Vipers, Spiders and mind control... oh my!

Oy, how did we get into this one?

Back in Spider-Woman # 44, Chris Claremont brought the grudge match between Spider-Woman and  Hydra to a head... but this single issue has one of the most surprising shifts in tone and subject matter that surprisingly manage to gel together and still feel natural, logical even. Not to mention all those startling revelations at the end!

So, how did we get to Spider-Woman dragging the supervillain Viper out of the drink? Long story involving Hydra, the Yakuza, Viper almost killing Spi's best friend Lindsay, a forgettable character called the Judas Man and more.

Lets just say Viper and her terrorist group Hydra had been after Spider-Woman for quite a while. She felt a seemingly inexplicable hatred towards Spi, which at times almost bordered on love. But when Viper fatally wounded Lindsay, Spider-Woman swore to kill her. Obviously that didn't really work out. 

"This, I knew, was DEATH."

Well, not really, Jessica... Actually, in a surprise twist that turned the story from gritty film noir revenge plot into an unexpected tale of horror, Viper reveals her left eye is made of more than just scar tissue. She casts Spider-Woman into a subdimension where she comes face to face with... 

"... For when you leave here I shall be your god..."

Viper had actually sent Spider-Woman to the dimension of Ch'ton, one of the first Elder Gods to walk the Earth and the creator of the Darkhold, a legendary magic tome that contains all of his dark arcane knowledge.

- warning: excessive continuity heavy rant ahead- 

Claremont really tapped a rich vein with this tale that has interlocking parts as it grows. Ch'ton had fled the earthly plane millennia ago to avoid destruction by the hands of the god slaying monster Demiurge. Foreseeing that creature's demise, Ch'ton had planned a way back: through a spell in his Darkhold, which had become popular enough to spawn a cult: the Darkholders.

In the 13th century, a group of Darkholders led by Morgana Le Fay attempted to summon Ch'ton back to Earth to use him as their servant. Of course, the Elder God proved much too powerful to control so Morgana locked his essence into a single location: Wundagore mountain in the Balkan nation of Transia... The exact location where Jonathan and Meriem Drew would bring their little daughter Jessica centuries later...

Jessica, who turned out to be Spider-Woman... who turned out to be a mortal enemy of Morgana Le Fay. Gee, almost makes you think people plan this stuff...

- Here endeth the rant, back to the demonic possession in progress -

As far as mind control goes, this is a pretty graphic and effective way of showing how Ch'ton is corrupting Jessica. By seeing her slowy become more and more demonic, until she mirrors him.

All kidding aside, this is powerful stuff. Heavy on symbolism and perhaps a tad campy, but the message about struggling against one's inner demons is quite eleganty portrayed here. Still, this is a comic book, not a therapy session... So, here comes another obstacle for the dark angel to overcome...

"I've never hurt you. Why do you  hate me?! WHY?!"

A good question, though it'd hardly be the first to come to my mind if I was dangling off a cliff in an elder god's subdimensional playground while being turned into a demon from the pit you're about to fall into.

Still, it proved the right question, because it made Viper think... and act.

... Your ploy failed, Meriem. Kick her over the edge . Send her to me, that I may claim her soul... as I claimed yours..."

Ch'ton's boast rubbed Viper the wrong way and she takes action...

Getting back to Earth, Claremont has Jessica make it a point to immediately strip and dive naked into the chilly ocean to... refresh herself. So, yeah, she really is butt naked when Viper teleports in for the denouement. 

"I've been his slave over fifty years. Unable to resist, yet allowed sufficient awareness to make that slavery an unbearable torment."


Having Viper turn out to be Spider-Woman's mother Meriem was an exciting and clever idea on Claremont's part. Unfortunately, J.M. DeMatteis soon debunked the entire story in Captain America, writing it off as one of Viper's delusions... She is quite insane, after all.

A pity, considering it felt like such a natural fit and would also have tied up yet another nagging, loose end in Spider-Woman's already convoluted origin story. After all, we never did learn what really happened to Jessica's mother when she left her husband and daughter in the late 1930s...

In conclusion: Despite the fact it features an almost criminal amount of mind control and soul claiming, Spider-Woman # 44 can be considered a textbook example of how to tell an engaging story that builds on past events, instead of being bogged down by them. Claremont cleverly uses established continuity to expand and enhance his characters. Not to mention that all these events take place in one issue, without ever feeling forced or even slightly rushed.

Quite a feat indeed.

Spiders, viper and self inflicted mind control

Besides his obvious soft spot for mind control, Chris Claremont also has a well established penchant for writing strong women... Scratch that, strong women who preferably dress in black leather. This makes Chris a natural fit for writing......

"I crave excitement... suspense!" 

No worries Black Widow... you won't soon forget any of the thrill ride that is Marvel Team Up issues 82 through 85... Ow, wait, you don't know who you are to begin with? Ah, guess that explains issue 82 then.

The arc starts out routinely enough with Spider-Man stopping the mugging of a red haired woman. However, he's shocked to learn that she's a dead ringer for the Black Widow... Yet, that's not who this redhead claims to be. 

"Mmmmm-- this is good"

Know what isn't as good? Late 1970s Marvel coloring. Honestly, 'Nancy Rushman' either looks like an Asian lady wearing a red fright wig, or a low budget Tigra. Anyways, Spider-Man can't get over the fact that this supposed elementary school teacher looks so much like a certain ex Soviet super spy he knows.

He spends some time trying to figure out whether or not Nancy is the Widow, even getting her to dress in a spare Black Widow uniform. This brings up some rather painful memory flashes. 

Despite that ordeal, nothing substantial comes in to focus. Spider-Man decides to take 'Nancy' to SHIELD, the spy organisation Black Widow works for. But, it seems like the agency has already found them.

Why would SHIELD be attacking one of their own? That's so... out of character for them. Almost as if they were... Mind controlled? Ah yes, that would be this lady's doing:

The Viper had been secretly plotting to conquer the world using a hypnobeam (mind control by any other name) to take over the Helicarrier, SHIELD's massive flying fortress.

Her big plan: by crashing the SHIELD base on Washington DC just as then US president Jimmy Carter was giving a major policy speech, not only would she take out the president and most of America's leaders,  it would leave the entire planet shocked and vulnerable for her terrorist group Hydra to move in and make their move. 

Now, I'm no expert on world domination, let alone the logic of a terrorist supervillain who insists on wearing emerald lipstick...

But if you're crafty enough to come up with a mind controlling hypno ray so potent it turns an entire  Helicarrier full of superspies into your slaves... Wouldn't it be a lot easier to just walk into the White House and activate aforementioned device? Less of a mess, more mindless drones in high places to boss around. Just a thought...

Still, getting back to the mystery of Nancy Rushman and Natasha Romanova... The Widow had actually discovered Viper's scheme early on, but was captured and subjected to intense torture. So intense, in fact, that this happened:

So... If you were Viper and you have a mind control device lying around that turns anyone into a helpful slave with the flick of a switch... Would extreme torture to the point of self induced schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder really be the way to go?

Needless to say, by the time the trilogy ended in Marvel Team Up # 85, Viper was defeated and the Widow returned to normal, thereby condemning the Nancy Rushman aspect of her personality to 'die off' as well.

You might think ridding yourself of an unwanted alter ego would be a good thing, especially when it only came into existence because your mind couldn't handle the intense trauma it was being subjected to. But guess what...

Yes, Spider-Man is actually a little disappointed Black Widow was herself again... 

You see, in the last three issues, Spidey had developed more than a little crush on 'Nancy Rushman', the scared, wimpering school marm who hang on to him for dear life whenever anything remotely threatening happened.

So that's our hero: a guy who forces a scared, fragile woman to change into the woman *HE* knows she could be, even dressing her up in skintight black leather. And once he succeeds in his goal, he leaves heart broken once it becomes clear she isn't as subservient and pliable after all...

Bet you wish you had a miniature version of Viper's hypno ray in your beltbuckle now, eh, Spidey?

Team America: Give me your tired, your poor, your Marauder waiting to break free

Now, I do realise that I've been harping on Chris Claremont and his overuse of mind control as a lazy plotdevice in his stories for quite some now.

But lets not forget Chris is hardly the only writer to use the mind warp as a technique to tell a story. Hell, some creators  even base an entire series around it....

Meet Team America. a group of motor stunt cyclists created in 1982 by J.M de Matteis and Mike Zeck, loosely modelled (to avoid lawsuits) on then-current stuntman / real life daredevil Evel Knievil.

Not only did Team America risk their lives performing dangerous stunts, they also had an ulterior motive for being together. Read on then...

Yes, Team America appears as shocked as the lady Hydra scientist who explains their condition. And who can blame them? As far as origin stories go, this one's a doozy. Their mothers were all unwittingly part of a HYDRA experiment that was supposed to create mutant children. In order to mutate their offspring, the women were injected with mutagenic agents (read: radiation). I've heard that pregnant women have a certain glow about them, but that's just ridiculous.

And also not very effective. Because yes, they did develop superhuman powers, but they only work when all five of them are together. When they join together, their powers combine into 

Yes, that's right... five people combine their mind to take over another person, really any old innocent bystander will do. The personality and body of the horst is transformed into that of "the Marauder", a daring black clad stunt cyclist with a spiffy bike. Think Ghost Rider without the blazing skulls, or Captain Planet with less eco friendly messages and more pointless driving around on gas guzzling road hogs. 

Team America seemed relegated to life as a one off, until Chris Claremont brought them into New Mutants. Now, I would recap the issue, if only Wikipedia hadn't done so sublime a job already: The team temporarily disbanded but yet another attack drew them out of retirement. While performing at a charity exhibition, Team America intervened in an attack on The New Mutants by Viper and the Silver Samuari.

They manifested the Marauder on Danielle Moonstar and the 16 year old Cheyenne girl, in touch with nature's serene spirits, suddenly did this:

                                                   


Well, its the thought that counts.

Dani was captured and Viper tried to force Team America to steal for her. Before they could formulate a plan of action, professor Xavier showed up and taught the motor team a thing or two about controlling minds. Whether they wanted to or not.

And that's today's lesson, kids: there's always someone better at mind control then you... Even if his set of wheels barely have one horse power.