BUG #1 (1997)

“Apples & Origins”

Writer: Todd Dezago
Pencils: Derec Aucoin

For the past 40 years or so, I’ve had varying recollections of what the first comic book I ever read was. Or the first comic my big brother read to me. Or the first I had somebody buy for me. Or the first I bought with my own money. Regardless, I know one of these “firsts” was Marvel’s Micronauts series, specifically the FIRST ISSUE.

“Micronauts” (the series) is often downplayed as a “licensing tie-in”, which isn’t fair. Sure, it began based on MEGO’s imported toyline, but the stories Marvel spun out of it were dynamic and popular. “Micronauts” won some fan awards within its first 20 issues and lasted from 1979 to 1986. The characters would often crossover with mainstay Marvel heroes, such as the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury and SHIELD, and even the X-men. It seems crazy, now, but before X-men spin-offs, one-hots, special and mini-series were commonplace, one of their firsts was a 4-issue team-up with the Micronauts.

Along with the stories, the characters Marvel created proved popular. Some characters were fairly close to their toy counterparts. Such as the various Acroyears, Biotron, Microtron, Barzon Karza and most of the robots and vehicles that popped up. Other characters were completely original, like Marionette, Huntarr, and even eventual Avenger Captain Universe. A third group of characters were sort of amalgamations of the toys meshed with original ideas. Based off of the MEGO figures “Space Glider”and “Galactic Warrior”, Marvel breathed life into these names and spun them into “Commander Rann” and (yup, our star of this article) “Bug“. This group of characters became so divergent from their toy counterparts that they were something completely new. The Galactic Warrior toy was just some metal dude with a rocket strapped to his back (or chest). If you looked close, you might see some tiny scales on his legs…but he was nowhere near as insect-y as Bug. Bug, himself, was an Insectivorid from the planet Kaliklak… who had a speech pattern of always inserting a “tik” in his sentences. Put them side-by-side and you’d think a connection was impossible:

I was only in the single-digits at the time, but I thought Micronauts was frickin’ awesome. In short, the franchise proved more popular than expected and they definitely had their fans. As the 80’s wore on, those fans drifted away or lost interest. Or some simply grew up…which may be where the creative team of THIS comic came from!

I actually remember buying this comic while traveling to Arizona and stopping over in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I checked into a hotel room around 4 pm…and since I had plenty of time, I ripped open the phone book (remember those?), looked under “Collectibles – Comic Books” and found a nearby target. I couldn’t tell you the name of the store; as it’s probably not even around anymore; but I remember walking in and seeing “Bug” on the racks. At the time (March, 1997), I was hardcore into comics and would read the weekly solicitations religiously. Yet “Bug #1” slipped passed my radar and I was overjoyed that somebody else had remembered “Micronauts”. It’d been over 10 years since I had seen Bug and there he was in his own FIRST ISSUE! I was reluctant to purchase it, since I was traveling and on something of a budget…but then remembered that I was driving and could fill my Isuzu Trooper II with whatever I could fit in it!

The story opens with Fantastic Four baddie, Annihilus, breaking into Reed Richards’s lab to steal the Time Platform. There’s no real explanation for how or why the lab has suddenly appeared in the Negative Zone, but it really doesn’t matter. Annihilus wants to merge the power of his Control Rod (which looks like a suppository) with the Time Platform so he can conquer all of time and space. Of course. Modern Marvel readers might take note that this was before Annilihus’s makeover in “Annihiliation Wave”, so he’s more comic relief than cosmic threat. In fact, they call him “Alanis” quite a bit. Like any good melodramatic villain, he likes to narrate the plot to us!

We then jump over to Bug fighting alongside Commander Rann and Marionette against some random “Karza-loving” dog soldiers (note that they said “Karza” and not “Baron Karza”…that full name still belonged to MEGO, I guess). Suddenly, Bug is zapped into a vortex, as Annihilus and his newly-boosted Control Rod are wreaking havoc with the space/time continuum.

Reduced to the size of insects, Bug and Annihilus fight across time and space for the Rod. Along the way, they visit several iconic moments from the Marvel U. In the first, Bug finds himself in a “monster’s” web…which turns out to be a spider that he zaps…and it then falls out of its web to bite a certain teenager with glasses and a sweater-vest. They also visit the origin scenes of Dr. Strange, The Punisher, Wolverine, The Beast, Dr. Doom, Daredevil and even… Batman!

The fight even manages to visit Thor the Frog of Thunder, along with Tony Stark’s dark days of alcoholism. Seeing the tiny flashing bugs actually persuades Stark to give up drinking. Some fans may call “foul” at all this ret-conning, as it makes it seem like Bug and Annihilus influenced all these scenes… but you can No-Prize it and assume that the spider would’ve bitten Peter Parker regardless, the radioactive rods would’ve still shot out of the truck to blind Matt Murdock, etc. Bug and Annihilus just happen to be front-row and ringside for some key Marvel events.

They also encounter some non-key events. As bugs, they annoy Black Bolt, causing him to speak. Blackie yells: “Scram! Uh oh…”. In addition to Batman, there’s even another “inter-company crossover” as they run into Calvin n’ Hobbes:

It’s all harmless fluff, played for laughs. The plot is resolved when Bug figures out a way to trick Annihilus into a time loop. Yet, that’s not all, as we get a few pages of “Fun n’ Games” with word searches, connect-the-dots and even a board game, courtesy of Fred Hembeck (and those KNEES)! The board game has some great puns and jokes on it. If you’re into Marvel’s entire line, you’ll probably find a few gags that’ll make you snicker.

What looked like a book suited for a niche or cult audience, actually turned out to be accessible to any Marvel reader. With the humor and absurdity, it’s possible Marvel was angling for Bug to be their version of DC’s “Ambush Bug”. Bug really didn’t catch on in this manner. There were rumors of a new “Micronauts” series, at the time, but for whatever reason it dissipated. The re-named “Microns” then popped up in the pages of “Captain Marvel”, circa 2000, but that was it. Yet Bug was not forgotten– he returned about 10 years later in the pages of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (if you’re worried about my own stupid personal thoughts: Bug is one character I’d like to see in a future “Guardians” movie; or even the conclusion to “Avengers: Infinity War”). I even remember freaking out when I saw Bug pop-up in an issue of “Avengers: Assemble”, circa 2009. I like Bug…now if they cold only bring back Acroyear and Huntarr.

Usually, when a book tries to be funny…it fails. I’m not saying this book made me rupture my spleen in violent laughter, but it did keep me entertained, made me smile, and reminded me that comics can be fun. It’s $2.99 well spent, even if you’re budgeting yourself while on a ;tik; road trip.

Summary: Bug and Annihilus don’t become friends. Hop around the Marvel U, DCU and even the “Waterson-verse”. Little boys from the late 70’s jizz themselves.
Cover Price: $2.99
Rating: $2.00 out of $2.50