This might be SHOCKING, so brace yourselves.
There’s a Marvel character whose power is to turn any part of his body into part of a dinosaurs body. And the great surprise?
I think that he’s AWESOME.
I know.
You’re still reeling.
His name is Humberto Lopez and his alias is Reptil. Currently he’s part of Avengers Academy, which is a pretty entertaining read.
However, I’ve got bones to pick. Dinosaur bones to pick.
Facts: Reptil was raised by paleontologists and he can transform into any type of dinosaur.
Knowing that I get disappointed every time I see the same clawed arms come out during a fight. When I read through Avengers Academy I wasn’t looking for Dino appearances, but I do remember: T-Rex, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, and whatever theropod that has long three-fingered forearms (allosaurus, utahraptor, etc.).
Congratulations, we’ve tipped into extreme nit-picking territory. It’s cool, it’s a catalyst for the drawings to follow, and it’s meant in a very benign manner.
Since Avengers Academy is a team book there’s no way to highlight just Reptil and his sweet, sweet, (better than everyone elses’) power. That added to the fact that I’m an armchair paleontologist makes for a reader that wants more dinosaur, but is gonna have to deal with a fun teen superhero book instead. Not much of a loss, that.
Two main frustrations: As a boy raised by paleontologists, there’s no way he’d keep to the Jurassic Park list of dinosaurs. Let’s rock a Kentrosaurus’ spikes, or a Therizinosaurus’ claws. Don’t keep me to the same T-Rex/Triceratops labels. I know first graders that can name more dinosaurs (this is not a lie: I = Children’s Librarian, I know many kids that can do this). Let’s get crazy creative here!
Additionally, a Pterodactyl is not a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are land creatures that walk with their legs directly underneath their bodies. So sorry Pterodactyls (Quetzalcoatlus, no!), Plesiosaur, Dimetrodon, and other childhood favorites. You are not dinosaurs.
With that in your brain, here’s another fun Reptil tidbit: anytime you see him flying it’s with Pterosaur wings. And since they’re not dinosaurs…what does that mean for Reptil’s power? I want that to mean he can transform into any prehistoric creature, mammals included, but I’m guessing it means that he can transform into any prehistoric reptile. Even so, there are still things to nerd out on with that addition. And now I’m wondering if it’s just the Triassic through the Cretaceous….
Anyway, one of the most annoying things is a fan that just complains. To avoid that I decided that I would be proactive and draw some Reptils of my own. And yes, I’ll provide commentary for each one, thanks for asking.
My goal with the following was to showcase dinosaurs that (1) Are more unheard of and (2) Have traits that are not exploited just for their brute offensive power.
Might as well get this one over with right out of the gate: I do understand why a lot of dinosaurs aren’t used. As is the case with the mononykus, there isn’t always an obvious use for different dino parts. One tiny forearm and one tiny claw? Then again, it doesn’t take long for your brain to start thinking of things: having an enemy lose their grip on your longer human arm by transforming, opening soda cans….I didn’t say they were great ideas, but it’s still a fun game to play. And knowing things like the muscles behind these little forearms are ridiculously built helps feed the imagination too. Slowest wall-scaler contender, right here baby!
This actually could have uses. Can you imagine the clarion call of, “AVENGERS (academy) ASSEMBLE” coming out of that thing? It would also redefine “long-distance call”. He’s not going to take down baddies with his B#, but I don’t want to rule out this sonorous sect of hadrosaurs.
Here’s a dinosaur of a more standard kick-butt fare. Obviously Humberto is ready to wreck someone’s face. I included him just to point out that not every offensive has to be a T-Rex head. It’s cool to use a whole range of other dino-heads. And, to make this the geekiest romp in the park ever – quick, let’s pull out our Latin skills, shall we? Dracorex very obviously is “Dragon King”. Guess what the second part of it’s name is? “Hogwartsia”. Now, think about that and put it together kids! You should have come up with, “Dragon King of Hogwarts”! Not a joke. There’s a dinosaur named after Harry Potter. Pay attention to dinosaur names, you’ll find a lot of interesting history there.
Sometimes I just draw things for fun. The second that I remembered Monoclonius (a triceratops with one horn), I started sketching. As much as it was a joke, that is still something that I would not want to be kabobed on. I think villains would agree that they’re happier without a giant hole in their chests.
I actually don’t mean this suggestion as a joke, but there was really no other way to draw this. I wanted to mount the biggest dinosaur head on him, so I turned to maybe/possibly the largest sauropod. The idea stemmed from one of more practical origins. I could see different instances when long necks were useful. There’s the comedic rescuing cats from trees, but a sauropod head could allow Reptil to go on ridiculous aquatic missions, or compete against giraffes for the highest leafs. Okay, they’re all crazy-sounding, but I still think that there’s something there. The pictures proportions are ridiculous, but I would submit that Reptil could mimic a smaller sauropod, or even a prosauropod to get more workable head/neck sizes.
Gallimimus are supposed to be the fastest of dinosaurs, and it seems to me that the benefits of this dinosaur for Reptil are obvious. I like this one the best. It captures what branching out could do for Reptil. It may look unconventional, but I would not say no to help from a guy with feet that could kick villains up a street.
In the end, that is the real fun of Reptil for me. It’s partially fueled by “ZOMG, DINOSAURS!” but there’s a greater chunk of the character that has the potential to show off the most intriguing creatures in Earth’s history.
Since this has been awesome, and gave me an excuse to talk about dinosaurs AND comics, I’ll probably come back to it again. I really wanted to show off a Microraptor-Reptil, but sketch as I might, I didn’t come out with anything that I liked. I’ll post again when I get that down.
If you are still here, you are a TROOPER.
Thanks for stopping!