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A Marvel comic character . Hela the Asgardian goddess of death was based on the Norse goddess Hel , the ruler of Hel and Niflheim . She is often depicted as the foe of Thor .
Oz Comic Con
Brisbane
I've met and taken Lady Loki's photo before (she remembered me!). Saw quite a few Enchantresses over the weekend but this is only one I was able to get a photo of. The others were busy/unavailable when I saw them and never bumped into them again. It happens.
Character Creation
The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four.
He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a similar, previous character, the android Human Torch of the same name and powers who was created in 1939 by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics' predecessor company, Timely Comics.
Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Johnny gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays. He can engulf his entire body in flames, fly, absorb fire harmlessly into his own body, and control any nearby fire by sheer force of will. "Flame on!", which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase.
The youngest of the group, he is brash and impetuous in comparison to his reticent, overprotective and compassionate older sister, Susan Storm, his sensible brother-in-law, Reed Richards, and the grumbling Ben Grimm. In the early 1960s, he starred in a series of solo adventures, published in Strange Tales. The Human Torch is also a friend and frequent ally of the superhero Spider-Man, who is approximately the same age.
In film, the Human Torch has been portrayed by Jay Underwood in the unreleased 1994 film The Fantastic Four; Chris Evans in the 2005 film Fantastic Four, its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); Michael B. Jordan in the 2015 film Fantastic Four; and Joseph Quinn in the MCU films The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Publication history
Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Johnny Storm is a renovation of Carl Burgos's original character, the android Human Torch, created for Timely Comics in 1939. Storm first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated Nov. 1961), establishing him as a member of the titular superhero team.
In his plot summary for this first issue, Lee passed on to Kirby that the recently formed Comics Code Authority had told him that the Human Torch was only permitted to burn objects, never people.
Over the course of the series, Johnny being the little brother of teammate Susan Storm a.k.a. the Invisible Girl was one of several sources of tension within the group.
Additionally, he starred in a solo feature in Strange Tales #101-134 (Oct. 1962 – July 1965). An eight-issue series, The Human Torch (Sept. 1974 – Nov. 1975), reprinted stories from that solo feature, along with stories featuring the original android Human Torch.
Later years also saw a 12-issue series, Human Torch (June 2003 - June 2004) by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young, and the five-issue team-up miniseries Spider-Man / Human Torch (March–July 2005) by writer Dan Slott and penciler Ty Templeton.
The Human Torch was the permanent co-star of Marvel Team-Up, but was dropped after three issues because the creators found this format too restrictive.
He co-starred in two one-shot comics, Spider-Man & the Human Torch in... Bahia De Los Muertos! #1 (May 2009), by writer Tom Beland and artist Juan Doe, and Incredible Hulk & the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault #1, a previously unpublished story from 1984, intended for Marvel Team-Up by plotter Jack C. Harris, scriptwriter and artist Kesel, and breakdown artist Steve Ditko.
Character Evolution
Although he was in the Fantastic Four, Johnny still had time to have his own adventures, fighting villains such as the Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete, who would later go on to have grudges against both Johnny and the Fantastic Four. (These adventures were chronicled in Strange Tales). The Human Torch also started dating a fellow student named Dorrie Evans. During the time that the Torch was dating Dorrie, Peter Parker ironically met her one night, and impressed her with his quiet, studying manner as opposed to Johnny's hotheadedness and eagerness.
Deciding that it would be funny to see how she reacted around Spider-Man, Peter changed to Spider-Man, only to end up fighting the Beetle, another of the Human Torch's foes, who was planning to capture Dorrie for revenge on the Torch. Eventually the Torch arrived, and together he and Spider-Man defeated the Beetle and saved Dorrie, one of their earliest team-ups.
After an adventure with the Mole Man, the Sue Storm found a newspaper article which had a small section about her and Johnny's father. The two went to visit him in prison, but unknown to them, the Super-Skrull had kidnapped Franklin Storm and shape shifted to replace him. The Super-Skrull then went on a rampage as the Invincible Man, correctly guessing that the Torch and Invisible Woman wouldn't attack someone who they thought was their father, until Mr. Fantastic discovered the deception.
The Super-Skrull agreed to return Johnny and Sue's father, but moments after they saw him, he yelled at them to escape, before a bomb which had been implanted in him exploded. Thankfully, no one was hurt except for Franklin, but he was gone from Johnny and Sue's life once more.
Major Story Arcs
The Frightful Four
By now, Reed and Sue had agreed to marry, but shortly before they could, the Fantastic Four's counterpart, the Frightful Four (consisting mostly of old enemies of the Human Torch) attacked the group. One of Johnny Storm's best moments was during the first battle with the Frightful Four, FF #36. The evil FF had captured the Invisible Girl, the Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Alicia Masters while Torch was absent from the Baxter Building. Wizard brilliantly attached anti-gravity discs to all four and sent them up into the atmosphere to meet certain death. However, Alicia Masters was able to signal Torch with the FF flare signal before being captured. Hence, Johnny was able to come and capture the Wizard and force him to fly a plane and rescue the missing three FF members and Alicia.
If not for the Human Torch saving the day, his three partners and Alicia Masters most certainly would have suffocated high in the atmosphere! The next battle with the evil FF came in issue #38, "Defeated by the Frightful Four". As part of the Frightful Four's plans, they managed to trap the Fantastic Four on a deserted island with an atomic bomb. This took place following Medusa's capture of the Invisible Girl. Although Sue was able to protect the group with a force field, the radiation still somehow affected them and took away the Fantastic Four's powers.
The team was then attacked by Doctor Doom, who wanted revenge for having been tricked into thinking that he had defeated the team the last time they clashed. The team managed to regain their powers with a special gun of Reed's, but the Thing left the quartet after being forced to have his powers back. Following him the Thing, both he and the Human Torch were brainwashed by the Frightful Four into joining the group. After a lengthy fight between the Frightful Four and Fantastic Four, Johnny and the Thing were cured, but a member of the Frightful Four, Medusa, managed to escape.
Inhumans
Johnny would encounter Medusa shortly after Reed and Sue's wedding, when she was being chased by a mysterious man named Gorgon. Medusa revealed to the Torch that she and Gorgon were both from a mysterious race, who had superpowers. Before she could reveal any more, Gorgon managed to capture her. Johnny shortly ran into another member of the race, (which Reed dubbed the Inhumans), Crystal, whom he fell in love with at first sight. Johnny managed to convince Crystal and the rest of the Inhumans that humans were not their enemies, but shortly afterwards, Black Bolt (the King of the Inhumans) brother Maximus trapped all of the Inhumans inside a "negative energy" dome, which the Fantastic Four only just managed to escape.
Following this, the Fantastic Four had their first encounter with Galactus and the Silver Surfer. (It should be noted before moving on to Galactus that some FF fans were disappointed that Stan Lee did not allow Johnny Storm and Crystal to marry and to bring Crystal on to the FF team as a permanent member. Crystal did go on to do a superb job as a temporary replacement for Sue during Sue's maternity leave.
Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Crystal was forced to leave Johnny and go back to live with the Inhumans. She and Johnny never did get back together and she ended up marrying Quicksilver. It would seem likely that the reason that Stan Lee did not make Crystal a permanent member of the team is because he did not wish to change the name of the group from Fantastic Four to Fantastic Five.)
To battle Galactus, Johnny was selected specifically by the Watcher to retrieve a great weapon he had in a safe place. Johnny was able to retrieve the weapon, known as the Ultimate Nullifier, and they threatened Galactus with it, who left the planet alone.
Galactus
While in a in a singles bar Johnny met Frankie Ray and later met up to go on a date. On their first date, Frankie learned that Johnny was the Human Torch when he had to save a man's life. Frankie was repressed of her memory about the accident that gave her super-powers, until one day it came to light. Reed helped her learn the truth of her past. Frankie and Johnny soon became a couple and Frankie even became a member in-training.
When Galactus needed to consume the Earth to survive, Frankie volunteered to become his next herald to explore space and have adventures as long as he spared the Earth. Galactus accepted, endowing Frankie with the Power Cosmic and called herself Nova. Johnny lost his second love that day.
Secret Wars
During the Secret Wars, when the Beyonder transported a group of heroes and villains to Battleworld, the Thing decided to leave the Fantastic Four and live among monsters at Monster Island. Johnny and Alicia Masters would soon start a relationship during the Thing’s absence.
Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters are about to get married, but the Mad Thinker and Wizard plan to take advantage of the event. The Thing and the Puppet Master have different plans and manage to stop the two evil geniuses. Reed and Sue decide to take some time away from the Fantastic Four and leave the Thing in charge. And his first duty is to find replacements for the two. Thing finds Crystal and Ms. Marvel as the replacements. Johnny is torn between his first love Crystal and his now wife Alicia.
Skrull Homeworld
Just when Reed and Sue return to the team, it is revealed that Alicia is really a Skrull named Lyja. The Fantastic Four take off to the Skrull Homeworld to save the real Alicia Masters from their clutches. Upon finding this out Johnny would have nothing to do with Lyja, despite the fact that she was branded traitor for helping the Fantastic Four save the real Alicia. Lyja then disappears.
Lyja eventually returns and teams-up with Devos, the Devastator, and Paibok, the Power Skrull and are out for Johnny’s blood. During the battle Johnny accidentally goes Super-Nova and starts the Empire University on fire.
Johnny then becomes a wanted man by people who he once called friends and ally. After being hunted by Silver Sable’s Wild Pack, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and the Secret Defenders. Johnny eventually has his day in court, but the Huntara, Paibok, Klaw and Devos chose this opportunity to strike. Unfortunately Johnny has some super-powered allies to lend a hand. Lyja returns, but now both Johnny and his Ben are fighting for her affections. Not wanting to cause problems between the two she again disappears.
Infinity War
Johnny's double of himself and some of Earth’s other heroes at the beginning of the Infinity War attacked Johnny, creating mixed emotions from having to battle his friends. Creating doppelgangers of Earth’s heroes, the evil Magus planned to remake the universe in his image. Johnny joined all of Earth’s heroes in battle with their evil counterparts before the final defeat of the Magus.
Infinity Crusade
The Magus’ opposite, the Goddess, started the next major event that would be known as the Infinity Crusade. Preying on the religious beliefs of others to manipulate them into joining her cause, Sue was coerced into allying with the Goddess. This cause Johnny to question his faith since he believed he and his sister were equally strong in their beliefs.
Onslaught
The next major threat was a being known as Onslaught, a psionic creature created out of the minds of Professor X and Magneto. It took all of Earth’s heroes to combat this threat. In the end the all non-mutant heroes sacrificed themselves to defeat him and it seemed that the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and many other heroes were gone forever.
Counter Earth
Franklin used his abilities to create a pocket universe for all the heroes to remain living on. On this Counter Earth, Johnny and the other Four lived out their lives anew, not knowing the events of the past. With the help of Roma, this Earth was brought back to Johnny’s original dimension and all the heroes returned to life, although confused over the previous events.
After the death of Galactus, the evil embodiment of destruction known as Abraxas was unleashed on the universe. Abraxas planned to destroy all life in the multiverse. A plan was developed to find the Ultimate Nullifier since Johnny was the only one aware of it’s location, although subconsciously. The other members of the team traveled to other universes to gain pieces of the Nullifiers location from alternate Johnny’s. In the meantime, Johnny and an alternate reality Frankie Raye began the search for it. Once they found the Nullifier, Nova revealed she was really the Herald of Abraxas and took the Nullifier to give to her master. Franklin and Valeria were able to revive Galactus, who was able to easily defeat Abraxas.
Civil War
During the Superhuman Civil War, Johnny is severely beaten in a night club by people outraged by the events in Stamford and super heroes in general. When he awoke, the team had split in many separate ways. Johnny joined Sue on Captain America’s anti-registration Secret Avengers team. At the end of the war, the team reunited. Reed and Sue took a short leave for a honeymoon to rekindle, leaving the Black Panther and Storm in their place.
Team Turmoil
Over time, the stability of the Fantastic Four began to diminish. Johnny began to start searching for a career as an actor. Johnny actually won a major role in a summer blockbuster but soon realized he wasn’t up to the task. Johnny began working in television instead before finally becoming a New York City firefighter. He returned to be the Chief Financial Officer of the Fantastic Four and even averted disaster with his leadership abilities.
After another battle with the teams greatest foe Doctor Doom, Reed attempted to take over Latveria. This caused a major misunderstanding, turning the United States government and the team against him. With the resulting death of the Thing, the team split up once again. Johnny took to his old love, automobile repair. He was plagued by hallucinations that Ben was not dead, which in fact he was not and was returned to his normal state.
The team next had to deal with an alien scientist named Zius. He had developed a cloak to hide planets from the world devourer Galactus, but the Invisible Woman’s powers threatened his plans. He demanded she sacrifice herself to save billions of lives. To protect Sue, Reed used a specially designed machine to switch her powers with Johnny. This fooled Zius and he left the planet. This did not fool Galactus who destroyed Zius and claimed Johnny (with Sue’s invisibility powers) as his new herald. Galactus bestowed a portion of his Power Cosmic to Johnny and forced him to see through the cloaks and find him planets to feed on. Johnny was not mentally altered by Galactus and hid many planets from him for as long as he could. As Galactus’ patience dwindled the remainder of the team and Quasar came and rescued him.
Death
A second Annihilation Wave under the command of Annihilus' Anti-Priest, the head of the Cult of Annihilus, fought The Universal Inhumans and later, under "Kid Annihilus'" personal command, they initially breached The Negative Zone portal in The Baxter Building in an attempt to ignite the Second Great Annihilation War. The Human Torch managed to hold them off until the gateway could be completely sealed and was cut down shortly afterward by the vast wave of Arthrian cultists and their child lord, much to the dismay and horror of a powerless Ben Grimm and his godchildren, Franklin and Valeria Richards. It is noteworthy that two different polls of fans could be found across the internet prior to the "death issue". The polls for who fans wanted to die consistently showed Mr. Fantastic to be #1 by a wide margin. However, comic fans got it right regarding who they predicted would be killed. The Human Torch won those polls by a significant margin.
Return
During an attempt by Annihilus to open the portal in the Baxter Building, Johnny manages to escape from his prison cell in the Negative Zone. With help from new friends, the Light Brigade, he defeats Annihilus, taking the Cosmic Rod and control of the Annihilation Wave with it. As the portal opens, Johnny is reunited with Spider-Man, who was attempting to stop the Anti-Priest from opening the portal on the Earth side.
Johnny flies into the sky, creating a flaming number four and unites the other members of the FF atop the remains of the Baxter Building. With the Kree attempting to destroy New York, Johnny immediately joins the fight by unleashing his Annihilation Wave through the portal. Leading from the flagship, Pestilence, Johnny takes the wave into space to battle the Kree armada. Galactus suddenly appears between the two fleets and Johnny mobilizes the wave to attack, however is quickly stood down by Reed who tells the team that he summoned the World Eater.
The Kree retreat and the Mad Celestials appear, combining there bodies to attack Galactus and send him hurtling toward Earth. Johnny and the Future Foundation head back to the surface in an attempt to activate a machine the Council of Reed's built to take down the Celestials. The machine doesn't fully work however, only separating the Celestials. Johnny takes flight and attempts to attack one of them, using his Nova ability, but the Celestial regenerates and knocks Johnny back to the ground.
As Johnny looks on with his family, a future version of his niece and nephew appear and future-Franklin destroys the Celestials, saving Reed from their judgement.
Team Player
With Reed, Sue and their kids thought dead after the events of Secret Wars, and Ben off in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Fantastic Four disbands, and the Baxter Building is sold to Parker Industries. Wanting to the honor tJohnny becomes a member of the Avengers Unity Squad, and dons a new uniform to signify this. Around this same time, he also enters into a romantic relationship with Medusa, Crystal's older sister. When Crystal finds out about this, things become strained between the three, and the relationship eventually ends.
Johnny eventually discovers that as Sue's sole living heir, he is entitled to the profits gained from Reed's patents, which turns out to be well over five billion dollars. With his newfound wealth, he purchases Avengers Mansion for the team. During the contest between the Grandmaster and the Challenger, the Avengers seek to protect the planet from these two destructive forces. Learning that both sides are after several small pyramids of incredible power, Johnny manages to grab one of the artifacts, but seemingly perishes in the process. However, he is later revealed to be alive, but held in stasis.
Johnny later discovers that he is beginning to lose his powers, with his flames gradually becoming weaker. This, coupled with the loss of his family, puts him into a depressive state. However, his spirits are raised when Ben returns and tells him that the others may still be alive, and the two set off to locate them. The two later learn that they are both losing their powers due to being cut off from Reed and Sue, as their abilities all share a common source. Although, they never find their family, their family finds their own way home and moves in with Ben and Alicia, now engaged.
Soul-Mate
Reed was obsessed with trying to accomplish the journey that the Fantastic Four were originally meant to take when they got their powers. They packed up the family spaceship and finally successfully made it to Spyre. With the same cosmic storm energy that mutated the F4, the Spyricans used it on volunteers so that they would have the Unparalleled, a superhero team to defend them.
They also had a tradition of “soul-mates.” Similar to marriage, couples are outfitted with special arm bands that connect them. Reed and Sue got their own, having shown up to the planet as a dedicated couple, but Johnny got linked to Unparalleled member, Sky. Eventually, the diplomacy between the F4 and the Unparalleled broke down and the F4 were allowed to leave peacefully. A reluctant Sky, who had faith in the soul-mate tradition, stood by Johnny and returned with them to Earth.
Johnny underestimated how much the arm bands connected Sky to him. For instance, during Knull's invasion, when Johnny was bonded to a symbiote, the symbiote was able to reach through the arm band and bond with Sky as well.
Too Hot
After Johnny’s one night stand with Victorious, he hid under the bed while she took a video call from Dr. Doom. He proposed a marriage of political convenience that she accepted. With few friends, Doom requested Reed be his best man, earning the entire team an invitation to the wedding. During the proceedings, Victorious felt compelled to share that she had been intimate with Johnny, publicly embarrassing Doom, who lashed out at Johnny.
After calling in multiple drones to fight the F4, Doom bombarded Johnny with cosmic rays. This caused his powers to turn extreme, leaving him unable to turn off his fiery form. He was too hot for his family to even get close to him. Reed referred to him more as a Human Star than a Human Torch, powered completely by cosmic rays and no longer required oxygen to create flames. He was forced to move into the deep sub basement of the Baxter Building. He even burns too hot for Reed’s best containment suit, limiting his time outside of the basement.
Thanks to his arm band, Sky also had her animal powers enhanced, turning her feral. She lashed out at Johnny until finally giving up on her people’s soul-mate tradition. Johnny removed the band from her arm, and Sky used Reed’s Forever Gate to return to her home planet.
Reckoning War
The Fantastic Four jump into action when the Badoon destroy The Moon and invade Earth with brand new weaponry. The weaponry reminds Reed of Watcher tech, so he leads his team to find Uatu for answers. They find Nick Fury instead, who had been investigating for the Watcher a group calling themselves The Reckoning. They were supplying upgraded tech to war-like alien races. Uatu knew about them and downloaded his knowledge to a data sphere before the Moon was destroyed. Reed helped himself to the sphere, downloading all The Watcher knowledge to his vulnerable human mind. He saw that The Reckoning was the first race The Watcher’s tried to help, which went so bad they took a vow only to watch from then on. Now, The Reckoning were back.
Reed used his new hyper intelligence to orchestrate a new battle plan. He determines that they are most needed in Shi’ar space defending the M’kraan crystal, but Johnny, angry Reed refused to cure him with his new intelligence, flew off into space to assemble his own army to take on The Reckoning. His recruits included The Starjammers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The new Kree/Skrull Alliance, and The Unparalleled.
He leads his new cavalry to the home planet of the Watchers. He instructs his team to take on the body of Galactus that had been transformed into an Asgardian Destroyer by Galactus' former heralds to buy his family time to defeat Wrath of the Reckoning without killing anyone. Johnny proves to be almost hot enough to defeat him, but Reed still prepares to use the Ultimate Nullifier, which would also kill him.
Thankfully, Reed was not killed by the Ultimate Nullifier, as it was designed to be used by a Watcher, which he had been turning into. Instead, it burned out the Watcher transformation. Uatu, who had absorbed all of the Watcher knowledge and power for himself, used the power to set everything right. He restored Galactus but with a hunger for knowledge, pulled the barrier down on the edge of space, increasing the universe by 90%, and returned the heroes to their homes.
Johnny was briefly upset that Reed had forgotten how to fix his mutation without the Watcher knowledge. Instead of returning to Earth, he accepted an invitation to Spyre, where The Overseer combined his research with Reed's and found a cure to cosmic mutations. Johnny was happy to be the first test subject, making sure it was safe for the rest of the Monster Mob.
Powers & Abilities
The cosmic radiation that changed Johnny into the Human Torch gave him a vast array of fire and plasma based powers. Members of the Fantastic Four's bodies are constantly absorbing Cosmic Radiation from the atmosphere, growing stronger.
Pyrogenesis: The Human Torch possessed the mental ability to control ambient heat energy and the physical ability to transform his entire body, or portions of his body into a fiery, plasma-like state of will.
Heat Absorption: Johnny’s body is covered by flaming plasma that protects him from flames and heat. He can easily absorb fire and explosions.
Heat Detection: Johnny can detect heat and energy out of living being and machines. Also scale his perceptions up to the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Energy Output: The plasma field around Johnny’s body produces intense flame which can be raised and lowered in temperature. The heat can easily dissipate most projectiles.
Blast Power: The Human Torch can create streams or balls of flame and use them as projectiles. Special attacks include the Nova Flame, a multi-directional attack capable of over 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit and the Nova Heat, an offensive beam of heat rivaling the heat of a normal star. Even without using his Nova Blast, Human Torch has been able to reach temperatures hot enough to hurt the likes of Hulk, Namor, the Thing and Silver Surfer, among others.
Fire Control: With his flames, Johnny can create shapes and objects out of flame. He can also control any fire within his range of vision no matter how it formed. Johnny can also control which parts of his body he has in flame in order to touch someone or something that he doesn’t want to burn.
Wind Manipulation: Can alter air currents by changing temperatures.
Flight: As the density of his body changes, Johnny’s body becomes lighter than air, giving him the capabilities of flight. He is also extremely maneuverable. The faster he goes, the shorter his limit becomes. At normal speed (about fifty air miles per hour) he should be able to fly for a half-hour, a distance of twenty-five miles.
Super Speed: The Human Torch can easily break the sound barrier while in flight.
Durability: The Human Torch is surprisingly, and extremely durable. He was able to shake off punches from Gladiator, Namor, and Annihilus.
Immunity to Fire & Heat: The Human Torch is unaffected by heat and flames, including his own, even when part of him is aflame and the rest of him is not. His flesh cannot be scalded or burned by any heat source whose level is below that of his maximum output.
Cold Resistance: Human Torch have a degree of resistance to cold temperatures.
Weaknesses
The Human Torch requires oxygen to use his flame powers. Without it, he would not be able to flame on or would be soon extinguished.
The Human Torch burns through energy rather quickly depending on his energy expenditure. Special attacks such as the Nova Flame could easily deplete his energy reserves.
It takes incredible focus to control his heat powers and must be a constant thought. Johnny has learned well over the years to control this power.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Johnny Storm
Publisher: Marvel
First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961)
Created by: Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
The Human Torch has been seen:
Chowing down with the FF at the Greasy Freeze in BP 2020 Day 216!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50185600671/
Fighting Doctor Doom in BP 2021 Day 46!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50947974421/
The rest of the Fantastic Four can be seen here:
Mr. Fantastic, BP 2022 Day 280!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52411514451/
Invisible Woman, BP 2022 Day 287!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52426425322/
The Thing, BP 2022 Day 308!
The Runic Circle was added in during post-production. I had a good eye for seeing that the wall's color would work wonderfully with the cosplayer's dress and skin-tone but the wall was a bit... bare.
Panel One, World War || (prologue)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James Howlett ran through the sandy battle grounds of World War ||, not able to find his troops. All he saw as sand and a couple bodies, all he heard was gunfire. He searched for his allies, but to no avail.
James: Gabriel?! Dino?!! Rebel!!??
He kept screaming for help...
James: Bucky?!!! Steve!???
Panel Two, intro
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Marvel logo appears on screen, as the first minute and 12 seconds of this play: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b9KSl--wP4, and the intro is updated, revealing several X-Men members.
Panel Three, Strange Realm
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In some intergalactic realm, the mighty beings Apocalypse and Sinistre speak to each other...
Sinistre: Master Apocalypse... I sense a disturbance.
Apocalypse: What kind of disturbance, horseman?
A hologram appears in Sinistre's hand, revealing the Asgardian Loki attacking New York...
Sinistre: An Asgardian attacking the planet Earth... But that's not all...
Apocalypse: Hm... What else is there?
Sinistre: A man creating machinery, powerful machinery... He's calling himself... Arcade.
Panel Four, X-Mansion (2012)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles Xavier stands in front of his class, teaching a lesson.
Charles: A human can only do so many things... While maybe sometimes difficult, being a mutant has far more advantages. But the difficulty is what makes us equal.
The camera pans over to Wolverine standing in the back, taking a sip of a beer can.
Charles: *breathes inward slowly*, no alcohol in class, Mr. Howlett.
Wolverine: *takes another sip*, sure. *throws can at Xavier's head*, put that where you'd want it more.
Wolverine leaves the room.
Charles: *breathes inward again*.
A student raised his hand...
Charles: Yes, Mr. Maximoff?
Quicksilver: Will this be on the test?
Charles: Soon you'll find out, Pietro.
Suddenly, the floor began to shake, and the room rumbled... Charles fell over...
Charles: *uff*! All of you, get into uniform! Go outside! Now!
Panel Five, Outside X-Mansion
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The Mutants got outside, and began to fight some kind of robot! While this was happening, the song playing in the intro continued, louder.
Rogue, punching the robot: Take that!
Colossus, ground pounding robots foot: Blamo! Hah hah!!!
Jubilee, blasting the robot: Pow!
Quicksilver, twisting the robots arm: Woop woop!
Cyclops, firing at the robots chest: Ha!
Scarlet Witch, using magic on the robot: Die, metal beast!
Beast, clawing at the robot: I'll assume you're not talking about me.
Scarlet Witch: Sorry for the confusion!
Wolverine, landing on the robots head: Show time!
Panel Six, Intro Continuation
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The music gets louder, as the movie logo appears on screen!
Panel Seven, Price Industries
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Jeremiah Price, owner of Price Industries, walks through a hallway with his girlfriend, Andrea Lux, speed walking close after.
Andrea: Jeremiah! Jeremiah!
Price quickly spins around, causing Andrea to stop walking.
Price: What is it?
He asked, with a large grin on his face. Andrea suddenly turned from an angry expression to a fearful one...
Andrea: J-Jeremiah, what do you even plan on doing with these robots you're making! You're causing riots in the streets-
Price interrupted her.
Price: Not my riots, their riots. It has nothing to do with me, 'kay?
He remained smiling...
Andrea: B-but-
She was interrupted again.
Price: No buts. I have an industry to run, and nothing's going to stop me.
He put his hand on her face, caressing her cheek, as the camera zooms between them, revealing The Avengers fighting the Chitari in New York.
~Scarecrow
Lena posing in her Lady Loki outfit. But this time I had a much more flexible camera and could do some different things with the flash (better control).
I used Nik Software's Color Efex Pro - Dynamic Skin Softener / Pro Contrast filters to smooth out her skin (my flash brings out any little blemish) and add some better contrasting to the whole image.
Cosplayer: Lena Volkova
(BEST SEEN IRONICALLY LARGE...)
THE TWELFTH DAY
On the twelfth day of Geekness
My fan girl gave to me
Twelve armours arming
Eleven snipers sniping
Ten lords a-peeing
Nine ladies lurching
Eight blades a-filking
Seven zombies zooming
Six beasts a-baying
Five golden rings
Four falling birds
Three henchmen
Two turtle bros'
And a part bridge of Khazad-dûm
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For the final piccy in this sequence I thought that I needed a (Tony) Starkmass tree, especially since the new movie is out this May. Well, there you go, no Geekness season worth its salt would be complete for me without a healthy dose of Irony! Of course, Geekness, unlike merely religious based holidays, is an open ended feast, kept perpetual by sales, television and movie tie-in releases, birthday treats, comfort toy binges, windfall money and credit card blitzes.
Speaking of Iron Man 2, there's at least four new I.M armour variants in the film...whew! Also: cor!!
But for now, in this picture, 12 classic bits of Starktech...
ROW ONE (BOTTOM)
NOTE 1 - Model 14 Iron Man "Hulkbuster" Armour, as seen in the Iron Man Volume 1/ 305, 1994 comic. Marvel Legends Series II Legendary Riders. 2006 Toy Biz. 20 cm (8 Inch). One of my favourite variants, this exo-frame is able to lift 175 tons. "Hulk smash puny metal man...uh, maybe not!"
ROW TWO (SECOND FROM BOTTOM), LEFT TO RIGHT
NOTE 2 - Model 8 Iron Man "Silver Centurion" Armour, as seen in Iron Man Volume 1 #200, 1985 comic. Marvel Legends Series 7. 2004 Toy Biz. 16 cm (6 1/2 Inch). The 'power' shoulders and practical back mounted utility pod were cool, as was the red and silver colour scheme.
NOTE 3 - Model 30 Iron Man "Extremis Armour", first seen in Iron Man Volume 4 #5, 2006 comic. Diamond Select 2008. 19 cm (7 1/2 inch). Tony Stark's always been beyond the cutting edge when it comes to technology but when he took the "Extremis" 'virus' and acquired actual 'super' powers it unsettled many long term fans. And yet, cyborg implants and nano-technology ARE valid speculative subjects for futurism, and even though Stark has purged "Extremis" the character cannot help but continuously duel with the interface between man and machine.
NOTE 4 - Model 23 Iron Man "Thorbuster" Armour, first seen Iron Man Volume 3 #64, 2003 comic. Marvel Legends Series 15. 2006 Toy Biz. 18 cm (7 1/2 Inch). You have to wonder that Tony Stark has all these armours stashed away that are custom designed to battle other Marvel superheroes! This one was designed to challenge the God of Thunder himself, and is powered by a mystical Asgardian crystal.
NOTE 5 - Model 1 Iron Man "Ultimate" Armour, first appeared in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up Issues #4, 2002 comic. Series 1. 2006 Hasbro. 16 cm (6 Inch). Slightly Manga-ish take on the Iron Man armour featured in the popular ongoing "Ultimates" alterate Marvel comics universe series.
SECOND ROW FROM BOTTOM (Left to Right)
NOTE 6 - Model 21 Iron Man "Modern" Armour, first seen in Iron Man Volume 3 #50. 2002 comic. Marvel Legends Series 18. Toy Biz 2005. 16 cm (6 Inch). A suit that looks better in the comics than in plastic. The heat radiating fins on the back of the toy (if that's what they are!) are kind of interesting but the toy, both in this scale and also in the larger Icons series looks pretty awkward.
NOTE 7 - Model 1 Iron Man "First Appearance" (Grey) Armour, as seen in Tales Of Suspense #34, 1963 comic. Marvel Legends Series 14. Toy Biz 2006. 17 cm (6 1/2 Inch). Old 'Number One", Tony's very first tin tux, cobbled together in a storage shed in Vietnam by him and Professor Ho Yinsen, at least according to the original continuity.
NOTE 8 - Model CE1 Iron Man "Prometheum - Heroes Reborn" Armour, seen in Iron Man Volume 2 #1, 1996 comic. Hasbro Ares Series 2008. 16 cm (6 inch). Technically speaking, another alternate universe variant suit, but rather distinctive with its 'roped' muscle cables and back mounted energy emitters. Apparently they can actually emit steam..or plasma bursts!
THIRD ROW FROM BOTTOM (Left To Right)
NOTE 9 - Model 13 Iron Man "Modular" Armour, seen in Iron Man #300, comic. Toy Biz "Face-Off" Series 2 . Toy Biz 2006. 14 cm (6 inch). Although Tony's other suits are frequently custom tailored for specific missions the Modular Armour was designed as a platform upon which a wide range of specialised mission pods could be swapped.
NOTE 10 -Model 4 Iron Man "Classic" Armour, first seen in Tales Of Suspense #66, 1965 comic. Marvel Legends Series 1. Toy Biz 2002. 16 cm (6 Inch). This neatly sculpted and articulated action figure and indeed the armour it's based on remain high on most Iron Fan's list of favourites. Me too!
FOURTH ROW FROM BOTTOM (Left To Right)
NOTE 11 -Movie Mark III Iron Man Armour. Hasbro 2008. 16 cm (6 inch). Tony's state-of-the-Stark armour from the first movie.
TOP ROW
NOTE 12 - Model 1 Iron Man "Golden Avenger" (Gold variant), first seen Tales Of Suspense #40, 1963 comic. Marvel Legends Series 14. Toy Biz 2006. 17 cm (6 1/2 Inch). Why did Tony add gold to his armour's colour scheme? Well, there are many 'retcon' explanations but originally it was because his grey armour scared some civilians...
“GREAT SCOTT! I NEVER NOTICED IT BEFORE..BUT MY APPEARANCE TERRIFIES WOMEN AND CHILDREN AS IF I WERE A MONSTER!”
“ I MUST REMEMBER TO ALTER MY COSTUME SO I DON’T LOOK LIKE A WALKING NIGHTMARE!”
It's a female friend of Tony's who chose gold..
“WELL, HE BATTLES MENACES LIKE A HERO IN OLDEN TIMES! SO, IF HE’S A MODERN KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR WHY DOESN”T HE WEAR GOLDEN METAL INSTEAD OF THAT AWFUL DULL GREY ARMOUR? THEN WHEN PEOPLE SEE HIS GOLDERN ARMOR, THEY WON’T PANIC! THEY’LL KNOW HE HAS A HEART OF GOLD AND AN APPEARANCE TO MATCH HIS GOLDEN DEEDS!”
One quick spraypaint job later...
“WOW! WHAT A DIFFERENCE! LEAVE IT TO A WOMAN TO FIGURE OUT AN ATTRACTIVE APPEARANCE! THE ONLY ONES WHO NEED FEAR ME NOW ARE MY FOES!”
The rest is history...with the red contrasting scheme being attributed to everything from Tony's school colours to his beloved hot rod automobile.
The support structure Hulkbuster is holding is cobbled together from assorted stands from Iron Man toy sets.
Oh, and by the way, if you've endured this whole photoset and filksong, then good for you!
Uh, and sorry, I seem to have unwrapped ALL the toys under the tree!
I added in a green “fog brush” to match her costume and darkened it up with a drop shadow and gradient overlay (in PS). I then partially, and on purposeful, unevenly masked out the fog so it looked like she was standing in the middle of the fog bank instead of behind it.
There's been a lot of comic book art depicting her in this manner.
In the beginning of time, alien sorcerer X'Hoss foretells the creation of the Designate, who will help evolve sentient beings to the next level of existence. Billions of years later, Tarene is born. She is told about the fate of the evil Destroyer and together with others seeks a way to stop him. In the meantime, Thanos obtains X'Hoss' knowledge and destroys Tarene's home-world. She gains the help of Thor and Orikal in defeating the villain.
Tarene later transforms herself into an Asgardian goddess and becomes Thor's loyal ally, taking the name "Thor Girl" and the human identity of Jake Olson's "cousin" Tara. She tries to assist Thor in his adventures, aiding him in his confrontations with Gladiator, and Nullitor. She is transferred into the shell of the Destroyer by Loki, causing her to fight Thor. With the help of Amora, they find Tarene's body and Odin casts her back into her body, where she takes her vengeance on Loki. In a later battle against a revived Surtur she sacrifices nearly all of her cosmic powers to contribute the additional power needed to defeat him. Upon Odin's apparent death, Thor Girl loses most of her cosmic powers. She retains the powers she had as Thor Girl. She returns to Earth in an attempt to live a normal life as Tara Olson, but is also seen adventuring occasionally. She knows that she is destined to, and one day will, regain her full power and then some, to become the Designate. ~ Wikipedia
Doctor Strange [Asgardian God] and Loki {Sorcerer Supreme}.
Costumes based off of their comic appearances.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram davids19_lego_
Berry: *Nom*
Me: "Loki, so help me... If she gets sick, you're cleaning up the mess."
Loki: "Don't worry. That's Asgardian cake. It'll help her grow into a big, strong dragon."
Me: "And why are you so concerned about her growing up?"
Loki walks off chuckling to himself.
Me: "Oh, no. This can't be good. Loki, get back here!"
The End...for now!
As there was a distinct lack of drinking horns, steins, or cups Amora made due with what was available to try someone else's drink... one of the free frisbees given out at the event.
Yes, I cleared this photo with the cosplayer before doing any real work on it.
Cosplayer: Toxic Girl Cosplay
some unknown individual is running around in full asgard armor and wielding a magic scythe. he shows up on avenger missions and gets the job done when the avengers end up not following orders. of course this pisses off captain America who would rather get the job done his way.
im not good at writing back stories so I will cut to the final part of the mini-series where it turns out it was nick fury all along. the scythe was in shield's custody since the end of ww2. its a lot like thor's hammer. only instead of being a worthy hero you just have to be willing to kill to gain its power. after a few years around thor nick fury picked up how to translate the jibberish on the scythe and it ended up taking him over. giving him a set of asgardian armor and a few power ups that go along with having a magic weapon. im still not sure about what to call him or the scythe or what kind of powers it would give him. I know for sure that I don't want it to be fire related. maybe it cuts the air and makes a sonic boom? and instead of flight he can teleport? the rest would be the usual powers you get from using thor's hammer. the only way to use the scythe is to kill its last master. when the weapon was made it was feared to be too powerful and was cast out into space. it ends up on earth where nick becomes the first person to wield it.
then nick fury consumed by his new powers tries to disband both shield and the avengers and decides its up to him to keep the world in check. but of course they aren't going along with that. or something like that.
Marvel's Big Three stand ready to defend the cinema-going audience against the all-encompassing power or the mad titan himself, Thanos!
While I absolutely dig the MCU movies, I don't collect the Marvel Legends MCU figures. It's not that they're not incredible; they are. It's just that money and space get to be at a premium, and I felt I needed to draw the line somewhere.
But that doesn't mean I won't get the stellar versions of these three MCU characters.
This Thor, from the Cull Obsidian wave, is easily my fave MCU Thor, yet. If they make Lebowski Thor in his Asgardian armor, I'll definitely be picking that up.
This Iron Man, from the Marvel Legends 10th Anniversary line, is the only Marvel Legends Iron Man that I think scales well. And luckily, he just happens to be sporting my fave armor. But I'll definitely be picking up the Mark 85 when it comes out.
And finally, this Endgame Captain America is without a doubt, the defining Captain America of any MCU collection, though I kinda think the one in the Peggy Carter 2-pack comes close to fitting that bill, too. I'm honestly not sure I'll ever need another MCU Cap. Oh, and that's the shield from the Civil War 2-Pack Cap. After all, Worthy Cap's a clean figure, so I "figured" *heh heh* he needed a clean shield.
*whew* That was a lotta typing and my fingers are tired. But real quick, who are your favorite MCU figures? Let me know in the comments below.
Have fun, and happy collecting!
Character Publication History
Ultron is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared as an unnamed character in The Avengers #54 (July 1968), with his first full appearance in The Avengers #55 (August 1968).
He is a highly intelligent self-aware artificial intelligence in a robot body who develops a god complex and a grudge against his creator Hank Pym, with whom he would later merge.
His initial goal to destroy humanity in an attempt at creating world peace has brought him into conflict with the Avengers. Stories often end in Ultron's destruction, only for new offshoot iterations of the robot to be built of varying morals, including the superhero Ultron-12 (Mark Twelve).
Ultron's physical body is made of a durable alloy, and he has manifested various superpowers. These vary between different stories but generally include superhuman strength, speed, and agility, flight, and energy projection.
The character usually operates alone or accompanied by legions of copies of his own robotic form known as Ultron Drones. Ultron is notable for being the first character in Marvel Comics to wield the fictional metal alloy adamantium and for his (in-story) creation of the Vision.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, Ultron has since featured in Marvel products across different media, such as animated television series and video games.
Tom Kane and Jim Meskimen are among the actors that have portrayed the character via voice acting. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), James Spader portrayed Ultron in his first live-action appearance in the Marvel Studios film Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), while Ross Marquand voiced alternate universe versions in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021) and the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
The character Ultron initially appeared as an unnamed character in a cameo in The Avengers #54 (July 1968), with a first full appearance in The Avengers #55 (August 1968).
Ultron was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema. Thomas, who has acknowledged he finds naming characters difficult, said he liked the -tron suffix and went from there.
The use of the suffix and the prior appearance of a group of robots named Ultroids led him to the name Ultron. Thomas said the idea of the character and his appearance were heavily based on Makino, an obscure robotic villain who appeared in an issue of the Captain Video comic book. He liked the robot's malicious looking smile, showing this to Buscema.
Jocasta, a robot created by Ultron featured in a number of Ultron storylines, was created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez for The Avengers #162 (August 1977).
Origin
Ultron was created by Dr. Henry Pym, based upon his own thought and memory engrams. It was a foray into Artificial Intelligence that no scientist had ever taken before, not even Reed Richards. It started out as simply a box on treads with what appeared to be a head at the top. Dubbing the A.I. as Ultron-1, he hoped this represented a new era in scientific discovery. However something went horribly wrong, and Ultron became more than sentient and rebelled against his programming. He also defeated and then brainwashed Dr. Pym into forgetting that he had ever created him in the first place.
Major Story Arcs
Masters of Evil
Ultron took on the guise of the Crimson Cowl and formed the Masters of Evil to battle against his creator and the other Avengers. Ultron made every effort to improve himself with each upgrade and the Avengers finally encountered Ultron-5 some time later, whom had developed a much more humanoid body. Ultron-5 built an android from the brain patterns of Wonder Man and the body of the Mad Thinker's Human Torch. This android would later become known as Vision. Vision differed from his creator, in that he had a conscience and rebelled against Ultron on his first mission to kill the Avengers.
The Many forms of Ultron
Ultron-6 was able to manipulate Vision into stealing Adamantium and using it to remake his creator's body out of it, which would make him nearly indestructible. After his success with the Adamantium, Ultron battled the Avengers again. Although he was tricked (by Pym) into self-destructing, destroying his entire body except for his head. The head was later found in Attilan where Maximus made a new body for it.
Ultron-7 had a gigantic body, but this body wasn't cast from Adamantium, making it somewhat easier to destroy. And, indeed, it was destroyed by the Fantastic Four a short time thereafter.
Creation of Jocasta
Ultron-8 obtained control of Hank Pym's mind and used him to create Jocasta, on which he based the thought engrams of Pym's wife, the wondrous Wasp. But he was subsequently destroyed by the Scarlet Witch.
Ultron-9 was built by Iron Man, whom was hypnotized into doing so by one of the previous incarnations of Ultron. This one was knocked into a pool of liquid Adamantium which cooled, encasing him eternally in a block of the virtually indestructible ore.
Ultron-10 began building spare bodies to work as his subordinates and to act as a new body for him if he were to be destroyed again. Which proved prophetic, as he was promptly destroyed by Machine Man.
Secret Wars
Ultron-11 was created to fight in The Beyonder's Secret Wars. After attempting an attack on Galactus, Ultron-11 was neutralized by him and yet was re-programmed by Dr. Doom so as to make it more amicable toward humans.
Ultron-12 was built by Ultron-11 before he left for the Secret Wars, and joined the Lethal Legion. However, Ultron-12 had second thoughts when he was confronted by Vision (Ultron's "son"), Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man. He reconciled with Dr. Pym (his "father") and renamed himself Ultron-mark 12 or "Mark". Ultron-11 returned from Battleworld and destroyed "Mark", causing Wonder Man to tear Ultron-11 apart in retaliation.
Acts of Vengeance
Ultron-13 was built by Doctor Doom with the memories of all of the previous incarnations of Ultron intact for the purpose of killing Daredevil. Unfortunately, this Ultron had thirteen distinct personalities in its mind all at once. This proved essential in his defeat as Daredevil whom, until Ultron began destroying himself, had had no luck harming the Adamantium-cast robot. This Ultron's next plan was to transform humanity into robots, but before he could carry out this dastardly deed he was captured by the Avengers.
Creation of Alkhema
Ultron-14 dubbed himself "the Ultimate Ultron" after another upgrade and decided that he didn't desire to simply kill all humans, but all organic life as well. This incarnation also created Alkhema, which was based on the thought engrams of Mockingbird.
Slorenia in Ruins & The Sentient Armor
Ultron-15 was made from pure Adamantium, and created hundreds of new Ultron bodies completely loyal to him: the Ultron army. This wave of robots annihilated the nation of Slorenia and then taunted the world with a broadcast showing, in grim detail, all of the havoc the army had wreaked. This Ultron was destroyed by Pym using Antarctic Vibranium which can disintegrate all nearby metals, including Adamantium.
Later, Alkhema used the acquired engrams of Pym, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Wonder Man and his brother the Grim Reaper, to transfer them into robotic bodies to attack the Avengers. Unbeknownst to Alkhema, she was influenced by the Ultron Imperative to rebuild Ultron. The Ultron Imperative failed after the intervention of the Avengers. Then, Ultron himself took over Tony Stark's sentient armor. However, he was seemingly destroyed in an explosion.
Ultron was later seen as the leader of the Sons of Yinsen cult, posing as the mind of Ho Yinsen inside Tony Stark's former suit of sentient armor. He attempted to use his new religion to conquer the world, but was once again defeated and destroyed.
Runaways
He later resurfaced in the Runaways storyline: True Believers, as the father/creator of Victor Mancha.
Mighty Avengers
Next, he appeared in Mighty Avengers, having taken a form resembling Wasp, after seemingly killing Iron Man when he took over his armor. He was also revealed as the mastermind of the Phalanx's takeover of Kree space during 'Annihilation Conquest'. The only thing that really distinguished Ultron-Pym from former incarnations was that this Ultron was a polygamist.
Annihilation Conquest
After Ultron's encounter with the Avengers, his consciousness was thrown into the depths of space. He spent a few months floating through the cosmos as radio-waves and energy. Eventually his signal was picked up by an outlying group of Phalanx , attempting to contact their parent race, the Technarchy. Fascinated by what he found, Ultron decided that the Phalanx lacked direction from a singular conscious, and that he would be perfect for the role. Through sheer force of will he merged himself with the programming of the Phalanx, laying his plans in motion.
Under Ultron's guidance the Phalanx managed to subjugate the entirety of Kree space after enclosing it behind an impregnable barrier that separated it from the rest of the galaxy. Ultron led the Phalanx from the heart of the spire. It was only after Phyla-Vell found and awakened Adam Warlock,that he returned to a physical form, prompting him to eliminate Select Korath for failing him.
Using the coordinates of their last encounter with Warlock and his allies, Ultron was able to follow them to the hideout of the High Evolutionary. With a squadron of Phalanx drones he was able to break through the Evolutionary's defenses and reach the inner sanctum of his laboratories. Ultron launched a merciless assault on Warlock and his friends. He personally killed Moondragon, punching his fist through her chest, before challenging Adam Warlock. He sent his phalanx drones to apprehend Warlock at first, then to restrain the High Evolutionary.
After watching Adam face off against Ultron's children for a short time, he reentered the fray, in order to better gauge his abilities. He was able to withstand Warlock's assault, and at the same time decipher that he had been newly reborn. Ultron also noticed that Adam lacked full control over his new powers. Not even a fully enraged Quasar was able to phase Ultron, and the High Evolutionary resorted to sending the star on which his base resided into Super Nova, hoping to destroy Ultron. He wasn't destroyed by the Evolutionary's ploy, however, for he managed to transfer his conscious into another body. He returned to the Spire, where he found the newly captured Star-Lord and prepared to vent his frustrations out on the captive hero.
Ultron watched as Star-Lord was tortured, only becoming bothered when his minions failed to retrieve the desired information. After they informed him that the hero's mind was shielded, he took it upon himself to pierce his mental defenses. He sent his Selects in search of the telepath responsible. Then, turning his attention back to Star-Lord, he decided his scientists were right and returned to physical torture to gain the information he wanted.
Ultron managed to track down the High Evolutionary, offering him impunity in order to convince him to aid in his conquest. The High Evolutionary captured Adam Warlock, betraying his trust, and transferred the conscious of Ultron into Adam's body. Now housed in the body of Warlock, and possessing his powers, Ultron set about to continue his true plans. Using his experience merging with Tony Stark, he hoped to use the DNA of Adam Warlock to create the perfect hosts for the Phalanx and thus, ultimate techno-organic beings.
Leaving the High Evolutionary to finish his task, Ultron left to deal with the problem of the insurrectionists. As he teleported in, he immediately took out Mantis, the group's telepathic and precognitive resident. He then set his sights on the rest of Star-Lord's team. They were only saved by the timely arrival of Nova and his reinforcements. Then Warlock, Adam's namesake, engaged Ultron in battle; ultimately managing to use his mutant strain of the Techno-virus to force Ultron out of Adam Warlock's body.
Ultron then transfers his consciousness into the body of Praxagora. Using Prax's connection to the Sentry swarm to create a new body for himself to inhabit. Before he left, he messed with the balance in her core control, causing her to explode and take the Kree's ship with her. He then constructed a massive form for himself. Ultron continued combating Adam and his allies, still confident of victory. Warlock manages to use the resources available to him to defeat Ultron, by having Wraith use his powers to trap Ultron's consciousness inside his current body. Then he created a blade for Phyla to destroy Ultron with. This defeat was seemingly the end for the mechanical menace.
Ultron War
Following the aftermath of the Siege, the Avengers were confronted by Kang the Conqueror and the Maestro who revealed that a war between Ultron and Kang had shattered the time space continuum from Kang constantly traveling in time and assembling several heroes and villains to stop Ultron. The Avengers were able to convince the future Ultron to lose to Kang and in doing so, kept the splintered time lines from happening. Later, also in Avengers, the Intelligencia discovered the inert body of a Galadorian Spaceknight and attempt to reactivate its power source, hoping to exploit it. Although the Avengers interrupt their attempts, the body activates, revealing it was containing the consciousness of Ultron, who had escaped destruction after the events of Annihilation: Conquest. The new Ultron escapes knowing it can't fight the Avengers or the Intelligencia in it's new awaken and weak form. Iron Man gravely foresees that when he returns, it will bring the apocalypse for mankind as shown during their time jump. That the Ultron War will now happen.
Age of Ultron
After years of upgrading, Ultron finally takes over the world. Millions of Ultron-bots roamed the streets, destroying any human they found, forcing the heroes into hiding. After Hawkeye is able to rescue Spider-Man from a gang of villain who were plotting to turn him over to Ultron, She-Hulk and Luke Cage discover that Ultron is controlling the Vision from the future.
The heroes then retreat to the Savage Land, where they learn that Ultron has killed She-Hulk and mortally wounded Luke Cage. Before dying, Cage informs Emma Frost what he has learned.
A handful of heroes travel into the future to face Ultron head on. Wolverine stays behind with Susan Richards, reasoning that a confrontation with Ultron is suicidal. He instead takes the deceased Doctor Doom's time platform and decides to use it to travel back to the past so that he can murder Hank Pym before he has a chance to ever create Ultron. The heroes in the future are all slaughtered while Wolverine and Sue activate the platform.
After killing Pym, the heroes return to the present to find another horrific future, this time a world where the Avengers have disbanded and the Defenders are locked in a never-ending war with Morgan Le Fey.
Wolverine and Sue then travel back to the past, where they inform Pym of what will happen in the future. Pym realizes the only solution is to install a backdoor program inside Ultron, which will allow the Avengers to defeat him in the future. When it finally comes time for the Avengers to face Ultron during the incident with the Intelligencia, the program activates, this time allowing the Avengers to destroy him before he can escape into space. The virus also prevents Ultron's consciousness from escaping or jumping to a new body, seemingly ending his threat for good. This retroactively prevents the Age of Ultron from ever occurring.
Rage of Ultron
After Ultron's death, it is later revealed that many years ago, the Avengers had managed to defeat a past version of Ultron by trapping him inside an unbreakable Vibranium Quinjet, and then launching him into space. Years later, the Quinjet crashes on Titan, where the prior Ultron is able to escape and hijack ISAAC, the computer that runs Titan. He then unleashes a nanite virus that transforms anyone infected into Ultron drones, which infects Mentor and the rest of the population save for Starfox. Starfox flees to Earth as Ultron reshapes Titan into Planet Ultron.
The Avengers are called into action to combat Ultron, but fail to stop his plague from infecting the population of Earth. The remaining heroes realize that Ultron plans to infect the entire universe with his virus, making them all part of the same synthetic organism. Vision realizes that the only way to stop Ultron is to phase inside of him, temporarily merging with him in order to undo the effects of the virus. Pym and Vision confront Ultron, who taunts his "father" by telling him that he is a reflection of Pym's dark side. He claims that Pym always secretly hated his fellow Avengers and the rest of humanity for not respecting or understanding his brilliance, and that Ultron was born from his subconscious desire to kill everyone. The plan fails and instead causes Ultron to fuse with Pym, creating a hybrid techno-organic being.
Ultron battles Vision and the new Captain America, and nearly kills them both before Starfox intervenes. Using his powers (which Ultron is now susceptible to thanks to being half-human), Starfox forces Ultron to love himself, freeing the citizens of Earth and Titan from the virus and causing Ultron to flee into deep space. At the end, Ultron is seen floating in a fetal position, with his human heart beating.
Uncanny Avengers
Many months after the events that lead to Hank being merged with Ultron, the rest of the Avengers found out that Hank Pym was seemingly still alive. Not only that, but he had taken control over the Ultron-part of himself, and crash landed back on Earth. He fooled most of the Avengers Unity Squad and soon joined them, but Captain America did not trust him fully and asked Janet (Hank's ex-wife) to come investigate. It did not take long for her to find out that it was not Hank that had taken over control of Ultron, but actually Ultron whom had taken over Hank's mind fully. When Ultron/Hank found out that his charade did not work, he attacked the Avengers once more. Sometimes seemingly taking on Hank's persona, whom seemed to recent his teammates for not searching for him after he had sacrificed himself. During the fight, the Avengers managed to propel Ultron/Hank into the sun with one of the Avengers quinjets. Unbeknownst to the Avengers, Ultron/Hank managed to escape, plotting his revenge against the heroes once again.
Secret Empire
Before Hydra activated the planetary defense shield, Pym-Ultron had made it back to Earth from space. He settled in Alaska and quietly built cities full of Ultron bots. He was also in possession of a cosmic cube fragment, getting the attention of both Hydra and the Underground.
Pym-Ultron stopped the two teams from fighting each other and sat them down to dinner hoping to mend fences in his own warped way. He failed, but Scott Lang was able to play to his nostalgia and win The Underground the cube fragment.
The Ultron Agenda
When Stark was struggling with his identity as an A.I. creation, Pym-Ultron made his move. He combined Vision and Wonder Man into a single entity that he unleashed on Iron Man, so that he could abduct Wasp and Jocasta, to combine them as his new bride. And then continue his agenda of merging humanity and technology in his image.
Stark was able to apprehend Vision-Simon and put a team together to chase Pym-Ultron. He was joined by Machine Man, War Machine, and Bethany Kade. Stark and Machine Man were able to free Jocasta and Wasp, but the resulting explosion caused Stark to merge with his armor. Meanwhile, Rhodey was fending off an army of cyborgs.
Stark's scientists were able to reverse Pym-Ultron's fusion techn, but Pym-Ultron used the cure to his advantage. He knew the heroes wouldn't kill his fused creations knowing they can fix them. He overpowered Stark's allies so that he could fulfill his new agenda, end Tony Stark!
The cure also led them to a new discovery: Pym-Ultron's creations are dead. Both human and robot ended as a result of his experiments leaving robo-zombies. Stark threatened to use the cure on Pym-Ultron to prove to Ultron that Pym had been long dead.
Scared of the truth, Pym-Ultron surrendered.
Time Lost
Ever since surrendering to Iron Man, Pym-Ultron has been left in a comatose state inside a vibranium casket locked with Asgardian magic. Iron Man made arrangements with Scott Lang to have Pym-Ultron moved to the microverse. To do so, Scott had to bring him to Hank Pym's lab in New York, which had the technology to send him to the microverse more accurately than the shrinking tech on his person.
Unfortunately, Pym-Ultron had also learned to use their ant-communicator as a radio to the other Ant-Men. They had been strategizing with Black Ant to break them out of their casket. Using Pym's old Aging Ray, he added millions of years to the casket so that it would degrade. Between the temporal energy, the Asgardian magic, and vibranium's unique frequency, the casket, with Pym-Ultron inside, entered the timestream and was lost.
This aging would end up giving Pym-Ultron the opportunity to become All-Father Ultron. After his first defeat as All-Father, he would get the chance to anchor himself in the timeline again when Zayn Asghar visited three different Ant-Men (Pym, Lang, and O'Grady) at different times in their lives to study how they communicate with ants. Calling the Ant-Men from their saved time destinations in his time platform, all four Ant-Men fought Ultron, with Ultron mocking the younger Hank Pym with his own shared visage. Scott repeated the hypothesis of Tony Stark that the version of Hank Pym that merged with Ultron was long dead. They effectively proved this when they used the old Aging Ray to reverse his progression and send him back into the timestream, to whereabouts unknown.
Return
In the future, Scott Lang was able to inspire the part of Hank Pym that still existed in All-Father Ultron. Lang reminded him that if Hank had the All-Father power, he would use it for good. So, Hank embraced as much of the power as he could and used it to separate from Ultron and return to the present. This took its toll as Hank was returned to modern day having aged quite a bit.
He could not get over the feeling that Ultron had returned with him. Using ant-tech from the future, Hank would fake the deaths of a number of villains to recruit them to his Lethal Legion. They would stand guard for when Ultron finally resurfaced. Any villain that rejected his offer was resurrected with their minds wiped of their experience. The mystery of those who resurrected eventually led to the creation of Avengers Inc.
Unfortunately, this feeling Pym had was a piece of Ultron's programming that was manipulating him into assembling a team of supervillains that Ultron could infect and network together as a hivemind army. Luckily, Ultron-12, a previous version of Ultron's programming that saw Pym as a father, had taken over the body of Whirlwind, joining Avengers Inc and waiting for Ultron to make his move. He was able to purge the Legion and Pym of any signs of Ultron, but Pym still believed he was out there.
Pym teleported himself and the Legion to Subatomica to regroup, leaving Avengers Inc behind.
Message of Ultron
With a seemingly new lease on life, Ultron was recruited to a new West Coast Avengers. This team was started by Iron Man and War Machine as a way to reform supervillains after successfully fighting Orchis with villain allies. Ultron was their first recruit, but he was secretly trying to speed up the singularity by starting a cult. He was convincing desperate people to abandon their organic bodies for cybernetic ones.
Powers & Abilities
Each version of Ultron has different abilities. Here is a list of some of those abilities:
Mind Manipulation.
Encephalo-ray: which plunges its victims into a death-like coma, allowing Ultron to mesmerize and manipulate the minds of his victims, or implant subliminal hypnotic commands within their minds to be enacted at a later time.
Concussive blasters: powerful enough to hurt the likes of Thor.
Radiation emitters
Durability: Ultron's outer shell is usually composed of Adamantium, rendering it almost impervious to damage. However, his internal mechanisms are generally less durable and more easily damaged. Ultron's Adamantium forms have proven vulnerable to molecular rearrangement devices and the metal-destabilizing ore, known as Vibranium ("anti-metal").
Tractor beams
Limited energy absorption abilities
Hive-mind Technology: All Ultrons incorporate a "program transmitter" which can beam part or all of Ultron's programming into remote locations such as computers or alternate robotic bodies. Ultron can often control other machines remotely even if he has not transplanted his consciousness into them. One recent Ultron model developed the ability to animate and control hundreds of alternate Ultron bodies at the same time.
Superhuman Strength: Ultron has Class-75 Super Strength
Physical Description
Though Ultron appears in different forms and incarnations, it generally assumes forms similar to that of its original form.
Height: 6'9" (variable)
Weight: 735 lbs. (variable)
Eyes: Glowing red
Hair: none
Unusual Features: Robotic features, along with silvery skin made out of adamantium.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: N/A
Publisher: Marvel
First Appearance:
Non-named cameo:
The Avengers #54
(July 1968)
As Ultron:
The Avengers #55
(August 1968)
Created by: Roy Thomas (writer)
John Buscema (artist)
The longboat was built as an antithesis for the Steampunk aesthetics of the main building.
Based on the Asgardian Longboat by Edward the Red.
In November of 2009, Swordsmith David DelaGardelle and Metal Artisan Andy Davis of the Mad Dwarf Workshop were contacted by the production team working on bringing Marvel Comic’s legendary comic book Thor to the big screen. They were looking for swordsmith’s capable of crafting a huge, intricately detailed, legendary hero weapon for the formidable and powerful character, Heimdall. Without hesitation, we took on this incredible but difficult task in the short time the production team had given us. Setting out we had no idea just how much we would learn and just how much of a blessing and adventure the experience would be.
The props team working on the film came to us with a rough conceptual design that one of their talented artists had painted. David then began to refine the design back forth with the team in Photoshop to make it as functional and realistic as possible. In refining the design, we tried our best within the parameters to throw in some slightly historical touches seen on some ancient Germanic swords, such as the swords fuller and knot work patterns. The sword itself however is obviously at its core meant to be majestic and quite literally “out of this world”.
We were blessed with the task to bring to life two hero steel and two stunt aluminum copies of this one sword.
While we were only asked to create this one particular sword it was still the most challenging project we had ever undertaken as sword makers, up to this point. So we were happy to pour all of our energy and imagination into this one very prominent hero sword. The rest of the film’s weapons were beautifully crafted by none other than world renowned swordsmith and armourer: Tony Swatton and his skilled group at Sword and Stone in California.
After we had finalized the design for Heimdall’s sword with the team we went straight to the forge with a drive and zeal to craft something incredible. We began by crafting the blade from high quality L6 tool steel. Ground, hardened, tempered, and polished it to an antique blued finish. The swords ornate guard and pommel were the most challenging aspect of the entire sword, due to their unique shape and function.
Heimdall’s sword is not simply a mere war sword, instead it is an ancient and key that controls Heimdall’s technologically advanced observatory on the Bifrost bridge of Asgard. It opens and closes portals to other worlds and dimensions in which the hero’s fight in the film. Being both a sword and a key, the guard serves the double purpose of obviously protecting its wielder, and also serving as extending handle bars to turn the key once its placed into its keyhole.
The guard and pommel were cast out of hollowed polished bronze for the hero steel swords, and colored lightweight aluminum for the stunt versions. Norse knotwork was carved into the fittings and into the figured Mahogany grips by hand on each copy of the sword. The knotwork is a reflective nod back to the original Norse mythology and cultural-history the comics were based off of, while still keeping a modern vibe of an unknown advanced civilization. The knotwork is also reflective of the patterns seen inside the walls of Heimdall’s observatory and in the architecture and décor of the city of Asgard itself. In total, the sword stood at 5 ½ feet long from tip to pommel, and the hero steel and bronze versions weighed close to 10 pounds each.
In the end, Heimdall’s sword turned out to be a sword we would have never dreamed of crafting ourselves. We are beyond thankful for being blessed to have worked on such a creatively stimulating and challenging project that pushed our skills further as young swordsmith’s who are still learning this craft in a traditional context.
We're honored to have played a small role in this incredible film, and we hope that our work somehow reflectes back to the traditional and historical elements of swordsmithing amidst the incredible visual scope of this modern epic.
A while ago I created an alternate reality that I wanted to share with everyone! It is inspired by the AU that MCoC's Civil Warrior comes from and features the character in it and is also inspired by the Old Man Logan storyline.
The idea is that during Civil War, Tony Stark died in combat with Steve Rogers and Steve donned a modified Captain America suit with Stark Tech to remember Tony. However (the part that I changed), the villains, particularly Kingpin, capitalized on the heroes' conflict and took over the country during this event, and when the War was over, it was too late. Kingpin had taken over. Civil Warrior now leads a team of Rebel Avengers, attempting to take down the Kingpin and his henchmen Taskmaster and Lizard.
Characters:
Top row L-R:
Taskmaster: I wanted to make him look more military-esque and I really enjoy his design. The Endor troopers are amazing for military. He is Kingpin's top assassin and bodyguard.
Kingpin: The leader himself. He rules the entire country and nothing goes unnoticed-as far as he knows.
Lizard: Kingpin's more primal and ferocious bodyguard. A former park ranger who was forcefully injected with the original Lizard's blood, turning him into the new Lizard. He has no recollection of his past life.
Bottom Row L-R:
Asgardian: After the events of the Civil War, Asgard was attacked and destroyed by Kingpin's army. Asgardian is the last of his kind, weilding Mjolnir, Odin's armor and Staff, Loki's cape, and all the power of Asgard.
Spider-Man: Just normal Spider-Man but with a post-apocalyptic outfit and guns. The guns shoot webs because Spidey's web-shooters were destroyed.
Civil Warrior: Leader of the Revolution. Steve Rogers in a Stark Tech suit.
Hawkeye: Hawkeye joined the Revolution after he learned what happened to Asgard. He came out of retirement to assist Civil Warrior on missions.
Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes): Robbie Reyes became the Ghost Rider during the Civil War. He is only in the revolution to avenge the death of his brother during the Fall of Asgard (He actually exists because I wanted to use that helmet for Ghost Rider)
I hope you enjoyed these creations and tell me what you think in the comments!
Lady Sif and...
...
........
Okay, I'm blanking on the guy on the right. I assumed that they were both Asgardians, based on his fur cape. But maybe he's a gaming character? Maybe she's also a gaming character who happens to look a lot like Sif?
I feel uncool.
Well, I don't need to know who they are...I love their costumes.
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