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1/19/2020 3:04 am  #1


Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

The thread on Omniversal Kevin Bacon got me thinking: It might be nice to have some threads tracking interdimensional (read: cross company) crossovers. And this is the first of such. 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.

 

1/19/2020 12:11 pm  #2


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

It's far from uncommon for characters from one British humour strip to turn up in another strip in the same, or even a different, comic. The boundaries between strips is...blurred for these characters. But even for these comics, some guest appearances are more surprising than others. 

In the pre-Marvel UK days of the 1960s British reprints of U.S. Marvel titles had two main venues. Alan Class Comics were very randomly reprinting them across their range of titles, one issue at a time and interspersed with reprints from other companies. At the same time Odhams began publishing what collectively became known as The Power Pack (no relation): Smash!, Wham!, Pow!, Fantastic and Terrific. Each one was progressively filled with Marvel reprints as Odhams realised they were both popular and presumably cheaper than producing brand new, home grown material. Thus it was that Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. found a home in Pow! Another strip in Pow! was Dare-A-Day Davy, about a lad who couldn't resist any challenge put to him, no matter how dangerous or insane; the schtick was that readers would write in providing the dares for him to try. And that in turn lead to this strip, published in Pow! 33, cover date 2nd September 1967:
[img]https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tgl8PJxABxQ/VTwinozwEKI/AAAAAAAAmcc/-pdVAVhfbdw/s1600/Dare-A-Day%2BDavy%2B(33).jpg[/img]

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1/28/2020 10:13 am  #3


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

Laralei was a character in Kull the Destroyer #22-29.  According to the author, Don Glut, she is actually Graylin, a character from Dagar the Invincible. It seems that Glut intended for Graylin/Laralei and Dagar to live in the same world as Kull.  I'm not sure if Dagar's continuity (and those of the other Gold Key comics that crossed over with him) are compatible with 616 continuity, but it would be cool if they were. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/kull-the-destroyer-22-talons-of-the-devil-birds/4000-17690/user-reviews/2200-44903/

 

1/28/2020 12:24 pm  #4


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

vanhornluke wrote:

Laralei was a character in Kull the Destroyer #22-29.  According to the author, Don Glut, she is actually Graylin, a character from Dagar the Invincible. It seems that Glut intended for Graylin/Laralei and Dagar to live in the same world as Kull.  I'm not sure if Dagar's continuity (and those of the other Gold Key comics that crossed over with him) are compatible with 616 continuity, but it would be cool if they were. https://comicvine.gamespot.com/kull-the-destroyer-22-talons-of-the-devil-birds/4000-17690/user-reviews/2200-44903/

The resemblance is right down to wearing the same outfit in both series.

And the comics itself hinted as much:

However, this crossover should fall under You Seem Strangely Familiar, since it's not an authorized, openly acknowledged crossover. We know who she is, but by avoiding giving her original name copyright issues are avoided.

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2/03/2020 9:27 am  #5


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

In Dark Horse's two-issue 1995 The Shadow and Doc Savage, one of the characters is Dr. Reinstein, the man who created Captain America's super soldier serum.  I don't know if this story is compatible with 616 continuity, especially with Reinstein having a daughter named Bernice, but it's a fun use of a Marvel character in another company's story.

 

2/03/2020 12:02 pm  #6


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

vanhornluke wrote:

In Dark Horse's two-issue 1995 The Shadow and Doc Savage, one of the characters is Dr. Reinstein, the man who created Captain America's super soldier serum.  I don't know if this story is compatible with 616 continuity, especially with Reinstein having a daughter named Bernice, but it's a fun use of a Marvel character in another company's story.

Speaking of Doc Savage/Shadow crossovers reminded me of this exchange from DC's Doc Savage #17, where the two adventurers realise they share a teacher in common. I found out a few years later at a comic convention that the editors of the book weren't aware that the writer was referencing an existing character - but I'm sure some of those on this site will know who taught Doc and Shadow the esoteric martial art in question.

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2/09/2020 9:34 am  #7


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

Meanwhile in newspaper strips...

In June 2010, the long running strip Little Orphan Annie ended on a cliffhanger with the title character being kidnapped. Four years later, in June 2014, Daddy Warbucks hired Dick Tracy to find his missing ward - naturally he succeeded.

Starting with the December 26th 2016 installment, Dick Tracy's strip had an official crossover with Will Eisner's Spirit.

In April 2018, Dick Tracy clashed with the Green Hornet:

Last edited by Loki (2/09/2020 3:14 pm)

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2/15/2020 4:38 pm  #8


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

I'm going to spend a bit of time on this one, because it's fairly important in terms of confirming there is an Omniverse (singular), and that there isn't a "Marvel Omniverse" different from, say, the "Image Omniverse." By definition, Omni means all, and the whole point of Mark Gruenwald coining the term in the comics was that it includes EVERY fictional reality (and presumably the real one); he's the one who came up with the definition that said this, yet still some people insist he meant that Marvel had its own Omniverse disconnected from the Omniverses of other companies. And yes, we've had characters (I'm looking at you, Blue Marvel, and you, Mysterium) making comments about going outside or beyond the Omniverse, but taking those comments, which contradict the definition made by the man who MADE the definition, as being proof Gruenwald got his OWN definition wrong, is like assuming that when a character in a SF show says "we've left the Milky Way solar system" (OSLT) it is because we've changed the definition of what a solar system is, and not because the writer didn't understand the difference. Simply put, you can't go "outside the Omniverse"; you can, at best, go "outside the known Omniverse" and by so doing expand our knowledge of what is contained within the Omniverse.

Before anyone thinks I'm posting this in the wrong section and it should be in the Omniverse section (and maybe I'll copy this there), this IS about guest appearances. You see, I've read comments from people online in the past dismissing crossover stories as not being proof of the Omniverse: "That's not canon because (a) it's only a What If?; (b) it's an Easter egg; (c) it's a mini-series disconnected from the main continuity; (d) sure, it might be in continuity for character A because it took place in A's own series, but it's not the "real" version of guest-starring character B." etc.

Option (d) is the one that comes closest to convincing these skeptics; it's hard to deny it being in continuity for character A is it appears in A's main series - to use the post above, Dick Tracy obviously met the Green Hornet. But the hardline skeptics would insist that it wasn't the "real" Green Hornet, just a version of him that exists in DT's universe (as if counterparts don't count as evidence of the Omniverse). So what we need is proof that it happened for the "real" character B too. 

And with that, I present Exhibit A:

I'm sure most people who are regulars here know about this already to some extent, but I want to take a more detailed look at the evidence.

In Invincible #33, the title character is sent through a dimensional warp to other realities by his foe Angstrom Levy. Here's the pertinent scene in Invincible #33:

and here's the scene in MTU #14:
Clearly the same scene from a different angle, right down to the sound effect.
Invincible then apologizes to Doc Ock for crashing into him:
Invincible #33 version:
MTU#14 version:
Word for word identical.

Invincible explains to Spidey how to got to 616 - he not only clearly describes the plot of Invincible#33, there's even an editorial note confirming the Image comic's title and issue:
He also mentions in MTU that this is the second dimension he's been sent to, again tallying with events in Invincible#33. And at the end of MTU#14 he leaves for his home reality with a bit of Spider-Man's webbing attached to his back,

and here's his return to his home reality in Invincible#33, webbing still attached.

Also, in MTU, when Invincible learns Spidey's codename, he states:
"You've got spider powers, right? So you go by Spider-Man... It just seems kind of lazy."
Then, in Invincible#33, while visiting another reality, we get:
It's not who the Easter egg cameo is of that's important here, but that not only does Invincible start to make a similar comment about the name choice, but that he also acknowledges "I've already had this conversation once today" thus clearly referencing MTU#14. So that means we've definitely got the "real" Spider-Man (it's one of his "real" titles, not a special out-of-continuity story or What If?), and the "real" Invincible, and thus any "Marvel Omniverse" must include the main Image universe, since the main Image titles all regularly cross over with one another.

So is that the end of the evidence? Nope. Because Invincible has actually referenced back to his encounter with Spider-Man a few times.

Here's a sequence in Brit#7. We start with Invincible in his civilian identity spotting something that grabs his attention, noting "that looks familiar" and "wonder how he got here."

What has he spotted? Take a look, and note that Invincible says "I think I know that guy"

A red and blue coloured guy sitting atop webbing? Who could he possibly think this might be? Despite all the evidence in Invincible#33 we know that it wasn't the "real" Invincible in MTU#14. Invincible can't possibly think this is Spider-Man, because that would mean the real Invincible met Spidey.
Oh.

During MTU he met the Avengers, and tried to guess their codenames based on Spider-Man's codename and their appearances. 
In Tick #100, Invincible again dimension hops, and has this encounter with the heroes of Tick's reality:
Note not only the similar framing of the panel in question, but also that Invincible confirms "I've done this bit before." Which means that not only does our "Marvel Omniverse" include the Image universe, but also the Tick universe - the only way those "main series" realities can crossover is if they are part of one shared Omniverse. And if the "Marvel" Omniverse includes realities from other comic companies, then it is Marvel's Omniverse only in the sense of shared residency, not in the sense of ownership.

 

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9/10/2020 2:34 am  #9


Re: Strange visitor from another canon - Guest appearance edition

First post on this in a while. Possibly the first time Marvel (then Timely) did a guest appearance for a character that originated outside of the company was for Raffles, the gentleman thief who first appeared in 1898 in Ernest Hornung's short stories and novels. More details on him in his Appendix profile.

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