Runaways v2 #25-30

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JD
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Runaways v2 #25-30

Post by JD »

RUNAWAYS v2 #25-30
Writer : Joss Whedon
Penciller : Michael Ryan
Inker : Rick Ketcham, with Andrew Henessy (#29), Victor Olazaba, Roland Paris, and Craig Yeung (all of them #30)
Published from April 2007 to June 2008 (!!)

Cast :
- The Runaways : Nico Minoru/Sister Grimm, Molly Hayes/Bruiser/Princess Powerful, Chase Stein/Talkback, Victor Mancha/Victorious, Old Lace, Karolina Dean/Lucy in the Sky, Xavin, Leapfrog (+ Gert Yorkes/Arsenic in FB)
- The Street Arabs gang : Tristan, Lillie McGurty/the Spieler, Jacob/the Swell, Creeper, Megan Hoyden, Yellow Kid, Dead George Pelham
- The Sinners : Maneater, Morphine, Forget-Me-Not, Kid Twist, Ratdog, Goldbrick... headed by Dale & Stacey Yorkes
- The Upward Path : Nighstick, Daystick, Black Maria, the Difference Engine, Adjudicator, Witchbreaker
- Klara Prast and her husband, Mr Prast
- The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk
- The Punisher/Frank Castle


RUNAWAYS v2 #25 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Victor Mancha, Xavin, Old Lace, Leapfrog, Wilson Fisk, the Punisher, Tristan, Lillie McGurty.

pages 1-3 : New York, the Kingpin is briefed about the Runaways by one of his underlings and decides to agree meeting them.
This scene has a lot of generic shots of the Runaways and the Pride to illustrate the exposition : there's no new information and they're mostly symbolic (the one where they meet the New Avengers did not happen that way in the original story).

pages 4-24 : New York, evening, the Kingpin meets the Runaways in a restaurant he owns and agrees to help them hide if they do him a favor. Later that night, they pull a heist for him, but are interrupted by the Punisher. Oh, and a couple of mysterious folk (an old woman and a guy with mechanical wings) are gloating in the shadows that they're pulling Fisk's strings.

Notes :
- RUN2 #9-12 happened "several months ago". Pusher Man (also from that storyline) has been killed BTS by the Kingpin's men for his gullibility (Fisk shows photos).
- The Punisher wears his classic "white gloves" costume (like in PWJ2).
- We're explicitly post-Civil War.
- No indication of how much time has passed since RUN2 #24 and RUNSAGA. This whole arc happens just before Secret Invasion, as we'll see later.
- Continuing a running joke, there's an (offscreen) big green woman in the restaurant, but it's NOT She-Hulk (well, that's what Fisk says - he could be lying to make the Runaways less confident).


RUNAWAYS v2 #26 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Victor Mancha, Xavin, Old Lace, Leapfrog, Wilson Fisk, the Punisher, Tristan, Lillie McGurty.

pages 1-21 : (continued from last issue) The winged guy attacks the Punisher and the Runaways escape. Chase notices the macguffin they're stealing was built by his and Gert's parents. As they go back to the flat Fisk loaned them, he shows up with a bunch of ninjas. The Runaways refuse to give him the macguffin, big fight, they flee aboard the Leapfrog. Chase plugs the macguffin into it, and the Leapfrog jumps in time...

pages 22-23 : The Runaways arrive in New York, in the morning... But in 1907.

Notes :
- Wilson Fisk is in New York on a "short visit" after Daredevil drove him out of the country (in DD2 #93).
- During the ninja attack, the winged guy takes Victor aside and gives him a message (it's for Lillie, as we will see).


RUNAWAYS v2 #27 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Victor Mancha, Xavin, Old Lace, Leapfrog, Adjudicator, Klara Prast, Mr Prast, Tristan, Lillie McGurty, Jacob, Creeper, Megan Hoyden, Yellow Kid, Dead George Pelham, Maneater, Morphine, Forget-Me-Not, Kid Twist, Dale & Stacey Yorkes

(Continued from last issue) The macguffin is fried and the Leapfrog shows a video explaining how the Steins magic-proofed it, so the Runaways have to explore around in order to find a way to get back to their time. They save a bunch of kids in a burning sweatshop, and Jacob invites them to live with the Street Arabs gang (made of young super-powered people).
That night, Karolina follows a young girl from the sweatshop. Meanwhile, Jacob goes to the Sinners to give them notice of the Runaways' arrival. The Yorkes, the (time-traveling) heads of that gang, order that they should be recruited or killed.

- Flashback : Pages 4-6 : Victor Stein, Dale & Stacey Yorkes are finishing building the Leapfrog. Gert nearly stumbles on them.
Thanks to Gert's appearance and some of the dialogue, the placement is relatively easy : before RUN #17-FB (p4) for all involved.

Notes :
- It's exactly 100 years before "current time", and it's summer (the dialogue mentions how hot it is).
- There are lots of super-powered people running around in 1907's New York, which helps the Runaways blend right in. They're nicknamed "Wonders".


RUNAWAYS v2 #28 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean, Victor Mancha, Xavin, Jacob, Lillie McGurty, Klara Prast, Mr Prast, Nighstick, Daystick, Black Maria, the Difference Engine, Adjudicator, Maneater, Dale & Stacey Yorkes, Tristan, Morphine, Forget-Me-Not, Kid Twist, the Witchbreaker

(The next day) The Runaways split up to follow different leads to go back to the present. Karolina & Molly go save young Karla from her abusive... husband. Victor and Lillie are looking for the discarded macguffin, flirt a bit, and break up an anti-union riot. Nico goes to the bank and is taken out by the Upward Path, who gives her to the Witchbreaker (actually one of her Minoru ancestors). Jacob leads Xavin and Chase to the Sinners, leading to a violent confrontation when the Yorkes recognize Chase (and him, them). Before fleeing in their own time-machine, Chase tells them Gert died.

Notes :
- Karla is 13 or so and married to some old guy. He beats her up and has her carrying out her "marital duties", of course. Urgh.
- To keep all those superhuman groups straight : the Upward Path are the nasty local version of the Avengers (they're even lead by an Iron Man stand-in !). The Sinners are the big-time criminals, manipulated by the Yorkes. And the Street Arabs are just young punks.
- The Yorkes are from the time when Gert was "fourteen". Gert was "fourteen or fifteen" in RUN #8, so I'd place this somewhere before the "one year before" Pride meeting in RUN #17-FB (4). Especially since she's stated to have "a few years to live" in #30.


RUNAWAYS v2 #29 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes, Karolina Dean, Victor Mancha, Xavin, Jacob, Klara Prast, Creeper, Megan Hoyden, Dead George Pelham, the Difference Engine, Witchbreaker, Lillie McGurty, Professor Duck, Maneater, Dale & Stacey Yorkes, Nighstick, Daystick, Tristan, Morphine, Forget-Me-Not, Kid Twist, Black Maria, Adjudicator, Ratdog, Goldbrick

(Continued from last issue) Xavin, Karolina, Molly and Karla have headed back to the Street Arabs' hideout. Karla freaks out and runs away after seeing Xavin and Karolina kissing. Meanwhile, Nico is still being tortured by her ancestor, and Lillie is still hitting on Victor.
The Sinners attack the Street Arabs (killing Hoyden & Creeper), starting a big three-way superhuman gang war between them and the Upward Path. And there's also a big bomb coming from nowhere about to detonate.


RUNAWAYS v2 #30 :
Characters : Nico Minoru, Victor Mancha, Karolina Dean, Molly Haynes, Xavin, Old Lace, Leapfrog, Klara Prast, Tristan, Morphine, Kid Twist, Lillie McGurty, Adjudicator, Maneater, Dead George Pelham, Yellow Kid, Jacob, Daystick, Ratdog, Black Maria, Dale & Stacey Yorkes, Goldbrick-BTS, Forget-Me-Not-BTS, Nightstick-BTS, the Difference Engine-BTS, Kingpin, Punisher

Pages 1-16 : (Continued from last issue) Tristan sacrifices himself by flying the bomb very high (which explains his scars in the present). Nico arrives and interrupts the war by magic. Old Lace shows up to warn that the Yorkes have taken the Leapfrog, so the Runaways go there. Chase shows up back from the present just in time to save the day. Nico deals with the Yorkes. And Lillie refuses to go to the present with them even though she set the whole thing up (with Tristan's help) so that she could. They take Klara with them instead.

Pages 17-23 : Back in the present in the same night just after they left, the Runaways evade the Kingpin's missiles, and prepare to go back to the west coast.

Notes :
- Yeah, the whole story was a stable time loop engeneered by Lizzie to give herself another chance to hook up with Victor. I hate time travel.
- Lots of other plot holes : it's never explained how Nico escaped from the Witchbreaker (or how she learned to fly for that matter). Also, the whole gang war is completely forgotten about.
- Nico's solution for dealing with the Yorkes ? A spell forcing them to still remember what they've learned that will happen (such as their daughter's death), but to be completely unable to do or say anything about it. That's... very creative.
- SECRET INVASION: RUNAWAYS/YOUNG AVENGERS #1 picks up the next day (the Runaways are staying in NY "just for a few hours [...] so Klara can say goodbye"), just as the Invasion starts. So the whole arc (which happens within 24 hours or so for the present part) has to happen just before SI.
- The Yorkes recognize the Leapfrog, so the past scenes have to happen after #27's flashback for them.


Chronologies for the tricky characters :
GERTRUDE YORKES/ARSENIC 2
RUN2 27-FB (4-6) (fourteen, "several years to live", soon before an annual meeting of the Pride - presumably the one in RUN 17-FB)
RUN 18-FB (1) (photo in the afternoon of the following scene)
RUN 17-FB (4) (annual meeting of the Pride)
RUN 1 (fifteen, the next annual meeting of the Pride)
...

DALE & STACEY YORKES
RUN 13-FB (3-10)
RUN 13-FB (13-17)
RUN 13-FB (19-21) (18 years ago)
RUN2 27-FB (4-6)
RUN2 27
RUN2 28
RUN2 29
RUN2 30
RUN 18-FB (1)
RUN 17-FB-BTS (4)
RUN 1
...

LILLIE MCGURTY/THE SPIELER
RUN2 27
RUN2 28
RUN2 29
RUN2 30
RUN2 25
RUN2 26
RUN2 30

TRISTAN
RUN2 27
RUN2 28
RUN2 29
RUN2 30
RUN2 25
RUN2 26
RUN2 30

For all other characters, it's completely straightforward. The Runaways appear next in SECRET INVASION: RUNAWAYS/YOUNG AVENGERS #1.

Next up : the Jack Murdock mini, if I actually manage to find the time for the intricate research...
Last edited by JD on Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:07 am, edited 3 times in total.
Paul Bourcier
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Re: Runaways v2 #25-30

Post by Paul Bourcier »

Thanks for the analysis, JD. :)
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JD
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Re: Runaways v2 #25-30

Post by JD »

I've made a few corrections for typos and accidental omissions. Apparently I was quite tired yesterday when I finished this...
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Re: Runaways v2 #25-30

Post by Fantomex »

I think you're confusing Jacob with Eddie Gunman. Jacob the musician only makes a brief appearance in #27. It's Eddie Gunman, who is also known as the Swell, who shows the runaways around.

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