''Weirdworld'' was a fantasy series created by
Doug Moench
Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, ''Electric Warrior'' and ''Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critically ...
and
Mike Ploog
Michael G. Ploog (; born July 13, 1940 or 1942) is an American storyboard and comic book artist, and a visual designer for films.
In comics, Ploog is best known for his work on Marvel Comics' 1970s ''Man-Thing'' and '' The Monster of Frankenst ...
for American company
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled ''Weirdworld'' debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the ''
Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' storyline, followed by a six-issue series as a part of the ''
All-New, All-Different Marvel
All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...
'' branding.
Publication history
1970s and 1980s appearances
"Weirdworld" debuted in the first issue of the black-and-white magazine ''Marvel Super Action''. It then was featured in the color comic book ''
Marvel Premiere
''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
'' #38 (October 1977). In late 1977 or early 1978, co-creator Ploog left Marvel in a contract dispute while in the midst of drawing a 60-page "Weirdworld" story, written by Moench, that the company had planned to publish as one of its ''
Marvel Comics Super Special
''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot comic-magazines published by Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cents to 60 cents, Beginning with issu ...
'' series of
one-shots. Ploog recalled in 1998 that he had "a disagreement with
ditor-in-chiefJim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
. I had moved to a farm in Minnesota, and agreed to do a hand-colored 'Weirdworld' story. Marvel backed out of the deal after I had started. I can't remember the details, but it doesn't matter. I think I was ready to move on. Marvel and I were both changing".
Rick Marschall
Richard "Rick" Marschall (born February 3, 1949) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed January 10, 2011. . is a writer/editor and comic strip historian, described by ''Bostonia'' magazine ...
, the story's editor, said in 1978 that Ploog had been given four months to complete the art, and when it became evident that the deadline would not be met, arranged to publish the story in two 30-page installments, giving Ploog two more months. Ploog sent Marvel photocopies of the first 31 pages, and was paid for them. During this time, Marvel had given
work-for-hire
A work made for hire (work for hire or WFH), in copyright law in the United States, is a work that is subject to copyright and is created by employees as part of their job or some limited types of works for which all parties agree in writing to the ...
contracts to its freelancers, many of whom, including Ploog, refused to sign, resulting in cessation of work for Marvel. Ploog "took himself off the project", said Marschall, and retained his original artwork. Moench's script was eventually published as a 106-page story illustrated by penciler
, inker
Rudy Nebres
Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...
, and
airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint but also ink and dye, and foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush.
History
U ...
colorist
Peter Ledger
Peter Ledger (25 October 1945 – 18 November 1994) was an Australian cartoonist, comic book artist, commercial airbrush artist, and illustrator.
Biography
In addition to studying art, Ledger worked with surveying teams in the Australian outbac ...
as the three-part "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in ''Marvel Super Special'' #11–13 (Spring–Fall 1979). Additional Weirdworld stories were published in several issues of ''
Epic Illustrated
''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...
'' in 1981 and 1982.
Ploog returned to draw the first part of a "Weirdworld" trilogy, in ''
Marvel Fanfare
''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.
Volume one
''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...
'' #24 (January 1986), with
Pat Broderick
Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the ''Micronauts'' and ''Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and ''Legion of Super-Heroes'', ''Captain Atom'' and ''Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Broderick a ...
penciling the two subsequent issues.
Characters
The protagonists were the
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
Tyndall and Velanna, both from the floating ring-shaped island of Klarn, and an irascible
Dwarf
Dwarf or dwarves may refer to:
Common uses
*Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore
* Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
dubbed Mud-Butt because he tended to land on his backside in a quarrel.
''Weirdworld'' (2015)
As part of the 2015 ''
Secret Wars
''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' storyline, a miniseries titled ''Weirdworld'' starring
Arkon
Arkon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the warlord and ruler of the extra-dimensional world of Polemachus. The concept of the character is that he is a hero from the sword-and-sorcery ge ...
was released in June 2015 which featured other characters like
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...
of Earth-15238,
Skull the Slayer
Skull the Slayer (James Patrick Scully) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character debuted in his own book in August 1975.
Publication history
Skull the Slayer had his own ongoing series s ...
, a variation of
Jennifer Kale
Jennifer Kale is a fictional character, a sorceress appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler in 1972, she was originally a supporting character in Man-Thing comic books. Since her cr ...
from Earth-11234 that is the Queen of Weirdworld's
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
s, and characters from ''
The Saga of Crystar
''The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior'' was an 11-issue fantasy-based comic book published by American company Marvel Comics in 1983. It was associated with a toy line from Remco, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories.
Produ ...
''. Weirdworld is featured on the map of the storyline's version of
Battleworld
Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.
The s ...
as a floating island composed of fragments from many alternate reality magical realms like Polemachus, Crystalium, Klarn, and the original Weirdworld. By the end of the miniseries, Weirdworld manifested on Earth-616 in the Bermuda Triangle.
''Weirdworld'' (vol. 2)
''Weirdworld'' remained as part of the Marvel Universe post-''Secret Wars'' and became the setting of a new volume of ''Weirdworld''.
Rebecca "Becca" Rodriguez was an American teenager who was flying from the United States of America to Mexico on board Flight 789. While traveling through the Bermuda Triangle, the Boeing 747 crashed into Weirdworld where its surviving occupants were rescued by Arkon. Rebecca encountered the Ogeode who stated that he caused the plane to crash with the artefact called the Wuxian Seed. Ogeode was then killed by Goleta the Wizardslayer and the Wuxian Seed falling into Rebecca's possession. Alone in Weirdworld, Rebecca agreed to become Goleta's squire and the two set off together, unknowingly being tracked by the Catbeast that had emerged from Ogeode's corpse. While traveling around Weirdworld, Rebecca and Goleta are startled by the Catbeast's sudden appearance and drove off the road. Upon reaching safety, the Catbeast caught up to them and revealed himself to be Ogeode. This forces Becca to step between him and Goleta's axe lest he be killed again before he could send her back to Earth. Ogeode's Catbeast form then explains to get Rebecca back to Earth, they need to travel across the Fang Mountains to retrieve a spare wizard body. Rebecca met Eta the
Watcher who urged her not to go to the Fang Mountains or else it would bring a full scale war to all of Weirdworld.
Other appearances
Weirdworld is also the setting for a new series starring Dane Whitman, the
Black Knight
The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...
. Black Knight fled to Weirdworld after using the Ebony Blade to kill Carnivore. Upon arriving on Weirdworld, he killed King Zaltin Tar to establish New Avalon and built an army with the help of Shield and Spear. Black Knight has the army built in anticipation of the arrival of the
Avengers Unity Division who are seeking to bring him to justice.
Spider-Man and Deadpool hid from Itsy Bitsy in Weirdworld, where they helped the Bogswaggers escape from the Witch Queen le Fay and reclaim their land of Bathsalthia from the Kingslayers, as well as fighting the creature Sl'Ur'Boroth, whose arrival was heralded by the local Moloids.
After
Sam Alexander and
Nadia van Dyne
Nadezhda "Nadia" van Dyne (née Pym) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Waid and Alan Davis, the character first appeared in ''Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II'' (July ...
were abducted by the
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ''S ...
of Earth-11234, the rest of the
Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...
followed them to Weirdworld. Upon arrival, they were scattered through Weirdworld with false memories and identities. For instance,
Amadeus Cho
Amadeus Cho, also known as Brawn, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by American writer Greg Pak and Canadian artist Takeshi Miyazawa, the character first appeared in ''Amazing Fantasy'' vol. 2 #1 ...
became an
orc
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, a ...
known as Brawnhammer, Ironheart became Lady Ironheart,
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was originally conceived as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. Like Captain Marvel, most of the bearers of the Ms. M ...
became Mystic Marvel,
Miles Morales
Miles Gonzalo MoralesAhmed, Saladin (w), Garrón, Javier (a). ''Miles Morales: Spider-Man'' #1 (2018) Marvel Comics (New York). () is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and is on ...
became a rogue named Shadow-Spider, and Snowguard became Snowgore. Only
Riri Williams
Ironheart (Riri Williams) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created in 2016 by writers Brian Michael Bendis, and artist Mike Deodato.
Dominique Thorne portrays Will ...
remembered the truth, accompanying Miles Morales. The
Master of the World pursued them there, and after finding and adopting the amnesiac Nadia and Sam conquered much of Weirdworld with his technology. Riri led an underground resistance movement with Snowguard and Ms. Marvel, and over threw the Master. In the process, the Champions regained their true identities, and left with the Master.
Roxxon was revealed to have made a portal to Weirdworld in order to harness its limitless energy, only for Weirdworld's different monsters to travel to Earth wanting to kill every human. This includes the shapeshifting Skrullduggers when they emerge from the portal following an explosion at Roxxon.
Weapon H
Weapon H (Clayton Cortez) is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The character, created by Greg Pak and Mike Deodato Jr., first appeared in ''The Totally Awesome Hulk ...
, the Brood-infected human Blake, and Roxxon's Man-Thing fight the Skrullduggers as Captain America arrives to join the fight. When Weapon H, Blake, Man-Thing,
Titania,
Korg
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they ...
, and a disguised
Black Widow travel to Weirdworld on
Dario Agger's behalf, he finds that Roxxon had managed to capture Morgan le Fay in order to harness her power source. Thanks to a spell, Morgan le Fay takes control of Weapon H and reclaims control over the Skrullduggers with her magic as she is the only one who can control the Skrullduggers. It was revealed that Morgan le Fay is considered to be a queen to a displaced alien race called the Inaku. The group was able to escape through the portal back to Roxxon.
Emily Bright, a teenage sorcerer at Steven Strange's school for young magic users, the "Strange Academy". While the students were playing a game of "inter-deminsional door tag" Emily would find herself temporarily in Weirdworld. Here she met the cat-beast Ogeode who would offer the lost student a way home. It's unclear how he survived after apparently dying at the hands of Morgan Le Fey, or if he simply faked his death. Still unaware of the cat-beast true identity, Emily would provide the former wizard Ogeode, a way off Weirdworld to the Strange Academy. The former wizard of Weirdworld now known as "catbeast", would eventually befriend Emily Bright as well as becoming her loyal pet & familiar. It remains to be seen if Ogeode has more sinister intentions, or simply wanted escape from Weirdworld.
Following the Death of Doctor Strange, his newfound school "Strange Academy" was temporarily shut down. Two of the Strange's students, the Asgardian twin sons of Enchantress Iric and Alvi were sent home but there mother's past would come back to haunt them. Iric was getting ready to head back to Asgard, but the now free evil wizard of Weirdworld, appeared in his room and kidnapped him. It was revealed Strange had assisted Enchantress in the past but his death broke the spell keeping her son's safe. Taken to Weirdworld, Iric was drained of his magic so he could be used as a battery for Pulsari to make him strong enough to conquer the Crystal Kingdom. In a very weak state, Iric told the wizard that he'd be dead soon and that he'd lose his newfound strength, but Pulsari told him this wasn't an issue, as his mother and brother were coming to rescue him. When the two arrived along with Goleta the Wizard Slayer, Pulsari presented the worn-out barely alive Iric to them. Goleta unable to peirce Pulsari's skin, managed to destroy the wizard's necklace, stripping him of his power and returning Iric to normal, in the process.
Collected editions
In other media
Weirdworld appears in its self-titled ''
Avengers Assemble'' episode.
Black Widow and Captain Marvel find Bruce Banner pursuing Hulk here after they were separated by
Beyonder
The Beyonder () is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Mike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared in ''Secret Wars'' #1 (May 1984) as an unseen, self-procl ...
. The two of them stumble upon a plot by Morgan le Fay to trick Bruce Banner into capturing Hulk so that she can harness his powers and take over Battleworld. After Bruce Banner and Hulk reunited in the same body, Hulk helps Black Widow and Captain Marvel fight off Morgan le Fay and her horsemen before returning to Avengers Tower.
References
External links
* {{cite web , url= http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2010/02/middle-earth-mighty-marvel-way.html, title= Middle-Earth the Mighty Marvel Way: Weirdworld, date= February 1, 2010, publisher= From the Sorcerer's Skull, archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20140828231006/http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2010/02/middle-earth-mighty-marvel-way.html, archivedate= August 28, 2014, url-status= live, df=mdy-all
* https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Weirdworld
Characters created by Doug Moench
Characters created by Mike Ploog
Fantasy comics
Fictional elves
Marvel Comics dimensions
Marvel Comics titles