Hank McCoy (Before the Fur)
I was neglectful in the last post. I think I left a note undone Oh, the shame…
So here’s an addendum to issue 2 of Earth X, the notes on the appendix, and then the notes on issue 3:
Page 19- The circus announcer uses the phrase "man without fear." Sound familiar?
Page 20-21- When the big top’s big act starts, the crowd starts chanting "Daredevil!" over and over again. But this nigh-indestructible, strange man with a deathwish is hardly Matt Murdock, is he?
I don’t think it’s explicitly stated until very late in the trilogy, but it’s likely that this Daredevil is Wade Wilson, A.K.A. Deadpool. The healing factor, the morbid sense of humor…kind of makes sense, right?
Appendix page 2- Uatu alludes to one of Doom’s oldest conflicts as one explanation as to why the Latverian people have come to accept Reed as though he were Doom: ‘Many believe their master has waged war against all the forces of Hell for his people. And his battles with Mephisto have changed him…’
Doom has dabbled in sorcery more than once, primarily to free his mother’s soul from the interdimensional invader Mephisto. Later on, Mephisto is going to play an important role in these stories.
Again, the theme of the danger of Reed Richards’ explorations is mentioned here. The idea that the United States government might use the negative zone as a dumping ground of some kind was recently explored in Civil War.
Appendix page 2-3- This sort of sad, senseless fate for the Skrull and the Kree isn’t a big surprise. The two just can’t seem to get enough out of trying to kill each other.
The ‘Skrull Kill Krew’ is a real Marvel comic that has a surprisingly strong fanbase. A long time ago, Reed dealt with a small platoon of Skrull soldiers by having them transform into cows and then brainwashing them to believe they really were docile, Earth livestock (consequently, Reed and the F.F. are considered public enemy #1 to the Skrulls).
Years later, some of these ‘cows’ were ground up for meat. Many of the unfortunate people who ate ‘Skrull Meat” were changed into something horrific, but a select few managaed to retain their humanity and went about hunting down and killing every Skrull they could get their hands on.
Issue 3
Page 2-3- A retelling of Namor’s origin. Namor is not like other Atlanteans- like I said, he’s kind of a mutant by his own race’s standards. His mother, Fen, drank a potion in order to ‘breathe’ out of water. Like Uatu mentions, maybe the fact that Namor was conceived out of water, while his mother was under the influence of the potion, led to the mutation.
Page 4-5- Again, a shot of Johnny storm and the F.F. helping Namor regain his memory after WWII. It’s interesting that in this continuity, Johnny is killed by Namor. After all, Johnny probably saved Namor’s life here: if Namor had been out of water much longer, who knows what might have happened.
Page 7- Wyat comments: “Look at the way they move…it’s not natural.” There’s something going on with the Skull’s ‘army’.
I have honestly never heard of the character Texas Jack! Could be some old Captain America ally. It looks like Bishop and Feral carrying fish and equipment to those trains, among others.
Wyat and Cap talk about the possibility that the ‘army’ is under some kind of mind control. Be careful if you don’t like spoilers before you read this next part:
In point of fact, they’re right. The new Skull is controlling everyone. But this kind of domination is different than even guy’s like Xavier controlling someone’s mind. In the Skull’s case, it happens more in the form of wish fulfillment. So he tells you to do something, and you do it. He doesn’t have to concentrate and make you act it out with his mind- you just respond to his commands, against your will.
How did the Skull get this power, you ask? We’ll get there.
Page 9- A typical, but awesome, Namor line: “Foolish cow. I AM the Sea.’
Page 10- At last, we get a little clarity on this Peter Parker situation. The woman wearing the symbiote is apparently his daughter.
Her name is May. After Peter’s aunt.
Still, the tension between Parker and Venom (in this case, the name refers to the symbiote itself- not Eddie Brock in particular) hasn’t eased. As Peter says: “You had to bring it along, didn’t you, May?”
May mentions “I know how much you miss mom.” It’s likely, at this point, that M.J. has passed away…or maybe left Peter?
Page 11- For just a second, you get to see part of May’s face. She even looks a little like M.J., doesn’t she?
I like May’s allusion to her father’s behavior, both in terms of her relationship and as him being Spider-man: “You put this wall between us. If you want to have anyone in your life at all, you’re going to have to remember how to climb it.”
Page 13- Reed explains to the Inhumans how he believed the mutations were triggered- by his attempt to solve the world’s energy crisis.
Page 14- After hearing the story, Karnak mentions that he could tell Reed what went wrong given time. Karnak’s powers allow him to find weaknesses in flaws in objects. This applies to plans and ideas, as well.
When Reed mentions Vibranium, everybody gets silent.
Page 15- Medusa begins to explain…something that they want Reed to know. She mentions that their nation was gone. Their people had dispersed throughout the world. They weren’t needed there.
After the mutations, the Inhumans seemed to blend in with the rest of the population, apparently.
Page 18- I love the lines here. Reed: “Couldn’t save them? You left them there? But that’s….”
Medusa: “…inhuman?”
Medusa explains that the encased bodies they found were probably the Eternals. And the substance that destroyed the planet they had been living on, still wrapped around their bodies, was Vibranium.
Page 19- Sunspot is in the crowd attacking Namor.
Page 23- The new Skull’s throne looks like the outer body armor of the A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) created M.O.D.O.K. (Mobile Organism Designed Only for Killing), which I think is a nice touch.
Long time Frightful Four member, the Wizard, can be seen in the crowd standing behind the Skull, along with Spider-man villain Sandman.
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