WOMEN OF MARVEL (in comics and behind the scenes) Appreciation 2019

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Storm representing Spring!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Uncanny X-Men #242 Mar 1989
Inferno: Part 4 of 7 - "Burn!" Guest-starring X-Factor.
Story continued from X-Factor #37...

To be sure that his senses are not fooling him, Wolverine kisses Marvel Girl, confirming for him that she is still alive.

Now for the first time ever, the X-Men and X-Factor have crossed paths as they are
gathered around Madelyne Pryor who has her and Cyclops's son Nathan Christopher.
With the X-Men having arrived, Madelyne has hidden her Goblin Queen form from them.
Marvel Girl pushes Wolverine away when he refuses to stop coming on so strong, prompting her to tell Storm to control her people.
When Iceman and Beast attempt to grab Christopher from Madelyne, Havok gets in their way.
Tempers begin to flare out of control due to the X-Men's manipulations by the Inferno,
and their continued belief that X-Factor are mutant hunters.
This causes Wolverine and Dark Angel to come to blows. Warren manages to strike down Wolverine with his wing feathers.
Rogue flies in and attempts to stop Warren by kissing him to absorb his strength, powers and memories.
However, she only sees the image of Apocalypse in his mind and is shocked when Warren is capable of pulling away from her embrace.
Before she can do anything about it, she is blasted from behind by Cyclops.

This leads to a full out fight between the X-Men and X-Factor.
As Iceman attempts to ice up Havok, he uses his powers to melt the ice sending a flood.
When Dazzler and Longshot get caught up in the water, the two
-- having been affected by the Inferno spell -- start making out in the middle of the battle.
As Cyclops pulls Madelyne out of the water, she berates him for abandoning her.
When Scott tries to defend himself, his brother Alex appears and begins attacking him,
telling him that he betrayed his marital vows to Maddie the day that he left her.

Just then, N'Astirh appears before them and swats Havok away, and then unleashes two demons on Marvel Girl.
The moment the creatures make contact with her, MG realizes -- to her horror -- they are her parents transformed into demons.
As the battle rages on, N'Astirh summons a demonic stage-coach and is about to leave with Madelyne,
putting Cyclops in a position where he must make a tough choice:
Does he save his wife and child from being taken into the clutches of the techno-organic demon,
or save Marvel Girl from the creatures that are her parents transformed. Cursing himself, Scott chooses MG,
and N'Astirh picks up Maddie and little Christopher and flees the scene.
Havok, cursing his brother as well jumps onto the back of the coach in the hopes of rescuing her himself.
Scott runs to Jean's side and Jean condemns Madelyne as a being of pure evil.
Scott and Jean then go to where the members of the X-Men and X-Factor are still battling it out.

While speeding through the city, Madelyne drops her innocent appearance and readopts her Goblin Queen uniform.
Havok meanwhile holds onto the coach for dear life. As the wind rips through his costume,
he feels as though that it's doing something worse to his soul.
When the coach finally stops at the transformed Empire State Building, he reveals his presence to N'Astirh and the Goblin Queen.
Maddie remarks how his tattered uniform now resembles her and asks for his loyalty.
Giving it willingly, she christens him her Goblin Prince.
As they enter into the building to prepare for the sacrifice of young Nathan,
they are watched by Colossus who begins to scale up the side of the building in order to stop them.

Back in Central Park, the battle between the X-Men and X-Factor rages on, as the members of X-Factor learn that
the X-Men still believe that they are mutant hunters and are unaware that they revealed themselves as mutants.

As Wolverine and Dark Angel fight it out, Cyclops wonders where Storm is, hoping that he can talk her into getting the X-Men to stop fighting.
Storm has spent most of the battle floating above Central Park looking at the transformed Empire State Building
and wondering how the Inferno has affected her and her comrades. The obscene obelisk reminds her of the butte from the
other dimensional world that the Adversary banished her and Forge not too long ago and wonders about it's significance.

While high above the tower, N'Astirh, the Goblin Queen and Havok prepare for the coming sacrifice by creating an altar.
N'Astirh is shocked to see how quickly Madelyne is adapting to her newfound powers.
When the demonically transformed Grey parents arrives with young Christopher Summers,
Madelyne is disgusted by their ability to sense that the child is somehow related to them.
As Madelyne finishes commenting about how only the baby is truly hers,
she is angered to find that young Christopher has telepathically communicated to Marvel Girl about his impending sacrifice
launching her into a fury and deciding to hold off on the sacrifice until she can destroy MG once and for all.

Down below in Central Park, Marvel Girl's battle with Rogue is cut short when winds carry her up to where Storm has been watching the battle.

When the two are finally reunited, they agree to get both of their teams to stand down so that they can save Christopher from his insane mother.
However their reunion is cut short when N'Astirh teleports before them and attacks, despite the combined
efforts of both X-Men and X-Factor, none prove to be much of a match against the newly techno-organic demon.
However, when he grabs a hold of Rogue and attempts to infect her with the Transmode virus,
he learns that she had developed an immunity to it thanks to her encounter with the Technarc named Magus.
While atop the Empire State Building, Colossus reaches its peak and when he attempts to stop the Goblin Queen, Havok blasts him away.
As he flies across the city he is saved from a nasty landing by Iceman,
who uses an ice slide to send him flying into N'Astirh, weakening the creature
due to its natural weakness to iron, forcing the demon to teleport away.

With the X-Men and X-Factor unified, Storm orders Psylocke to boost her
psi-powers over the static created by the Inferno by psi-linking with Marvel Girl.
This is a pleasant surprise for MG, who for months has not had the benefit of her telepathy.
They exchange information regarding Rogue and Colossus's encounter with the Magus in order to learn the weaknesses
of techno-organic beings so that they can better deal with N'Astirh when they make their final assault on the Empire State Building.

Sending Colossus up the tower again to distract N'Astirh, the Goblin Queen and Havok, he finds himself bound by strange tentacles.
When Dark Angel and Wolverine join the fracas, they injure N'Astirh and save Colossus
giving Storm and Iceman an opening to freeze N'Astirh in ice.
As N'Astirh boasts that the cold allows his computer systems to operate at peak efficiency he attempts to cast a massive spell.
However, this is when Cyclops and Dazzler chime in with their powers along with Storm
increasing the humidity under the ice barrier causing N'Astirh's circuits to overheat.
As the final salvo, Storm unleashes a powerful torrent of lightning bolts

that quickly overload N'Astirh's circuits causing him to explode.
Unfortunately for the two groups of mutants, even though N'Astirh was seemingly destroyed, the Inferno spell still appears to be intact.

Cyclops is appalled at Storm's willingness to slay their enemy, and this begins a
debate between the two groups' different methods in striving for defending mutants.
In the middle of the argument, Marvel Girl is suddenly caught in a mystical noose and pulled away.
When the X-Men and X-Factor turn to see who has attacked MG, they are shocked to see that the Goblin Queen is still alive
and possessing all her magical might and demon hordes and that she now intends to destroy them all.

Story by Chris Claremont. Art by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

X-Factor #38 Mar 1989
Inferno! Giant-Sized Spectacular! Part 5 of 7 - "Duet!"
Continued from Uncanny X-Men #242...

With the demon N'Astirh seemingly destroyed, the combined forces of the X-Men and X-Factor
are surprised to not only find that the Inferno spell is still in effect over Manhattan,
but that the Goblin Queen still has all her powers and is holding Marvel Girl as her hostage.
Before the two groups of mutants, Madelyne tells her estranged husband Cyclops that she is doing all this for revenge against all those
who destroyed her life, which she maintains was nothing more than borrowed from others,
alluding to the fact that she was not born by conventional means.
When Colossus points out that the gate to Limbo has been closed and N'Astirh defeated he tells her to give up her mad quest.
Madelyne refuses, having her own horde of demons to command and that she still intends to sacrifice her son Nathan.

When the two teams attempt to attack, Longshot's tainted luck powers cause the group bad luck,
causing them to bump into each other, while fighting the Goblin Queen's demons.
This leads to the two groups getting into blows once more.
As Cyclops and Storm battle, Storm once more calls X-Factor mutant hunters saying that they had
recorded media reports following their missions to allow them to keep tabs on X-Factor's operations.
When Scott wonders why they didn't know that X-Factor revealed their true purposes recently,
he asks her who was keeping the recordings for them.
Storm realizes it was Madelyne who did, and sees how the woman had deceived the X-Men,
and has likely been making sure that he two groups would not come into contact with each other for quite some time.
When Cyclops attempts to attack the Goblin Queen, the evil sorceress uses her powers to move the demonically
transformed father of Marvel Girl to deflect the blast. Storm's similar attempt to try and strike Maddy down is blocked.

The Goblin Queen then convinces Dazzler and Longshot (still tainted by the Inferno spell)
to help her in exchange for being "stars" of the battle.
With magically created spotlights following them wherever, the two agree to help,
attacking Dark Angel, blasting him out of the sky and in Maddy's proximity.
She uses her magical powers to break Warren's resolve and transform him into a demonic form before he passes out.
She then unleashes her full magical fury and sends the demons after the X-Men and X-Factor.
As the mutant groups fight through the demon hoards, the Goblin Queen orders Havok to slay his brother Cyclops.
Alex, very much in love with Madelyne now and under her thrall, willingly attacks his brother.
When Longshot and Dazzler attempt to try and kill Cyclops they are swept away by Storm.

Dark Angel meanwhile manages to shake off Madelyne's influence and uses his wings
to cut the magical restraint that has been keeping Marvel Girl under Maddy's thrall.
This also causes some sort of magical feedback that allows Wolverine to shake off Inferno's influence on him and regain his control.
As the other members of the X-Men and X-Factor are busy keeping Dazzler and Longshot under wraps, Cyclops and Havok battle it out.
Havok does not listen to any of Scott's attempts to talk sense into him and when Alex puts himself at risk of being buried under rubble,
his gambit works out when his brother saves his life allowing Alex to knock him out.
Marvel Girl meanwhile has shaken free of the Goblin Queen's control and the two are locked in mental combat,
and Maddy creates an impenetrable force-field around the two women and young Christopher Summers
so that the others cannot interfere with their final battle together.
As the two women battle it out, Madelyne once more begins to allude to the fact that she was artificially created.
MG wars on, furious that between the Phoenix Force and Madelyne, portions of her natural course in life have been usurped by other people.

While not far, Cyclops is about to be blasted by Havok when Dark Angel fires his razor sharp feathers at Alex,
sending him over the edge of the Empire State Building. Despite this, Havok unleashes a powerful blast in the hopes of sending Cyclops
over the edge of the cliff as well. Cyclops manages to grab onto a ledge and save himself, while Havok is rescued by the Dark Angel.
Inside the force bubble, Madelyne reveals to Marvel Girl the horror that they both share:
the experience of Jean Grey's school friend Annie Richardson's death.
As MG struggles to free herself suddenly a portion of the Phoenix Force appears.
The portion of it's power explains that following it's death on the moon, it attempted to send a
portion of itself (with it's memories and experiences) to MG as she was healing below Jamaica Bay.

However MG refused it when she learned the genocide it caused in her image and it instead found a host in Madelyne.

Outside, the regrouped X-Men and X-Factor begin determining a means to find a weak spot in the telekinetic shield.
They manage to convince Dazzler to help by pointing out to her that Madelyne has tricked her and that she is not the star of this battle.
Havok is also convinced to help, however still angry at his brother for how Madelyne was abandoned,
he only does so to help his brothers estranged wife over anything else.
With a common cause the two groups begin attacking the field in an attempt to break through and rescue MG.
Inside, MG learns the shocking truth about Madelyne Pryor:
That she is in reality a clone of MG herself created by the evil mutant known as Mr. Sinister.
Sinister had intended for Madelyne to be the perfect mate for Cyclops in order to spawn a child for some unrevealed reasons.
When she fulfilled her intended purpose and after Cyclops abandoned her to join X-Factor, Sinister sought to eliminate her and take the child.
He would send the Marauders to assassinate her.
However she would join up with the X-Men who seemingly sacrificed their lives to save the world.
Eventually her seething hatred would lead to a deal with N'Astirh.

Outside, Psylocke manages to convince the depressed Longshot that he still has his good luck power
and has him toss one of his daggers at the shield to find a weak point.
Finding it, the teams manage to burst through just as Madelyne attempts to kill both herself and Marvel Girl.
With this distraction, the Goblin Queen tosses young Christopher, sending his father diving for his boy.
Attempting to kill them all in the chaos, Madelyne is over powered by MG, who's love for the X-Men gives her the strength to fight back.

MG then decides the only solution is to accept the portion of the Phoenix Force that resides in Madelyne,
and in the process also absorbs all of her clones memories and is restored.
The power of the Phoenix Force manages to break the Inferno spell
and make MG a complete woman once more. However Madelyne dies in the process.

With the battle over, Jean goes to Scott who is both in mourning for the
death of his wife but also eternally happy to finally be reunited with his son.
In the aftermath, everyone gathered notes that the X-Men haven't been restored to normal following their exposure to the Inferno spell
and wonder if this will cause problems to them in the future. Beast commends Warren for his selfless acts that day and his ability to
fight against his evil impulses and rechristens him Archangel. Cyclops tries to make amends with his brother,
however Alex still resents Scott for what he did to Madelyne and tells him that if he could join her side again he wouldn't do things differently.
In the end Marvel Girl looks at the lifeless body of the woman cloned from her DNA and realizes the pure evil that is Mr. Sinister
and rallies both groups together to hunt Sinister down and put a stop to him before he causes this sort of travesty again.

Story by Louise Simonson. Art by Walter Simonson and Al Milgrom.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

The above images make me hear the Bananarama song like this:

Goddess on the mountain top
Burning like a silver flame
The summit of beauty and love
And Phoenix was her name

She's got it
Yeah, baby, she's got it
I'm your Phoenix, I'm your fire
At your desire

Well, I'm your Phoenix, I'm your fire
At your desire...

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Chris Claremont: A Conversation

[Crimz]

Sue Storm is Marvel's first female superhero or "first lady", but Marvel has never used that to promote her more. You'd think Marvel would use that to elevate her profile more, but they never have and she is still more restricted than her male teammates. It's so frustrating.

She doesn't have to be their "Wonder Woman" equivalent or whatever, but she should have more of a presence. She should at least be more involved in the MU like her male family members are.

I'd usually keep this kind of thing in her appreciation thread, but whatever.

[Crimz]

I guess dreams really do come true!



https://www.newsarama.com/44694-invi...new-title.html

[CJStriker]

I guess dreams really do come true!



https://www.newsarama.com/44694-invi...new-title.html

Major Congratz Crimz, I know How much you Love Susan and the Fantatic Four and I am Rigth their with you in Loving Susan allot, she is one of My Favorites and it has been TO LONG in Coming for this to Finally Happen!

The 1st Lady that Kicked off the Silver Age of Comics has deserved one for Too Long!

1st We got a Scarlet Witch Solo a Few Years ago and now a Susan Storm Solo this Year, Comic Life for Fans of the Female Heroes are living in Golden Times!!! ^_^

[Crimz]

Major Congratz Crimz, I know How much you Love Susan and the Fantatic Four and I am Rigth their with you in Loving Susan allot, she is one of My Favorites and it has been TO LONG in Coming for this to Finally Happen!

The 1st Lady that Kicked off the Silver Age of Comics has deserved one for Too Long!

1st We got a Scarlet Witch Solo a Few Years ago and now a Susan Storm Solo this Year, Comic Life for Fans of the Female Heroes are living in Golden Times!!! ^_^

Thanks! It really is a great time to be a fan of a female character.

[CJStriker]

Thanks! It really is a great time to be a fan of a female character.

Indeed it is, I am amazed so much by what we are getting, but I am loving it both here and in other mediums as well!

Also I see you updated your Avatar to Equal you Hype and Happiness on This New, Nicely Done! =D

[Crimz]

Indeed it is, I am amazed so much by what we are getting, but I am loving it both here and in other mediums as well!

Also I see you updated your Avatar to Equal you Hype and Happiness on This New, Nicely Done! =D

I was so excited that it's a rush job. I'll have a decent version tomorrow lol

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Black Widow and the Marvel Girls! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HlNDUycAY

[matt levin]

I voted for Carol D; would've also voted for Monica Rambeau, but didn't realize this's a multiple choice poll, but--
Where the hell is -DOREEN GREEN-!!?
Squirrel Girl...the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl...best leader we could have. Besides, isn't she ALREADY leading a team in "Marvel Rising"?

[Force de Phenix]

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

I cannot wait to see the marvel characters Storm, Queen Medusa and Scarlet Witch interacting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe post Phase 3!