Marvel Comics 2

For the physics equation E = mc², see mass–energy equivalence. For the French software company MC2, see MC2 France.

MC2 (Marvel Comics 2) is an imprint from Marvel Comics whose comic books depict an alternative future timeline for the Marvel Universe. The imprint was created out of the events of What If? #105, which was the first appearance of the character Spider-Girl, Spider-Man's daughter from an alternative future.

Publication history

The MC2 Universe was conceived by writer/editor Tom DeFalco as a possible alternate future for the Marvel Universe, which is set in the present day, with the first appearances of most Marvel heroes having taken place fifteen years earlier than in main continuity. The goal of the line was to produce comic books that were more accessible to a wider audience than Marvel’s main line of books and weren't entrenched in years of continuity, which was later repeated with the Ultimate Marvel imprint.

Three MC2 titles were launched in October 1998 as twelve issue maxiseries:^[1]

• Spider-Girl, starring the daughter of Spider-Man.
• A-Next, featuring a new team of Avengers who come together after the original Avengers disbanded.
• J2, starring the Juggernaut's son, a heroic teenager.

A-Next and J2 ended after twelve issues and were replaced by:

• Fantastic Five, featuring the expanded Fantastic Four.
• Wild Thing, starring Wolverine and Elektra's daughter.

Spider-Girl meanwhile continued publication. However, with the collapse of a deal to sell the comics in Kmart and Target both Fantastic Five and Wild Thing were cancelled after five issues, leaving Spider-Girl as the only title in the MC2 Universe still published.^[1][2] A few spin-off limited series were launched during the time Spider-Girl was published, such as DarkDevil and Spider-Girl Presents The Buzz.

The Spider-Girl title fell towards the brink of cancellation several times due to low sales. Campaigns by Tom DeFalco and fans of the title led to Marvel giving the title a reprieve several times. Several fans even created a webpage, [1], to help drum up support for the book and prevent it from being canceled. In an effort to boost sales on the title, Marvel reprinted Spider-Girl in small "Digest-sized" trade paperbacks.

A five-issue limited series set in the MC2 Universe titled Last Hero Standing was printed, with the aim to reprint it in trade paperback form as soon as possible and reprint other titles in the MC2 line as trade paperbacks as well.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, Marvel released another limited series set in the MC2 Universe titled Last Planet Standing. The series was intended to wrap up all the loose ends in the MC2 Universe and destroy it at the series' conclusion. As a result, Spider-Girl was slated to be cancelled at issue 100, where the character would die.^[3] Due to backlash from DeFalco and fans, Marvel quashed the move and announced the relaunching of Spider-Girl under the title of Amazing Spider-Girl.^[4]

A prequel strip, "Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man" launched in the pages of Spider-Man Family. DeFalco confirmed on the official Spider-Girl boards that this strip would serve as the definitive continuity of the MC2 Spider-Man timeline.

American Dream has appeared in both her own 2008 limited series and the 2011 five-issue limited series Captain America Corps, marking the first time an MC2 character has met or teamed up with characters from the mainstream Marvel universe.

MC2's version of Thunderbolts

While the majority of the Thunderbolts have yet to appear in the MC2 Universe, Jolt appeared as an Avenger before the current team assembled in A-Next #1.

Spider-Girl introduces a government team for reformed villains, similar to the Thunderbolts, consisting of:

• Big Man (son of Henry Pym and the Wasp). Former member of the Revengers.
• Kaine (clone of Spider-Man).
• Normie Osborn (grandson of the Green Goblin). Host of the Venom symbiote.
• Quickwire
• Raptor (daughter of the second Vulture).

As of Amazing Spider-Girl #9, the team consists of Killerwatt (in a new costume), Mr. Abnormal, Kaine, and Earthshaker.

New Warriors (MC2)

In the alternate time line known as MC2, Spider-Girl reforms the New Warriors^[5] and fights with them. However, when Spider-Girl makes a truce with supervillains Funny Face and Angel Face, the team shuns her.

The new roster includes the Buzz, Raptor, Darkdevil, the Golden Goblin and the twin crime fighters sharing the identity of Ladyhawk. The team receives support from Normie Osborn, including unlisted cell phones.

List of known major differences between Earth-982 and Earth-616

Several events that occurred in the mainstream Marvel Universe are known to have still occurred in the MC2 Universe. This portion of the article is dedicated to listing the known major differences between both universes.

• Cassandra Lang is a member of the new Avengers under the alias of Stinger and does not possess the growth powers of her Earth-616 counterpart.
• Jessica Drew never regained her powers, she is not queen of the Skrulls and Secret Invasion never happened. However, it is hinted within the pages of A-Next #2 that Mainframe mentioned there was a Skrull invasion in this universe's past.
• May Parker was returned to Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker by Kaine, later becoming Spider-Girl.
• During the Gathering of Five Storyline, Green Goblin died in his final battle with Spider-Man and Spider-Man lost a leg. For a while he attempted to continue his crime fighting career with a prosthetic but gave it up shortly thereafter. This means most of Spider-Man's career post Gathering of Five never happened.#
• Harry Osborn's death in Spectacular Spider-Man #200 remains valid in MC2 continuity, where as his 616 counterpart was revived successfully by his father Norman and kept in hiding across Europe until he resurfaced during the Brand New Day storyline. As a result, Normie Osborn grows up without his father, gradually growing insane and resenting Peter Parker.
• The death of Kraven the Hunter remains valid in MC2. As a result of this, the events of Grim Hunt have not come to pass, and thus Kaine is not dragged into it's events.
• Scott Lang is alive and returned to active duty as Ant-Man after a period of retirement.
• The Avengers disbanded after a battle with their evil counterparts on an alternate Earth, resulting in the deaths of several Avengers, (including Henry Pym), and the events of Avengers Disassembled never occurred as a result.
  • Additionally, the events of all subsequent Earth-616 crossovers never occurred. This applies to any and all future crossovers unless stated otherwise.
• The death of Aunt May as shown in The Amazing Spider-Man #400 remains valid in MC2 continuity, whereas her Earth-616 counterpart was revealed to be alive in The Spectacular Spider-Man #263, with a genetic clone dying in her place. This was confirmed in the letters page of Spider-Girl #48. Therefore, since Aunt May had already died, and since the Superhuman Registration Act never existed on Earth-982, Spider-Man never publicly revealed his identity, the events of One More Day never occurred and therefore contribute to Spider-Girl's existence.
• Thor never destroyed Asgard and is ruling the realm much as his father Odin did in the past, although Asgard was eventually restored in the 616 universe.
• Wonder Man's death in Force Works #1 remains valid in MC2 continuity.^[6] Constructs of him battled the current Avengers in A-Next #8 while protecting the Scarlet Witch, who was in a coma at the time.
• Captain America was killed in battle by Loki instead of being assassinated by Crossbones and Sharon Carter, his life energies are converted into a star. Where as Captain America was eventually discovered to have been displaced in time and space by the bullet which "killed him" in the 616 continuity, Captain America remains dead within the MC2 universe
• Speedball did not become Penance.
• The events of the Civil War have not come to pass in general, mainly due the disbanding of the original New Warriors and the original Avengers, as well as Iron Man's retirement and Captain America remaining in an alternate reality.
• Hulk was never sent to Sakaar and the events of Planet Hulk or World War Hulk never happened making Skaar non-existent. However, it is shown within A-Next #3 that the Hulk did gain a son named David by an unknown spouse.
• Reed and Sue Richards daughter is not conceived in this continuity, leaving Franklyn to grow up as an only child
• Mattie Franklin became Spider-Woman through unknown means due to Peter interrupting the Gathering of Five. She was briefly mentioned within the pages of Spider-Girl.

Comments on style

DeFalco explained in an interview his views on the MC2 imprint:^[7]

THE PULSE: "A lot of people characterize the MC2 universe as having an "old school" feel. Why do you think "modern" comic readers want to read something that feels like the best of the Silver Age?"

DEFALCO: "We are “old school” because A) our heroes act like heroes…B) we don’t believe in decompression…C) we tell single issue stories with subplots that build from issue to issue… and D) there’s a lot of action and angst in every issue."

Bibliography

Single issues

• What If (volume 2) #105 (Marvel Comics, February 1998)
• Spider-Girl #0–100, (Marvel Comics, October 1998 – July 2006)
  • Spider-Girl #½ (Marvel Comics/Wizard Entertainment, 1999)
  • Spider-Girl Annual 1999 (Marvel Comics, 1999)
• A-Next #1–12 (Marvel Comics, October 1998 – September 1999)
• J2 #1–12 (Marvel Comics, October 1998 – September 1999)
• Fantastic Five (volume 1) #1–5 (Marvel Comics, October 1999 – February 2000)
• Wild Thing #1–5 (Marvel Comics, October 1999 – February 2000)
  • Wild Thing #0 (Marvel Comics/Wizard Entertainment, 1999)
• Spider-Girl presents The Buzz #1–3 (Marvel Comics, July 2000 – September 2000)
• DarkDevil #1–3 (Marvel Comics, November 2000 – January 2001)
• Last Hero Standing #1–5 (Marvel Comics, June 2005)
• Last Planet Standing #1–5 (Marvel Comics, July 2006)
• Amazing Spider-Girl #0–30 (Marvel Comics, October 2006 – March 2009)
• Avengers Next #1–5 (Marvel Comics, November 2006 – January 2007)
• Fantastic Five (volume 2) #1–5 (Marvel Comics, July 2007 – September 2007)
• American Dream #1–5 (Marvel Comics, May 2008 – July 2008)
• Spectacular Spider-Girl #1–4 (Marvel Comics, May 2010 – August 2010)
• Spider-girl: The End One shot (Marvel Comics, September 2010)
• Captain America Corps #1-5 (Marvel Comics, June 2011)

Reprints

Trade paperbacks

• Spider-Girl (Marvel Comics, August 2001; ISBN 0-7851-0815-7, reprints Spider-Girl #0–8)
• Last Hero Standing (Marvel Comics, October 2005; ISBN 0-7851-1823-3, reprints Last Hero Standing #1–5)
• Last Planet Standing (Marvel Comics, October 2006; ISBN , reprints Last Planet Standing #1–5)
• Amazing Spider-Girl Vol. 1: Whatever Happened to the Daughter of Spider-Man (Marvel Comics, May 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2341-5, reprints Amazing Spider-Girl #0–6)
• Amazing Spider-Girl Vol. 2: Comes the Carnage! (Marvel Comics, November 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2342-3, reprints Amazing Spider-Girl #7–12)
• Amazing Spider-Girl Vol. 3: Mind Games (Marvel Comics, May 2008, ISBN 0-7851-2558-2, reprints Amazing Spider-Girl #13–18)
• Avengers Next: Rebirth (Marvel Comics, June 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2518-3 , reprints Avengers Next #1–5)
• Fantastic Five: The Final Doom (Marvel Comics, January 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2792-5, reprints Fantastic Five vol. 2 #1–5)
• American Dream: Beyond Courage (Marvel Comics, 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3184-7, reprints American Dream #1-5)

Digests

• Spider-Girl Vol. 1: Legacy (Marvel Comics, April 2004; ISBN 0-7851-1441-6, reprints Spider-Girl #0–5)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 2: Like Father Like Daughter (Marvel Comics, December 2004; ISBN 0-7851-1657-5, reprints Spider-Girl #6–11)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 3: Avenging Allies (Marvel Comics, April 2005; ISBN 0-7851-1658-3, reprints Spider-Girl #12–16 and Spider-Girl Annual 1999)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 4: Turning Point (Marvel Comics, September 2005; ISBN 0-7851-1871-3, reprints Spider-Girl #17–21 and #½)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 5: Endgame (Marvel Comics, January 2006; ISBN 0-7851-2034-3, reprints Spider-Girl #22–27)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 6: Too Many Spiders! (Marvel Comics, June 2006; ISBN 0-7851-2156-0, reprints Spider-Girl #28–33)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 7: Betrayed (Marvel Comics, October 2006; ISBN 0-7851-2157-9, reprints Spider-Girl #34–38, 51)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 8: Duty Calls (Marvel Comics, October 2007; ISBN 0-7851-2495-0, reprints Spider-Girl #39–44)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 9: Secret Lives (Marvel Comics, April 2007; ISBN 978-0-7851-2602-7, reprints Spider-Girl #45–50)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 10: Season of the Serpent (Marvel Comics, 2009; ISBN 978-0-7851-3213-4, reprints Spider-Girl #52-59)
• Spider-Girl Vol. 11: Marked for Death (Marvel Comics, 2009; ISBN 978-0-7851-3471-2, reprints Spider-Girl #60-66)
• Spider-Girl Presents A-Next Vol. 1: Second Coming (Marvel Comics, August 2006; ISBN 0-7851-2131-5, reprints A-Next #1–6)
• Spider-Girl Presents Fantastic Five Vol. 1: In Search of Doom (Marvel Comics, September 2006, ISBN 0-7851-2132-3, reprints Fantastic Five #1–5)
• Spider-Girl Presents Juggernaut Jr. Vol. 1: Secrets and Lies (Marvel Comics, March 2006; ISBN 0-7851-2047-5, reprints J2 #1–6)
• Spider-Girl Presents The Buzz and DarkDevil (Marvel Comics, September 2007; ISBN 0-7851-2601-5, reprints The Buzz #1–3 and DarkDevil #1–3)
• Spider-Girl Presents Wild Thing: Crash Course (Marvel Comics, December 2007; ISBN 0-7851-2606-6, reprints Wild Thing #1–5)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Interview with Tom DeFalco on the MC2 Imprint at ComicBoards.com
2. ^ Comicboards.com: The inside track... (Tom DeFalco discussing why Fantastic Five and Wild Thing were cancelled)
3. ^ Newsarama.com: SPIDER-GIRL/LAST PLANET STANDING PRESS CONFERENCE
4. ^ Newsarama.com: SPIDER-GIRL RETURNS IN AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
5. ^ Spider-Girl #30, March 2001
6. ^ Comicboards.com: Some answers from Tom D
7. ^ Comicboards.com: Tom D/Avengers Next interview in the Pulse