Machine Man (1984)

(1984)

My original plan was to just upload a slide show of the screencaps below as accompanied by "The Man Machine." No context or summary, just the pics and Kraftwerk. Maybe I should have stuck to that plan. But Machine Man is underrepresented enough out there on the web that I felt adding my two cents to the kitty might be of better use. 

That's not to say there aren't some good reviews of this mini-series (written by Tom DeFalco, art by Herb Trimpe and Barry Windsor-Smith) out there - such as this one, my go-to for all quoted material in this post - but it's relatively off-the-radar. It was at the time, too. And that's further not to say I don't emphatically recommend pressing play on the link above and viewing the pics to come as a slideshow. If Machine Mani s ever turned into a film - and I'm almost positive it never will be but hey, who knows - I hope its producers realize that the soundtrack already exists. At the very least, the title track should play over the end credits, a la Black Sabbath at the end of Iron Man.

(Maybe White Zombie's "More Human Than Human." Maybe.)  

Some background on the character should you not be familiar: "The product of a military program to create thinking robotic soldiers with some form of sentience, X-51 was the only one to not go mad. This was accomplished by his creator Aaron Stack providing him with a humanoid face and the identity of his son. After his creator was killed, X-51 was on the run. Meeting up with all manner of superheroes and villains, he adopted the name Machine Man and also the alter ego Aaron Stack (after his ‘father.’). A one-time Avenger and compatriot of several superheroes, X-51 was a minor hit of the the comic book world of the late 1970s."

The mini-series takes place in the dystopian future of 2020. Sunset Bain (whom I understand is still quite active in current Marvel continuity, though obviously a different version than the one we see here; heck, she could show up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. without skipping a beat) heads Baintronics, the corporation with a monopoly on robot production. When a group of cyberpunk marauders raid one of Bain's garbage dumps, they unearth a disassembled Aaron Stack.

Who quickly proves his worth as a comrade.

The Midnight Wreckers are on the boiler-plate side, but they "scream cyberpunk which is interesting because the genre was in its infancy at the time."

As that Daily Pop review puts it, "The comic flows much like a movie or TV mini-series scheduled to set up a weekly series that never came after it." It might seem unremarkable to contemporary eyes. But for a 10-year-old Bryan McMillan, man, this thing blew up my imagination but good. 

This and the Deathlok saga from Captain America were my OMG-the-future-is-intense stories from the mid-80s. Keep in mind - I hadn't seen Blade Runner or even The Terminator at that point, nor read any of the what-is-human / man vs. robot sci-fi classics of the genre. I read this thing many times between 1985 and 1988, so as I got to all the above, Machine Man's place in the grand scheme of thing was reshuffled, but it always stuck with me as one of my sci-fi gateway drugs.

The "What is Human?" theme permeates everything.

Sometimes clumsily, sure. It belongs to the Bronze/ Copper Age of storytelling and makes no bold leaps out of Bronze/ Copper Age conventions. Yet it's "one of the most unusual mini-series you will ever read (...) not because the comic is so wild and bizarre and outlandish but more because it is so stripped down and basic that the modern intricate artwork may throw you."

Herb Trimpe provided breakdowns, with finishes by Barry Windsor-Smith. By issue 4, BWS is not only the sole artist but also the co-plotter. He poured a lot of himself into these 4 issues, to be sure. 

The transition allows for a fun progression.  

As previously noted in these pages, Trimpe had an affinity for big pop-art sound fx.

As BWS gradually takes over the art, he keeps these.

But they are consumed by his singular style.

Anyway, like many Rip Van Winkles in fiction, Aaron is disheartened by the state of disrepair into which humanity has fallen. Thanks to anti-robot riots that Machine Man missed while he was offline, and subsequent legislation granting Baintronics broad privileges and "personhood" status (ahem), the real work of the world is done by programs and robots, while humanity wastes away plugged into its various distractions. 

That's Gears Garvin on the right, leader of the anti-Bain Marauders and old pal of Machine Man's from his original series in the 70s.

The robot who thinks of himself as a human and struggles with Organic Privilege is of course nothing new, then or now. But hell, it was new to me. Even reading it in 2015, I can access the reactions of my younger self, who was very moved by Aaron's out-of-place-ness, both as a man from the past thrust in the future and also the "Hath Not a Robot Organs and Dimensions" aspect of it all.

This being a Marvel comic, this all comes to a head with a slugfest with the main baddie of the series:

He introduces himself at least twice as "the Iron Man of 2020," which made me chuckle each time.

Like the Daily Pop reviewer, I figured Arno would turn sides and become Machine Man's ally by the end. But not at all - the man who dresses up in high-tech armor and designs programs becomes fixated on destroying this man from the past who is high-tech armor and programs.

The big finish in the last issue (the Marauders assault on Baintronics, riding flying motorcycles, dodging robots and stormtroopers and flak, all in the rain, while Iron Man and Machine Man duke it out inside) is very cinematic. It even comes with the Senator on Baintronics' payroll who is convinced Machine Man has risen from the grave to punish him for his lifetime of sins. When Machine Man finally beats Iron Man:

The Senator says goodbye.

Another aspect of the series is Jocasta:

Machine Man's girlfriend from the first series, now embedded in Baintronics as a captive/ servant of Sunset.

I was (and remain, I have to admit) very moved by her and Aaron's relationship. 

And of course, they don't reunite and live happily ever after, so that adds that touch of angst that Marvel was so great at in the 80s.

Not sure whatever happened to Machine Man after I stopped reading Marvel regularly - I know X-51 had a memorable role in Earth X but that's all I've got. I probably could have looked it up for you, it's true. My apologies. Regardless, I wanted to tip my cap to this mini-series that meant a great deal to me in my formative years. I still think it'd make a fine little movie or pilot for an ongoing show. (I think post-BSG, though, an ongoing show might struggle to distinguish itself, so I'd recommend setting it in the past instead of the future. Or the present - definitely the past. I offer this free of charge, Disney/ Marvel.)

Hulk 1978 - 1979

Here we are for the penultimate post in this series. Where did the time go? 

I don't know if it is accurate to say the American public was gripped in a state of Hulkmania in the last two years of the 70s, though I very much want to, but it is true that there was more Hulk product than ever. A magazine, a series, a super-group, and a hit television series with an animated show in the works. People were Hulk smashing all over the place. 

Let's start things off with -

THE TV SHOW 

Back Issue #70 has a nice write-up of the TV series by Glenn Greenberg, from which the below is excerpted:

"(The Incredible Hulk) launched on March 10, 1978, and would run for five seasons. (...) True, the Hulk of the TV series was not the character as portrayed in the comic books. The show was an adaptation in every sense of the word. The premise, the status quo, the character's strength level and abilities, and even the name of his alter ego were changed. (...) Executive Producer Kenneth Johnson - "

Left, with Bill Bixby, right.

" - definitely not an admirer of comic books, wanted to distance the show from its source material as much as possible. Thus nuclear physicist Dr. Robert Bruce Banner became research scientist Dr. David Bruce Banner. Bruce was single; David was recently widowed, his wife Laura having been killed in a car accident that David survived. Bruce became the Hulk after getting caught in the detonation of his own invention, the gamma bomb (...) while with David, it happened he accidentally overdosed on gamma radiation while trying to determine the connection between the presence of gamma and amazing displays of strength from otherwise normal human beings."

Also: the Hulk didn't speak, and he was drastically de-powered. (Indeed, when they decided to kill the character, he died from falling out of an airplane.)

So, basically, the TV Hulk is an entirely different character, with different enough powers to be an entirely different kind of superhero, grafted onto The Fugitive. The TV Hulk has its defenders; I am not one of them. I never saw it as a kid, so I have no childhood nostalgia for it. Many friends admire it, and I've come to appreciate aspects of it through them. Both Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby are perfectly fine in the role. But for my money - it just ain't the Hulk.

But it was an unqualified success, to be sure, and without it, it's entirely possible the Hulk might have slowly become a second-tier Marvel character.

Some merchandising from the late 70s.

Also starting in 1978 the Hulk received his very own newspaper strip:

Although it says "written by Stan Lee," the strip was actually written by first Larry Leiber and then Paul Kupperberg until its cancellation in 1982. I've never read any of these, but it looks like fun.

Next up: 

THE DEFENDERS

Issues 55 - 78

Writers: David Anthony Kraft, Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, Ed Hannigan, Jim Shooter, Mary Jo Duffy, and Steven Grant
Artists: Carmine Infantino, Klaus Janson, George Tuska, Dave Cockrum, Dan Green, Ed Hannigan, Bob Lubbers, Jim Mooney, Sal Buscema, Don Perlin, Ernie Chan, Bruce D. Patterson, Herb Trimpe, Pablo Marcos, Al Milgrom, Mike Esposito, Jack Abel, Fred Kida, Steve Mitchell, and Chic Stone.

Issue 63.

Issue 69.

The Hulk doesn't have a whole lot to actually do in these stories, but it's not a bad run for everything else. Highlights include a Defenders membership drive where Hellcat goes boy-crazy.

Issue 62.

Poor Torpedo.

There's something very Henri Matisse about these three panels. Lest you think I'm just naming French painters to make myself seem more cultured than I am, a) I spent the morning getting re-acquainted with Dokken, so ain't no culture happening round these parts, and b) refer to the solid red contrasting sharply with the bright yellow and the sparse, essential linework.

Patsy Walker's previous life in Millie the Model comes into play.

Somewhat boiler-plate, but let's recall this for next time around, when Patsy is (spoiler alert) possessed by Satan.

Meanwhile, the Red Guardian continues to hang around:

and the Valkyrie brings the gang back to Asgard in a fun multi-parter. 

Omega the Unknown - the Steve Gerber-written cult series from earlier in the 70s - left several plotlines unresolved when it was cancelled. Defenders tidies up the loose ends - 

by killing 2/3ds of its cast.

I've got Omega the Unknown, and I've read it. But I couldn't make heads or tails of these issues because it's been 3 or 4 years since I looked it over. I don't think Gerber was too happy about all the deaths, but he had overall praise for Grant's conclusion.

What else? Some fun guest stars as always.

The Devil Slayer. A character re-purposed from the short-lived Atlas comic:

Also written by David Anthony Kraft.

This guy!

How much you want to bet these folks from issue 60 are actually David Kraft and the Defenders editors/ bullpen?

And there's this nifty Spider-Man statue from issue 61:

Let's move on to:

THE RAMPAGING HULK / HULK MAGAZINE

Writers: Doug Moench, David Anthony Kraft,
Artists: John Romita Jr., Keith Pollard, Jim Mooney, Herb Trimple, Sal Buscema, Alfredo Alcala, George Perez, Rudy Mesina, Marie Severin, Ron Wilson, Ricardo Villamonte, Fran Matera, Gene Colan, Tony DeZuniga, Ernie Chan, Bob McLeod, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Rubenstein, Rudy Nebres, Mike Zeck, John Tartaglione, Klaus Janson,

You know, I love the idea of the Hulk magazine. Painted color covers, expanded page count, editorials, interviews, characters without their own titles getting their own shots as the b-stories:

Such as Moon Knight, who would get his own title with the same creative team. (Moench and Sienkiewicz.)

If it had taken a more Batman Family approach with the character, making certain adjustments of course, I probably would have enjoyed it more. But what it added up to was just Too Much Hulk. 

 

The Bereet story from last time around wraps up in very surreal fashion:

This is one of the odder things I've seen on the comics page, I have to say.

Hulk is unimpressed.

There's a treasure trove of pin-ups and two-page spreads, though - here are a few examples:

Reminds me of Swamp Thing, actually.

And here's a moment of Hulk Zen:

Stupid Hulk.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Writers: Roger Stern, Len Wein, Jim Starlin, Peter Gillis, Elliot S. Maggin, David Michelinie,
Artists: Sal Buscema, Ernie Chan, Alfredo Alcala, Jim Starlin, Joe Rubinstein, Joe Sinnott, Klaus Janson, Bob McLeod, Mike Esposito, Jim Mooney, Bob Layton, Chic Stone, Jack Abel,

If you've been reading this series from the beginning, you may recall I began things by mentioning an old pen pal who always carried on about how 70s Hulk was under-appreciated. I agree in general. But overall, the Hulk's limited range of reactions and repeated dialogue -

becomes wearying. There's only so many times you can see him do and say the same things. In context of all 1970s comics, it's not so bad, but the content of Hulk's reiterations - "Hulk is the strongest one there is!" "Hulk... NOT FRIENDS?!" "Shut up!" etc. - don't lend themselves well to overuse. 

A couple of moments come up in this last stretch of The Incredible Hulk that made me appreciate the things I very much did enjoy, such as his bender-like crash periods, usually in odd places:

Issue 239. (The proportions are way off here, but hey.)

And there's a touch of the dimension-hopping approach at the tail end of Stern's run in '79, when he resurrects "They" for a storyline that sees the Hulk finding the lost city of El Dorado.

Placed against any other Marvel superhero title of the 70s, Incredible Hulk acquits itself well. Out of that decade? It drops rank considerably. But that's nothing against it, and certainly nothing against Stern's last few years on the book. (He left in early 1980.)

As for the Hulk's supporting cast:

The General's sidelined for most of it.

Betty barely appears. (And she's unrecognizable.)

Jim is revealed to be the nephew of Sam Wilson.

And the Hulk goes to college.

Not really. Doc Savage puts him under, and they travel into Hulk/ Banner's psyche to try and work out where the Hulk's anger management issues. Predictably with little success - Socrates in particular seems to really piss the Hulk off.

The Hulk has a point. How can he know himself? That's the whole problem. Is this some kind of Zen Koan? HULK HATE KOANS!

The Machine Man appears, and I'll mention it not only because I always liked this late-Kirby creation but because I plan on covering the 80s mini-series sooner or later - 

shameless plug in the Mighty Marvel Tradition!

Did I mention Sal Buscema fatigue? The man was some kind of insane workhorse. Every comic I pick up between 75 and 90 I seem to find this guy sooner or later. He is the Michelle Forbes of Marvel artists. No disrespect to his work, but because of this, I've become over-familiar with his bag of tricks - all effective, like the straight impact lines radiating from the action, or his stock facial expressions and action poses, etc. - and I need a break. The next 50 comics I look at must not include any Sal Buscema.

Well, except for the last post in this series, Defenders 90 - 101, if there's any in there. I don't think there is, but disclaimer just in case. Hope to see you then for a Hulk in the 70s coda.