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- Andy E. Nystrom
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What's Your One Wish for a Themed Marvel Handbook?
Historical text from Comixfan:
skippcomet
Aug 17, 2013, 09:02 am
Over the years, we've seen two very basic approaches to a Marvel Handbook: the A-Z model and the "theme" model. The theme model includes those handbooks focusing on a specific central character or team (Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, etc.), as well as those that focused on a broader (sometimes MUCH broader) theme (be it Marvel Knights, Teams, Alternate Universes, Horror, Pets, Vampires, Blockbusters, and more). My question to you (and if the OHOTMU writers would like to join in, please do): If Marvel were to okay the occasional themed-handbook once again, what's the one theme you would, personally, like to see? A character, team, or broader theme already done at least once (if not more, like Spider-Man, Avengers, or X-Men)? One that hasn't been the main focus (like, say, the Punisher, Alpha Flight, or, Idunno, Dazzler)? A broader theme that hasn't been done, like Robots, Kids, or (Ex-)Girlfriends? Or would you prefer the traditional A-Z model?
Stuart V
Aug 17, 2013, 09:42 am
A broader theme that hasn't been done, like Kids
A Young Marvel handbook was planned at one point, covering the likes of the Power Pack, Young Avengers, Runaways, etc. members; we'd gotten as far as assigning profiles to writers, some of which had been completed, and the cover had been drawn, before it got pulled. Many of the planned entries eventually got published in subsequent books, but not all.
Sales potential was (and is) always the concern that stopped us from doing certain theoretical handbooks. If you were to ignore that, and go with purely which books could allow us to "fill in gaps", with only entries for characters who had yet to be covered, I'd have loved to have seen:
Inhumans handbook - though most of the main Royal Family members have now been covered, Triton remains a loose end, plus there are shedloads of secondary Inhumans who might deserve profiles. You'd end up filling the book with almost entirely half pagers, so its not really viable on the sales front, but it'd be a great book in terms of previously missed characters.
Savage Land handbook - expanded entry covering Pangaea separately from the Savage Land, plus entries for Dherk, Mele, Leila, Garokk, Maa-Gor, Buth, Leanne, Malgato the Red Wizard, Typ, Sibopay (the Nevadan Savage Land), each of the different races, individual members of the Mutates, etc. (Oh, and on a tangentially related note, a bit of Shanna trivia - how many people knew that, having tracked down the man who killed her two leopards but finding she couldn't get him arrested because there was no evidence to prove his crimes, she knocked him out and then fed him, still alive, to her pet python, Ananta? Man, she was ruthless in her early days).
World of Marvels - characters from countries other than the U.S. - Defensor, Aguila, Eden Fesi, Comte Gianus, the Dutch Spiderman, Harmony Killdragon, Dr. Crocodile, any Alpha /Beta/ Gamma Flighters yet to be covered, remaining Marvel UK characters, etc.
A Universe of Marvels - alien races, Elders who don't have their own entries yet, various cosmic entities.
Angelicknight
Aug 17, 2013, 12:36 pm
I would definitely love a World of Marvels themed Handbook.
vanhornluke
Aug 17, 2013, 04:10 pm
World of Marvels would be cool. And I know it'll never happen, but I'd love an Ultraverse handbook.
Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 17, 2013, 04:15 pm
One theme that would probably have a greater than usual chance of selling is one devoted to who's appearing in the current year. Obviously with Marvel being the size it is, there would still be a lot of surprise appearances that don't make it into the Handbook, but for some where it's not a big reveal it could be used as a tease ("This character will be appearing but we're not saying where"). And of course this would sidestep the problem of not being enough headliner characters, as you could give any number of lead/recurring characters an update. And so many obscure characters appear in crowd sequences these days that obscure characters wouldn't be neglected either.
Overall my preference is A-Z, though I realize that isn't always the best from a sales perspective.
In terms of other themes I'd like to see:
Alien Races
Howard the Duck (obviously putting characters like Spidey on the cover to help sell it)
Characters from Different Eras
Humour Characters (616, Earth-Ecch, humour worlds seen in What If?, or otherwise; surely putting the banana F4 on the cover would get a few readers curious?)
Marvel Lines Over the Years (MAX, Star, Shadowline, Marvel-owned Epic, 2099, 2099 II, New Universe, Marvel Knights etc; the Punisher-MAX would likely be the big draw; the lines themselves already have entries for those that need them, so I see the focus being characters, etc from the lines)
Machines (Sentient/Non-Sentient)
Punisher.
If money and legal issues were not an issue I'd like to see:
Supporting Characters
Licensed Characters
Eduardo M.
Aug 17, 2013, 07:46 pm
I wouldn't mind the World of Marvel and Universe of Marvel handbooks
Also would like a History of Marvel handbook similar to what Andy was talking about, covering characters from other eras like any Western or WW2 characters or any future based characters like from the 2099 verse
I'd also love to see a Handbook dedicated to the Cinematic universe.
Stuart V
Aug 17, 2013, 08:18 pm
Eduardo M. wrote:
I wouldn't mind the World of Marvel and Universe of Marvel handbooks
Also would like a History of Marvel handbook similar to what Andy was talking about, covering characters from other eras like any Western or WW2 characters or any future based characters like from the 2099 verse
I'd also love to see a Handbook dedicated to the Cinematic universe.
I'd love to see a History of the Marvel Universe book, similar to the one DC did around the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
And never mind a Cinematic Universe handbook - if rights issues weren't a concern, a general Marvel Adaptations handbook would be cool, with entries for each of the alternate Earths seen in cartoons, movies and TV shows, plus profiles on any truly unique characters.
Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 17, 2013, 08:43 pm
And never mind a Cinematic Universe handbook - if rights issues weren't a concern, a general Marvel Adaptations handbook would be cool, with entries for each of the alternate Earths seen in cartoons, movies and TV shows, plus profiles on any truly unique characters.
The great thing about an Adaptations Handbook is that you could do the big guns that are needed to lure people in and still have the entries be brand new. You could probably even get away with an All-Spider-Man Adaptations book if there weren't licensing issues: there's the 1960s cartoon, the US live action show, the Japanese Live Action version, the Electric Company version, the 1980s solo cartoon, the Amazing Friends cartoon, the 1990s cartoon, the Unlimited cartoon, the 2000s movie series, the 2000s cartoon, the Spectacular cartoon, the 2010s movie series, and the Ultimate cartoon, all with their own supporting cast and villains.
Stuart V
Aug 18, 2013, 06:11 am
The great thing about an Adaptations Handbook is that you could do the big guns that are needed to lure people in and still have the entries be brand new. You could probably even get away with an All-Spider-Man Adaptations book if there weren't licensing issues: there's the 1960s cartoon, the US live action show, the Japanese Live Action version, the Electric Company version, the 1980s solo cartoon, the Amazing Friends cartoon, the 1990s cartoon, the Unlimited cartoon, the 2000s movie series, the 2000s cartoon, the Spectacular cartoon, the 2010s movie series, and the Ultimate cartoon, all with their own supporting cast and villains.
Some of those are shared realities - for example, the 1980s solo cartoon and the Amazing Friends cartoon are Earth-8107, which also includes the 1980s Hulk cartoon. The 1990s Spider-Man cartoon is the same reality as the 1990s X-Men cartoon, etc.
Personally, and despite us having given separate reality designators for them, where continuity conflicts wouldn't arise, I'd love to streamline series from similar eras together into shared realities. It'd make for more interesting realities and story possibilities if you had the possibility of crossovers - so we'd see all the 1960s cartoons sharing a reality (the Marvel Action Hour cartoons already do, so this would just be adding Spidey to the mix), the 1970s (bar the Thing solo, which doesn't fit well with the Thing in the 1970s FF cartoon) and 1980s cartoons in one shared reality, the 1990s cartoons in another (including Spider-Man Unlimited, which could be considered a sequel to the previous SM cartoon), and all the live-action films and series from the 1970s through early 1990s (not including Blade, but potentially including both the 1970s Captain America alongside the 1990s one, as the 1970s one was established to be the son of a 1940s agent who used the name Captain America). This last amalgamation becomes more reasonable when you learn that Bill Bixby and Nicholas Hammond had discussed having the Hulk meet Spider-Man in one of the Hulk movies.
Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 18, 2013, 09:51 am
You could put the Thing cartoons in the same continuity as the 1980s cartoons. The animation is similar and, unlike the Fantastic Four cartoon, there's no overlap of villains to cause continuity issues.
The Powers section would be amusing to read for some of them, explaining why solo Thing is unharmed by rocks flying at him during the transformation, or why 1980s Banner's lab coat grows back when the Hulk reverts to Banner.
zuckyd1
Aug 18, 2013, 01:54 pm
I’d love a handbook devoted solely to alien races (as opposed to individual aliens).
I’d love to see another Blockbusters—perhaps a themed one (ex. cosmic). Or “Legacy” ones devoted to specific decades?
An Atlas Age handbook would be cool—a mix of horror/sci-fi, western, war, crime, jungle, romance, etc.
A girlfriends/boyfriends issue might make a fun Valentine’s Day release.
Michael Regan
Aug 18, 2013, 04:39 pm
I think I post it is somewhere else on-site, but I would love to see a handbooks (or handbooks) devoted to other media or Marvel properties. The Cinematic Universe is an obvious choice, but all the adaptations over the years could be included in one form or another from the Captain America serial from the 40s to the cartoons of the 90s, and even the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man live series of the 70s. Heck, even "Supidaman" (the Japanese Spider-Man) could be covered.
Rayeye
Aug 20, 2013, 02:59 pm
First, I would really like to see a follow-up of the OHTOMU hardcover series, which includes those Handbooks which were released after the end of the hardcover series (like X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes, Vampires: the Marvel Undead, etc), of course with updates.
Totally new Handbooks I would like to see are:
- Teams handbook: I liked the themed one from 2005 and there are still many great teams who needs an entry (like X-Corporation, the interdimensional X-Treme X-Men, Braddock Academy, Special Executive, Warheads, Church of Humanity, Dark X-Men, Gene Dogs, Genosha's Excalibur, XSE (Earth-1191), Horsemen of Apocalypse, Beta Flight, Gamma Flight).
- Alien and extradimensional races handbook (would really like to see a Great Beats entry).
- Alternate universes handbook: just like the themed one from 2005, perhaps with updated entries of the Age of Apocalypse and the Ultimate Universe.
- Supporting cast handbook: perhaps not commercially enough, but there are still a lot of great longtime allies who haven't been covered yet, like Stevie Hunter, Charlotte Jones, Gateway, the Guide, Sharon Friedlander, Alysande Stuart.
But I know I already will be happy if there will be a new Avengers, X-Men, Wolverine, etc. handbook.
zuckyd1
Aug 20, 2013, 03:23 pm
A new Book of the Dead would be kinda silly, but if that's all I could get I'll take it!
rplss
Aug 21, 2013, 10:23 pm
One that hasn't been the main focus (like, say, the Punisher, Alpha Flight, or, Idunno, Dazzler)?
Yeah, I'd love an Alpha Flight Handbook! Certainly there's enough material and there still have been some "Never been kissed" characters from the team that still need entries.
skippcomet
Aug 22, 2013, 02:38 am
I echo the sentiment for a Valentine's Day-themed handbook. (I even though of a title for such: The Little Black Handbook of the Marvel Universe, if you can stomach a pun.) You could cover romantic interests (past and present, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, even unrequited loves*), characters whose powers or skills involve or affect love and sex (any uncovered love gods/goddesses? Is there a Cupid in the Marvel Universe?), events that were affected by love and romance (the Reed/Sue wedding has already been covered, but The Celestial Madonna Saga ended with a double wedding that included The Vision & the Scarlet Witch, and the Fall Of Camelot was affected by the affair between Lancelot & Guinevere), updates on previously covered romantic interests (like Mary Jane Watson or Alyssa Moy), and even uncovered heroes and villains for whom love and romance played some important part in their history (like Haywire of the Squadron Supreme, and for some reason I keep thinking Bombshell was involved with Oddball).
*Yeah, I've been thinking about this too much, but here's a question: I can come up with half a dozen female romantic interests for male characters easily enough (like Monica Lynne, Harmony Young, Kate Neville, Hebe, Kayla Ballantine, Martine Bancroft, Volcana, Marla Madison, Sho Shanna, etc.), but I'm having trouble coming up with male romantic interests for female characters who aren't also fellow heroes or villains. I've got Nathan Lubinsky (formerly May Parker's gentleman friend), Norm Webster (had an affair with Crystal of the Inhumans), Ned Leeds (who probably counts more as one of the Hobgoblins)...and that's it. Can anybody think of one who isn't already a hero or adventurer?
Andy E. Nystrom
Aug 22, 2013, 12:49 pm
*Yeah, I've been thinking about this too much, but here's a question: I can come up with half a dozen female romantic interests for male characters easily enough (like Monica Lynne, Harmony Young, Kate Neville, Hebe, Kayla Ballantine, Martine Bancroft, Volcana, Marla Madison, Sho Shanna, etc.), but I'm having trouble coming up with male romantic interests for female characters who aren't also fellow heroes or villains. I've got Nathan Lubinsky (formerly May Parker's gentleman friend), Norm Webster (had an affair with Crystal of the Inhumans), Ned Leeds (who probably counts more as one of the Hobgoblins)...and that's it. Can anybody think of one who isn't already a hero or adventurer?
Richard Rory and Zapper were both interested in She-Hulk, though the former's now been profiled. Howard Shelton was married to Power Princess. Roman Nikoboh had a brief involvement with Dazzler.
Stuart V
Aug 23, 2013, 07:33 am
- Supporting cast handbook: perhaps not commercially enough, but there are still a lot of great longtime allies who haven't been covered yet, like Stevie Hunter, Charlotte Jones, Gateway, the Guide, Sharon Friedlander, Alysande Stuart.
She-Hulk's dad, Dai Thomas, Steve Jackson from Rom, Blake Tower, etc. The list goes on - any character who has had their own solo title tends to have accrued at least a few supporting cast members, and sadly, outside of handbooks themed around a single character, the supporting cast tend to get squeezed out of handbooks in favour of the costumed types.
Though they wouldn't be good fits for handbook entries, one of the things that some writers and artists do which I find really fun, is to include the same minor characters across multiple stories. I'm not talking supporting cast, I'm talking minor "walk-on" roles. Chris Claremont especially used to do this. Take, for example, Mr. Stu'rt and Edward
When we were compiling the index series, finding "Easter egg" characters like this was both rewarding and frustrating, the latter because we often found we'd either overlooked their chronologies when they appeared earlier and so now had errata, or we had a last minute rewrite for entries to add this in. These kind of characters understandably tend to get overlooked, except when you literally start listing every single character who appears in a comic.
*Yeah, I've been thinking about this too much, but here's a question: I can come up with half a dozen female romantic interests for male characters easily enough (like Monica Lynne, Harmony Young, Kate Neville, Hebe, Kayla Ballantine, Martine Bancroft, Volcana, Marla Madison, Sho Shanna, etc.), but I'm having trouble coming up with male romantic interests for female characters who aren't also fellow heroes or villains. I've got Nathan Lubinsky (formerly May Parker's gentleman friend), Norm Webster (had an affair with Crystal of the Inhumans), Ned Leeds (who probably counts more as one of the Hobgoblins)...and that's it. Can anybody think of one who isn't already a hero or adventurer?
Spider-Woman's ex, David Ishima; her friend Scotty McDowell might also count, as he clearly had a thing for her, though she didn't reciprocate (and yes, Scotty briefly gained superpowers to become the Hornet, but if a one-off superpowering cuts you from the list then we need to remove several female love interests); also Wyatt Wingfoot and Pug Pugliese for She-Hulk. At the end of the day, the biggest reason why there are fewer male love interests who aren't superhumans is simple - there have been fewer female solo books. Non-powered romantic partners tend to crop up in solo books more; in team books, where you have to find time to develop several superhero characters, it is easier to keep the supporting cast small, you have less time to develop their social lives (so fewer dates all round), and it is seen to provide additional story opportunities if you develop romances within the team.
Phoenixx9
Aug 23, 2013, 12:51 pm
Here are a few more ideas:
Cosmic Handbook: 1 or 2 issues featuring any and all cosmic-level or cosmically-powered individuals. If some characters have already appeared previously, they would get updates of text, powers, pics.
Guest Stars/Infrequent Cast Handbook: Again maybe 1 or 2 issues. While this may need another name, most definitely, I would like to see some of those characters who debuted ONLY in the original series of Avengers, Defenders, Fantastic Four and X-Men that were tied to stories or played a part in a character's development. For instance, Avengers (Mack and Mayer), Defenders (Alvin and Celestial Denton and Felicia and Shirley, just to name a few!), Fantastic Four (various scientists and doctors) and X-Men series (some of the Coffee-a-Go-Go customers).
Magic-Oriented Characters Handbook: There are still some magical characters not detailed. Even if they only appeared once or twice, they exist in the MU. A few are: Fragon, Cassiolena, Chandu and Kahji-Da.
Magical Items Handbook: Any and all magical items from the MU. Updated pics and info for previously shown items. Power levels as far as what the items can do, how durable, how they compare. For example: Swords. Crusaders Vs. Ebony Blade Vs Dragonfang Vs Sif's Vs Executioner's blade Vs Sword of Bone Vs Nemesis blade. Who possessed these items of magical power, how they came to be, can they be destroyed, etc.
Angelicknight
Aug 23, 2013, 03:11 pm
Marvel Census Handbook(s)/Appendix - Something like this, i believe, was mentioned during the early handbooks but never came to pass. It was to list every Marvel character that had appeared up to that point in time. Most likely too much of an undertaking back then and really would be now. If done it could be something like the original handbook appendix with name and brief description and no pics then you should be able to reference even the licensed characters as well.
Legacy Handbook - Covering characters with legacies down through the centuries such as el Aguila, Iron Fist, Spirits of Vengeance/Ghost Rider, Black Panther, Black Knight ect.
Alternate Earths Handbook - There have been numerous that have not been covered with an updated appendix.
Marvel Teams Handbook - Plenty left to cover.
Marvel Atlas - Covering countries that wasn't covered in the originals an updates on those that were.
Magic Handbook - I agree with Phoenixx9 on this. There are numerous characters such as Khalid Inshallah, Jules St. Thomas, Tareva, Wai Chee Yee, Manuel Diego, "Screamer" ect to cover.
World of Marvels Handbook - Again plenty of teams and characters not yet covered.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Handbook - With the upcoming TV series.
Other Media Handbook - I agree with Michael Regan on this with over 100 movies, TV series and cartoons at last count you could do a series on this alone sadly I don’t see this ever happening.
Fringe Characters Handbook – Dealing with the likes of the Hostess characters, Puzzle Man ect. Not likely to happen, don’t see it selling enough copies to merit it but one can dream.
Cosmic Handbook – With Infinty going on now seems like the right time for this.
captainswift
Aug 23, 2013, 07:19 pm
Marvel Census Handbook(s)/Appendix - Something like this, i believe, was mentioned during the early handbooks but never came to pass. It was to list every Marvel character that had appeared up to that point in time. Most likely too much of an undertaking back then and really would be now. If done it could be something like the original handbook appendix with name and brief description and no pics then you should be able to reference even the licensed characters as well.
I dunno, it depends on how you do it. I think, while a huge undertaking, if you stick to characters who have significance, it's not impossible. Not just superhumans, you can include the kid who collected Spider-Man, and Crusher Hogan, and whatever. But if you start trying to include every name ever mentioned (an old lady yelling out "Morrie!" when her husband nearly crashes his car into the Hulk doesn't mean we should include Morrie. Much less that old lady, who was never even named).
But then, there's the question of "Who decides if walk-on A is significant?"
Also, would enough people be interested enough to sell the dang thing?
mal32
Aug 24, 2013, 06:52 pm
I dunno, it depends on how you do it. I think, while a huge undertaking, if you stick to characters who have significance, it's not impossible. Not just superhumans, you can include the kid who collected Spider-Man, and Crusher Hogan, and whatever. But if you start trying to include every name ever mentioned (an old lady yelling out "Morrie!" when her husband nearly crashes his car into the Hulk doesn't mean we should include Morrie. Much less that old lady, who was never even named).
But then, there's the question of "Who decides if walk-on A is significant?"
Also, would enough people be interested enough to sell the dang thing?
I love every kind of Handbooks but I really would like to have, at last, the long awaited MARVEL CENSUS or APPENDIX. I know it is very difficult to have it printed, with all the many characters Timely/Atlas/Marvel has created or used from 1939, but we have the beautiful Master Appendix online on here:
jephyork
Aug 25, 2013, 05:11 pm
A Young Marvel handbook was planned at one point ... the cover had been drawn, before it got pulled.
For the curious, that unpublished cover, drawn by Skottie Young, will be included as an extra in the upcoming YOUNG MARVEL: LITTLE X-MEN, LITTLE AVENGERS, BIG TROUBLE TPB -- along with all of Skottie's "baby variant" covers for the Marvel Now relaunch.
-Jeph!
vanhornluke
Aug 30, 2013, 07:44 pm
I would love a handbook to all Marvel stories published outside the US. Since I'm a sucker for the obscure, I'd want it to discuss not just the obvious stuff like Captain Britain and Panini's original stories, but the text stories in the Marvel UK annuals, Dutch Spider-Man, Marvel Italy's series, the original story in one issue of the German Frankenstein series, Brazilian X-Men, the original Mexican Spider-Man and Nick Fury stories, the French Silver Surfer story, etc.
Stuart V
Aug 30, 2013, 10:16 pm
I would love a handbook to all Marvel stories published outside the US. Since I'm a sucker for the obscure, I'd want it to discuss not just the obvious stuff like Captain Britain and Panini's original stories, but the text stories in the Marvel UK annuals, Dutch Spider-Man, Marvel Italy's series, the original story in one issue of the German Frankenstein series, Brazilian X-Men, the original Mexican Spider-Man and Nick Fury stories, the French Silver Surfer story, etc.
Sounds like you want more of an Index book than a handbook by that description, but yes, it would be cool to get proper info put together for that kind of stuff.
vanhornluke
Aug 31, 2013, 02:16 pm
Yeah, I guess that's more of an Index idea. I'd love for a handbook to cover characters in these obscure sources, though. For example, I want to know more about the evil Thor with a radioactive Mjolnir that appeared in one of the Brazilian X-Men issues. :-P
Stuart V
Aug 31, 2013, 03:58 pm
Yeah, I guess that's more of an Index idea. I'd love for a handbook to cover characters in these obscure sources, though. For example, I want to know more about the evil Thor with a radioactive Mjolnir that appeared in one of the Brazilian X-Men issues. :-P
At one point before the hiatus overtook the regular handbooks we were considering another Spider-Man book, and the Dutch Spiderman and Comte Gianus from the French/Italian Spider-Man graphic novel were both contenders for entries. And we already included one entry from Marvel Italia when we covered Euroforce.
zuckyd1
Aug 31, 2013, 04:52 pm
When you were writing the handbooks how much leeway did you get in terms of which characters to include?
Stuart V
Aug 31, 2013, 05:07 pm
When you were writing the handbooks how much leeway did you get in terms of which characters to include?
It varied. Certain books had mandated characters we had to include. Usually though there was a reasonable amount of leeway. Characters were only ever nixed from above if there were licensing issues.
skippcomet
Oct 19, 2013, 08:59 am
Okay, I know I'm responding to a thread I started, and I know the original post was about people's "one" wish for a handbook, but this occurred to me this past week and I haven't been able to shake it. In the vein of Mystic Arcanna: The Book of Marvel Magic, why not The Book of Marvel Science? Featuring entries on such phenomena almost unique to the Marvel Universe as Pym Particles, Unstable Molecules, Darkforce, and Vibranium (in the same vein as past entries on Adamantium and Mutant Growth Hormone) plus maybe some less unique-to-Marvel subjects as Clones, Time Travel, and Hidden Races or Offshoots of Humanity. Entries on Academic Allies like Peter Corbeau, Noah Burstein, and Marla Madison as well as Knowledgeable Knaves like Karl Malus, Lemuel Dorcas, and Daniel Damien! The Squadron Supreme's Tom Thumb and Master Menace! Vyrra of Atlantis! Mentor of the Imperial Guard! Visit The Stranger's Laboratory World, The Blue Area of the Moon, and the Brand Corporation! The X-Club! The Council of Reeds! The Astronomer! The Possessor! ISAAC! Intellectual Robots! And Updates on Scientific Superstars like Dr. Doom, Giant-Man (Hank Pym), Guardian, The Leader, and Mr. Fantastic!
I don't know what's sadder, that this will never happen or that I've all but composed the Solicitations copy in my head already....
Stuart V
Oct 19, 2013, 09:13 am
Okay, I know I'm responding to a thread I started, and I know the original post was about people's "one" wish for a handbook, but this occurred to me this past week and I haven't been able to shake it. In the vein of Mystic Arcanna: The Book of Marvel Magic, why not The Book of Marvel Science? Featuring entries on such phenomena almost unique to the Marvel Universe as Pym Particles, Unstable Molecules, Darkforce, and Vibranium (in the same vein as past entries on Adamantium and Mutant Growth Hormone) plus maybe some less unique-to-Marvel subjects as Clones, Time Travel, and Hidden Races or Offshoots of Humanity. Entries on Academic Allies like Peter Corbeau, Noah Burstein, and Marla Madison as well as Knowledgeable Knaves like Karl Malus, Lemuel Dorcas, and Daniel Damien! The Squadron Supreme's Tom Thumb and Master Menace! Vyrra of Atlantis! Mentor of the Imperial Guard! Visit The Stranger's Laboratory World, The Blue Area of the Moon, and the Brand Corporation! The X-Club! The Council of Reeds! The Astronomer! The Possessor! ISAAC! Intellectual Robots! And Updates on Scientific Superstars like Dr. Doom, Giant-Man (Hank Pym), Guardian, The Leader, and Mr. Fantastic!
I have to agree, you've sold me on that theme. Some seriously nice stuff to cover. Mind you, the clones entry could probably fill the entire book. I remember the first time I saw the story where Spider-Man responded to Captain America casually mentioning just how influential he was by countering "I have clones" () and thinking to myself that if the writer, Brian Michael Bendis, knew his continuity, then most of the others present for the exchange could have retorted with "so what, so do I."
Phoenixx9
Oct 19, 2013, 12:48 pm
I don't know what's sadder, that this will never happen or that I've all but composed the Solicitations copy in my head already....
You really got on a roll with all of those ideas! :stars:
Makes me want to place an order for my copy right now!
skippcomet
Oct 26, 2013, 08:30 am
Thanks, guys. One other thing had occurred to me as to who could be included in such a themed handbook: how many super-powered characters Marvel has who are either a) scientists who gave themselves powers or created their special weapons/gadgets, or b) scientists who fell victim to their experiments and gained powers but at a terrible cost. #1 on that list would the Hulk, but there's also Sunturion, Man-Thing, Ion, and who knows how many others? In other words, no way it would have to be limited to just supporting characters in lab coats. Plus, mad scientists of and from every era. Alas, 'tis not to be.
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