the Avengers International, 1987

This is what the initial lineup of the post-Detroit, "bwah-hah-hah" version of the Avengers would be…

Captain America
Silver Surfer
Mockingbird
Dr. Strange
Spider-man
Guardsman
Quasar
Starfox
Pulsar/Captain Marvel
joined later by:
Longshot
Wonder Man
Firebird

Women in Refrigerators, Part II

Batgirl/Oracle - Hellcat

Imagine if Betty Cooper, Archie Andrew’s heartthrob, was re-imagined as a full-fledged super heroine. That’s what befell Patsy Walker, a character published continuously in various teen romance titles by Timely/Marvel from 1944 to 1967, which is more than we can say for Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch.

Walker was said to have becomes disenchanted with her marriage to longtime boyfriend Robert Buzz Baxter: she became Hellcat, and of course Baxter goes nuts and is eventually transformed into the super villain Mad Dog. It’s as if Jughead turned into the Punisher. Hellcat was an appealing character in the Defenders in the 1970s and ‘80s, but unsurprisingly was shown to have lost her mind after marrying the Son of Satan and then to have been consigned to eternal damnation. Which of course didn’t last —she’s running around the land of the living again.

Barbara Gordon is a much more substantial character. She was created in the DCU to line up the with the Yvonne Craig character Batgirl in the 1960s Batman tv program: she is therefore known to a greater amount of non-fanboys than, say, Black Canary. Gordon was a fixture of the DCU in the 1970s and early ‘80s.

But in the 1980s, perhaps Batgirl was increasingly viewed as a relic. So Alan Moore’s Killing Joke story depicted Gordon being shot in the stomach by the Joker, so as to break the spirit of her father, Commissioner Gordon. The story was not intended as canon, but her brutal incapacitation stuck, and it remains the most vivid example of the Women in Refrigerators syndrome: the debate regarding this turn of events rages on to this day.

But writers Kim Yale and John Ostrander resolved to have Gordon turn lemons into lemonade; she has since become Oracle, the DCU’s premiere information broker. I suppose that’s a good outcome, but the tendency among comic book writers to mutilate female characters remains troubling.

Commonalities:
Redhead teenage characters turned crimefighters turned survivors of horrific calamities.

Differences:
Walker is not a super-genius, and has bounced back from a dreadful setback. Gordon has not, but is shown to have risen above ghastly circumstances to a preeminent position in her respective diaspora.

Alternate histories:

BG/OR: Barbara Gordon becomes dissatisfied with her conventional marriage; she encounters the Elongated Man, and dons a quasi-mystically uniform that enhances her already impressive athleticism. Taking the codename Batgirl, Gordon assists the Justice League on a number of missions before joining the Outsiders for a extended term. She marries noted demonspawn John Constantine, Hellblazer, and is eventually driven insane and is subsequently trapped in “Hell.” Gordon has recently returned to the realm of the living and has taken up the guise of Batgirl again.

HC: Patsy Walker is inspired by Captain America to hone her mental and physical abilities to peak conditions: she assumes the codename Hellcat, and assists the Captain and many other superhuman operatives. But Walker was crippled via an encounter with the Green Goblin, and has since become the preeminent information broker in the superhuman community. She also coordinates the Daughters of the Dragon network.

The Avengers Unlimited

Here's how the lineup from 2001-2004 season of the Bruce Timm's Justice League program —in my view the best superhero tv program ever made— would look with the shoe on the other foot.

Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Iron Man (James Rhodes)
Iceman
Silver Surfer
Ms. Marvel (Una, a Kree warrior on Earth)

assisted in some episodes by Sub-Mariner, Ghost Rider, Sandman, the Eternals, Dr. Strange

The disco mutant and the supermodel telepath

Looker- Dazzler

Why am I not surprised that, when Marvel was to collaborate on a character with Casablanca Records in 1979, the result involved a musical genre that was already then (and unjustly) considered a national joke? Marvel should have positioned Dazzler as a new wave singer, huh?

As for Looker, she was the creation of Mike W. Barr, a writer most fanboys underrate. Looker was a mousy young librarian with a husband who loved her: as soon as she transformed into a hawt piece of ass, the husband was outta there. This led to Barr making lots of obvious but still useful points regarding how “beauty is only skin deep.”

Commonalities:
Good looking broads, involved in glamourous day jobs: i.e. the kind of woman comic creators and fanboys generally will never get within 100 miles of.

Differences:
Looker has the full complement of psionic abilities: telepathy, telekinesis, etc etc. Dazzler can turn sound into light, which apparently comic creators were able to turn into a useful offense.

Alternate histories:

LO: Emily “Lia” Briggs is an aspiring model who discovers latent psionic abilities in her late teens; taking the alias Looker, she at first assists the Teen Titans, but declines membership in favor of her career. She nonetheless finds herself dragged into superhuman affairs at the expense of her modeling career; Looker eventually joins the Titans, where she meets and marries Booster Gold, with whom she travels to his native future timeline. She recently has returned to the Titans.

DA: Alison Blaire discovers a latent ability to transfer sound into light, and additionally transforms from a “mousy” appearance into an conventionally attractive aspect. As Dazzler, she joins Captain America’s Defenders, but later becomes a vampire. Her current exploits suggest that she is foregoing the traditionally nefarious tendencies common to vampires and continues to act as a force for good.

Pretty teenagers? Or abstract cosmic entities?

Halo - Cloud

Many weirdos on the innuhnet will admit to being turned on by comic book characters. While I am pleased to report that this has never been true of me, I will admit that, as a 15 year-old, the prospect of a female character having a crush on another female character (in this case, noted bald bitch Moondragon) was…intriguing. The second character cited above was represented as a teenager with storm clouds covering her naughty bits.

Then it was revealed that Cloud was a sentient nebula that could also take a male form …ahh, ‘80s comics!

Cloud is far, far more obscure these days than Halo, an appealing and similarly conceived character who makes the rounds of the DCU very occasionally. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cloud was brought back one of these days.

Commonalities:
Both are extraterrestrial beings take the form of teenage girls.

Differences:
Cloud shoots lightning and otherwise turn into a…cloud! Halo emanates various energy effects, based on colors of the spectrum.

Alternate histories:

HA: An energy being known as an “aurakle” takes the form of teenager Violet Harper; now known as Halo, the being learns about humanity while joining a shortlived incarnation of the superhuman organization the Outsiders, alongside Elongated Man, Kid Flash and a few others. She eventually returns to space.

CL: A sentient nebula inhabits the recently deceased body of teenager Carol Faber. The being does not remember its former state, and encounters Captain America, Colleen Wing and other superhumans; assuming the name Cloud, she joins the above-referenced in forming the Defenders and learns about humanity under the tutelage of Wing.

"Ha ha" said the clown…"Hee Hee" says Gobby

Joker- Green Goblin

Legend has it that Steve Ditko, Spider-Man’s co-creator, intended that the true identity of the Green Goblin would have been a completely anonymous individual —this apparently is not true, as Ditko has said that he would have preferred that it be a Daily Bugle employee.

If the former scenario became status quo, the character would have even more resembled that of the Joker, a character whose origins are best left completely to the reader’s imagination. A compelling back-story appeared in Alan Moore’s Killing Joke, although presented with the caveat that the Joker couldn’t himself tell whether it was true.

As it is, the Goblin was shown to be Norman Osborn, the father of Peter Parker’s pal Harry: this reveal was Stan Lee’s preference and thus apparently the reason Ditko left the series and Marvel in 1966. Osborn most notoriously killed Gwen Stacy and thus ended the Silver Age of Comics. The character was killed off shortly thereafter, only to be revived in the 1990s. Recently, he’s been said to have fathered twins with the girl he would later kill and then to have been a government operative, two remarkably ridiculous plot devices that I can’t believe any truly professional editor would countenance.

Commonalities:
Both are murderous jackanapes, and each are central to their opponent’s mythos.

Differences:
The Goblin is super strong and bears a personal connection to Spider-Man, whereas the Joker is a pure psychopath and the id gone berserk; his personal history is irrelevant w/r/t a desire to inculcate chaos.

Alternate histories:

JO: Jack Napier, a driven and unscrupulous engineer and businessman, discovers an experimental formula developed by an employee. He recreates the serum, which explodes and quickly enhances his strength and exacerbates his antisocial tendencies. He takes on the identity of the Joker and develops a number of practical joke-themed devices to further his schemes. When he attempts to take over organized crime in his town, he is opposed by the Blue Beetle. But the Joker is defeated by the Beetle numerous times, which culminates in the murder of the Beetle’s girlfriend and his own seeming death. It has been revealed recently —and stupidly!— that the Joker survived and has been tormenting the Beetle from afar and now —also stupidly!— works for the U.S. government.

GG: The criminal lunatic known as the Green Goblin has alluded to conflicting identities and origins, but none have ever been confirmed. What is known is that the individual was deformed in an accident, leaving his skin green and his mind utterly unhinged. The Goblin has in particular bedeviled Captain America, with whom he is obsessed, for years, has murdered hundreds, and is feared by others in the criminal fraternity. He is not motivated by illicit gain and power as much as he is to create total and enduring mayhem.

Slice and dice

Katana- Colleen Wing

So obvious that ain’t no comment necessary.

Commonalities:
Ladies! Swords! From the same country!

Differences:
Only that Tatsu is full blooded Japanese, and Wing’s pop was an American white fella.

Alternate histories:

KA: Tatsu Yamauchi is raised in Japan and grows up learning the ways of the samurai. She emigrates to America and partners with policewoman Karen Beecher; the two establish a private investigation firm and often ally with the superhuman operatives Steel and Thunderbolt.

CW: Colleen Wing is raised in Japan; she avenges her husband‘s murder by his brother and then trains in the ways of the samurai. She leaves Japan, encounters Captain America and joins his newly constituted Defenders with the Falcon, Sandman and two other operatives, with whom Wing has served sporadically.

The Greatest (Worst?) Nazi in Funny Books, and Naja-Naja

Kobra- Red Skull

This pairing demonstrates considerable dissonance, in that there is no key, defining Nazi supervillain in the DC universe.

In the period immediately preceding World War II, DC— then known as National Comics— did not much use the Third Reich as an antagonist for their heroes. Superman, Batman et al opposed gangsters and mad scientists, but the menace that threatened America and its allies was mostly ignored. When war was declared, there were pro forma efforts at propaganda, where Superman fucked with Hitler and Tojo (“dirty japs/nips were, interestingly, very popular in comic books as easily caricatured bucktoothed fiends) briefly, members of the Justice Society enlisted, and so forth.

Marvel, then known as Timely, was much, much more aggressive. The cover of Captain America #1, portrayed the titular hero punching “Herr Wolf” square in the jaw: Cap spent the rest of the war combating the Third Reich at home and abroad. Most of the company’s characters did the same.

And the Red Skull was Captain America’s opposite number, emblemizing everything Joe Simon and Jack Kirby could fathom of the Third Reich’s perfidy in the early ‘40s. And when the Marvel Age dawned in the 1960s, the Skull was brought back as a proxy for the worst supervillain ever —one didn’t need to be cooked up by comic book creators— and has since been the bad guy that most of Marvel’s other bad guys hate.

But DC never had a Nazi antagonist that really truly stuck. Captain Nazi, who was created to mess with Captain Marvel in the '40s. never did the trick, and neither did Baron Blitzkrieg, who was created in the 1970s. So I’m going to put the Skull with Kobra, a co-creation of Jack Kirby from the 1970s.

Kobra is not a Nazi, but he has been a very prominent and very, very evil terrorist mastermind whose exploits seemed much more Satanic than the Joker or Lex Luthor. "Naja-Naja" is the leader of a Eastern anarcho-religious cult bent on subjugating the world: doesn't line up precisely with the boogey-men that bedevil the West these days, but it's close enuff.

Commonalities:
Both are pretty much the worst of the worst, as far as mortals born on Earth are concerned.

Differences:
Kobra is not a Nazi. The Red Skull is, barring the obvious example via real world, the Nazi.

Alternate histories:

KO: A sociopath is picked and then personally trained by Adolf Hitler to be the personification of Nazi terror worldwide in World War II: the man is then dubbed Kobra and supervises espionage and sabotage for the Third Reich in Europe and America. His success inspires the United States to introduce Batman as Kobra’s opposite number. Kobra survives the end of the war, and then resurfaces in recent years: he is bent on ushering in an “age of chaos” and subsequent world domination. Despite various seeming demises, Kobra remains Batman’s most implacable foe: He has been opposed by most of the superhuman community and is actively despised by most in the criminal fraternity.

RS: As a child, Johann Schmidt is kidnapped by a organization that has been agitating for the Third Reich’s return to power since 1945. Known as the Red Skull, he is trained to be an implacable combatant, criminal mastermind and sadistic Nazi Ideologue. As the organization rises to be the most feared international terrorist organization worldwide, the Skull is opposed by the majority of superhuman community—notably, he is one of the few to ever defeat Captain America in hand-to-hand combat. After a particularly and wide-ranging deadly act of violence, he is killed by Magneto, although his organization remains dedicated to his aims.

Eventually, sisters will do it for themselves

Huntress- Spider-Woman

Sometimes, DC and Marvel introduce female characters that are wholly and somewhat cynically based on marquee male heroes. And sometimes, female characters of that sort can gain a measure of self-defined dignity…

The Huntress character was initially conceived to as Batman’s daughter —namely, the Batman from Earth 2, who had debuted in 1939, married Catwoman and sired Helena Wayne.

But along came the Crisis, and the Huntress was reconceived as a Italian-American Mafia Princess evidently possessed by rather a lot of Catholic guilt. Helena Bertinelli would now exculpate the sins of her family by combatting the criminal element a la certain Dark Knight. I’m only slightly familiar with this version, but I like the way she was portrayed in Grant Morrison’s JLA.

As for Spider-Woman: the Jessica Drew character was created to secure a copyright for Marvel and to launch an animated program in the late 1970s. She has been depowered a number of times to see the Spider-Woman name go to other characters, which suggests that she was not beloved of the Marvel PTB of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

But Brian Bendis, a writer who dominates the Marvel line and who writes sub-Mamet style dialogue that I don’t much like, has restored the Drew character (as well as Ms Marvel) to prominence. Strong women in the MU: how novel!

Commonalities:
Both characters’ histories have been ret-conned significantly, but the status quo for both currently is that both grew among and then rebelled against criminal organizations.

Differences:
Huntress is a female iteration of Batman and thus has no powers, whereas Spider-Woman is a female iteration of Spider-Man and has almost identical abilities.

Alternate histories:

HU: Helena Bertinelli is born in Europe but is orphaned at a very young age, is adopted by members of the terrorist organization KOBRA and is trained in various deadly martial arts disciplines. She becomes disaffected with the organization in her early ‘20s, moves to the United States and assumes the heroic guise of the Huntress. She is periodically debilitated, but has recently joined the Justice League— said membership, however, is said to have been assumed by an impostor.

SW: Jessica Drew is born into a family that’s deeply immersed in the criminal underground. After her parents are killed by rival gangsters, Drew resolves to destroy organized crime and trains herself to her physical pinnacle. Taking the codename Spider-Woman, Drew enters the orbit of an often disapproving Captain America and eventually joins the Avengers. But while Spider-Woman resigns from that organization in disgrace, she has has since worked with the Defenders and with a group of female operatives.

A good guy paired with a bad guy? Huh?

Metamorpho- Sandman

At first glance, this pairing appears to be based on what the characters do and not who they are. But Metamorpho and Sandman not only have similar abilities, but are rough around the edges dudes who have played both “good guy” and “bad guy” side of the street.

Commonalities:
Both are shapeshifters, due to their bodies being composed of sand/various elements found in the human body, are superhumanly strong, have dissipated and been reassembled into separate, seemingly unique personas several times and, like I said above, are rough and tumble fellas.

Differences:
Chiefly, the Sandman was conceived as a thug, but was reformed in the 1980s and ‘90s. Metamorpho has been shown to be easily hypnotized and thus has often been a pawn of various super-villains.

Alternate histories:

ME: Low level hood Rex Mason is exposed to radiation and is thus transformed into a being that can shapeshift into the various elements found in the human body. Using the codename Metamorpho, he opposes the Blue Beetle and other superhuman operatives. But after tiring of criminal activity, he is befriended by Robotman and eventually reforms, joining the Justice League. Metamorpho’s body has dissipated and reassembled in both benign and villainous orientations.

SM: Adventurer William Baker is exposed to the energies of a mystical artifact and is thus transformed into a being composed of sand like particles. Taking the codename Sandman, he works largely alone and declines an offer to join the Avengers. He eventually joins Captain America’s Defenders and the Avengers, but is easily controlled by super villains. Sandman’s body was thought to be destroyed, although he has recently reassembled himself and has since worked with the Defenders again.

The Avengers, 2006-2008

Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Iron Man
Mockingbird
Vision
Tigra
Warbird
Angel
Falcon
—joined later by Iceman and War Machine

The Avengers, 1961-1978

Founding members

Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Mr. Fantastic
Iron Man
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer

Recruits

Hawkeye
Ant-Man/Yellowjacket
Captain Mar-Vell
Mockingbird
Beast
Vision
Ms. Marvel (Una, Mar-Vell’s wife and partner)
Scarlet Witch

Two sidekicks and a mutant…all dutiful dudes

Nightwing - Cyclops

Robin- Bucky

Yet another entry in KomikKounterparts’ Big Cheating Cavalcade!

I justify one DC character being paired with two Marvel one by positing that the Dick Grayson character is hugely important, and in two ways: A.) He is known by non- comic book readers as Batman’s little friend; B.) He is known by nerds as Batman’s ex-sidekick, the leader of the Teen Titans and DC's key “legacy” character.

So here we split him into two…

The Titans leader/solo guy prevailing iteration is paired with the key player in the X-Men mythos, the straight-shooter/responsible guy who has been de-emphasized for decades in favor of Wolverine (Summer’s character was killed off for no particular reason in the third X-film).

So the sidekick version is paired with Captain America’s accomplice. For forty-five years, the death of Bucky was virtually the only death that stuck in Marvel continuity: he’s now said to have been a —ahem— Russian spy since the end of the war and now has taken on the identity of Captain America. This second pairing also allows me to reference Earth II continuity from the ‘70s…see below…

Commonalities:
Bucky, a creation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, was obviously modeled after Jerry Robinson and -ahem- Bob Kane's Robin, so them two line right up. As for Cyclops, Grayson was written as a similarly driven, principled leader guy once Titans writer Marv Wolfman, likely mindful of interpersonal dynamics that had worked in X-Men, got his hands on him.

Differences:
Only that Cyclops shoots them optic rays, and Nightwing doesn’t. Otherwise, both are supremely resourceful and tremendously skilled combatants.

Alternate histories:

NW: Orphan Richard Grayson is taken in by scientist Niles Caulder as the first student in a school for young crimefighters and meta-humans. Once fellow students Donna Troy, Roy Harper and two others to be named later join, Grayson begins to lead the Teen Titans against a number of menaces. Shortly after Grayson and Troy become lovers, the original lineup of the Titans leave the school; Grayson then leads a new team. Some time later, it appears that Troy, in her guise as the Dark Angel, dies, and a dejected Grayson leaves the Titans. But the true Troy reappears, and she and Grayson are reunited. Nightwing has remained with the Titans ever since.

CY: Orphaned young mutant Scott Summers becomes the apprentice of Captain America, and gravitates towards four other mutant sidekicks, including Jean Grey and Warren Worthington. The five name themselves the X-Men and then combat various menaces for a few years, disband and then reform with four younger mutants. Cyclops becomes distant from Captain America and eventually presides over the X-men during a number of tragedies. He works on his own and with the Avengers and the Defenders for a short time before finally reforming the X-Men.

RO: During World War II, Bruce “Batman” Wayne takes on an young apprentice, Dick Grayson, who is assigned the code name Robin. He serves alongside Batman, Aquaman and other operatives until the waning days of the war, when he is assumed to have been killed in action. It has recently been revealed that he has been an operative for a foreign government since WWII: he has recently assumed the “Batman” identity after Wayne’s assassination.

BU: In a parallel universe containing “Counter-Earth,” a Captain America native to said diaspora began his career shortly before wartime and adopted James Buchanan Barnes as his partner. As this Captain America retires and transitions to a military career in his identity as Steve Rogers, “Bucky” continues as a costumed operative and eventually joins the Liberty Legion, Counter-Earth’s premiere super-hero organization.

The “Big Seven” of the Avengers

Now that I’ve established enough pairings, I can say what the first lineup of the alternate Avengers would be.

The Avengers: Founding Lineup

Thor
Captain America
Thundra
Iron Man
Mr. Fantastic
Sub-Mariner
Silver Surfer

It’s been written somewhere (hell if I can remember which message board it was) that the Avengers are like a championship team —composed of players with varying abilities who work together in order to triumph— and the JLA is like an All-Star team — top of the line players.

In the prevailing Marvel iteration, we have three characters forever linked to the Avengers, two loners who nonetheless were involved in the Defenders, one marginal character, and the leader of the Fantastic Four…but this is what it looks like with the shoe on the other foot.

The best and the brightest—or darkest

Batman- Captain America

This one is very problematic…but I can’t quite let go of it…

Here we have the two characters that represent the upper limit of human capability —meaning capabilities unenhanced by extraordinary means. Of course Steve Rogers was enhanced by “vita rays,” but he was always played as having achieved the pinnacle of what one man can do unassisted by means common in comic books.

As has Bruce Wayne. Since 1986’s Dark Knight, however, Batman has been characterized as a dark, obsessive and, frankly, not a very pleasant individual. Whereas Rogers has always been written as a sunny, ineffably decent man specific to an idealized “greatest generation” (the “Ultimate” iteration differs, in that Rogers is a hard-bitten, quite violent soldier).

In the last couple of years, writer Grant Morrison has evidently reverted the Batman character to the somewhat dark but not at all psychopathic iteration known from Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams run in the early 1970s. So it is this version paired best with Cap—certainly not Frank Miller’s “Goddamn” version. In any case, in both 1995's DC vs Marvel event and 2003's JLA/Avengers series, both were seen as each other's equivalent.

Commonalities:
The above said “upper limit of human capabilities.” Both are respected in their respective diasporas for that quality and for their unparalleled tactical cunning.

Differences:
Wayne is one of the richest men in the DCU with deep roots in Gotham society, and is motivated to avenge his parents murder. Rogers is motivated purely to fight for right and the American Way. He has also often been depicted without much of a personal life, a perpetual “fish out of water” coming to terms with living in a world so different from the World War II era. In pure rich guy terms, “Bruce Wayne” = “Tony Stark” would be much more apt. In pure "dark avenger of the night" terms, Daredevil might be better…but whatever…

Alternate histories:

BM: Bruce Wayne is born in the 1920s and receives special training as a young adult to work as the U.S.’s most feared operative overseas against the Axis Powers. He is joined in these efforts by orphan Dick Grayson and allies like Aquaman, until he is thrown into suspended animation. He is revived by the Justice League of America, which he joins as its longest-running leader and is universally respected as the most inspiring in the super-hero community. Wayne partners with Black Lightning for a time and struggles to forge a personal life in a time much different from the one in which he was born. After he leads opposition to an effort to register superhuman and costumed operatives, he is assassinated.

CA: Child of privilege Steve Rogers trains himself to be the defender of both the metropolis of his birth and the nation at large and the ultimate opponent of terrorists and superhuman criminals extant. He mentors a number of younger operatives, works closely with police and the military and helps found the Avengers.