Who Watches the Watchers - Forum for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe & Similar Works » Strange visitor from another canon

Loki · 1/19/2020 3:05 am

The thread on Omniversal Kevin Bacon got me thinking: It might be nice to have some threads tracking interdimensional (read: cross company) crossovers. Everyone should feel free to contribute both sightings and new threads, but the first thread of each should be used to maintain an index of the appearances and maintained by whoever has editing powers (I'm assuming the thread starter and/or moderators). I'm thinking of splitting the threads thusly (but feel free to suggest additional ones or amendments):
Easter egg cameos - just somewhere in the background, not explicitly acknowledged.
Proper cameos - not a full on crossover or heavily involved in the story, but not hidden unacknowledged in the background. Usually done with the permission of the copyright holder if the character is not public domain.
Guest appearance - full on participant in the story.
You seem strangely familiar - Major player in the story, but since use of given character would breach copyright, some cosmetic changes have been made to avoid this. As TV and films based on real life events might say "Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty." Sometimes such characters only make a single appearance; on other occasions they end up making many (c.f. Squadron Supreme); in the latter instance, the only issues to mention would be the first time the character appears.
Who they are based on
Birdman
Dan Dare
Dolmann
Garth
General Jumbo
Gravity Girl
Hanna Barbera Superheroes
Kid Marvelman
Marvelman
Meteor Man
Mighty Mightor
Robot Archie
Space Ghost
The Spider
Steel Claw
Tim Kelly
Vapor Man
Young Marvelman
Young Samson

The analogues
Alphaclan
Android Andy
Arachnid
Colonel Tusker
Gaath
Iron Tallon
Kid Miracleman
Last Heroes of Earth-238
Miracleman
Puppetman
Rick
Roy Risk
Tom Rosetta

Last edited by Loki (1/21/2020 3:30 am)

Loki · 1/19/2020 11:45 am

Since most people visiting here are likely to already know about some of the more prominent "analogues" - Hyperion and Gladiator are both Superman, for example - I thought I'd start with a more obscure group. Due to his subsequent appearance over the Pond and the fact that his analogue used the name he'd eventually officially adopt for U.S. publication, there are probably a fair few people who know that Marvelman turned up in Moore/Davis' run of Captain Britain as Miracleman, one of the hero-killing Fury's victims on Earth-238. However, he wasn't the only counterpart to old British superhero characters present; apart from two (the Crusader and Bash Street Bunty), every hero the Fury was shown to kill was a thinly disguised existing character. Too many to cover here, but luckily I've already broken it down elsewhere:
The Last Heroes of Earth-238

Last edited by Loki (1/19/2020 11:45 am)

Loki · 1/19/2020 11:58 am

During Kevin Grevioux run on New Warriors, the titular team took on a group of villains dubbed the Alphaclan.
However, fans of Hanna Barbera's 1960s superhero cartoons might find them strangely familiar...

Last edited by Loki (1/19/2020 4:04 pm)

Andy E. Nystrom · 1/19/2020 5:35 pm

A recurring Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew foe, starting with #3 is Frogzilla. I don't think I need to spell out the reference.
Mantis appeared as Willow in Justice League of America #142 (Hmm, maybe you should make a note of those instances where the analogue and the original share the same creator).
Action Comics #579 featured various Asterix analogues.
Captain Strong (Popeye) was a recurring Superman character starting with Action Comics #421
Vartox (Zardoz) was another recurring Superman character starting with Superman #281. Superman seems to encounter as many analogues as he has of his own.
Buck Wild (Luke Cage) was an Icon ally starting with #13.
The Cockroach (paraody of various) first appeared in Cerebus the Aardvark #13
The Foot (The Hand) are TMNT foes starting from #1.
Zatara (Mandrake) was a main character starting with Action #1.

For satire comics, I recommend skipping/only noting the most prominent if analogues are the norm. With Not Brand Echh you might be able to get away with all of them because only a few analogues were non-Marvel, but Mad, Cracked, and Crazy would likely bog down the list.

Last edited by Andy E. Nystrom (1/19/2020 6:29 pm)

Loki · 1/20/2020 2:51 am

Splitting up Andy's post into individual entries for the sake of subsequent linkage.

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
A recurring Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew foe, starting with #3 is Frogzilla. I don't think I need to spell out the reference.

is, of course:

Loki · 1/20/2020 2:58 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Mantis appeared as Willow in Justice League of America #142 (Hmm, maybe you should make a note of those instances where the analogue and the original share the same creator).

Willow

and Lorelei from Scorpio Rose #2,
which was also written by Steve Englehart, is, of course, Mantis

Loki · 1/20/2020 3:56 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Action Comics #579 featured various Asterix analogues.

Very true. Not only in general terms:
AC#579

vs Asterix stories
[img]https://cf.geekdo-images.com/large/img/Wh5q0SFOhRw882qDW6VrAs5R8ag=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale()/pic2450826.jpg[/img]
AC#579
vs Asterix

AC#579

vs Asterix
but also in terms of individual characters.
Columnix

is Obelix

and his dog Prefix

is Idéfix (English language: Dogmatix)

Pictorix

is Panoramix (English language name: Getafix)

Chief Flipmybix

is Abraracourcix (Vitalstatistix)

Fisherman Rockix

is Ordralfabétix (Unhygienix)

At one point Jimmy Olsen dons the outfit of the Gaulish village's missing greatest warrior

Only the trousers (pants) don't quite match.

Even the main villain, the soothsayer Prolifix

pays homage to Prolix, the villain of Asterix and the Soothsayer

while the plot point of forcing the druid to make his magic potion for the Romans comes straight out of the first story, Asterix the Gaul.

Honestly, it is an astounding homage to Asterix tales. The more you know about the original stories, the more stuff you spot:

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:01 am

And before covering the next on Andy's list, it's worth pointing out that the Asterix stories returned the favour in Asterix and the Falling Sky, when the Gaulish village had some strange visitors from another planet.

Meet Superclone.

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:05 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Captain Strong (Popeye) was a recurring Superman character starting with Action Comics #421

Captain Strong

and Popeye

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:09 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Vartox (Zardoz) was another recurring Superman character starting with Superman #281. Superman seems to encounter as many analogues as he has of his own.

Vartox

vs Zardoz

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:33 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Buck Wild (Luke Cage) was an Icon ally starting with #13.

Not only was Buck Wild

a riff on Luke Cage

but his various short-term aliases played homage to other black heroes:
Buck Voodoo

a.k.a. Brother Voodoo

Buck Goliath

is Black Goliath

Jim Crow

is the Falcon

Last edited by Loki (1/21/2020 3:00 am)

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:36 am

And since we're covering Buck Wild, it's worth mentioning his partner during the period he called himself Jim Crow. I give you: The Patriot!

No idea who he might be based on...

Andy E. Nystrom · 1/20/2020 7:07 am

The Luke Cage episode only shows up as a series of code on Firefox. More:
Wundarr, before he became Aquarian, was a Superman analogue, starting in Fear #19.
Marvelman (and friends/foes), starting with Marvelman #25 was essentially a means to keep publishing Captain Marvel stories once Fawcett had to stop using the character.
Supreme, starting in Youngblood #3 is a Superman analogue. Starting in Supreme #40 most of his friends/foes became analogues for Silver Age Superman friends/foes.

By the way, are you counting unauthorized analogues of real people, or just of fictional characters?

Loki · 1/20/2020 7:56 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
By the way, are you counting unauthorized analogues of real people, or just of fictional characters?

Hmm. I think we can probably include the former too.

Andy E. Nystrom · 1/20/2020 8:41 am

Okay. Real life people:
Zoo Crew members Rubberduck (Byrd Rentals) and Yankee Poodle (Rova Barkett) are based on Burt Reynolds and Rona Barrett. Both first appeared in New Teen Titans #16.
Despite looking a bit like Michael Jackson or Prince, Ace Spencer, first appearing in Spectacular Spider-Man #5 is based on Mark Bright
Funky Flashman, starting in Mister Miracle #6 is a caricature of Stan Lee.

Lord Julius, starting in Cerebus the Aardvark #?? (I no longer have the trades) is based on Groucho Marx's usual screen persona.

Loki · 1/20/2020 8:53 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
Lord Julius, starting in Cerebus the Aardvark #?? (I no longer have the trades) is based on Groucho Marx's usual screen persona.

Yeah, Groucho has several interdimensional lookalikes.
Lord Julius
Groucho (yes, they actually used the name; no subtlety here!) in Martin Mystere

Rufus T. Hackstabber in Marvel (Master of Kung-Fu and Defenders)

AND Julius T. Flakfyser from Marvel's Slapstick

Loki · 1/20/2020 9:48 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
The Cockroach (parody of various) first appeared in Cerebus the Aardvark #13

Yep.
His original incarnation, Cockroach (Cerebus #11), was a (comparatively) subtle riff on Batman.

Cerebus #21 gives us Captain Cockroach (Captain America)

then Cerebus #30 provides Moon Roach (Moon Knight)

Cerebus #44, and he's become Sergeant Preston Roach (Sgt. Preston of the Yukon)

Cerebus #53 gives us Wolveroach (Wolverine)

Cerebus #81 is Super Secret Wars Roach, a combination of black costume Spider-Man with Dark Knight Returns Batman

Cerebus #139 has normalroach (normalman)
#154 is Punisheroach (Punisher)

#162 provides a quadruple bill: Loboroach, Cableroach, Venomroach and Ghostroach (Lobo, Cable, Venom and Ghost Rider)

#174 is Swoon (Sandman)

before becoming Kay Sarah Sarah (Destiny of the Endless) in #179

and I'm sure I'll still have missed a few personae.

Last edited by Loki (1/21/2020 3:27 am)

Loki · 1/20/2020 9:52 am

Cerebus has a fair few other analogues running around:
Sump Thing from Cerebus #25

is Swamp Thing.

Loki · 1/20/2020 9:55 am

Cerebus #24's Woman Thing

is Man-Thing

Loki · 1/20/2020 9:56 am

Red Sophia from Cerebus #3

is Red Sonja

Loki · 1/20/2020 9:59 am

Elrod from Cerebus #4

is Elric, with Foghorn Leghorn's speech patterns.

Last edited by Loki (1/20/2020 9:59 am)

Loki · 1/20/2020 10:02 am

Bran Mac Mufin from Cerebus #5

is Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn.
[img]https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518FEKVK13L._SX283_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/img]

Loki · 1/20/2020 3:24 pm

The Judge Dredd strip in 2000AD #530 introduced us to the superhuman vigilante Fairlyhyperman.

In case there's any question about who he parodied, he explained his origin:

Loki · 1/20/2020 3:56 pm

2000AD Prog 1232's Judge Dredd story saw a hole in the space/time continuum bring a familiar looking spaceship to Dredd's reality.

On board are a similarly familiar crew:

From left to right that's Uhoogloo, Captain James Krock, the half-human Mr. Spook, Navigation Officer Zulu and an unnamed red shirt.
We also meet the Scottish accented engineer, Spotty:

as well as the ship's doctor, nicknamed "Guts."

And then there's the mission statement:

Last edited by Loki (1/21/2020 3:29 am)

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:07 pm

Another Superman parody was Tornado, and later 2000AD's, Captain Klep,

a.k.a. Clark Klep, secretly an alien from the planet Klepton. And if there's still any doubt after all that about who he was based on, then the poster 2000 A.D. did of him changing into his costume should dispel them; just check out his choice of changing room:

Last edited by Loki (1/20/2020 4:07 pm)

Loki · 1/20/2020 4:14 pm

Klep was replaced in 2000 A.D. by Dash Decent, a Flash Gordon parody.

Accompanied by Dale Ardent and Dr. Zellamy they visited the planet Pongo and took on Pong the Malignant.

And in case it needs spelled out, those would be Dale Arden, Dr. Zarkov, and Ming the Merciless from planet Mongo.

Last edited by Loki (1/21/2020 3:29 am)

Andy E. Nystrom · 1/28/2020 5:24 pm

The Clark and Lois who keep showing up in Marvel stories starting with X-Men #98 are an interesting case. Many of their appearances are pretty minor, but they've appeared so often that at least some of their appearances might count as participants and if not they are at least active participants on Earth-616/Prime and not just some one time background characters.

Loki · 1/29/2020 2:56 am

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
The Clark and Lois who keep showing up in Marvel stories starting with X-Men #98 are an interesting case. Many of their appearances are pretty minor, but they've appeared so often that at least some of their appearances might count as participants and if not they are at least active participants on Earth-616/Prime and not just some one time background characters.

Very true. They've had enough appearances to make for decent Appendix profiles.
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/kentclrk.htm
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/loisdc.htm

Loki · 1/29/2020 2:59 am

John Ostrander's Grimjack has also turned up in 616, under the alias Haggard, and in the vicinity of Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus (though the latter falls under Easter egg cameos since he's not named, and just hanging around in the background).

Loki · 1/29/2020 3:06 am

Loki wrote:
Andy E. Nystrom wrote:
The Clark and Lois who keep showing up in Marvel stories starting with X-Men #98 are an interesting case. Many of their appearances are pretty minor, but they've appeared so often that at least some of their appearances might count as participants and if not they are at least active participants on Earth-616/Prime and not just some one time background characters.
Very true. They've had enough appearances to make for decent Appendix profiles.
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/kentclrk.htm
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/loisdc.htm

And then there is their Easter egg cameo in Ultimates.