SPARKITECTSSPARKITECTS
Classification: Extraterrestrial humanoid race
Location/Base of Operations: The planet Sparkitron
Known Members: Air-Icka,
Ax-L,
Chipp,
Jho,
Ry-N,
Ta-Nehi-C,
Whil,
numerous others
Affiliations: Biggs,
Biggs
Prime, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Howard the
Duck, Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Iron Punisher, May Parker, Scout
(Roberta), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Tara Tam
Enemies: Black Panther (T'Challa), Squirrel Girl
(Doreen Green), numerous others;
possibly Panther
Girl (see comments);
formerly Howard the
Duck
First Appearance: (Chipp and Jho,
unidentified) Howard the Duck V#9 (September, 2016);
(multiple Sparkitects) Howard the Duck V#10
(October, 2016)
Powers/Abilities: Each Sparkitect has pointed ears and dark-colored eyes. The male Sparkitects each have wrinkles where Earth human males would typically have facial hair (i.e. chin, sides of face, under the nose) whereas as female Sparkitects have no wrinkles on their face.
Traits: Sparkitects have no inherent superhuman powers but they are all quite skilled at using Sparkitendril energy-manipulation technology to alter the lives of other beings.
Type: Bilaterally symmetrical humanoids
Eyes: Two
Fingers: Four (three fingers and a thumb)
Toes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Skin color: Purple
Average height: Unrevealed (approximate height ranging from 4'0"
to 7'0")
History:
(Howard the Duck V#10 (fb) - BTS) - The Sparkitects were an alien race
dedicated to the manipulation of other beings from afar using the
energy of their planet's Sparkitendrils to influence the lives of
others, with each
Sparkitect assigned a specific being's life to handle.
(Howard the Duck V#11 (fb) - BTS) - As part of their
assignments, each Sparkitect was sworn an oath never to personally
profit from their jobs.
(Howard the Duck V#10 (fb) - BTS) - Various Sparkitects were assigned to handle Howard the Duck off and on since the extradimensional Howard had first arrived on Earth and eventually in recent years, two Sparkitects named Chipp and Jho were given the Howard the Duck assignment. As his first manipulation, Chipp arranged for Howard the Duck to open a detective agency.
(Howard the Duck V#11 (fb) - BTS) - It was known to
take several manipulating Sparkitects just to make Spider-Man not look
like a moron.
(Howard the Duck V#9 (fb) - BTS) - Airing a reality show broadcasting the actual adventures of Howard the Duck to the Mojoverse, the extradimensional Mojo and Major Domo eventually bribed the Sparkitect specialists Chipp and Jho with money to create watchable drama in Howard's life during periods where Howard's life proved boring and uninteresting.
(Howard the Duck V#10 (fb) - BTS) - As part of their manipulation of Howard the Duck's life, Sparkitects Chipp and Jho introduced an Earthly counterpart to Jho's alien cat Biggs per Jho's insistence. Eventually, Mojo blackmailed Chipp and Jho, prompting the two to arrange for Howard the Duck to come face-to-face with Mojo in an effort to manipulate Howard into dismantling Mojo's entertainment operation.
(Howard the Duck V#11 (fb)) - As the two Sparkitects
began arranging events so that Howard would come into contact with
Mojo, they watched as the would-be Galactus Herald Scout gave Howard a
portion of her Power Cosmic so that he might contact her in the event
she was needed in the future. Chipp discussed with Jho whether or not
he truly wanted Scout to return but Jho reminded him that the piece of
the Power Cosmic might also empower someone else when the time case for
it to be used. At some point, another Sparkitect, Ry-N, developed a
portable computer terminal so that he could work on his manipulation
projects while hoverboarding.
(Howard the Duck V#9) - Unaware he was being manipulated, Howard the Duck took an investigative case involving actress Lea Thompson that led him to Mojo, he learned how Mojo had arranged events in his life to create drama and Howard demanded to know who Mojo could have hired that had that level of power, unaware that he was being watched by the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho. Upon seeing the events unfolding via video screen, Chipp and Jho cursed.
(Howard the Duck V#10) - A panicky Jho proclaimed that Howard finding out about the Sparkitects' involvement in his life wasn't supposed to happen and that Mojo was going to think the two Sparkitects had led Howard to him. Remarking that they pretty much had indeed led Howard to Mojo, Chipp slapped some sense into Jho and announced that they needed to plan for the fallout of the revelation. Chipp then suggested they get out of there before their bosses learned of what had happened, hoping that perhaps there was a still a chance to salvage the situation if they could get to Mojo before he came for them. Chipp then began viewing various screens in an effort to set events in motion to allow for their escape should they not be able to charm their way back into Mojo's favor. As Chipp worked on his plan, Jho embraced his cat Biggs and remarked that he might be going away for a long time, perhaps forever. Grumbling at how Jho placated his cat, Chipp promised they would drop Biggs off with two other Sparkitects before they left for Earth and suggested Jho could always adopt the Earth counterpart of Biggs should anything happen to the original alien Biggs. Jho angrily exclaimed that nothing could replace Biggs-Prime before the duo was interrupted by the arrival of their boss, Whil, who introduced them to a Sparkitect new to the area named Ta-Nehi-C.
Chipp accused Ta-Nehi-C of being the new golden boy of the Sparkitects and asked whose life he was tasked with manipulating. Upon learning Ta-Nehi-C's orders involved Black Panther, Chipp sarcastically commented that the Black Panther was a "C-lister," prompting Ta-Nehi-C to ask who Chipp and Jho were handling. Chipp whispered Howard the Duck and Whil bragged about Ta-Nehi-C's elevation of the story of Black Panther's life, further remarking on how popular Ta-Nehi-C's involvement was. Jho then interrupted to excuse Chipp and himself, and the duo rushed off, leaving Ta-Nehi-C to question Whil if the two really worked there. Whil responded that, between the two of them, Chipp and Jho wouldn't be working there much longer.
Chipp and Jho ran into fellow Sparkitects Air-Icka and Ry-N in the hallway, and Jho quickly thrust Biggs into Air-Icka's arms and asked her to look after the cat for awhile. Complaining that she had to watch Biggs yet again, Air-Icka asked what was going on this time, and Ry-N asked where Chipp and Jho were heading. Chipp admitted to Ry-N how they had taken money on the side from the extradimensional Mojo to make Howard the Duck's life more exciting and how they had been blackmailed. When Chipp further explained how they had manipulated Howard the Duck into confronting Mojo in an effort to dismantle Mojo's operations and how they had to intercept Mojo before they were killed, Ry-N chuckled and simply responded with "neat." As Chipp and Jho then ran off to continue their escape to Earth, Air-Icka asked why Jho hung out with a "loser" like Chipp, and Jho replied that Chipp wasn't so bad once you got to know him. Ry-N then again remarked "neat" as Chipp rushed Jho away. The two then entered the shuttle bay, and Jho asked why Chipp had revealed their entire situation to Ry-N, prompting Chipp to reply that no one would believe the nerds working on Squirrel Girl's life. Chipp then mused on the recent popularity of both Black Panther and Squirrel Girl and commented on how things had sure gotten weird, suggesting that if they survived, they should pitch the idea of "Panther Girl." Jho then remarked on how Squirrel Girl was a great character as the two entered a shuttle and Jho asked what they would do if they couldn't contain the "Mojo problem." Chipp admitted he didn't know and expressed hope that other universes might need animal character reboots.
Back on Earth, Mojo was strangling Howard the Duck, assuring Howard that he had paid good money to the Sparkitects to mess with Howard and that he was simply providing Howard a much-needed (for Mojo) neck tension massage. When Howard reminded Mojo that he was the one messing with Mojo, Mojo became angry and exclaimed that the Sparkitects were trying to ruin him. As Howard wondered who the Sparkitects were, Mojo ordered his assistant Major Domo to ready an army to make their way to the planet Sparkitron so that he could rat out the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho. Domo questioned whether the other Sparkitects would take issue with the fact that Mojo had bribed Chipp and Jho in the first place, but Mojo insisted he would charm the Sparkitect bosses. Before he could leave for Sparkitron, however, Mojo ordered the death of Howard's ally, Tara Tam, and when a large fight ensued, Mojo admitted credit to the double-crossing Sparkitects, as the fight was going to blow up the "Mojonet."
Mojo's rantings were interrupted moments later when Chipp and Jho arrived on Earth and greeted the despot, asking how his child Mojunior and the rest of the family were. Mojo angrily accused the two of being traitors, reminding them that he had paid them good money to deliver Howard the Duck adventures, and Chipp responded by asking Mojo if the situation they were currently in was not an adventure. Chipp then claimed that Howard meeting Mojo was instrumental in ramping up the adventure in Howard's life but Mojo argued that the Sparkitects had only continued their deal with Mojo out of fear that Mojo would rat them out to their bosses. A nervous Chipp then offered to make Mojo the focus of their next big crossover plot if Mojo would let Chipp and Jho go and leave Sparkitron alone. Mojo countered by threatening to pop Chipp's head off like an infiniberry and find other corrupt Sparkitects to bribe.
When a battle between Spider-Man and the robot Iron
Punisher erupted into the battle between Howard the Duck and Mojo,
Chipp took advantage of the distraction to attempt an escape, but Howard
the Duck tackled the alien. The Iron Punisher soon fired at Spider-Man
and Howard's cyborg cat Biggs went missing immediately after, prompting
worry from the Sparkitect Jho, who had arranged for that particular cat
to fall into Howard's life as an homage to his own Sparkitect cat,
Biggs-Prime. Fearful that it could have easily been his cat that was
destroyed, Jho became determined to stop the conflict. As Jho ran into
the battle himself, Chipp wrestled with Howard, who demanded to know
why the Sparkitects had caused all of the recent drama in his life.
Chipp attempted to explain how stagnation inherently dissolved
everything and how the Sparkitects used their planet's Sparkitendrils
to manipulate lives from afar to create interest. Admitting that the
Sparkitects sometimes had to get their hands dirty directly, Chipp
pulled out a knife, but Howard lunged at Chipp, exclaiming that he was
not a "character." Mojo noticed the fight and confronted Chipp once
more, but Chipp took Howard hostage, warning Mojo to back off or risk
the death of his "precious star." Chipp then announced that he would be
getting in his ship unchallenged and remarked that he might possibly send
Howard back after he found another universe that appreciated him. The
Iron Punisher subsequently slammed his fist down while battling Tara
Tam and, in the distraction, Howard bit Chipp, causing him to drop his
knife.
Howard and Chipp renewed their fight, and Chipp insisted that Howard was nothing without him, explaining how other Sparkitects had been controlling Howard's life off and on since he first arrived on Earth. Remarking that his life was much more exciting when he had first arrived on Earth, Howard accused Chipp of doing a more worse job of keeping his life interesting than the previous Sparkitects assigned to Howard, angering Chipp into stabbing Howard.
(Howard the Duck V#11 (fb)
- BTS) - Absconding with
the small portion of the Power Cosmic that the would-be Galactus Herald
Scout had once given Howard, Chipp ran into a nearby alley.
(Howard the Duck V#11) - Somewhat panicky after seemingly killing his own "main character," Chipp decided to use the portion of the Power Cosmic to empower himself. Having taking advantage of the chaos to secretly return to Sparkitron, Jho watched as his boss Whil ordered Chipp and Jho's control terminals destroyed after discovering their betrayal. Ry-N soon noticed Jho while floating by on his hoverboard and remarked on how he thought Jho and Chipp were on the run. Overhearing Ry-N, Whil turned to see Jho and ordered Jho detained but Ry-N rescued Jho using his hoverboard and the two flew off.
Flying
through a library, a worried Jho commented that he was done for without
his computer terminal, but Ry-N revealed that he had developed a
portable terminal. As Jho praised Ry-N for his nerdiness at developing
the portable terminal, other Sparkitects in the library expressed
annoyance at Jho and Ry-N's talking in the library where they were
trying to work. Grabbing Ry-N's portable terminal, Jho frantically
tried to arrange events in Howard's life before his boss caught up to
him. Asking the nearby Air-Icka to hold back the boss until he could
complete his project, Jho then feigned depression over a supposed lack
of creators' rights when it came to doing what they wanted and whipped
the other Sparkitects present into a fighting frenzy over their own
creator rights.
Whil and two guards soon caught up to Jho but they were swarmed by a large group of Sparkitects that had been swayed to fight for creator rights. As the frenzied Sparkitects battled the guards, Ry-N commented that he didn't feel Jho's situation was really a creator rights issue, and Jho admitted that he had simply needed to get the crowd whipped up to buy himself time to figure out a solution to his situation with Howard the Duck. Whil soon managed to break out of the fight with the other Sparkitects, and he tackled Jho, exclaiming the entire situation was over and that Howard the Duck was as dead as Chipp and Jho's careers. Jho refused to accept the events and, as Whil attempted to pin him down, Jho hit a button on Ry-N's portable terminal, manipulating Doctor Strange from afar to revive Howard.
Howard revived just in time to see the Power Cosmic-empowered Chipp announce his plans to turn the tables and escape. He then attacked the assembled heroes but Doctor Strange managed to erect a mystic shield to protect them. Formulating a plan, Howard ran for it and Spider-Man distracted Chipp, providing a chance for Howard to leap onto Chipp's back. Utilizing the portion of Scout's Power Cosmic that was empowering Chipp to summon Scout directly, Howard watched as Chipp tried to attack Scout, only to have Scout reabsorb the Power Cosmic back into herself, leaving Chipp powerless and open to a punch from Howard.
Before Howard could then kick Chipp while he was down, the Sparkitect boss Whil and his boss Ax-L, who claimed responsibility for Chipp and Jho's actions. Whil explained how they were there to arrest Chipp, and Ax-L apologized for their actions, further explaining how Chipp and Jho had broke their oath never to profit from their jobs. As Ax-L assured Howard the Duck that Chipp and Jho would be punished, Chipp grumbled at Ax-L's comments about the Sparkitects' vow never to profit, remarking on his refusal to believe that California's Golden State Warriors just "happened" to win the last year's championship. Ax-L grew angry at the suggestion that he would abuse his position, but Chipp accused all of the Sparkitects of being hypocrites, commenting that everyone should wait and see what the Sparkitects had in store for the following year's "event" as the Sparkitect guards led him away. Ax-L then promised to keep a better watch on what was happening under their noses and assured Howard that no Sparkitects would be assigned to him in the future.
Howard then asked Ax-L what they planned to do about the Iron Punisher, who was still present but not aggressive as long as he was petting Howard's cat, Biggs. Ax-L admitted that they didn't have handcuffs big enough for the Iron Punisher and suggested they let the Iron Punisher keep Biggs. When Howard objected, wishing to keep Biggs himself, the captured Sparkitect Jho intervened, asking the Iron Punisher to instead care for his own cat, Biggs Prime, while he went away for awhile. The Iron Punisher happily accepted its newfound responsibility and walked away with Biggs Prime as Jho whispered his goodbyes to his beloved Sparkitect cat.
Whil then had the Sparkitect guards lead Jho
away for trial, and Ax-L informed Howard that he was now entitled to
compensation for the Sparkitects' unlawful damages and that he was
allowed to grant Howard one wish as compensation. Howard made his wish
and as the Sparkitects subsequently departed Earth, Whil asked Ax-L
what Howard wished for. Ax-L only said it was a small thing that he
would take care of personally, and Whil followed up by asking if Ax-L
truly planned to not assign any Sparkitects to Howard in the future.
Smiling, Ax-L remarked that the entire situation with Chipp and Jho had
elevated Howard from a D-list character to C-list. He then commented
that they would relaunch their manipulations of Howard in a few months
and suggested they get back to "running" the universe.
Comments: Created by Chip Zdarsky, Joe Quinones, Joe Rivera, Paolo Rivera and Marc Deering.
Each of the Sparkitects are based
on actual Marvel comic creators. For example:
Air-Icka=Erica Henderson
Ax-L=Axel Alonso
Chipp=Chip Zdarsky
Jho=Joe Quinones
Ry-N=Ryan North
Ta-Nehi-C=Ta-Nehisi Coates
Whil=Wil Moss
The Sparkitects' uniforms were
clearly inspired by those from the Star
Trek TV and movie franchise (or, in the case of Ry-N, Back to the Future).
During a conversation between Chipp and Jho regarding the popularity of the lives of Black Panther and Squirrel Girl, Chipp suggested they pitch the idea for "Panther Girl." If the Sparkitects truly manipulated the lives of Earthlings, that would suggest that Panther Girl is an actual being on Earth that they could manipulate. Therefore, I've made a little subprofile for the character here using what little info we have on her.
It was impossible to determine how
many toes a Sparkitect has, as none were ever seen without shoes or
boots.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Sparkitects has no known connections to:
Air-Icka was a Sparkitect who had been assigned to manipulate the life of Earth's Squirrel Girl alongside fellow Sparkitect Ry-N. After corrupt Sparkitects Chipp and Jho realized they were in trouble with Mojo, they rushed to get to Earth and intervene directly with Mojo before he revealed that they had been bribed and Jho ran into Air-Icka on the way to their shuttle. Having had Air-Icka watch his cat, Biggs Prime, on occasion in the past, Jho quickly thrust Biggs Prime into Air-Icka's arms and asked her to watch the cat again. Air-Icka complained "again?" before Chipp and Jho rushed off to catch a ship to Earth. When Jho later returned in an effort to handle the situation with Mojo and his assigned character, Howard the Duck, he escaped his bosses through a Sparkitect library, where Air-Icka noticed Jho and asked what he was doing.
--Howard the Duck V#10 (#11,
Ax-L was the leader of a group of Sparkitects that included at least Chipp and Jho, possibly the leader of all Sparkitects. After Chipp and Jho's bribing came to be known, Ax-L traveled to Earth with his subordinate Whil and he apprehended Chipp, apologizing to Howard the Duck for the chaos caused by Chipp and Jho's involvement in his life and assuring Howard that no Sparkitects would be assigned to him in the future. As Chipp was taken into custody, he implied that Ax-L had also interfered in Earth affairs by ensuring California's Golden State Warriors won their championship but Ax-L was affronted at the idea. Ax-L then agreed to grant Howard one wish as compensation for the trouble Chipp and Jho caused and as the Sparkitects departed from Earth, Ax-L informed Whil that he would see to Howard's wish personally. Whil then asked Ax-L really intended to not assign Sparkitects to Howard's life, at which point Ax-L replied that the entire situation with Chipp and Jho had elevated Howard's status from a D-lister to a C-lister, further commenting that they would relaunch Howard's assignment within months.
--Howard the Duck V#11
Biggs Prime was an extraterrestrial feline belonging to the Sparkitect Jho, who loved the cat so much, he had an Earth cat inserted into his assignment Howard the Duck's life and the Earth cat was named Biggs after the original. When the extradimensional Mojo threatened to expose his own bribing of Chipp and Jho to their superiors, Jho placed Biggs Prime into the care of fellow Sparkitect Air-Icka as Chipp and Jho raced to Earth to meet with Mojo. When Jho returned to Sparkitron in an attempt to finish his assignment, Air-Icka (holding Biggs Prime) asked what Jho was doing and Jho was allowed to have Biggs Prime with him after being captured. Biggs Prime remained with Jho as his superiors flew to Earth to apprehend Chipp and when the Sparkitects witnessed the giant robot Iron Punisher being distracted by the Earth Biggs, Jho decided to have the Iron Punisher watch over Biggs Prime as he was taken away to trial for his crimes.
Chipp was a Sparkitect assigned to manipulate the affairs of Howard the Duck alongside his co-worker Jho. The two were eventually bribed by the extradimensional Mojo to create more television-worthy drama in Howard's life but when Chipp and Jho arranged for Howard to meet Mojo in an attempt to dismantle Mojo's operations, Mojo threatened to expose the bribery. Fearing for their very jobs, Chipp and Jho fled to Earth to confront Mojo, where a fight had broken out between Mojo's forces and Howard the Duck and his allies. Angry that his life was being manipulated, Howard the Duck attacked Chipp and, feeling as if he was destined for something greater, an angry Chipp fatally stabbed Howard. Absconding into an alley with a portion of the Power Cosmic once given to Howard by the would-be Galactus Herald Scout, Chipp empowered himself with the Power Cosmic in hopes of meeting his supposed destiny. Unfortunately for Chipp, Howard the Duck was rescued from the brink of death by the mystic Doctor Strange and the Power Cosmic-empowered Chipp attacked the assembled heroes, ready to take of his own life's loose ends before traveling to another universe to start over. Avoiding Chipp's attacks, Howard the Duck managed to touch Chipp and use the Power Cosmic empowering the Sparkitect to summon Scout, who reabsorbed the Power Cosmic. Without the Power Cosmic, Chipp was left vulnerable to a punch from Howard and before Howard could kick Chipp while he was down, Ax-L and other Sparkitects arrived to take Chipp into custody. Explaining that Chipp had broken an oath not to personally profit from his job, Ax-L assured Howard that no other Sparkitects would be assigned to him and as Chipp was led away in handcuffs, he exclaimed that the entire Sparkitect system of work was hypocritical and he suggested Ax-L had even abused his own position to ensure California's Golden State Warriors won their championship.
Chipp had no inherent superhuman powers but while
briefly empowered by the Power Cosmic, he could fire cosmic energy
blasts from his hands and had superhuman resistance to physical harm.
Jho was a Sparkitect assigned to manipulate the
affairs of Howard the Duck alongside his co-worker Chipp. While
manipulating Howard the Duck's life, Jho incorporated the Earth cat
Biggs into Howard's life, a cat Jho based on his own cat, Biggs Prime.
Jho and Chipp were
eventually bribed by the extradimensional Mojo to create more
television-worthy drama in Howard's life but when Chipp and Jho
arranged for Howard to meet Mojo in an attempt to dismantle Mojo's
operations, Mojo threatened to expose the bribery. Fearing for their
very jobs, Chipp and Jho fled to Earth to confront Mojo, where a fight
had broken out between Mojo's forces and Howard the Duck and his
allies. Running from the fight, Jho eventually traveled back to his
home planet Sparkitron in an effort to make things right, only to find
his boss Whil dismantling Chipp and Jho's computer terminals after
having discovered their taking of bribes. Whil soon noticed Jho and
ordered his capture but Jho was rescued by his fellow Sparkitect Ry-N,
who revealed he had designed a portable computer terminal. Running into
a nearby library to escape Whil, Jho whipped the Sparkitects there into
a frenzy over creator rights and when Whil arrived, the angry
Sparkitects attacked him. Whil managed to weasel out of the battle and
tackle Jho, who used Ry-N's portable computer terminal to arrange the
by-then-fatally-wounded Howard the Duck's resurrection. After being
arrested, Jho accompanied Whil to Earth and when he witnessed the robot
Iron Punisher distracted from his rampage by the Earthly Biggs, Jho
decided to have the Iron Punisher take care of Biggs Prime while he
returned to Sparkitron to awaiting trial for his crimes.
--Howard the Duck V#9 (#10-11,
Mojunior was one of the many children of the
extradimensional Mojo and one of his many wives. When Mojo threatened
to expose his own bribing of the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho, the two
traveled to Earth to meet with Mojo and, aware of Mojunior's existence,
Chipp asked how Mojo's wives and kids were doing, commenting that
Mojunior must be at least seven feet wide at that point.
--Howard the Duck V#10 - BTS
Panther Girl was apparently an Earth-based
superhuman. Given the popularity of the Sparkitect manipulations of
Black Panther and Squirrel Girl, Sparkitects Chipp and Jho discussed
pitching the idea of manipulating Panther Girl once they got out of the
situation in which they were bribed to make Howard the Duck more
entertaining and dramatic.
--Howard the Duck V#10 - BTS
Ry-N was a Sparkitect assigned to manipulate the life of Earth-based superheroine Squirrel Girl alongside his fellow Sparkitect Air-Icka. Their manipulations proved quite popular but Ry-N enjoyed flying around on his hoverboard so he eventually designed a portable computer terminal so that he could manipulate Squirrel Girl's life while still hoverboarding. When the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho were threatened by the extradimensional despot Mojo, they ran to Sparkitron's shuttle bay so they could travel to Earth and confront Mojo. Along the way, the duo ran into Ry-N and Air-Icka and Jho confessed Mojo's bribing of them as he explained why they were in such of a hurry. Finding the situation "neat," Ry-N continued hoverboarding and when Jho later returned to find his boss Whil dismantling his computer terminals, Ry-N rescued Jho from Whil's clutches and revealed to Jho his creation of the portable computer terminal. Flying Jho into the nearby library, Ry-N was convinced to let Jho take over his portable computer terminal and Jho managed to save Howard the Duck's life from afar using the terminal moments back he was captured by Whil.
--Howard the Duck V#10 (#11,
Sparkitendrils were a massive energy source active on
the planet Sparkitron. Using the energy from the Sparkitendrils, the
alien Sparkitects manipulated the lives of other beings from afar.
--Howard the Duck V#10 (fb) - BTS
Sparkitron was the home planet of the Sparkitrons, from which they manipulated the lives of other beings using energy derived from their planetary Sparkitendrils. When the extradimensional Mojo threatened to expose his own bribing of the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho, Chipp and Jho departed Sparkitron in an effort to confront Mojo on Earth. Jho later returned to Sparkitron to find his computer terminals dismantled and he was ultimately captured by his boss Whil for the charge of taking a bribe. Jho was then forced to accompany Whil and Whil's boss Ax-L back to Earth to apprehend Chipp and once Chipp was taken into custody, the Sparkitects departed for Sparkitron so that Chipp and Jho could stand trial for their crimes.
--Howard the Duck V#9 (#10-11,
Ta-Nehi-C was a Sparkitect who had been recently assigned to manipulate the Earth-based superhero Black Panther. Having joined the squad of Sparkitects under the watchful eye of Whil, Ta-Nehi-C visited his new location and Whil introduced him to Chipp and Jho. Chipp made cracks about how Ta-Nehi-C was being given a character like Black Panther but when Ta-Nehi-C asked who Chipp was assigned to work on, Chipp embarrassingly mumbled "Howard the Duck." Whil then bragged about how popular Ta-Nehi-C's Black Panther manipulations were, prompting Jho to excuse himself and Chipp. As Chipp and Jho ran off, Ta-Nehi-C questioned whether Chipp and Jho really worked there, to which Whil replied that they wouldn't be there much longer.
--Howard the Duck V#10
Whil was the boss of the Sparkitects Chipp and Jho, as well as the newer employee Ta-Nehi-C. At first unaware that Chipp and Jho had been bribed by the extradimensional Mojo into making Howard the Duck's life more interesting, Whil introduced them to Ta-Nehi-C and bragged about Ta-Nehi-C's work on Black Panther. When Chipp and Jho excused themselves in a rush, Whil whispered to Ta-Nehi-C that neither Chipp and Jho would be working there much longer. After later discovering the bribery of Chipp and Jho, Whil ordered the two's computer terminals dismantled and when he noticed Jho down the hall, he ordered guards to capture Jho. Chasing Jho into a nearby library, Whil was swarmed by other Sparkitects that Jho had whipped into a frenzy of demand for creator's rights. Managing to get away from the fight, Whil tackled Jho, who managed to save Howard the Duck's life using a portable computer terminal as he was taken into custody. Whil subsequently accompanied his own boss, Ax-L, to Earth to apprehend Chipp and when they departed Earth for Sparkitron, Whil asked Ax-L if they were really going to not assign anyone to Howard the Duck's life in the future, to which Ax-L replied that Howard's popularity had risen as a result of Chipp and Jho's activities so they would have someone working on Howard again in a few months.
--Howard the Duck V#10 (#11,
images: (without ads)
Howard the Duck V#11, p10, pan2 (group of Sparkitects charging, main
image)
Howard the Duck V#10, p4, pan1 (Chipp & Jho with Air-Icka &
Ry-N)
Howard the Duck V#11, p9, pan1-2 (large group of
Sparkitects in the library)
Howard the Duck V#10, p4, pan3 (Air-Icka & Ry-N
images)
Howard the Duck V#11, p20, pan1 (Ax-L)
Howard the Duck V#11, p18, pan4 (Biggs-Prime)
Howard the Duck V#10, p3, pan1 (Chipp)
Howard the Duck V#10, p11, pan1 (Jho)
Howard the Duck V#10, p5, pan3 (Sparkitron)
Howard the Duck V#10, p3, pan3 (Ta-Nehi-C)
Howard the Duck V#10, p3, pan5 (Whil)
Appearances:
Howard the Duck V#9 (September, 2016) -
Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe Quinones (pencils, inks), Joe Rivera, Paolo
Rivera, Marc Deering (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
Howard the Duck V#10 (October, 2016) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe
Quinones (pencils, inks), Joe Rivera, Marc Deering (inks), Wil Moss
(editor)
Howard the Duck V#11 (December, 2016) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe
Quinones (pencils, inks), Joe Rivera, Marc Deering (inks), Wil Moss
(editor)
First Posted: 03/02/2023
Last updated: 03/02/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
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