Zachary Jenkins

Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.

Entry 042 – Jubilee

Name: Jubilation Lee Code Names: Jubilee, Wondra First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #244 (May ’89) Powers: Creates fireworks, is a vampire Teams Affiliation: X-Men, X-Corps, Generation X, New Warriors About One of the useful tools a writer has to introduce readers to a new world is the audience surrogate. This is a character that is new to the environment, say the…

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Entry 041 – Shark-Girl

Art by Nick Bradshaw and Ian Herring Name: Iara Dos Santos Code Names: Shark-Girl First Appearance: Wolverine & the X-Men #20 (Jan ’13) Powers: She is like a werewolf but, you know, a shark Teams Affiliation: X-Men About The “mutant metaphor” is malleable and ever changing. From the red scare to civil rights it has always been used to…

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Entry 040 – Dani Moonstar

Art by Bill Sienkiewicz Name: Dani Moonstar Code Names: Psyche, Mirage First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: New Mutants (Nov ’82) Powers: Creates psychic manifestations, connection to animals Teams Affiliation: New Mutants, SHIELD, X-Force, X-Men, Defenders About The biggest benefit of the shared continuity of superhero comics is the ability to mash together elements that would feel ridiculous otherwise. The…

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Entry 039 – Mastermind

Name: Jason Wyngarde Code Names: Mastermind First Appearance: X-Men #4 (March ’64) Powers: Illusions Teams Affiliation: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Factor Three, The Hellfire Club About Life is a perception of your own reality. You interpret what you see and define your entire existence around it. You become your own person because of how you analyze each choice, each action…

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Entry 038 – Siryn

Art by Ryan Sook and Jose Villarrubia Name: Theresa Cassidy Code Names: Siryn, Banshee, the Morrigan First Appearance: Spider-Woman #37 (April ’81) Powers: Sonic Scream, Persuasion Teams Affiliation: Fallen Angels, X-Force X-Corps, X-Factor Investigations About One of the biggest things the DC Universe has to differentiate itself from Marvel is the sense of legacy. The most famous Green Lantern isn’t the…

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Entry 037 – M

Art by Todd Nauck Name: Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix Code Names: M, Penance First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #316 (Sep ’94) Powers: Strength, Flight, Telepathy Teams Affiliation: Generation X, X-Corps, X-Factor Investigations, X-Men About Perfection, the condition, state, or quality of being as free as possible from all flaws or defects. For many people, life is a pursuit…

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Entry 036 – Blink

Art by James Calafiore Name: Clarice Ferguson Code Names: Blink First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #317 (Oct ’94) Powers: Can teleport objects Teams Affiliation: X-Men, Exiles About It is darn near impossible to predict what will be popular. Sure I could tell you that a female clone of Wolverine would probably have some fans but why would people…

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Creator Corner – Joe Madureira

In the mid-1990’s, Marvel Comics was struggling. The Image exodus had seen their seven top-selling artists gone, and not on good terms. Todd MacFarlane (Spider-Man), Erik Larsen (Amazing Spider-Man), Rob Liefeld (X-Force), Jim Lee (X-Men), Whilce Portacio (Uncanny X-Men), Marc Silvestri (Wolverine), and Jim Valentino (Guardians of the Galaxy) were achieving very public success at…

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Entry 035 – Psylocke

Art by the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Team Name: Elizabeth Braddock Code Names: Psylocke, Captain Britain First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 (1978) Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, the ability to teleport though shadows on occasion Teams Affiliation: STRIKE, RCX, X-Men, Exiles, X-Force About The X-Men have always been closely related to the adolescent experience and few things are more crucial to…

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