WHAT IF...? #129 by Matthew Thompson "A NEW WORLD" Introducing a wondrous new world of action and intrigue, heroes like you've never seen and all the magic you've come to expect from Mighty Marvel! In the following four vignettes, you'll be captivated by the characters we've created -- guaranteed! Or my name isn't Stan Lee! The Devil You Say! 1935: As a boy growing up in New York City, Steve Rogers never felt like he quit fit in. It was a rare occasion the other boys let him join them in a game of stickball in the streets. On that fateful afternoon that the boys found they were one short of having even teams and let Steve join, the game was barely into swing when a truck roared down the street and nearly hit one of Steve's teammates before braking to a halt. Steve and the other rushed toward the boy, but as Steve neared the end of the truck, large metal barrels rolled out of the back, knocking Steve down and into a puddle of chemicals from one of the barrels which cracked on the pavement. Steve's mother lacked the funds to seek proper medical treatment. The one doctor she could afford prescribed simple pain medication, saying the facial burns would fade after a few days. By the time Steve reached adulthood, the burns were still a brutal scar on the right side of his face. He had been blind since the incident but gradually over the years, his other senses had become keener, and a strange ability to perceive objects around him developed. From his knowledge of military hardware, he began to think of this as his "radar-sense." Perhaps compensating for his lack of sight, Steve devoted himself to staying fit in all other ways. He studied hard in school, and took part in any form of athletics he could. Though not allowed to compete in team sports, he became an accomplished gymnast and acrobat at the local gym. His unlikely talent made him a neighborhood celebrity, and seeing him perform feats of acrobatics that most wouldn't even try, caused his "fans" to call him "Daredevil." Steve's mother instilled in him a good moral fiber and a strong sense of what it meant to be a contributing member of society. As a youth, he helped out wherever he could, delivering groceries for Mr. McCallahan after school for extra money, and even managing to help his fellow students with schoolwork. 1948: During an altercation with a neighborhood gang looking for protection money, Steve discovered that his training had given him a real knack for self-defense. The gang never returned after Steve delivered a few kicks and punches. Steve sought further training from a local martial arts studio, but was not able to pay for the kind of coaching he desired. After his mother's death of old age, Steve took what was left of their small estate and set out for the Orient, there to hone the skills he would need to become the superhero, like those who had fought in the war. He would be different though, not fighting a war far off. He would simply be Daredevil, fighting the common war on the street, against the crimes that affect all of us. 1955: Daredevil makes his official debut as a super-hero. Misplaced Hopes 1961: "Reed, why don't you admit you're just doing this to impress my sister? I'll tell her we went to his science thing, and make up some wonderful stuff about what I learned. You can even say what I should have learned and I'll agree." "That's not what this is about. I told Sue I'd develop your interest in machines and mechanics, and I'm going to be true to my word. If you learn nothing from the exhibits, at least learn about keeping promises." Colored liquids flowed back and forth through pressurized glass tubing. Steam whistled from miniature smokestacks into the top of the science hall. These were momentary pleasures, but nothing really caught Johnny's eye until the flash of chrome and the sleek curve of a red-painted fender made his heart rise. "Hot Rod! Reed, I'm checking this out!" Reed simply smiled as Johnny took interest in the atom-powered automobile. Exactly what I'd hoped, he thought. The exhibits were minor to an intellect like Reed Richards. There was more flash than substance, and no novel ways of presenting the same old scientific "medicine show." Then it was his attention that was caught, by a familiar face, his first roommate at college, Victor von Doom. Reed waited for a moment as Victor finished explaining the exhibit to the patrons gathered around. "Victor, how are you?" "Hello Dr. Richards." "This isn't exactly the cutting-edge work I was expecting you to be involved in." "It isn't as easy for everyone to pay the bills every month." Victor's tone expressed his distaste for Reed's presence. "I expect in my home country, we'd find ourselves on different sides of the table." "I suppose so. I hadn't thought of it like that." Reed took the hint. "Good seeing you. Good luck. I know you'll do well." "Goodbye, Richards." Victor glared as Reed walks away contented. He leaft his exhibit and slowly followed Reed. Richards ambled back in the direction of the car Johnny was interested in. He stopped to watch a display of radiation on animals. As Reed absorbed himself in the presentation, Victor wandered behind the radiation particle generator, and observed. "By the second generation, the cockroaches have developed an immunity to the effects of the alpha waves," the presenter droned. Victor grew more interested as Johnny runs up. "Reed, they're gonna take the car for a spin in the back lot. Can I go watch? It'll just be a minute." Victor wonders about what mischief might disrupt the pair's outing. "Now ordinary house spiders are not so lucky," the presenter continued. "Reed, are you listening?" "Sure Johnny, I'm sorry. I was just thinking. Let's go." As Victor watched and wondered, he leaned on the particle generator, causing the apparatus to tip over. The beam shot through the spider and into the departing young Johnny, although no one saw that the invisible ray struck him. Johnny watched the car for only a few seconds when he complained of feeling light-headed. "I just need to sit down for a few minutes." Johnny actually had to sit down for over a week, as his body recovered from the effects of the radiation. And when he recovered Johnny finds he has changed. Just before anyone enters the room, Johnny feels a little buzz behind his brain. And he doesn't lose his balance, almost as if his feet are just stuck to the floor. With a little experimentation. Johnny discovers he can actually climb walls and lift objects ten times his weight. Without telling his sister Sue or their friend Reed, Johnny embarks on a new career, emulating his favorite old hero, Daredevil, and becomes Spider-Man (except he's still a teenager, so most people call him Spider-Boy). Oh, well! O Say, Can You See? 1965: Matt Murdock's youth followed a similar pattern to that of Steve Rogers. His family lived modestly in an urban setting. Matt never had such a fateful encounter with a chemical truck, however. Matt's fateful moment came when, desperate for the money offered, submitted himself for a government research project. After scores of physical and psychological exams, the young Murdock was among a dozen chosen for the treatment which would create a superhuman military machine, for use in the war in Southeast Asia. The war was less military conflict than a conflict of ideological propaganda. The year-long program Matt underwent flooded his mind with knowledge that generals spend lifetimes learning. As taskmasters drilled Matt on supply lines, field positions, and a variety of military strategies, coaches practiced him in acrobatics, martial arts, and physical regimens aimed at creating a super-warrior. Amid these mental and physical sessions, scientists treated Matt's body with chemical injections, subtly at first, but increasing in power, until Matt's mind learned quicker, his body trained easier, and his perceptions and reactions sharpened to superhuman intensity. 1966: U.S. troops in Viet Nam are surprised and encouraged by the introduction of a super-soldier, an inspiring figure, spawned from the most primal of human archetypes -- and they call him Captain America. Dark Patina 1969: By the age of 30, Tony Stark had already established himself as the leading power in the production of military armament for the United States. His face was on the dartboard of every Anti-establishment faction of the late '60s. Stark's money brought him fame and the life of a playboy. He never looked at what his weaponry was doing overseas. Most groups even insinuated quite explicitly that Stark was playing both sides of the war, providing the communists with the same weapons provided to the U.S. just getting richer off the conflict. It is sentiment like this which causes a group of four young people -- we would call them hippies -- to break into the compound where the gamma bomb was being tested. Stark, from the security of a concrete shelter over two miles away, observes through the green-tinted goggles, the teens straggling across the plain, just yards away from the bomb. The scene would not look good for Stark's reputation. With barely ten minutes before detonation, Stark and his bodyguard Rhodey both jump into jeeps, and rush out to herd the teens to safety. One young man breaks away and leads Stark on a chase as he spouts off slogans against Stark and the war in general. Rhody gathers the other three up and heads them to safety. They worry about their friend, but do not feel as committed to the cause. Rhodey knows the danger, but allows Stark to take care of himself as he takes the children nearer to safe ground. Stark has to leap from the moving jeep and tackle the youth to stop him from running around. The bomb explodes. Stark shields the youth, while his body takes a lethal input of gamma radiation. The reaction is horrible for Stark. His muscles seem to explode as his entire physique swells to inhuman size. He feels power in a way different from any he has felt before. He knows what it feels to toss money and women aside as if they are worthless. But the power he feels now is as if he could toss the world aside. He looks down at the bespectacled boy, realizing how he towers over him, feeling his unusual height. Despite all the pain of the transformation, his mind still focuses on the mission to save the youth. He reaches down to him, and that's when he first sees his hand, large and thickly-proportioned, with a deep green complexion. It's the goggles, those green-tinted plastic goggles -- the radiation must have melted them, making the world look distorted. He reaches to his face, only to feel his brow jutting over his eyes. Not everything's green, just my hand! I took the goggles off! Why is everything confusing? Is this really me in here? The teen looks up at him, frozen in horror. Yes, I look the way I feel. His reaction assures me. I am a freak. The radiation has done this. I can't live like this. Stark runs, not realizing his leaps carry him miles away. Near the edge of the desert plain, he finds a shallow cave to hide him. He must think. It is some hours before the youth approaches the cave. "Excuse me, Mr. Stark. I'm really sorry. Are you alright?" Stark huddles against the back of the niche, and glares out from beneath his heavy brow. "No. Leave me alone." "I didn't know the bomb was going to go off like that. I just wanted to stop the war, and I thought I could start with you and your weapons. I didn't mean for anybody to get hurt." "I said leave me alone." He raises a fist. "I could smash you like I smash this rock." He brings his fist down on a boulder the size of the youth. The young man doesn't flinch. He turns to walk away, but stops, and after a long moment: "Mr. Stark, I don't know which way to go. Where's the base." Stark stands up out of the cave and looks around. The plains don't look as familiar as they did that morning. "I'm not sure which way, kid. Sun's setting. That gives us west, so it looks like we're headed that way, toward that cloud that looks like a dragon." Stark heads that direction. "You coming?" "Yessir, I'm coming, Mr. Stark." "Call me Tony." "I'm Peter. Peter Parker."