Vibro first appeared in Iron Man #186, during writer Denny O'Neil's run on the book. That's right, Denny O'Neil - the guy who created Batman mega-villain Ra's al Ghul -- also invented Vibro, our sixth lame-ass villain. What can I say? Everybody has an off-day.
It strikes me that I haven't featured any lame-ass DC villains, of which there are many. Too many, really. The Fisherman? Deathwing? Calendar Man? It's like shooting kittens in a barrel. I mean fish. The thing about Marvel is that they always try so hard to be the cool comic book company - it just makes their lame villains so much lamer. Hence, my focus on Marvel goons.
Vibro was a guy named Professor Vibereaux (I shit you not) who invented an incredibly dangerous nuclear-powered vibrational-device. Vibereaux believed the device, which looked like a purple chair, would stop earthquakes if it was lowered into the San Andreas Fault with him in it - so he was clearly insane. Sure enough, Vibereaux gets winched down into some abysmal pit in his purple chair. Then - and I didn't see this coming - there's an earthquake. In the real world, Vibereaux would just be crushed to death and would make the Darwin Awards, but this is Iron Man; he gets turned into a monstrous, Toxic Avenger-looking supervillain named VIBRO! As you might imagine, Vibro can create powerful vibrations. If it was me, and I'm not trying to be crude here, I'd go gigolo with that shit.
Apparently the subtext of Vibro wasn't lost on artist Luke McDonnell, who drew the book and did the cover. I might be reading too much symbolism into the cover, but...
Vibro. I don't know, make up your own jokes.
22 comments:
Vibro was indeed lame (and lamer still was the fact that he kept popping up to bedevil Iron Man during that era), but let's all lift our voices in praise of Luke McDonnell, one of the great underrated comic artists of the 80s. Loved his Suicide Squad work. Where is he these days?
Busy desperately hawking a JLA-Detroit revamp with Vibe's brother, Reverb, as the star of the team.
Professor Vibreaux. COME ON. This is . . . okay, nothing's worse than the Surgeon General.
I think I saw Vibro in an issue of Xxxenophiles.
"Vibreaux" sounds like a Louisiana name. I wonder if he's Cajun. We need more Cajun heroes/villains. Gambit ain't cutting it.
Nice vaginal imagery on that cover! At least it didn't say "Beware the Coming of Vibro!"
I once met Denny O'Neil at a convention and he told me that he wasn't really interested in creating villains so much as exploring Tony Stark's alcoholism, so Mark Gruenwald (the series' then editor) would come up with characters like Vibro.
Vibro, sadly, was one of the victims of the current Millar storylines in Wolverine.
didn't vibro reappear to torment the west coast avengers? (no, i will not refer to them as avengers west coast. never!).
i seem to remember him (surprise!) causing an earthquake in los angeles, with an issue devoted to hank pym and company running around putting out fires. tom morgan on art duties--he was an aquired taste...
I think I have that one! Wasn't it like, the issue right after Byrne left? So. Bad.
The post-Byrne issues of Avengers West Coast were not some of Rascally Roy's best works.
dan: you mean you don't like Roy's use of Irezumi: the Tattoo Spirit?? For shame...
If you'll forgive the non-sequiter response; yesterday was an important comic-book anniversary.
1938 - Superman made his first appearance in D.C. Comics' Action Comics Series issue #1. The comic book sold for 10 cents. By 1995 surviving copies sold for over $75,000. Jerry Siegel created Superman in 1934 after he dreamed about the Biblical story of Moses, whose parents abandoned him as a baby in order to save his life. This became the plot of the first Superman story.
If I remember correctly, during his WCA (or is it AWC?) run, Roy introduced a team of super-villains based on Russians suffering from unrequited Soviet angst, a team of super-villains based on historic serial killers/mass murderers (Iron Man vs. Lizzie Borden: When Titans Clash!), a team of super-villains based on spiders, a team of super-villains based on some faulty pseudo-Japanese overtones. Personally, I was waiting for him to introduce a team of super-villains based on Ronco products (The Dehydrator! Pocket Fisherman! DrainBuster!)
That is brilliant - everyone go look at The Continuity Bomb!
Speaking of lame, does anyone remember The Dazzler? OK, she was a hero and not a villain, but she was quite lame.
Sadly (or happily), I have all too many Dazzler comics to review...
On the Soviet bad guys wasn't the line they was good guys in Russia but bad to s??? Some same like the Soviet Super Squad??? I have an issue where they battle the Hulk. One of them can turn into a Grizzly & another carries around the soviet sickle ( spell that right ? )
I'll defend the Roy Thomas's Avengers West Coast on a point-by-point basis. I admit some of it sucked.
The Russian team that people keep referring to was a Russian scientist's rough attempt to create a Soviet version of the Fantastic Four. He even did it with cosmic rays and he himself got stretchy powers. There was one catch; they were Russians and not Soviets because there was no Soviet Union. These four cosmic-powered freaks wanted to re-establish the USSR. Their base was in Canada. I don't have the last issue of the arc.
and I thought Vibro died in Avengers West Coast as Hank Pym deliberately closed a fissure on the bastard.
Vibro turned up in prison during John Jackson Miller's Iron Man run.
Vibro stars in tonights Cinemax special:
"Logjammers 3: Return of Vibro"
he looks like Mole Man somehow found Trauma's armor & acted stupid.
Suicide Squad rules
In a Bendis world:
Vibro would be a man going more crazy & talking to himself. Iron Man would end up taking off his helmet & that would comfort him. Then Iron Man would shoot him as a mercy killing
Whenever Marvel runs out of villains, use the Soviets!
Yes, one was a ugly midget scientist, there was also "man in pink armor", Grizzly, A chick that threw "darkness" at people, & a Soviet Superman w/ a hammer & sickle
I own Soviet Super Squad# 1, i know
Pretty helpful material, much thanks for this article.
CHINESE BEEF AND TOMATOES
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