Remembering Artist Paul Ryan

Remembering artist Paul Ryan (September 23, 1949 - March 7, 2016) on his birthday. Paul was likely better known for his work on D.P. 7, the Avengers, The Flash, the Fantastic Four, Superman: The Man of Tomorrow and the Amazing Spider-Man and the Phantom newspaper strips, some of his great early work, on the early issues of Quasar with writer Mark Gruenwald gets overlooked.

So, here are the rest of the covers to that as well!

Quasar #2 and #3 (November and Mid-November, 1989)

Quasar #4 and #5 (December and Mid-December, 1989)

 

Marvel Legends 2016 Wave 3 3 and 3 Quarters

Technically, it is more Marvel Legends 2016 Wave 2 and a half, as half this group we've seen before!

This wave includes Spider-Man foes of the living vampire, Morbius and water elemental, Hydro-Man, as well as a more modern look for the mutant X-Men, Rogue, as well as a later look of Avenger, Quasar...all in glorious 3 and 3/4 plastic, as only Hasbro and Marvel can do!

The fellows we've seen before include Black Panther, original armor Iron Man (both from Wave 1), and Spider-Man in two different costume variants (one from Wave 1 and one from Wave 2 of 2016).  At least you'll be able to find a Spider-Man and a Black Panther figure in the aisles when the Black Panther and Spider-Man movies come out!

Spider-Man Teams With Agents Of SHIELD

Spider-Man met with various agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division, at least until 1991...), during the course of his career in Marvel Team-Up, from Mockingbird, to Quasar, and even Nick Fury...

....and here are the team ups that focused on those characters!

Old Agent New Name

First up on this look at agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spidey met with is Marvel Team-Up #95 (July, 1980) "...And No Birds Sing!" by writer Steven Grant, penciller Jim Janes, and inker Bruce Patterson (all under a cover by Frank Miller and Bob McLeod).

A bit of a spoiler here, but that agent was Bobbi Morse (who had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. with Ka-Zar back in the days Ka-Zar appeared in Astonishing Tales), then as the Huntress in Marvel Super Action #1 of 1976 (which featured a lead story on the Punisher).   There, as here, Bobbi had been working to find spies with S.H.I.E.L.D., with Peter Parker returning to New York from the West Coast, and seeing a beautiful blond in a trenchcoat being chased, and he changes into Spider-Man to help out (along the way, seeing her get shot, but surviving due to her insulated costume, and fleeing from their flying car!).  Mockingbird introduces herself to Spidey, and informs him they were battling S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, which upsets Spider-Man, and Bobbi takes off away from him, leaving Spider-Man to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Manhattan director, Carl Delandan.

Delandan gives Spidey all of Bobbi's S.H.I.E.L.D. history, and says she's here to kill director, Nick Fury, and is using a Life-Model Decoy (LMD) of Nick to lure her here.  Bobbi does show up as Mockingbird, but explains to Spidey she is here to give information to Nick Fury about traitors in S.H.I.E.L.D., not kill him.  Problem is, Delandan is one of those traitors, who uses an old weapon S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated, the Satan Claw, to stop the heroes.  Then, the Nick Fury LMD shows up, and we find out it was really the real Nick Fury, looking to meet Mockingbird and get the facts she has, as he had already been suspicious of Delandan.  Sadly, Mockingbird is shot by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (who were protecting Nick Fury, not knowing of innocence), but Bobbi later recovered, to work with the Avenger, Hawkeye, and even the Avengers for a time.

Ex-Agent All Hero

Next up is another former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., who left the agency to work for Project: PEGASUS, the mighty Quasar, who teamed with Spidey in Marvel Team-Up #113 (January, 1982) in "The Resurrection Of Edward Lansky" by writer Mark Gruenwald, penciller Herb Trimpe and inker Mike Esposito (with a cover by John Romita, Jr. and Frank Giacoia).

While on his way to class, Spider-Man encounters a Project: PEGASUS vehicle taking the dangerous villain, Nitro (whom Spidey had recently defeated), to its headquarters (with Quasar heading the team), and Spidey and Quasar get into a discussion, with Quasar later heading to go Empire State University.

Quasar detects a hidden lab underneath, run by Spider-Man foe, the Lightmaster, who has powers over light, and takes over Quasar's Quantum Bands (and Quasar as well, as Lightmaster attempts to regain his lost humanity, now only being a being of light).

This leads to a battle of Quasar and Spider-Man, but Quasar regains control of himself, and then the two heroes work together, restoring Lightmaster to his own body (that of Edward Lansky), yet still taking him captive (for the crimes he had committed).  Spidey and Quasar don't part happily, which is odd, as Quasar usually gets along with everyone, soon after getting his own series (written by Mark Gruenwald, who also revived Mockingbird in the Hawkeye mini-series) and Quasar becoming an Avenger!

The Boss Is Back

All these agents, but no leader?  Well, Nick Fury finally stops by for his only solo team-up with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #139 (March, 1984) with "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" by writer Cary Burkett, penciller Brian Postman and inker Mike Esposito, all under a cover by Al Milgrom!

Before Colonel Nick Fury was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was just a sergeant in World War II, leading a team of combatants there, called the Howling Commandos.  One of that team's members was called Dino Minnelli, and the crime family of the Maggia kidnapped his girlfriend, actress Julie Winston, getting Nick Fury and Spider-Man involved in the case.

Even worse, the Maggia has some help, with an old weapon Hydra created to attack S.H.I.E.L.D., the robot Dreadnaught!  Sadly for Dino, it seems her acting included their relationship, as it was all a plot of the Maggia, who is heartbroken after this event.

But, these weren't the only times Spidey dealt with S.H.I.E.L.D., as he also worked with the agency in various team-ups involving Captain America, the Falcon, Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch and the Black Widow!  It seems Spider-Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. hold the Marvel Universe together!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic

In December, 2014, Marvel plans on putting out a comic book on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series.

It's a comic based on the TV show, and plans to have Agent Coulson and his team working in the current comic universe, introducing Melinda May, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons into the Marvel Universe (as opposed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe) in a series of stories by Mark Waid (and first issue containing art by Carlos Pacheco and later issues by Chris Sprouse and Alan Davis).  CBR interviewed Mark Waid, and he discussed his plans for Phil Coulson and crew here.

But, what of other, comic book agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

For that, look no further than Captain America #217-218 (January-February, 1978) in stories by writers Roy Thomas, Don Glut, and artists John and Sal Buscema, wherein we are introduced to the new Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D....the Falcon, the Texas Twister, Blue Streak, the Vamp and Marvel Boy!

Like S.H.I.E.L.D. (whose history is touched on here along with their villainous counterpart, Hydra), these characters have connections all over the Marvel Universe (the Falcon, Cap's frequent partner, to get more coverage under the Avengers).

Texas Twister

 

Drew Daniels first appeared as the Texas Twister in Fantastic Four #177 (December, 1976) in a story by Roy Thomas and George Perez, wherein he tried to join the Frightful Four (villainous counterpart to the Fantastic Four) who, at the time were short a member.  Not really a villain by nature (and needing to be paid), Drew then ended up using his tornado powers to disrupt a race the Human Torch was in, and then did join the new Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D....planning on using his powers for good.  A later run of Captain America issues saw the end of the Super-Agents...and Texas Twister became a founder of the Rangers (along with the western Ghost Rider aka Night Rider aka Phantom Rider, Red Wolf, Firebird and Shooting Star) in Incredible Hulk #265 (November, 1981), and continued with them over the years, being a part of the Contest of Champions, working with the West Coast Avengers, being a part of the Civil War and even working with the Scarlet Spider!  Not bad for a cowpoke who got his powers being too close to a nuclear power plant and a tornado!

The Vamp and the Blue Streak

Both the Vamp (Denise Baranger) and the Blue Streak (Don Thomas) first appeared in Captain America #217 (January, 1978, by Roy Thomas, Don Glut and John Buscema).  The Vamp had limited telepathy, was trained in judo and had an Absorbo-Belt which allowed her to duplicate the strength of others (and, she had a secret as well).  Blue Streak was a talented skater, with rocket powered roller skates and later added lasers to his forearms in a weapons upgrade.  Their end as Super-Agents were chronicled in Captain America #228-231 (1979), Incredible Hulk #232-234 (1979) and in Quasar #2 (November, 1989)...and Blue Streak came back with upgraded armor in Captain America #318 (June, 1986) and then as a victim of the Punisher in Punisher #5, 6 and 9 (2009), with the Vamp coming back in Captain America #319-320 (1986), and Deadpool #0 and 6 (1997).

Marvel Boy

Wendell Elvis Vaughn was a guard at a Stark International facility testing the Quantum Bands of the Crusader (Thelius, who pretended to be the original Marvel Boy), and, in an invasion by A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics), put them on to stop the villainous group...and himself became Marvel Boy (later Marvel Man) and ended up in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Super-Agent program.  Between Captain America #218 and #228, he and Falcon participated in the "Defenders for a Day" event, wherein many heroes (and even villains) joined the Defenders for a time (Defenders #62-64, 1978), although they weren't considered real Defenders like Hulk, Nighthawk, Valkyrie and Hellcat.  With the end of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Super-Agents, Marvel Man stuck around the Hulk until Incredible Hulk #234 (April, 1979, by Roger Stern and Sal Buscema), wherein Wendell took the name of Quasar, and headed to his next assignment...

...working at Project: Pegasus as and becoming their head of security.  Project: Pegasus (Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States) was a base in the Adirondack Mountains of New York that studies alien and super weapons (like the Cosmic Cube) and people (like Nuklo), serving as a prison for some villains too dangerous to be near other people.  The Thing ended up there, checking on Wundarr (an alien from another world here to spread hope who became Aquarian), and ended up involved with Giant-Man (the former Black Goliath/Bill Foster), Thundra (a reformed member of the Frightful Four, a super-strong amazon from a future society) and Deathlok (a futuristic cyborg from another timeline...well, more or less...and someone familiar to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. viewers) in a plot by the Nth Man (a foe of the Thing's from previous issues of Marvel Two-In-One) in the Project: Pegasus saga (in Marvel Two-In-One #53-58, 1979, collected in the Thing: Project Pegasus in 2010) by Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, George Perez and Gene Day.

Quasar then guested across the Marvel Universe for a time, participating in the Contest of Champions, and being there for the pardon of the Hulk, as well as working with Spider-Man, Dazzler and the Thing....then becoming an Avenger and getting his own title that lasted 60 issues and explored the secrets of the Marvel Universe (actually, the Marvel Multiverse, as it went beyond the galaxy and even explored other dimensions, and cleared up a lot of little continuity oddities along the way).

Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan gave us the story of how Wendell got the Quantum-Bands in Quasar #1 (October, 1989), and had Eon make Quasar the Protector of the Universe in Quasar #2 (November, 1989). 

From there, using his powers of flight, strength and energy manipulation granted by the bands, Quasar kept going until Quasar #60 (July, 1994), with Mark Gruenwald writing almost all the issues, and having Quasar meet with or fight a vast array of the Marvel Universe...

...including Deathurge, the Human Torch, Quantum, Aquarian, Absorbing Man, Living Laser, Red Ghost, the Watcher, Terminus, the cosmic Spider-Man, MODAM, the Kree Dr. Minerva and Captain Atlas, Halflife, the Excalibur team including Phoenix, the Eternals, Moondragon, the Squadron Supreme, Over-Mind, the Stranger, Rocket Raccoon, Runner, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), the Jack of Hearts, Maelstrom, Woodgod, Dr. Strange, Thanos, Her, Adam Warlock, Nova, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, the Imperial Guard, Binary (the former Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers), Eternity, the Punisher, the Antibody, Blue Shield, Blue Marvel, Thunderstrike, Black Bolt, the Presence and Darkstar, and participate in the Acts of Vengeance, the Infinity Gauntlet, Galactic Storm, the Infinity War and Starblast, and even work with D.P. 7 and get the Star Brand from the New Universe, and even getting a few new costumes along the way. 

Later on, he works with Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill in Star Masters, Thor, Photon (former Captain Marvel Monica Rambeau), Tigra, Starfox, Moondragon, and Jack of Hearts in Avengers: Infinity, and even Nova, Captain America, Gladiator, Wolverine, Ronan and the Guardians of the Galaxy in Realm of Kings!  Don't worry if you don't know all those names....as you haven't seen most of them in any Marvel movies as of yet, but all of this shows how big and cosmic things can get, even dealing with the Earthbound Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!