THE ULTIMATE SUPER-VILLAINS Part Two - August 1996

If Wishes Were Horses
Written by Tony Isabella and Bob Ingersoll

Summary:  The Ringmaster reflects on his childhood, recalling the incident that prevented him from doing a horse act in the circus.  Later, he discovered his father’s diary, and to his horror, learned of his past as a Nazi.  He never forgave his father.  Hoping to restore the magic of the circus, he dedicated himself to hypnotism.  After inheriting the failing circus from his parents, Ringmaster eventually succumbed to using his father’s Nullatron device to brainwash his creditors.  The circus soon evolved into a criminal front.  In the present, Ringmaster discovers their audience tonight consists of a children’s cancer charity.  He orders his troupe to perform a genuine show, allowing the circus to remain pure for the children.

Continuity Notes:  The original Golden Age Ringmaster was Fritz Tiboldt.  The Nullatron  is the device on his hat that hypnotizes people.  His son, the current Ringmaster, is Maynard Tiboldt.  Looking online, Fritz and his wife were murdered by Nazis in the comic continuity, while they die of natural causes in this story.

Review:  Surely no anthology of Marvel Comics supervillains would be complete without twenty pages of prose focused on the Ringmaster.  While this might seem like an obvious candidate to skip over, there’s a lot of good material here.  Isabella and Ingersoll flesh out Ringmaster in a credible way without making him unrecognizable, and the concept of duty “forcing” both Tiboldts to cross lines they swore they never would is executed well.  After the story reaches the point that Maynard Tiboldt is clearly a villain and actually getting quite good at avoiding the authorities, it’s easy to wonder why there are three pages left.  Bringing in the children at the very end and giving Maynard a respectable justification for giving up crime for just one night is a poignant way to end the story, tying everything back to the opening without overloading on schmaltz. 


Doom (Squared)
Written by Joey Cavalieri

Summary:  An escape artist named Theo invades Latveria’s borders.  He sends a subtle message to its citizens, encouraging them to break away from Dr. Doom.  Doom allows Theo entry into his castle after Theo solves a series of mysteries.  Doom discovers that Theo’s DNA structure has been changed to match his own.  When Theo falls for Doom’s final trick, he’s killed.  Doom sends Theo’s ashes to his uncle Phoebus, the ruler of nearby Sylvania.  When Phoebus throws the urn down in anger, the same virus that killed Theo is released in the castle.

Continuity Notes:  I’ve never heard of the fictitious Marvel country of Sylvania before.  (It's apparently a reference to the movie Duck Soup.)  What other countries that share names with electronics brands exist in the MU?  The Republic of Panasonic?  The liberated islands of Magnavox?

Review:  So, Doom’ story is half as long as Ringmaster’s.  That makes sense.  Actually, I’m not complaining.  Brevity never hurt anybody, and Cavalieri is able to tell the story he needs to tell in only a handful of pages.  The narrative opens with Doom playing a game (described as the Latverian equivalent of “Battleship”) against a Doombot that’s had its intellect increased a hundred fold.  When Doom finally defeats it, he questions if he’ll ever find an equal.  Abruptly, the scene shifts to Theo’s story, and while it’s obvious that Theo is being played as an intellectual rival to Doom, we don’t understand the significance until Cavalieri reveals Theo as a sort of biological Doombot.  It’s a simple story that reasserts the idea that no one is Doom’s equal.  Not a robot with an enhanced brain.  Not a younger model with designer DNA.  Even a rival for his intellect couldn’t match his sheer ruthlessness.  Cavalieri gets the point across effectively, allowing the anthology to quickly move on to…


Child’s Play
Written by Robert L. Washington III

Summary:  After Ghost Rider stops one of Mephisto’s schemes, Mephisto turns his focus on a child named James Carruthers.  Mephisto tricks James into believing that Ghost Rider is a villain, offering to grant him superpowers, and to cure his terminally ill brother, if he agrees to a bargain.  James is given ice powers, which he uses against Ghost Rider.  When Ghost Rider stops their fight to help a civilian, James realizes he’s no villain.  Mephisto arrives enraged, demanding James honor their deal.  Ghost Rider voluntarily transforms back into a human, technically fulfilling James’ agreement.  Mephisto revokes James’ powers, but does heal James’ brother.

Review:  The only characters in the Marvel Universe dumb enough to make a deal with Mephisto should be children.  Period.  This is a fairly generic story, although Washington has chosen an appropriate hero to be targeted by Mephisto (one that a child could easily believe is a villain), and the scenes that flesh out James work pretty well.  The sudden narrative shift from third-person narration to James’ first-hand account, right down to the ebonics, could annoy some readers, but James is kind of likeable by the end.  I mean, his brother’s sick and the bigger kids pick on him all the time.  Leave him alone, okay?

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN Annual #7 - September 1991

The Machine and the Man

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Guang Yap (penciler), Aiken & LaRosa (inkers), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Roxxon develops a new synthetic vibranium on ESU’s campus, attracting the attention of the Kingpin and Ultron. Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Black Panther have also united over concerns about the synthetic vibranium’s instability. Joined by Roxxon employee Sunturion, the heroes face Ultron at ESU. When Ultron betrays Kingpin by hoarding the vibranium samples, Kingpin responds with a sonic frequency that incapacitates him. The unstable vibranium begins to melt all metal in the vicinity, but Sunturion refuses to destroy Roxxon property. Iron Man responds by creating a tunnel to the center of the Earth. As the floor collapses, the vibranium disappears.

The Subplots: None.

Web of Continuity: This is part three of “The Vibranium Vendetta,” a crossover in the 1991 Spider-Man annuals.

*See _________ For Details: Iron Man’s study of the synthetic vibranium was interrupted by Arthur Dearborn, aka Suntrion, in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #11.

Review: The annual mini-crossovers Marvel ran in the early ‘90s probably seemed like a good idea on paper, but I can’t think of too many of them that were particularly good. “The Vibranium Vendetta” does have Spider-Man teaming up with some of the Avengers and facing foes that are a little out of his league, but there doesn’t seem to be much else going for it. In fairness, I haven’t read the other chapters in years, so perhaps Michelinie hashed out some of the ideas he hints at here in the other installments. Aside from the superheroics, the story briefly touches on the influence science can have on economics (synthetic vibranium will cripple Wakanda’s economy, which doesn’t please the Black Panther), and shows the limitations a corporate-sponsored superhero faces, especially when he’s employed by the all-purpose evil corporation, Roxxon. “Briefly” is the operative word, as the plot is mainly concerned with getting the characters in place for the final showdown and finishing up the storyline. If there’s any meat to “The Vibranium Vendetta,” it’s not in the final chapter.

Fast Feud II: Speed Demon’s Revenge

Credits: Tony Isabella (writer), Paris Cullins (penciler), Dave Cooper (inker), Ken Lopez (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

The Plot: After Speed Demon’s lawsuit against Rocket Racer is dismissed, he targets the hero for revenge. Rocket Racer defeats him in battle, but is concerned by how close he came to killing Speed Demon. Racer declares that he’ll become a better hero.

Web of Continuity: Rocket Racer can now use his rockets to increase the speed of his fists and create a “rocket-punch.” The attack is so brutal, Racer briefly wonders if Speed Demon is still alive.

I Love the (Early) ‘90s: Rocket Racer and Sluggo, his contact with Silver Sable International, stay in contact through a beeper.

*See _________ For Details: Speed Demon filed a lawsuit against Rocket Racer in Marvel Tales #242.

Review: I remember the days of new backup stories in Marvel Tales, but they were usually Fred Hembeck’s “Petey” tales, or short Spider-Ham stories. I never read the Rocket Racer backups, but now that I know one of them involved Speed Demon filing a lawsuit against Racer, I really want to. If Isabella wrote them in the same spirit as this backup, I bet they’re a lot of fun. Aside from the levity, this story also works in a message about true heroism, and builds up Rocket Racer’s character by chronicling his turn from hero/mercenary who needs money for tuition into a more legitimate hero. I’ve mentioned earlier that much of the character work done on Rocket Racer was squandered in subsequent years, which is too bad because stories like this show that he has real potential.

Outlaw Justice! Part Three

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Alan Kupperberg (artist), Rick Parker (letterer), Ed Lazellari (colorist)

The Plot: Desperate to prove himself, Sandman works undercover to stop political extremist, Boussard. He has to fight Silver Sable’s Outsiders when they arrive to apprehend Boussard, but Sandman breaks cover in time to prevent Boussard’s escape. Impressed, Silver Sable offers Sandman a contract.

Review: This backup is mostly forgettable, although it does feature the oddest artwork I’ve ever seen from Alan Kupperberg. On almost every panel, Silver Sable looks like she’s a gummy version of herself. No shadows stick to her, she barely has detail lines, and her body is eerily flat. Strange. Anyway, this is the conclusion of a three-part backup series, which mainly existed to pay off a Sandman subplot from Amazing Spider-Man. Michelinie was teasing the idea that after a misunderstanding with the Avengers, Sandman would be lured back into a life of crime. In the final installment, we learn that everything’s okay and he’s firmly working with the heroes again. That is, until John Byrne informs us that Sandman was faking his reformation, even in his own thoughts, all along. Retro fever strikes again.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #76 - May 1991

Art’s Desire!

Credits: Tony Isabella (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man breaks free of the ice, shortly before the Human Torch arrives to check on him. They follow the tracer Spider-Man left on Bora to the Avant Guard’s headquarters and confront the villains. The Painter grows bored with the fight, and when Spark and Bora question him, he transforms them into a painting. The Painter drops his human façade and unleashes the thousands of insects that reside inside his body. The insects evaporate as gas. Spider-Man picks up the remains of the Painter’s face and realizes it’s made of canvas.

The Subplots: MJ continues to keep the crew of “Secret Hospital” calm, even as the power goes out.

Web of Continuity: According to the Human Torch, the Painter was a small-time crook until he discovered a set of alien paints that allowed him to alter reality. Spider-Man’s suspicious of the story, which foreshadows this issue’s ending.

*See _________ For Details: The Torch first encountered the Painter in Strange Tales #108.

Review: Because everyone’s out of art/heart puns, “Art Attack!” must come to an end. (Maybe someday, the Avant Guard can return in a massive crossover entitled “Total Eclipse of the Art.”) The Painter is given something of a reboot at the story’s conclusion, as we discover he was never human at all. This was apparently done to retcon his “alien paint” origin, but I’m not even sure how it’s supposed to work. So, he’s actually a collection of sentient roaches that created a human identity and fabricated a story about finding cosmically powered art supplies? I can understand why someone would want to update his Silver Age origin, although it’s so ludicrous I’d like to see it stick around, but I’m not sure how this is an improvement. That said, I enjoyed Isabella’s collection of villains for this arc (I’m not sure if any of the early Human Torch solo stories had been reprinted at this point, so using the Painter is really going to the heights of obscurity), and Saviuk has handled the action scenes and various cameos well.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #75 - April 1991

Cold Hands Warm Art

Credits: Tony Isabella (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man, along with numerous heroes, aids the citizens of New York during a sudden blizzard. When he’s attacked by Spark and Bora, he realizes that Bora’s mutant powers are behind the snowstorm. Bora freezes Spider-Man inside a block of ice, which completes the Painter’s vision.

The Subplots: Spider-Man attempts to check on Mary Jane during the blizzard, while she’s trying to keep the crew of “Secret Hospital” from panicking.

Web of Continuity: This story is presented as Spider-Man’s first meeting with the New Warriors. It’s also his first in-continuity team-up with Firestar (his other amazing friend, Iceman, makes a cameo as well).

I Love the (Early) ‘90s: Spider-Man refers to Iceman as the “original Vanilla Ice.” There are also references to former New York mayor David Dinkins, Siskel & Ebert, and (oh, yes) “Hammer Time.”

Forever Young: Spider-Man calls the New Warriors “kids.” He reflects on his own younger days as a hero before briefly wondering if he’s suffering from a “premature midlife crisis.”

Miscellaneous Notes: Two tourists, who look suspiciously like Lois and Clark, are honeymooning in New York. DC’s cold feet, combined with the Lois & Clark TV series’ postponement of the wedding, made this in-joke arrive five years early. Also, the Painter briefly transforms Spark and Bora into two classic comic strip characters. I think their names are Sally and Puggo. This guy seems to like them.

Review: Congratulations on reaching seventy-five issues, Web of Spider-Man. Here’s the mid-chapter of a fill-in arc. You’re not getting a regular writer until you bring those grades up, young man. Last issue’s cliffhanger revealed the Painter’s ambition to prove that mankind is “no more worthy of survival than the dinosaurs,” which of course means a massive blizzard is the next part of his scheme. A lot of the wackiness of the previous issue is gone, as the focus turns to the assorted heroes of the Marvel Universe fighting the weather. I do like seeing the various heroes interacting with normal people, but this storyline definitely feels like it’s starting to drag.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #74 - March 1991

Art and Soul

Credits: Tony Isabella (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Following a cold response to their work, performance artists Spark and Bora meet their mentor, the Painter, backstage. The Painter declares the trio “the Avant Guard” and uses his ability to warp reality to transform Spark into a hulking behemoth. Spark attacks the audience, but is repelled by Spider-Man. The Painter teleports Spark away, declaring his next scheme will have more substance.

The Subplots: Peter has been forced into attending the performance by Kristy, who seems to be Spark’s only fan. At the show, they run into Peter Nicholas again. Kristy accidentally reveals her crush in front of the painter, and blames Peter for making the incident more embarrassing.

*See _________ For Details: The theatre’s art exhibit includes a painting of a foot in a holey sock. Peter recognizes it from Amazing Spider-Man #22 (I don’t remember this scene, but I’ll take a shot in the dark and say it involved Steve Ditko making a statement against the modern art scene). Peter Nicholas has a vague memory of Bora from his previous life as Colossus. A footnote points towards Moon Knight#35, of all places.

I Love the (Early) ‘90s: Spider-Man advises Spark to save his ad-libs for Arsenio.

Forever Young: Peter tells Peter Nicholas not to worry about Kristy, as “they’re fickle at that age.”

“Huh?” Moment: Two different groups of people mistake Peter Parker and Peter Nicholas. Has it ever been established that Peter Parker looks like Colossus? Shouldn’t Colossus be at least a foot taller?

Creative Differences: Spark’s diatribe against the audience on page six has been re-lettered.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership has average sales for the year at 209,174 and the most recent issue selling 202,200 copies.

Review: I seem to recall this arc getting a bad rap amongst fans, and while it is ridiculous, I give it points for just being fun. The Painter is apparently an obscure character from Marvel’s early days, who has the power to shape reality, and wastes it on making statements about art. Unless you’re doing the post-Watchmen story about the guy recognizing the true capacity of his powers and realizing the horrible burden they carry, his stories are probably going to be absurd. Isabella grounds the story by giving us plenty of interaction between Peter and Kristy, which is really the highlight of the issue. She’s moved on from her crush on Peter, and now thinks of him as kind of a dork, while he’s still trying to humor her (presumably to keep MJ happy). More often than not, he acts like her slightly obnoxious older brother, which is a role you normally don’t get to see Peter play, but it works quite well. There is one line, however, which could be interpreted as Peter mocking Kristy’s bulimia. He asks Kristy if she finds cheese dip too “dangerous” a snack, which angers her. Given the context (Spark just faked his death onstage), maybe it’s a reference to the theatre itself being dangerous, but it’s hard to tell. I certainly hope that’s all it was.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN Annual #6 - July 1990

Up From Slavery

Credits: Gerry Conway (plot), Stan Lee (script), Gil Kane (penciler), Sal Buscema, Mike Eposito, & Alan Kupperberg (inks), Rick Parker (letterer), Nel Yomtov, Evelyn Stein, & Bob Sharen (colors)

The Plot: Spider-Man finds himself a captive of Psycho-Man, who mistakenly believes he still possesses the Uni-Power. With the aid of Psycho-Man’s fellow captives, Spider-Man escapes and battles Psycho-Man in the heart of the Microverse. When Spider-Man destroys Psycho-Man’s size-control device, he shrinks into apparent nothingness. Spider-Man’s newfound friends restore him to his proper size, and the hero returns home to MJ.

The Subplots: None.

Web of Continuity: Following two line-wide crossovers in the annuals, Marvel decided to do smaller crossovers, consisting of only three chapters each. This is the final installment of “Spidey’s Totally Tiny Adventure,” which ran through all of the 1990 Spider-Man annuals.

Review: Okay, it’s time for “Spidey’s Totally Tiny Adventure,” which I’m sure wasn’t influenced by Honey, I Shrunk the Kids at all. Apparently, editor Jim Salicrup wanted to reunite as many of the classic Spidey creative teams as possible during his stint, but many of the creators weren’t fully available. Consequently, we get an annual crossover plotted by regular writer Gerry Conway, scripted by Stan Lee, penciled by Gil Kane (who most likely only provided breakdowns), and inked by various creators. The inconsistent inking doesn’t do the book any favors, since this isn’t quite the Gil Kane Spidey you remember from those Marvel Tales reprints. (I couldn’t believe this was the same guy who drew the “Death of Captain Stacy” arc as a kid; probably because I didn’t notice John Romita inked those original issues.) Spider-Man looks great in a few panels, but the design of his costume, and sometimes his entire body type, seems to fluctuate from panel to panel. The story is obviously silly, and since Stan Lee apparently stopped scripting in a consciously “serious” style around 1970, he’s an appropriate choice for the storyline. Most of the jokes aren’t too corny, and the story keeps going at a steady pace. All of this is noticeably rushed, but it’s still entertaining.

Salesday for a Shootout

Credits: Gerry Conway (writer), Ross Andru (penciler), Mike Eposito (inks), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colors)

The Plot: MJ and Aunt May’s trip to the mall is interrupted by anti-capitalist terrorists. The Punisher arrives to stop them, but the terrorists use MJ and Aunt May as a shield. May fakes a heart attack, giving the Punisher an opportunity to finish the terrorists.

Review: A Punisher/Aunt May team-up story, brought to you by the creative team who wrote and drew the Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129. Is “classic” too strong a word? I’m sure Punisher’s diehard fans hated seeing him in stories like this, but I usually enjoyed his occasional interactions with the rest of the Marvel Universe as a kid. Acknowledging the sheer gimmickry of the story, Conway tries to make it as plausible as possible and doesn’t play it as outright comedy. The most unrealistic aspect of the story is just how calm Aunt May remains throughout the whole ordeal. You would think going through this would scar her for the rest of her short life, but she remains especially cool and even delivers a composed recap of the events to the media after the Punisher escapes.

Eleven Angry Men…And One Angry Woman

Credits: Peter David (writer), June Brigman (penciler), Stan Drake (inks), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colors)

The Plot: MJ is the only juror willing to convict a burglar caught by Spider-Man. After she refuses to budge, the jury is declared deadlocked. The defendant is confident he’ll survive a new trial, until he sees Spider-Man (on his way to pick up MJ) swing by the window. He accepts a plea bargain and is sent to jail.

Review: This is an homage to Twelve Angry Men, based around the premise that Spider-Man’s habit of leaving criminals webbed up in public isn’t actually enough evidence to convict them. The combination of a weary judge and inexperienced defense attorney leaves Mary Jane on the jury, and she of course refuses to believe the burglar’s claim that Spider-Man was the real culprit. Peter David spends most of the story on the interactions between the frustrated jurors and MJ, and gets a decent amount of comedy out of the idea. It’s a strong premise for a story, and David is pithy enough to get the point across within a few pages.

Child Star

Credits: Tony Isabella (writer), Steve Ditko (artist), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colors)

The Plot: A suburban stockbroker couple summons demons to help them play the market. The demons soon escape and cause havoc in the neighborhood. The Uni-Power allows two-year-old Eddie to become Captain Universe. The baby Captain banishes the demons in a flash of light.

Review: Gil Kane, Ross Andru, and Steve Ditko in the same Spider-Man comic. Of course, they’re not all drawing Spider-Man, but let’s not be greedy. This is a comedy story by Tony Isabella, who did a few jobs for the Spider-office during this era. It is honestly funny, and uses the Captain Universe concept quite well. I do have to wonder about the “demons” Ditko’s designed for the story, though, as they look more like friendly Muppets.