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Man-Ape Image from The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe - Master Edition #03 (1991)

What’s wrong with this picture: you’re a super-villain and you possess the strength and agility of the “rare Wakandan white gorilla,” which means you’ve got enhanced human strength and durability, as well as superhuman stamina and agility. You outweigh Captain America by 100lbs. and have almost a foot height advantage, yet you still manage to get  “overpowered” by him in Avengers #78 and #79. Way to go, Man-Ape and Cap., I still miss you.

Powers and Abilities

Intelligence: Normal
Strength: Enhanced human
Speed: Athlete
Stamina: Superhuman
Durability: Enhanced human
Agility: Superhuman
Reflexes:
Fighting skills: Wakandan Royal Militia training
Special skills and abilities: None
Superhuman physical powers: Superhuman strength, agility, stamina, and durability equal to that of the rare Wakandan white gorilla
Superhuman mental powers: None
Special limitations: None
Source of superhuman powers: Mystical transference of the abilities of the rare Wakandan white gorilla

Paraphernalia

Costume specifications: The Man-Ape wears the pelt of Wakandan white gorilla.
Personal weaponry: None
Special weaponry: None
Other accessories: None
Transportation: Various
Design and manufacture of paraphernalia: Inapplicable

Bibliography

First appearance: AVENGERS #62
Origin issues: AVENGERS #62
Significant issues: AVENGERS #62 (battled the Black Panther in attempt to usurp the throne of Wakanda and return Wakanda to primitive state);
AVENGERS #78-79 (traveled to America, joined Lethal Legion, captured Black Panther, fought Avengers, overpowered by Captain America);
WEST COAST AVENGERS #1-2 (rejoined Lethal Legion, battled Tigra);
VISION AND SCARLET WITCH Vol.2 #2 (abandoned Grim Reaper, accompanied by Black Talon)

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In issue #10 (1965) of the X-Men series, Ka-Zar was introduced and he bounced around the Marvel Universe for many years following, somehow meeting up with a large cast of Marvel heroes, despite being a one-hit Tarzan knock-off and mainly located in the Savage Land.

He did have a short run series in 1997 with art by Andy Kubert, but the character hasn’t been seen much since then.

Bibliography

First appearance: X-MEN #10
Origin issue: DAREDEVIL #13
Significant issues: X-MEN #10 (first encountered original X-Men, first battled Maa-Gor);
DAREDEVIL #12-14 (first encountered Daredevil, first battled with brother the Plunderer);
INCREDIBLE HULK #109-111 (first encountered Hulk, battled Umbu the Unliving);
ASTONISHING TALES #1-2 (first battled Kraven the Hunter);
ASTONISHING TALES #8 (encountered Bobbi Morse (Mockingbird));
ASTONISHING TALES #12-13 (first battled AIM, met Man-Thing);
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #103-104 (first met Spider-Man, battled extraterrestrial Gog);
KA-ZAR #1 (first met Shanna the She-Devil);
KA-ZAR #14-20 (battled Klaw, first visited another dimension);
X-MEN #61-63 (first battled Magneto’s Savage Land Mutates);
X-MEN#115-116 (teamed with X-Men to battle Zaladane and Garokk);
KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #1 (discovered the Savage Land is part of Pangaea);
KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #12 (first battled Belasco);
KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #29 (married Shanna);
KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #33 (apparent death of brother Parnival);
AVENGERS #256-258 (destruction of the Savage Land by Terminus, rescued by the Avengers, left Savage Land for the civilized world);
IRON MAN #202 (encountered Iron Man, battled the Fixer);
X-MEN ANNUAL #12 (Savage Land restored by High Evolutionary and Garokk; Ka-Zar, Shanna and newborn return);
KA-ZAR GRAPHIC NOVEL (Ka-Zar and Shanna separated)

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Captain America - Steve Rogers - Dead at 89

In a sad turn of events, Marvel Comics has decided that it was time to get rid of Captain America.

Captain America surrendered after failing to register as a super-powered individual following the events of the recent Civil War crossover. Pitted against his former best friend, Iron Man, Cap was fighting for what he believed America wanted. When he was attacked by ordinary citizens in the streets of New York, he realized how wrong he was and surrendered to police custody. Only a week later (real time), he's been shot and killed by a sniper on the way to court.

I can somewhat understand what they're attempting to do here. Old America is dead. The things that we used to hold true to our heart (Mom, Baseball and Apple Pie) have been replaced by iPods, H2 Hummers and Youtube. More than any other hero (except maybe Superman) Cap stood as a beacon of hope and a physical embodiment of America.

Current Captain America series writer Ed Brubaker had this to say about Captain America's current relevance to today's society:

"What I found is that all the really hard-core left-wing fans want Cap to be standing out on and giving speeches on the streetcorner against the Bush administration, and all the really right-wing [fans] all want him to be over in the streets of Baghdad, punching out Saddam."

To that I have to say, so what. Does that mean he has to stand for one of those two viewpoints? Could he not have had his own? Couldn't you use Cap to motivate people to speak their mind, no matter their opinion?

In the end, it doesn't matter. Marvel has made their decision and will live with it until it benefits them to bring him back. With Cap's friend Nick Fury in hiding for the past few years, it will be no surprise to me when he reveals that the "Cap" that was shot and kill was a SHIELD Life Model Decoy and that the real Cap, Steve Rogers, has been working underground with him.

We know that he won't stay dead. I would guess that in less than 6 months, another hero will appear in the familiar red, white, and blue costume. The "impostor" will parade around as Cap for a while until the real one reappears. With copyright laws such as they are, Marvel cannot go without publishing a Captain America series for too long a period or the rights would revert back to creator Joe Simon.

"It's a hell of a time for him to go. We really need him now," said co-creator Joe Simon, 93, after being informed of his brainchild's death.

The sad part about that quote (as a friend mentioned to me), is that at 93, Simon may not be around to see his creation, his legacy, return.

Added Captain America to the Who's OHotMU page today.

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Heimdall - Asgardian Gate Keeper

While DC seemed to focus on the Greek gods in Wonder Woman, Marvel decided to create a series of stories based upon the Norse gods. Thor and his fellow Norse gods debuted in August of 1962 and although they're not currently in a series, they are slated to return in the Summer of 2007.

Heimdall is the sentry that guards the Rainbow Bridge that provides access to the Asgard, the home of the Norse gods. However, Heimdall's main claim to fame is being the only Norse God to sport the Abraham Lincoln – Chin Curtain beard.

Biographical Data

Real name: Heimdall
Other current aliases: None
Former aliases: None
Dual identity: None; the general populace of Earth is unaware of Heimdall's existence, except as a mythological character
Current occupation at time: Sentry of Asgard
Former occupation: Unrevealed
Citizenship: Realm of Asgard
Legal status: No criminal record
Place of birth: Unrevealed
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Sif (sister)
Known confidants: Sif, Balder, Kamorr
Known allies: Odin, Thor, the Warriors Three
Major enemies: Loki, Surtur, Mangog
Usual base of operations: Asgard
Former bases of operations: None
Current group membership: The royal court of Asgard
Former group membership: None
Extent of education: Unrevealed

Physical Description

Height: 7' 2"
Weight: 575 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Brown
Other distinguishing features: Heimdall wears a full beard but no mustache.

Read all about Heimdall…

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Crossovers in comics books are cool. I remember reading Secret Wars from Marvel as a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. I mean, here in one book were all of my favorite heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Fantastic Four) and their villains (Dr. Doom, Kang, Lizard, etc.). At the time, I didn't know that it was the first major crossover series ever (preceded only by the 3-issue Contest of Champions series). Somehow, I missed out on Crisis on Infinite Earths from DC, but I did pick up the revamped Superman that resulted from that series.

Anyway, for all the Comic Book Crossover information you can stand, I would recommend the The Unofficial Comics Crossover Index. It's filled with most of the major, cross-title events from the 1980's onward and only lacks the major events from the past few years. Best of all, each crossover is reviewed and lists all the related issues. While, much of the info may be on Wikipedia, it's nice to have all of it in one place and in one format.