Saturday Showcase: Killer Shrike

Just who is the Killer Shrike?  Just one of the coolest villains to challenge heroes such as Spider-Man and Moon Knight.  In my opinion, he is highly underrated and should be a Marvel Legends or Funko Pop! figure by now.   That is why I chose the Killer Shrike as my return to my posts known as Saturday Showcase.

Simon Maddicks was born in Williamsburg, Virginia. He began his career as a soldier in the United States Army. After that, he was selected to be a special agent of the Roxxon Oil Company.  Maddicks became a mercenary and professional criminal, more specifically a special agent in covert operations. He underwent extensive conditioning which increased his human abilities. He also underwent surgery that implanted a miniature anti-gravity generator in his spine. Roxxon gave him  his super-villain costume and the codename "Killer Shrike".

The Killer Shrike has had his fair share of encounters with a variety of super heroes and villains, but he has never really reached his full potential.  He is always stopped and captured.  Hell, sometimes he ends up in a hospital. {*As seen in The Sensational She-Hulk #27,  Dr. Jay}

Powers & Abilities

Extensive conditioning and surgery by Brand Corporation scientists enhanced Simon Maddicks's strength and other physical abilities. He is capable of flight by means of a surgically implanted anti-gravity generator at the base of his spine, activated by a neural link.

Besides that, he has extensive training and experience in hand-to-hand combat and martial arts, and proficiency with hand weapons including guns and knives.

Killer Shrike wears body armor, an armored suit made of an insulated steel alloy mesh capable of protecting him from flight turbulence and small caliber weapons fire. His major weapons system is the twin power-blasters worn on his wrists, with titanium talons capable of slashing flesh, wood, cinderblock, and light metals, and of discharging high-frequency electrical bolts.

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance:  The Rampaging Hulk #1 (Jan. 1977)

Created by John Warner & John Buscema

 

Alter Ego: Simon Maddicks

Notable Aliases:  Harold Simmons

Team Affiliations

• Brand Corporation
• Masters of Evil
• Roxxon Oil Company
• Sinister Six
• Thunderbolts
• United States Air Force
• United States Army

I hope you enjoyed this brief history lesson on the Killer Shrike.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Porcupine (Alexander Gentry)

 
Sometimes I need help deciding who I will showcase and sometimes my showcases are dropped in my lap.  For example, I had no idea who I was going to showcase this week until I saw the latest episode of She-Hulk.  It is while watching this episode that I realized I need to showcase the classic Ant-Man villain, the Porcupine.  There are 3 known versions of the Porcupine in the Marvel Universe but I am going to showcase the original Porcupine also known as Alexander Gentry.

Alexander Gentry was originally a scientist who worked as a weapons designer for the United States Army. He conceived the idea of designing a battle-suit in imitation of a porcupine: it would be covered with quill-like projections for defense. Moreover, it would be able to shoot its quills, or gases, flames, chemicals, paralysis-inducing pellets, or weapons from quill-like tubes, at an opponent. Gentry spends months working overtime to create his porcupine battle-suit. He is proud of his achievement when the suit was finished, and believes his invention is worth a fortune. Yet Gentry also believes that the government would pay him, one of its employees, virtually nothing for his creation. Angrily, Gentry decides to keep the porcupine battle-suit and to use it to become wealthy through crime. Thus Gentry became the Porcupine, one of the first costumed professional criminals of his generation.

Hank Pym aka Ant-Man, and his partner, Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, soon defeat the Porcupine while he attempted to rob a bank.  However, the Porcupine succeeds in escaping. After Pym had also assumed the superhuman powers and identity of Giant-Man, Porcupine returns for revenge. During the resulting battle, the Porcupine consumes what he thinks is a Giant-Man growth medium, but which instead shrinks him to microscopic size. Eventually the capsules wear off, leaving him shaken by his defeat.

His self-confidence still shaken by his failures in battling Giant-Man and the Wasp, the Porcupine eagerly accepts the invitation of Count Nefaria, a powerful figure in the criminal Maggia, to join his group of costumed agents. Among Nefaria's agents are Plantman, the original Eel, the original Unicorn, and the Scarecrow, all of whom the Porcupine would ally himself with in the future as well. The Porcupine and the other costumed agents aid Count Nefaria in his attempt to hold much of Washington D.C. for ransom. However, the X-Men thwart Nefaria and his agents.

Once again, the Porcupine escapes being taken prisoner, and he blames the failure of the blackmail scheme on Nefaria and the other agents. Gentry comes to suspect that in fact, he himself was inadequate for the role of being a "super-villain" battling superhuman opponents.

After his battle and escape from the X-Men, Alexander has had run-ins with Iron Man, Captain America, the Defenders, She-Hulk, and many others throughout his career.  He eventually is captured and sent to prison only to escape countless times.  He evidentially goes underground, never to be heard from again.  Well, maybe not never...lol. 

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #48 (October 1963)

Created by Stan Lee & Don Heck

Alter Ego: Alexander Gentry

Team Affiliations:

• United States Army
• Lethal Legion
• Maggia

Abilities

Skilled Automotive Mechanic

Porcupine Suit grants:

• Enhanced strength and durability
• Razor-tipped quill-like surface
• Short-distance flight via belt jets
• Wide variety of Offensive and Defensive Weapons

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Mr. Immortal

 

Today's Showcase features the leader of the Great Lakes Avengers, Mr. Immortal.  Why did I choose to do my showcase on an Avenger B Team member?  Well, you have the Disney+ hit series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law to thank for that.   

Craig Hollis, aka Mr. Immortal, was created by John Byrne and he first appeared in The West Coast Avengers vol. 2 #46 (July 1989).  He was the leader of a group of heroes calling themselves the Great Lakes Avengers.  They caught the attention of Mockingbird and Hawkeye from the West Coast Avengers so the couple decided to go check them out.  It was during a battled with Mockingbird that we realized that Mr. Immortal was actually immortal.

Craig's origin story was not fully disclosed in his first appearance but the story goes something like this.  A cosmic entity known Deathurge first appeared to Craig shortly after his birth and the death of his mother. We find out the mother made Deathurge promise that he would look after Craig. Craig called Deathurge, "D'urge", and the two became the best of friends. His father believed Craig had an imaginary friend.  Deathurge would often find ways for Craig to tempt Death so he could be free of his promise.

On Craig's eighth birthday, Deathurge goaded Craig into setting his house on fire, and then hiding under it as it burned.  This event wouldkill Craig's father.  After the fire, Deathurge stopped visiting Craig and Craig was moved into a new home. His foster father, Mr. O'Doughan, was an abusive man, though Craig became close to his foster sister, Terri, the two eventually falling in love as adults. This ended with Terri's suicide, prompting the return of Deathurge. The grief-stricken Craig begged Deathurge to take him but Deathurge refused and departed again. Craig attempted the first of a number of suicide attempts by jumping off a building, only to discover with this and subsequent attempts using other methods, that he could not die.

With the discovery of his immortality, he takes on the codename Mr. Immortal. In his first outing as a superhero, trying to foil a bank robbery, Mr. Immortal is shot and left for dead. He decides that forming a team will allow him to apply his abilities more usefully.  Although he is given to fits of rage upon regaining consciousness following otherwise-fatal injuries, his teammate and sometimes lover Dinah Soar can utter vocalizations that can calm him. On account of his immortality, he often engages in life-endangering stunts, and is invariably willing to take on the deadliest aspects of missions.

The team first encounters the Avengers when they are lured to the Germania Building by Hawkeye and Mockingbird, who become their mentors.  They helped Hawkeye and the West Coast Avengers against "That Which Endures." They also assisted Mockingbird in a holding action against Terminus.  After aiding the Thunderbolts against the villain Graviton, the team clashes with the mercenary Deadpool. 

Deathurge eventually returns and lets Craig know that his destiny was to outlive everyone as the one true immortal, and then learn the grand secret that will reveal itself at the end of things, in addition revealing Mr. Immortal not to be either Homo sapiens or homo superior, but rather Homo supreme: a being that has evolved past death itself, making him the ultimate human. Deathurge thought by taking away some of his loved ones, would prepare Mr. Immortal so that he could truly live to that destiny, but this is jeopardized by the supervillain Maelstrom, who threatens to destroy the entire universe. 

This gives Mr. Immortal a new incentive to live, and he sets out to stop Maelstrom and save the universe. The GLA confront Maelstrom, who in the course of the conflict, commits suicide. The GLA, however, gain no recognition and circumstances force them to cease using the Avengers name. After discovering that they were all mutants, the team decides to change their name to the Great Lakes X-Men, and adopt new costumes.  Which in turn really wouldn't last that long.

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance: The West Coast Avengers Vol. 2 #46 (July 1989)

Created by John Byrne

Alter Ego:  Craig Hollis

Species: Human Mutant

Team Affiliations:

• Great Lakes Avengers
• the Lightning Rods (GLA play on the Thunderbolts name)
• Great Lakes X-Men

Abilities

• Highly Skilled Acrobat & Athlete
• Immortality 

Until next time, get your READ on!!!

Saturday Showcase: Razorback

 
It has been a while since I have done a Showcase post due to work.  Hell, the last ones I did were on Sunday instead of Saturday, but now my schedule is clear to where I should be able to return to a somewhat regular schedule of Saturday Showcase posts.  With that said, I needed a post that packed a punch!  So, I decided to introduce you to a character I believe we could see make there appearance in the new hit series, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.  That character is Buford Hollis aka Razorback.

Buford Hollis, a muscular truck driver and costumed adventurer from Texarkana, Arkansas, was in New York looking for his younger sister Bobby Sue who had joined a religious cult.  This cult was led by the villainous Man-Beast (disguised as the Hate-Monger).   During this struggle, Buford would develop a lifelong ally with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.  The Man-Beast put up one hell of a fight, coming close to killing Spidey and Razorback on several occasions.  In the long run, our heroes won and Bobby Sue was saved. [Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #13-15]

Another one of Buford's adventures would have him team up with the sensational She-Hulk to stop the galactic villain known as Xemnu.  He was not alone when the two heroes joined forces.  Buford's original companion was Taryn O'Connell, a female truck driver, who spends some time searching for Razorback before he arrived in his oversized rig. They team up and use the rig itself to hijack NASA's experimental faster-than-light spacecraft, the Star Blazer. 

Their purpose is to find Taryn's lover, Ulysses Solomon Archer, who had left for deep space several years prior, establishing himself as a space trucker. They arrive (with She-Hulk as a stowaway, thanks to Mister Fantastic's assistance) only to discover that Archer had already married Mary McGrill, a woman who had traveled into space with him. Razorback assists She-Hulk and Archer in defeating Xemnu the Titan, who intended to transform Archer and Mary's as-yet-unborn child into a member of his own species. With the help of the She-Hulk's persuasion, NASA soon realizes that Razorback, with his mutant skill allowing him to drive anything, is the perfect pilot for their craft, and allows him and U.S. Archer to remain in space aboard the Star Blazer with NASA's approval. Taryn joins Buford on his travels, having fallen in love with him. Star Blazer is renamed the Big Pig III, which Razorback calls all his vehicles.  Razorback and Taryn eventually return to Earth. [The Sensational She-Hulk #6-7]

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance:

• In shadow: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #12 (November 1977)
• Full appearance: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #13

Created by Archie Goodwin, Bill Mantlo, & Sal Buscema

Alter Ego: Buford T. Hollis

Species: Human/Mutant

Team Affiliations: Fifty State Initiative

Abilities

• Skilled Mechanic
• Self-taught Engineer
• Excellent Street Fighter
• Considerable Strength and Endurance
• Innate Ability to operate, pilot, and drive any vehicle
• Costume has an electrically charged mane

Another reason I chose to do a post on Razorback is the fact that he is included in the upcoming Marvel Legends Amazon Exclusive Spider-Man Pack (Pack will also include Silvermane, the Human Fly, Molten Man, and a unique symbiote Spider-Man).

Well, I hope you enjoyed this backstory on Razorback. I believe I might feature either Silvermane or the Human Fly next.  We will have to see.  If you have a comic character you would like to see featured, just let me know who.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Sunday Showcase: Leap-Frog

 

With my new work schedule known, I can no longer do a Saturday Showcase.  So, with that said, I am now going to do a Sunday Showcase instead.  For my first Sunday Showcase, I am posting about a character I saw in the trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.  Now, some comic fanes are arguing if the character is Leap-Frog or the Frog Man.  Well, by his build in the trailer and the synopsis for the show, I believe it is the villain known as Leap-Frog.  

Leap-Frog aka Vincent Patilio was created to be a Daredevil Villain by Stan "the Man" Lee & Gene Colan back in the '60s.  A former toy inventor, Vincent Patilio set out to make some money by embarking on a criminal career after he created a pair of electrically-powered jumping coils. He was not the best career criminal, but he was a force to be reckoned with.  He first appeared in Daredevil #25 back in '66.  He was honored that such a note-worthy hero was on his tail, but the honor would soon be replaced with regret when Daredevil captured him and had him arrested.

Daredevil was not the only hero that he would face,  He teamed himself up with some Iron Man villains under the employment of Justin Hammer who wanted Iron Man and Tony Stark dead so that his company could take over Stark Industries.  However, Iron Man had other plans.

Powers & Abilities

• Enhanced Strength
• Enhanced Agility
• Ability to jump very high as well as great distances 
• Hand to Hand Combat
• Creative Inventor

Aliases

• Croaky
• Froggy
• Vinnie
• the Mighty Leap-Frog

First Appearance

Daredevil #25 (December 1966)

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Man-Wolf

 

Greetings Comic Lovers,

Tis the season to get our scare on so my Saturday Showcases for the month of October will deal with the "thrilling" side of comics.  For today's post I decided to focus on a classic Spider-Man "villain" who is not utilized enough in the Marvel Universe in my opinion. So, without further delay, I present to you my showcase on the being known as the Man-Wolf.

To understand the plight of the Man-Wolf, you need to understand his beginnings.  You see John Jonah Jameson III is the son of The Daily Bugle's John Jonah Jameson Junior. Jonah is immensely proud of his son, whom he sees as a true hero. I mean his son was an astronaut, however his first mission was almost a failure if it was for being saved by Spider-Man when his craft malfunctioned on re-entry*. Which ticked Jonah off to say the least.  [*ASM #1 Jay]

Fast forward a few years an we find John is on another mission in space, this time on the Moon.  While he was on the Moon, Jameson found the mystical Godstone, an other-dimensional ruby.  The jewel grafted itself to his throat (Later, he eventually made it appear as if it was  a pendant and started wearing it around his neck) and extended tendrils through his body. Moonlight activated the gem, which transformed him into the lycanthropic Man-Wolf.  While in this form, he fought Spider-Man several times and lost.  The ruby was eventually removed by Spider-Man.

Some time after that, the ruby was reattached to Jameson by Morbius the Living Vampire who used the Man-Wolf as a pawn so that Morbius could find a cure for his condition. The Man-Wolf was again defeated by Spider-Man.

John would come to the realization that Spider-Manis not the enemy that his dad made him out to be. In fact he would ask his dad to take it easy on Spidey in the papers. John would also go on to team up with Spider-Man in some situations. Spidey, isn't the only hero that the Man-Wolf has clashed with.  He also had some battles with Hell Cat and the She-Hulk.  Later in life, we find out that John and She-Hulk were dating and all was right in the world...temporarily.  

Eventually, John went back to working for the military, he even had a short stint with the Agents of Wakanda.   We really haven't heard much since then.  I want to know why.  The Man-Wolf could easily be made into a series for Disney and Marvel Studios.  The stories of John on space would be a huge hit and then he could do guest spots on other shows like Moon Knight and dare I say...She-Hulk. Anyway, that is some food for thought.

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance:  The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963)

John Jameson Created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko 

Man-Wolf Created by Gerry Conway & Roy Thomas

In-Story Information

Alter Ego:  John Jonah Jameson III

Species: Human (normal form) & Werewolf (the Man-Wolf and the Stargod)

Place of Origin: New York City

Team Affiliations: Agents of Wakanda

                                Symbiote Task Force

Supporting Characters: Spider-Man, Captain America, & She-Hulk

Notable Aliases:  Colonel Jupiter, Man-Wolf, the Stargod, Carnage

Abilities:

Skilled Pilot and Astronaut

Experienced hand-to-hand combatant

Use of various weapons

(As Colonel Jupiter):

Superhuman strength, durability, agility, stamina, jumping and leaping

Enhanced size

(As the Man-Wolf):

Superhuman strength, speed, agility and durability

Enhanced senses

Accelerated healing factor

Large razor-sharp claws and teeth

Lunar empowerment

(As the Stargod):

Vast superhuman strength

High-level durability

Cosmic and telepathic powers

Self-sustenance

Wears scale mail armor

Uses a broadsword, dagger, and longbow and arrows as weapons

Until next time, get your READ on!

Classic Cover of the Day

Classic Cover of the Day

She-Hulk #10

MARVEL Comics

Saturday Showcase: Titania

    Today's showcase, in my opinion,  deals with one of the most underrated villains in Marvel Comics history. Her birth name is Mary MacPherran but she is better known as Titania.  She was introduced to us in July of '84 during the Secret Wars (issue #3 to be exact).  She was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.

The name Titania, is born.

    Titania is a ruthless villain in every which way.  She has teamed with Dr. Doom, Ultron, Constrictor, and Kang the Conqueror  to name a few.  She has been a member of the Masters of Evil, Femizons, Frightful Four, the Worthy, and the Illuminati.  Hell, at one point of her life, she wielded the power of one of the infinity stones and gave She-Hulk a run for her money.  You could also say she is an honorary member of the Wrecking Crew since she is married to the Absorbing Man.

Moonstone, Titania, and the Absorbing Man 

    She has fought the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-men, Thor, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, and well heroes and villains alike during the Secret Wars.  She is just someone you do not want to mess with.

    Her abilities include:

1.     Expert Street Fighter
2.     Immense Superhuman Strength
3.     Superhuman Stamina
4.     High-level Resistance to physical injury

Titania attempts to show She-Hulk who the baddest woman really is.

    Titania has been used in the world of comics for a long time.  She has even made it to TV on the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. series as well as the Avengers Assemble show.  She has also been featured in the Marvel: Future Fight game as a playable character as well as a boss character in the Iron Man and X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal game.  However, I feel she can be so much more.  She has history with every major character in the Marvel Universe so why not have her in a movie or an let her make an appearance in a Netflix show.  The possibilities are endless.  Titania deserves the respect and I hope she gets showcased by more than just NERDs like me.

Until next time, get your READ on!

As always, unleash your inner NERD!

Happy Birthday Mark Brooks!

Happy Birthday Mark Brooks!

Cosplay of the Day

BelleChere as the sensational She-Hulk.

Think Green.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!