Polite Dissent

9 Responses to “ New Avengers/Transformers #1: A Medical Review ”

1. Dr Archeville
   July 22nd, 2007 at 11:11 pm
   

   You got my letter! Thanks so much!

   Nice to see most of my conclusions aren’t that different from yours. A few more that you didn’t post:

   * If the ‘Cons hacked into Earth military records, they could know of Operation: Rebirth and the experimental natures of Roger’s Super Soldier Serum… though if that were the case, they wouldn’t need a blood scan to tell them Roger’s blood is all Serum-y.
   * Interesting that “Metal-Bonded Skeleton” didn’t pop up on Wolvie’s bio-scan. (A: It only scanned for blood anomalies, not skeletal… though it might should’ve picked up the “Adamantium poisoning” Wolvie’s healing factor is constantly fighting off.) Also, the ‘Cons must know a lot about human genetics to be able to tell the difference between a Mutant and an Altered Human/Mutate (A: or maybe they stole schematics for Sentinel scanners when they theoretically tapped the U.S. databases and incorporated those into their own scanners. Inferior tech, sure, but they’re programmed to know what’s what on this world; it’s like asking a local for directions).

   The bit about Parker’s blood and “irradiation” bit makes me think Megatron’s going to use Spidey in some manner of energy-harvesting operation, especially since mention was also made of Symkaria (Latveria’s neighbor, home of the Nazi-hunting Silver Sable and her Wild Pack) having nukes.

2. OptimusShr
   July 23rd, 2007 at 7:19 am
   

   Perhaps by trace amounts if the soldier serum the mean that Cap only got a small amount in his blood and the rest affected his skin and organs?

   Also is it possible that when Luke fell into the serum vat some of it was absorbed by his skin? It may have happened during the electrocution which may have cause some burning and allowed it to enter his body.

3. Carl
   July 23rd, 2007 at 7:21 am
   

   This is topic drift, but how can Wolverine have Adamantium poisoning? If the Adamantium is dissolving into his blood (and/or other body fluis) in any significant amounts, then the material is not only not impervious to solvents, it would have eroded significantly over the decades since Logan had the stuff implanted. It would, in fact, be a worse material for implanted medical devices than modern stainless steel.

4. Dr Archeville
   July 23rd, 2007 at 9:16 am
   

   Don’t know how, but apparently he does. It’s one reason why his heals faster when he’s not got his Adamantium — his Healing Factor is constantly fighting off a form of heavy metal poisoning. It’s also why having his Mutant powers stripped from him (by the High Evolutionary in a story arc from a few years ago) royally screwed him.

   For even more Adamantium weirdness, Wolverine (vol.2) #80 (1994) says Wolverine’s healing factor not only allowed him to survive the process of having Admaantium bonded to his skeleton, but also induced a molecular change in the metal, creating “Adamantium Beta.” Adamantium Beta functions identically to True Adamantium, but it does not inhibit the biological processes of bone (such as producing blood cells).

5. SanctumSanctorumComix
   July 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
   

   I might have a few possible “answers” to your questions.

   In the case of Captain America’s “trace” levels of serum; it was written back in the late 1980’s where the serum was stripped from him (he lost his abilities, and then subsequently his body began to produce it on it’s own). This was, of course, during the height of the “Just Say No” campaign against drug use, and Marvel realized that it’s premier American hero obtained his powers through the use of a (non-recreational) drug.

   So, out it came.

   He still possesses trace amounts of the serum, I guess, besides that which his own system produces.

   As for it’s “experimental” status, while Cage’s isn’t regarded as such…
   I think it has been established that for SOME reason, Steve Rogers was able to process the serum while many others had either died or went awry. So, perhaps it has an inherent instability or other trait that would lead a scan to categorize it as “experimental”.

   No?
   Not buyin’ that?
   OK. The machine is just calibrated to be really sensitive.
   How’s that?
   —–

   For Wolverine; he very well COULD be a mutant-mutant, seeing as how his original origin was for him to have been a mutated Wolverine (that is an actual ANIMAL that mutated into human form).
   At least that was the behind-the-scenes secret origin back in his early appearances in the X-Men (at least the early Chris Claremont penned issues).

   His Adamantium is giving him blood poisoning (just by the nature of it being a foreign metal in his body), but the healing factor takes care of it - so it might not pop up on the scan.

   ——

   Spider-Man’s “cellular alteration” is because he now produces his own web-fluid (from one massive “spidery” regeneration) and has since undergone a major change due to the events of the recent “THE OTHER” storyline (he died, and re-regenerated his entire body, with all his old injuries healed and all old organs replaced (missing eye replaced, appendix & tonsils replaced, etc…), as well as more “spider-like” abilities and traits (one must assume physical properties were altered as well).

   So, aside from not spinning web fluid out of his butt, he is more spider-like than before.

   ——-

   That’s all I got.

   I hope it “helps” (probably not, huh).

   ~P~
   P-TOR

6. SanctumSanctorumComix
   July 23rd, 2007 at 12:09 pm
   

   Oops… I forgot to quantify that CAGE’s serum might not seem to be “experimental” because of how well and completely it was absorbed.

   Perhaps CAGE’s serum could have been something that ANYONE could have used and gained similar abilities (if applied in the same manner - what was once an accidental electrical current could be applied in a controlled setting).

   As opposed to Cap’s Super Soldier Serum, which has been established as being unstable and for some reason only ROGERS was able to properly internalize it without ill effect (remember, it was so unstable that when Ted Sallis took it and drove into the Everglades, the mystic swamp stuff was able to corrupt the serums’ intended “programming”, transforming him into the MAN-THING. Others who took the serum either just died or went mad or exploded or something).

   OK.
   That’s it.

   I’m gone.
   :-)

   ~P~
   p-TOR

7. M
   July 23rd, 2007 at 9:05 pm
   

   The way an impervious metal like Adamantium could ‘poison’ someone is simply that their proteins adher to it and denature into inactive and possible destructive forms that have to be removed. After all it’s a bit much to ask that an alloy be indestructable AND safe to implant in a living person who doesn’t have enhanced regeneration.

8. Chris Arndt
   July 24th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
   

   Wolverine’s healing factor isn’t fighting off adamantium metal poisoning. It’s providing all the stuff that comes from bone marrow, since the adamantium lacing has effectively cut him from his bone marrow.

   It’s from Wolverine Saga. It’s from even earlier than that, during Wolvie’s trips to Genosha where his powers got Wiped Out from the dude called Wipeout.

   So effectively without his powers he’ll die faster than he would from adamntium metal poisoning in the blood, because that’s not what’s hurting him. Sorry Arkeville.

9. Dr Archeville
   July 30th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
   

   Wolverine’s healing factor isn’t fighting off adamantium metal poisoning. It’s providing all the stuff that comes from bone marrow, since the adamantium lacing has effectively cut him from his bone marrow. It’s from Wolverine Saga. It’s from even earlier than that, during Wolvie’s trips to Genosha where his powers got Wiped Out from the dude called Wipeout.

   Was that bit revealed before or after Wolverine (vol.2) #80 (1994)? According to that comic, the Adamantium doesn’t impeded the functions of his bones.

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