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Post by Myke Gee on Dec 18, 2022 11:05:54 GMT -5
8. THE HYPERCLAN
White martians who masqueraded as superheroes after escaping from the Phantom Zone. Millions of years ago both white and green martians were exploring other worlds including Earth and Saturn. Both races started using cloning to make a work force. While the green martians treated the clones as equals, the white martians treated them as slaves. This lead to a civil war. When the war was over, the victorious green martians banished the remaining 70 white martians to the still zone (their name for the Phantom Zone). Extricating themselves from the Still Zone aka Ghost Zone or Phantom Zone, the White Martians returned to Earth in the guise of gods calling themselves the Hyperclan, basing themselves in the 5000 year old martian city called Z'onn Z'orr in Antarctica. The Martians claimed their homeworld had been destroyed by negligence and greed and they offered to save Earth from a similar fate. The Hyperclan turned deserts into verdant paradises and ended crime by executing meta-criminals. This was all part of their insidious plan to discredit and destroy the Justice League. Earth's real heroes, with Batman as a spearhead, saw through this ruse and put a stop to it right away. All hope seemed lost after the White Martians took away the only means of defeating them, by burning them with fire. The Martians took this away from Earth by inhibiting the Earth's atmosphere with subatomic particles that inhibited any combustible reaction. To find a way around this, the Justice League lured the Martians to the Justice League Watchtower and defeated them there. Instead of sending them back to the Phantom Zone, J'onn brainwashed them into thinking they where humans and released them to live among humans. Members: A-Mortal, Armek, Fluxus, Primaid, Protex, Tronix, Zenturion, and ZüM. Creators: Grant Morrison and Howard Porter. First Appearance: JLA #1 (1997)*****
These guys were pretty cool. Even if the whole concept of the story is similar to Marvel's Thunderbolts. Honestly, they should have been more formidable than they were. They're white Martians and thus are as powerful as the Martian Manhunter even without their Hyperclan powers. At any rate, that JLA storyline was one of my favorites and it was mostly because of the Hyperclan. |
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Post by coke & comics on Dec 20, 2022 6:52:59 GMT -5
8. Absorbing Man & Titania
Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars #3, Marvel, 1984  Yeah, this is actually a big collection of super-villains here I could have used as an entry. But I wanted to focus on my favorite (literal) power couple. A super-villain team or a romantic relationship? Is there really such a difference?
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Post by DubipR on Dec 20, 2022 9:35:39 GMT -5
coke & comics, Almost chose Absorbing Man & Titania. So glad you put them on the list.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 20, 2022 18:00:23 GMT -5
I've never been this busy during one of these. I mean I usually get behind, particularly on the weekends. But this is next level. 8. The Mud Pack My list is more fluid than usual. So I'll just use this chance to piggy-back on M.W. Gallaher and give you the ultimate Clayface team-up. Four...yes, four Clayfaces for the price of one. That's a lot of ooey-gooey goodness.  |
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Post by Rob Allen on Dec 20, 2022 19:02:28 GMT -5
Catching up... 8. The Terrible TrioNo, no the Terrible Trio we've seen on earlier days, the other Terrible Trio. The con man, carny thief and protection racketeer who were enhanced by Dr. Doom in ways designed to counter three of the members of the Fantastic Four. Doom wanted to get the others out of the way and take on Reed one-on-one. "Handsome" Harry Phillips was a con artist; Doom gave him super-hearing so he could hear Sue's footsteps even if she was invisible. Yogi Dakor was a minor mystic; he could animate rope and other objects and play with fire. He tried to steal the payroll of the circus where he performed. Doom made him impervious to fire. Bull Brogin had a protection racket on the docks. Doom made him as strong as the Thing, or as strong as Doom thought the Thing was; he turned out to fall a bit short in that department. Like my last choice, the Thinker and the Puppet Master, they struck out against the FF and then tried to take on just one or two of them and failed again. The Marvel Silver Age formula just works for me. These lovable losers have hung around the edges of the Marvel universe for decades.   |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 21, 2022 14:16:45 GMT -5
And just for the record, I've pretty much tossed my original list. I'm mostly winging it from here on, except for the #1 slot. I hope they aren't boneless wings. Cause those are just chicken nuggets. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 21, 2022 14:27:28 GMT -5
I actually have a little time today to play catch-up. But not ketchup. Or catsup.
The Fellowship of Fear - I vaguely remember reading this from Essential DD vol. 1. I'm a huge Wally Wood fan so I have a fondness for his time on Daredevil. And I like The Ox.
Dr. Doom and Dormammu - Have we seen this one yet? Damn getting old sucks. I bought this book off the spinner rack when it came out, but likely haven't read it since close to that time. Seems like a good team-up though.
The Force of July - I didn't even think of these guys. I loved the first year or two of Batman and the Outsiders. I haven't read them since they came out though, so who knows if they'd hold up. The team still seems pretty timely though.
The Daredevil Revenge Squad - Does every hero have a "revenge squad" at this point? Seems like these folks need to find themselves some better motivators.
Amora the Enchantress/ The Executioner and Loki - This just seems like a dinner party in Asgard. I'd guess these folks hang out a lot and just decide to get nefarious together now and then.
Crime Syndicate of Earth-3 - I considered the Crime Syndicate. I'm a sucker for these kind of alternate version evil characters/groups.
The Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter & assorted other Bat-villains vs. Killer Croc - I'm glad to see this here and somewhat chagrined I didn't think of it. I loved this era of Batman and Don Newton is still one of my all-time favorite artist.
Ra's Al Ghul, The Joker, Black Mask, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Clayface (Preston Payne), Ridder, Cavalier, Cat-Man, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Calendar Man, Crazy-Quilt, Black Spider, Dagger, Deadshot, Two-Face, Dr. Double-X, Cluemaster, Killer Moth, Scarecrow, Night-Slayer, Tweedle Dum; Tweedle Dee, Mr. Freeze, and Doctor Phosphorous - Shax now wins for the longest group name. So that's something. I bought this book off the spinner rack also. I suspect I haven't read it since around 1986 or so. But neat.
Female Furies - I've made it no secret that I'm not a fan of Kirby's Fourth World. Mr. Miracle was, by far, the best of those books though. Other than Barda, most of them have a right to be furious over how they look.
The Mud Pack - As we've already seen...they showed up again. It's like deja vu all over again.
Jake Fury's LMD Zodiac - I never read Defenders regularly and I've never made it this far on any back issue/collection reading. So I don't know how this really deviates from your average Zodiac. Are there other "Signature Series" Zodiacs?
Seven Deadly Enemies of Man - These guys personalities seem kind of "on the nose." Did they ever actually fight Captain Marvel. The only Fawcett stuff I've really read are 1970s reprints.
Baron Mordo and Dormammu - Cool choice. I'd like to re-read early Dr. Strange. Maybe someday I'll get time to get back to my Marvel reviews.
Vandal Savage Miss Fear Major Kung - I quit. I give up my nerd card. Imma just crawl in to that hole over there and let the snow cover me. I LOVE this mini-series. It has shown up on a number of Christmas lists. But it didn't even cross my mind. I suck.
Red Skull, Arnim Zola, Doctor Faustus, Crossbones, and Sin - I've actually read this (which is rare for Marvel of this vintage). But I have ZERO memory of it. I need to re-read Bru's Captain America.
THE HYPERCLAN - I'll be honest...I thought that Morrison's JLA was just okay. I mean it's fine. But I never quite got the hype. I think part of it is that Justice League (in whatever permutations) had sucked pretty hard for a number of years, so Morrison seemed like a huge breath of fresh air. But for me it was just okay. That said...I just don't remember these guys at all.
Absorbing Man & Titania - Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Secret Wars? Like even worse than Crisis. At least Crisis did something (mostly bad). Secret Wars was just so incredibly pointless. But I'm glad these two got to hang out for a while.
The Terrible Trio - But not the real Terrible Trio. I've read this story but it's been a long time. I don't remember it. But the Human Torch series in Strange Tales was far and away the worst thing Marvel was doing at the time. So I'm sure it was awful. And shame on them for name stealing.
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Post by Farrar on Dec 22, 2022 18:21:22 GMT -5
8. Black Widow and Hawkeye - Tales of Suspense #s 57, 60 and 64What can I say? I always loved the romances in superhero comics; and the relationship between these two--while obviously not perfect--drew me in hook line and sinker. I knew of and liked these two from the Avengers comics, but I had no idea they'd started out on the other side of the law until I read the Iron Man ToS reprints in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics/Marvel's Greatest Comics. I was fascinated by their backstory; egged on by established Iron Man enemy Black Widow, Hawkeye helps her in her quest to bring down the Golden Avenger--plus they were very mean to Happy and Pepper! The smart, sophisticated Natasha and the misunderstood country boy Hawkeye were a mismatch from the start; and it was clear that Natasha was stringing him along so he'd help her against Iron Man. Sure, she eventually she seemed to develop real feelings for him too ("Hawkeye...my darling...will they ever let me see you again?" she wonders in vintage Stan Lee-style as she's being spirited away by her Soviet masters), but I always got the sense that this was a doomed romance and one that wouldn't and couldn't last. I know it's been frequently said that Don Heck couldn't draw superhero action; well, IMO he could certainly draw people and what's more, his people inhabited a film noirish world. Perfect setting for these two characters. Heck's Natasha reminds me of the kind of woman Yvonne de Carlo would play in the 1940s.   As we know, in ToS #64 she returns, all decked out in her then-new Black Widow fighting togs--the pointy mask (which she says she designed to resemble Hawkeye's) , short cape, and fishnets. The duo is once again defeated by Iron Man and we know what happened next--Hawkeye pops up in the Avengers, and about a year later Natasha returns to Marvel, still a villain. But her love for Hawkeye enables her to break the Soviets' brainwashing (see the Spoiler below for Avengers #30). All together now: awwww. {Spoiler: Click to show} From Avengers #30. Did I mention I love Don Heck's 1960s art? 
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Dec 22, 2022 23:22:11 GMT -5
Been out of town so playing catchup I thought I had posted for the 5th day, so apologies if I did but missed it when I was searching just now. 8. The Frightful Four  Paste Pot Pete right, the greatest villainous handle you could ask for, combined with Medusa or the titanic Thundra (or golly, both at once). They always seemed like a light hearted foil for the overly serious Reed Richards, and I also love the way the Wizard and his clone(?) are handled in the modern book(which we wont talk about...ssshhhh). |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Dec 23, 2022 6:52:55 GMT -5
(...) Did I mention I love Don Heck's 1960s art? I wouldn't even qualify it by limiting it to his '60s art. I think he also did good work in the '70s (it's not my favorite, but he never put in a less than solid effort) - to say nothing of quite outstanding work in the 1950s. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 25, 2022 11:11:38 GMT -5
Are they evil, though? Or are they just a form of strike force for Grannie goodness ? |
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Post by Icctrombone on Dec 25, 2022 11:19:08 GMT -5
8. Black Widow and Hawkeye - Tales of Suspense #s 57, 60 and 64 You threw me a serious curve ball with this one. I guess that WERE bad guys at the beginning. |
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Post by DubipR on Dec 25, 2022 12:16:15 GMT -5
Are they evil, though? Or are they just a form of strike force for Grannie goodness ? They're a pain in Superman and Superboy's tuchus. That's enough for baddie for me. |
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