Without wanting to get into the ins and outs of that discussion you've quoted, I will note that 
"Omniverses are part of the larger Megaverse" is definitely wrong. You can't have plural Omniverses or have them be part of something bigger, because the definition is that everything is in the Omniverse. If a character claims to have left the Omniverse, they are mistaken/misspeaking - they can only have left the "KNOWN" Omniverse and thus expanded the boundaries of what we knew to be part of the Omniverse.

That one jumped out at me as well.

One small thing I will say in terms of multiverse/megaverse confusion is the line sometimes gets blurred, much more so than with the omniverse. In the specific case of the New Universe, my suspicion is that it's actually part of the multiverse despite what's been said in the past, and despite time passing differently there. Notably, the White Event affecting different worlds strikes me as something that would be a multiversal phenomenon rather than a megaversal phenomenon. It might be that just as Pluto was believed at one time to be a planet and now it's not, perhaps, the White Event is an indicator that the New Universe was misclassified. Pure speculation on my part, but it does suggest that even if the New Universe is still outside the Marvel multiverse it nevertheless has closer ties to other worlds in the Marvel multiverse than was previously believed.

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Here's a question that applies to both Marvel and DC. I've heard it claimed that Jack Kirby's New Gods saga at DC was a recycled premise from an arc he planned but never got to do in Thor, in which Asgard it destroyed in Ragnarok and then reborn as a sci-fi rather than mystical society. Furthermore, it's claimed that it's still somewhat implied that the DC "Old Gods" are the Marvel Asgardians, as one of Kirby's many subtle and not-so-subtle "up yours" moves to his previous employer.

Is any of this true? And if so, how much?

More or less true. I'd lay out the details, but someone else already did a good job of that.
https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-444/

Nexus wrote:

Hello all! Captain Britain(Brian Braddock), where does his power actually come from? Is it magic or the interdimensional energies that he can channel being a interdimensional energy conduit?

Shortest answer: Both. They aren't mutually exclusive.

To explain: Where does Superman's power actually come from? Is it his alien DNA or solar energy? It's both. The alien DNA gives him the powers, but the solar energy is what fuels it. 

Something similar holds (or held) true for Captain Britain. His powers have been changed around a few times, such as the most recent time Merlyn resurrected him in Captain Britain and MI13, and his recent transition to Captain Avalon, so it's not certain what the deal is right now, but back in his Davis-era Excalibur days his powers had been given to him by magic (or incredibly advanced science indistinguishable from same) which had altered his body to give him innate abilities which were fueled by interdimensional energies. The energies themselves were for a good while focused through Merlyn's tower (and its 616 counterpart, the Excalibur lighthouse), so he his powers were being fueled within a given radius of same, a region that encompassed all of the British Isles; his suit acted as a booster and battery, so that he could operate further afield. 

Nexus wrote:

Loki wrote:

Nexus wrote:

Hello all! Captain Britain(Brian Braddock), where does his power actually come from? Is it magic or the interdimensional energies that he can channel being a interdimensional energy conduit?

Shortest answer: Both. They aren't mutually exclusive.

To explain: Where does Superman's power actually come from? Is it his alien DNA or solar energy? It's both. The alien DNA gives him the powers, but the solar energy is what fuels it.

Ah I see! I never looked at it that way, thank Loki. While I have your attention, has there ever been anything written about what Excalibur(Sword) can do?

Yes. Excalibur was written up as one of the Swords of Sorcerous Might for the Mystic Arcana Handbook. Short version, the sword is all but indestructible, can harm beings normally immune to mundane weapons (e.g. it killed Dracula, a being who would laugh off being hit by a normal sword), and the scabbard prevents the sword's wielder from losing blood, no matter what wounds they sustain. The sword has been in the possession of (as best I recall and in approximate order): King Arthur, a time-travelling Doctor Doom, Black Knight (Sir Percy), Mortigan Goth (doubt he wielded it, but he did have possession of it for a bit), Black Knight (Dane Whitman), King Arthur again, Captain Britain and currently Excalibur (Faiza Hussain), who temporarily loaned it to Night Nurse. Maha Yogi/Merlin Demonspawn also claimed Beowulf used it. Despite some accounts mixing them up, it's not the Sword in the Stone that Arthur drew to become king, nor is it the Sword of Might that empowers some of the Corps. 
 

Normally reliable CBR writer Brian Cronin did a somewhat disparaging article on the Handbooks. I've tried to comment with a plug for this site but my post doesn't seem to be talking for some reason. Will try again in the morning.
Feel free to post thoughts here and hope we can work in a plug to the site in the CBR article comments.
https://www.cbr.com/official-handbook-marvel-universe-false-promise/

Andy E. Nystrom wrote:

Normally reliable CBR writer Brian Cronin did a somewhat disparaging article on the Handbooks. I've tried to comment with a plug for this site but my post doesn't seem to be talking for some reason. Will try again in the morning.
Feel free to post thoughts here and hope we can work in a plug to the site in the CBR article comments.
https://www.cbr.com/official-handbook-marvel-universe-false-promise/

I wasn't able to post to the comments despite multiple tries. If anyone wants to try to post this to the above article on my behalf, please do so with my thanks.

As the Administrator for Who Watches the Watchers, the primary resource on the Internet for Marvel Handbooks (whowatchesthewatchers.boardhost.com). I should chime in here. I disagree that with the, yes, many inconsistencies in the Marvel Universe, the OHOTMUs aren’t official handbooks. For off, the obvious is that being guides published by Marvel directly makes them official. But in the larger sense, the books aren’t meant to reflect the Marvel Universe forever, but rather to the time they are printed. Think of the Marvel Universe as a giant amusement park. Things are always being added to it and in the process, occasionally things get altered or removed entirely. Do changes to the park render an old map to the park unofficial? No, because the map was valid at the point where it was printed. Same with the Handbooks. They will always be a work in progress because things are always changing, but they are still an official account of how things are at the time they are printed. I think the Handbook writers, from Gruenwald to the modern writers have done an excellent job of mapping things out to the point of publication. And the older Handbooks remain a great resource on what our understanding of the Marvel Universe used to be.
 

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Loki wrote:

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Has there ever been a comic or handbook that explained how Vindicator's brainwashing was removed between Alpha Flight v4 and the Wendigo arc in Extraordinary X-Men?

As I haven't been keeping track of Vindicator recently, I asked the other handbook writers. There's not been a recent handbook entry that it would have been relevant to cover this in, but there have been stories that seem to cover it somewhat obliquely. Here's the feedback I was given:It seems the brainwashing sort of wore off. The Guardian story in Alpha Flight: True North is apparently set between Alpha Flight (2011) 8 and Amazing X-Men (2013) 8. In AFTN her dialogue implies she is aware of what she did under Master’s control but still claims responsibility. This reads as if the brainwashing is gone.  Mac then puts her in the VR containment until he can convince her Dept H is not evil and out to get her, and will do so no matter how long it takes. By Amazing X-Men (2013) it appears he was able to do that and clear her name of the murders she committed while brainwashed because she is out of the VR pod and living with Mac, all kind of back to normal.  Long story short: AFTN vaguely implies it wore off. 

Wow, thanks so much. If the brainwashing was temporary, that sort of implies the Master's plan would've failed no matter what, unless he could consistently re-apply it to the whole country...

Without knowing the mechanics of how the Master's brainwashing worked, but simply taking into account that between external stimuli and victims' own rebelling subconscious most people might eventually break free of any kind of brainwashing if left to their own devices long enough, I'd imagine the Master would have ensured it was easy to maintain once established, but couldn't prevent the need to periodically reinforce it. Something as comparatively simple as brainwashees tuning in to a TV program sending out hidden reinforcement signals at least once per given month for example would easily keep most people under, especially if part of the brainwashing gave victims the compulsion to check out the program on a regular basis.

I have a couple of question about Meggan Braddock.

1) Do the marvel handbooks make the distinction between nature manipulation and elemental manipulation.  I ask because while in the comics authors call Meggan abilities elemental time and time again, by the definitions provided in the links her ability to commune with the planet tips her towards nature manipulation rather that elemental manipulation.

2) With the recent update to the Omega mutant definition, the idea of a mutant's dominant ability has now come up. Will the handbooks going forward seek to identify a mutant's dominant ability? In some cases this will be easy, but in others i.e Meggan it's not quite no clear cut.

3) As the Goblin Princess in Excalibur(Inferno crossover), did of that random thing that happened around her come from her abilities or from N'Astirh?

Last edited by Nexus (2/09/2021 2:03 am)

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Rick Remender left quite a few plot threads unfinished when he suddenly left Marvel, like various Weapon Plus hooks, Apocalypse's predecessors as the Celestials' representative on Earth, and, most intriguing to me, the White Sky Foundation, manufacturer of made-to-order supervillains! Is there anyone here who has any idea what his planned resolutions for them were, or any way to contact someone who does?

Rick Remender has a Twitter account so it probably couldn't hurt to ask him directly there if he's willing to share (thought that might depend on if he plans to rework his ideas somewhere else). https://twitter.com/Remender

RVcousin wrote:

Curious news in the July sollicitations : Sinister War #1 & 2, and Amazing Spider-Man #70 & 71 have all four a Handbook Variant Cover.
What is it ?

News to me. At a guess, they might do the cover art either with the character in a handbook-suitable pose, or even do handbook entries for a character on the cover.

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Time for a couple more about my favorite subject: obscure mutants! The Secrets Behind the X-Men blog mentions yet another '90s mutant whose story arc was apparently canceled, a mutant aide to the notoriously mutophobic Senator Kelly who appeared in UXM 299, 322-23, and XM 51, and then vanished without a trace. Does anyone here know anything more about this character or what direction he was supposed to be taken in?

According to the Deadpool Ranks and Fool Handbook, it's Noah Dubois from Landau, Luckman & Lake

Last edited by RVcousin (5/02/2021 6:57 am)

RVcousin wrote:

Pinball_Lizard wrote:

Time for a couple more about my favorite subject: obscure mutants! The Secrets Behind the X-Men blog mentions yet another '90s mutant whose story arc was apparently canceled, a mutant aide to the notoriously mutophobic Senator Kelly who appeared in UXM 299, 322-23, and XM 51, and then vanished without a trace. Does anyone here know anything more about this character or what direction he was supposed to be taken in?

According to the Deadpool Ranks and Fool Handbook, it's Noah Dubois from Landau, Luckman & Lake

But Noah Dubois wasn't a mutant, was he? I thought his powers were derived from technology.
 

Last edited by Rayeye (5/08/2021 12:14 pm)

From what I understand the 1990s animated cartoons were originally considered to more-or-less be taking place in the same reality. Although there were never any explicit ties between them, there were loose connections: a character would be voiced by the same actor across multiple series, an episode in one series would subtly refer to one in another series, etc. However there were enough contradictions that it was eventually decided to split them up into the separate realities that the handbooks indicate. Naturally there are fans who still like the idea of a single shared animation reality and still adhere to it in their head-canon (and in this case, Fandom-canon).

Loki wrote:

RVcousin wrote:

Curious news in the July sollicitations : Sinister War #1 & 2, and Amazing Spider-Man #70 & 71 have all four a Handbook Variant Cover.
What is it ?

News to me. At a guess, they might do the cover art either with the character in a handbook-suitable pose, or even do handbook entries for a character on the cover.

I have found the first 2 covers : it's real 1page Handbook, Doc Ock for ASM#70 and (Lady) Electro for Sinister War #1.
https://mobile.twitter.com/IsraelSilvaArt/status/1402296441738076166/photo/1
https://twitter.com/IsraelSilvaArt/status/1405244834617696264/photo/2

Last edited by RVcousin (6/17/2021 1:22 pm)