Silver Age comics PODs

Mort the Reaper

Again, I know there was already a thread for this, but it's dead.

I think one interesting POD with some very far-reaching repercussions would be "Marvel Time" never getting introduced.
 

Night Gaul

Here's an idea: when it happened and for some time after, most people thought Steve Ditko's departure from Spider-Man was only temporary, and even John Romita Sr. thought of himself as a "placeholder" until Ditko returned. What if Ditko ended up coming back to the title?
 
Hulkster'01

Hulkster'01

Night Gaul said:
Here's an idea: when it happened and for some time after, most people thought Steve Ditko's departure from Spider-Man was only temporary, and even John Romita Sr. thought of himself as a "placeholder" until Ditko returned. What if Ditko ended up coming back to the title?
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I'd love that. I don't know what changes to the stories there would be if he came back. Maybe the clone story arc would never exist? Would Gwen still die?
 
Hulkster'01

Hulkster'01

A interesting POD for the silver age is that DC decides to scrap the goofy crap and decides to go the serious route. So no fifty thousand different color costumes Batman wears or Superman shooting little hims out of his fingers. (Those are real, I didn't make them up)
 

Ficboy

Banned
I've got a few Silver Age PODs:
* What if Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto was Charles Xavier/Professor X's brother. That was the original intent by Stan Lee. It would likely alter the Juggernaut himself and drastically change Magneto as well.
* What if Sean Cassidy/Banshee had been a woman rather than a man.
 
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THeaven

THeaven

What if Steve Ditko never took over the Incredible Hulk stories for Tales to Astonish?
According to Sfdebris.com reviews on the development of the Incredible Hulk Ditko was given the choices of writing Hulk, Namor, or Kazar and his contributions were
  • Making Banner turn into Hulk when angry or Frustrated as apposed to at night
  • Making Banner view the Hulk as a curse
  • The Leader
  • Major Lyle Talbot
  • Making the Government know that Bruce Banner and the Hulk were the same person
What if Ditko picked another character or flat out leaves Marvel
 

Mort the Reaper

Ficboy said:
I've got a few Silver Age PODs:
* What if Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto was Charles Xavier/Professor X's brother. That was the original intent by Stan Lee. It would likely alter the Juggernaut himself and drastically change Magneto as well.
* What if Sean Cassidy/Banshee had been a woman rather than a man.
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Were there plans for Banshee to be a woman?
 
Ogrebear

Ogrebear

What If...

The X-Men was not cancelled so the relaunch of the ‘All New X-Men' (Wolverine and co) was not needed?
Marvel made a successful Western superhero group early on?
Fantastic Four failed to ignite the market for Marvel?
Captain America becomes the Juggernaut?
Batgirl was Batwoman from the start?
DC explores the multiverse idea more separating and creating multiple Earth’s with a clea number designation rather than letters?
Martian Manhunter becomes more popular than Superman?
Charlton, Archie, or Harvey become more popular than Marvel?
Marvel invents a ‘Batman’ style character instead of reviving Captain America?
Captain America is revealed not to have been frozen but working undercover for the govt and is not a ‘man out of time’?
Doctor Doom is redemed and becomes a Hero?
Marvel or DC get the Star Trek comic licence instead of Gold Key?
Underground ‘comix’ lead to huge crackdown on the industry by the Feds/Moral guardians?
Kirby gets the monies he deserves early?
Lee, Kirby, Ditko leave/die early?
Deciding to be different to DC, Marvel continues to allow their characters to age in real time, making sure legacy characters are brought in as they get older?
Kirby never goes to DC?
 
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Hadley

Here's a good one, DC and Marvel decide to make all of their books self-contained and in their own universe. This means no JLA, Worlds Finest, Avengers, etc, no Spiderman trying to join the Fantastic Four, etc.
 

Reflection

Hadley said:
Here's a good one, DC and Marvel decide to make all of their books self-contained and in their own universe. This means no JLA, Worlds Finest, Avengers, etc, no Spiderman trying to join the Fantastic Four, etc.
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With Marvel, it's hard to even imagine that. Stan Lee always wanted the Marvel Universe to feel like a living, breathing world where anything can happen, which is why crossover is such a common thing in Marvel Comics. Marvel has always worn its shared universe on its sleeve, that's why you often see heroes teaming up even in normal issues, heroes fighting villains associated with someone else, different elements appearing across titles, supporting characters getting transplanted between heroes, and so on. DC actually had to take notes from this, because they were the ones that largely kept things insular for a long time. This has always been one of the things that made Marvel so successful, along with the "real world" setting, the more realistic and complex characters, and diverse assortment of heroes, villains and cast members. I just can't imagine Marvel without a shared universe.
 
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Ogrebear

Ogrebear

Stan Lee does not leave Marvel EiC position to go and pimp Marvel licences in Hollywood and instead is on hand to stop the 'suits' bringing in 'static' to the characters, instead allowing Stan allows the characters to age, move into new jobs, and actions have consequences without resets.

Arguing that by letting the characters age it allows for the creation of new characters and new licencing opportunities without over crowding the main universe with too many characters to carry books and toy lines. By the 80's Stan has established Legacy continuations for many of his creations inc the FF, and main Avengers characters. Even Peter Parker is married with a child on the way....
 
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Night Gaul

Ogrebear said:
Stan Lee does not leave Marvel EiC position to go and pimp Marvel licences in Hollywood and insted is on hand to stop the 'suits' brining in 'static' to the characters, instead allowing Stan allows the characters to age, move into new jobs, and actions have consequences without resets.

Arguing that by letting the characters age it allows for the creation of new characters and new licencing oppotunities without over crowding the main universe with too manay characters to carry books and toylines. By the 80's Stan has established Legacy continuations for many of his creations inc the FF, and main Avengers characters. Even Peter Parker is married with a child on the way....
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If he aged realistically, Peter would probably be a grandfather by now.
 

phx1138

Hulkster'01 said:
Maybe the clone story arc would never exist? Would Gwen still die?
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Gwen's death depends on when Steve came back: before or after Gerry got fed up with her.;) If after, fair chance the clone stories still happen. Maybe they "stick" hard enough to prevent Pete & MJ getting together.:eek: (I do wonder about fan reaction if Gwen comes back soon after getting killed; how many would be peeved about being played? {I felt much the same after X-Factor set up Jean as alive all along...})
Ogrebear said:
The X-Men was not cancelled so the relaunch of the ‘All New X-Men' (Wolverine and co) was not needed?
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They'd have to be a lot less niche than they were OTL. By the time the Giant came along, they'd been in reprints for years.

One I wonder about: WI the Spotlight Ghost Rider (David Lieber & {unbelievably} Don Heck) was the only one, & became successful?

WI the Champions (minus Hercules, with Black Goliath from the start) had been a success?

WI Iron Fist had been more successful? (Tho that does butterfly the marvelous wrap, with him beating up the X-Men.)
 
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nick_crenshaw82

nick_crenshaw82

Bob Haney's Marvel Universe, A Comics Counterfactual
I've previously speculated in a couple of different ways about DC done in a Marvel manner, but it seemed like a good time to think about things in the other direction: what if somehow DC had managed to take over Marvel just as the Marvel Age was getting off the ground?

Talking about this with my friend and occasionally fellow blogger, Jim Shelley, we came up with several ideas, but since several came down to "Bob Haney," I figured that was worth a post in and of itself. This, of course, is just idle speculation, but I could see it informing a very interesting supers rpg campaign. Maybe it will look that way to you, too.

The Hulk
In this timeline, the "hero and villain in one man!" dynamic that Haney brought to Eclipso (first appearing in May of 1963) will instead get applied to Marvel's Jekyll and Hyde character, the Hulk. The Hulk would retain his more villainous "gray hulk" persona through the entirety of his short run, and Banner would be his antagonist. Just like in the real world, this series doesn't last long, so in Tales to Astonish in 1964, Haney and artist Ramona Fradon bring the camp and whimsy they would have brought to Metamorpho to the Hulk. Bruce Banner becomes stuck in Hulk form, but still tries to woo Betty Ross, while being under the thumb of her father who ostensibly has Banner on a short lease "for his own good," but doesn't hesitate to exploit his abilities.

The X-Men
"Dig this crazy teen scene!" The X-men had a rocky start, so Haney was given title, along with a new artist, Nick Cardy--the original Teen Titans team in our history. Haney made the X-Men "hip" teens and gave them new foes like the Mad Mod, and more than one motorcycle gang. The male X-Men often refer to Marvel Girl as "Marvel-chick" as a term of endearment.

The Haney/Cardy team kept the X-Men from going all reprints, though the title wouldn't really catch on until the arrival of the New X-Men, same as in the history we know.
sorcerersskull.blogspot.com

Bob Haney's Marvel Universe, A Comics Counterfactual

I've previously speculated in a couple of different ways about DC done in a Marvel manner, but it seemed like a good time to think about thi...
sorcerersskull.blogspot.com sorcerersskull.blogspot.com
 
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