What If ...?

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Ares
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Re: What If ...?

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Ken wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:01 pm What was weird was that while Cap was juggling 100s of tons in his third appearance, in his 4th appearance he was fighting Magnificus Sivana, and Magnificus, though losing, did okay.
In the same issue where that happened, Sivana aimed the rocket ship he was in at Cap and tried to smear him all over the landscape, only for Cap to grab the rocket and hold it in place with only a little effort. Given the fight Magnificus gave Cap, I have to imagine that Magnificus was enhanced somehow, either through some genetic experiments by his dad or some feature of Venus that let him Charles Atlas himself into a literal superhuman.

Another option I like is something borrowed from Jerry Ordway's Power of Shazam run, where it was revealed that Sivana's ex-wife was actually named "Venus". They never elaborated on her origin, but what if Sivana's first wife was literally the goddess Aphrodite, who at some point abandoned him? It might further explain Sivana's descent into evil because his heart got broken by someone who was (allegedly anyway) suppose to embody the concept of Love, not realizing that Aphrodite leans more towards the "lust" side of things. Beautia inherited her mom's divine beauty, Magnificus got the potential for superhuman strength and durability, which he raised through training? Sivana's journey to Venus might have been some search for his wife or some effort to impress her to get her back. And maybe the reason his other two kids look exactly like him (beyond the obvious joke) is that they're clones of Sivana meant to be kind of a spiteful "I don't need you" attempt to get back at Aphrodite.
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Ares
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Re: What If ...?

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Davies wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:30 am I was re-reading a certain famous series of bandes dessinees, and this came to me.

Smurfs -- PL 4
Image

HAH! I love that you include them in the setting.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: What If ...?

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Ken wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2020 12:01 pm What was weird was that while Cap was juggling 100s of tons in his third appearance, in his 4th appearance he was fighting Magnificus Sivana, and Magnificus, though losing, did okay.
Well, it's been suggested that Mag and Beautia are the products of Captain Nazi-style eugenics, so the kid might be fairly up there.
And which one of the 2.5 versions of the Dan Garret(t) Blue Beetle did you mean?
The one who had super-strength thanks to the Scarab, who showed up in at least one Electric Company episode. :P
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Ken
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Re: What If ...?

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Davies wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:19 pm
And which one of the 2.5 versions of the Dan Garret(t) Blue Beetle did you mean?
The one who had super-strength thanks to the Scarab, who showed up in at least one Electric Company episode. :P
Leaves out the super-drug taking cop. 1 down; 1.5 to go.

I'll guess the 0.5 version. Not the one who flew to other planets, tossed tanks and rockets around, and generally was on the same scale as Captain Marvel and Superman. The weakened clone of him who was re-invented for the Ted Kord stories.
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Re: What If ...?

Post by Davies »

Interesting. May have to re-evaluate.
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Re: What If ...?

Post by greycrusader »

Sivana's family could be interesting to explore, should DC ever reintroduce the classic version of the character. The Golden Age versions are fairly simplistic and one-note, frankly, and do lean heavily into beauty equals goodness (though Beautia and Magnificus were also portrayed as rather dim and vain, so all-around stereotypes). Junior and Georgia were really just made up to serve as counterparts for Cap Jr. and Mary Marvel in the stories featuring the whole Marvel Family.

And Ares is correct in that the GA stories had VERY different tones-Cap's adventures were mostly straight-up superhero fare, but with a lot more whimsy and light-hearted silliness than his competition over at DC; Captain Marvel Junior's book was more serious in art and story, facing grimmer villains, mixed with human interest stories focused on poor and working class people in Freddy's neighborhood. Mary's tales were largely concerned with fantasy, or with the distaff Marvel helping her girlfriends and classmates with problems ranging from mundane to fantastic. And when they all teamed together, they mostly had adventures pretty close to standard Golden Age fare.
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