THE MERRY MALADIES

Membership: Beastmaniac, Captain Sheepdog, Elmer Strange, Hawky, Rawhide Le Pew, Ringo Gonzales, Thor O. Coyote, Victor the Martian)

Purpose: Defeating the Loonies

Affiliations: Shadowcat (creator) and the rest of Excalibur (Captain Britain, Lockheed, Meggan, Nightcrawler, Phoenix [Rachel Summers], Widget)

Enemies: Arcade, Loonies

Base of Operations: Murderworld in Britain

First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1 (mid December, 1989)

History:
(Marvel Comics Presents I#32/1 - Marvel Comics Presents I#37/1 - BTS) - Shadowcat found and reprogrammed the Merry Maladies like she did with Rochester or she built them with the technology of Murderworld.

(Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1) - When the Loonies jumped into the castle to attack Excalibur, Shadowcat brought in her special precaution: The Merry Maladies. They pummeled the Loonies and Excalibur got the chance to fly away in a hot air balloon.

Comments: Created by Michael Higgins and Erik Larson

There were a lot more spoofs in this storyline than the Looney Tunes characters.

The names used for the members of the Merry Maladies became official in Marvel Atlas#1.

Profile by Markus Raymond.

Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims using info from Will U

CLARIFICATIONS: The Merry Maladies should not be confused with:

• Looney Tunes, Warner Bros characters the Loonies are based on

Victor the Martian is based on the Warner Bros character Marvin the Martian and should not be confused with:

• Dr. Doom, the emperor of Latveria and Earth-Doom @ Fantastic Four I#5
• all Doom doppelgangers, counterparts and so on or Martians

Elmer Strange is based on the Warner Bros character Elmer Fudd and should not be confused with:

• Dr. Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme @ Strange Tales I#110/2
• other Strange characters and Hunters

List of Spoofs

Captain Britain met in his illusion:

• two former selves
• The Day Family (Nanny, Nellie, Heb and Heathrow) based on "The Beverly Hillbillies"
• Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Yellow Brick Street, flying winged monkeys, Emerald City all based on stuff from "The Wizard of Oz"
• Blueberry's residents (Snarla, Biffy, Roach, Scam, and others) based on the characters from the TV show "Happy Days" (or should that be the Andy Griffith show)
• a rabbit (Woody Allen in a costume)
     The Woody Allen rabbit is also a nod to Alice in Wonderland's White Rabbit, hence why Captain Britain mentions they are getting their storybook tales mixed up, since he's in the middle of Oz.
  --Loki
• The cast of Sneers (Cheers) - Snarla (Carla), Biffy (Cliff), Deformy (Norm), Roach (Coach - unseen), Scam (Sam).
  --Loki

Meggan met in her program:

• Aunt Lilac, Uncle Norman, Freddy, Grampire based on characters of "The Munsters"
• Belch (Lurch), Twit (Cousin It), and a hand (the hand was named as Da Fing (Thing)
  --Loki). Characters based on "The Addams Family"
• a dragon based on the Munster's pet Spot who lived under the stairs

Nightcrawler met in his program:

• Rambo & Van Winkle based on Rocky & Bullwinkle
• Karloff and Romanoff based on Boris and Natasha, Bullwinkle's arch-enemies (get it?).  Romanoff could also be a reference to Natasha Romanovna, the Black Widow--Kyle
• Gumbo based on Dumbo
• a grey Hulk in a pajama ???
• The crowd gawping at Nightcrawler in the cage is a nod to the 1930s movie Freaks. Hidden in that crowd are the Kingpin, Popeye and Vanguard (of Megaton Comics, later Image)
  --Loki
• One of the crowd pursuing him immediately after he knocks Karloff into the lion's mouth is Storm.
  --Loki
• One of the knife throwers is Colonel Sanders of KFC.
  --Loki

Phoenix met in her program:

• Darth Phoenix: Dark Phoenix as Darth Vader based on Star Wars
• Phoenix turned into a character based on Luke Skywalker (also from Star Wars) and defeated Darth Phoenix  (but, unlike Luke, she didn't lose her hand).

Lockheed and Widget met in their program:

• Lockheed and Widget turned into characters based on Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
• a cartoonish evildoer based on Snidely Whiplash from the Dudley Do-Rite cartoon
• a female giant dragon based on Earth-597's dragon.
• a sequence where the woman in peril is bound to rails and a train is coming based on many classic cartoon, such as Nell, Dudley Do-Rite's girlfriend,
  and old silent movies scenes
• 68 and 99.9 (some kind of Agents?) based on the characters from Get Smart
• Shooby based on Scooby Doo
• an unnamed soldier of the Wild West based on, yep, Dudley Do-Rite (Best Dudley Do-Rite voice: "Unhand that woman...")
• The Acme train is a homage to Warner Bros cartoons, especially Road Runner.
  --Loki

I also recognized KFC Spokesman Colonel Sanders, the Katzenjammer kids and several other characters from my Grandfather's Sunday Comics pages. I think Nightcrawler's cage is a spoof of the popular Roddy McDowell episode of the Twilight Zone. --Will U

End sequence notations by Loki:

• The tornado that transports them is another Oz homage.
• When they land, Captain Britain spots some munchkins downed by the twister, who include the American Dennis the Menace and the Yellow Kid (you only see his head, but the baldness, big ears and smile give him away).
• The Munchkins that Meggan punches are Charlie Brown (Peanuts) and (I think) Little Lord Fauntleroy. As Will U correctly noted, her attack is watched by the grinning Katzenjammer Kids (previously mentioned by Will U). I'm thinking the guy Phoenix punches might be an older-looking Groucho Marx.
• The Doorman who tries to bar Captain Britain's entry is a homage to the Emerald City's gatekeeper, but I'm fairly sure that his beard and hat mark him as an old newspaper strip character - I just can't recall exactly who.
• Arcade's giant floating head is a homage to the Wizard of Oz (the character, rather than the book)

Victor the Martian

He had a ray-gun and used it against Billy Bird, shooting Bird right through the head.  He wasn't given a name but he wore the colors of Dr. Doom and so I named him Victor the Martian.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Elmer Strange

He flew through the sky with the mystic cloak of Fudd and shot Guns Gummy right into the butt with a powerful magical blast.  He made Guns jump around.  He wasn't given a name but he wore a cloak like Dr. Strange and so I named him Elmer Strange.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Beastmaniac

He hit the Ham so hard, that he flew through the whole room.  He wasn't named either but I didn't get the point which Marvel Character was taken to give him a personality so I just named him Beastmaniac for no good reason.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Ringo Gonzales

He tied up Southpaw like a cow after he was taken down by Rawhide Le Pew.  The mouse wasn't given a name but he looked like an old Western hero and so I named him Ringo Gonzales.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Rawhide Le Pew

He took down Southpaw with a shot from his finger.  Probably smelled a lot because Southpaw really looked sick afterwards.  The skunk wasn't given a name but he looked like an old Western hero and so I named him Rawhide Le Pew.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Captain Sheepdog

The star-spangled dog lifted the Rooster up and gave it to him.  A "D" for dog on the costume, a winged mask with a star and no name was given.  I named him Captain Sheepdog.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Hawky

Cap needed a partner to sit on the head of Rooster Cockburn and peck it.  Like the others the hawk was left nameless.  I gave him the name Hawky.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

Thor O. Coyote

The hammer ACME hit Tailgunner hard on his head while the coyote smiled.  No name was given but he had a hammer and a helmet with wings, so I named him Thor O. Coyote.

Marvel Comics Presents I#38/1

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Marvel Comics Presents I#38, p5, bottom right panel (main image)