Saturday Showcase: Impossible Man

the Impossible Man

    It's a my first showcase of 2020 and I wanted to make it spectacular.  So, I put some thought into who I was going to showcase and I couldn't pick just one.  So, I went to the movies with some friends to clear my head.  Before the movies, we went to a local bookstore and I came across a Marvel trade that was on sale and the light bulb in my head went off and my heart exploded with delight.  This was the answer I was looking for.  The trade was a collection of the one and only Impossible Man.  The Impossible Man is one of my favorite characters every to grace the pages of the Fantastic Four and X-Men.  So, without further rambling, here is my Saturday Showcase of Impossible Man.

the many talents of the Impossible Man

    The Impossible Man is a Poppupian from the planet Poppup and has shape-shifting abilities. The Impossible Man character is mainly used for comedy, portrayed as a lonely, attention seeking alien that often annoys those around him, especially the Fantastic Four. The Impossible Man first appeared in Fantastic Four #11 (February 1963), and was created by writer Stan Lee and writer/artist Jack Kirby. 

1st Appearance: Fantastic Four #11 ('63)

   The Impossible Man's alien physiology gives the character the ability to take on virtually any form via molecular rearrangement, an effect commonly accompanied by a "Pop!" sound effect. He can mirror the properties of objects or super-powered beings he shape-shifts into.   The nickname, the Impossible Man, actually came from the fact that the Thing once called him "impossible".  He also has the ability to teleport across vast interstellar distances and even dimensions.

    The Impossible Man once battled the New Mutants' Warlock to determine whose shape-shifting ability was superior, a contest Warlock won when he showed he was able to change his colors to match those of the forms he mimics, while the Impossible Man could not.  This was not the case when he first appeared, he was able to change his colors but for some reason Marvel thought it would be best if he could not.  Besides shape-shifting, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Earth's popular culture. Which he uses to "bore" is adversaries at times.

Impossible Man Vs Warlock

VITALS:
Publisher: Marvel Comics
First appearance: Fantastic Four #11 (Feb, 1963)
Created by: Stan Lee (writer) & Jack Kirby (artist)
Species: Poppupian
Team affiliations: Lethal Legion
Abilities:  Shape-shifting and super-power mimicry
                 Teleportation

                 Possesses encyclopedic knowledge of Earth's culture

Round 1

    Well, I hope you enjoyed this showcase about the "villain" known as the Impossible Man.  He was one of my childhood favorites and I would love to see him make some kind of appearance in a future Marvel Studios project.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Crazy Quilt (Paul Dekker)

Blinded by the Light

Greetings fellow Bat-Fans,

As you already know, today is Batman Day.  It is this reason, and this reason alone, that I have decided to focus my Saturday Showcase on a villain that most of you may not even know exists.  Who is this minion of evil?  Well, it's none other than Crazy Quilt.

You will bow to my will

There are several versions of the villain known as Crazy Quilt.  The original Crazy Quilt was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in issue #15 of the Boy Commandos series by DC Comics.  The version I am concentrating on is the Paul Dekker version that was created by Dick Dillin and later touched up by the legendary Jack Kirby.

The origin of the first two Crazy Quilt's are intertwined to the point it is hard to separate.  What is known is that he was blinded by a gunshot wound, so he volunteers for an experimental procedure that restores his vision, but is unfortunately left unable to see anything but bright colors.
In his second published appearance, this is combined with a special helmet that emits bright colored lights, enabling him to see under most circumstances.

Crazy Quilt's sight is restored briefly for a time after he kidnaps a surgeon to assist him. Batman and Robin intervene. In self-defense, Robin reflects the madman's light beams back into his newly restored eyes. Unintentionally, Quilt is permanently blinded. Obsessing over his young adversary, he becomes one of the few bat-villains to hate Robin more than his mentor.

The Man Who Stole His Eyes

Crazy-Quilt has a helmet that allows him to hypnotize his victims using flashing lights of various colors. It can also project lethal laser beams, blinding lights, and functions as artificial eyes since his own eyes no longer function.  The lenses feed their input signal straight into his brain.

JUST THE FACTS:
Name:Crazy Quilt
Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Blackhawks #180
Created by:
Pre-Crisis version: Dick Dillin
        Post-Crisis version: Jack Kirby
Alter Ego: Paul Dekker
Abilities:
        Mind-controlling helmet that projects lethal laser beams and blinding lights and has artificial eyes.

All Hail the King!

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Super-Skrull

Super Skrull Vs the Illuminati 

    With all the talk about the release of Captain Marvel this week, I figured now would be a great time to showcase one of my favorite villains from back in the day.  We all know the skrulls will make their debut in the film about Carol Danvers, but their is one Skrull in particular that I am a fan of.  That Skrull's name is Kl'rt, but you may also know him as the Super-Skrull.

    Kl'rt is from Tarnax IV (in the Tarnax system of the Andromeda Galaxy) and was given the combined powers of the Fantastic Four so that he could destroy them once and for all so that the Skrulls could conquer Earth.  Although he was a powerful villain, he has always been conquered only to return to reek havoc on other heroes in his conquest of the Earth.  He has stood toe to toe with the Hulk and Thor and has still lived to talk about it.  He is very powerful, don't get me wrong, he just hasn't gotten the edge on the heroes...yet.

    Kl'rt is a character created by the late Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  He was first introduced to the world back in September of 1963 in issue #18 of the Fantastic Four.  He has been giving Marvel hell ever since.

Super-Skrull first appeared in Fantastic Four #18 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

   Some of Kl'rt's powers and abilities include: shape-shifting (like all Skrulls) but, thanks to his re-engineering by Skrull scientists, he has versions of the Fantastic Four's superpowers. These include greater malleability; superhuman strength, stamina and durability; flight, heat manipulation and energy projection (in the forms of plasma, concussive force and anti-matter blasts); invisibility and the creation of invisible force fields. He has developed his expertise over time. The Super-Skrull also has a unique power: the ability to control the minds of others or paralyze them by emitting hypnotic force from his eyes. 

   Kl'rt may be an impressive specimen, but he isn't the only Super-Skrull as we would later find out in the Secret Invasion story-line from Marvel Comics (2008-2009).  Some of these skrulls included versions of  Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Spider-Woman, Colossus, and Giant Man to name a few.

Secret Invasion: the new breed of Super-Skrulls 

    Although we know that Kl'rt is no longer the only Super-Skrull, we also know that he was the original.  That is why I will always think of him as the one and only Super-Skrull.  He was the one that I watched battle my favorite heroes as a child so he holds that place in my heart.  I just hoe you can find room in your heart to learn more about Kl'rt, the Super-Skrull.  

Kl'rt Vs The Ultimates

    As I wrap up this week's showcase, I can only think to myself about how the Captain Marvel movie should at least mention him as he was known in the Skrull army, and that is as General Kl'rt.  I can understand if he wasn't super yet since Disney just recently bought back the Fantastic Four rights from Sony.  So there is always the possibility of an F4 film to take on the Skrulls (one can dream).  

Until next time, get your READ on!

Super-Skrull Victorious?

Saturday Showcase: Mister Miracle

    It's Saturday, September 9th and it is time for another Saturday Showcase here at Derf's Domain.  For today's showcase I was actually inspired by a new series showcasing a classic hero.  I was reading issue #1 of Mitch Gerads version of Mister Miracle when the idea hit me to feature him in my next showcase.  So, here we are.

    For those of you who don't know, Mister Miracle was created by the late and great Jack Kirby as one of the new gods in the DC Universe.  He first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 back in April of '71.    He was originally introduced as part of the Fourth World series, such as the New Gods, but actually outlived the other titles by an addition seven titles.  something about Mister Miracle stuck out with the fan base, which allowed him to be in other titles such as the Brave and the Bold, DC Comics Presents, and appearances in all the Justice League titles until landing a reoccurring role in the Justice League International series.

    It was in the JLI, that I believe my love for Mister Miracle grew. I was not even a thought in my dad's mind when he was first introduced to the world of comics.  But I was a huge Batman fan which led me to discover the Justice League International which in turn introduced me to my favorites such as Mister Miracle, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Guy Gardner.

    I know, I know, exactly who is Mister Miracle?  Well, the original Mister Miracle was a man by the name of Thaddeus Brown.  A well-known escape artist who was also a mentor to the talented Scott Free.  When Thaddeus, was murdered, Scott toke over as the hero known as Mister Miracle.  After his adventures with the JLI, Scott put the mantle of Mister miracle down to be with family and friends.  He also took in an escape artist named Shilo Norman to show him the tricks of the trade.  Which led to Shilo being the 3rd man to go by the name Mister Miracle.  However, Scott Free will always be Mister Miracle to me as well as true fans of the character.  In fact, in the new run of Mister Miracle by Mitch Gerads and Tom King, Scott is the bearer of the Mister Miracle costume and is trying to find his place alongside his wife, Big Barda.

    I highly recommend reading the new Mister Miracle series, in fact I give issue #1 of the series a 10 out of 10 rating.  But to truly understand and enjoy the character of Mister Miracle, I recommend going to your local comic store, comic con, hell even Ebay to pick up some of the older titles that star this amazing hero. I definitely, would pick up some of the Justice League International trades that are available.

First Appearance: Mister Miracle #1, April 1971

Created by: Jack Kirby 

Team Affiliations: Justice League

Jack Kirby on the Hulk TV show?

I saw this episode today, and in all the years I never noticed that the great one, Jack Kirby, was the sketch artist until today.

Here is the clip from "No Escape".