Marvel's Other Immigrants Super Post!

Every so often, a random change made in an adaptation will find its way into the original comics.  They're not whole new characters, they're not a certain look, they're just...stuff.  These are their stories.

Morph's name

A character named Changeling (Kevin Sidney) first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #35 (August 1967) as a member of the villainous Factor Three; he later secretly joined the X-Men but died the same issue.  In the first episode of the X-Men animated series (1992), the creators wanted to show the seriousness of the series, so they made the character an X-Men member so they could kill him off; however, in the show, he was named "Morph".  This would be the name he used when he appeared in the alternate reality "Age of Apocalypse" in X-Men Alpha (January 1995).

Spider-Man's organic web spinners

Until the Spider-Man movie (2002), Spider-Man's webs had always come from a device he invented.  The creators of the movie thought it wouldn't make sense for a high school student to invent such a complex device, so they gave him organic web-spinners.  The storyline Spider-Man: The Other (2005) gave him organic webshooters as well (among other new powers), but they have all disappeared after the Brand New Day storyline.

Rogue's real name 

One of Rogue's defining traits was that she had no recollection of who she was.  In the X-Men movie (2000), though, her name was Marie. After X-Treme X-Men #43 (April 2004) claimed her name was "Anna Raven" (alluding to actress Anna Paquin and using Mystique's first name as her last), the Rogue ongoing series followed in the footsteps of both in September 2004 by revealing her name is "Anna Marie", last name still unknown.

Arc Reactor

J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just Another Rather Very Intelligent System)

Mutant Response Division

The Mutant Response Division is a UN-affiliated office whose purpose is to deal with international mutant threats.  They first appeared in the first episode of Wolverine and the X-Men (September 2008) and later made the jump to comics in X-Factor #204 (June 2010).  They have since also been mentioned in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (episode: "The Man in the Ant Hill", September 2010).

"Batman (1966)" Super Post!

Batman is, hands down, one of the most popular television shows ever and a cornerstone of pop culture.  But surprisingly, it doesn't have as many canon immigrants as later shows.  Do people just not like it as much or something?  Actually, it all has to do with a very complicated tangle involving the rights and which company (Fox, Warner Bros., or CBS) actually owns the characters created for the show, of which there are TONS.  I have no doubt that once those rights get figured out, nearly every villain created for the show will make the jump to comics.  Until then, though, we have the following:

Chief O'Hara 

King Tut 

Egghead

Bookworm and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds

UPDATE: They have gotten sorted out, so take a look at Bookworm's Character Spotlight!

Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)

Batgirl is an interesting case.  She first appeared in Detective Comics #359 (January 1967) and did not appear in Batman until the episode "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin" (September 1967), so she technically should not be on this site.  But the only reason she exists is because the producers wanted more female characters to put on the show, so I've included her here.  (A similar, but ultimately different, case can be found in Renee Montoya.)

Aunt Harriet's Last Name and Widow Status
Despite common misconception, Aunt Harriet did appear in the comics before the tv show, making her first appearance in Detective Comics #328 (June 1964).  But that's all she was: Aunt Harriet.  It wasn't until the first episode of the tv show (January 1966) that she was Aunt Harriet Cooper, widow of the late Mr. Cooper.  These facts were brought over to the comics in Detective Comics #373 (March 1968), which incidentally brought over the name "Mr. Freeze" from the show as well.

The Batmobile's afterburner

The Batmobile's famous afterburner first appeared in the Batman tv series (1966).  It first appeared in comics later that year in an issue of The Brave and the Bold.

(Note: Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, and the Batmobile will be featured in a later post.)

DCAU Super Post!

The DC Animated Universe, for those of you who don't know (which I expect is none of you), was a series of interconnected animated series and movies made in the 1990s and 2000s.  They were aimed at children, but quickly proved very popular with adults because of the mature storytelling, great animation, and scope of the world.  Needless to say, the DCAU as a whole is one of the most successful adaptations of DC Comics and its effect on the comics themselves has been immense.  A lot of it has already been seen in the Super Posts for Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond, so today we'll cover Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, and Justice league/Justice League Unlimited.


Mercy Graves

Livewire



In addition to characters (most of which have already appeared in other posts), the DCAU also brought iconic looks to certain characters that were brought over to the comics, as well as a few other things:

Supergirl

Left: Supergirl as she appeared Post-Crisis (Matrix/Linda Danvers) (Superman #21, September 1988)
Middle: Supergirl as she appeared in Superman: The Animated Series (Kara In-Ze) (1998)
Right: Supergirl as she appeared after Matrix left (Linda Danvers) (Supergirl #51, December 2000)

Parasite

Left: the way Parasite looked in comics in the early 90s.
Middle: how he was drawn in Superman: The Animated Series. 
Right: His current look.  The earliest appearance I've found is Superman #657 (December 2006)

Toyman

Left: Toyman has he appeared in the 90s
Middle: Toyman has he appeared in Superman: The Animated Series (he's wearing a mask)
RIght: Toyman as he appeared beginning with Action Comics #837 (May 2006), before he was revealed as a robot and renamed "Toyboy".

John Stewart

Left: John Stewart's original costume (Green Lantern 1, June 1990)
Middle: John Stewart's costume on Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (2001)
Right: John Stewart's current costume (his eyes have also changed to green, but you can't see that) (Green Lantern #150, July 2002)

Power Ring III

Left: Power Ring II (JLA: Earth 2, 2000)
Middle: Green Lantern in Justice League Unlimited (2003)
Right: Power Ring III (JLA #107, December 2004)

Javelin

The Javelin first appeared as the Justice League's main form of transportation in the Justice League animated series (2001).  It made the jump to comics in Justice League of America #9 (July 2007).

John Stewart's military background

Originally in comics, the only career John Stewart had been involved in prior to becoming a Green Lantern was architecture.  In the Justice League cartoon, it was revealed that John Stewart used to be a marine.  Comics followed suit in Green Lantern #26 (December 2007), even having Stewart and Hal Jordan meet in a military bar before they were Green Lanterns. (More detailed information can be found here)

Marvel Appearances Super Post!

Yesterday I mentioned that Marvel doesn't do canon immigrants as often as DC, and that's true.  What it's more a fan of is importing the looks of certain characters, mainly because it helps them create synergy between the comic book and the adaptation (which supposedly makes it easier for people to make the jump to the comics; the jury's still out on that one).

The Falcon

Spider-Man (Negative Zone)

X-Men

 Left: The X-Men during the Revolution storyline (which began April 2000)
Middle: The X-Men in the films (first released May 2000)
Right: The Grant Morrison X-Men (first appeared in New X-Men #114 (June 2001))

Mystique

The Toad

 Left: Toad in the comics
Middle: Toad in the X-Men film (May 2000)
Right: Toad since X-Men Forever #6 (June 2001)
(Note: How close he resembles movie Toad really depends on the artist. He may have green skin or not, he may have an athletic build or not, he almost always has a long tongue these days, but again, sometimes not. But the point of X-Men Forever was to make him more like the movies, whether or not it always sticks.)

Magneto

Left: Magneto's original appearance
Middle: Magneto in the X-Men films (May 2000)
Right: Magneto post-New X-Men #146 (October 2003), although he now has a different outfit

Spider-Man (MC2)

Left: Alex Ross's unused design for the Spider-Man movie (image released September 2000)
Right: Spider-Man, the son of Spider-Woman in the MC2 universe (May 2001)

Bullseye

"Smallville" Super Post!

This post, ironically, isn't as super as the other ones, but that's ok.  Sometimes it takes a while - even for a popular show - for an adaptation to trickle into continuity.  At any rate, Smallville is already on its way to becoming one of the all-time high sources of canon immigration.

Lionel Luthor

Chloe Sullivan

Green Arrow

 Left: Green Arrow since the 70s
Middle: Green Arrow on Smallville
Right: Green Arrow beginning September 2011

Meteor Freaks

In Superman/Batman #44 (February 2008), Superman mentions that Kryptonite can give powers to humans and turns them into a twisted version of themselves. This is a reference to Smallville (2001) - specifically, the plot device that gave him villains to fight every week for the first couple of seasons.

Granville, Kansas

Black Kryptonite

Marvel Hostess Ads Super Post!

In the 1970s, Marvel ran a series of Hostess ads that featured Marvel heroes defeating villains by using Hostess Fruit Cakes.  Many of the villains featured eventually found their way into actual Marvel canon, and they're detailed below.

The Fly

The Fly first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man! in 'The Spider-Man and The Fly!'" (1976). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010).

The Chairman

The Chairman first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man Vs. The Chairman!" (1977). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man in 'Legal Eagle'" (1977). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Printout Man

Printout Man first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man in 'Break the Bank'" (1977). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) comic and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Simon the Swami

Simon first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man! in Will Power!" (1977). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Home Wrecker

Home Wrecker first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man Meets The Home Wrecker" (1978). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Photoman

Photoman first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man Puts Himself In The Picture" (1978). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Demolition Derby

Demolition Derby first appeared in the Hostess ad"Spider-Man and the Demolition Derby" (1979). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

June Jitsui

June Jitsui first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man Meets June Jitsui!" (1979). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010). [I couldn't find a picture of her, but you can see her in Demolition Derby's, above.]

Hot Shot

Hot Shot first appeared in the Hostess ad "Hot Shot on the Block" (1979). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

Larcenous Lil

Larcenous Lil first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man in 'The Trap'" (1980). She later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010)

The Human Computer

The Human Compute first appeared in the Hostess ad "Spider-Man vs. The Human Computer!" (1981). He later appeared in the Fin Fang Four Marvel Digital Comics limited series which was later printed in Fin Fang Four Return #1 (July, 2009) and confirmed as being in the Marvel Universe in the "Elektro" entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update #2 (August 2010).