MegaMorphs #2

Background

To protect the Earth from threats too great for even super heroes to handle, Billionaire Stark has built SUPER ROBOTS! Namely the Mega Morphs, giganto big- big assault-bots that can transform from vehicle that are powered by (and amplify) the abilities of the heroes that control them. Try not to think about it too hard.

Stark recruited Captain America, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Ghost Rider and Wolverine to pilot these mecha based on their respective toy sales. Despite the somewhat dubious decision to put Ghostie on a tech-based team, and giving Hulk the ability to be even more destructive the team remarkably managed to defeat Doctor Octopus who had his own SUPER ROBOT!

Weeks later, the Hulk was mind-controlled by an unknown villain and broke Doctor Octopus out of a maximum security prison. Spider-man and Ghost Rider intercepted the two and battled the impromptu tag team Dock Ock and Hulk in the wackiest fight scene since Daredevil and real-life guy who says he's psychic Uri Geller battled Mind-Wave and The Think Tank in Daredevil #133. (Really this is Marvel Continuity People!)

Then came the Gigantic Doombots With Jetpacks!

Story '200 Tons of Doom'

Things open up looking quite bad for Spider-Man and Ghost Rider facing certain Doom, or more specifically Doombots, 200 tons worth of them. This gives Hulk and Dock Ock (or as Hulk likes to call him "Extra Arms Man") to beat a hasty retreat... or at least as hasty a retreat you can beat in a 60+ feet of lumbering metal robot.

Tony Stark meanwhile contacts Doctor Doom via his spiffy hologram-phone, Doom insists he has nothing to do with these giant robot versions of himself on a rampage, and someone is clearly trying to set him up. Remarkably this alibi doesn't convince Tony.

Spidey-Bot meanwhile is being overwhelmed by Doombots. Stark calls Parker via a sadly non-holographic phone and convinces him to get up over the tree-line. Using his uh, mecha-webbing, Spiderman's robot launches itself high up into the air just before Wolverine's robot in Starscream-esc jet mode swoops in and starts slicing, dicing, and making julienne fries out of the evil Green Robots. Spidey's robot slowly lowers itself to the ground by spinning a web parachute, which is pretty impressive considering how much that robot must weigh. Captain America's arrives in it's "Ms. Marvel" helicopter form to assist Ghost Rider.

Mr. Sound Effect yells "FWAMM! SHKKT! KOOM! FWACK!" as the combined Mega Morphs make short work of Doom's creations. Unfortunately Dr. Octavius and the mind-controlled Banner have escaped. Doctor Octo-Coptor and Hulk-Bot land down in a junkyard somewhere in Northern Mid-West, and start digging conveniently bypassing the Sentinel a young boy would later find as they look for something they can use.

Back at SHIELD's Helicarrier the heroes meet outside of their robots to discuss with Tony Stark what the villains are up to. But they all agree that Doom's deeply involved and that's not a good thing. Oh and Ghost Rider demands "Vengeance must not wait."

"Oh. That's just his- it's his thing... vengeance" a somewhat embarrassed Spidey says. Nick Fury shows up to brief our heroes on the latest information, and dang it as luck would have it, Ock deactivated the tracking device in Hulk's mecha but the location data taken before then says that the two are heading to Iceland. This prompts a moment of dire silence from Stark.

We cut back to Hulk-Bot and Doctor Octo-Bot. Giant Robo-Hulk is in Tank form, and it blasts a giant "FOOM" of energy, shattering the force shield surrounding an Icelandic SHIELD base. The Mecha quickly rip their way into the base, as the SHIELD guards scatter for their lives. As they rip past the final door, Doctor Octopus finally gets a glimpse a the thing the Hulk's been mentally programmed to find. He pauses looking stunned for a moment... as We see the foot something even more massive, even more gigantic than the Mega Morphs and Doombots. We turn the page to see...

THE RED RONIN! Yes! The Biggest! The Most Gigantic! The Most Stompy-Fun Instrument of Mechanized Mayhem in the Marvel Universe! "... This Should Be Fun."

General Comments

Reading this series you get the sense that writer Sean McKeever realized going in that this Toy based concept is patently ridiculous and decided to play off the sillyness of the whole thing. And you know what? It works!

I duhno, perhaps there are some elitist preppy types who would whine and moan about how stupid the whole concept was, but I was consistently smiling and laughing the whole way through this book. I'm sorry if you can't laugh at seeing the absurdity of a 50-foot robot Spider-Man spinning a giant web parachute, I think you should give up comics.

If you like giant robots and you like superheros you'll probablly find this mildly amusing if you don't take both too seriously.

Overall Rating

You know what's wrong with House of M. and Infinite Crisis? Not enough giant robots...

Footnote

Next Issue: Can Anything Stop the Red Ronin? Will Robert J. Sodaro lighten up? Tune in True Believers.