THE CRAZY GANG (EARTH-238)
MEMBERSHIP: Mad Jim Jaspers (Earth-238), Coco, Conjurors, Dormouse, the Executioner (Earth-238), the Jack of Hearts (Earth-238) the Queen of Hearts (Earth-238), Tweedledope (Earth-238).
PURPOSE: To rob banks and cause mayhem.
AFFILIATIONS: None.
ENEMIES: Captain Britain, the Police, (presumably) the Status Crew
BASE of OPERATIONS: Earth-238
TRANSPORTATION: A flying teapot
FIRST APPEARANCE: Marvel Superheroes#377 (September 1981)
HISTORY: (Marvel Superheroes#377) Captain Britain and Jackdaw arrive on Earth-238 in the middle of a bank robbery being carried out by a number of characters dressed like playing crads. The heroes land in the vault, and spy a clown, two men in top hat and tails and a tall man in armour standing in the middle of hole in the wall. With no doubt that he is facing a group of criminals, Captain Britain launches into the fight, and the clown, called Coco by one of the Tuxedo men, orders the matched pair to attack. The Conjurors fire energy blasts from their walking sticks, throwing the hero back across the room. He comes back at them, and while Jackdaw distracts Coco, the Captain brings the twins down. However the Jack of Hearts is made of stronger stuff, taking a blow from Captain Britain without flinching before sending the hero flying out the room.
Before he can rejoin the fray, Captain Britain is confronted by the rest of the Gang - the leader Mad Jim Jaspers, the silent Executioner, the squat and ugly Queen of Hearts, and a chuckling midget dressed as a school boy (this is the counterpart of Earth 616's Tweedledope, but this incarnation is never named). Jaspers informs the hero that he should not have interfered with their robbery and asks the Queen of Hearts what should be done with him. She succinctly sums up her feelings: "Orf wiv 'is 'ead!"
The Executioner moves forward to carry out sentance with his huge
axe, only to be flung backwards out the window by the hero testing out his
new powers (Merlyn altered Captain Britain's powers during the trip between
dimensions) and expanding his forcefield violently. As the hero leaps out
after his opponent, Jaspers orders the rest of the gang outside in pursuit.
The Twins take pot-shots at their high flying antagonist, before Jaspers
calls him closer to Earth in an attempt to parlay. But this proves to be
a ruse, allowing Mad Jim to throw an exploding tea pot at Captain Britain.
Jackdaw witnesses this and uses his mental powers to make the Twins drop
their weapons. While this ruse only lasts a few seconds before the spell
is broken by Tweedledope, it allows the elf to steal the twin's wand guns.
The Crazy Gang pursues him, but are knocked off their feet when Captain Britain
hurls their ill gotten (and somewhat heavy) gains at them.
The sound of approaching sirens signals an end to the fight. The Crazy Gang head for their flying teapot under cover of a smokescreen. Informing Dormouse, the pilot, to make sure the police see them so that they know who was behind the robbery, Jaspers and his gang vanish into the night, leaving a bewildered pair of heroes behind them.
(Marvel Superheroes#387) As Captain Britain is losing his first battle with the Fury, Mad Jim Jaspers arrives in the Crazy Gang's Teapot Helicopter, and tells him to climb aboard to have everything explained to him.
(Marvel Superheroes#388) Captain Britain listens as Jaspers explains that all the craziness on the Crooked World is down to him, a superpowerful mutant able to warp reality with his mind. While we do not see any other members of the Crazy Gang during this exposition, the ever changing world in which they converse is contained within the Teapot. Eventually the weirdness overcomes Britain's senses, and he flees, falling out of the helicopter into the heroes graveyard. Dormouse is just visible piloting as he falls from the craft.
(Daredevils#1) We see members of the Crazy Gang amongst the memories of the Crooked World being prepared by Merlyn to be placed back into the resurrected Captain Britain.
(Daredevils#6-BTS) Lord Mandragon obliterates the entire universe of Earth-238, presumably wiping out the Crazy Gang, as well.
(Mighty World of Marvel#10) In the full throws of the Earth 616 Jaspers' Warp, Captain Britain is temporarily made to believe he never left the Crooked World, and that he and his allies are under attack by the Junkyard the Walked Like a Man, the Status Crew and the Crazy Gang, most of the latter group riding in a flying tea cup.
COMMENTS: Created by David Thorpe, Paul Neary and Alan Davis.
Just because the Crazy Gang of Earth 616 are all creations of Jaspers' warped mind does not mean the Crazy Gang of this reality started that way too. It's likely, but its also noticeable that several of the 238 versions seem smarter than their counterparts on 616.
In case it's not obvious, many of Jaspers' warped creations are derived from Lewis Carol's "Through the Looking Glass," from which comes "Alice in Wonderland."
by Loki
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Crazy Gang of Earth-238, agents of Mad Jim Jaspers of that world, should be differentiated from the Crazy Gang of Earth-616, created by the Mad Jim Jaspers of that, respective, world.
Coco should be differentiated from:
Dormouse has no known connection to:
Executioner should be differentiated from:
Jack of Hearts should be differentiated from:
Queen of Hearts should be differentiated from:
Tweedledope should be differentiated from:
Mad Jim Jaspers (Earth-238): Profile here.
 Coco: This is the Earth
238 counterpart to 616's Jester. In this reality he has a name (mentioned
by one of the Conjurors) and is clearly one of the smarter members of the
gang (since he is seen to give some of the others orders) He doesn't display
any powers or abilities in the handful of panels he is in - the abilities
he displays in Captain Britain's later hallucinations don't count. |
Jack of Hearts (Earth-238): like most of the Earth-238 Crazy Gang, the Jack of Hearts seems more intelligent than his 616 counterpart. Otherwise he is very similar - tough enough to take a blow from Captain Britain without even flinching, and strong enough to throw the hero across a room with a single punch. |
 The
Queen
of Hearts (Earth-238): As with her Earth 616 counterpart, the Queen of
Hearts main function in the gang seems to be to shout a lot . Jaspers keeps
calling her darling; well, he is mad you know. |
The Executioner (Earth-238): Tall, dark and silent, the Executioner's only role in life is to try and decapitate people on order of the Queen. Captain Britain throws him back through a window and he drops a storey down the side of the building. We don't see him again after that point, so perhaps this injures him. |
 Tweedledope
(Earth-238): Never named, so I am assuming he shares the same name as
his 616 counterpart (not a certainty - Coco and the Jester being proof of
this). His function in the gang appears to be to pour the tea and chortle
at whatever Jaspers says. |
The Conjurors: A pair of identical men dressed in top hat and tails. They are armed with wands that fire poweful energy bolts. Unlike most of the gang, they have no counterparts on 616. Loki suggests that their names might be Seigfreid and Roy, after the Las Vegas magical partners. |
 Dormouse: the pilot of the flying Teapot, the gang's bizarre getaway vehicle.
Based on his non-human appearance (and bearing in mind that the Fury would
have killed any mutants years ago) he is probably a creation of Jasper's
mind.
--MSH#377 ([387], 388 |
The Crazy Gang's Flying Teapot
Their transport and getaway vehicle
--MSH#377
Last updated: 12/10/02.
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