Amalgam Comics Month: Super Soldier #1 - Atop the Fourth Wall
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- NOTE: Viga got commissioned for a huge project throughout August and September, so during this time the title cards will be provided by J-Maner!
Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. We begin Amalgam Comics Month by looking at the fusion of Superman and Captain America!
Check out more AT4W shirts at Shark Robot: sharkrobot.com...
Title Card Art by J-Maner: / jmaneranimation
atopthefourthwa...
/ at4w
Originally released August 9th, 2023
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Who's strong and brave here to save the American way? Someone who's faster than a speeding bullet, of course!
#at4w #AmalgamComics
For those wondering why I never addressed Lex Luthor as the Green Skull... that's because he's never actually called that in the book. I just read through it all again and while it's certainly possible I missed something, I saw no actual dialogue where he goes by that name. It's why I was uncertain if he was meant as a mashup with the Red Skull, either. The only time it happens is during the fake Letters Page where someone refers to him as "ol' green-skull himself," which could just be a nickname rather than an official name. I don't doubt that behind the scenes he's probably called Green Skull, but in the story he's never called that.
I thought he was a fusion with the Leader…or a pickle.
@@majorascrash He's Pickle Luthoooooooor-
What's the status on the next plot episode?
@@TheHeroOfTomorrow Funniest shit I've ever seen.
If the idea really was that he was supposed to be a mash-up of Lex Luthor and Red Skull, then the artist messed up badly cause his head doesn't look like a skull. Quite frankly, he looks more like a human version of Brainiac than he does either Lex Luthor or Red Skull.
Lex Luthor waited fifty years to defeat Super Soldier. That's as many as five tens. And that's terrible.
this comment definitely takes the cake!
I forgot about that joke!
Oh, BRAVO.
If he can spend millions of dollars on a fake presidency just to piss off Superman, he can definitely wait fifty years just to defeat Super Soldier.
Since this is amalgam should that be pies instead or something?
I feel like “Kent Rogers” would’ve been the perfect name for him.
Clark Stevens could have worked 2
Or Clark Rodgers.
Or Steven Kent
In the Amalgam Universe’s Secret Empire, Super Soldier didn’t say "Hail Hydra". Instead, he said "Hail OVER THERE!"
And that we must take take of OVER THERE because it can't take care of itself!
You mean, Hail Apocalypse
"Into a world without justice!" And together, we can BE justice!
JUSTICE! Now with the fresh scent of pine.
@@muigokublack6487 Justice? Justice. Justice. Justice!
Not unless it's "over there!"👉🏾
Then Justice has to stand on its own.
@@V4Now Unless One-Face is secretly distributing evil VHS tapes in which case WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING!
@@muigokublack6487 Should we do something about ANCIENT EGYPT?
I'd love if they continued this and had a What If + Elseworlds style thing called "What Else" as in "If this one thing changed *What Else* would change?"
That's way too clever
Stop saying wonderful things that would bever happen! You're breaking my heart you are tearing me apart maswart!!
We could write fanfiction
If-Worlds.
@@plantainsame2049 Only difference between official canon and fan-fic is a paycheck from the publishing rights holder.
Olsen being cryptic about the hydra hideouts location actually makes sense because he wanted to give Clark the information without revealing Clark is super soldier
You know, the idea of low-level kryptonite radiation permeating the atmosphere and weakening Superman while he's on Earth is actually an interesting one. It helps solve the issue of "why do we need any other superheroes when the man who can lift infinity is here" in Earth-based stories if he's strong, but not at his strongEST, but still allows Superman to participate in the cosmic storylines without issue.
so... turning him into Tsubaraya Ultraman? Because that was the catch of classic Ultraman
@@EnerKaizer Can't go wrong with cribbing a proven concept!
I swear I read that same plot in a Batman Beyond comic
Concerning the whole "Baby Kal-El is dead" thing, one story potential for a future Amalgam story could involve the reveal that Kal-El did NOT die, but has been kept in storage by the US army all this time, like on Flashpoint Earth, just kept in cryo-storage.
"Well I never assumed it'd be a twink but still," might just be one of the funniest jokes to ever appear on this show. It's such a clash with whats going on that it works perfectly and catches you so off guard I love it!
Yeah, that was funny.
Also reminds me of how one podcaster jokes that Loefeld couldn’t ever write a straight character because they were always drawn to cater to guys.
I think the reasoning for Cap and Bats being 'obvious' opponents is that they're both technically non-powered heroes as well as the most physically perfect human specimens and greatest hand-to-hand combatants of their respective universes. They were thinking entirely about the fight, nothing else.
I feel like Batman would've merged better with Iron Man...
@@GweiTheLeafChild That's the merge, not the fight. I'd have preferred an OFFICIAL Batman vs. Black Panther (scale AND personality should have both been considered for a fight) and Cap's fight should have been with Nightwing.
That was the main storyline point, those two universal giants realizing the leaders of their groups (Justice League and Avengers) are people without any superpowers but I don't have a decade old comic review TH-cam channel so I don't know
@@GweiTheLeafChild yet he was merged with Wolverine......even Spider-man would have made more sense
Calling Cap "non-powered" is wild. Dude can literally life a car and punch through steel.
I think this comic would've been greatly improved by taking place right after Super Soldier was unfrozen. Have him react and come to terms with a changed world instead of skipping that and going straight to the status quo. As he is now he feels rather passive.
Also make Luthor president and have him being a deformed Hydra leader be a twist.
And call it Super Soldier/Dark Claw: Secret Empire
Part of the backstory of the Amalgam Universe is that Super-Soldier had been a member of the JLA, and because of the JL-X book, you can't really have him getting defrosted just now. I think that's why, anyway.
And as for Lex, this was before he became president. Plus the Luthor/Red Skull mash-up is like half the fun of merging Superman and Cap together.
Although one thing that should've been done differently is that Luthor definitely shouldn't be a sickly old man in a smoking jacket. Once Kryptonite got introduced into the mix, Waid and Gibbons could've given him super powers. At least have Luthor pilot the giant robot for pete's sake!
Lex Luthor: "Radiation's a bear!",
Linkara's childhood teddybear Littlefoot: "...I am? Does that mean I have to take a chainsaw to some demons?"
"Rip and tear, until it is done."
@@louisduarte8763Aww, the Doom Bear. 🥰🐻
That a Chainsaw Man reference?
@@redjirachi1 No, Linkara did a review about a Doom tie-in comic years ago. It has the immortal line "Now I'm radioactive, that can't be good!"
For the love of BEARS!
14:26 Super Soldier sent the pipe **over there!** and over there is just gonna have to take care of itself.
14:38 Nevermind.
I have never LOL'd harder at a joke from Linkara until I heard the Bear joke. 10+ years and still got it.
I think it's obvious with whom Barbie got merged. Amethyst.
Honestly Barbie: Princess of Gemworld sounds fun
Actually that does kinda make sense. I joked that Barbie got merged with Harley Quinn because they've both been portrayed on the big screen by Margot Robbie.
I think Barbie merged with Star Trek feels more fitting since that was a series DC got the license to like Marvel did for Barbie.
Imagine how pink that ship would be.
@@legoking6165Was this before or after Harley made her debut in "Batman the animated series"?
@@williamgreci8219
After she appeared on B:TAS but before she made her jump to the mainline comics. It was just a joke.
@@legoking6165 Got it.
Amalgam Comics always seems like a fever dream to me but i'm so glad we got it because we got to experience great matchups we never thought we could see
Some that made sense like Dark Claw and Doctor Strangefate and others that didn't like Lobo The Duck but it was cool to experiment.
@@muigokublack6487 A similar thing becoming an official mash up I'd want to see is "Makotonix Naegihodo: Ace Attorney".
@@muigokublack6487 To me the most "What?" Amalgam character is Doctor Doomsday.
I'm surprised Linkara didn't call Luthor by his Hydra codename: The Green Skull.
I was waiting for it.
Norman: Damn it Lex! I wanted to be green and mean!
This was the first comic I ever owned. This was the book that got me into comics! This was freaking awesome!
Seeing this made me smile. I loved the Amalgam Comics idea and the idea of smashing together DC and Marvel characters and teams to make something new. Some fusions like Dark Claw and Challengers Of The Fantastic make more sense than others but it's all in good fun and I regret that The Big Two don't do this stuff anymore.
Something tells me this is going to be a really good month and i can't wait to see what we get
Think he'll do Speed Demon?
Hoping for Spider-Boy myself.
@@otakon17 Remind me what the Spider-Boy one was?
@@romdan7136Superboy and Spider-Man
@@romdan7136 Superboy and Spider-Man; he's a clone of Peter Parker. There's King Lizard, Bizarrnage, Queen Bee(who is Mary Jane) and Doc Ock is an ally this time. I grabbed it a long while back because I thought the cover looked cool.
I loved the Amalgam comics. I loved how they created a backstory where Super Soldier had been published for decades prior to his appearance here. it was just awesome!
Yeah, an the usual letters section continued it by talking about how Amalgam Comics has always been around for over 50 years of publication. I wish Marvel and DC would collab and do stuff like this again.
This was one of the best events that ever happened. It gave the fans what they wanted and a few things they never knew they wanted. Like Lobo the Duck. That one was wild.
Batman and Captain America are both what's left of the retro pulp-style superheroes. That's why their together 😊
In Amalgam it wasn't just the heroes who got fused. Villans got fusions to. So when I first saw the thumbnail title card I thought the fused villains were gonna be Brainiac and Red Skull. (because of the green skin) I found the Lex Luthur, Red Skull fusion okay. But I wish they had made his skin red to make the Red Skull connection more clear. And found some way to fuse the names. Like Lex Skull, or Red Luthur, or something.
Well he's called The Green Skull. One of the more weird fusions was Joker and Sabertooth to make Hyena.
I feel like Super-Soldier is one of the more solid Amalgam titles, taking the best of both franchises and amalgamating them into a very enjoyable comic. Mark Waid at the time was writing a ground-breaking run on Captain America, only to be latewr fired due to Heroes Reborn.
As for the Captain America vs. Batman pairing in Marvel vs. DC, the idea as far as I understand it is that both Cap and Batman represent peak human acheivement, Cap due to the super-soldier serum and Batman due to his years of training. Personally, I prefer their interaction in JLA/Avengers better: Cap and Bruce size each other up, and decide to team up to solve the current crisis rather than fight as Krona and the Grandmaster want.
This also means that a better analog to fight- Daredevil- is shunned in the Mini-Series.
I thought Mark Waid was brought on in '98 to fix the problems Heroes Reborn caused? Am I misremembering or did he get rehired
After Heroes Reborn ended, Waid was rehired on Captain America, to continue his run for about two more years.
@@leorblumenthal5239 That must have been great.
"Hey, remember how we fired you and did a reboot? Not only were we so wrong we could have permanently damaged the company but we have no choice but to beg for your help."
Sad we never got the great matchup that everyone of course wanted to see Plastic Man vs Ice Man
I would rather see Plas go up against Reed Richards. Or maybe Elongated Man vs. Reed.
Lex Luther is actually so sick he’s green…
Say it with me folks…
*YOU* *DISEASED* *MANIAC!*
7:30
She got merged with Harley Quinn! Obviously, they're played by the same actress.
Spider month spider month dose whatever a spider month dose
I mean... technically Lewis could review Spider-Geddon since it's more focused on Miles, Gwen, and Superior Spider-Man than Peter. And the Spider-Gwen/Silk/Ultimate Miles stuff has potential. Ironically, the post-OMD, post-Spider-Verse era gave us a lot of Spider-character he CAN analyze.
How many doses in a month?
It would be interesting to see what Linkara thinks of Miles's first arc
@@notsosmartguy6254 It’s alright, though Into the Spider-Verse clearly told that story better. Honestly i find it amusing how people were initially hostile to Miles introduction, but now he’s one of three things Marvel fans still remember about the Ultimate universe.
This was a comic I had for YEARS! I read it back and forth to death, and heck I somehow was gifted a second issue! I used to be confused as to why it was like this, before I actually read up on it haha.
I still have a copy I think, along with a few other stories, like Assassins, and DarkClaw (signed by the author too!)
Pretty sure they told Batman there wouldn't be any Hummus at a party he went to one time and then since that day he's been seeking revenge on Captain American for not bringing any Hummus to the party
I will say, it feels... so bizarre hearing Linkara reference recent things like the rebranding of Twitter to X, and even (arguably) niche things like Monument Mythos of all things. And I absolutely love it.
Surprised that they didn’t call Luthor here “the Green Skull”, since he’s obviously the Red Skull with kryptonite weapons.
Surprised he didn't realize Lex looks like a green version of Red Skull.
I'm pretty sure he did notice and just didn't mention it because it's super obvious. Luthor is even _called_ Green Skull in the book.
Still think the amalgam for spider man should have been blue beetle
Eh... At the time, that still would have been Ted Kord, and I don't think it would really fit. Superboy both shares Spidey's morality and his status as a clone (since this Spider-Man was Ben Reilly). The better one for Blue Beetle would really be Iron Man.
So great to see Amalgam Comics Month come back
Back??? Was it a thing on the blog? I couldn't find other videos under the same banner
What do you mean back? This is the first time he's done this, as far as I know.
@@jordanromesburg6819It's a joke on how the Amalgam comics pretended they existed for ages
@@kateslate3228 🤡💀 I knew that was a thing and still didn't get it, thanks lol
also, for those who do not know: there also multiple canonical fusion combos for heroes that appeared during the entire amalgam story-line. Superman for example has 3 possible fusions:
- Super-Solider (Supes + Captain America) (duh)
- Thor-El, Thunder-God of Krypton (Electric Blue Superman + Thor)
- Unnamed, but called by some "Super-X" (Superman + Bishop from the X-men. yes, seriously)
Of all the Amalgam fusions, Superman and Captain America is the most obvious yet best of all of them. Certainly better than the Dark Claw fusion of Batman and Wolverine.
If Amalgam were to happen again SupesXCap I feel would be brought back, but Batman would be crossed with Iron Man and Wonder Woman would be crossed with Captain Marvel.
Nah, Carol would be combined with Supergirl; no idea what her codename would be (Ms. Super? Marvelgirl?). The new Big 3 of Amalgam would be Super-Soldier, the Dark Knight, and Thunder Woman!
I feel one thing missing from super soldier is an American flag cape, would really pull the whole outfit together
Homelander
@@rossjones8426 aww crap! X(
Please tell me one of the Amalgam books you’ll be looking at is Lobo the Duck. That sounded so stupid and I very much wanna see what happens!
You think Marvel and DC could do this again, even if they’re own by Disney and Warner Bros, two media conglomerates who hate each other’s guts?
Probably not. But that is what comic con-themed TikTok videos are for... and D Piddy Deadpool videos.
The fans would read crossovers, the writers and artists want to do them, it's just a matter of getting management to stop with the measuring contest.
Amalgam Time Is Now, YIPPIE!!!!!!!
6:10 Given that the story says they didn't expect him to be _that_ powerful, I'm taking it as "we lucked out with it being Clark this time, we aren't risking giving this power to another guy because it's guaranteed to backfire if we keep making dudes who can singlehandedly overthrow America".
Maybe the second time they tried it they got Hulkzarro and figured they should quit there.
So excited for this month! Let's see what Super Soldier was all about.
YES! Im sorry, i used to love looking up Amagalm comics as a kid, just to see what they came up with. 😂
Looks like they merged Lex Luthor with Red Skull. Surprised you didn't mention it.
Yes because when i think of DC version of Captain American i think of the guy who loves Bat Credit Cards
So when in Dark Claw episode, is he going to wear his regular Batman mask or is he going to wear a Wolverine mask on top of it?
Yes.
I actually have the iron lantern comic. Those two were my favorites of each compay at the time, and i just had to have that comic. Didn't really enjoy the comic itself, but hey, its a one off "what if?", Cant expect perfection.
And Super Robots answers this age old question of who would win in a fight... By having the sentient Mazinger ZERO cross the line, asking the same questions Dr. Hell did back in Mazinger Z: INFINITY. And it's GLORIOUS with energies being drawn from all over whose sihlouettes take the form of various mecha anime, onomonopiea their respective theme songs as they materialize, just enough to put ZERO out of commission (encapsulating the spirit of the video game, Super Robot Wars!).
I feel like "Captain Krypton" would be a much cooler name for a Superman/Captain America hybrid than Super soldier.
Still better than Spider-Boy, the Spider-Man/Superboy combo.
What makes that awkward is that there's an actual Spider-Boy now.
@@nirast2561what are you talking about, Spiderboy ain't real
Love the monument mythos reference, especially sense that had a whole spinoff centered around superhero and comic inspired stuff.
I had so much talking about Amalgam with my dad as a kid.
The more i look at 90s Comic Art the more i feel a radiated tumor slowly growing in my head
This version of Lex Luthor is also reminiscent of The Leader from Marvel Comics: an irradiated green-skinned mastermind with a hairless, bulbous head.
It wasn’t brought up in the video, but for those of you who couldn’t tell, Amalgam!Lex Luthor was combined with Red Skull, Captain America’s archnemesis, but is green instead of red as a result of injecting Kryptonite into himself. He even calls himself the “Green Skull”.
Ultra-Metallo is actually a combination of Metallo, the Superman villain, and (much less known) the Sleepers, robots created by Red Skull himself to serve Hydra; which I find a bit odd because I thought the “Ultra” in Ultra-Metallo came from Marvel’s Ultron, and it was a combination of Metallo and Ultron. But, no, it’s a cross between Metallo and the Sleepers.
Omg I literally screamed when I saw this in my recommended ❤️
If Ben Reily being in the spider-suit means Linkaa will do it, we could see hm playing Marvel vs Capcom on the show.
10:02 really appreciating all the references to analog horror in recent episodes
If you've seen the Nixonverse you know it's sort of on point
"Who would Barbie merge with?"
She'd merge with Madame Rouge the Doom Patrol villian in order to become Barbie Rouge, an extremely obscure reference that would need a lot of explaining!
(Barbe Rouge (Redbeard) is an extremely long running French comic strip about pirates that has never been translated into English - the anacronistic pirates from the Asterix the Gaul books are a pastiche of him and his crew).
The Monument Mythos joke genuinely spooked me. I was thinking about it when the Washington Monument got mentioned, but I didn't expect Linkara to reference it himself. Caught me completely by surprise lol
Fun fact: the Amalgam comic actually had a semi-storyline. Like the ‘Iron Lantern’, ‘Spider-Boy’, ‘Speed Demon’, and ‘Fantastic Challenger’ would have elements directly referencing each other. Kinda neat.
Love this episode. The bear joke and rimshot almost made me shoot root beer out of my nose lmao
And of course the radioactive line. Always love it.
A day with an AT4W episode is a good day.
I see Superman moved the problem of the Kryptonite over there. And by "over there", I mean all over the atmosphere.
5:09 I love that this accidentally predicted a joke in venture bros where the doctor strange parody Orpheus asks Dr. Venture why his machine appears to be feeding off desires by luring people into a chamber and locking them in and Venture sheepishly admits he built it using the body parts of an orphan or as Orpheus describes the poor kid “A FORSAKEN CHILD”
Special Tree 😂
To quote MCU cap:
"I understood that reference!"
amalgum was fun, they dont return to the well enough. Though we did have the recent event smashing marvel characters together like Green skull and such
10:00 I did not expect a monument mythos joke
In fairness, Lewis did publish an analog horror series on the channel :)
I can just imagine the two separate heroes doing a DBZ fusion dance and turning into the amalgam hero
How funny, I was talking about the amalgamation universe with people at a convention, so good timing
12:00 Into thine hands bring together all three, the treasures combined tame the beast of the sea
That joke at 12:30 slayed me. If you told me the joke and asked me to guess who wrote it I'd never have guessed Linkara LOL
Sorry what joke? Him not understand an expression
Think you were a few seconds late so sorry for the mix up
@@farmerproductions9869Yeah, sorry, I put the timestamp where I paused after the joke was finished. Back up a few seconds.
@@MrRadar it’s alright
Marvel vs DC was my first real comic as a kid, and it really got me interested in these characters.
Though I have seen more interesting fan-made amgalm ideas.
Like what?
@@jamescook5783 Deviantart has some pretty good ones.
Mom had a surgery for Breast cancer today, she just got home so Imma watch this while I’m calming down after a stressful day today was
“Who Barbie fused with?”
Me: Harley Quinn! (oh wait 🤔)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR DOING AMALGAM COMICS!
Crossovers and fusions are always my jam when it comes to fiction stuff, so I am going to be loving this month. I wonder if, aside from all these one-offs, if either side of DC or Marvel ever made any references to these universes afterward, or if they had to keep mum because of licenses and whatnot.
Kinda surprised Linkara didn't mention that Luthor's become the Red--or rather, Green--Skull in this but I guess if it doesn't click at first you'd just see it as Green K poisoning his skin tone. Having him go by that title, maybe showing up in flickers of the past might have helped, and maybe having the reporter be Bucky Barnes instead of Jimmy Olsen might have balanced out the Cap/Supes combo a little bit. That or actually combining names like you said, but I guess that wasn't entirely what Amalgam was going for. Less fusing characters wholesale and more fusing their concepts, perhaps.
And on the subject of strange alternate takes on heroes and villains, I wonder when we'll get a look at Tangent comics? Heard those are also interesting concepts to look at.
"Yes, based on the circular diagrams of atomic strucures and celestial orbits, I have named my device... The Circle K!!!"
Cap was paired with Bats because they were pretty equal in terms of skills and abilities. Plus, despite their contrasting characteristics and personalities, they get along together surprisingly well.
The monument mythos bit got me hahahaha
Okay, the bear joke was hilarious
I must admit, seeing all the different factors and characters just sorta shoved together like kids with only a few toys and no complete sets making due is honestly interesting.
Really surprised that you didn't throw in "50 years! That's as many as five tens! And that's terrible!"
Luthor: I found a mysterious brown substance in the dog park. I injected it in my veins.
4:27 funnily enough, the Italian name for "United States of America" is Stati Uniti d'America, so an Italian translation of this comic could have just added that.
It's like how our word for "hope" begins with S (Speranza), so Superman saying that the symbol on his chest means "hope" still justifies it being an S
Neat, off topic but I'm wondering if you intend to talk about Image Comics' 1963 series any time soon, seeing as its about to see a completion this year.
Marvel vs DC was a big part of me first getting into comics as a wee lad, so I’m very excited for this month
Ok A’lex’ander Openheimer creating the K Bomb and Super Soldier defecting to stop the bombs being how his supposed death took place would be awesome
And cow, it’s time for the Amalgamoo!
12:22-12:29 had me almost dying of laughter
Instead of "who would win in a fight?" I prefer, "who would be the first to move in for a hug?"
11:57 Linkara somehow not doing the obvious Pokemon 2000 reference.
I am Like 100.
But awesome that you’re covering the amalgam comics
You know what might’ve been a good compromise in fusing Steve and Clark’s profession?
Make him a political cartoonist for the paper.
Steve is an artist, even took up socializing in an art class recently in the comics, so having him still working at the Planet but utilizing his artistic talents would’ve been a nice way of combining the two.
Legend has it that the K-Bomb, when hurled into space, collided with Nick O'Teen.
Back in early 1997, I actually had a copy of Marvel vs. DC #3 where it ended with the Marvel and DC universe combining to make the Amalgam Universe, and I was excited to see fusions of Batman & Wolverine, Superman & Captain America, Spider-Man & Superboy, Storm & Wonder Woman, and others. I red some of the Amalgam comics along the way, as well as getting the complete Marvel vs. DC storyline on trade paperback when I was in college.
1:41- Or it could be because both Bats and Cap are skilled fighters and strategists. Just sayin'.
8:27- "Let's see if you bleed green."
The Super Soldier comic acts like the K Bomb will affect him gradually when it’ll just be forgotten until a writer takes years of symptoms and pile it on him in a week
Finally! This and Heroes Reborn are the two stories that I've wanted to see covered on this show more than anything else.