HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE (SPOILERIFFIC!)

[The Baron]

I begin with my traditional spoiler space picture of someone who has nothing to do with the topic at hand:

Alan Hale Sr. & Jr. (To quote Russell Johnson: "At one point, the two men looked almost exactly alike."

Issue #1 covers from the beginning of time to the birth of one James Howlett. Random thoughts:

1. The art is tolerable, but not great. I would've put a better art team on a book like this, myself.
2. The storyline is, essentially, Galactus and Franklin Richards sitting around at the end of time, shooting the breeze while waiting for the universe to end. Apparently, Galactus' energies will be the seed to create the next universe, which Franklin will survive into. (Is he going to become the next universe's "Galactus"? Anyway, Franklin asks Galactus to narrate the history of the universe to him, so he'll remeber it all in the next iteration of reality.
3. The problem with this set-up is that it tends to go all over the place.  One minute they're talking about cosmic stuff, the next minute fairly mundane stuff.  Why would Galactus know or care about Sir Percy of Scandia or the Two-Gun Kid?
4. Marvel cosmology is littered with "cosmic" characters, the vast majority or whom are not even infinitesimally interesting.
5. The annotations at the back would be interesting, I suppose, if you were the sort of Hardcore Fanatical Completist who owns copies of every comic Marvel ever published and might therefore be liable to go look them up.

Next Time: Captain America! The Human Torch! Bucky! The Red Skull! Marvel Girl! Iron fist! Doctor Strange! Namora! Mystique?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

'Salright.

[Mike Parnell]

I have read the comments and the number 2. 

I agree that this probably will be canon, but not for long.  It does not jump off the page enough.  By that I mean all this looks to me to be is an attempt at cleaning up and tying up loose ends. 

I will keep on reading both the comic and what you have to say. 

[Detective 445]

I wonder if we will see the Sentry in the next issue.  The original Sentry comic made him out to be a key figure in the Marvel U around the time of Fantastic Four #1.

[Captain Comics]

I've thought about Siancong War a little more, trying to figure out why it struck me badly.

One is that "Sin-Cong" was in fact mentioned in Avengers #18, where the Kooky Quartet fought "The Commisar!" Why not use Sin-Cong? Why change something without a compelling reason?

The other is a bigger issue, and it's this: There was no Siancong War, or anything approximating it, in our history. That means the Marvel Universe history is majorly different from our own. And if America had fought a decadeslong war in Southeast Asia, wouldn't that have radically changed America and world geopolitics? Wars have repercussions, and decades long ones destroy movements, countries and empires, or birth new ones. I can't wrap my head around a decadeslong war that simply had no impact on the U.S., as demonstrated by today's Marvel Comics being set in a world very much like our own. 

Oh, I understand why that's so. It's like Pym particles and Iron Man suits and all of the Reed Richards patents that seem to have had no impact on anything: You can't change the comic book world too much from our own or you will estrange your audienece. I accept that as a story requirement.

But I can't easily stretch my suspension of disbelief around a made-up war that lasted generations, but had no impact and has never been mentioned by anybody -- especially by all those pseudo-immortals who apparently never left their basements for most of their lives since none of them apparently had any impact on world history. Where were they all during the Sian-Cong War? Canada?

Or maybe they were hanging out with Hush and that Stone guy in Iron Man who showed up as Bruce and Tony's lifelong friends that we never heard about until they showed up one day as villains. I didn't like those stories, either, for the same reason.

Not that it matters. As others have said, this is clever idea to explain a lot of inconsistencies that opens up cans and cans and cans of worms, so it will probably be swept under the rug as fast as possible.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"I wonder if we will see the Sentry in the next issue."

Ew, I hope not.

[Mike Parnell]

Besides the anniversary of Marvel, is there a stated reason for this series? 

I am asking in light of Cap's concerns about the Siancong War.  What role would said war have in the future stories that Marvel wishes to tell?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Regarding Mystique and Destiny, I read the Storm story from Marvel Fanfare #40 this morning... and was immediately reminded why I find Chris Claremont's writing so tedious as he referred to thunderstorms as "boomers" on the very first page. The story is a precursor (or rather "Prequel") to X-Men #185 and, subsequently, "Lifedeath" when Storm lost her powers in an effort to save Rogue from SHIELD. Mystique knows of SHIELD's weapon so she arranges to meet Storm in an S&M bar (of all places) so that Mystique can convey to Storm where Rogue is likely to be found. She doesn't warn Storm of the danger, knowing that she will place herself in danger to protect Rogue and Mystique may kill two birds with one stone.

After their meeting, Storm leaves and Mystique joins Destiny who is seated nearby. "She waits at a corner table, elegant as always, as beautiful today as when we first met," thinks Mystique. "I behold her in the flesh. She sees me only in her mind's-eye. I've always wondered which of us... was the more fortunate."

That seems to indicate a lesbian relationship. On the other hand, it might simply be a further example of Claremont's squirrely writing style. Mystique speaks of "cherishing" her and refers to her as "my love." Then she shape-shifts into a man and they dance. there is nothing in this story which indicates they are any older than they appear.

 

[Philip Portelli]

Sin-Cong does get a write-up in Marvel Atlas #1 from 2007. It's a rather unremarkable place noted for the time the Avengers battled Major Hoy's Commissar, the prominence of the Swordsman's family when the area was under French rule (which also explains the Swordsman's presence in Vietnam where he met Mantis) and that Iron Man's first foe Wong-Chu took over the place which led to a rematch with the Golden Avenger.

Put me down for being against a fictional decades-old war. Unless they explain that America wasn't a major participant, only offering guidance and a few troops or that everyone agreed not to have super-humans involved or it wasn't really a "war" just a lengthy "police action".

[The Baron]

FYI, if anyone cares:  My local was sold out of #3, I do not currently if/when I will get to see it.  Anyone else wants to talk about it, that's fine with me.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

ISSUE #3: This one is “a good jumping on point for new readers” as it starts with the birth of the Fantastic four and does an exemplary job going forward, pointing out the highlights up through the beginning of John Byrne’s tenure on the “All-New, All Different” X-Men. This is the first issue in which I liked the narrative more than the annotations (which I didn't even read in their entirety this time). The exemplary blend of words and pictures produces a symphony of comic book storytelling. I especially like the flow of the double-page spreads.

It’s tempting to think of the Franklin/Galactus scene taking place in the present day. (Their dialogue provides a running narration throughout, but they are depicted on one page together.) Born in “1966,” Franklin is still pretty young-looking. The Punisher is placed in “Siancong.” (I had gotten the impression last issue that his roots were still in Viet Nam.) Fu Manchu is referred to as an “international crime boss.” I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you get the issue.

[Detective 445]

My favorite thing about this series is the retro McNiven covers.

Interesting that they included the Illuminati continuity implant but not the Sentry.

And didn't Kurt Busiek retcon the wedding of Yellowjacket and Wasp or am I remembering that wrong?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"Interesting that they included the Illuminati continuity implant but not the Sentry."

I'd've been happy if Waid would have left out the Illuminati, too.

"And didn't Kurt Busiek retcon the wedding of Yellowjacket and Wasp...?"

Not sure what you're getting at. In what way?