When Marvel's editors were drawing up their list of bad guys to unceremoniously frag, Megatak's name was probably the first one on there. And it was probably scrawled in huge cursive letters with a lot of flourishes, like John Hancock's signature. While I don't agree with their decision, I'll admit there were some serious strikes against the poor dope:
1. A stupid name that tells me absolutely nothing about what he does. Before I did any research on him, I assumed he was some sort of giant robot.
2. A goofy costume. Take a look.
3. A sorely overpowered opponent. That's the part that most baffles me. Who the hell creates a villain with electrical powers and then pits him against The Mighty Thor? I could see him faring better against Power Man and Iron Fist, but as a Thor villain? Come freakin' on. And now for the stinger (if you haven't read the link I'm cribbing this from): Megatak was getting his balls handed to him by Sif at first, but then Thor showed up and asked her if he could wail on Megatak for a while and Sif was all like, "Whatever. Go for it."
But I don't think Megatak was necessarily lame. I think he was just in the wrong comic at the wrong time. Especially with that second comic. Ouch! Here's how I would have handled him:
I think Megatak would have made a fun, weird villain against one of Marvel's wisecracking heroes, like Spider-Man or She-Hulk. The fact he can bring video game characters to life makes him a contemporary version of the Golden Age Superman baddie, Funnyface (who did the same thing with thinly-disguised versions of famous comic strip characters). I like the visual contrast between 8-bit, 2-D graphics and a more realistically drawn human character. I don't see why Megatak couldn't have created electro-magnetic versions of video game weapons, either. I think that would have looked cool. And the best part is, Metatak could still work today! Especially if you ditched the insanity part and just made him a retro-gamer who was into the old Atari 2600-era stuff. He could still be an industrial spy or hacker or what-have-you. And can't you just see him conjuring up a giant version of the Atari 2600 Pac-Man, all flickery and lame with the busted doorbell sound effects (*TONK, TONK-TONK*) and then it bites your arm off.
I tried to make my Megatak design work as an actual costume but I think it looks better as gussied-up street clothes. The mask is sort-of aviator goggles, with rectangular lenses. His hair stands straight up from the static he absorbs. And the logo is a giant M with a monster face on it. Kind of like Space Invaders but without the antennae.
Next: Gender-Reversed Black Canary! (You asked for it...)
11 comments:
I like it. Definite potential! He would make a great Spiderman baddie, for sure. Actually, his origin reminds me of a character who was a villain on the "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" cartoon around that same time (1981, close enough) by the name of Videoman.
Or maybe I was thinking about this Videoman, who was a hero.
Those pants are awesome. I'd almost wear them in real life (not a lot of superbeing outfits I can make that claim with). Nice colors.
Great revision; I like the retro angle, and am psyched at the very idea that he could throw Er & Ignignokt at people. Technically they aren't video game characters, but they definitely look and sound retro.
Cool design! He really looks like a retro video game guy now. I like the t-shirt over long-sleeved shirt look this guy has. I could see him fighting Spider-Man.
I love the possibilities of his powers. He could summon Kool-Aid Man, Pac-Man, the ships from Space Invaders, the big bad bug from Yar's Revenge, the missile launchers from Missile Command, Asteroids from, well, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Robot Tank, Dig Dug...it would be so cool!
I also like the idea of him using video game weapons. Great re-imagining of one of the most obscure super villains ever. Please tell me you're trying to break into comics...you definitely have the imagination for the job.
Man, I remember Marvel trying this "Thor vs. Video Games" thing numerous times; it would suprise me if Megatak was the lamest version. One of my seminal "put it back on the spinner rack" moments was reading a story featuring Thor facing off against a giant Pac-Man.
Here's my take on how to make Megatak work: He needs to be able to mess with reality, and impose the limiting rules of video games on his unsuspecting victims. Suddenly, Thor is faced with a 2-D scaffold, and Megatak, in the shape of a giant ape, is hurling barrels at him. Fortunately, Mjolinor can smash them up, as long as Thor isn't stuck on a ladder.
There, I can imagine that the gloves, boots, and goggles you've designed could help remind the reader that Megatak is "running" the boss guy.
The problem is, I'd have probably put that comic back on the rack, too. Oh well.
Gregory Nettles (one of the most delicate, hand-milled English soap-sounding names for a bad guy I've ever heard)
It's really more of a baseball player's name.
I like this. I think this is my favorite of your redesigns so far. It's not too complicated, but it's graphically memorable.
I'd like to see this dude team up with Arcade. They could create some kind of virtual reality Murderworld.
Genius. That's all that I can say about your Megatak redesign, Sheer, undeniable genius.
Word Verification: dmjzzgkl, a video game sound effect used for when Megatak is defeated.
Your best redesign ever. I also like the idea of giving him a 2-D world to trap heroes within.
Sadly, it's too whimsical for modern Marvel unless Grant Morrison becomes EIC there one day ...
Wow, I had no idea y'all would like this design so much! I'm touched! And not just in the "crazy" sense. Also, those are some great ideas for other ways to use Megatak.
You're spot on on this one (again!). As I started to read the post, I thought, "Man, I could send you the blogs of a thousand guys who _wish_ they were Megatak." And apparently, so did you.
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