Wilson Fisk A.K.A. The Kingpin

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DAREDEVIL BELOW!

Daredevil is one of my favorite Marvel Heroes. He was such a unique character and the idea of super heroes still being human and still being vulnerable was explored in his character. I’ll admit, much of my love for the character was because of the amazing Netflix show Daredevil. But more than sparking more of my interest in Daredevil himself. The show made me actually like a villain I originally had no interest in. The show delved into his character in a way the comics had not often done. That villain was Wilson Fisk A.K.A. The Kingpin. On the show, Vincent D’Onofrio gives a phenomenal performance as Fisk.

In the comics, Fisk had a bad childhood. He was thought of as unpopular thanks to being overweight. As a result, bullies at his school began to target him. As a result of his abnormal childhood, Fisk began to use others to get what he wanted. He became obsessed with being at the top of the food chain. He committed his first murder when he was twelve. After this, he decided that strength was the only thing that would get him ahead in life. He began to take up body building to increase his strength. He also stole books to build his knowledge. He became increasingly better at politics and eventually began to take over several gangs within the city. He earned the title “The Kingpin of Crime” as only a teenager. He was recruited by Don Rigolette, a prominent mob boss in New York City, to be Rigolette’s right-hand-man. This however did not last, as Fisk soon killed Rigolette to take his organization. After Fisk grew his army, reputation, and wealth, Fisk disguised his criminal actions by pretending to be a simple spice dealer within the city. He then met and married his wife, Vanessa. The two had a child named Richard Fisk, but when Richard’s father became abusive and angry, Vanessa sent Richard to a school in Europe. It was there that Richard faked his own death to escape the Fisk family. Fisk later killed the mobster Willie Lincoln A.K.A. Crazy Horse and adopted Lincoln’s daughter, Maya Lopez. Fisk later sent her to a special school. He then founded Damage Control alongside Tony Stark and Anne-Marie Hoag. Tony and Fisk both dropped out of the program, leaving Hoag in charge. Fisk has had several run-ins with superheroes because of his secret actions, but is often back on the streets in a matter of days. The two heroes he has run-ins with most often are Daredevil and Spider-Man.

In Daredevil, Wilson spent his childhood in a home with a caring mother and an abusive father. Fisk’s father, Bill Fisk, ran for a seat in the Hell’s Kitchen City Council. He lost the campaign to his rival and became angrier and crueler. Wilson’s neighbor, Bernie Walker, began to kick down the Fisk campaign signs before beating Wilson. When Bill learned of this, Bill beat Bernie to the ground with a bat and ordered Wilson to kick him on the ground. Wilson followed these orders and kicked Bernie several times. Bill began to beat Wilson’s mother savagely while Wilson was forced to listen and stare at a blank wall. One night, Wilson decided to save his mother and crushed Bill’s skull with a hammer. Wilson and his Mother then disposed of the body in a river. Wilson kept his father’s cuff-links as a reminder. Fisk moved to somewhere in Asia, but returned years later and became a powerful crime boss. He met Vanessa Marianna at the Scene Contempo Gallery while staring at a white painting that resembled the wall he stared at as his mother was beaten. Fisk then bought the painting and eventually asked Vanessa on a date. Fisk continued his criminal actions despite The Masked Man (Daredevil) attacking his operations. Due to the complex nature of the show, I will not reveal much about the plot. What I will reveal is that Fisk is a brutal man who uses excessive force when killing those who get in his way. He is also unafraid to get his hands dirty as much of the executions on the show he carries out himself. The only people he truly cares for are his assistant James Wesley, his mother, and of course Vanessa. Fisk believes that, despite the criminal nature of his business, he is doing the right thing. He is extremely quick to anger and extremely strong.

D’Onofrio’s performance as the Kingpin was incredible and I would definitely recommend Daredevil for any who haven’t seen it. I was so excited to see him return in season two and I would love to have him return either in Defenders, Daredevil, or somewhere else in the MCU.

(Wilson Fisk is property of Marvel Comics Publications)

Clint Barton A.K.A. Hawkeye

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THOR, THE AVENGERS, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, AND CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR BELOW

Some argue that Hawkeye doesn’t even deserve to be on the Avengers’s roster. I strongly disagree. Hawkeye is actually one of my personal favorites of the Avengers. This favoritism was reaffirmed when Jeremy Renner took on the role for the MCU. his portrayal of the character succeeded in making me love the character more than I already did.

In the comics, Hawkeye was born into an abusive family. Both his parents, however, died in a car accident thanks to his father’s alcoholism. This left Clint and his brother Barney alone. They then joined a traveling circus to do odd jobs for performers in exchange for food and shelter. Clint had been taken under the wing of the Swordsman and Trickshot, two highly skilled performers at the circus, who taught him archery and knife-throwing. Clint later found out Swordsman was embezzling money from the circus and tried to stop him. Clint was beaten and forced into silence and Barney became angry at Clint for even trying. Barney then told Clint he was joining the army and that Clint could either come with him or loose his brother. Clint showed up to the bus stop late, however, and his brother was gone. Clint then returned to his failing circus act “The Amazing Hawkeye,” but after seeing Iron Man in action, Clint was inspired to become a super hero. On his first attempt to stop a few jewel thieves, the police mistook him for a thief. He then got involved with Black Widow, a soviet spy who would later become a hero herself, who convinced him he needed to kill Iron Man to prove his worth to the world. Hawkeye realized what she was doing, however, and walked away. He later ended up saving Edwin Jarvis, Tony Stark’s butler from a mugger. Jarvis then says Hawkeye would make a great Avenger and sets up a scenario where it appears Hawkeye has kidnapped Jarvis so that Hawkeye can prove his skills to the Avengers. Hawkeye shoots the ropes directly off Jarvis and the Avengers accept him into their ranks. Since then, Hawkeye has been a main-stay of the Avengers, and has taken on the other identities of Ronin and Goliath as well.

In the MCU, Hawkeye is first given a cameo appearance as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent when he targets a de-powered Thor with a bow in Thor. Before he could fire, however, he was told to stand down by Agent Phil Coulson. Jeremy Renner then reprised his role in The Avengers.  For most of the movie, Hawkeye is under the mind control of Loki fighting against the Avengers. He is brought back by Black Widow, who kicks him hard in the face. He then joins the Avenger in the final battle against the Chitari in New York City. Renner returns as Hawkeye again in Avengers: Age of Ultron with a much larger role. S.H.I.E.L.D.’s downfall in Captain America: The Winter Soldier led Clint to become a full-time Avenger. After a mission in ruined by Ultron in Africa, the Avengers go into hiding with Hawkeye’s family (who were kept off the books by S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect them). In the final battle in Sokovia, Hawkeye helps fight off the oncoming Ultron robots as well as evacuate civilians. He even convinces Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who had defected from Ultron’s side to the Avengers’, into returning into battle. In the end, Quicksilver runs in front of a barrage of bullets to save Hawkeye and a child. Clint retires after the battle is won and goes home to live with his family. his wife also has their new child, who he name Pietro in honor of Quicksilver. Despite retirement, Hawkeye returns once again in Captain America: Civil War. In this movie, he goes to rescue Scarlet Witch from her house arrest for Captain America because he “owes a debt to Quicksilver.” He then sides with Captain America in an airport battle between the divided Avengers. Despite his skill, Hawkeye loses to Black Panther and is locked up at the super prison: The Raft. It is presumed that he is broken out at the end by Captain America along with the other Avengers.

I’m hoping to see much more of Hawkeye in the MCU. I’ve been greatly impressed with Renner’s performance as Hawkeye and more appearances of the character would just make the MCU all the more awesome.

(Hawkeye is property of Marvel Comics Publications)  

James “Bucky” Barnes A.K.A. The Winter Soldier

James Buchanan Barnes is honestly one of my favorite Marvel characters. He went from my least favorite character, being a poorly made adolescent in the middle of a war zone, to my favorite character as a unique Soviet assassin. In fact, after he was briefly Captain America, I’ve wanted him to return to the mantle of Captain America for quite some time now. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bucky is given a great portrayal by Sebastian Stan.

In the comics, Buck lost his father during World War II. Lucky for him, Camp Lehigh, a military base operated by the U.S., adopted him as their “mascot.” When he was sixteen, Bucky trained both with American forces and the British S.A.S. He became one of the best fighters in the military, and as a result, was chosen to become Captain America’s partner. He served with Captain America for a few years until the close of World War II. While trying to stop a plane carrying a bomb planted by Baron Heinrich Zemo, their mission went awry. Both Captain America and Bucky were assumed dead after the bomb’s explosion, but in reality they were both thrown from the plane. Captain America, as you likely already know, was frozen in ice until he could be revived in the present. Bucky, however, was not so lucky. Instead he was found in the water by a soviet submarine, flash-frozen and missing an arm. The Soviets recovered and revived him only to realize that he had no memory of his past, but had all the muscle and language memory from his training. The soviets then brainwashed him to become their perfect assassin in what was called the “Winter Soldier Project.” They also fitted him with a cybernetic arm to replace the one he had lost. He served a few years for the soviets before they put him in a suspended state in anticipation of future use. Bucky regained his memory in an encounter with Captain America in which Steve held the cosmic cube and said “Remember who you are.” Bucky escaped after this and with the help of Nick Fury he dropped off the map. Bucky continued to appear several times as Winter Soldier and even took up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers’s death in Civil War.

In the movies, Bucky’s origin is slightly altered. Bucky first appears in Captain America: The First Avenger. In the film, he is a young-adult and a childhood friend of Steve Rogers. He joins the army to serve the United States in World War II, leaving the skinny Steve Rogers behind. Bucky and his unit are then captured by Red Skull’s forces in Europe and Bucky is experimented on and tortured by Arnim Zola. He is then rescued by the post-super-soldier-serum Steve Rogers, donning the uniform of Captain America. Bucky then joins Steve and serves on the Howling Commandos until he seemingly falls to his death off of a moving train. Bucky returns, however, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as an assassin for HYDRA. It is learned that after Bucky fell, Arnim Zola revived him, brainwashed him, and experimented on him to make him the perfect assassin for HYDRA. He had served HYDRA for decades before being put in a stasis for future use. Bucky, now being called The Winter Soldier, works with the HYDRA members posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. At the close of the film, Bucky saves Captain America’s life and sets off to learn about his past and regain the memories he’s lost. Bucky returns again in Captain America: Civil War. In this film, Bucky is being hunted after being framed for a terrorist attack on the Sokovia Accords negotiations that left several people dead including the father of Black Panther. With both Black Panther and half of the Avengers hunting him, Bucky flees. Bucky, Captain America, and Falcon are then captured and taken to a Joint Counter Terrorist Centre. There Bucky’s brain washing is reactivated by Helmut Zemo  and tries to escape. Bucky is knocked out by Captain America and Bucky, Captain America, and Falcon all flee the facility. After Captain America’s team collects more members, they have have a brief fight with Iron Man’s team in an airport. Bucky and Cap escape with he knowledge that Zemo is headed for an outpost in Siberia where other winter soldiers are kept. Iron Man learns of Bucky’s innocence and meets them at the facility. It turns out, Zemo did not want to use the winter soldiers, and instead has killed them all. Zemo then reveals that Bucky murdered Iron Man’s parents and Iron Man lashes out. The three battle, ending with Captain America and Bucky triumphant, but causing Bucky to lose his cybernetic arm. They then escape Siberia. Black Panther then pardons Bucky, learning Zemo is responsible for his father’s death, and Bucky is put in stasis in Wakanda until all the HYDRA brainwashing can be removed.

I personally loved Sebastian Stan’s portrayal and would love to see Bucky return in the MCU. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get to see him don the stars and stripes of Captain America temporarily. Here’s to hoping!

(The Winter Soldier is property of Marvel Comics Publications)

Barbara “Bobbi” Morse A.K.A. Mockingbird

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. SEASONS 2-3 BELOW!

Though most may not know the character well, Mockingbird is an interesting and awesome character who has grown in notoriety thanks to her appearance on the Marvel television show  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In the show, Mockingbird is given a great portrayal by Adrianne Palicki.

In the comics, Bobbi was recruited for S.H.I.E.L.D. training after she got involved in a government project to re-create the super soldier serum that made Captain America with her biology professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She quickly excelled in all levels of the S.H.I.E.L.D. training thanks to her experience at the university and as a gymnast in high school. She was sent on her first mission when Dr. Ted Sallis (later the Man-Thing), who was a scientist involved in the super soldier project disappeared. She was chosen to accompany Agent Paul Allen to the Savage Lands to retrieve a hero named Ka-Zar in hopes that he would help them find Sallis. When the three returned they did not find Sallis, but they did find a group of A.I.M. operatives who wished to steal the formula from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Allen was exposed as a member. After defeating A.I.M., Bobbi and Ka-Zar began a brief romance, but he returned to the Savage Lands. Later, Bobbi was given another assignment where she returned to the Savage Lands, but the two finally went their separate ways. After this, Bobbi had her first team up with Hawkeye, which involved investigating Cross Technological Enterprises and learning that it was owned by the villain Crossfire. Bobbi and Hawkeye were then married after only having known each other for six weeks. After some time, Bobbi and Hawkeye had a fall out and split apart. She was later apparently killed, but it turned out to be a skrull impersonating her and the real Bobbi was rescued from a skrull captivity ship. She has since been a very valuable member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers and has been an on again/off again love interest of Hawkeye.

As for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. version of Bobbi, it was quite different from the comics. Bobbi first appears as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent posing as the head of security at a Hyde facility. She was put in place by Phil Coulson to protect Jemma Simmons, an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. When Jemma’s cover is blown, Bobbi helps her escape the facility. She is placed on the show’s main team after the two return to the base. It is then revealed that she is the ex-wife of one of Coulson’s other operatives: Lance Hunter (rather than Hawkeye). Later on in the series, Agent 33 and Grant Ward (a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned Hydra) kidnap Bobbi, which ends with Agent 33 dead and Bobbi with a broken leg and a bullet through her chest that was meant to kill Hunter. For some time, Bobbi is not allowed to return to the field due to her injuries, but May eventually clears her to work in the field again. Sadly, both Hunter and Bobbi’s S.H.I.E.L.D. careers end when they are disavowed for the killing of three Russian officials. They both leave together to start their new lives as ordinary civilians.

Though it is unlikely we will see Hunter or Bobbi again, I loved this portrayal and would love to see the two in a future Marvel movie or in future episodes of the show.

(Mockingbird is property of Marvel Comics publications)

 

Daisy Johnson A.K.A. Quake

 WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. SEASONS 1-3 BELOW!

Over Fall Break, I discussed how the new live action Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes played by Gabriel Luna) is actually one of many Ghost Riders in the comic universe with my family. That conversation got me thinking about the popularity of shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Though I haven’t seen the new Ghost Rider just yet and cannot compare him to the comic Robbie Reyes as a result, I figured I could examine other characters adapted to fit the show, one in particular being Daisy Johnson A.K.A. Quake played by Chloe Bennet. Though Chloe Bennet’s portrayal is absolutely fantastic, it’s actually quite different from the comic book Daisy. Daisy was first created by Brian Michael Bendis and Gabriele Dell’Otto in the Secret War story arc.

In the comics, Daisy was the daughter of a villain by the name of Calvin Zabo A.K.A. Mr. Hyde and a prostitute named Jennifer Johnson, but was adopted by Greggory and Janet Sutter and renamed “Cory.” She began to fail out of school despite having a high IQ and was caught stealing CDs and accidentally used her powers against police men, creating an earthquake of 3.2 on the Richter scale. Nick Fury then brought her to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility somewhere in Portland, Oregon.  He then told Daisy about her real parents and recruited her into S.H.I.E.L.D. She later learned that her powers were a result of the experiments Calvin Zabo performed on himself. She became a prodigy and finished top of her class. In addition, she became one of Fury’s most trusted agents and earned Level 10 clearance, the highest clearance possible, at only the age of 18. She went on to lead several black-ops S.H.I.E.L.D. missions and even started her own team known as the Secret Warriors, having a very short-lived relationship with teammate and traitor Hellfire. Considering she’s a fairly recent character, it wouldn’t surprise me if she one day became director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. however, Daisy is first introduced, going by the name “Skye,” as a hacker for the hacktivist group against S.H.I.E.L.D. called the Rising Tide who wants information about aliens, meta-humans, and the like made public. Despite her past against S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) recruits her to his team. She is eventually betrayed by teammate and would-be lover Agent Grant Ward, who was actually working for Hydra. After the Hydra uprising, she remains with S.H.I.E.L.D., but later she meets her father Calvin Zabo who reveals that she is an inhuman and that her name is Daisy. She then gains her powers of seismic abilities from Terrigen Mists. Afterwords, she meets her mother Jiaying who had built a community of inhumans out of hatred for humans after she was cut open by Hydra and her daughter was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D. She declares war on S.H.I.E.L.D., but is killed by her husband Calvin Zabo after she harms Daisy. Daisy then attempts to create and lead a team of inhumans called the Secret Warriors, but an inhuman entity named Hive who can control inhumans and has possessed Grant Ward’s dead body creates growing distrust for the inhumans within S.H.I.E.L.D. In the final battle, Lincoln Campbell, Daisy’s lover and fellow inhuman teammate, kills Hive at the cost of his own life. The end of the season shows Daisy acting as a vigilante and a rogue agent.

Of course, her character will be explored more throughout the show, but as of now, we know that Daisy is an inhuman rather than an accidental genetic experiment, has not met Fury, or at least not often, and is not the S.H.I.E.L.D. prodigy she was in the comics, having not yet reached level 10. Perhaps soon however, she will meet Fury and fulfill her comic book roll. For now, the show has done a great job developing the character.

(Daisy Johnson is property of Marvel Comics Publications)

Wanda Maximoff A.K.A Scarlet Witch

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON AND CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR BELOW!

Scarlet Witch has always been a bit of a tricky character. With reality altering powers, magic, and several other abilities, some say that she can do pretty much anything. But how does the comic book Scarlet Witch compare to her portrayal by Elizabeth Olsen within the MCU movies (which I will likely be watching again over Fall Break)?

Well, let’s start with the comic version. In the comics, she began as the fraternal twin sister of Pietro Maximoff A.K.A. Quicksilver and the supposed daughter of Django Maximoff and Marya Maximoff, a Roma family. It was later revealed, however, that she and her brother were actually the children of Max Eisenhardt (later known as Eric Lehnsherr) A.K.A. Magneto and his wife and fellow Auschwitz survivor Magda Eisenhardt. Magda flees when she learns that Magneto is a mutant and later dies from cold exposure. The still infant twins are taken in by a half-cow half-woman creature named Bova. Eventually, they fall into the Roma family’s hands. Wanda was later sexually assaulted and had to use her powers to defend herself. After this, the town people killed their parents and Wanda and Pietro were forced to flee. After they both publicly used their power again, they were brought into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants by Magneto, but neither the twins nor Magneto knew that Magneto was their father. Eventually, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were brought to the side of good and became Avengers. Scarlet Witch even went on to marry the android Vision. She and Quicksilver have jumped back and forth from the side of good and the side of evil.

The movie portrayal is quite a departure from the comic. She started by having a cameo at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She then moved on to have a much larger role in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Rather than having magic abilities, Wanda relies on telekinesis-like abilities. She and Pietro are shown as Sokovians whose parents were killed when a bomb manufactured by STARK Industries destroyed their home. Driven by their hate for Tony Stark, they were experimented on by Baron Strucker. They later assist Ultron with his plan and battle the Avengers, but soon learn that Ultron plans to destroy the world. As a result, they join the Avengers. Despite their victory, Pietro is killed in battle. Wanda, however, goes on to join the Avengers. Wanda returns in Captain America: Civil War as a full time member of the Avengers. She saves Captain America from death at the hands of Crossbones by containing the explosion of his suicide bomb vest, but she accidentally blows up a Wakandan humanitarian building, killing several innocent civilians. This causes the government to enact the Sokovia Accords, which causes restrictions on superhero behavior and Wanda’s house-arrest at the Avengers base. Despite being watched by her friend, Vision, she decides to escape with the help of Hawkeye and fight on the side of Captain America. In the airport fight scene, War Machine defeats her and she is sent to the Raft, a prison for super humans. She presumably has broken out with Captain America’s help.

Obviously we’ll get to see Wanda on the screen again. The only question is: how soon and in what way?

(Scarlet Witch is property of Marvel Comics Publications)

Brock Rumlow A.K.A. Crossbones

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER AND CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR BELOW!

Many of you probably remember Crossbones for his roles in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. But Crossbones had a very different role within the comic books. For this article, we will be analyzing his amazing portrayal by actor Frank Grillo within the two movies mentioned above.

In the comics, Brock Rumlow started as the leader of the Savage Crims, a New Yorker gang. He met the criminal Diamondback as a young girl who wanted to join his gang. Instead of letting her join, he assaulted her, and  her brothers went after Brock to get back at him. As a result, Diamondback’s oldest brother was killed in their fight by a knife thrown by Brock. Later in his life, Brock Rumlow began to practically worship the Red Skull and joined Taskmaster’s school for criminals, becoming a teacher after only a few years. Albert Malik, a man who claimed to be Red Skull, hired Brock and several other mercenaries to infiltrate the real Red Skull’s, Johann Schmidt’s, castle. Almost all the mercenaries were killed in the siege, and Brock and one other remaining mercenary had been taken to Red Skull and Arnim Zola to be interrogated. Brock had required a new body, and thus, his body had been cloned from Steve Rogers (Captain America). Schmidt then challenges Rumlow to a fight to prove his worth. Despite Rumlow’s loss in the fight, Red Skull enlisted Rumlow as his new body guard–Crossbones. Crossbones went on to serve several Red Skulls, including his lover, Synthia Schmidt, Red Skull’s daughter, and do many mercenary jobs. He later even served on the Thunderbolts, a team very similar to DC’s Suicide Squad.

A very different portrayal of Crossbones is seen in the MCU universe. Starting in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow is shown as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent member of the S.T.R.I.K.E. unit and a friend of Captain America and Black Widow. It is later revealed, however, that Rumlow was actually an undercover agent for Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. He first attempts to betray Captain America within an elevator with several S.T.R.I.K.E. agents saying “this isn’t personal,” but is easily defeated (As shown below). He is later sent to take down Captain America and his allies, but is injured in his fight with Falcon when the Triskelion is destroyed by a falling Helicarrier. He survives this however, and returns in Captain America: Civil War, now sporting his iconic suit. He and his men attempt to steal a biological weapon for a client, but are stopped by the Avengers. He fights Captain America, but when he is defeated he detonates an explosive vest, which Scarlet Witch attempts to disable. Despite their efforts, Crossbones’s explosion kills several Wakandan humanitarians and jump starts the plot of the film

Sadly, we will likely not see Crossbones again as it would be quite a feat for him to survive a suicide vest. Still, it would’ve been pretty neat to see a Thunderbolts movie.

(Crossbones is property of Marvel Comics Publications)

Ulysses Klaw A.K.A. Klaw

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON BELOW!

Yet another rather obscure character, Ulysses Klaw was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966 in Fantastic Four #53. He has had six animated appearances, three video game appearances, and only one live action appearance. Like Batroc, Klaw is not exactly a household name. Thankfully, he was still given a rightfully earned spotlight in Avengers: Age of Ultron played by Andy Serkis.

In the comics, Ulysses Klaw was the son of Fritz Klaue, a known Nazi operative during World War II, who had earlier tried to obtain Vibranium by murdering locals in the African country of Wakanda, the area where the largest recorded amount of Vibranium is present. His father’s plan failed, and Klaw became a physicist on sonic technology. He built a sound converter that needed Vibranium to properly function, and thus traveled to Wakanda to retrieve Vibranium. When the locals refused to provide Vibranium, he began to slaughter them, but was stopped by Black Panther (who at the time was only known as T’Challa), who blasted off one of Ulysses’s arms with one of Ulysses’s own sonar weapons. Klaw later returned with a sonic gun replacing his hand, and after being trapped in a cave by The Fantastic Four and the Black Panther (now truly the Black Panther) and jumping into his sound converter, became a being of pure, solid sound. He continued to plague many heroes including Black Panther, The Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man and even joined a team known as the Frightful Four. He met his end at the hands of Carnage, sacrificing himself to save the Wizard, a member of his team.

In the movie, Ulysses has taken his father’s last name of Klaue rather than Klaw. He is a gangster and arms dealer based in South Africa who is familiar with Tony Stark because of the weapons he used to manufacturer. It is said in the movie that Klaue stole Vibranium from Wakanda and was thus branded with their word for “thief.” Ultron and his followers at the time, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, arrive in search of Vibranium, but Ultron severs Klaue’s arm after Klaue says Ultron reminds him of Tony Stark.

All in all, the movie Klaue and the comic Klaw are not too far apart, though there are some differences. Could we see Klaue return in future movies with his sonic-gun-arm? My hope is yes, and my hope is we’ll see him in the Black Panther movie coming soon.

(Ulysses Klaw is property of Marvel Comics publication)

Georges Batroc A.K.A. Batroc the Leaper

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER BELOW!

Prepare to pull out the “obscure goggles.” Batroc the Leaper is a Marvel villain who has only had one live action appearance as well as a few animated appearances.  Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, Batroc isn’t exactly a household name. In fact, most people don’t know who he is, but that’s why I’m here! In this post, we will be focusing on UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre’s portrayal of the character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 

In the comics, Batroc served in the French Foreign Legion and learned the art of Savate, which is a french style of boxing which involves using the hands and feet as weapons.He became obsessed with becoming the best at this art. Eventually he was able to perform acrobatics better than some of the best gymnasts in the world. His reputation earned him the name “The Leaper,” and a job from the evil organization Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.). His mission was to steal a canister of Inferno 42, an incendiary that had been stolen from A.I.M. by Sharon Carter, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. After attacking Agent Carter, he was confronted by Captain America, who defeated him in battle. Together, Captain America and Batroc tracked down Carter to stop the Inferno 42 from going off, but Batroc stole it to return to A.I.M. Captain America followed Batroc back to A.I.M. and defeated him once again. Batroc reappeared several times over the years to plague several different heroes including Black Panther and Spider-Man.

In the movie, Batroc is not French, but Algerian. Instead of his classic story, Batroc is a hijacker who has taken a S.H.I.E.L.D. freighter hostage. Captain America and Black Widow as well as Crossbones, who at the time is only known as Brock Rumlow, are sent to rescue the agents. Batroc attacks Captain America in a fight that the Captain easily wins, but Batroc later regains conciousness and hurls an explosive charge at Captain America and Black Widown to escape. Alexander Pierce later captures and questions Batroc, but Batroc does not give away any information. It is later revealed that Fury hired Batroc so that Black Widow could steal files aboard the ship.

As you can see, the movie portrayal was quite different than the comic one, even having Batroc originate from a different country. It is unlikely that we will get another look at Batroc on the big screen, but who knows? There’s always a chance.

(Batroc the Leaper is property of Marvel Comics publications)