One of Marvel’s weirdest supervillains of all time returns in Dark Web, as Ms. Marvel’s strangest foe finds himself at home in the chaotic event.
Warning: SPOILERS for Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #1With chaos converging on Spider-Man and the X-Men in New York City, Marvel’s Dark Web event is currently in full swing. Now, it seems the event will only get goofier from here, as a new issue teases the return of one of Marvel’s goofiest supervillains (and Ms. Marvel’s first).
After years of being dead, the Inventor has returned to seek revenge on Ms. Marvel in Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #1 by Sabir Prizado and Francesco Mortarino. The issue opens with the Inventor crawling from the rubble of a Jersey City landfill as Madelyne Pryor – the Goblin Queen – begins her demon invasion of New York City. Amid the nostalgia-fueled chaos that is Dark Web, a villain like the Inventor feels right at home.
The Inventor Fits Perfectly into Marvel’s Dark Web Event
First appearing in 2014’s Ms. Marvel #5 by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, the Inventor ran into Ms. Marvel early in her superhero career, leaving an early impression as one of her strangest foes. The Inventor came about as an attempt by scientist Gregory Knox to clone notable inventor Thomas Edison. Unfortunately for Knox, his pet bird inadvertently mixed its cockatiel DNA with Edison’s, creating a hybrid (or hybird) sample of the two. This yielded a vastly intelligent humanoid clone of Edison with the head and various physical characteristics of a bird. The villain is certainly strange, but he still gave Ms. Marvel a run for her money as her first foe. In his initial scheme, the Inventor targeted the youth population near Ms. Marvel, encouraging them to serve as human batteries after feeding their young insecurities. The Inventor fell to his death in Ms. Marvel #11, and has remained dead until now.
Two major factors of Dark Web to this point have been the event’s reliance on nostalgia and its complete absurdity. Dark Web pays homage to a number of classic Marvel events and storylines, directly calling back the 1980s X-Men Inferno event, giving Spider-Man more clone-related issues and reverting Venom to his more savage early form. In a Ms. Marvel tie-in, it only makes sense to bring the character back to her first supervillain, reuniting the Jersey City hero with her original nemesis from nearly a decade ago. At the same time, Dark Web has carried a delightfully chaotic tone since its first issue, flooding the streets of New York with a seemingly infinite number of ridiculous demons and hilarious threats. If any supervillain from Marvel’s past deserves a spot in this event, it’s the evil hybrid clone of Thomas Edison and a bird.
By the end of the issue, Chasm separates Ms. Marvel from the Inventor before the two receive a proper reunion. With the failed clone lying in wait after amassing an army of his own, Spider-Man and the X-Men‘s Christmas keeps getting worse as another ridiculous threat roams the streets of Marvel’s New York.
Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
