even willing to kill, something his mainstream counterpart would never do.

This version of Spider-Man would become quite popular, thanks to appearing in the Spider-Verse event comics, the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, and the animated film Into the Spider-Verse, where he was voiced by Nicholas Cage, modeling his voice work on 1930s-era actors James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. Now, Cage is set to play the role in live action in the upcoming series Spider-Noir. In this series, this noir-based Spider-Man is private investigator Ben Reilly. Let's look at the trailer!

"Yeah, but I love it when you tell that story."

These scenes seem to imply that Ben got his powers from some kind of experiment. Maybe during World War I? This version of Ben is likely old enough to have served in that war.

There was that one time Ben lost control. It involved the horses, six gallons of ice cream, a stick of deodorant, and the fedora shipment. People don't like talking about it, and Ben is not allowed to ever step foot in Osaka ever again.

To be fair, those guys were asking for it. They made fun of his mom.

Ben is a lightweight. One sip, and he's a human tornado of punches.

Oh boy, a wannabe Jim Hammond.

WEEEEEEEEEEE!

I love that there's the option to watch in black-and-white and color, but I think the black-and-white will be the better experience. Would fit the era rather well.

Well, this looks rather enjoyable. I liked Cage in the first Spider-Verse animated film, and I am curious as to how he'll tackle the character in live-action, even if they're not quite the same. I think this is a great example of how superheroes can blend into other genres. I think I'll have a good time watching this. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!