Sequart.com	Annotations to Marvel 1602 #3
first posted on 12 November 03
	JULIAN DARIUS
Read The Continuity Page covering Marvel 1602 (and other Marvel universe-spanning work). More on Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman Chronology	Part Three / Issue #3 This issue was cover-dated January 2004 and published on Wednesday, 8 October 2003. It runs 22 pages and carried a $3.50 cover price. About eight weeks before the issue was to be published, in a 20 August entry to his blog, Neil Gaiman recorded receiving the proofs for this issue and reflected upon it: “It’s the first one I’ve enjoyed reading so far -- the plot’s started, and we’ve met all the characters, and I’m comfortable with Andy and he with me, so the whole thing’s a lot less stiff than the first two.” Featured on the cover is the hand of Otto Von Doom, clad in a gauntlet and grasping a cameo of Queen Elizabeth I. This implicitly asserts the theme of the issue to be Doom’s threat upon the queen, though this threat will not reveal itself until the issue’s end. The menacing nature of the gesture on the cover is enhanced by the grasping gauntlet and by a reading of the cameo as symbolic of Elizabeth herself. While such a symbolic reading requires little imagination, as representations are commonly and logically seen as symbolic -- if not magically somehow containing the essence -- of what they represent, this symbolism has particular resonance. Such symbolism may be seen in voodoo dolls, burning in effigy, eliminating former friends from photographs (practiced both by Stalin and by scorned lovers), and by companies’ elimination of former employees from their mastheads or phone lists -- or the trope of someone’s name being scratched off his door, most commonly used in movies. This reading of depiction for what it depicts -- of signifier for signified (in structuralist terms) -- evokes the complicated concept of representation itself, upon which comics obviously heavily depend. It also has particular religious resonance, recalling that cameos in the Renaissance were still reserved primarily for religious icons -- of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or sometimes a saint. In the latter Middle Ages, many carried such pocket-sized icons with them, a practice that has developed into the cameos of today. This reading is enhanced by Queen Elizabeth’s status towards the end of her life as the Virgin Queen, the English equivalent of the Virgin Mary. Even Elizabeth’s looking at the “camera” -- as we would put it, or at the viewer as others might -- enhances this religious reading, as such a pose was reserved for religious iconography, particularly of Christ, until the (controversially self-aggrandizing) self-portraiture in the Renaissance. Note that this is the only issue in which the ribbon behind the logo of 1602 is incorporated into the cover’s artwork itself -- specifically, as a part of the cameo. Page 1
The identity of the narrator, while not immediately apparent, can be deduced from both the words and the imagery: it is the Watcher.	As the second issue began with a summary of past events (recalling the “previously” pages in Marvel’s titles at the time), so too does this one. Whereas that summary was made by Nick Fury in the form of a letter to His Majesty, this summary is delivered by an unspecified narrator in the form of captions. The identity of that narrator, while not immediately apparent, can for one familiar with the Marvel universe be deduced from both the words and the imagery: it is the Watcher (whose formal name is Uatu), a cosmic being charged with watching over the Earth without intervening and who typically does so around the moon. He is part of a race of such nigh-omniscient beings who do likewise throughout the universe, their non-intervention pact originating (like Star Trek’s “prime directive”) in a tragic event in their past. In practice, the Watcher in the normal Marvel has intervened numerous times, almost from his first appearance. The specific hints about his identity are noted below as they occur. Background: The background of this page, over which the panels are laid, depicts a single image of Earth and its moon in space. The moon is seen in the foreground at the top of the page and the Earth is seen in the background at the bottom. This demonstrates the location of the Watcher, contextualizing the inset panels as what he seems from that location -- thus representing an abstract concept visually. The Earth as seen from space is commonly used as shorthand to suggest a most comic -- or at least cosmopolitan -- perspective, and the segregation of this image as if its own panel at the bottom of the page further enhances this implication, which suggests the cosmic nature of the Watcher and in turn the nature of the events of 1602. Background, top: “I am observing events” and “I watch them all” both suggest the Watcher, as does the repeated use of the words “I watch” throughout this page. Inset panel 1: This unusual weather appeared at the beginning of the first issue and was referenced in Nick Fury’s introduction to the second. The revelation that this weather threatens to destroy the planet is new. Note the scientific nature of the Watcher’s narration here, suggesting his disposition and knowledge in contrast with the ignorant world he is observing. “Particles,” understood to be smaller than the atom, were not discovered until the twentieth century. “Electro-magnetic” is similarly a term produced by uniting electricity with magnetism, not done until the nineteenth century (although their relation may be easily deduced by watching a compass briefly spin as lightning strikes). Inset panel 2: The blind man is Matthew Murdoch, seen on page 12 and following of this issue. He was sent by Sir Nicholas Fury on the mission in the first issue. Inset panel 3: The rescue of the witchbreed referenced here occurred in the first issue, when the Angel was liberated from the inquisition in Domdaniel, Spain. The Grant Inquisitor’s “crippled opponent in England” is Javier, referenced in the first issue but first seen in the second, in which he and his minions met with Sir Nicholas Fury. Inset panel 4: Otto Von Doom, while referenced in the first issue, first appeared in the second issue, though he did little. Inset panel 5: Dr. Stephen Strange first appeared on the cover of the first issue and in the first pages following. He journeys to the royal palace following the insight that he needed to do so, which he received in the second issue, not understanding the reason why -- thus his confusion here. It may be worth noting that water-taxis were not an uncommon mode of transportation, particularly before cars, and can best be seen today in Venice (which has no cars with the exception of the city’s small, satellite islands). Inset panel 6: The events described took place in the second issue, particularly its conclusion. Background, bottom: “I must not interfere” further suggests the Watcher as narrator through his code of conduct. Page 2 Panel 1: Obviously, while an unspecified amount of time passed between the first issue and the second, this issue continues precisely where the previous one concluded.
As he has earlier, here Peter Parquagh effectively laments that he is not Spider-Man.	Panel 3: As he has earlier, here Peter Parquagh effectively laments that he is not Spider-Man -- who has, as one of his powers, the ability to climb walls like a spider. Panel 5: Here the legs and feet of Dr. Stephen Strange greet the fingers of Rojhaz as he arrives on the roof of the palace. We never saw Dr. Strange arriving at the palace, nor ascending to its mount, though we may presume that he used his magical powers to fly to the top of the palace. Panel 6: Dr. Stephen Strange has not met the muscle-bound Rojhaz, and guesses that the savage is Virginia Dare’s “bodyguard” -- as opposed to her friend. While Dr. Strange does not make explicitly derogatory remarks about Rojhaz’s race, his assumption here is in line with Elizabeth’s in the previous issue. Panel 7: Rojhaz’s words again assert the danger of Virginia Dare, first suggested in the premiere issue -- in which, en route to England, she worries about the harm she might do there. Page 3 Panel 1: In his asking Rojhaz if the native knows what a net is and in his patronizing reminder “not to hurt her,” Dr. Strange reveals his derogatory attitude towards Rojhaz’s race. Panel 2: Silent panels tend to invite readers to make inferences. It is possible, though perhaps not implicit, that Rojhaz here contemplates using the net on Dr. Strange following the magician’s insulting remarks. The net also recalls Spider-Man’s webbing, and it is worth noting that -- along with climbing the wall -- this is the second time that Rojhaz has filled in for the absent Spider-Man. Note that a similar usage of webbing to suggest a normal Marvel universe analogue occurred with the Black Widow in panel 3 on page 11 of issue #2. Panel 3: Note that Dr. Strange has placed and lit candles between panels. Page 4
As a rule of thumb, when a giant flying beast with a huge and sharp claws and beak is just about to land on your falling body, now is the time to toss the net.	Panel 1: Although it is not at first easy to see, the monster has Dr. Strange’s upper left arm in its left claw. If one looks carefully, one can see the monster’s claws pulling ribbons of fabric from his clothing at his upper left arm. Dr. Strange hardly has to yell. As a rule of thumb, when a giant flying beast with a huge and sharp claws and beak is just about to land on your falling body, now is the time to toss the net. Of course, the positioning of the monster -- problematic in terms of continuity with the next panel -- adds to the drama of the moment. The skewed “camera” angle of this shot also enhances this drama, reminiscent of live, shaking camera footage -- and the same movement reproduced in fictional movies to unconsciously lend the same air of reality (perhaps the best example of this is the opening of Saving Private Ryan). Panel 2: Note that this image is remarkably incongruent with the previous one, not unlike a movie serial in which the protagonist falls, in a cliffhanger ending, half a skyscraper only to fall a couple stories and catch himself in the beginning of the following episode. Whereas the monster looked literally on top of Dr. Strange in the previous panel, here the monster is positioned further back, allowing Rojhaz to net it. The candles, furthermore, have now fallen and apparently moved a few feet backwards as well. We may speculate, if we wish to do so, that a bit of time has passed between panels and that the monster. Panel 4: Strange’s “much to do” refers to transforming the monster back to Virginia Dare. “The others,” on the other hand, refers to Sir Nicholas Fury, whom Dr. Strange has a superficially cooperative relationship with a decent amount of animosity not far beneath the surface. Note that Dr. Strange holds his upper left arm, which apparently was clawed in the page’s first panel. Page 5 Panel 1: Some time has passed between this panel and the last panel on the previous page. Dr. Strange’s quote in that panel introduces this temporal jump (“We have much to do fast”) and attempts to create a smoother segue by referencing Fury (“others”) prior to his arrival, which thus serves to answer the implicit question “What others?” Juxtaposed with page 4 on the left and page 5 on the right, this transition would read smoother than in the original comic book, which interposed an advertisement between the two pages, forcing the reader to turn the page and thus breaking the smoothness of this intended transition device. Panel 2: Such circles have long been a tradition in magic, creating a radius of protection that either prevents a spirit or demon from entering or that prevents a spirit or demon from exiting. The symbols surrounding Virginia Dare here are runes, most of them traditional Norse ones. The ritual performed was implicitly the transformation of the monster back into Virginia Dare.
If we interpret “snatched” metaphorically in terms of Virginia Dare’s physical form and consciousness, read “found” broadly to include “finding” after luring, think of Virginia Dare as “injured and unconscious” while the monster’s persona dominates, and think of returning her true persona as “heal”ing, Dr. Strange is not actually lying.	Panel 4: If we interpret “snatched” metaphorically in terms of Virginia Dare’s physical form and consciousness, read “found” broadly to include “finding” after luring, think of Virginia Dare as “injured and unconscious” while the monster’s persona dominates, and think of returning her true persona as “heal”ing, Dr. Strange is not actually lying. Panel 5: Dr. Strange does not, strictly speaking, lie here either. He may well has been “careless,” either in following his intuition to come at all or in his acting as bait for the monster. His following statements are observations, and any connection between them and his wound exists within the reader’s -- or listener’s, in the case of Nicholas Fury -- mind. Panel 6: The “rope” and “canvas” are presumably to make a stretcher-like device for lowering Virginia Dare. Page 6 Panel 1: Brother Tomas is, as shall be made clear over the course of this page and the next, a messenger -- supposedly from the Pope -- sent to kill the Grand Inquisitor. Panel 2: Tomas’s words here recall the emphasis upon spies, already seen in England. In truth, however, getting the Grand Inquisitor alone is motivated by a desire to kill him in private. Note that Tomas is given his own speech pattern, emphasizing syllables within words. Panel 3: Note the bodies stuck in the wall on the left edge of the panel. Panel 4: The “rumor” is, of course, quite true -- as seen in issue #2. Page 7 Panel 1: The Grand Inquisitor, while dismissing the “rumor” about his actions, here justifies those same actions. Panel 3: One might think that Armageddon would require less control rather than more. But note that Tomas never states that the Pope believes the “loose talk” of Armageddon to be true. Page 8 Panel 1: Toledo steel was known as the best in the world.
The Grand Inquisitor is revealed, with these panels, to be the 1602 analogue of Magneto.	Panels 3-5: While he certainly was already the prime suspect the Grand Inquisitor is revealed, with these panels, to be the 1602 analogue of Magneto. Magneto debuted with the X-Men themselves in X-Men #1 and has remained the team’s prime villain ever since, returning again and again. (He was also featured in the X-Men films.) Magneto came to preach the antithesis of Professor X’s philosophy of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans -- specifically that mutants, called homo superior, should enslave or exterminate their evolutionary inferiors, us homo sapiens. His sole power is the ability to control magnetism, though the implications of this power are abundant. Thus, it is important -- and “unfortunate” for him -- that Tomas’s knife is steel. Panel 7: The position of Tomas’s body here, considerably further back than in the previous panel, is probably a gaff similar to the one on page 4 -- although we may similarly speculate that some time passed between the two panels, during which Tomas was allowed to continue to move backwards before being killed. Panel 8: The Grand Inquisitor’s repetition of “unfortunate” even after Tomas is dead suggest that more than Tomas’s intentions or his choice of materials in his weaponry is unfortunate. Specifically, this ex post facto repetition suggests consequences in terms of the Grant Inquisitor’s relationship with the Papacy. Page 9 Panel 1: Here we have cut back to England, specifically to the environs of Master Carolus Javier’s Select College for the Sons of Gentlefolk, first seen on the second page of the previous issue. The building itself is seen in the background on the left of the panel. The person walking is John Grey, who implies (in the first panel on the next page) that she has walked out specifically to meet the Angel. Panel 2: The white wings that appear to be fluttering (from our perspective) above and to the right of John Grey may be the bottom tips of the Angel’s wings but may also be those of a bird, like the one seen in the previous panel. The first possibility is enhanced by the fact that John Grey later states that she saw the Angel from her window. This second possibility is enhanced by the fact that John Grey seems surprised, in the next panel, at the Angel’s presence -- or at least his exact or present location -- whereas she could have seen the Angel as she approached if the wings were his. Panel 3: As already noted, John Grey here seems surprised, as if looking up quickly in response to the Angel’s words. Due to the way panels function in the medium of comics -- actually depicting more than one moment, often as one character responds to another, with each given word balloons -- it is possible that the Angel speaks in this panel and John Grey is reacting to those words in the same panel, although it is admittedly difficult to tell. It is somewhat difficult to jive this apparent surprise with John Grey’s statement (in the first panel on the next page) that she saw the Angel from her window. The most likely solution is that she lost track of the Angel’s position, perhaps between seeing him through her window and leaving the building or after the Angel disappeared behind the foliage of the trees. Although word balloons are traditionally supposed to come from their speaker -- and, if that speaker is off-panel, from the off-panel location of that speaker -- John Grey looks up and to the right rather than back and to the left, which seems to be the originating position of the Angel’s word balloon. This is likely a mistake.
This serves to emphasize, through the fluidity of dress in gender coding, the possibility that John Grey is cross-dressing.	Panel 4: The Angel, although he can fly, is standing upon the branches of the tree. Note that he is wearing a skimpy outfit open at the bottom, risking that someone could look up it from below, although he does not seem concerned. His more female dress and lack thereof, as well as his assumption of the traditionally female position of potentially having someone look up his skirt (the reason why women were formally supposed to descend a staircase before a man but ascend afterwards), play with the notion of gender. This serves to emphasize, through the fluidity of dress in gender coding, the possibility that John Grey is cross-dressing. Panel 6: As mentioned previously, John Grey has profound powers in her normal Marvel incarnation as Jean Grey, a.k.a. Marvel Girl and later Phoenix. These powers (later including manifesting a fire spirit called the Phoenix Force that can consume whole solar systems) originated in her earliest appearances (beginning in X-Men #1) with simple telekinesis (if that’s not an oxymoron). Page 10 Panel 1: The Angel -- who only arrived at Javier’s school between issues #1 and #2 -- apparently does not know John Grey’s powers. Jean Grey’s assertion that she saw the Angel, who did not see himself being seen, may offer an inversion of the male voyeur spying through a window at the unaware girl. Panel 3: “The Last Trump” here is a shortening of “the last trumpet” -- not to use Tomas’s speaking pattern -- to be sounded on the Day of Judgment at the end of time. Panel 4: John Grey’s hesitation here -- “when I... when I was a boy” – suggests a straining to correct herself from her initial mental phrasing, “when I was a girl.” The figures in the background, apparently illustrating the Angel’s musing about other witchbreed -- or mutants -- all over the world, are ambiguous. The shiny silver one appears similar to the Silver Surfer, the Marvel character who flew (through space as well as air) on a silver surfboard and who gained his powers from Galactus, a titanic space being who eats by draining the lifeforce of planets; the Silver Surfer served Galactus as a herald, scouting out living planets to serve as meals, until they visited earth and the Surfer (converted by the Fantastic Four) rebelled against his master. The character in the middle appears to be breathing fire. At right, a man in modern dress and a beard wields a spear, apparently menacing an infant with large, blue, alien-like eyes. Panels 5-6: The Angel’s assertion that “here ... there is no need, ever, to hide” reminds John Grey that she is hiding her very gender -- thus her idle “wish,” which she trails off before voicing, in panel 6. Page 11 Panel 1: Scotius Summerisle has apparently snuck up on the couple. His commanding tone reflects the fact that, in his normal Marvel incarnation as Scott Summers (a.k.a. Cyclops), he has traditionally had a leadership role in the X-Men (and later, for a time, its spin-off organization, X-Factor); Scott Summers is often considered Professor Xavier’s heir apparent (and might be so were corporate American comics not so resistant to change). Panel 3: Scotius here seems to be looking slightly downward, symbolically and physically. In his normal Marvel incarnation, Scott Summers can be a bit of a prude, or at least a goody-two-shoes. He also has long had a relationship with Jean Grey that has taken various forms, including marriage, and some element of jealousy may be inferred here. Whereas Marvel readers are most familiar with the love triangle between Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine, in the early days of the X-Men title, a love triangle did exist between the first two and the Angel. (In fact, in X-Men #1, all of the male students all but slobber over Jean Grey, who arrives to that school in that issue and who they later voyeuristically spy upon as she changes into her skin-tight outfit.) Panel 4: Scott’s reference to being “properly dressed” reminds us of John Grey’s cross-dressing (not yet formally revealed) and of the earlier, gender role-reversing dynamic as she looked up at the Angel in the tree. Panel 5: While the praying here may strike us, in a far more secular world, as odd, especially given Javier’s scientific advancements, it actually makes a good deal of sense. In England in 1602, everyone was Christian and quite literally expected to attend not only church services but church services in accordance with the Church of England. Failure to do so immediately raised suspicion that one was secretly Catholic or otherwise heretical. While these characters may be advanced for their time, they are still products of a deeply religious society. We may also remember that, while religion alters with scientific understanding, it does not stop. Moreover, though unlikely to be observed in the countryside, all colleges (as Javier’s building claims to be -- and is, though it is not only that) were religious institutions and were expected (like all castles) to have chapels for services. Not only are church services not an anachronism, but would be conspicuous by their absence.
The prayer invokes the Biblical parable of the talents. In addition, it partakes of a deep strain within Christianity as a persecuted religion of martyrs (the ultimate of which was Christ himself).	Note that the preacher appears to be Javier himself. His words, while Christian, are carefully chosen. His prayer invokes the Biblical parable of the talents, in which one is obligated to use one’s God-granted talents, a notion still popular (though often secularized) today. In addition, the concluding words about hate not only have obvious resonance with the history of persecution of witchbreed and mutants, but also partake of a deep strain within Christianity as a persecuted religion of martyrs (the ultimate of which was Christ himself) instructed to “turn the other cheek.” There is an added irony in the fact that Javier’s words about hiding talents resonate with John Grey, who is hiding her gender (although this suggests another, more lewd reading of “talents”). It remains to be said that she is seated here with Scotius on the right of the page and that her head seems bowed not in prayer but in response to the scorn that Scotius is implicitly heaping upon her -- with his look, which her eyes cannot meet, if not with his unheard whispers. Indeed, this entire page suggests that Scotius knows that she is a woman and that his anger at her dalliance with the Angel is motivated not only by his attraction for her but by a concern for her secret. Their intimacy in terms of their seating and posture of (admittedly one-sided) interaction suggests that there is some history between the two. Note the different postures of the remaining three on the left of the page. The Angel looks a bit downcast, as much because of the scolding he -- still a new member -- received from Scotius as from the sermon. McCoy is in a posture of fervent prayer, in utter contrast to Roberto’s posture of disinterest and distraction. Page 12 Panel 1: Exchanging tired horses for fresh ones was a common practice used to accelerate a journey. Page 13 Panels 2-3: Here Matthew Murdoch continues his “Ballad of the Fantastick” from page 8 of the previous issue. (See notes to that page.) These verses add little to the story, describing the survival of the four after the shipwreck of the Fantastick. Panel 4: While Matthew Murdoch disparages Natasha’s singing, his own singing has hardly received rave reviews – noted previously and evidenced here with the soldier’s “Enough!” Panel 5: The Russian Natasha Rominov, Natasha’s normal Marvel equivalent who is also known as the Black Widow, having been trained by the KGB, indeed has noteworthy physical skills. Panel 6: Note the surprised reaction of the waitress in blue as a gun is drawn in threat. Page 14 Panels 1-4: Here Natasha single-handedly defeats the soldiers. In the first panel, the soldier in the air has been thrown by Natasha. In the second panel, the man behind Matthew Murdoch rushes to confront Natasha. The soldier in the air in the second panel is a different soldier than the one in the first panel, as canbe discerned from his dress. Murdoch’s yawning in the third panel is meant to demonstrate humorously his lack of involvement in the fighting, knowing full well Natasha’s prowess. Panel 6: Matthew Murdoch’s cheeky comment, “I’ve not met them all,” has resonance with his normal Marvel universe counterpart -- Matthew Murdoch, who Joe Quesada, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief at the time (and who himself had illustrated Daredevil following its relaunch as part of Marvel’s “Marvel Knights” imprint), described as “the horniest man in comics.” Note that Murdoch has not met John Grey, whose hidden gender may be mirrored here in her lack of inclusion on the list of dangerous European women.
	Page 15 Panel 3: This is the second example of a monarch asking for something without explicitly doing so, the first example of which was James’s (not) requesting Elizabeth’s assassination in the previous issue. Panel 4: Elizabeth here makes reference to her long reign, using her age to put Sir Nicholas Fury in his place. As previously noted, there were indeed previous threats to Elizabeth’s life. Panel 5: Elizabeth’s “miracles and wonders” recalls the Grand Inquisitor’s counter-positioning of “miracles” with “marvels” on page 17 of the previous issue. Panel 6: Elizabeth is here again depicted as a bit superficial, eager for amusement in the wake of potential apocalypse. This superficiality, as seen on this issue’s final page, will kill her. Page 16 Panel 2: Fury here fails to suspect the mechanism, overly trusting Otto Von Doom. Panel 7: Cleo’s dialogue here recalls not only the closeness of medicine and magic in this time, which the magician Dr. Strange’s position as court physician represents, but also the logic of this closeness. An obscure fish that can be dried and ground to produce an effect such as making someone feel no pain, sounds like both magic and science, specifically recalling the usage of potions and pseudo-science in super-hero comic books. Page 17
	Panel 3: At the bottom right of this panel, one can spy the back of the head of the Watcher, who narrated the opening page. Page 18 Panel 1-3: Similar to the scene in the first issue, here again Peter is almost bitten by a spider, reminding us that this Peter does not have the powers of Spider-Man, his normal Marvel equivalent. Dr. Strange’s comment (in panel 3) that “she’ll not bite me” further suggests that spiders seem to have some sort of attraction to Peter. Strange’s assertion (earlier in panel 3) that “in her venom there are many secrets” recalls the radioactivity in the spider bite that gave Peter Parker his spider-powers. It is as if the narrative laments, like Peter himself has without knowing it, that Spider-Man does not exist in this universe. Panel 4: This is the second to last time we will see Elizabeth until she appears in this issue’s last panel, dead on the floor. The intermediate panel is also a single panel that occurs on page 21. Panel 5: While Elizabeth may well have intended Fury to torture, despite her stated desire for him to do otherwise, Fury has found a way out of this quandry. Page 19 Panel 1: Although potentially confusing, this panel depicts the sword flipping from Fury’s hand, on the left, to the assassin’s hand, on the right. The starting and ending position of this flip are colored more opaquely, while the intermediary positions are colors more transparently. Panel 4: Fury’s blocking of a sword with his arm raises the issue of his having some degree of supernatural toughness, supported by the bending of the knife against him in the first assassin’s attempt upon his life. On the other hand, Fury explained that bending as if to assert to Peter, present in the scene, that he did not have super-powers -- and the sword strike here does draw a good amount of blood. Panel 7: Fury literally knocks a tooth out of the assassin’s mouth. Page 20 Panel 3: The unreadable dialogue balloon carrying tiny print suggests the muffled and undecipherable nature of Fury’s words as heard through the door. Panel 6: “Five year... or six...” may be read as either “five or six years ago” or (less likely) “at six or six years old.” Virginia Dare’s narration of the origin of her powers in the following issue will confirm the former possibility. Panel 7: This is the first indication we have had that Virginia Dare can assume multiple animal forms, which is nowhere in the legends of the historical Dare. Dare herself will explain in the following issue that she has assumed each of these forms only once. Page 21
	Panel 1: The light in the room, with some of the appearance of the aurora borealis, is unconsciously produced by Virginia Dare and may be seen as a localized version of the strange weather being experienced. This seems to confirm that she is the cause of that weather, as Dr. Strange observes in the following panel. Panel 3: This isolated image is the last time we will see Elizabeth alive. Note that her attendants are in the process of departing. One is kissing her hand as he departs, while another seems to be waving from the door. The amusement is over. This panel is important not only for reminding us of Elizabeth, but also because it is important to establish that Elizabeth was alone when the clockwork mechanism struck, as seen in the last panel on the following page. Page 22
	Panel 3: Fury does not immediately realize that “he is being told a name” because -- although he has asked for a name -- Doom’s name sounds likes the generic word “doom.” Panel 4: Elizabeth, sprawled out on the floor, cannot necessarily be discerned to be dead -- especially given characters’ penchant for returning from the dead in super-hero comics. The manner of death is unclear, though please note that there appears to be a mist in the room. (This perception may be reinforced by the reference in the second panel to “the air of the cell.”) While the trumpet of the automaton might suggest some kind of gun, Doom himself describes the method of execution in the following issue (on page 12) as “a tiny pill, dropped by a clockwork into a cup of aqua regia.” It seems likely a device, housed within the automaton, dropped a pill into water that turned that pill to poisoned smoke. Elizabeth is seen alone, which may seem strange if we did not pay attention to the third panel on the previous page. In fact, the lack of others -- or others’ bodies -- helps to explain the success of the assassination, which may depend upon the elderly and sickly Elizabeth not being able to quickly flee the poisonous cloud -- as well as no one else being able to pull her away or escape to summon help. It is difficult to imagine how the mechanism was timed to emit its deadly gas after others had left, particularly given that Elizabeth might have been out of the room at the time, but we may surmise that some degree of luck -- or bad luck -- was involved. As previously mentioned, Elizabeth in our world did not die until the following year. This marks a major divergence between our world’s history and that of 1602.
Explore the other annotations on Sequart.com! Read about the author on our About page. Julian Darius can be reached at julian@sequart.com. Discuss this article online on Sequart.com’s messageboards.	Proceed to the annotations for issue #4.
WEBMASTERS:	Please feel free to link to these annotations, but do not repost without permission.
PUBLISHERS:	Please cite quotations by website and author (e.g. “—Julian Darius, Sequart.com”).
LEGAL:	The characters and images of Marvel 1602 are copyrighted by Marvel Comics. This site is copyrighted by Julian Darius and intended for scholarly purposes and to increase interest in its topic.