#Sentry 459

[merrymarvelite]

Cover of the Day: Captain Marvel #48 (January, 1977) Art by Al Milgrom and Danny Crespi

[eliah]

[therese-lokidottir]

The Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes series watch

459 written by Joelle Sellner

Ant-Man and Wasp visit Carol Danvers at a deep space observatory to help identify a mysterious object picked up by the telescope. They are introduced to scientist Phillip Lawson. They find that the object changes direction and heads straight for the observatory, the trio must act fast to stop it.

While Carol and Wasp drive to the crash site, Carol warns Jan that continuing to play these jealousy games will ruin their relationship but there is no time for debate as they are set upon by an invisible attacker that shoots green bolts of energy. Wasp shoots into the forest while Ant-Man calls ants to reveal an invisible alien robot heading for the observatory.

Carol goes to evacuate the staff, while Ant-Man and Wasp fight the robot, and Ant-Man gets thrown through the skylight. During the fight, Ant-Man causes an explosion that hits Carol and Lawson. Lawson protects Carol with a green energy dome that reveals his true form as a Kree captain named Mar-Vell. The robot destroys the observatory, but everyone escapes the explosion.

Carol has been taken to the hospital and the Avengers have gathered to discuss the situation. Mar-Vell reveals his true identity and mission; he is a member of the Kree empire who is in a war with the Skrulls, an alien race. Both sides view Earth as a crucial battleground. The robot that attacked them was a Kree Sentry designed to eliminate any perceived threats from Earth's native population. If the Sentry deems a threat too significant for it to handle alone, it's equipped with a Nega-Bomb that can annihilate all life on the planet. Mar-Vell agrees to help the Avengers stop the Sentry believing humanity deserves to survive.

The Avengers try to deactivate the armed Nega-Bomb. Opening up the robot proves to be a difficult task. Wasp and Ant-Man start an argument Just then a whole bunch of projectiles head straight for Wasp and Ant-Man takes the blows for her. Ant-Man takes a blow for Wasp and becomes seriously injured. Jan tears apart the Sentry from the inside and gives Hulk the opening he needs to open the Sentry's chest.

The deactivation of the robot prompts a transmission from Mar-Vell's superior officer Yon-Rogg. Yon-Rogg accuses Mar-Vell of sympathizing with humans and reveals that the invasion will proceed with or without him.

The bomb is about to explode. Mar-Vell flies it up to space to keep Earth safe, but he freezes in the atmosphere. Iron Man catches Mar-Vell and saves him while Thor further launches the bomb into space before it explodes.

Mar-Vell departs, offering sincere apologies and a commitment to advocate as much as possible for humanity's survival in front of the Kree government. Hank and Jan realize that they have feelings for each other. Carol wakes up to discover that she is glowing and hovering several feet above her bed.

So, to be brutally honest I fond Mar-Vell a boring character that left almost no impression. He just felt like a character to set up for the skrull kree war and Miss Marvel. It doesn't help that his big heroic sacrifice is undercut by Iron Man and Thor being the ones to actually save the day. Maybe it was to show he cares, but he was already helping and again to see Iron Man and Thor imminently fly up in space after him and be the ones to get ride of the bombs make it seem a little sad. Like, Well you best, buddy.

The main focus on this episode is mostly on Janet and Hank and it has both what I really like about the character and what I really do not like about romantic plots. I am really not into will the or won't inability to express one thoughts and feelings. For Janet it makes me question why she's even into Hank in the first place. But again it still does have what I like about the characters. Janet's conference in being a super-hero and Hank always being like Science, yeah!☺ It's fun

I really wish Carol had more to do. She was shown to be friendly and proactive. Then she's gets knocked out half way through the episode and she won't show up again until season 2. Her and Janet are already friends before the episode start. I want to know more about that and less boring Mar-Vell.

All around it was an alright episode.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #288: HEAVY METAL!

February, 1988

"When Wakes THE SENTRY SINISTER!”

The Avengers are dealing with a lot of old robots lately.

Super-Adaptoid, the Awesome Android, and now the Kree Sentry-459.

Almost like its a theme, of some sort.

Or maybe the Super-Adaptoid is just lonely and is trying to make friends with other robots.

Maybe if he had better role models, he’d be a good guy?

So of what happened previously: during the Masters of Evil attack on Avengers Mansion, Super-Adaptoid got out of capsule captivity and changed places with the Fixer.

In guise of the Fixer, he got captured and sent to jail but broke out because the Fixer’s gear had a failsafe that mind-controlled some poor schmuck named Todd Martin.

The Fixer-Adaptoid tried to retrieve the Awesome Android but took off when the Avengers showed up. The Avengers fought the Android and She-Hulk defeated him by punching him in the armpit.

Next, the Fixer-Adaptoid went to meet with the Fixer’s old pal, Mentallo, and tortured him to lure the Avengers out. The Avengers survived the boobytrapped villain lair and rescued Mentallo but by that point the Fixer-Adaptoid was meeting with Machine Man.

Which brings us to now. Maybe Machine Man will be a good influence on the Adaptoid?

Or maybe the Adaptoid will be a bad influence on Machine Man.

Aaron “Machine Man” Stack doesn’t need a lot of prodding to be an asshole, let’s be honest.

So Fixermentallo-Adaptoid (yes, that red and goatee is because he absorbed Mentallo’s powers too) and Machine Man arrive at a BIG TOURIST ATTRACTION! in the Texas Panhandle.

Where people can SEE THE AMAZING GIANT ROBOT from OUTER SPACE!

There’s some skepticism from some of the tourists.

Not that amazing giant robots from outer space exist. I mean, geez, this is the Marvel universe. Amazing giant robots from outer space are plausible. One of the tourists is prettyyyyy sure that the military has a bunch of aliens in Nevada.

But this? Total scam. Yeah, no way

this thing is a real amazing giant robot from outer space!

Hi, Kree Sentry-459!

You’ve had a long and eventful life to wind up as just a tourist attraction.

There’s actually something charming about that. You’d think that the military or Avengers would haul the sentry off out of the public eye but everyone just left it where it was and some enterprising local made a business out of it being on his property.

Good times.

Well, they were good times.

Because, Machine Man and the Fixermentallo-Adaptoid show up.

They start repairing the Sentry, thanks to the amazing fixing powers of the Fixer and the mental powers of Mentallo.

The stereotypical old Texan man with a gun, beard, and suspenders running this tourist trap tells them to stop fucking with the attraction.

This guy is a treat.

Delightful.

After the two don’t listen to him tellin’ them to amscray, he immediately unloads his gun into the Adaptoid, claiming no jury would convict.

And when the Adaptoid is unscathed this guy is just... baffled. He’s like wait why am I seeing things I’m not drunk, people die when they are killed.

The Adaptoid and Machine Man Aaron just ignore this dude’s comedy stylings entirely.

I feel in a more 90s-ier comic, this dude would be as dead as Farmer With A Shotgun from Dragon Ball but it’s actually funnier that they just give him no attention.

Anyway, they get the gol-durn thing working and the three go traipsing away, on a route the Adaptoid calculated to face the least resistance.

And the dude who ran the amazing giant robot from out of space attraction just loses his mind.

Old Texan Man: “Hey, dadburnit! Get back heah! Ah can’t make no livin’ just ranchin’ this dust pile! Ah got bills tuh pay! What am ah gonna show folks when they come around heah... the spot yuh used’ta be in?! What am ah gonna tell ‘em? The man from Mars plum got up an’ walked hisself away?! Git back heah, yuh ungrateful pile ‘a scrap! Ain’t ah always been good tuh yuh? Ain’t ah always washed an’ scrubbed yuh Saturday night an’ polished yuh up proud fer Sunday visitin’? Answer me, durn yuh! Answer me, yuh big bag ‘a bolts! COME HEAH!”

Supervillains are so insensitive to the plight of the small businessman.

Later, at Hydrobase....

What the fuck.

I...

Okay so I knew a few things about Hydrobase.

But I don’t think I knew that the Avengers moved THE ENTIRE MANSION TO THE ISLAND!

Geez, they’re really going all in on Hydrobase being their new base of operation.

And, hey, this is a way for the new to be tempered with the old. Maybe I’d be more receptive to the Clearly The Last Dungeon In An RPG Avengers Tower if it had the Mansion plopped on top, like how Xanatos Gargoyles did with a castle.

Why the hell does Avengers Tower look like a doom fortress anyway?

Anyway.

Dr Druid comments on what a momentous occasion this is and says that its a shame that nobody is videotaping the moment.

Captain Marvel clearly takes this as a passive aggressive jab.

Captain Marvel: “As leader of the Avengers, doctor, you know I’ve had a great many things on my mind -- the least of which was filming this occasion. Please stop questioning my every move.”

Here here. Hear hear? Whichever.

Dr Druid says he meant no offense. But he would say that, wouldn’t he? -squints suspiciously-

But Black Knight arrives on his Atomic Steed with news! Literal news! A literal news clipping from an actual newspaper!

My god!

So, this is how superheroes get their leads.

I joke but I like the worldbuilding detail of the Avengers having an off-panel support staff of people paid to read every newspaper for stuff that the Avengers might need to deal with.

Wonder if I could get that job. I can read. I can cut paper with scissors.

I also like that when Dane says he has news, the first thing Captain Marvel wants to know is whether its about Captain America. Good to see that she’s still on that plot thread.

Anyway, a small Texas newspaper printed a story with a picture of Machine Man, the Super-Adaptoid, and the Kree Sentry.

It’s the lead on the Super-Adaptoid that the Avengers have been waiting for!

And I remain shocked that news media is the Avengers’ best leads on supervillain activity. I know that the government cut them off but... Uh. I don’t know how I was going to finish this sentence. I guess I don’t really think about how superheroes get their leads. Spider-Man just swings around, I guess. The Avengers watch the news and have people clipping articles. Hmmm... that makes the X-Men the most fantastical in terms of superhero teams because at least they use a psychic helmet to get leads...

Captain Marvel draws a line between the data points and notices that the Super-Adaptoid is recruiting other robots. And its enough of a lead to investigate.

Black Knight says that they should just track down the Adaptoid, find out that way. Captain Marvel expects that the Adaptoid will probably lead a cold trail so it might not be worth chasing their tails until they have a better idea of what he’s up to. Dr Druid suggests that since the Adaptoid went after Mentallo, maybe the robot pattern isn’t a pattern at all.

And Black Knight re-suggests that Captain Marvel should go to Texas to check out the trail since she can get there at literally the speed of light.

While she’s gone, she orders Dr Druid and Black Knight to pull up all the files the Avengers have on super-robots and androids. Get started on that lead.

And then she nyooms away.

As she flies, she ponders how frustrated she is about this Super-Adaptoid situation. How he escaped in a truck while the Avengers were busy with the Awesome Android.

Meanwhile, Machine Man, the Super-Adaptoid, and the Kree Sentry walk along the Grand Canyon.

Machine Man suggests that maybe they should hijack an airplane. Because the Sentry is really slowing them down by being unable to fly.

The Adaptoid doesn’t really answer his concern. Just says that they’ve got an additional stop before New York.

Machine Man reminds himself that he’s doing this for Jocasta and wonders if humans would find it weird that a robot can love.

And then he gets philosophical.

Machine Man: “Adaptoid, are you familiar with how baffling the concept of robotic life is to most of humanity... yet, how pervasive the idea of the machine is in aspects of many cultures? I’ve read extensively -- It’s startling how humans see themselves so often in machine-like terms. In 1662, the philosopher Descartes, published DeHomine, a theory of man and animals as machines. He even made a theoretical model of a mechanical man -- like me. By the beginning of the 20th century, every major model for the explanation of human behavior was mechanical. Darwin even used the machine model for evolution. Newton saw the universe in mechanistic terms -- like an unwinding clockwork. The humans refer to their most advanced societies as the most mechanized. It’s fascinating.”

Super-Adaptoid: “Have your vast readings on the subject led you to any practical conclusions?”

Machine Man: “Practical? I read only to learn -- to discover what it is I am. Knowledge is its own reward.”

Super-Adaptoid: “Then, in truth, your time was ill-spent, for your knowledge has brought you nothing.”

Wow.

He just listened to Aaron’s entire speech and then told him he was an idiot for not focusing on more practical things.

Super-Adaptoid is pretty incurious about the arts, I guess.

Anyway, Captain Monica Marvel returns to Hydrobase and oh wow!

Look at this new Situation Room for the Avengers!

Its huge! Possibly unnecessarily huge!

Rooms in Avengers Mansion tended to shift between appearances. But meeting rooms, communication rooms, computer rooms... they tended be cramped more than cavernous. Having to fit everything under a mansion that wasn’t originally intended to be a superhero base will do that.

I guess Hydrobase gives them more room to work.

Captain Marvel reports that the trail in Texas had run cold, as she feared. And she wouldn’t know the Super-Adaptoid if she ran into him since he can change his appearance.

But at least while she was gone, Dr Druid and Black Knight have been busy pulling up information on all the robots and androids in the Avengers’ files.

Lotta robots.

Aww... poor Jocasta.

Captain Marvel asks if its necessary to bring up information on destroyed robots but Dr Druid says its better safe than sorry.

AND Y’KNOW. MONICA. The Adaptoid reactivated the Kree Sentry. So maybe don’t discount the possibility that he’d fix a robot considered destroyed?

Black Knight tells her that the most likely suspects are Ultron, TESS-One, Machine Man (womp womp), and the Sentinels.

So she calls an Avengers meeting to go over what they know with the Avengers who haven’t been on research duty.

New meeting room!

My god. Everyone has elbow room. But there’s no icons on the chairs. Kind of a mixed bag in terms of an improvement.

Chair icons are top tier as a superhero base design element. So goofy, yet so charming.

Anyway, Captain Marvel splits the Avengers between the various deactivated robots/possible targets of the Adaptoid.

Dr Druid and Black Knight will investigate TESS-One. I’m reading on marvelpedia that Tess-One was a prototype super-soldier hunting robot greenlit by FDR out of fear that an army of super-soldiers might return home from the war and take over the country.

Wow, they really didn’t trust their boys in blue, white, red, and cowl.

But when Professor Erskine was killed after making only one super-soldier (Captain America, duh), FDR decided ‘why the hell am I funding this?’

Anyway, the scientist creating TESS-One decided to take the project home and finish it on his own terms and also program it to kill Captain America. As ya do.

Anyway.

Namor and She-Hulk will look into the Sentinels in Washington DC.

And since the West Coast Avengers (specifically Wonder Man) destroyed Ultron most recently, Captain Marvel has asked them to take care of that.

Marinna is on Operation: Stay at Hydrobase because she’s not an Avenger and Monica isn’t about to be responsible for her safety.

Namor gets mad and says that only he decides whether his wife has to stay out of danger or not!

This time Marrina tells him that its fine, they should listen to the team leader.

And She-Hulk, being She-Hulk, thinks ‘oh sweet, alone time with Namor.’

God dammit, Jen.

While everyone is doing what she told them to be doing, Captain Marvel will investigate the robots marked destroyed.

If anyone sees that Adaptoid, contact Hydrobase.

As everyone leaves to their tasks, Captain Monica has some private doubts.

Captain Marvel: Yeah. Good luck. Sure wish Captain America would come back to us. I don’t know if I’m cutting it with these folks. I seem to be going through the motions of leadership. I’m not sure I believe it any more than I think they do.

Hmm.

I should talk a little about this.

So in the upcoming future, Captain Marvel’s tenure as chairwoman of the Avengers is gonna end so that Captain America can be leader again. This was an editorial mandate from Mark Gruenwald, who did quite like Captain America.

Writer Stern agreed to make this change but drew the line at Gruenwald’s insistence that Monica be shown as incompetent as chairwoman, to justify Cap(tain America) taking over.

This is likely why last issue was the end of Stern’s run.

Yes. Right in the middle of a story. Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald handle the rest of the story. And then Walt Simonson’s run starts.

(Spoilers: Which does indeed end Monica’s leadership and her superhero career for a time. And leads to the Avengers breaking up. Fucks sake, Simonson or Gruenwald.)

So all this recent stuff about Monica feeling like she isn’t suited to lead the Avengers or other characters thinking badly of her... I have to wonder whether it was intended to be part of whatever is going on with Dr Druid. Or editorial pressure to undermine Monica as a character.

Quite a bad look for Gruenwald.

So if this is the beginning of the end, I will say that Monica has done a good job so far as a competent if believably green team leader.

ANYWAY.

Black Knight and Dr Druid, who is here for some reason, arrive at an air force base in the Midwest.

They don’t have the special priority clearance, since the government is still mad about Vision trying to take over the world, so in order to get clearance to land, they faked engine trouble.

Then, in order to get the soldiers to let them see TESS-One, Dr Druid uses his vast MENTAL POWERS to Jedi mind trick the soldiers.

Under the influence of his MENTAL POWERS, the soldiers load TESS-One onto the Quinjet and then the Avengers take off with the deactivated anti-super-soldier robot.

Black Knight is worried that the soldiers will snap out of it and try to shoot them down but Dr Druid reassures him.

Dr Druid: “You see, the military mind is quite used to receiving orders, therefore, they are sometimes more susceptible to commands than the undisciplined mind.”

Black Knight: “You don’t say.”

Black Knight also points out that Captain Marvel wanted them to watch TESS-One where it was, not bring it back to Hydrobase.

Dr Druid: “Hmmph, she lacked foresight in this matter. What were we to do -- stay on the Air Force base until the Super-Adaptoid attacked? She will see that we did right.”

Then they lose control of the Quinjet and Black Knight is forced into an emergency landing.

Black Knight tells Dr Druid to send a message to Captain Marvel that they may be under attack by the Adaptoid but Druid refuses.

Dr Druid: “Uhh -- Perhaps the ship has malfunctioned naturally. We mustn’t turn in a false report. We need evidence.”

Then the Kree Sentry tears open the Quinjet.

HOW DOES BEING WRONG TASTE, DOCTOR?

The Kree Sentry pulls Black Knight out of the Quinjet but he uses his extremely cursed sword to lop off its hand.

Unfortunately, its still holding on tight, forcing him to very awkwardly cut himself free finger by finger since if the sword draws any blood, the curse will overwhelm him.

Its such an awkward position which requires so much focus, that Black Knight can’t keep his cape from leaking into his thought bubble.

I’m sorry colorist Max Scheele. You don’t deserve me mocking coloring errors thirty-six years later. And yet.

Dr Druid tries to levitate away from the Super-Adaptoid but can’t outpace the robot’s jetpack.

So he changes tactics and uses his MENTAL POWERS to summon illusions of Thor and Namor.

Which has no effect on the Super-Adaptoid.

Super-Adaptoid: “Hah! Such parlor tricks, doctor! An all-encompassing intellect such as mine -- cannot possibly be fooled by these phantasms! I see through them -- beyond them -- as no other brain on Earth could!”

That having failed too, Dr Druid concedes that he needs to send a message to Captain Marvel but he can’t do it if he isn’t given room to concentrate.

Over with Black Knight, he’s finished cutting himself free of the Sentry’s hand. Only for Machine Man to show up with snark.

Machine Man: “Well, I’d give you a big hand for that performance -- but it seems as if you’ve gotten one already!”

Womp womp!

Seeing that Machine Man is on the Adaptoid’s side, Black Knight doesn’t waste any time. He immediately swings his sword to decapitate Machine Man.

Unfortunately, Machine Man can just decapitate himself to avoid the blow and then pummels Black Knight with his detachable fist.

Huh. I thought Machine Man had stretchy telescoping limbs... not ones that popped off.

Anyway, Black Knight has a bad time.

He has a bad time and then he gets smooshed by the Kree Sentry.

Meanwhile, Dr Druid gets chocked out by the Super-Adaptoid. Insult to injury, the Adaptoid also copies his MENTAL POWERS, adding them to his repertoire alongside Mentallo’s.

Since the Fixermentallo-Adaptoid already had a beard, is he going to get Druid’s mustache? Or his bald head? I demand that he change shape for every power he absorbs.

Dr Druid manages, with his last bit of consciousness, to send a psychic distress signal toward Hydrobase. According to the narration. Except it really goes to a cave in Northern Florida where Captain Marvel is.

Make up your mind, Druid.

Anyway.

Where Captain Marvel is is in a small cave melting the Doomsday Man.

He was already destroyed but can’t hurt to melt him into a puddle.

Fix that, Fixer-Adaptoid!

But as she turns to light and nyooms away, Dr Druid’s psychic distress call arrives a micro-second too late and hits the slag.

This raises a lot of questions about how psychic powers work!

Like... I pictured it more like brains are senders and receivers. So a psychic signal wouldn’t go to a geographic location, it’d go to a brain.

The psychic signal does follow after Captain Marvel so maybe it is homing in on her brain. But the signal missing her and hitting where she was threw me into a confusion.

When Monica arrives at the Avengers Situation Room, she hears a faint voice but dismisses it as her imagination.

Womp womp.

Back at where Dr Druid is being choked out by the Super-Adaptoid, the Super-Adaptoid finishes choking him out. Although, the robot actually claims he used the combined Druid-Mentallo psychic powers to besiege his mind.

Feels unnecessary if you were already choking him out but I guess he wanted to flex on Druid. Completely understandable.

With Dr Druid and Black Knight out of commission, the Super-Adaptoid tells Machine Man to get rid of them.

Machine Man flies off with them.

Later, Captain Marvel, Namor, and She-Hulk meet in the Situation Room. The government actually cooperated with the two Avengers, telling them all the Sentinels were accounted for and promising to alert them if anything happens to their Sentinel storage area.

Since Dr Druid and Black Knight didn’t report in, Captain Marvel flies off to go check on them.

Nyoom.

Just missing their torn-open Quinjet arriving on Hydrobase.

The Super-Adaptoid, Machine Man, Kree Sentry, and TESS-One used it to get to Hydrobase without setting off the artificial island’s defenses.

Super-Adaptoid: “But the time for stealth is past. We are here to conquer, not skulk! This island is ours! I, the Adaptoid, claim it in the name of HEAVY METAL!”

Aw, that’s cute. He gave his new friend group a name.

Follow @essential-avengers​ if you like heavy metal or any genre of music. Like and reblog if you have neutral to positive feelings about music. Or about this post!

[comicwaren]

From Damage Control Vol. 4 #005, “The Deep End”

Art by Nathan Stockman and Ruth Redmond

Written by Adam F. Goldberg and Hans Rodionoff

[shadowwingtronix]

"Yesterday's" Comic> Avengers #91

BW's "Yesterday's" Comic> Avengers #91

“You’re still mad about Pietro eating the last cupcake, aren’t you Clint?” Avengers #91 Marvel Comics (August, 1971; in the comiXology trade of the Kree/Skrull War) “Judgement Day” WRITER: Roy Thomas ARTIST: Sal Bucema LETTERER: Artie Simek EDITOR: Stan Lee (more…)

[justdealingwithsomeissues]

This book rapidly takes a turn into the surreal.

[hincapie319]

CAPTAIN MARVEL IDEA

I got an idea for captain marvel that would be prefect for MCU, it kind of based on the Wizard of OZ (just the idea: a female main character got teleported to fanatic new world and meet new friends) Carol Danvers was a pilot until she got abducted by THE KREE and their leader, THE SUPREME INTELLIGENCE, Carol had been experiment on by Scientist Yon-Rogg and put into a holding cell next to another prisoner, the Rebel captain Mar-Vell who reject the ruling of the S.I.(supreme intelligence) , they bonded and formulate a plan to escape and hi-jack a star ship but S.I. notice shoot them down and send them to a worm-hole to a unknown planet.

Carol and Mar regain conscious and found out that the planet that they crashed is SAKAAR (either before or after Thor Ragnarok), Carol figure out that to help them with THE KREE is there enemies, the SHI’AR empire, luckily, a Shi’ar fighter named Deathbird had been living in Sakaar for a long time, so Deathbird ( a banished guard and losing fighter for the Grandmaster) will not help because her “DAD” D’ken had banished for his daughter laziness but then S.I. had a giant robot (sentry 459) , so they destory it which ignite the spark inside of deathbird’s fighting lust and had straight to Shi’ar ship.

upon arriving to the Shi’ar ship and meet D’ken , Carol asked for help and refused because they have a plan to surrender to the KREE and banished’em. so Carol and others flew to the cosmos where are intersected by a powerful cosmic being with bubbly personality named Singularity who so lonely and wanted friends, so the deciding to stop S.I. just the four of them!

AND WHAT GOT SO FAR...

[goldenboyreturns]

Remember those DC covers I traced?

So, for some reason, I decided to dive back into my dystopian Marvel Tabletop RPG campaign setting-- because I guess I’m not distracted enough from my summer classes and research projects. 

Besides Peter, these are NPCs that are representative of the world I’m building. Carol is serving as the successor to Sentry 459, who was tasked with monitoring the development of super humanity. Green Goblin has been elected President of the United States, and has become something akin to a warrior king-- like a cracked mirror version of Black Panther. 

What I didn’t do in these character models that I absolutely should have done was cite my sources. The only original idea is my pre-physical transformation Green Goblin design-- which I technically stole from my Hobgoblin design. 

Sentry 460′s (or, Carol’s) costume is based off of John Romita Jr.’s design for the Sentry, which I think is a little different from the other Sentry looks from that time. To be even more specific, I was looking at a page from World War Hulk when I was doing my first sketches of Carol as the Sentry. 

Why is Carol the new Sentry? Because Peter Parker is the new Captain Marvel, and Sentry’s “S” kind of looks like Carol’s lightning bolt symbol from her second Ms. Marvel costume. 

Speaking of the new Captain Marvel-- his costume is basically just Carol’s Captain Marvel costume, sans sash and textures. Plus, his symbol is just a regular old star, instead of a starburst. 

Finally, Norman’s Captain America costume is based off of Bryan Hitch’s Ultimate Captain America design and the idea of Green Goblin becoming the president is from Jim Krueger and John Paul Leon’s Earth X. 

[elgaberino-mcoc]

MCOC Wishlist Poll Snapshot: Entire Rankings

001 Mystique 002 Quicksilver 003 Beta Ray Bill 004 Sandman 005 Adam Warlock 006 Kitty Pryde 007 Lizard 008 Morbius the Living Vampire 009 Kraven the Hunter 010 Cloak & Dagger 011 Spider-Man 2099 012 Black Cat 013 Bullseye 014 Jessica Jones 015 Ares 016 Shang-Chi 017 Gladiator (Kallark) 018 Baron Zemo 019 Lady Deathstrike 020 Enchantress 021 Valkyrie MCU 022 Knull 023 Morgan le Fay 024 Scorpion 025 Captain Britain 026 Galactus 027 Dazzler 028 Silver Samurai 029 Black Knight 030 Dracula 031 Hobgoblin 032 Pyro 033 Fantomex 034 Spider-Woman 035 Jean Grey 90s 036 Silk 037 Polaris 038 Silver Sable 039 Sif 040 Anti-Venom 041 Mister Negative 042 Crystal 043 Legion 044 Shocker 045 Malekith the Accursed 046 Destroyer Armor 047 M'baku the Man-Ape 048 The Mandarin 049 Emplate 050 Multiple-Man 051 Shuri 052 Banshee 053 Onslaught 054 Warpath 055 Sunfire 056 Cannonball 057 Dark Phoenix 058 Blue Marvel 059 Prowler (Aaron Davis) 060 Okoye 061 Mockingbird 062 Spiral 063 Madame Hydra / Viper 064 Hydro-Man 065 Red She-Hulk 066 Agent Anti-Venom 067 Blackheart 068 Gorr the God-Butcher 069 Songbird 070 Quasar 071 Absorbing Man 072 Whiplash 073 Armor 074 Daimon Hellstrom 075 Wendigo 076 Nimrod 077 Graviton 078 Gwenom 079 Deathlok 080 Firestar 081 Vulcan 082 Wonder Man 083 Selene 084 Blob 085 Klaw 086 Rachel Summers 087 Thor (MCU Stormbreaker) 088 Shadow King 089 White Tiger 090 Tombstone 091 Jack O'Lantern 092 Valkyrie Classic 093 Toad 094 Moonstone 095 Weapon H 096 Jocasta 097 Dani Moonstar 098 Monica Rambeau 099 Wolfsbane 100 Franklin Richards 101 Ancient One 102 Arnim Zola 103 Exodus 104 Forge 105 Supergiant 106 Madelyne Pryor 107 Hank Pym 108 Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) 109 Negasonic Teenage Warhead 110 Spider-Man Noir 111 Phantom Rider 112 Blink 113 Sebastian Shaw 114 Clea 115 Black Tom Cassidy 116 Kurse 117 Danger 118 Daken 119 Omega Sentinel 120 Grim Reaper 121 Radioactive Man 122 Shatterstar 123 Darkstar 124 Werewolf by Night 125 Hope Summers 126 The Magus 127 Union Jack 128 Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) 129 Crimson Dynamo 130 Pixie 131 Conan 132 Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) 133 Azazel 134 Jigsaw 135 Boom-Boom 136 Swarm 137 Xorn 138 Machine Man 139 Black Widow (Yelena Belova) 140 Madame Masque 141 Misty Knight 142 Chamber 143 Mistress Death 144 Skaar 145 Morlun 146 Thanos (Endgame) 147 Leader 148 Sleepwalker 149 Deacon Frost 150 Black Swan 151 Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) 152 Fin Fang Foom 153 Ka-Zar 154 Arcade 155 Iron Spider 156 Dust 157 Gorgon 158 Lash 159 Namora 160 A-Bomb (Rick Jones) 161 Ikaris 162 Nick Fury (Classic) 163 Rescue 164 Nico Minoru 165 Volstagg 166 Weapon Hex 167 Stingray 168 Maximus the Mad 169 Cyttorak 170 Skurge the Executioner 171 Doc Samson 172 Maverick / Agent Zero 173 Sauron 174 Baron Blood 175 Captain America Falcon 176 Wong 177 Mantis 178 Whirlwind 179 Firelord 180 Magma 181 Molecule Man 182 White Fox 183 Nova (Sam Alexander) 184 Satana 185 Dum Dum Dugan (LMD) 186 Holocaust 187 Shiklah 188 Valkyrie Moonstar 189 High Evolutionary 190 Bloodaxe 191 Magus (Technarch) 192 Nighthawk 193 Punisher: War Machine 194 Goliath (Bill Foster) 195 Nova (Frankie Raye) 196 Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) 197 Dr. Cecilia Reyes 198 Sentinel X (Shogo Lee) 199 Thena 200 Hellcat 201 Cosmic Spider-Man 202 Attuma 203 Shroud 204 Doctor Nemesis 205 Siryn 206 Nate Grey 207 Iron Monger 208 Black Mamba 209 Agent Carter 210 Kluh 211 Tiger Shark 212 Purple Man 213 Snowbird 214 Ice-Thing 215 Lilandra 216 Superior Spider-Man 217 Thane 218 Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur 219 Jackal 220 Jean Grey (X-Men Red) 221 Punisher: Frankencastle 222 Puck 223 Rockslide 224 Red Ghost and his Super-Apes 225 Deathbird 226 Hydra Supreme 227 Strong Guy 228 Zarda the Power Princess 229 Sage 230 Quentin Quire (aka Kid Omega) 231 Prowler (Hobie Brown) 232 Slapstick 233 Stardust (Lambda Zero) 234 Titanium Man 235 D'spayre 236 Colleen Wing 237 Thunderbird (John Proudstar) 238 Iron Maiden 239 Gorilla-Man (Kenneth Hale) 240 Jack of Hearts 241 Titania 242 Avalanche 243 Toxic Doxie 244 Death’s Head 245 Impossible Man 246 Worthy Captain America (Mjölnir/Endgame) 247 Outlaw (Higgins) 248 Scarlet Spider II (Kaine Parker) 249 Beetle 250 Typhoid Mary 251 Bloodscream 252 Serpent (Cul Borson) 253 Ms. America Chavez 254 Ghost Rider (Reyes) 255 Hummingbird 256 Mercury 257 M (Monet St. Croix) 258 Black Tarantula 259 Spitfire 260 Wizard 261 Superior Octopus 262 Maria Hill 263 Minotaur (Dario Agger) 264 Echo 265 Morph 266 Karolina Dean 267 Zarathos 268 Thundra 269 Smasher (Kane) 270 Hyperstorm 271 Boomerang 272 Stature (Cassie Lang, AKA Stinger) 273 Meggan 274 Caliban 275 Hollow 276 Abyss (Styger) 277 Silverclaw 278 Red King 279 Doctor Druid 280 U.S. Agent 281 Sersi 282 Molten Man 283 Zzzax 284 Singularity 285 Agatha Harkness 286 Blastaar 287 Korvac 288 Citizen V 289 Carter Slade the Satan-Stomper 290 Post 291 Shuma-Gorath 292 Sin 293 Triton 294 Quasar (Kincaid) 295 Martinex 296 Iron Man (Mark I) 297 Wiccan 298 Speedball 299 Paladin 300 Amanda Sefton 301 Overmind 302 Diamondback (Rachel Leighton) 303 Feral 304 Charlie-27 305 Rom: Spaceknight 306 Juggerduck 307 The Uranian 308 Blazing Skull 309 Starfox 310 Living Laser 311 Hiro-Kala 312 Namorita 313 Jack Flag 314 Stormborn 315 Doctor Bong 316 Crescent & Io 317 Gamora mcu 318 Wave 319 Ironheart 320 Venom Rocket 321 Doctor Spectrum 322 Davos the Steel Serpent 323 Lady Hellbender 324 Falcon classic 325 Bloodstorm 326 Tempus (Eva Bell) 327 Voyager 328 No-Name the Brood 329 Demon Bear 330 Moondragon 331 Arachne 332 Aero 333 Andromeda 334 Speed Demon 335 Phyla-Vell 336 Xemnu the Living Hulk 337 Aleta 338 Araña 339 Human Torch (Jim Hammond) 340 Constrictor 341 Iso 342 Arkon 343 Genis-Vell 344 Shanna the She-Devil 345 Volcana 346 Batroc the Leaper 347 Arclight 348 Scientist Supreme 349 Yukio 350 N'kantu the Living Mummy 351 Gentle 352 Caiera the Oldstrong 353 Beetle (Janice Lincoln) 354 Penance (Baldwin) 355 Super-Adaptoid 356 Ajak 357 Future Colossus 358 Moses Magnum 359 Vampire by Night 360 Superia 361 Puppet Master 362 Chimera 363 Count Nefaria 364 Stick 365 Hellion 366 Agent May 367 Mister Hyde 368 Spot 369 Cobra 370 Doop 371 Lyja 372 Wrecker 373 Stargod/Man-Wolf 374 Stilt-Man 375 Machinesmith 376 Spider-Bitch 377 Madame Web 378 Corsair & Sikorsky 379 Thor (Groot) 380 Balder 381 Random 382 Power Man (Alvarez) 383 Starhawk 384 Sun-Girl (Selah Burke) 385 Arcanna 386 Scream 387 Kree Sentry 388 Agent Phil Coulson 389 Thunderstrike (Kevin) 390 Talos 391 Carmilla Black 392 Uatu 393 Jennifer Kale 394 Warwolf 395 Enigma (Aikku Jokinen, AKA Pod) 396 Belasco 397 Swordsman 398 Trevor Fitzroy 399 Dazzler Thor 400 Hepzibah 401 Atlas 402 Ogun 403 Yellowjacket (DeMara) 404 Hala the Accuser 405 Entropy 406 War Machine (Infinity War) 407 Animax 408 Captain Universe 409 Whizzer 410 Hogun the Grim 411 Cottonmouth (Clemens) 412 Blizzard 413 Storm (Queen of Wakanda) 414 Silhouette 415 Immortus 416 Beast (Hex-Men) 417 Solo 418 White Rabbit 419 Aurora 420 Equinox 421 Hellcow 422 Owl 423 Arsenic & Old Lace 424 Beetle mk iii 425 Valeria (Age of Conan) 426 Trapster 427 Throg 428 Mimic 429 Hulkling 430 Iron Lad 431 Angel (Black Vortex) 432 Marionette 433 Phastos 434 Hobgoblin 2099 435 Razor Fist 436 Asp 437 Baymax 438 Captain America (Peggy Carter) 439 Sp//dr 440 Tarantula (Kaine) 441 Silver Scorpion (Barstow) 442 Midnight Angels of Wakanda 443 Demolition Man 444 White Wolf (Hunter) 445 Synapse 446 Kingo 447 Grey Gargoyle 448 Gilgamesh the Forgotten One 449 Justice 450 Atlas Bear 451 Iron Fist (Orson Randall) 452 Victorious 453 Lincoln Campbell 454 Luna Snow 455 Zadkiel 456 Crystar 457 Husk 458 Gravity 459 Kaecilius 460 Marrina 461 Ghost Rider (Circle of Four) 462 Nighthawk Supremeverse 463 Fixer 464 Cardiac 465 Capwolf 466 Kull the Conqueror of Atlantis 467 Noh-Varr 468 Korath the Pursuer 469 Miss America (Joyce) 470 Blackjack O'Hare 471 Bi-Beast 472 Vance Astro 473 Bushmaster (Quincy) 474 Krugarr 475 Poundcakes 476 Yo-Yo 477 American Son 478 Mister M 479 Cottonmouth (Stokes) 480 Manphibian 481 Infamous Iron Man 482 Paibok the Power-Skrull 483 Shatter 484 Daredevil Shadowland 485 Nakia 486 Garrison Kane 487 Makkari 488 Elloe 489 Northstar 490 Spiderling 491 She-Hulk (Lyra) 492 Proteus 493 Grey Hulk 494 Doorman 495 Toro 496 Nuke 497 Acroyear 498 Blonde Phantom 499 Drax MCU 500 Orrgo 501 Marvel Girl NPC 502 Fandral the Dashing 503 Spider-Girl 504 Ms. Thing 505 Captain America 2099 506 Veranke 507 Haechi 508 Mulholland Black 509 Mighty Destroyer 510 Eclipse 511 Powell McTeague 512 Druig 513 Copycat 514 Terror 515 Ahab 516 God-Emperor Doom 517 Doombot (V Series) 518 Sword Master 519 Cyclone 520 Black Mariah 521 Zenzi 522 Thor: Herald of Thunder 523 3-D Man 524 Hulk Endgame 525 Tetu 526 Doctor Octopus (Liv Octavius) 527 Margali 528 Molly Hayes 529 Sinara 530 Aldrich Killian 531 Goldballs 532 Mindless Ones 533 Nikki Gold 534 Foolkiller 535 Darkwing Duck 536 Thunderstrike (Eric) 537 She-Thing (Ventura) 538 Killmonger (Emperor Symbiote) 539 Iron Duck 540 Ms. Marvel II (Ventura) 541 Spymaster 542 Scalphunter 543 Spider-Man (Miles Morales Movie) 544 Karn 545 Gun-R 546 Terminus 547 Achebe 548 Llyra 549 Bushmaster (John) 550 Sugar Man 551 Great Lakes Avengers 552 Xarggu 553 Human Fly (Deacon) 554 Shogun 555 Plantman 556 Brawn 557 Elixir 558 Litterbug 559 Smasher (Rokk) 560 Bug 561 Mammomax 562 Synch 563 Anaconda 564 Wolvie 565 Dirk Anger 566 Captain [****] 567 Ezekiel 568 Diamondback (Stryker) 569 Unworthy Thor 570 Master Mold 571 Masked Marauder 572 M.O.D.A.M. 573 Hellsgaard 574 Hulkbuster 2.0 575 Forgetmenot 576 Ghaur 577 Arcturus Rann 578 Ultimate Green Goblin (Movie) 579 Dragoness 580 Porcupine 581 M-11 582 Taskmaster MCU 583 Dansen Macabre 584 Lady Bullseye 585 Harpoon 586 Unicorn 587 Bushwacker 588 Loki variant 589 Night Nurse 590 Psyklop 591 Mack 592 Eel 593 Water Snake 594 Chaos King 595 Red Hulk (Maverick) 596 Kaluu 597 The Russian 598 Geena Drake 599 Jimmy Hudson 600 Slayback 601 Mentallo 602 Skull the Slayer 603 Karkas 604 Dominic Fortune 605 The Buzz 606 Doctor Crocodile 607 Ox 608 Dorrek VII 609 Needle 610 Krang 611 Dino-Thor 612 Stegron 613 Zeitgeist 614 [VACANT] 615 [VACANT] 616 [VACANT]

[jacked-kirby]

#JackedKirby - You remember that time the FF protected the Moon Landing??? 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔 Being that we just passed the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 manned moon landing (July 16th 1969) I thought it would be cool to look back at the time Stan and Jack portrayed the Marvel version of that event... and how the First Family helped NASA accomplish the epic task!!! 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌒🌑🌓🌔 Fantastic Four #Issue98 came out in May of 1970 and is near the tail end of “The Run”, Jack and Stan’s epic 102 Issue journey (plus annuals!) together on the FF. The issue features Reed getting a cryptic transmission from space about an impeding threat... and it happens to coincide with the upcoming moon mission!!!! This is an obvious “ripper from the headlines” story and the cover (pic 1) makes sure to highlight it in the story title “Doomsday on the Moon!!!” 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌒🌑🌓🌔 Kree Sentry #459 wants the Apollo mission to fail so he plan on sabotaging it... but not if the FF can stop it!!! Ben, Reed And Johnny (sans Sue) spring into action after drawing conclusions that Reed’s message is tied to the upcoming space mission... 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌒🌓🌔 I also really love the use of actual newspaper headlines in the story to highlight a real life event taking place in the 616 universe... Pics 2/3/4 all show the characters reading about the Apollo Mission and utilizing this info to further the story. Another cool twist is that the heroes arrive home just in time to see Neil Armstrong’s epic first steps on the moon and hear his “one small step for man... one giant leap for mankind” declaration with Jack recreated to close out the issue (pics 5/6). Done perfectly... historically accurate and wonderfully rendered by The King!!! 🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌘🌒🌓🌔 #JackKirby #Kirby #KingKirby #FF #FantasticFour #Kree #MoonLanding #NeilArmstrong #BuzzAldrin #Marvel #Comic #Comics #ComicBook #ComicBooks #70sComics #ComicsOfThe70s #IGcomics #ComicsOfIG #50thanniversary #MoonLanding https://www.instagram.com/p/B0OjFq-Bf1k/?igshid=1i6jzy5gwpdr1

[geekbroll]

The Fabulous Fantastic Four - 1976 Whitman Guild 200 Jigsaw Puzzle #4675 - Over 200 Fully Interlocking Pieces - 14" x 18" Reed Richards - Mr. Fantastic Sue Storm - The Invisible Girl Johnny Storm - The Human Torch Ben Grimm - The Ever Lovin Blue Eyed Thing The Bad guy appears to be either Sentry 459 (FF64 July 1967) or Sentry 9168 (FF98 May 1970) #fantasticfour #thefantasticfour #fan4 #thefabulousfantasticfour #marvelcomics #marvelsuperheroes #marvel #cartoons #reedrichards #cartooncharacters #whitmanpuzzles #whitman #fantasticfourpuzzle #westernpublishing #puzzlesofinstagram #puzzle #puzzles #jigsawpuzzles #jigsawpuzzle #whitmanpuzzle #mrfantastic #johnnystorm #humantorch #invisiblegirl #invisiblewoman #suestorm #suerichards #bengrimm #thething #jackkirby #guild200 (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/By-a9beBebI/?igshid=1m8tbwqkdg73c

[eliah]

[capticalcitycomics]

Just Pinned to Captain Marvel: Look out! Captain Marvel, the space-born super hero, is coming at you with scintillating super-hero sci-fi adventures! Branded a traitor by the vicious Colonel Yon-Rogg for defending the people of Earth, Kree Captain Mar-Vell assumes the human identity of Walter Lawson and becomes our planet's protector against an awesome array of interstellar enemies. The massive Sentry #459, the savage Super-Skrull, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner and Quasimodo the Living Computer all wage war against Captain Mar http://bit.ly/2Xe4B3Z

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #90: JUDGMENT DAY

July, 1971

Last time: Ronan took over the Kree Empire, Mar-Vell was paranoid on nega-radiation, and a Kree Sentry came to kill him.

This time: Despite how the cover seems, we haven’t jumped into a different story. This is still Kree time. Guest-starring the Avengers.

The opening splash page is quite dramatic.

Look at that. That’s good splash page.

It also promises that in this tale of two worlds, one will die. We’ll see about that.

Kree Sentry 459 tells the Avengers and hospital staff that he’s just here to capture and execute Captain Marvel. But if anyone gets in his way, they too will be executed.

Captain Marvel can’t be moved because of his brush with death and Vision is weak from giving Mar-Vell his solar energy. But Scarlet Witch suspects that the Sentry hesitated and warned the group because it isn’t sure if he can beat them.

So she uses her hex powers to drop the roof on 459′s head. Doesn’t really slow him down so Quicksilver rapid fire punches the Sentry all over. And just gets smacked away like an insect.

So Vision steps up. 459 doesn’t seem to want to fight Vision, finding a kinship with him. They are both advanced androids. Why should they fight? Still, orders are orders.

Vision tries to increase his density to fight but ends up collapsing the floor out from under them. And then 459 grabs Mar-Vell unopposed and flies off, stating that he has received new orders. That it is time for Plan Atavus.

He teleports away but first Mar-Vell reacts with horror at the mention of that plan.

With 459 and Mar-Vell gone, the Avengers don’t really know what their next move should be but Carol Danvers, head of Cape Canaveral security shows up demanding that they file a full report.

Hi, Carol! Congratulations on your first appearance in an Avengers comic!

Anyway, after filing their reports and promising Carol that they’ll try their best to save Mar-Vell, the Avengers fly off in their Quinjet.

They still are directionless so they ask Rick Jones for some exposition on Mar-Vell and his fellow Kree. After all, he spent all that time linked with the guy.

So Rick Jones goes all the way to the beginning. During the Stone Age.

Because that’s how far Kree involvement with Earth goes. The Kree messed around with human genetics to create the Inhumans and eventually sent Sentry 459 to check on them.

After sending a report on Inhuman progress back to the Kree Galaxy, 459 went into sleep mode for A LOOOOOOONG TIME. The next time he was active it was to fight the Fantastic Four. Oh and then Ronan fought them too.

And now we talk Mar-Vell. He was originally sent to Earth to check if it was a threat and destroy it if necessary. But something about Earth got to him and he renounced his heritage to instead become a defender of Earth alongside his girlfriend Una. But then she died.

And then mumblemumble stuff happened and Mar-Vell went back to the Kree and was given his rank and a new outfit by the Supreme Intelligence and then allowed to come back to Earth.

And then mumblemumble stuff happened and Mar-Vell got trapped in the Negative Zone, only able to escape by temporarily trading places with Rick Jones, professional sidekick and exposition machine.

And then last issue’s events happened.

The Avengers return to the mansion but find a message left for them by Goliath. Janet van Wasp contacted him to report there is trouble going on in Alaska. Goliath is headed up and he hopes the others can make it too.

So no sooner have the Avengers arrived at their mansion that they’re rushing out again, knocking over Jarvis as he wanders in for a cameo.

Goliath arrives at the ice-breaker ship that was Hank’s base on his research expedition to study the effect oil-drilling might have on Alaska’s wildlife. When he lands, Jan comes rushing out to see him.

HANK IS MISSING.

Which started when a government outpost went out of contact. Hank and Jan went to investigate as Yellowjacket and the Wasp. But then they find something weird.

A circle of jungle existing at the edge of the Arctic Circle. Which is ridiculous. You only get that kind of thing in Antarctica.

But there’s also a strange structure in the middle of that jungle circle shooting out rotating rays, like a lighthouse.

Yellowjacket takes control of a prehistoric dragonfly and rides it toward the jungle but the two heroes get a weird sensation as they get close. Yellowjacket exclaims in horror that he knows what’s going on.

And then he backhands Jan.

Yeeeeeah. That’s even more uncomfortable given future context.

When she comes to, she finds that she’s been tied to the dragonfly like Nell Fenwick and sent back towards the ice-breaker. The last she saw of Hank was him flying toward the jungle.

Clint Goliath doesn’t believe her easily verifiable story so she easily verifies it by showing him the now dead dragonfly. Also, screw you, Clint. She was one of the founding Avengers. She tells you she saw a thing, your first response shouldn’t be to tell her that it was probably just a dream.

Realizing that Jan is upset at being abandoned and that Hank may be in trouble after having gone to investigate the Arctic Jungle Circle alone, Hank immediately decides to abandon her and go off to investigate the Arctic Jungle Circle alone.

You’re some kind of guy, Clint.

He feels a real heel about it but he has a lot of baggage with women. Natasha dumped him and he might be falling in love with Wanda Witch. Anyway it was probably the right thing to do and not stupid at all, going off alone without backup into an area that has already caused one hero to disappear when he went off all alone without backup.

And then when Clint is exploring the jungle thinking aloud that the place just needs Fay Wray and an overgrown ape, he gets attacked by an overgrown ape. No Fay Wray though.

But after Clint beats up the ape, he’s shot in the back by Ronan because he was too busy making jokes instead of having situational awareness.

Geez, if only he had a partner with him who could watch his six. If only!

Sentry 459 senses another aircraft approaching the jungle and Ronan decides to prepare a welcome for its occupants.

And that aircraft are the rest of the Avengers (Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, the Wasp) and also Rick Jones, abrasive personality.

But they’re not in the jungle long before 459 opens fire on them. And if that’s not bad enough, Goliath has been mindtaken and is aiding the sentry.

459 is still pretty reasonable. He just wants them to gtfo. But the Avengers aren’t going to leave without Captain Marvel or Yellowjacket.

So then-

Oh wait, or Goliath. Yeah, they’re not going to leave without Goliath, you interstellar robit!

So then brainwashed Clint attacks. Wasp shrinks and flies up to shoot him in the face with her Wasp’s Stings. Because giant men have giant nerves and getting shot in the face hurts.

Vision tries to fight 459 but unfortunately, the sentry got a good read on the synthezoid in their last fight. For instance, he knows that it will take time before Vision can become intangible again after he throws a boulder. Not a lot of time necessarily but enough that it can be capitalized on.

So he shoots Vision with palm lasers.

And Vision getting hurt distracts Quicksilver and Wasp who are fighting Goliath long enough that he knocks Wasp out of the air.

MEANWHILE, in that strange structure that was shooting lighthouse like rays, Ronan the Accuser has Mar-Vell strapped to a thing and is monologuing at him.

Mar-Vell sure gets strapped to a lot of things today.

And even though both Mar-Vell and Ronan know what Plan Atavus are, Ronan kindly explains it for the audience’s benefit.

See, it was something that the Kree set up when they first visited. Which as was mentioned was back during the Stone Age. The Arctic citadel is shooting out Evo-Rays in a wider and wider circle which is turning everything - life and even the climate - in its area of effect back to the state it was when the Kree first found Earth.

I’m pretty sure that the Arctic wasn’t a jungle back in caveman times but whatever.

The end result will be Earth reset back to how it was when the Kree found it and millions of years of human history eradicated.

And why? The Avengers now and the Fantastic Four earlier standing against a Kree Sentry. A living arsenal and defender of the Kree way of life and the supreme achievement of countless years of Kree history.

And these Earthicans are standing against it. Now they surely will not actually win! But the sentry wasn’t able to defeat them already.

Earth is a planet that went from steam power to atomic power in less than a century.

That kind of potential is an unbearable threat to Kree supremacy. What will happen if humans are allowed to continue to grow and advance? (Well according to Avengers Forever, humans would become jerks who wield the near-limitless energy source known as the Destiny Force and will establish the Terran Empire, an interstellar dictatorship policed by the Galactic Avengers Battalion which will thrive at the cost of many alien cultures)

The Evo-Rays will continue until the last gleam of intelligence and reason is erased from the last pair of brutish, bestial eyes.

And proving that this isn’t just pragmatic business, Ronan laughs when he notices Yellowjacket has found the unconscious Wasp. Because Yellowjacket has been Evo-Ray’d into an apish monstrosity. And he tells Mar-Vell that Wasp’s screams when Cave Pym kills her will sound the death knell of the human race.

Man, Ronan is such a dick.

[wits-writing]

Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 15: “459”

(Directed by Vinton Heuck, Written by Kevin Burke and Christ Wyatt, Original Airdate: December 12, 2010)

I write my retrospective on this episode only a few days after seeing and writing a review about the Captain Marvel movie focusing on Carol Danvers. This feels necessary to bring up as this episode features an interpretation of her classic origin, but also doesn’t feature much of her. What we get is good, she’s introduced to us as security detail at a military/SHIELD run observatory and has invited Hank and Janet to get a second opinion on a strange object they’ve been tracking. There are touches of pre-existing friendship between her and Jan, since they already have a rapport. She’s ready to go out and fight the second it seems like the object they were tracking could be an alien threat. Most important to this episode is a character we meet through her, since she introduces Hank and Janet to head scientist at the observatory, Phil Lawson, later revealed to be the Mar-Vell, captain of the Kree science navy.

Captain Mar-Vell’s involvement in this episode serves the same purpose as the entire episode, expanding the scope of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes into the potential of later cosmic threats. He gives the Avengers information about the object that arrived on Earth, Kree Sentry-459, a robot designed to observe/eliminate potential threats on planets the Kree wish to colonize. He runs down why his race would want to do this, explaining the basics of the Kree/Skrull conflict for territory across the galaxy with Earth being in a valuable position.

He also explains how he was trying to prevent the Kree from taking Earth with his work at the observatory before this episode’s events. During 459’s initial attack, Carol and Mar-Vell got caught in an explosion. She’s left unconscious for most of the episode because of this, meaning she doesn’t get to hear all the revelations about his background he lays out for the Avengers from the source. Which feels like a cheap move, considering these two supposedly trusted each other before the Kree Sentry’s arrival. We’re left with Wasp being offended for this deception on her comatose friend’s behalf.

The other main thread of the episode is a bit of a character development cul-de-sac, Janet and Hank not knowing how to express their feelings for each other. Jan spends a lot of the episode making passive plays at gauging Hank’s feelings for her, namely through trying to stoke his jealousy. Carol does call her out on the passive aggressiveness of this behavior, but Jan deflects by making the conversation about how Hank wants to keep things “strictly science.” The conclusion to this portion of the story isn’t much of one. In the middle of a battle with the Sentry, Janet finally starts venting to Hank about how she never seems to be able to get his attention away from his various scientific fascinations and Hank takes a blow from the robot to save her. He manages to half-say “I love you” before passing out. Though when he recovers, he denies he was trying to say anything as Janet reminds him about it. This episode marks the first major time Janet and Hank have come close to discussing and their feelings, but by the end they haven’t made any actual progression.

The conflict against the Sentry ends as Mar-Vell, chastised in a message from his commander for trying to prevent the Kree from taking the Earth, rips a bomb from the machine’s chest meant to wipe out life on the planet. In a near self-sacrifice, he flies the bomb out into space but only succeeds in getting it out of range with Iron Man and Thor’s help. Afterwards, he thanks them for their assistance, but says he’ll need to try and appeal to his people to get them to leave Earth alone in the future. As the episode ends with Captain Mar-Vell gone and the conversation between Janet and Hank about what he was trying to tell her, they’re interrupted by Carol waking up to find herself pulsing with energy and floating above her bed.

“459” is fine at doing its job of establishing the cosmic details for this version of the Marvel Universe. The fights against the adaptive Kree Sentry are good and give Mar-Vell a chance to display his abilities, mostly relating to the weapons parts of his suit can turn into. Though I do have to knock it some points for the potential conflict between Carol and Mar-Vell being left to hang and the relationship between Janet and Hank not moving forward after teasing it.

Next time, a new enemy comes from the future to destroy the Avengers.

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