You know, for "Evil Week" entries, thus far, I've tackled some iconic characters. Even with the rotating nature of the Masters of Evil... DISCOUNTING Egghead... you had at the very minimal level B-List characters. Villains that may not justify their own limited series, BUT they are readily identifiable, and can be perceived as legit threats. How do I balance that out with my tradition of the weekly ridiculous fix that Friday offers? Then it occurred to me; I had to think out of the box, BUT return to a familiar well. I had to select some examples of villainy that most people are NOT aware of, but they aren't the usual cast of "Morts" that come up for goofy villains. And when I need an easy fix for the ridiculous, who else can I turn to BUT the creations of Rob Liefeld, and the Extreme Studios branch of Image Comics? So sit back, strap on those pointless bicep and thigh bands, attach 50 pouches to your clothing, and see if you can handle the EXTREME evils of today!
The Four: They were present from the very beginning, being featured in "Youngblood #1", and they DID appear infrequently throughout Youngblood's history. So I GUESS you could say they were the arch enemies of the Youngblood team? Now Deadlock I've talked about on a "Wolverine Riff" entry of FFF, but just who else was part of the core of the team?
- Strongarm: See the dude with the huge physique, and choice of a chest strap over an actual shirt? Hello, Strongarm! Obviously, he just fills out the role of the team "bruiser"
- Gage: How about the tiny guy with the hood, jetpack, and random red face paint? No, he's not in line to be a "mini" member of the "Legion of Doom" tag team. He's Gage... and I'm GUESSING his power was mainly being a weapons guy? I can only guess, because he did SO VERY LITTLE in my time of reading "Youngblood".
- Starlight: Now this lovely lady does NOT skimp on the shoulder armor! Three layers of plating, and what looks like shoulder-blade exhaust ports! TRES CHIQUE! ... But don't ask me what her abilities are, because damned if I know.
There were two latter editions of the team in their history with Youngblood, including one female villain that basically was very acrobatic and had a literal V-shaped mask with Lex Luthor colors, and a former Youngblood member in Brahma... because having ONE strong musclehead on your team was not NEARLY enough!
Darkse... I mean, Darkthorne: Lord Darkthorne first appeared in "Youngblood #4", when we finally saw the Home and Away teams converge in Germany, in the wake of John Prophet being activated, along with an android army called the Disciples. It turns out that Lord Darkthorne was in CHARGE of the Disciples, who were developed by a terrestrial organization. Now, it's not enough that he bears a... slight... resemblance to the Apokoliptian overlord, but he arrives on Earth in... let's call it a "Blast Tube" to avoid legal action by DC. Still, he DOES get credit, along with The Four, for putting in multiple tours of duty in the Extreme universe. After the initial "Youngblood" mini-series wrapped up, we did see Darkthorne put in some appearances in "Prophet" and a "Berzerkers" mini-series, before being granted a multi-title crossover called "Supreme Apocalypse", where Darkthorne leads a massive invasion of Earth. ... And I NEVER thought I would say this, but I could almost suspect DC having ripped off THAT story for the introductory "New 52" "Justice League" story arc. As for abilities, I know Darkthorne had enhanced strength, and Liefeld had enough tact to not include "Omega Beams" as a power. Instead, hand blasts will operate just fine!
Giger: Not to be confused with the deceased Swedish artist that helped create "The Alien", this baddie had a duo of three-issue arcs in both "Youngblood Strikefile" and "Team Youngblood". He also was part of the origins of a character called Dutch by means of a rogue cyborg terrorist group called Cybernet. So... Obviously being the LEADER of such a group, he would be a cyborg by nature. The "Strikefile" story was mainly a semi origin/background story for Chapel, but the "Team Youngblood" tale dealt with Giger and his Cybernet goons taking control of a satellite station, and threatening destruction on Earth. And abilities boil down to this: power blasts, control over machines, and the knack to produce random robo-tentacles for battle sequences out of NOWHERE. (This dude seems almost custom BUILT for Hentai productions.)
Psi-Fire: Lemme tell you the ballad of Psi-Fire... First he started off as a man, and in the first issue of "Youngblood", was a member of the Away Team participating in an invasion of "Iraq", where he uses his psychic powers to blow up "Saddam Hussein's" head. (Quotation marks are being used because those EXACT names aren't used in the story, but they're THINLY disguised interpretations of reality-based figures.) He was STILL a man, and very much active, at the end of that initial "Youngblood" mini-series. Sure, he had a power dampener set on him, because Psi-Fire went outside the boundaries of his duties with his act of murder, but he was still floating and flying around with his psychic powers. Cue the relaunch of the "Youngblood" brand in 1995, and the male Psi-Fire is in a coma. Why? Dunno. But this peeves the man off BIG-TIME. And when Quantum makes his prison break for the "Extreme Prejudice" storyline, the dampeners on Psi-Fire's storage fail, and he uses his power to possess a female guard of the facility where he's imprisoned. We then get a "Team Youngblood" issue with Psi-Fire taking his revenge on the team, and is promptly subdued, and placed in another coma-status, with JUST the hint that he/she may return... Yeah... That TOTALLY happens. (Spoiler: IT DOES NOT.)
Sabreto... I Mean, Warwolf: There's no excuse for this character. None. He is REALLY just a slight costume change for Sabretooth. I mean, the character didn't even TRY and hide his rip-off roots! The most this copyright infringement achieved was involvement in the "Extreme Sacrifice" crossover, where if my dim memories are correct, he died in the midst of. And if he didn't die in the pages of the crossover, then he essentially died in connection to Extreme Studios continuity, because he did NOTHING after his brief brush with 1996 life.
Khrome: We take a brief shift away from Youngblood-based characters to talk about two threats to Supreme's comic book existence. The first three issues of his title were consisting of battles against Youngblood, a team created within his own book called Heavy Mettle, and Bloodstrike. But issues four to six brought him face-to-face with a threat Supreme encountered during his self-exile in outer space between World War Two and "current times", Khrome. I really can't say he was anything more special than an insanely powerful brawler for a basic power set, BUT he did also use technology to his benefit. And he's one of the VERY rare examples of an Extreme Studios villain receiving a definitive end... because the book wasn't cancelled before the villain could make a return visit. After trashing a city with a battle against the VERY egotistical Supreme... who I should write a blog entry about in due time... their conflict leads to a nuclear reactor that undergoes an internal explosion. Supreme escapes. Khrome... doesn't. But he does manage to scrape his mangled form to Supreme for one final, fatal, whollop. (And to paint an image for you of Khrome's final status, basically take as many butcher shop remnants as you can find, assemble them around a wire frame roughly seven feet tall, and humanoid in form, and you have cold-cut Khrome!)
Thor: No mistake in this entry: this IS the Norse God Thor. Thankfully, comic companies cannot copyright mythological figures, but you have to admit this take on Thor bore SOME semblance to his Marvel comics compatriot. (At least Neil Gaiman decided to tweak his Thor in "Sandman" to the point where you COULDN'T cross the streams.) The existence of Thor in the Extreme Studios universe was hinged on his quest to destroy Hitler. Boy, wouldn't Adolph be saddened by a Teutonic ideal seeking HIS demise! I KNOW Thor appeared in latter issues of "Supreme", but the most I read of the character involved an initial skirmish, where neither side of the conflict came out on top, and a rematch where Thor was beaten to the point where Supreme had possession of his hammer. All that "worthiness" claptrap Stan Lee connected to Mjolnir? Forget about it! Rob Liefeld says you just need to beat the tar out of Thor to gain possession of the hammer!
Crypt: We end this list with maybe the most influential villain in Extreme Studio's history. His involvement was centered around the second Extreme event series, "Extreme Sacrifice", but he had a LOT more lead-in appearances around the event than Quantum received for "Extreme Prejudice". Lemme see... First appearance in "Prophet #7", appearances in basically every issue of "Prophet" until that first series' conclusion, a "Youngblood Strikefile" story, a crossover involving "Bloodstrike", and aforementioned event. Crypt's history can best be exemplified with a bullet point summary:
- John Prophet had a clone made of him by nasty industrialist, Phillip Omen.
- Darkthorne wanted the clone... and I BELIEVE he was granted the permission.
- Time travel craziness ensues, where in a far distant future, the Prophet clone goes well down the path of darkness.
- Chapel of Youngblood, after committing suicide, becomes Lord of Hell, and recruits Crypt as his personal assassin.
During the events of "Extreme Sacrifice", Crypt manages to rack up an impressive body count of Extreme Studios characters. I know he offs most of the then-current Brigade line-up, a secondary Sentinel member of Team Youngblood, and Prophet's companion, Kirby. In a climatic showdown, before the Extreme Studios heroes square off against Chapel... and indirectly, Satan, Prophet and Crypt wage utter war. One crazy highlight of this sequence is that Prophet produces a FRIGGIN LIGHTSABER for the fight! After Prophet learns the shocking secret of Chapel, and wonders if maybe this is a future destiny he must confront down the line, he does take that split second to relieve Crypt of his head's attachment to his body.
In the history of Extreme Studios, it's hard to believe ANY villains achieved any sense of fame or influence with comics history. ... And you may well be right sticking to that statement. But I thought I would make mention of the villainous encounters I had during my times of regularly following the Extreme Studios titles. Tomorrow, in our last day of Evil Week, we have a truly classic legacy of wickedness to discuss. Flash on that fact for another day! (Subtle tease, if you can read between the lines...)
No comments:
Post a Comment