#by TWO DIFFERENT SABRETOOTH ALTERS

[sharks-r0ck]

being a system has its ups and downs but in my personal opinion nothing is funnier than when i post a fic and i get comments telling me how well i wrote the characters 😭 its bc they helped me write it :3

[lexsang]

Hi! I was reading your opinion if father Sebastiaan and Sabretooth and you mentioned finally seeing sanguinarianism as a blessing. As someone who struggles a lot with seeing if as anything but a handicap and feeling frustrated, I'd love to hear more about how you managed to see the positive in all this.

This is a fantastic question. I'll try to cover it as completely as I can, but I do want to stress that my experience, like all of ours, is unique. Just a warning before I jump in, I am talking about my awakening in a decent bit of detail, so please ensure you are in a good place before reading. It might not be a bad Idea to have your favourite blood substitute on hand before giving this all a read.

I may have told a vague story of my awakening a number of times, but I think it's pretty relevant to this topic, so I'll start with that. Surprisingly, I don't think I have actually heard many in-depth awakening stories from other vamps, so I don't know if many of the details of mine are different from the norm. I do know that the general feeling of absolute isolation is fairly common though. When I first awakened, it was like a dam burst. Suddenly, and without any inciting moment, I had a vague interest in blood, and the curiosity in drinking it. But it only remained a small thought for a couple of days, and quickly exploded into full body cravings that left my mind unable to think about anything else. It was violent, disruptive, and absolutely life altering. I, unlike some lucky members of the community, had no previous knowledge of the vampire community, or that anyone else could possibly be have the kinds of experiences I was thrust into having.

I assume that having that knowledge would have changed the course of my awakening, but if I'm being honest with myself, I don't know that it would have changed a thing. Suddenly, I was an isolated individual, unlike anyone else, constantly wading through seas of people (I was in school, and then university at the time), and overwhelmed by vivid, violent thoughts. Like I mentioned, I like to think that having the knowledge that all I needed was to feed on a little bit of blood would have changed the depth of my awakening. However, my body, sending every signal it could in the effort to convince me to feed, pushed further and further, until the cravings pushed past just blood, and into meat as well. I mention all of this to help convey that I was wholly consumed by my cravings. For every second of every day for two or three years, this was my internal experience. What I have failed to mention, however, is how I felt about that experience.

I didn't push away from it or create tension between myself and those feelings and impulses. Of course I did maintain control (albeit somewhat loose control sometimes), but rather than being fearful of myself, I quickly accepted it as a part of myself. I have to be direct. I loved the feeling that the cravings sustained in my body. And that is the main thing that I think makes my experience so different from the experiences of many other sanguinarian vampires. I enjoyed the experience of vampirism from the beginning, I just closed my eyes and fell backwards into the sensations and the experience, with a smile on my face.

That being said, it did complicate parts of my life. I was in a pretty negative relationship throughout much of my awakening, and she, being the only person I had told about my cravings, was kind enough to fairly consistently remind me that she saw me as a monster, despite the fact that I was clear that these experiences were happening at me, and not from me (suffice to say, don't keep people in your life who are incapable of accepting you). It was also difficult to manage family at the time. Because of that relationship, I started going through some rough times, and the addition of unsated cravings complicated my ability to ask for help. My family became very worried about me, but there was only so much I could say. So I certainly won't say that vampirism is a completely enjoyable experience without it's difficulties, not to mention the very real pain that can come from cravings.

I do think there is a decent amount to be learned from my experience. That the experience of vampirism, though I harp on the fact that vampirism expresses itself uniquely in every individual, varies most extremely based on the perspective of the person experiencing it. And luckily, perspectives can be changed! You, at present, view your vampiric experience from the perspective that it is a handicap, but I can't imagine that that one perspective has been the entirety of the experience. The way I see it, my vampirism allows me to look at life as if I'm looking through a stained glass window, one that no one else will ever get the chance to see. Yes, there may be other vampires (which is also a good thing, we get to connect with others over something that makes us all unique and alike), but no one else will ever experience it in the same way you do.

I think it's also very important to take time with the cravings. By pushing against them, many vampires add tension to their experiences, and make it harder to deal with. Use substitutes if you need to, or feed if you have the opportunity to, and disconnect from the experiences of others. Just sit in your own body and let the cravings be there with you almost like meditating with your vampirism. When you are present with them like this, without judgement, how does it really feel to sit in that vampiric experience? When there isn't something pressing that the cravings are distracting you from, how does that experience manifest?

And of course, feeding is probably the big one. Yes, we gradually get to a point where we don't feel healthy. The level and timeframe of that varies from vamp to vamp, but it is a fact that that aspect of vampirism is a handicap. But through that difficulty, we get to experience feeding, something that 99.999% of people will never be able to understand. People say that you can't truly experience the good in life if you haven't experienced the bad. I won't necessarily agree or disagree with that, but I will say that that is a great way to relate to the experience of feeding. The instant dissolution of whatever doubts that might have been swimming around in my mind, along with the sudden removal of negative symptoms is a blessing. And in my experience, that is just where feeding starts. It obviously shouldn't be seen as a drug to be used for regular recreation, but the feeling of feeding, if you see it as more than just filling a need, like taking a prescription, is really something else.

This has definitely been much longer than I had originally intended, and I'm too lazy to look back through it to see if I messed up any spelling or anything, and I solemnly apologize for the number of times I used the word 'experience'... but I couldn't think of any other word, and it's too late to crack open the thesaurus. I hope this helped, and if you have any more questions or are looking for any clarification, please feel free to ask. I'm more than happy to help where I can :)

[cardshcrp]

ON CHILDREN.

This meta post contains both normal information on Remy’s personal opinions and triggering content thanks to his life experiences, and is under a read more for safety. Proceed at your own risk.

When it comes down to it, Remy has a very complicated stance on children. In general, he likes kids; he does surprisingly well with them. He often goes through the streets and feeds them, gets them to shelters if they don’t know the way themselves, or offers them places in the Guild’s starting crews if they’re interested and ambitious enough. So he does like kids, that’s never really a question. They generally like him, too.

But when it comes to, theoretically, his kids, that’s a complicated question. He honestly struggles with the idea of having a family more than he already has - he comes from a vastly different background than most normal people, you know? Unlike most other heroes, he never really had a regular life. He was raised in the Guild as their weird little demon-eyed messiah - everyone knew his name and who he was. He’s never been out of the public eye or had a completely separate alter ego. He understands the idea of it, but when it comes right down to it, he doesn’t know how to sympathize with people that choose to take the hero life (when they have that free choice, obviously) but still attempt to start a family while knowing they can’t protect them. He’s seen too much shit happen to hero families, and he never wants to have people related to him that can’t protect themselves, especially given how he has both criminal and hero ties. He finds it foolish, even if he’s understanding of the desire to do so.

For that reason, he genuinely doesn’t feel that he has the right to consider having his own family, partner or not. He is (obviously) supportive of adoption, and he’ll generally admit that if asked. It’s also the safer option, given it removes a whole lot of vulnerability if a child is already past infancy and/or somewhat self-sufficient.

Past that, though, he has a whole lot of complicated feelings when it comes to children by birth. There is the basic impracticality of it all - it’s a terrible idea to be put out of commission for long enough to have a baby and raise it, especially since he isn’t really publicly out. It would put him in a crazy uncomfortable position. And then as a trans man, he’s struggled a hell of a lot to get comfortable with his body as it is, but it’s also safe to say that undergoing pregnancy personally would put him through a world of dysphoric hurt. That said, he’s also received so much trauma to his body in general that in most verses he is nearly or entirely incapable of bearing children.

He is technically still capable of child-bearing, with extreme effort, and likely multiple miscarriages, which doesn’t help his mental state or body image any. If he had a stable partner that he felt safe enough to try and start a family with, it’d slowly destroy him to go through that trauma and send him right into a this is what I get for not embracing being a woman spiral that he hasn’t dealt with since his early twenties to a degree never before seen. It’s a very bad idea for him to consider it in most cases and a partner that pushed for it after he expressed discomfort would generally not be welcome any longer.

But as if that weren’t enough, there’s more trauma in his past that makes considering children on any level, especially biological, even worse. He has suffered multiple transphobic assaults, most particularly in his late teens and early twenties, and without getting too deep into detail about those since they really are going to take separate posts, unfortunately more than one heavily featured taunts along the lines of just get a cock / baby in you and you’ll feel like a woman. This was especially scary for him because at varying times in his life he wasn’t sexually active, or was only sexually active with cis female partners and wasn’t using birth control - their threats were a real possibility and it scared the absolute hell out of him. It’s not nice, it’s horrible and shitty, but he managed to get over them and every single person got what they deserved. 

Something he doesn’t really talk about is the fact that once he was pregnant, and he lost the baby. Every time he thinks about having a kid (which is thankfully rare), he has to think about that, and more often than not it’s an instant dream-crusher. He never entirely got over it. 

Thanks to the main verse background building I’ve done with d.eviltoothed, we’ve incorporated a lot of history with Victor and Remy past the already extensive canon, most of it extremely unhealthy for everyone involved on a lot of levels. For this it’s worth noting that when it comes to the Morlock Massacre, I don’t adhere to magical recovery from the brain work Sinister performed on Remy - I’ve had family members go in for neurosurgery with complications, and the recovery process took (and is taking) years of struggle and effort, which I would like to respect and reflect in my writing.

Remy was an easy target for a lot of people at this point. He was disoriented, more than often barely half-lucid, had massive dizzy spells, extreme memory loss, impaired cognitive function, and was dependent as hell on others at times for basic function. He had one surgery, then a major complication in which his skull wasn’t sealed correctly and his brain fluid was leaking, which only made things worse and extended his original recovery - it took a total of about two years for him to be entirely functional again, with the last half year mostly being memory loss and disorientation (which also played a big part in why he didn’t realize exactly what he was being used for by Sinister).

During this time, Remy wound up pregnant. It took him a long time to realize it, especially with constant nausea due to his medications anyway and an already fucked-up appetite requirement his whole life, but eventually it became evident. He didn’t have the presence of mind to be walking around on his own, much less taking regular birth control. Hell, Sinister didn’t consider his hormones to be entirely necessary before, and he couldn’t have them after that little revelation, so he was also dealing with body changes that he wasn’t exactly welcoming.

 He was incredibly conflicted about it, and wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t ever planned for kids. His safety was already pretty precarious at the best of times. He didn’t consider an abortion as an option for himself. He was out of the Guilds’ eyes for the time being, and he wasn’t yet affiliated with any sort of hero work, so at the time he was able to drop off the grid if he really wanted to. He was also still a practicing Catholic at this point, not to mention that as an adopted kid he was already inclined to try and give a child up for adoption if possible rather than abort it when it came to his personal choices.

The events of the Massacre happened before Remy decided on exactly what to do, and then Remy got claw-shanked by Sabretooth. That particular injury wound up costing him the child and nearly his life, and was so damaging that it was one of the biggest factors as to why it’s much harder for him to ever have a child again, even if he was so inclined. Victor might not have known what he did, but it definitely didn’t help the already bad blood between him and Remy and really increased the amount of hostility later on.

All in all, it’s a very nasty, unpleasant little cocktail of trauma and body issues, as well as feeling inferior enough that he’s convinced that he should never have a family, whether biological or adoptive.

[multiverseforger]

Edit

Dr. Walter Langkowski is a member of Alpha Flight, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada of Polish Jewish origin and a renowned physicist, and a professor of both physics and biophysics at McGill University.[volume & issue needed] He is also a former football player for the Green Bay Packers.[volume & issue needed] In the 1993 miniseries The Infinity Crusade it is revealed that Sasquatch is Jewish.[volume & issue needed]

He possesses the ability to transform into a super-strong, orange-haired beast resembling the legendary Sasquatch. This transformation is triggered by willpower. In his transformed state, Langkowski has increased strength, stamina, and resistance to injury. He also has sharp claws and is able to leap incredible distances.

These powers were a result of Langkowski's self-experimentation with gamma radiation. In an attempt to become like the Hulk, Langkowski bombarded himself with a gamma ray projector at his laboratory near the Arctic Circle. As a proposed explanation for why he transformed into an orange instead of green behemoth (as gamma-irradiated persons are usually affected), Langkowski assumed it had something to do with the Aurora Borealis.

However, unknown to Langkowski, it was not the gamma rays that turned him into Sasquatch, but the fact that his lab equipment opened a doorway between our world and the "Realm of Great Beasts." When this portal was opened, a mystical beast called Tanaraq invaded Langkowski's body and granted him his powers. Langkowski had to learn to maintain his own personality and intelligence when in the form of Sasquatch, and was very successful for a time.

Alpha FlightEdit

As a member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, Sasquatch battled the X-Men in an attempt to capture Wolverine.[2] He later battled the Hulk,[3] and then, alongside the Hulk, battled the Wendigo.[4] Alongside Alpha Flight again, he battled the Great Beast Tundra.[5] With Alpha Flight, Namor, and the Invisible Woman, he first encountered the Master of the World.[6] He then battled the Super-Skrull.[7] With Alpha Flight, he battled Omega Flight.[8] Alongside Rom and Alpha Flight, he battled the Dire Wraiths.[9] With Alpha Flight, he went on a mission with the X-Men and clashed with Loki.[10] Sasquatch was becoming increasingly prone to feral rages, making him reluctant to function in a fight.[volume & issue needed] His Sasquatch form was eventually revealed as an incarnation of Tanaraq, who took control of Sasquatch, forcing Snowbird to slay Langkowski.[11]

New body and identityEdit

After his death, Langkowski's teammates traveled to the realm of the Great Beasts to recover his soul, that is being preserved in what is called a "Phistash-Hasrak", but a preservation spell cast by Alpha Flight's resident sorcerer Shaman failed to prevent Langkowski's body from crumbling to dust. Once there, they were attacked by the Great Beast Somon, who summoned the Great Beasts Tundra, Kariooq, and Tolomaq against them. Snowbird battled Somon, eventually forcing him to relinquish control of the other Great Beasts and causing them to battle one another. Forcing the now-weakened Somon to reveal to them the location of Walter Langkowski's spirit, Alpha Flight ventured to the Pit of Ultimate Sadness, located beneath the Great Glow-Globe of Phistash-Hasrak, where Somon explained that the souls of those who once inhabited the realm laid in torture. Within the Pit, Somon explained to Alpha Flight that, in order to enter the Pit's Well of Sorrows, they must sacrifice love, hate and power. Sending Aurora (representing love), Northstar (representing hate) and Talisman (representing power) into the Well, Alpha Flight soon realized the Well was a trap set by Somon. Snowbird quickly killed Somon and three trapped Alphans were reunited with the rest of the team. Shaman soon deduced from Somon's trap that no actual souls still remained within the Well of Sorrows but rather, the only wandering soul (Walter's) resided above the Well, within the Glow-Globe of Phistash-Hasrak.[12] Containing Walter's soul within a globe of its own from his pouch, Shaman then transported Alpha Flight back to Earth, where they met with Heather Hudson and Box. In desperation, Shaman projected the soul into the robot exoskeleton of Box, who had arrived just as the Alphans returned to Earth.[12] After some searching for an alternate form, Langkowski and Box's creator, Roger Bochs, eventually scanned a humanoid, nearly mindless body trapped in another dimension. However, when the pair projected Langkowski's soul towards this body across an interdimensional "fishing line", it turned out to be the Hulk, and Langkowski, unwilling to displace his colleague and friend Bruce Banner (despite Banner's pleas to the contrary), let his soul dissipate into the interdimensional void.[13]

Sasquatch is subsequently brought back to life first by temporarily inhabiting the miniaturized body of Smart Alec,[14] then by inhabiting the body of the then-deceased Snowbird.[15] At first limited to transforming between Snowbird's (female) human form and a white-furred version of his Sasquatch form,[volume & issue needed] he called himself "Wanda Langkowski",[volume & issue needed] and fought to be recognized as legally alive.[16] This body was later mystically altered to be identical to his original body by Snowbird's spirit.[17] After this, his Sasquatch form returned to its original orange hue. With Alpha Flight, he first battled Llan the Sorcerer.[18] With Alpha Flight, alongside the Avengers, and the People's Protectorate, he battled the Atlantean army, the Peace Corpse, and the Combine.[19] Alongside Alpha Flight, he defended Her against the Consortium.[20]

2000sEdit

In 2005, Sasquatch assembles another incarnation of Alpha Flight[21] in order to rescue the original team from an alien race known as the Plodex. Sales were poor and the series was canceled with issue #12.

Along with Major Mapleleaf, Puck (both Eugene Judd and Zuzha Yu), Vindicator, Shaman, and Guardian, Sasquatch fights The Collective.[22] He is later revealed to be the only member of Alpha Flight to survive the attack. Following the events of the 2006 "Civil War" storyline, Langkowski is recruited by the Canadian government to form a new team called Omega Flight. He goes out of control possessed by the Great Beast, Tanaraq, but manages to recover. He also forgives Michael Pointer for the indirect role he played in the destruction of Alpha Flight and apologized for forcing him into the role of Guardian. Sasquatch has gone to Wakanda, along with Wolfsbane, Thornn, and Feral. The group offers their assistance to Wolverine against Sabretooth. Feral is killed by Sabretooth and in the meantime, the villain Romulus forms plans of his own involving the group.[volume & issue needed]

During the 2010 "Chaos War" storyline, Sasquatch makes a deal with the Great Beasts, bringing them to Earth so they can kill Amatusu-Mikaboshi. He alongside Snowbird, Northstar, and Aurora are reunited with a resurrected Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, and Marrina Smallwood.[23]

During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, Sasquatch was seen helping Alpha Flight fight Attuma (in the form of Nerkodd: Breaker of Oceans) while saving people from the flood caused by Nerkodd. Once Nerkodd is defeated and repelled, Alpha Flight returns to their headquarters, only to end up betrayed by Gary Cody and his newly elected Unity Party.[24] When in the custody of the Unity Party, Sasquatch's gamma energy is drained enough for him to revert to his human form of Walter Langkowski.[25] At Parliament Hill, Walter is informed by Agent Jeff Brown that the concussions he had when he played football will cause him to act less human when he changes back into Sasquatch. Jeff also tells Walter that he will soon achieve Unity. Walter is later freed by Shaman who knocks out Agent Jeff Brown.[26]

As part of the 2015 All-New, All-Different Marvel branding, Sasquatch appears as part of the Alpha Flight space program.[27]

Immortal HulkEdit

While taking time off from the Alpha Flight space program, Walter met a reporter named Jackie McGee and agreed to aid her in her search for Bruce Banner. After Walter was stabbed breaking up a fight between two men, he wound up in the hospital where he turned into Sasquatch at night. After killing some doctors that were treating him, Sasquatch encounters Hulk who found that he is possessed by Brian Banner's ghost. Hulk was able to free Sasquatch from Brian's possession by draining the gamma energy out of him enough to depower Walter.[28] It was revealed that Brian Banner's possession of Sasquatch was caused by the One Below All.[29]

General Reginald Fortean nearly charged Walter for the deaths he caused and changed his mind when he decided to have Captain Marvel call the Avengers to go after Hulk and have him save Walter.[30] After Hulk escaped from General Fortean's custody, Walter formed a new version of Gamma Flight to go after Hulk by starting with Puck as its first member.[31]

Walter and Gamma Flight arrived at the area where the gamma bomb first turned Bruce Banner into Hulk. As Hulk fought Gamma Flight, Absorbing Man absorbed the leftover gamma radiation that enabled the One-Below-All to plunge New Mexico into its Below-Place.[32] After Hulk defeated the One-Below-All, Walter and Gamma Flight were returned to Earth where Absorbing Man joined the group.[33]

With Titania as its latest member, Walter and Gamma Flight ran into Doc Samson who reveals to them Hulk's plans to wipe out the human civilization.[34]

Arriving in Reno, Nevada, Walter and Gamma Flight found the Subject B husk that the U.S. Hulk Operations placed Rick Jones' body in. They take it to the Alpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station for study.[35] Wearing the Redeemer armor, General Fortean raided the Alpha Flight Low-Orbit Space Station to reclaim the Subject B husk. While taking out the Gamma Flight members, Fortean also shoots Walter to make him pay for the deaths his Sasquatch form caused before making off with the Subject B husk.[36]

Due to his door in the Below-Place being meddled, Doc Samson was able to revive himself in the body of Walter Langkowski on the Alpha Flight Low Orbit Space Station causing the body to turn into a green-haired version of Sasquatch. While reuniting with Gamma Flight and Jackie McGee, Samson told them about Leader's meddling and called this form of his Doc Sasqautch. Leading Gamma Flight to confront Hulk's Joe Fixit persona, Doc Sasquatch prevented everyone from getting sucked out when Joe Fixit punched a hole in the space station.[37

[salarta]

I think Bunn sees Magneto as the primary focus, and everyone else is a satellite character. This means that Polaris becomes a simpering daddy's girl help meet, Scarlet Witch is always blamed for HoM for mutant savior angst, and Quicksilver is to provide a rival/enemy to make him look heroic. It debases and distorts them for Magneto, but again, that is all Bunn cares about. Like how Soranik (DC, Green Lantern) started to revolve around Sinestro (her father) when Bunn started to write them.

@allwillbeone said: Bc, it’s Cullen Bunn. I knew it.

I’ll be replying to two people at once here.

I don’t think Bunn has used Scarlet Witch or Quicksilver much yet, and we can’t say how he would treat them as a result. We’ve seen enough about Bunn’s view of Polaris and other women to say something about that though.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of people say that Psylocke was basically turned into a foil for Magneto. I’ve seen similar said about Emma Frost’s depiction during X-Men Blue #8 and #9, that those issues largely presented Emma in a manner that was beneficial to Magneto at Emma’s expense.

Treatment of Polaris in various Bunn things itself has issues.

The end of the Magneto solo had two problem spots specific to Lorna: Lorna written as scandalized by Magneto putting any lives at risk to save the world, and Lorna getting sucker-punched by her dad in that she somehow supposedly never anticipated him trying to siphon all her energy like a battery to do the job all by himself.

Deadpool and the Mercs for Money had her appearance altered to have Magneto’s helmet and collar just in green. All by itself, in the right context, this can be a good thing. The Wolverine and the X-Men cartoon did it well. It becomes a problem when taken with the Magneto solo’s ending and the next thing: X-Men Blue.

Several months before it would release, Polaris’ return on X-Men Blue was touted as a meaningful thing, announced at a conference with an X-Men Blue #9 cover devoted to her. The senior X-Men editor also talked about her a fair bit then.

Then, in the following months, it all went silent. Bunn showed at least some excitement about getting to write Havok, and even brought him up at times in interviews, but he didn’t care enough to talk about Polaris at all. When the time came, he was eager to spend most of X-Men Blue #8 building up Havok’s prestige, letting him interact with other characters and implying he’s a threat.

What did Polaris get? The “honor” of being defined exclusively by who the men in her life are. Havok and Magneto. “She’s Magneto’s daughter!” “She’s going to mop the floor with her ex!”

Okay but why the fuck is she taking this action at all? What does she want in all of this? Does she just want to beat up her ex Havok and be her father Magneto’s puppet, or does she actually have a reason for her course of action? Why is she on this book at all?

And then we get to X-Men Blue #11. The conversation with her father was okay. She said a lot of words that look nice. But then she’s written as acting like she’s completely floored by the idea that the base is attacked, as if a woman who nearly died on Genosha and witnessed millions murdered in a surprise genocide wouldn’t have the sort of trauma that makes her expect an attack no matter how safe you feel. And this happened entirely so Magneto could “correct” her by saying the goddamn obvious.

Followed by Polaris getting easily defeated with the rest of the teachers, because Magneto got defeated too, and obviously if Magneto’s going down that easy then his “lesser” support Polaris will too. Can’t have Lorna showing up Magneto when they have the same powers, just like we couldn’t have her showing up Havok when he’s leader of teams she’s on.

Then I saw Blood Storm get multiple pages worth of backstory and effort to get inside her head that Bunn never once tried to do with Polaris and never will.

I think about things like Uncanny X-Men too. For that whole run, Bunn said he hoped to bring Polaris back, but all he ever did was have Sabretooth say she smells nice in passing.

Here’s the gist of things. When I started reading Bunn, I had concerns about some of his choices, but I chalked them up to Marvel interfering. I assumed pretending she never suffered through the Genoshan genocide was Marvel editorial being dicks. I assumed Bunn not getting Polaris on Uncanny X-Men was Marvel execs being dicks cause they didn’t want her on any books.

But after the past several months? I don’t think that’s what’s going on at all.

I think Bunn doesn’t care about Polaris or what she can offer except insofar as how it might benefit Magneto or other characters he actually cares about.

If Bunn cared about Lorna, he would’ve been excited to hype up her return for X-Men Blue #9 in the same way he did for Havok.

if Bunn cared about Lorna, then in X-Men Blue #9, he would’ve given her the sort of in-depth character history talk and inside-her-head bits he’s giving Blood Storm right now.

He wouldn’t leave everything she is to be defined exclusively by the men in her life and what outside characters like Jean Grey say about her. His writing decisions betray that he’s so far outside caring who she is, how she thinks, what she believes that he sticks to having Jean Grey exclaim the most basic of basic cliff notes. Stuff that doesn’t even matter and won’t get anyone to care about who Lorna is or what she’s doing on this book.

Nobody gives a shit about a character who seems to exist solely to be a foil for another character, especially a man. I saw it firsthand when I had to fix perception of Rosa Farrell from Final Fantasy IV. So, so many people saw her as a useless damsel in distress because they defined her solely by her relationship with Cecil Harvey.

It took several years of pointing out that Rosa wasn’t just a damsel Cecil had to rescue twice. She was a badass who crossed a desert crawling with monsters all by herself and only walked out of it with a sickness anyone could get. She was a compassionate mother figure who managed to help a little girl get over her fear of fire - a fear the girl had because fire killed her mother and destroyed her home village. She was a selfless defender who, when everyone else in her party was about to die, offered herself up as a sacrifice to save their lives.

But according to people who only defined Rosa by Cecil, she was just a pain in the ass that slowed your journey down. When a female character is defined exclusively by the men in her life, not by her own actual qualities, people start to think she sucks.

That’s what I see in Bunn’s treatment of Polaris so far. An attitude that she exists only to be defined by Magneto, Havok and other characters he actually cares about. Characters that aren’t her.

Bunn says a lot of nice things when he’s asked. Shoot him a message and he’ll say some great things. On his own, without someone asking him, he doesn’t volunteer the slightest bit of interest in Lorna. He doesn’t answer interview questions with “I have big plans for Polaris that involve her history on Genosha.” He doesn’t put out teases on Twitter hinting at potential stories he might be thinking of for her. He doesn’t do any of the things someone that actually likes Lorna would do for the simple joy of getting to do it and feeling eager to show it off to the world.

Look at Emma Dumont by contrast. She’s posting instagram photos of the Polaris figurines she’s bought. She’s geeking out over Lorna’s potential relationships. She’s sharing Polaris fanart, and doing interviews with green hair.

I don’t expect everyone, including a writer, to be as committed to Polaris as Emma Dumont, but there’s a massive gulf between Emma’s excited fandom and Bunn’s virtual wasteland of interest.

If Bunn isn’t interested in writing Polaris the actual character, and is only interested in writing Magneto’s daughter or Havok’s ex or X character’s rival, then I’d rather she not be on X-Men Blue at all. Bunn can find or create other characters to fill the roles he plans to use Polaris for. Let a different writer write her. 

At this point, I quite frankly think the only reason he says he likes her and wants her around is so he can use her to benefit other characters. Nothing to do with Lorna herself. He hasn’t shown me anything that suggests otherwise. He’s only said some stuff that does not match his actions.

[onegoodscare]

The Very Comprehensive Deadpool Masterpost

The aim of this post is to introduce new fans to Deadpool's comics and help you identify which collections, trade paperbacks and omnibus books Deadpool's individual stories, issues and runs can be found in as well as which order to read them. 

I will not be providing links to any pirated copies and would rather not recommend websites as prices will vary across the dozens of sites comics can be purchased from.

I have read every single issue on this list so if you have any questions or need any help please do feel free to ask me.

Created: 5th March 2017 Updated: 31st July 2017

Main Deadpool Continuity & Reading Order

This is the bulk of the masterlist. Each of Deadpool's main books and stories are listed below in the order which they should be read from the very beginning all the way up to, and including, his current shenanigans. I have marked a few recommended starting points so if you do not wish to tackle the entire list there should be a starting point which suits you.

Deadpool: The Circle Chase (1993) #1 - #4 This is Deadpool's first ever solo miniseries. It introduces Weasel, Vanessa and themes which crop up throughout the rest of Deadpool's runs. -Collected in; Deadpool Classic Vol. 1 or Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus or Deadpool The Adamantium Collection or Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus

Deadpool: Sins of the Past (1994) #1 - #4 Deadpool's second miniseries explores Deadpool's relationship with his past and teases his origins. -Collected in; Deadpool Classic Vol. 1 or Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus or Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus

Deadpool (1997) #-1 - #69 [A Recommended Starting Point] This was Deadpool's first ongoing and it ran from 1997 to 2002. Plot elements from his first and second miniseries are picked up and expanded upon here. Several writers contributed to this series, most notably Joe Kelly, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Gail Simone. -Collected in; Deadpool Classic Vol. 1 - Vol. 9 or Deadpool by Joe Kelly Omnibus & Deadpool Classic Omnibus Vol. 1 

Agent X (2002) #1 - #15 After Deadpool (1997) ended his book was replaced by a new, similar character who shares Deadpool's supporting cast from his last 5 issues. Deadpool returns in the final 3 issues of this series. -Collected in; Deadpool Classic Vol. 9 & Vol. 10 or Deadpool Classic Omnibus Vol. 1

Cable & Deadpool (2004) #1 - #50 [A Recommended Starting Point] Characters from Agent X (2002) make an appearance throughout this series which is written by Deadpool's co-creator Fabian Nicieza. Deadpool's relationship with Cable is one of the most loved in comics and Cable is scheduled to appear in Deadpool 2. This is a big, thematic book exploring heroism and the bigger picture. -Collected in; Cable & Deadpool: If Looks Could Kill, The Burnt Offering, The Human Race, Bosom Buddies, Living Legends, Paved With Good Intentions, Separation Anxiety & Deadpool vs. The Marvel Universe  or 3 Deadpool & Cable Ultimate Collection books  or the Deadpool & Cable Omnibus

Deadpool Annual (2013) #1 Although this was released in 2013 the first half of the story explains the origin of the white caption box which makes its appearance throughout Deadpool (2008). The second half of the story leads into Deadpool (2012) so it may be worth revisiting this issue before you start that series. -Collected in; Deadpool: The Wedding of Deadpool or Deadpool: The Ones With Deadpool or Deadpool Classic Vol. 18: Deadpool vs. Marvel

Deadpool (2008) #1 - #63 This is the book which was being published when Deadpool exploded into the phenomenon he is today. All 63 issues were written by Daniel Way and you can see the zany fingerprints he left on the character present in the fandom, the video game and all the ongoing books and miniseries from 2009 to 2012. -Collected in; Deadpool: Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, X Marks The Spot, Monkey Business, What Happens In Vegas, I Rule You Suck, Space Oddity, Operation Annihilation, Institutionalized, Evil Deadpool & Dead  or 4 Deadpool: The Complete Collection by Daniel Way books or Deadpool by Daniel Way Omnibus Vol. 1

Uncanny X-Force (2010) #1 - #35 Running alongside Daniel Way's Deadpool from 2010 onwards, this book was written by Rick Remender and features a more grounded Deadpool working in a team setting. -Collected in; Uncanny X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution, Deathlok Nation, The Dark Angel Saga Book 1, The Dark Angel Saga Book 2, Otherworld & Final Execution or two Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender: The Complete Collection books or the Uncanny X-Force Omnibus by Rick Remender also see: Uncanny X-Force: Fear Itself #1 - #3 collected in; Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force / The Deep

Deadpool vs. Thanos (2015) #1 - #4 Although this was released in 2015 its events occur before Deadpool (2012). This is a cosmic roadtrip taken by two people who hate one another. -Collected in; Deadpool vs Thanos or Deadpool Classic Vol. 18: Deadpool vs. Marvel

Thunderbolts (2012) #1 - #32 Daniel Way initially writes this series before Charles Soule and then Ben Acker & Ben Blacker take over. It's Deadpool in a team setting which is less bloody than Uncanny X-Force but not as clean cut as the Avengers. -Collected in; Thunderbolts: No Quarter, Red Scare, Infinity, No Mercy, Punisher vs. The Thunderbolts notes: Can be read alongside Deadpool (2012) although there is very little crossover. The series ends before Deadpool (2012) Original Sin. Hawkeye vs Deadpool (2014) should be read after this series as it references its cancellation. Deadpool (2012) #1 - #45 & Deadpool: Dracula's Gauntlet #1 - #13  [A Recommended Starting Point] This is the beginning of the Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn era of Deadpool which is currently ongoing, the two comedians have left an impression on Deadpool and introduced a strong supporting cast which will be felt for years to come. -Collected in; Deadpool: Dead Presidents, Soul Hunter, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, Deadpool vs. S.H.I.E.L.D, Deadpool: Dracula's Gauntlet, The Wedding of Deadpool, Original Sin, Axis & All Good Things  or 4 Deadpool by Duggan & Posehn hardcovers or the Deadpool by Duggan & Posehn Omnibus notes: Deadpool: The Gauntlet was initially released digitally on ComiXology and was built for digital reading Annuals & one-shots are collected in; Deadpool: The Ones With Deadpool Flashback issues are collected in chronological order in; Deadpool: Flashbacks

Mrs Deadpool and the Howling Commandos (2015) #1 - #4 A book set during Marvel's world-ending 'Secret Wars' series where the Marvel multiverses smashed together and created a patchwork planet called 'Battleworld', this book follows our Deadpool on a journey through an altered reality which he can't interact with. -Collected in; Mrs Deadpool and the Howling Commandos or Deadpool Classic Vol. 19: Make War, Not Love

Deadpool & Cable: Split Second (2016) #1 - #6 Written by Cable & Deadpool writer and Deadpool co-creator Fabian Nicieza, this book lays the groundwork for some Deadpool (2015) and Uncanny Avengers (2015) stories while also standing perfectly on its own. -Collected in; Deadpool & Cable: Split Second

Uncanny Avengers (2015) #1 - ongoing [A Recommended Starting Point] Deadpool? In an Avengers book? That's not a mistake. Gerry Duggan pens this series and again spotlights Deadpool in a blockbuster-level team setting. -Currently collected in; Uncanny Avengers Unity: Vol. 1 Lost Future, Vol. 2 The Man Who Fell to Earth, Vol. 3 Civil War II,  Vol. 4 Red Skull notes: Issues #7 & #8 crossover with All-New All-Different Avengers #7 & #8 and the full story is collected in Avengers: Standoff. Deadpool leaves the book after Vol. 4. Deadpool (2015) #1 - ongoing The Merc With A Mouth is more popular than ever before and this series, written solo by Gerry Duggan, reflects the reality and forces the Marvel Universe to take notice. This is the main ongoing Deadpool book and it shows no signs of stopping. -Currently collected in; Deadpool World's Greatest: Vol. 1 Millionaire With A Mouth, Vol. 2 End of an Error, Vol 3. Deadpool vs. Sabretooth, Vol. 4 Temporary Insanitation, Vol. 5 Civil War II, Vol. 6 Patience: Zero, Vol. 7 Deadpool Does Shakespeare or 2 Deadpool World’s Greatest hardcover volumes awaiting release: Deadpool World’s Greatest: Vol. 8 ‘Til Death Do Us..., Deadpool 2099, Deadpool World’s Greatest: Vol 9 Deadpool in Space, World’s Greatest HC Vol. 3, Deadpool World’s Greatest: Vol 10 Secret Empire

Peripheral Deadpool Books

These books run alongside Deadpool (2015) loosely fitting into the continuity and are all ongoing unless specified.

Deadpool & the Mercs for Money (2016) #1 - #5 [Miniseries] Written by Cullen Bunn, who penned almost every Deadpool miniseries from 2012, this is a short 'pilot series' featuring Deadpool leading his own team. It goes as well as you'd expect. -Collected in; Deadpool & The Mercs for Money: Vol. 0 Merc Madness notes: Should be read before Deadpool (2015) World’s Greatest: Vol. 5 Civil War II

Spider-Man/Deadpool (2016) #1 - ongoing The internet made this book happen, there is no denying that. The book features a lot of fanservice and some absolutely surreal storylines. Primarily written by Joe Kelly with other writers doing filler issues this is a series which threatens to unseat Cable and Deadpool as comics' most adored pair. -Currently collected in; Spider-Man/Deadpool: Vol. 1 Isn't It Bromantic?,  Vol. 2 Side Pieces awaiting release: Spider-Man/Deadpool: Vol. 3 Itsy Bitsy

Deadpool & The Mercs for Money (2016) #1 - #10 Cullen Bunn returns for Deadpool's adventures with his team as things go south for our favourite merc real fast. -Currently collected in; Deadpool & The Mercs for Money: Vol. 1 Mo' Mercs, Mo' Monkeys, Vol. 2 IvX , Deadpool World’s Greatest Vol 8: ‘Til Death Do Us... notes: Should be read after Deadpool (2015) World’s Greatest: Vol. 5 Civil War II

Modern Miniseries (2012 - present)

These books were released alongside the other Deadpool ongoings and are free from continuity, they can be picked up and read anytime and are listed in release order below.

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (2012) #1 - #4 Part one of the 'Deadpool Killogy' by Cullen Bunn, this book does what it says on the cover. -Collected in; Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe or Deadpool Minibus or Deadpool Classic Vol. 16: Killogy 

Deadpool Killustrated (2013) #1 - #4 Part two of the 'Deadpool Killogy', Cullen Bunn dives deeper into the meta and it gets bloody. -Collected in; Deadpool Killustrated or Deadpool Minibus or Deadpool Classic Vol. 16: Killogy Deadpool Kills Deadpool (2013) #1 - #4 The conclusion of the 'Deadpool Killogy' finds our main Deadpool fighting the protagonist of the previous two chapters. -Collected in; Deadpool Kills Deadpool or Deadpool Minibus or Deadpool Classic Vol. 16: Killogy 

Deadpool vs. Carnage (2014) issues #1 - #4 Cullen Bunn pits merc against maniac in a bloody brawl. -Collected in; Deadpool vs Carnage or Deadpool Minibus or Deadpool Classic Vol. 18: Deadpool vs. Marvel   

Deadpool vs. X-Force (2014) issues #1 - #4 Technically this retcons events so that this becomes Deadpool's 'first' appearance but reading it before anything else would be confusing. It's a fun throwback to the 90s with lots of violence and Deadpool in an antagonistic role. -Collected in; Deadpool vs. X-Force or Deadpool Minibus 2 or Deadpool Classic Vol. 18: Deadpool vs. Marvel

Hawkeye vs Deadpool (2014) #0 - #5 Gerry Duggan provides equal amounts of love for both Hawkeye and Deadpool in this fun book which begins with a murder on Halloween. -Collected in; Hawkeye vs Deadpool or Deadpool Minibus 2 or Deadpool Classic Vol. 18: Deadpool vs. Marvel notes: should be read after Deadpool (2012) Original Sin but before Deadpool (2012) Axis

Deadpool's Art of War (2014) #1 - #4 Deadpool wants to write a bestseller and he's willing to start a war to do it in this miniseries by Peter David. -Collected in; Deadpool's Art of War or Deadpool Minibus 2 or Deadpool Classic Vol. 19: Make War, Not Love Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars (2015) #1 - #4 Cullen Bunn pens a love letter to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars and retcons our favourite merc into events. -Collected in; Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars or Deadpool Minibus 2  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 19: Make War, Not Love

Deadpool v. Gambit (2016) #1 - #5 Deadpool and Gambit end up in deep trouble during a job that drops them in way over their heads. -Collected in; Deadpool v. Gambit: The V is for 'Vs' Deadpool: Back in Black (2016) #1 - #5 A sequel to Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars, Cullen Bunn gives Deadpool the Venom symbiote for 5 issues. -Collected in; Deadpool: Back in Black Deadpool: Too Soon? (2016) #1 - #8 A murder mystery with Marvel's self-proclaimed funniest characters, and the Punisher is there too. -Collected in; Deadpool: Too Soon? notes: Deadpool: Too Soon? was initially released digitally on ComiXology and was built for digital reading 

Deadpool the Duck (2017) #1 - #5 Deadpool and Howard the Duck merge in a situation not unlike The Fly and have a zany adventure in the process of trying to get their own bodies back. -Collected in; Deadpool the Duck

Deadpool vs. The Punisher (2017) #1 - #5 Wade and Frank have crossed paths before; these two have fought both against one another and alongside one another. This minsieries sees them doing a bit of both.  -Currently uncollected awaiting release: Deadpool vs. The Punisher

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again (2017) #1 - #5 Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajic return in June 2017 to unleash Deadpool upon the Marvel Universe yet again. -Currently uncollected awaiting release: Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan (2017) #1 - #5 Declan Shalvey and Mike Henderson pit Wade and Logan against one another as Wade tries to one-up the elderly Wolverine on a job he does not want Deadpool to be a part of. -Currently uncollected, debuts in October 2017

Even More Deadpool (2009 - 2012)

These books are from the time when Deadpool was absolutely everywhere, he was drawing in new fans and at one time had four ongoings published at once. As with the modern miniseries above, these books are relatively continuity free and can be picked up and read anytime.

Deadpool: Game$ of Death (2009) #1 A one-shot featuring Deadpool in a fatal reality TV show. -Collected in; Deadpool: Suicide Kings or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings 

Deadpool: Suicide Kings (2009) #1 - #5 A team-up between Deadpool, Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher which works on almost every level. -Collected in; Deadpool: Suicide Kings  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings 

Deadpool Team-Up (2009) #899 - 883 Each issue counts down instead of up and features a new writer and artist telling a story of a different character teaming up with Deadpool each issue. -Collected in; Deadpool Team Up: Good Buddies, Special Relationships & BFFs  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 13: Deadpool Team-Up  or the Deadpool & Co. Omnibus

Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth (2009) #1 - #13 This is a universe-hopping adventure with Deadpool attempting to return his zombified head to its own dimension. -Collected in; Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth: Head Trip  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 11: Merc With A Mouth  or the Deadpool & Co. Omnibus

Prelude to Deadpool Corps (2010) #1 - #5  A whole team of Deadpools is just around the corner and each of the 5 issues spotlights a member of the team and their home univserse before they are recruited. -Collected in; Deadpool Corps Prelude  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 12: Deadpool Corps or the Deadpool & Co. Omnibus

Deadpool Corps (2010) #1 - #12 Primarily drawn by Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld, this series was shortlived and featured the team of Deadpools flying around the galaxy doing various missions. -Collected in; Deadpool Corps: Poolpocalypse Now & You Say You Want A Revolution  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 12: Deadpool Corps or the Deadpool & Co. Omnibus

Deadpool (2009) #900 An oversized issue with various short stories by different writers and artists. -Collected in; Deadpool: Dead Head Redemption  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings

Deadpool (2010) #1000 An oversized issue with various short stories by different writers and artists. -Collected in; Deadpool: Dead Head Redemption  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings 

Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War (2010) #1 - #4 This Marvel Knights book plays fast and loose with continuity and delivers a twisting, sprawling tale. -Collected in; Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War or Deadpool Classic Vol. 17: Headcanon

Deadpool and Cable (2010) #25 Set just before Cable jumped into the future in his own book, this was Deadpool's last true team-up with him until 2016. -Collected in; Deadpool: All In The Family or Deadpool Classic Vol. 15: All The Rest

Deadpool and Cable (2011) #26 Deadpool seeks to continue Cable's legacy now the world is without him. -Collected in; Deadpool: All In The Family or Deadpool Classic Vol. 15: All The Rest

Deadpool Annual (2011) #1 One part of a crossover with Spider-Man and Hulk. -Collected in; Deadpool/Amazing Spider-Man/Incredible Hulk: Identity Wars or Deadpool Classic Vol. 15: All The Rest

 Wolverine/Deadpool: The Decoy (2011) #1 A short story featuring Deadpool, Wolverine, and Jean Grey's costume. -Collected in; Deadpool Team Up: BFFs  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings

Deadpool Family (2011) #1 Some short stories featuring the Deadpool Corps. -Collected in; Deadpool: All In The Family or Deadpool Classic Vol. 12: Deadpool Corps

Fear Itself: Deadpool (2011) #1 - #3 Magic hammers are falling from the skies and Deadpool seeks to make himself out as a hero. Things take a turn for the unexpected. -Collected in; Fear Itself: Deadpool / Fearsome Four or Deadpool Classic Vol. 15: All The Rest

Alternate Universe Stories 

Captain America: Who Won't Wield The Shield? (2010) #1 A bizarre story featuring a gas-masked Deadpool post-World War I who happens to be the nephew of Woodrow Wilson. -Collected in; Deadpool: Dead Head Redemption or Deadpool Classic Vol. 15: All The Rest 

Lady Deadpool (2010) #1 Set in her own universe, this one-shot sheds some light on Lady Deadpool's typical day. -Collected in; Deadpool Classic Vol. 11: Merc With A Mouth 

X-Men Origins: Deadpool (2010) #1 Deadpool sells Hollywood a version of his origin which isn't quite as accurate as it should be. -Collected in; X-Men Origins II  or Deadpool Classic Vol. 14: Suicide Kings

Deadpool Pulp (2010) #1 - #4 This is set during the Cold War in the 1950s and is a unique spin on the Deadpool mythos. -Collected in; Deadpool Pulp or Deadpool Classic Vol. 17: Headcanon

Deadpool Max (2010) #1 - #12 This book is rude, crude, and violent. It's like an exploitation movie but not quite as clever. -Collected in; Deadpool Max: Nutjob & Involuntary Armageddon

 Deadpool Max 2 (2011) #1 - #6 A sequel to Deadpool Max, this book follows directly on from the last and is more of the same. -Collected in; Deadpool Max: Second Cut

 5 Ronin (2011) #1 - #5 This series is a unique look at Marvel's heroes through the lens of 17th Century Japan. Deadpool has his own tale in issue #5. -Collected in; 5 Ronin

Night of the Living Deadpool (2014) #1 - #4 Zombies? Everywhere. Heroes? Nowhere. Deadpool? All alone. A stylish book where red is the only colour in a sea of monochrome. -Collected in; Night of the Living Deadpool  or Deadpool Minibus or Deadpool Classic Vol. 17: Headcanon

Return of the Living Deadpool (2015) #1 - #4 The sequel to Night of the Living Deadpool builds on the foundation of the first book and keeps the unique visual style. -Collected in; Return of the Living Deadpool or Deadpool Minibus 2 or Deadpool Classic Vol. 17: Headcanon

[aion-rsa]

Beast Mode: Marvel’s 16 Most Bestial Baddies

Even though, more often than not, Marvel characters tend to stick to (sometimes literally) bustling urban areas, there are a shockingly large number of characters that model their alter-egos after members of the animal kingdom. Sometimes it’s just part of their appearance and how they want to be perceived. Other times, that bestial ferocity and likeness is a deep-seated part of who they are.

RELATED: Strangled Web: The 15 Deadliest Spider-Man Villains

A lot of the time, it is those very animalistic qualities that lead these villains to a life of crime. Here, we’ll be exploring 16 of Marvel’s most bestial comic book villains in order of how animalistic they actually are. We’ll also take a look at the instances where the villainous character wears the beast and where the ferocious beast wears the character.

SABRETOOTH

We just had to kick this one off with a band. Certainly one of the most vicious of this bunch is the mutant, Victor Creed, better known by his alias, Sabretooth. Armed with powerful claws and enormous canine teeth, when he first appeared in “Iron Fist” #14, Sabretooth gave us just a taste of his savagery, a quality of his that has only worsened as the characters has evolved. He’s a mercenary who kills for pay as well as for his own twisted amusement.

How does someone turn out like Creed? Well, he suffered through multiple traumatic events throughout his childhood. He killed his brother, for example — an act for which his father chained him up in a basement like an animal and constantly pulled out his mutant fangs. It seems Victor was meant to become the creature he is, though he has tried to become more. He once had a sidekick, the mutant Birdy, who aided him through telepathy in controlling his more animalistic, murderous urges. More recently, it seems he’s genuinely turned over a new leaf and is more actively trying to do good with Magneto’s X-Men, at least, for mutantkind. Sure that happened after his personality was switched in the “Axis” storyline, but whatever works, right?

PORCUPINE

One of the earliest animal-themed criminals, first appearing in “Tales to Astonish” #48 (written by Stan Lee and H.E Huntley, with artwork by Don Heck), Alexander Gentry was a weapons designer who decided to turn to a life of crime to get rich quick. He designed a battle suit equipped with quills, which, unlike an actual porcupine, could be shot at opponents. He wasn’t especially strong, intelligent and his suit didn’t actually help much, so he became a laughing stock among criminal and super hero society. That’s what led him to temporarily giving up his suit and his life of crime until he donned it once more to try and sell it to the Avengers, who he had faced before. He died before that could happen, impaled on one of his own quills.

Despite the undeniably wild appearance, Porcupine is definitely not as animalistic as he looks in the suit. He was just a guy trying to make some money through illegal methods. It’s a perfect example of the name being used to describe what he had created and not who he was as a person, or even as a criminal.

KANGAROO

Next on the list is one alias used by two colorful characters straight out of Australia’s outback. First, there was Frank Oliver’s Kangaroo. He first appeared in “Amazing Spider-Man” #81, bouncing around like the kangaroos he so intensely studied. Wanting to make a name for himself, Kangaroo found himself in a battle against the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. SPOILER: he lost. Throughout his career, he kept trying to gain infamy as a criminal, right up until he died unceremoniously via gamma radiation poisoning.

Not long after, there was Brian Hibbs, who idolized the original Kangaroo and desperately wanted to become a supervillain. He trained and eventually fought Spider-Man, who hilariously beat him with one punch. Still, he went on to create a more elaborate kangaroo-themed suit. At one point, he even tried to force mutations on himself, which eventually worked, though he was throwin in prison and couldn’t escape, thus negating any thrill of his powers. Still, Hibbs was different to Oliver in that everything he did was done so he could emulate the animal he named himself after.

RHINO

Fans of the “Amazing Spider-Man” series will probably recognize the Rhino as being one of Spidey’s most enduring foes. Aleksei Sytsevich was a bad guy from the very beginning. He was part of the Russian mob, chosen to undergo various procedures that would bond a thick armored suit to him, modelled after a rhinoceros hide. This subsequently turned him into the strongest, toughest thug they had. The moment that separates the person from the animal is in “Amazing Spider-Man” #625, written by Joe Kelly and illustrated by Max Fiumara and Fabio D’Auria. We find Aleksei out of the suit, trying to just be a human being. He’s in love and married to Oksana, who tragically dies when a new Rhino emerges, forcing Aleksei to don the suit again, after which he quickly destroys his new adversary.

It’s a symbolic moment when we see Aleksei choose to become a completely destructive force, much indeed like an angered and rampaging rhino. It’s an easy line to cross, even though throughout his many appearances, we see him constantly swaying from one side to the other. Was it life that forced him to be the Rhino or was that beast just a symbol of who he really was?

ARMADILLO

Villains born from tragedy don’t always become the creatures they wear. For example, Antonio Rodriguez, who first appeared in “Captain America” #308 (written by Mark Gruenwald and illustrated by Paul Neary, Dennis Janke and Ken Feduniewicz), became a villain because he needed a means to cure his ill wife. He eventually found Dr. Karlin Malus, who offered to cure Rodriguez’s wife in exchange for his consent to becoming Malus’ test subject. Rodriguez was turned into a creature armed with a thick hide and long, sharp claws.

Rodriguez is, however, an animal in appearance only. The mind and man within is still very much in control, albeit misguided and a little violent. He doesn’t act out of instinctive rage, he just needs a purpose in his new form and though he’s tried, he just can’t be a hero. If he really was more animal than man, there’s no way he would have ever even tried to be decent.

SCORPION

One of Spidey’s many animal-themed foes, former private investigator Mac Gargan was hired by J. Jonah Jameson to become the villain to take Spidey down. Gargan, now a monster, grew enraged and insane, hating Jameson for what he had done and Spider-Man for basically just being Spider-Man.

Gargan has a tendency to give in to his anger and, like the animal, literally lash out at those who show him the slightest aggression. We can see this in everything from his irrational hatred for Jameson, to his willingness to embrace the more violent aspects of the symbiote when he becomes the new Venom, going so far as to eat and enjoy the flesh of humans, skrulls and of course, the bones of Swarm (who we’ll get to in a bit). That’s pretty animalistic and more than enough to weigh against the few more humane things he’s tried to do, like stop a bank robber, since right after that, he ate the robber.

MAN-APE

Hailing from the jungle city of Wakanda, M’Baku became the ferocious Man-Ape after trying to usurp the throne of his rival, T’Challa, with the help of the White Gorilla Cult. He received his powers and abilities after consuming the flesh of a white gorilla and bathing in its blood. He first appeared in “Avengers” #62 (written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by John Buscema and George Klein), and he makes his purpose more than clear. He doesn’t just want to rule Wakanda, he wants to change it. Where they worship the panther and strive for progress, M’Baku would have them worship the white gorilla and return to a more primitive era instead.

That alone isn’t exactly animalistic until you compare Man-Ape with the behavior of an actual gorilla. He’s wild and unpredictable, but he’s not entirely unsociable. He was seen at T’Challa’s wedding, after all. That’s not unlike any predatory animal of the wild, which can be vicious or friendly depending on what mood it’s in.

TIGER SHARK

Lurking in the depths of the deep blue sea is Tod Arliss, also known as Tiger Shark, a long-time foe of Namor. You might not have guessed it, but Arliss was actually a hero before turning into a ferocious supervillain. He was an Olympic swimmer, who, while saving someone’s life, damaged his spinal cord and therefore lost his ability to swim. In desperation, he turned to a scientist who experimented on him with a mixture of Namor and a tiger shark’s genetic material, turning Arliss into a monster.

Over time, his mutation has grown worse and it’s undeniable that he has embraced the deep sea predator for which he is has been named. Armed with razor-sharp teeth and gills, as well as a terrifyingly predatory nature, he is now more shark than man in both mind and body. It’s why he cannot stop hunting something after his keen senses have locked onto it and why he needs a special suit to remain on land.

TOAD

This wart-covered mutant, first appearing in “X-Men” #4 (written by Stan Lee with artwork by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman), was undeniably one of the more primitive-seeming mutants, at least, at first. While in earlier comics he appears to just be a lackey for the Brotherhood, we’ve come to know him as being far more complex than his simple name implies. Beyond his elongated amphibian tongue and abilities, his creature-like stance and mannerisms, Mortimer Toynbe is actually just a mutant trying to be more than what he’s perceived.

Maybe he does it because, as he said before trying to kill Cyclops (to change the timeline), he doesn’t want to be a monster, or maybe he tried for the affections of those who might see him as more, like Wanda Maximoff or later, Husk. He’s not wild or even unpredictable. Mortimer is just trying to find happiness, and when you really get down to the man beneath the slime-secreting skin, there’s very little animal-like about him… well, other than his look, powers and codename.

JACKAL

Ladies and gentlemen, Miles Warren. Most people might remember that name because it belonged to the culprit who cloned Peter Parker, beginning the infamous “Amazing Spider-Man” Clone Saga of the mid-90s. Aside from being a genetic genius, Warren also became a mutated green jackal-like creature, reflecting the madness that sprouted within him. In the recent “Dead No More: Clone Conspiracy” story arc, he went so far as to resurrect Ben Reilly only to kill him and resurrect him once more, more than a dozen times. That sort of cruelty or devotion to science (depending on how you look at it) is not animalistic, it is unfortunately very human; a warped take on the scientific method.

Jackal was akin to his namesake animal only in the symbolic sense. He was cunning and lurked in the shadows, watching his schemes unfold with shining eyes and gleaming teeth. He was insane, sure, but he definitely was not animalistic on the inside; predatory, perhaps. He was barely animalistic on the outside just… really, really weird looking, and his motivations show that he’s far from being a simple animal at heart. He’s been involved in the rise and fall of criminal empires, tangled emotional trauma and has successfully executed contingency plans to avoid ever truly dying.

GRIZZLY

Maxwell Markham donned the Grizzly exoskeleton from Jackal, in order to get revenge on Jameson for writing an unflattering editorial on the former wrestler; an editorial that ruined Maxwell’s career. Aside from bearing the look of a gargantuan grizzly bear, the suit augmented Maxwell’s strength, allowing the wrestler to begin his career as a supervillain. He was constantly defeated by Spider-Man, even when working with other villains in the infamous Legion of Losers. That’s just about where his animalistic or generally wild qualities end.

Despite the savage look of his suit, Maxwell isn’t a particularly animalistic person. He’s gruff, not too bright and capable of unspeakable violence, but is he primitive and wild at heart? No. In fact, he’s even been seen trying to reform himself in “The Superior Foes of Spider-Man” #11, when he attended a Villains Anonymous meeting alongside Porcupine (Roger Gocking), Looter and others lesser known villains. He also recently made a switch to the side of the angels in the “Astonishing Ant-Man” series by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas.

SAURON

You’re probably thinking that this one just has to have lost his humanity. He’s a cold-blooded pteranodon-man well known in the Savage Land. It can’t get any wilder than that, can it? Surprisingly, Karl Lykos is more human than he appears or even acts sometimes, though he is evil in his pteranodon form, taking the name Sauron after the evil elven overlord of J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy novels. In his earlier stories, he was in constant conflict with his bestial side, going so far as to starve himself in isolation just to fight the urge to drain the life energy of others.

Though he usually retains his intelligence in his monstrous form, there have been instances when he lost all control and ability to think like a human being, as he did when Lykos and his alter-ego clashed on the astral plane following a psychic intervention by Phoenix. Lykos slowly returned later on, but that moment did highlight an important fact about Sauron. In his battle for control, Lykos just barely pulls through. Like the animals of the jungle (or of the Mesozoic era), it’s the hunger that drives him and that usually means danger for others.

LIZARD

Since his first appearance in “Amazing Spider-Man” #6, we’ve seen Curt Connors evolve (or devolve, depending on how you look at it) over the course of his long and arduous battle against his green, scaly alter-ego, the Lizard. It was never an easy battle for the brilliant scientist. His family has been placed in harm’s way multiple times and he’s lost friends because of his tendency to transform into the surprisingly manipulative Lizard persona. Not only does the Lizard embrace its predatory nature, it’s capable of appealing to the “reptilian part” of the human brain, compelling others to act like animals, too.

Thankfully for Connors, he was cured in part thanks to Otto Octavius, who freed Connor of the Lizard persona, though Connors was still trapped in the reptile body, which was revealed in “Amazing Spider-Man” #699 in one of Connors’ defining moments. Remembering all the death and destruction he’d caused as the Lizard, Connors resigned to his imprisonment even when presented with the opportunity for escape, declaring that he had nowhere to go and that he deserved his punishment. That one moment shows that even after all the mutations and madness, Connors is still a good man inside.

ROMULUS

For those who are familiar with this particular bestial baddie, you probably already know that Romulus is in no way human. Unlike the rest of the villains on this list, he is one example of what happens when an animal tries to emulate a man. He first appeared (completely) in “Wolverine” Vol 3 #50 as the shadowy figure manipulating Wolverine, Sabretooth. In later issues, we find out he’d also been manipulating Logan’s son, Daken. He’s a member of the Lupine, a species that Black Panther postulates quite possibly evolved from canines rather than apes. So far, Romulus’ every action has reflected that. He’s not after world domination, not really. He just wants to create a new breed of predator.

As wolves need an alpha to lead them, Romulus had been preparing Logan and Daken for a battle against each other to see which one could take his place at the top. You could argue that his motives are human in a very small way, but for the most part, it’s the kind of basic survival instinct you see in wolf packs. He might look almost human, but when it comes down to it, it’s just the skin the beast wears.

SWARM

In a freak accident involving killer bees, a Nazi scientist and “radioactivity,” Fritz Von Meyer’s consciousness was dispersed among a swarm of bees. Thus, Swarm was born, first appearing in “Champions” #14 (written by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne with artwork by Byrne, Mike Esposito and Glynis Wein). As you might imagine, Swarm is driven by one thing: to see the swarm thrive and therefore, humanity eradicated. It may still possess the consciousness of Fritz, but there’s nothing human about it (except for maybe his odd need for a cape… bees get cold too). It attacks seemingly at random, as it did when it attacked the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning in “Wolverine and the X-Men” #19, just like a pest.

As a collective of insects using Fritz’s expertise to ensure their own survival, it’d be difficult to argue that Swarm is anything more than a bunch of malicious insects now. They have completely engulfed his mind and therefore, while he can still be seen using technology (to wipe out all other technology), he’s now just a collection of animals.

WENDIGO

A Wendigo is the product of a curse created by the extradimensional being, Tanaraq. Any who consumes the flesh of another human being in the Canadian wilderness will turn into a ferocious, furry, sasquatch-like creature with strength enough to stand their own against the Hulk. Unfortunately for them, once a human has been turned into a Wendigo, there’s very little left of their former humanity.

Of course, while at least one Wendigo was shown to be capable of speech (albeit broken and simple), most others are generally dangerous and animalistic, generally unleashed as opposed to co-operated with. They’re more like the dogs you send to hunt rather than a partner you fight alongside (although some of you dog owners might argue otherwise). Wendigos are the perfect example of the form of a beast consuming the identity of the man who was once behind it. There are no clever schemes hatched from Wendigos, there aren’t even any complex emotional motivations, just raw animal instinct.

Who is your favorite animalistic Marvel malcontent? Let us know in the comments!

The post Beast Mode: Marvel’s 16 Most Bestial Baddies appeared first on CBR.com.

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[salarta]

Polaris fan theories!

My previous post on here was incredibly serious, for very good reason. But now, I want to make a post that’s not as serious.

Fan theories!

As a Lorna fan, I’ve both seen people raise theories about the character and come up with a few of my own theories. This is a post to raise those theories and discuss them.

Some of these theories may seem incredibly farfetched to the point where it would be absurd to believe them. When raising them, discussing them is not a sign of wanting to see them become canon, nor are they implying a need to refute them. This is purely discussion for discussion’s sake.

If you have other theories not listed here, feel free to reblog and write them up!

 Theory #1: Polaris cannot die

Lorna’s been around since 1968. In that entire time span, only alternate universe versions of her have ever died. The 616 universe Lorna has survived everything thrown at her to date.

She’s been mind controlled repeatedly. Had her jaw broken. Survived the Genoshan massacre. Got turned into Pestilence by Apocalypse. Got out of Hell while her allies died.

The Genosha and Pestilence portions of her history are the ones that stand out to me most of all for this theory. On Genosha, she was the only survivor within her area. As Pestilence, she was chosen by Apocalypse to be a plague bearer - what would be the point of turning her into one if she couldn’t survive being used as one? She ingested many viruses and diseases and showed the symptoms, but she was still able to get around.

There’s also her time in space. Vulcan’s people captured her and the rest of the Starjammers, and tortured her. At one point, she was able to resist drugging that should have easily knocked out someone of her height and weight. That implies a heightened resistance to chemicals. This would be part of how she wouldn’t be able to die.

Theory #2: Polaris is more susceptible to mind control because she has empathy

This is a brand new theory by me. In my series of posts on what Polaris could do with her powers, a couple of them note how her powers have the potential to be used much like those of a telepath.

Magneto’s resistance to mind control is typically offered by his helmet alone, but there have been moments where he’s resisted of his own accord. By contrast, Lorna has such a bad track record of getting mind-controlled that it’s become something to mock within her fandom.

What if Magneto’s stronger resistance is because his heart has been hardened due to all the horrors he’s seen in his life, and the firm belief that he can’t afford to feel? What if Lorna’s lack of resistance is because unlike her father, she’s actually willing to let people in and care about how they feel and what happens to them?

During the Austen era, when she was emotionally and philosophically closest to her father’s way of thinking she’s ever been in her character history, she was perhaps at her strongest in dealing with psychic matters. Perhaps this was because of her efforts to cut herself off emotionally.

Theory #3: Polaris has been mentally altered by Professor X to want to be with Havok

I know this will upset some people that actually like their relationship (which doesn’t include me). Remember, this is a theory, not canon.

When Lorna joined the X-Men, she was the most feminist character of the lot. But, as things changed over time, she suddenly became more of the sheepish domestic type.

Here’s the theory: in the beginning, Professor X perhaps wanted Lorna to be with Havok as insurance that she wouldn’t turn out the same way as her father Magneto. As such, he violated her mind to build an artificial connection between them. When they nearly died as a result of Krakoa, then perhaps Professor X used his powers to convince Lorna and Havok to quit the X-Men for the much safer civilian life - wanting to get them out of harm’s way.

Theory #4: Polaris’ power level affects her emotions

This is one I picked up from jmc247 on CBR a long time ago. Essentially, the idea is that Lorna’s emotions and behavior change depending on how powered she is at any given time. If she’s in low power mode, she acts overly sensitive, depressed, closed off, etc. If she’s in high power mode, she can be strong-willed, cocky, excited and excitable, all the way up to vicious.

Theory #5: Polaris’ ‘weaker’ and more ‘pathetic’ moments are a ruse

Lorna has some pretty terribly written/treated moments in her character history. There are things like her running away from Sabretooth and crying for Havok to save her, for instance.

But what if that’s all an act? What if any time she’s acted that way, it was only for the benefit of people around her, or to make sure people don’t think she’s an evil she-beast? Running away and crying for Havok to save her would stroke his ego, and if Sabretooth really posed a threat, she could unleash her power.

There are two things I can use to back this theory. First of all, possession by Malice. Up to now, that’s been a pretty bad part of her history, because the good parts have been chalked up to Malice’s “strength” while the bad ones have been treated like a sign of how “weak and pathetic” Lorna is.

But what if it’s actually the inverse? The storyline itself suggested Lorna was chosen by Malice because they’re such a good fit. Maybe the dark powerful moments were Malice managing to fully tap into Lorna’s dark side, a side she didn’t want people to see. Maybe the weaker moments were when Malice failed to fully connect to who Lorna is, therefore preventing Malice from tapping into her full power.

Similarly, her time in the Starjammers had her with two very different depictions depending on who she was with toward the end. In scenes with Havok, she acted sad and depressed any time he did. Yet when she was away from Havok and around Crystal, she acted upbeat, playful, helpful, and sometimes trollish.

This doesn’t cover every character moment where she’s down in the dumps, of course. It wouldn’t cover X-Factor #260 for example. But it might cover the glaringly bad moments.

Theory #6: Polaris had her powers since they first manifested, she just had a mental block

We learned in X-Factor #243 that Lorna had her powers since she was a toddler, when she caused the plane crash that killed her mom and stepfather. This crash also changed her hair color. Magneto found her, and had her memory wiped for her protection.

But wait. How would that suppress her powers as well? And she still has her green hair - which only showed up because of her powers.

Here’s a thought. Lorna shows up in X-Men #49. She reveals in the issue that her hair is naturally green, she just dyes it brown to avoid people noticing her.

Nevermind the prospect of her foster parents taking part in the cover-up. Why wouldn’t Lorna have immediately suspected her hair color could be a sign that she was something more? Even without knowing about the existence of mutants, which she would have by X-Men #49, it makes no sense that she wouldn’t wonder why she had a fluke natural hair color when nobody else in the world had that same issue.

In this theory, Lorna’s powers weren’t “reactivated” in X-Men #49. She was just made aware of the fact she had them, and how to consciously use them.

This opens the door to a lot of teenage life story possibilities, by the way. What if she had a bit of a Carrie moment when in a blind rage, but the nature of the mind wipe when she was a toddler meant her knowledge of the moment got instantly wiped out when she returned to normal? What if “strange things” kept happening around her because it was her powers randomly setting off? I mean, just imagine her investigating a supposed poltergeist in her teens that turns out to be her powers acting up.

That’s all I’ve got for now!