So if the MCU Valkyrie and the MCU Nick Fury and Phil Coulson and his SHIELD Agents can be adapted into the comics, can the MCU Whizzer come along too?
Spoilers for "Jessica Jones" Season Two, I guess. At least I'm not spoiling "Infinity War", right? In episode two of season two Jessica meets this overweight weirdo named Robert Coleman who claims to have superpowers and an evil corporation tailing him. He ends up dying and Jess discovers the super-speed powers he got are connected to the source of her powers. Despite his brief appearance, this version of The Whizzer left a big impression on me. But before I talk about that, exactly who is The Whizzer?
The Whizzer began as a 1940's superhero fighting in WWII alongside guys like Captain America and Namor The Sub-Mariner. Whizzer got his powers from a blood transfusion with a mongoose, this gave him super-speed. Not quite as fast as Quicksilver, but faster than Cap or Black Panther. Whizzer had been a member of several Golden Age teams, had a battle with depression and alcohol, but eventually married former teammate Miss America and had a son. His son became the villain Nuklo, but you know how it is. Whizzer had been an Avenger for a while too, once believing Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to be his own children. He was wrong, of course. Whizzer had two heart attacks, tried to retire, and died from a third heart attack during a fight. There have been three other Whizzers, but each of them were created as Marvel versions of DC Comics' Flash and lacked the unique aspects of the original.
The version of Whizzer in "Jessica Jones" got experimented on, but bares little resemblance to Robert Frank outside of his color scheme, the name choice, and Rob Coleman having a pet mongoose named Emil. So why do I want this lesser character to be in the comics? Well, we don't have a lot of speedsters. There are the rip-off Flashes I mentioned and there's Quicksilver, but there is something hilarious about a fat guy with super speed. Plus, he's a glasses-wearing nerd who has a pet mongoose. He's weird and quirky and there's some personality in there. I'm not just here too laugh at Coleman, either. Name an overweight superhero. I'll wait. I wrote an entire article on how plus-sized people don't have a superhero to relate to the same way different races, genders, and sexualities do. I'm not the kind of person who insists every shape, shade, and type of person must have a superhero exactly like them. I love Nightwing and I'm not a circus orphan with abs. But I think it shows a level of humanity and understanding to have your superhero be a fat guy. Why does every superhero have to be a body building supermodel? Why can't we have an indulgent, socially awkward superhero with a silly name and an ironic superpower?
It wouldn't be hard to rewrite the guy into the comics. Maybe he's an Inhuman who lives in his mother's basement. He has problems socializing and making friends. He has no job or girlfriend, but his passion is superheroes. The costumes, the powers, the inspiration! That's why when he comes out his Terrigen Mist cocoon with super-speed he names himself after a superhero who has already passed! A superhero with a lot of history and a one-of-a-kind color scheme. He doesn't have a costume, but he has some color appropriate clothing. And the pet mongoose thing could come later. Oh, and he can name the mongoose Frank in honor of the OG Whizzer.
I'm working on a Raffi's Roster with this character in it so I can talk more about him there, but my overall point here is that while he wasn't as popular as Valkyrie or Coulson, Whizzer was still a fun, refreshing nod to an older age of Marvel Comics. He's just the right blend of reference and realism that helps give Marvel it's soul. And if the last two years have shown anything from Marvel Comics, they could use a little more soul.
Thanks for reading!
Did you read "Ricky Ticky Tavi" in school? I know I did! I remember none of it.
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