Marvel Apes

Marvel Apes

Cover of Marvel Apes 1 (Nov, 2008). Art by John Watson.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Schedule Bi-weekly
Format Limited series
Genre
Publication date November — December 2008
February 2009 ("0" issue)
Number of issues 5 (4 issue limited series followed three months later by a "0" issue)
Creative team
Writer(s) Karl Kesel
Artist(s) Ramon Bachs
Letterer(s) Jared K. Fletcher
Colorist(s) Javier Mena Guerrero
Editor(s) Thomas Brennan
Joe Quesada
Stephen Wacker

Marvel Apes is a four-issue limited series by comics publisher Marvel Comics which started publication in October 2008.[1] The series is written by Karl Kesel with art by Ramon Bachs and covers by John Watson.

The Marvel Apes reality is designated as Earth-8101.

Premise

Marvel Apes was first suggested as a successor to Marvel Zombies by artist and fan Mark Walsh during a convention Q&A session with Joe Quesada.[2] As with Marvel Zombies before it, Marvel Apes takes place in an alternate universe, in this case a simian-dominated counterpart to Earth-616 that hosts anthropoid versions of popular Marvel Superheroes.

As with the introduction of Marvel Zombies in the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four, the Marvel Apes universe is visited by an existing Marvel character, in this case Martin Blank a.k.a. Gibbon.[3] He is accompanied by a female scientist named Fiona Fitzhugh in what has been described by Kesel as a "Lord of the Rings-style sprawling epic".

Plot

Marty Blank, the Gibbon, having been restored to his simian appearance, is left with his personal life in shambles. His attempts to side with the heroes are frustrated by his ineptitude, and even Princess Python, previously a caring and deeply devoted wife, is now fed up with the meek loser that Gibbon has become. Out of boredom and depression, he replies to an ad posted in the Daily Bugle by Fiona Fitzhugh, a spunky and cheery young scientist hoping to study the nature of super-powered individuals. Upon hearing that Gibbon had his powers since birth (as opposed to the majority of mutants who gain their mutation during puberty), Fiona analyzes his aura, and hypothesizes that Gibbon may come from another reality in the Multiverse. While attempting to contact such a reality, Fiona and the Gibbon are sucked into a portal that takes them to a world populated by intelligent simians. Gibbon manages to help Spider-Monkey and the Ape-Vengers, simian versions of the Avengers, subdue Doc Ooktavius, and he is inducted into the Ape-Vengers. Fiona is sent to ask for Reed Richards' help in returning to Earth-616; she discovers that in the Marvel Apes reality the cosmic storm that gave the Fantastic Four their powers also gave a human appearance to Susan Storm.

Gibbon is at first excited to become a member of the Ape-Vengers, but after witnessing the brutal lynching of Doctor Ooktapus, he questions the Ape-Vengers methods. Meanwhile, Fiona and the ape Mr. Fantastic are able to recreate a gateway back to Earth 616. Captain Ape-merica then reveals that he is actually the simian counterpart of the vampire Baron Blood, who in this reality was able, by sampling Captain America's blood in the forties, to take over his appearance and powers. The superserum also removed Baron Blood's vulnerability to sunlight. After turning the Invaders into vampires as well, Blood became leader of the Ape-Vengers, and uses their bloody lynching of supervillains as a way to feed.

Gibbon, with the help of a cadre of dissident heroes, finds the real Captain America, still frozen in ice, and thaws him to lead the last free heroes against their vampiric foe. Baron Blood and the vampiric Invaders are destroyed, but in the melee the portal is destroyed after Fiona and the ape version of Speedball are sent through. The Gibbon is happy to remain behind in the ape-centric world.

Characters

Heroes

Villains

Other characters

Sequel

A sequel to the above, which pits Earth 2149's Marvel Zombies against their alternate metasimian equivalents, entitled Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution has been released, as well as 4 other one-shot issues: Speed Ball Special, Amazing Spider-Monkey, Grunt Line, and Prime Eight.

See also

References

  1. ↑ NYCC '08: Marvel Apes Run Wild, Marvel.com, April 20, 2008
  2. ↑ MyCup o' Joe Week 5, Marvel.com, April 22, 2008
  3. ↑ NYCC '08: Marvel Apes, Newsarama, April 20, 2008

External links

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