Thor and Dr. Strange image with my caption

Looking over the Marvel Comics characters of the 1960’s, very few Heroes wore capes on their costumes.

Of the group only Dr. Strange and Thor wore capes. That’s it. Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-men, Hulk, etc. no one else got a cape.

Was it Stan Lee who approved the character design, while keeping out what he didn’t like? Or was it random chance that it ended up that way? I can’t say either way.

But it looks like if you were a Marvel hero then, you had to earn a cape!

Thor had a cape probably for a very obvious reason. A cape can give a quality of being regal and noble. By having a cape, it played up on Thor and his grandeur. Which is very fitting for a character.

Dr. Strange in his first appearance did not have a cape. Then he wore a blue cape which went with the rest of his blue costume. It did not stand out, and it really wasn’t that interesting. I guess they noticed that, because then Dr. Strange got his classic red with yellow trim cape. I must admit that cape look is very unique and stands out in a good way. It was not a generic cape of one color just thrown on. This cape enhanced the look of the character.

Why did Strange get a cape? Probably because he deals with magic, and in real life the so called magic act, the people always use capes. It is just a natural pairing, so it fit for the character. And having a cape as I mentioned really did enhance his look.

A lot of villains like Dr. Doom and Magneto had capes. But it’s very common for a villain because it can add a sense of arrogance and grandeur. Which is very fitting for a villain to have.

But of all the Spider-Man villains of the 1960’s only Mysterio had a cape. That’s it for the Spidey villains. Why him? I have no idea. Why does he wear a fishbowl over his head?

Now look over at DC comics and almost everyone their has capes! It looks to me like they just followed the Superman mold, and gave their heroes capes with no thought put into it. With the exception of Batman, most of the other heroes wear capes that are not functional or have a reason for being their.

A list of some of the DC heroes who wear capes are:

Superman, Batman, Spectre, Dr. Fate, Hourman, Martian Manhunter, Golden Age Green Lantern, Red Tornado, Supergirl, Robin, Captain Marvel, Power Girl

I started this post asking why did few Marvel heroes wear capes? I don’t have any inside information or know the answer. I just know that the Marvel heroes as a group look really cool together, whether they wear capes or not.

Feel free to share your views about capes, do you like them or not?

Amazing Spider-Man One More Day covers with my caption

Since One More Day and the issue of Marriage is an important issue. I can’t help but think about it again.

I recently saw the movie Fireproof DVD (click this link to read about the DVD), and it was quite good. But if you do not like to see religion in movies or ones with good morals, you won’t like this movie. It provides some good laughs, deals with marriage problems, and no profanity. Mainstream films don’t know how to make movies like this anymore.

One of the themes of Fireproof is about the bonds of marriage and how it is sacred.

And I was thinking in comic book terms how basically Peter Parker dammed his eternal soul to hell by making a pact with a demon. Any pact with such an entity will have consequences on your soul. Especially if you made the pact of your own free will and it was your choice.

I was thinking about a 3 part comic book saga, with a story about 8 pages each.

Since I can’t draw, plus I can’t legally make stories about the character, this is the plot I would have wrote.

Issue 1, The Legacy of Peter Parker’s Deal with a demon
Takes place after Peter Parker / Spider-Man has already died. His soul is in hell.

He is being tortured and the devil, or Mephisto in this case is laughing at Peter. As the past is played about him, Peter wonders why he is in hell after all the good he has done?

The demon laughs at a chained Peter Parker and mentions the deal that was made. How Peter Parker and also Mary Jane made a deal with him. A contract that Peter choose of his own free will.

As Peter inquires about Mary Jane, Mephisto says she is in hell also. Then flashes an image where both can see each other chained. They look at and call for each other, but Mephisto let’s the image fade saying that is the last time they’ll ever see each other again.

She is in hell because she also took part in the deal. But being an ordinary woman, she was no challenge and easy to tempt. He turns to Peter and say’s it’s his soul that interests him and was the prize to catch. The soul of a Hero. To corrupt someone of noble stature and to make him fall from grace is always a prize in hell.

Peter wonders about Aunt May. Mephisto says with dissatisfaction, she is one that has escaped us. You’ll never see her again because she went to the good place.

Then the demon shows Peter a vision of a timeline that would have happened had Peter rejected his deal. Aunt May would have died but gone on to the good place. His exposed secret identity would have eventually been covered up again by other means. As Spider-Man, Peter would have accomplished more good. Then raised a family with Mary Jane, and their children would grow to be heroes and have grandchildren who would also be heroes.

By making a deal with a demon, Peter Parker erased that probability and the generations of heroes that would have been. All the good and the lives they would have saved, now they never happened.

Peter upon realizing this, his pact that he made, and his soul in hell cries and yells in pain upon hearing this as he is tortured. Mephisto laughs and says how Peter’s cries of pain are like music to his ears, and to the ears of his master. This being the biblical devil of which he is but a servant. Mephisto never would have believed the day would arrive when Spider-Man was his.

The End

Issue 2, Can the Silver Surfer save Spider-Man ?
This plays on the notion that the Surfer has always been a noble Christ like figure that Mephisto could not corrupt in past encounters. And how the Surfer with Adam Warlock ventured to hell to rescue the soul of Shalla-Bal.

The Surfer goes to hell to try and rescue Peter’s soul. But Mephisto stops the Surfer and shows him the past and the pact made with the demon. How Peter of his own free will made the choice. And that the Surfer has no power over this bond and the consequences of Peter’s actions.

The Surfer is about to leave in defeat when Mephisto says he’ll release Peter’s soul if the Surfer will agree to take his place? The Surfer says it’s a trick. If he exchanged his soul for Peter’s then he in fact would then be making a pact with the devil and both their souls would be trapped. The Surfer because he would have made a deal. And a demon can never be trusted to keep his word on a contract. The original contract between Peter and Mephisto would still be in place, and how the Surfer’s actions cannot change that. Mephisto says well played and laughs. He mentions how the Surfer’s soul has always been noble.

Mephisto then says how corrupting most men’s souls is very easy. Most men fall for the vices of ego, money, power, sex, addiction. They are easy prey and of little challenge or sport. But to get the soul of someone noble, to corrupt a hero. Well that is worthy of his attention, and always a valuable prize in hell.

In the last panel Mephisto laughs and says, Spider-Man’s soul is his for eternity. The last panel is Peter Parker on his knees, his wrists chained, his chest out and head back screaming in pain. Above him, Peter’s shadow mimicking his pose with his wrists chained is the image of Spider-Man echoing that scream of pain.

The End

Issue 3, The Watcher’s Vision of Spider-Man’s Deal
This issue starts with the Watcher telling us the audience, how their are parallel worlds and dimensions. That the Peter Parker / Spider-Man you know was the only parallel world that took Mephisto up on his offer.

The Watcher then shows us other worlds, the ones where Peter Parker rejected the demon and the consequences of those actions. How Aunt May died, but Peter Parker matured into a stronger individual. The Watcher tells us about the laws of nature and life. And how the Peter Parker we saw can serve as a reminder of our consequences. And how our actions effect not only us, but those around us.

Had that Peter Parker not made a deal, he would have been like all the others in the parallel worlds.

Such as people who met because when his identity was exposed they talked about Peter Parker being Spider-Man. These people now did not meet if Peter’s exposed identity never happened. And their children now never happened.

How people who would have been rescued by Peter’s children now died because he had no children.

His family and their legacy would have changed the world for the better. By not letting natural law take place, he not only dammed his soul. Peter Parker’s actions effected other countless lives.

Finally the Watcher tells us that for the Peter Parker who made a deal, their is no longer any hope for him. But luckily he was the only one in the countless parallel worlds to suffer such a fate. The Peter Parker / Spider-Man of the other worlds rejected the deal and lived good lives, their souls going to Heaven.

Learn from the mistakes of the one Peter Parker who suffered a deal with a demon and realize no good will ever be accomplished by making a deal with such an entity. And to learn the lesson that marriage is a sacred covenant “What therefore God has joined together, let no one put asunder”.

The End

If you liked reading this please leave a comment.

Marvel Legacy The 1960s Handbook Cover with my caption

I was thinking about 1960’s Marvel and what made that foundation of a universe great, why those characters and books got popular, and I came up with 3 concepts which I will expand upon:

1. Community
2. Lack of Space Alien Origins
3. Relatable Heroes

1. Community
The Marvel Heroes lived mostly in the same real world city and connected together and ran into each other.

With DC for example, it seems that every hero lives in their own fictional city made just for them.

With Marvel, most of them occupied New York. For readers, this made for a relatable setting. Where you as a reader could believe such meetings could take place. And even better was, as a writer setting up a situation to make heroes living in the same city meet is not that difficult.

2. Lack of Space Alien Origins
This was a key factor overlooked by most anyone I hear mention Marvel’s success.

Outside of the Silver Surfer and Thor, EVERY Marvel hero made then was just a human. They did not get their powers from some outer space creature, or some other unrelatable idea.

I think the whole “alien origin” aspect dilutes a character into that of “just another silly comic book character” from the mainstream public viewpoint. A regular person on the street can’t relate to that. And having an alien origin just seems silly to a non comic buyer.

Now sure you can say: Is getting hit with a gamma bomb? Or a bite from a spider more relatable?

I hear what you are saying, and you are right, but also wrong. I think the elements like the above are more plausible and believable for a comic book setting. The whole “suspension of disbelief” thing. But something like an alien origin is too over the top.

Check out the Spider-Man movie or the X-men movie for example. Their origins sound plausible enough on the surface that the public can accept it.

Now say in the above movies, a space ship drops down and zaps a guy who then becomes Spider-Man. That sounds rather silly doesn’t it?

Or a space ship drops down and zaps a guy turning him into the Hulk. Not as cool an origin right?

And that’s my point. Whether by planning or random luck, Stan Lee and company avoided the alien origins idea.

As for Thor and the Surfer, they didn’t spoil the whole thing because it was just a few that had alien origins and therefore can still fit in.

Also Thor was made very human first by Stan Lee. He was really a human who acquired Thor’s power. That human base really anchored Thor as a character.

And the Surfer brought about and was used as an outside observer of humans. Looking at us from a viewpoint that we could never see. Telling us how basically how our world was a paradise. If only we would stop destroying each other and live in peace, could we see this world for the gift it really is.

3. Relatable Heroes
This is why those Marvel heroes got popular as well.

These Marvel heroes had problems and situations we could relate to. Despite their fantastic powers and battles, they were also down to earth.

They had anchors that made us relate or feel sorry for them. These were not invincible heroes, like DC comics had. The DC Heroes being mostly perfect and in essence rather shallow when you peeled back the layers.

The Marvel Heroes were given a depth and understanding that DC did not have.

For example, with the exception of Iron Man, everyone else had financial problems. And you really did not want to be Iron Man, who had to suffer in secret.

Spider-Man had relationship, financial, and school problems.

The X-men had trouble fitting in with society, yet at the same time an obligation to protect us.

In Closing
I think these three factors were the keys that made Marvel Comics the successful universe that it is today. And the reason why back then readers picked up the books in the first place.

Even today I notice many creators DO NOT use these same rules. For example when I read Image Comics Savage Dragon and the Pitt with their alien origins. My feel for them as a character got disappointed. They just lost a relatable factor with me.

Or you have generic Punisher knock offs, who are blood thirsty heroes. Yet their is no emotional origin for these heroes to make me care for them or their situations.

Making a successful comic book universe today is difficult, if not all but impossible. But I think if you stick to the above three principles, you won’t be steered far wrong. Just feel free to give me a plug and URL website mention so I can get more readers to this website.

Amazing Spider-Man #601 cover with my caption

I must admit J. Scott Campbell does have his moments as an artist. And this is one of his best covers. I like how subtle it is. It has a picture of Peter and MJ together in a photo above her. There is a Spider-Man mention in a newspaper on the table. And Spider-Man swing outside the window. Plus taken at face value, you would think they are still married.

Now let’s look back at Brand New Day once again. The choice Peter had was to save his Aunt, at the cost of his marriage and future with Mary Jane.

1. First off Peter did not take Aunt May’s opinion and consideration at all. Don’t you think May would choose to go instead, knowing that Peter is in good hands with someone who loves him?

2. If a devil, or at the very least a demon makes you an offer. Don’t you think whatever he is offering should be an automatic NO on your part? Especially for someone calling himself a superhero? Especially for someone who claims to be so very responsible?

3. Furthermore if a demon wants your marriage and says it’s basically a small victory over god if he gets it. Doesn’t this first off mean their is a god to consider, after all look who mentioned it. And then acknowledging that, do you really want to side with a demon, whatever his offer may be?

4. What about considering what his wife wants? Peter was so selfish and disregarding his future and life with his wife. Is a person claiming to be in love with their spouse really going to take a demon up on his offer?

And this was all a conscious decision. The demon did not trick Peter into accepting this offer. He accepted it of his own free will.

On all regards, this characterization is not the Peter Parker we know. We had here a very selfish, self centered, egotistic, who dammed his soul by making a pact with a devil.

He put saving his Aunt over the natural law of the universe, above regard of what his Aunt wants, above regard of what his wife wants, above regard of what god wants and of his own free will chose to make a deal.

And the question I ask is would you ever consider making such a deal if you were in the same situation?

Plus looking at Mary Jane in that cover, if that was your wife, would you give up a marriage with her? Are you freaking kidding me? No way do you let that go!