BROTHERHOOD of EVIL PREPOSITIONS
(no images; see comments)
Membership: Amonger, Arounder, Betweener, Of, Underneather, Withiner
Purpose: Unrevealed
Aliases: None
Affiliations: As their motivations were unrevealed, their alliances are similarly unrevealed; but, they have some association with Andy the Angel, Band of the Bland (Black Hole/Morton Kribbee, Sitting Bullseye/Oliver Bedwette, Spanker/Fred Hovel, Tillie the
Hun/Matilda von Tromp), le Beaver (Pierre Dentfris), Black Talon (Thibodaux Boudreaux), Bzzk J'oh, Chirreep, Dakimh the Enchanter, Dr. Angst (Floyd Mangles), Galactongue, Howard the Duck, Jackpot the One-Armed Bandit, Jokester,
Jennifer Kale, Greedy Killerwatt, Korrek the Barbarian, Kong Lomerate, Maller, Man-Thing (Ted Sallis), Master C'haaj, Poporb, Pro-Rata, Puffin, Quizling, Hemlock Shoals, Wally Sidney, Sulfur Surfer, Throwaway;
Enemies: Likely many of the above
Base of Operations: A giant skyscraper on an unidentified planet created within an interdimensional rift (between Reality-616 and Reality-791021) with a galaxy formed there after being disgorged by Galactongue
First Appearance: Unpublished Howard the Duck script - Steve Gerber (1985);
History:
(Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
(fb) - BTS) - After Chirreep of Krylor inadvertently
temporarily/partially overlapped Reality-616 and Reality-791021, Howard
the Duck was trapped within a rift between the two dimensions.
(Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script - BTS) - Within the interdimensional rift, Howard met with Andy
the Angel, Chirreep, Dakimh the Enchanter, Jennifer Kale, Korrek the
Barbarian, Man-Thing, Master C'haaj, and Hemlock Shoals in
an artificial construct in the form of a Winnebago. Also within the
rift appeared another artificial constuct in the shape of a fire
hydrant and containing the Band of the Bland (Black Hole/Morton Kribbee, Sitting Bullseye/Oliver Bedwette, Spanker/Fred Hovel, Tillie the
Hun/Matilda von Tromp), le Beaver (Pierre Dentfris), Black Talon (Thibodaux Boudreaux), Bzzk J'oh, Dr. Angst (Floyd Mangles), Jackpot the One-Armed Bandit, Jokester,
Greedy Killerwatt, Kong Lomerate, Maller, Pro-Rata, Puffin, Quizling,
and Wally Sidney.
(Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script)
- Galactongue then appeared within the rift and disgorged an entire galaxy. A new planet formed, with
one unbelievably tall -- tens of thousands of miles high -- office
building sticking straight up from
its surface and rising past the top of the panel into the rift-space.
The gleaming tower further had odd wing-like protrusions sticking
out from the building with no visible means of support.
An enormous banner, hung across the side
of the building, reads: RETAIL AND OFFICE SPACE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE.
Five comet-like flares -- one noticeably smaller than the other four--
containing the prepositions streaked away outward from various points
on the structure, headed toward the Winnebago and the fire hydrant--
both of which traveled toward the planet at incredible
velocity. Three
of the comet-like flares (including the smallest one) struck the
Winnebago, and the other two struck the fire hydrant. Both
"constructs" glowed brightly before fading back to normal, at which
point the Prepositions (still unseen) spoke: "HALLO-O-O-O!"
The Prepositions -- the Amonger, the Arounder, the Underneather, the
Withiner, and Of -- introduced themselves to the groups (the Amonger
and the Underneather to the hydrant crew; and the Arounder, Withiner,
and Of to the Winnebago crew). From between the two constructs, the
Betweener spoke to both groups, advising them: "Play both ends against the middle, and all you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish!"
The Winnebago and Hydrant constructs then struck the immense building,
and Howard's group was transported into the mailroom, while Kong's
group arrived in the boardroom.
Later, Of visited Howard the Duck, teasing him about war breaking
out between the two groups from the two constructs,
before claiminghis bigger brothers were calling him and then vanishing.
Kong Lomerate led the villains to attack the other group...Comments: Created by Steve Gerber.
Gerber's unpublished script (http://www.stevegerber.com/writings/scripts/index.php3):
- Obviously,
the point at the start of this was that the events of the Howard the
Duck magazine series and Bizarre Adventures#34 never happened in
Reality-616.
- One
of the key points was that Howard's earliest stories clearly identified
him as coming from a world of anthropomorphic animals, not just ducks.
A reason was needed to explain how it came to be that he was now from
Duckworld.
- I don't know how the story was to end, but Howard's
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entry confirmed Howard as not
originally coming from Duckworld but that his reality had been
warped/merged so that it was now his native world. The events of the
Howard the Duck magazine occurred in Howard's history as a result of
the reality merger. Steve Gerber himself approved the entry before it
was published. I WISH I had asked him what he had intended for the second issue of his two-part proposal.
- The next issue blurb specifically mentioned:
- POWER PLAYS! BACK-STABBING! CAREER STRATEGIES! RUG-PULLING! DEATH! NEW CLOTHES! MORE DEATH! PLUS-- IN CASE YOU MISSED IT IN 1974-- THE ORIGIN OF HOWARD THE DUCK! ALL IN THE ASTOUNDING CONCLUSION OF "SECRET CRISIS II"--
- I would guess that the destruction of Duckworld detailed at the start of the script would have been confirmed.
- Perhaps greater detail would have been seen of Howard's homeworld.
- I
would also guess that Chirreep might have perished...and I wonder if
others from her stories might have met their ends as well?
- Chirreep's stories created or were based on
an alternate reality (Earth-791021), which then merged
with (or overwrote) Earth-616's, affecting Howard's
behavior and memory. Howard indeed had all of the
adventures from the magazines, and the few other stories
prior to 1985, but they were the merged Howard, which is
why he remembered Duckworld as his home. In that reality,
his parents' names were Ronald and Henrietta according to
Gerber's story, BTW.
- When Chirreep stopped making stories, the
alternate reality split from Earth-616, and Howard was
flung into the void, which is where Gerber's unpublished
story took place.
- The end result was that Howard's homeworld is now Duckworld.
As the script was not published, we don't know how much/many of the
story events contained within occurred as written, so I'm including
them here in italics.
Only the published data is listed in regular text below
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z harcover#5: Howard the Duck entry) - The cosmic axis tipped again as Howard’s world changed markedly.
This takes place immediately before the Mr. Chicken adventure in Howard the Duck II#1
(Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z harcover#5: Howard the Duck
entry) - Howard had Winda send him and Bev to "Duckworld," though it
was not the world he remembered.
(Marvel Legacy: 1970s: Korrek entry / Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z harcover#5: Howard the Duck
entry) - Howard later joined with Dakimh, Korrek, Jennifer Kale,
Man-Thing and others to resolve damage caused by a
reality warp initiated by Krylorian Techno-Artist Chireep.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions has no known connections to:
- The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, any of the various incarnations, which first appeared in X-Men I#4
- other "Brotherhood" or "Evil" groups
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Arounder, the Betweener, Of, the Underneather, and the Withiner.
The Amonger appeared in the form of a "strange, gooey, molasses-like mass with a human face."
The
Amonger joined his brothers in departing the giant office building
on a newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by
Galactongue) within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs, respectively..
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, the Amonger was the first to appear
visually, telling the villains in the hydrant construct, "I am from among.
I am the Amonger."
After the Betweener named
them collectively as the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions and
challenged the heroes and villains to seek power he offered, the artificial Winnebago and
hydrant constructs both crashed into the office building, and the
beings within
(not including the Brotherhood) were transported into the mailroom and boardroom,
respectively.
Later, when Of visited Howard the Duck, he was claimed his bigger brothers were calling him before he vanished.
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Amonger, the Betweener, Of, the Underneather, and the Withiner.
The Arounder appeared in the form of a "a huge coil, resembling a Slinky toy with a human face on one end."
The Arounder joined his brothers in departing the giant office building on a
newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by Galactongue)
within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs.
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, the Arounder
was the second to appear (the first to appear in the Winnebago
construct), horrifying Chirreep as it unwound itself, snake-like, from
around her legs. It introduced itself "I am from around.
I am the Arounder."
After the Betweener named them
collectively as the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions and challenged the heroes and villains to seek power he offered, the artificial Winnebago and hydrant
constructs both crashed into the office building, and the beings within
(not including the Brotherhood) were transported into the mailroom and boardroom, respectively.
Later, when Of visited Howard the Duck, he was claimed his bigger brothers were calling him before he vanished.
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Amonger, Arounder, Of, the Underneather, and the Withiner.
The Betweener was not seen, it spoke from the empty space between two objects.
The Betweener joined his brothers in departing the giant office building on a
newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by Galactongue)
within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs.
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, each of the other Prepositions appeared visually and then introduced themselves.
Finally, the Betweener spoke from the empty space between the Winnebago and hydrant constructs: "And I am from...between. Together, we six comprise the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions."
As the two constructs hurtled on a collision course with the office
tower, the Betweener added, "Play both ends against the middle, and you
desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to
accomplish!"
The artificial Winnebago and hydrant
constructs then both crashed into the office building, and the beings within
(not including the Brotherhood)
were transported into the mailroom and boardroom, respectively.
Later, when Of visited Howard the Duck, he was claimed his bigger brothers were calling him before he vanished.
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he
is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Amonger,
Arounder, the Betweener, the Underneather, and the Withiner.
Of appeared in the form of a "strange little man swinging by his neck from a noose." The noose typically is attached to a structure above it.
<Get it? It's a dangling/hanging preposition>
Of joined his brothers in departing the giant office building on a
newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by Galactongue)
within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs.
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, Of was the fifth to appear
visually (the third in the Winnebago).
Swinging by its neck from a noose attached to the ceiling, Of reached
down and Claude Starkowski, utterly bewildered, shook his little
doll-like hand.
He announced to those present in the Winnebago, "You can just call me..."Of.""
After the Betweener named them
collectively as the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions and challenged the heroes and villains to seek power he offered, the artificial Winnebago and hydrant
constructs both crashed into the office building, and the beings within
(not including the Brotherhood) were transported into the mailroom and boardroom, respectively.
Later, when Howard walked out on his group and took a break by the
water cooler, Of fell out of the dispenser after Howard grabbed a cup,
dropping on a rope as if from a gallows, though it didn't seem to bother him at all. Startled,
Howard cried out as Of dropped to slightly just above eye-level with
him, and Of greeted Howard, asking if war had broken out yet. Howard
shouted that he out to throttle Of for scaring him like that, but that
it somehow seemed superfluous.
When Howard asked what was
this about a war, Of realized he had spoken out of turn, after which he
commented, "Oh, nothing...nothing at all...just making conversation...!
I really...should be going...my larger brothers are calling!"
Before
vanishing in a puff of smoke (complete with a "=POOT!=" sound, Of noted
"Perhaps we can chat again...if you live through this...!"
Howard futilely demanded an explanation...
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Amonger, Arounder, the Betweener, Of, and the Withiner.
The Underneather appeared in the form of a "flat, almost two-dimensional figure that looked like a stick of gum with a human head."
The Underneather joined his brothers in departing the giant office building on a
newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by Galactongue)
within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs, respectively.
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, the Underneather was the third to appear
visually (the second on the hydrant).
As it slithered out from Kong Lomerate's foot, startling the big ape
half out of its skin, the Underneather announced to the villains
present, "I am from underneath.
I am the Underneather."
After the Betweener named them
collectively as the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions and challenged the
heroes and villains to seek power he offered, the artificial Winnebago
and hydrant
constructs both crashed into the office building, and the beings within
(not including the Brotherhood) were transported into the mailroom and boardroom, respectively.
Later, when Of visited Howard the Duck, he was claimed his bigger brothers were calling him before he vanished.
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
One of the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions, he is apparently the literal or figurative brother of the Amongerer, Arounder, the Betweener, Of, and the Underneather.
The Withiner appeared in the form of a "bouncing ball with little arms, little legs, and a happy face painted on its spheroid surface."
The Withiner joined his brothers in departing the giant office building on a
newly formed planet (formed from a galaxy disgorged by Galactongue)
within the rift between Reality-791021
and Reality-616, and confronting gatherings of heroes and villains of
some sort within their artificial Winnebago and hydrant constructs, respectively.
After the Prepositions voiced a collective "HALLO-O-O-O!"
to those within the constructs, the Withiner was the Fourth to appear
visually (the second on the Winnebago).
As it exited Howard's wife-open beak, it told those present in the Winnebago construct, "I am from within.
I am the Withiner."
After the Betweener named them
collectively as the Brotherhood of Evil Prepositions and challenged the heroes and villains to seek power he offered, the artificial Winnebago and hydrant
constructs both crashed into the office building, and the beings within
(not including the Brotherhood) were transported into the mailroom and boardroom, respectively.
Later, when Of visited Howard the Duck, he was claimed his bigger brothers were calling him before he vanished.
--Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script
images: (without ads)
There are no images, individually or collectively, of the Amonger, Arounder, Betweener, Underneather, Withiner, or Of
Appearances:
Unpublished Howard the Duck#1: Howard the Duck's Secret Crisis II script - Steve Gerber (1985);
First Posted: 02/06/2018
Last updated: 02/06/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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