The New World of Marvel Comics
- By Ralph Emerson
- Published 07/27/2007
- Comics
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Rating:
The New World of Marvel Comics
| Recently many of us have seen the genius of Stan Lee, founder of Marvel Comics, displayed on the giant screen. The successful film releases of Spiderman, The X-Men, The Fantastic 4 and The Hulk are testaments to the cross-generational appeal of his characters.
As a boy in the 1960's, I didn't pine away in admiration for football players or basketball stars; it was Stan Lee's characters who were my fantasy heroes. I took a strange solace in the complex characters found in the pages of a Marvel comic. The trials, tribulations, and sufferings of his superheroes made them seem all too human, all too real. One of the most famous, and some say the most popular Marvel character, was "Captain America". He was a character "of the people," similar to Zorro or the Lone Ranger. Unlike Super-man, Captain America was just a soldier with enhanced (but not super) physical abilities. He first fought the Nazis and later the criminal element… one could envision him fighting Al Qaeda or drug lords today. However, unlike the super-clean, moralistic Superman, this superhero was not a Boy Scout. He was ethically edgy, had real problems and struggled in his life as most of us do. As a consequence, he became the average man's superhero. Through characters like Captain America, Marvel Comics confronted many then-contemporary social issues. Marvel Comics paralleled "Star Trek" in its socially controversial plot lines. How-ever, the times never allowed the progressive Marvel Comics to feature black people in the roles of superheroes. It would take many years before that was possible. To my surprise, I recently found an official Marvel Internet site featuring a plethora of new characters, with backgrounds - and even plot lines - submitted by readers. The site is called "Marvel Universe", and I suppose it is truly a universe of the mind. In this universe, there exist a few characters in an alternate timeline - a timeline in which, as a boy, I would have loved to have existed. In this timeline we find, in early 20th century history, a black Captain America. He exists with a set of villain characters, and even prodigy superheroes, that catapult the story line into this century. Read about these characters below. I think you'll enjoy meeting the characters - and if you like comics, as I do, perhaps you'll agree with me that we should support them by encouraging Marvel to bring these characters to life on the big screen. |
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Marvel Universe - Isaiah Bradley |
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| In the early 1920's in the Queens borough of New York City, Isaiah Bradley was born into a middle-class African-American family. Having been raised by parents who believed that all people were equal, Isaiah shared similar beliefs, and, although he was proud to be who he was, he felt that all men were generally the same. Normally good-tempered, he was sometimes angered by the fact that a man of his race was not considered to be the equal of white men by society at that time. Isaiah married a good-humored woman named Faith who had similar values and was able to keep him in check when needed.
In February of 1942, Isaiah enlisted into the United States Army leaving a pregnant Faith behind. Bradley became a private and was stationed at Camp Cathcart in Mississippi which was ran by a Major Brackett. He was assigned to a squad which included the wealthy Maurice Canfield, the lovable Jefferson "JJ" Jamison, naive Jack Harvey, sociopath Damon Larsen, and quiet David Plumb. They were led by World War One veteran Sargent Lucas Evans. Washington attaché Homer Tully and German scientist Josef Reinstein met with the Major and requisitioned two battalions of black soldiers for an experiment being performed by the Project: Rebirth (later retroactively renamed Weapon I (One), part of the Weapon Plus Program). This segment of the program was headed up by Colonel Walker Price who, after gathering all of the black troops together, shot and killed Major Brackett in front of them, sent 300 black troops (including Bradley and his squad) away in trucks to begin the experimentation stage, had the rest of the black troops executed (by his aide-de-camp Lieutenant Phillip Merritt), and erased and classified all information about Camp Cathcart. At this point, a death notice was sent to Faith Bradley stating that Isaiah had died in an explosion. Meanwhile, at a secret government location, Isaiah and his unit were being experimented upon by the scientists of Project: Rebirth who were attempting to create super soldiers through the use of experimental drugs and surgeries. After many deaths were incurred from the procedures (including Jefferson Jamison), Bradley and his unit indeed became super-soldiers with increased strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes. Bradley and the other remaining experimental subjects were then shipped off to Europe to fight the Germans. Arriving in Europe, minus Jack Harvey (who died en route to Europe), the squad was sent on a mission to ambush a medical supply caravan in the Black Forest of Germany. Only Bradley, Canfield, and Evans survived the mission. Some months later, while in Sintra, Portugal, the remaining super soldiers were informed they were to be led by Steve Rogers (Captain America). An argument ensued in which Canfield wounded Bradley, killed Evans, and was shot to death by Phillip Merritt. Bradley recovered in a secret U.S.-controlled hospital and was informed that he alone would have to carry out their mission to destroy a German concentration camp in Schwarzbitte where the Germans were performing their own super-soldier experiments due to Rogers' ship being delayed by a monsoon in the Pacific. Bradley then stole and modified a Captain America uniform and shield and began the mission before his superiors could send him. On the mission, he witnessed the cruel experiments of the Holocaust (as well as noticing some similarities to the facilities where he had been experimented on), and he was captured. Bradley was rescued by members of the German anti-Hitler resistance and smuggled home, where he was court-martialed and imprisoned at Leavenworth Federal penitentiary until he received a Presidential pardon. While Isaiah was in prison, the government attempted to use his altered DNA to create another super-soldier. The result was a child named Josiah, Isaiah and Faith's genetic son. Josiah was born to a surrogate mother, who smuggled him out of the government's clutches. Isaiah also suffered mental deterioration due to unstable nature of the procedures he had undergone, and when he left prison, he had the mental capacity of a six year-old and was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to speak. Recently, Captain America (Rogers) who had never known of Bradley's existence, came to reconcile with the man, and the two have since become friends. Isaiah's grandson, Elijah, has since become the Patriot, and Isaiah has expressed a great amount of pride in his grandson's exploits. Retrieved from http://www.marvel.com/universe/Bradley%2C_Isaiah
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| Universe Marvel Universe
Real Name Isaiah Bradley Aliases Captain America, the Black Captain America Identity Secret Occupation Former soldier Citizenship U.S.A. Place of Birth Unrevealed Known Relatives Josiah X (son), Elijah Bradley (Patriot, grandson) Group Affiliation None Education Unrevealed; military training Height Unrevealed Weight Unrevealed Eyes Brown Hair Black, shaved bald Powers Due to an early version of the Super-Soldier Serum, Bradley's body was transformed to the peak of human potential, granting him abilities far beyond the common man, such as a great degree of strength, speed, agility, and endurance. Abilities Bradley was a skilled U.S. soldier. Weapons None Paraphernalia While not as resilient, Bradley carried a triangular shield similar to Captain America's original shield, for which he used for both offense and defense. He also wore a bulletproof chain mail armor. First Appearance The Truth: Red, White, and Black #1 (2003) Origin The Truth: Red, White, and Black #1-7
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Marvel Universe - Josiah X' |
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| Josiah X's story is the story of his father, Isaiah Bradley, an African-American soldier who was used as a guinea pig in secret, illegal and immoral U.S. experiments to re-create the Super-Soldier process which created Captain America. Out of the hundreds of African-American men experimented on, only three survived, Isaiah among them. Although the serum left Isaiah and his new wife Faith unable to conceive, they had been blessed with their first child, a daughter named Sarah Gail, already on the way before Isaiah enlisted into the U.S. Army during World War II.
Isaiah and Faith Bradley's second child, the boy who would one day grow into the man called Josiah X, was not actually born to the couple. When Josiah came into this world it was by way of artificial insemination, using both Isaiah's inactive sperm following the effects of the Super-Soldier Serum and a healthy sample from before the Serum was administered. Like her husband before her, Faith's body was violated by men in the U.S. military involved in the dark events that took place at Camp Cathcart, men who helped exploit the African-American soldiers who'd been experimented on. The eggs were stolen from Faith's womb when she had her appendix removed, three months before Josiah was conceived. They tried dozens of times to somehow stimulate the Serum-altered sperm and carry a child to term. Josiah's official designation of A-39 implies that there had been 39 attempts to create a Super-Soldier with Josiah's fertilization being the only success.
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| Universe Marvel Universe Real Name Aliases Identity Occupation Citizenship Place of Birth Known Relatives Group Affiliation Education Height Weight Eyes Hair Powers Abilities Weapons First Appearance Origin Significant Issues
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Marvel Universe - Eli Bradley |
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Eli Bradley is a young man with a family legacy spanning three generations of heroes. The grandson of the black Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, Eli is a passionate and loyal young man, and the hero and Young Avenger known as Patriot.
Eli Bradley comes from a family of heroes. Eli's grandfather, Isaiah, one of the first Super-Soldiers produced by the U.S. military, fought against the Axis in World War II (see: "Truth: Red, White & Black"), and his uncle, Josiah X, continued the family tradition, enlisting in Vietnam and recently taking up Isaiah's old Captain America uniform and joining the Crew. But Eli, unlike his grandfather and his uncle, was not a part of a sinister government plot to replicate Captain America's Super-Soldier Serum. Eli was never administered any type of Super-Soldier Serum, and was born with no superhuman abilities. At a time when the Avengers had disbanded, a young Kang The Conqueror traveled to the present era; sickened to have learned of the tyrant he would become from his future self, the teenage incarnation of Kang attempted to contact the Avengers in hopes to rewrite his personal history. Unsuccessful in his attempts to contact the Avengers, he downloaded the Vision's programming and operating system from the recently destroyed Avenger's remains, and accessed the Avengers' Failsafe program. Calling himself Iron Lad, the young Kang sought to recruit three New York-area based young men on the Vision's list of potential Avengers candidates to aid his cause; Eli's uncle, Josiah X, among them. However Josiah had been out of contact with his family for some time, and when Iron Lad encountered Eli, the youth told Iron Lad that he too was a super-soldier, wanting to live up to his family's heroic tradition. Eli used illegal Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH) pills to gain superhuman abilities, but informed Iron Lad he had received a blood transfusion from Isaiah following a violent altercation which caused heavy blood loss, resulting in the transference of the Serum and its desired effects. Wearing a costume very similar to that of Captain America's original sidekick, Bucky, Eli donned a full cowl and a set of five-pointed throwing stars as Patriot, and alongside his new teammates Teddy (Hulkling), Billy (Wiccan) and the Iron Lad, formed the Young Avengers. On one of their earliest outings the Young Avengers' super hero careers began to take off. After nearly bungling the rescue of a wedding party held hostage, the Young Avengers gained a persistent ally in Kate Bishop. Kate, a young woman in the wedding party, helped rescue herself, and Patriot, using one of Eli's discarded throwing stars. Immediately Eli and Kate demonstrated a contentious, and adversarial relationship. Eli found Kate annoying and arrogant, but their relationship was made more complex after Kate gave him one of Captain America's original triangular shields, and as Eli returned the favor and saved Kate's life as well. Following their initial encounter with Kang, the Young Avengers had been greatly changed. Eli's team had gained both Kate Bishop, and the teenage daughter of Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Cassie Lang (Stature), and had lost it's founder and leader, Iron Lad, for the sake of time itself. Though Eli was able to impress Captain America during this first encounter where the Young Avengers defeated Kang the Conqueror, both Iron Man and Captain America forbade the team from going out in costume again, using the threat of contacting and informing each teenager's parent. But the kids wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and after Kate unveiled their new headquarters at the abandoned Bishop Publishing building and new uniforms for the team, they went out into the world officially as "Young Avengers." Eli's new costume was only slightly different from his previous uniform, with a smaller, 'Zorro-style' mask and a scale-mail costume, like those of his grandfather, his uncle and Captain America. Soon after Eli's teammate Wiccan caught him in the act of using MGH to boost his powers. After taking MGH, Patriot fought Hyde one-on-one before injecting him with an overdose of MGH and knocking him unconscious. After being forcibly calmed by Wiccan's magics, Eli woke up in recovery at Avengers Tower, with the new Vision (now sporting the personality and memories of his friend Iron Lad) taking care of him. Eli revealed the true origins of his powers, then proceeded to quit the team. However he subsequently rejoined the Young Avengers after Hulkling was attacked by the Super-Skrull. During a battle between the Kree and the Skrulls, in which the Young Avengers fought alongside the New Avengers, Eli used himself to shield Captain America from gunfire, Eli was severely injured and rushed to a hospital. After the battle Captain America rushed to the hospital to give Eli a blood transfusion only to discover "another Captain America", Eli's Granfather, had already given Eli his blood. Since then Eli has gained the power he had previously pretended to have thanks to the transfusion. Eli joined Captain America's Secret Avengers during the Civil War. Patriot led his team to assist the Runaways after they were attacked by the government. The Young Avengers and the Runaways worked together when two of their members were captured, and the Runaways decided to stay out of the mix in the war. Patriot managed to keep most of his team together, but Stature decided to join Iron Man's side.
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| Universe Marvel Universe Real Name Aliases Identity Occupation Citizenship Place of Birth Known Relatives Group Affiliation Education Height Weight Eyes Hair Powers Abilities Weapons Paraphernalia First Appearance Origin Significant Issues
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