Last time, we looked at the first six issues of the revived MM title. Marv Wolfman was replaced as scripter by Tom DeFalco in the 15th issue ( June 1980). This was the first issue of the title I ever read- my brother bought it in Strathaven.
I wasn't enamored with the comic- at that age, in the last year of senior school, I was dismissive of its retro style and nostalgic bent. Later in the decade, DeFalco would turn Thor into an homage to Lee and Kirby- a tribute that would continue into the early 90s. I enjoyed that a lot more; by the late 90s, I was nostalgic for the House of Ideas too.
15 introduces the gasesous threat of Ion and guest-stars the Thing and the Torch. The characters are all visually appealing- Ben Grimm looks quite like Fozzie Bear. A new, ongoing supporting character is introduced: auto mechanic Gears Garvin. Ion is the creation of a freak accident and more of a pre-Marvel monster -menace than a super-villain.
Another Ditko creation redressed that situation next issue. The monobrowed Baron Brimstone is a "scion of sorcery" who also uses advanced technology. His sidekicks Snake Marston and Hammer Harrison remind me of the Enforcers. I thought there were too few to constitute a squad until I recalled the three-man Serpent Squad. from Captain America. Science vs. Sorcery is a good premise for Machine Man and a simple, striking design ( and his archaic, titled, superior status) make the Baron a better nemesis than the next villain.
DeFalco creates a criminal mastermind for the series in the person of underworld armourer Madam Menace aka Sunset Bain. Her designs against MM continue in issue 18- the second issue my brother bought. He was always a huge fan of Alpha Flight and here, in a very early role, half the team make an appearance. (The other half were mixing it up with the Wendigo in the X-Men.)
In "Alone Against Alpha Flight" Ditko makes Sasquatch a cuddly 60s-style monster ( like Xemnu) but Northstar and Aurora are, disappointingly, simply human blurs. These are the days before Byrne's AF series- their definitive version- but at least the twins' high-spirited nature comes across. Despite a potential boost from X-fans, the writing is on the wall, yet again...
The final issue features a cover by Frank Miller, before his Daredevil run revitalised the character - a run which has aftershocks even now for comics and tv. "Jolted by Jack O'Lantern" introduces a bizarre new villain to rival the Green Goblin*. A terrorist and "ex-government freak", Jack takes MM to the brink of madness but he prevails. At the story's end, MM takes a leave of absence from his insurance job but his intention to " be around for a long, long time".
These five issues have more verve and humour than Wolfman's dismal tenure. There is a note of horror when Aaron is disfigured in his fight with the Alphans. Despite this, MM's final run is charming and idiosyncratic, as the cover copy for this last issue attests.
Aaron Stack returned in 1984 with a suitably dystopian miniseries by Trimpe and Barry Windsor- Smith. In the early 90s, he became a reservist Avenger- but who hasn't? He was revived again as part of the wider X-Men Universe in 1999 but appeared throughout the Noughties largely as comic relief, usually without his hood/skullcap, making him look like Gary Numan cosplaying Reed Richards..
I'm curious however as to why Marvel ever revived the series in the first place, at the tail-end of the Bronze Age. We've seen how Kirby's commentary on individuality and technology became subverted as a hymn to Lee and Ditko comics of the early Silver Age. Yet there seemed to be nothing new to say, really, through Aaron Stack that hadn't already been said by the Vision.
So popular he made the cover twice!
Vizh really had his heyday in the consciousness-raising early '70s. He'd made his debut as Marvel's Spock: repressed, musing and unobtainable. Then Steve Englehart delved into his origins and gave him a heritage; married him to the Scarlet Witch and in the mid-80s, gave them children. Vizh had a couple of solo try-outs: the first was drawn by Herb Trimpe and published in 1976.
D'oh!
However, by the time Machine Man was cancelled for the second time, the Vision's days as the Avengers leading man were already numbered. Stories by Roger Stern and by John Byrne at the end of the 80s emphasised his artificial, android nature and all the work that had done in his voyage of self-discovery was undone. Like Jean Grey, Carol Danvers, Jessica Drew and others in the Eighties, the Vision's empowerment and agency were dismantled. What chance did Machine Man ever have?
Data, the Enterprise's android officer, had a similar journey in Star Trek: the Next Generation and its movie sequels. That journey ended in his self-sacrifice in 2002's Star Trek Nemesis but we'll look at some of his adventures with other genre stars in future posts...
All images are presumed copyright of their respective owners
* of course, Jack O'Lantern went on to take on the identity of the Hobgoblin, the 80s legacy villain.
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