Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983) 3
Mar 198308/03/21 - Cover
As usual I couldn’t get the cover scanned quite as nicely as I wanted it. The biggest impediments are the size of my scanner and the way the cover image extends to the very edge of the cover.
08/04/21 - Inside Front Cover - Table of Contents
08/05/21 - Page 2 - Collector
Collector is an Elder of the Universe.
08/06/21 - Page 3 - Colossus
This entry gets very technical when it comes to the process by which Piotr Rasputin transforms his body from flesh and blood to organic steel.
“The conversion from flesh and blood to organic steel is accomplished by a psionic whole-brain interface with an ionic form of osmium, an extremely dense metal, located in another dimension”
The entry goes on to describe some of the limits of his endurance, strength, and other other abilities when in his armored form.
Constrictor’s real name according to the OHotMU is Frank Schlichting but that is just an alias according to marvel dot fandom dot com. This fact wasn’t revealed until much later in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. 36 (Jun 1992). Constrictor has worked with a number of other villains but he isn’t a member of any official teams. He was once an agent of of S.H.I.E.L.D. before he had a mental breakdown and became a villain.
Contemplator is an Elder of the Universe and appeared in just two comic books prior to this one. He is also known as Mr. Buda.
Fun Fact: Constrictor appeared in Captain America Annual 5 (Oct 1981). Contemplator appeared in Captain America Annual 6 (Nov 1982).
08/08/21 - Page 5 - Controller
The powers section of this entry is very heavy on technical details. All of his appearances prior to this issue of OHotMU were in issues of Iron Man and Captain Marvel.
08/09/21 - Page 6 - Corruptor
The Corruptor appeared in 6 comic books prior to this one. The first 3 were issues of Nova and the other 3 were issues of Incredible Hulk. His most recent appearance was in Incredible Hulk 265 (Nov 1981). His next appearance in a non-reference comic book wasn’t until Marvel Comics Presents 32 (Nov 1989).
08/10/21 - Page 7 - Crimson Dynamo
There had been 5 different Men who went by the name Crimson Dynamo by the time this issue of the OHotMU was published. This entry is for the 5th one but there are mentions of the other 4.
The first Crimson Dynamo was Anton Vanko. He was killed by Boris Turgenov, the second Crimson Dynamo, who also died in the course of their fight. Alex Nevsky, the third Crimson Dynamo had been the research assistant of Anton Vanko. He was eventually killed by agents of the Soviet Union. The fourth Crimson Dynamo was Yuri Petrovitch, another agent of the Soviet Union. Petrovich failed in his mission and was sent to a prison labor camp when he returned to the Soviet Union.
The fifth Crimson Dynamo was Dimitri Bukharin. He was a member of the Soviet Super-Soldiers until it was discovered that he was a KGB spy and was kicked off the team.
Anton Vanko is also the name of Whiplash in Iron Man 2 (2010). It is not the name of Whiplash (aka Blacklash) in the comic books.
08/11/21 - Page 8 - Crystal
Crystal is a member of the Inhuman royal family. She was also a member of the Fantastic Four for a time. She was filling in for the Invisible Woman. She appeared regularly in the pages of Fantastic Four from Dec 1965 until Dec 1970. She was in all but 9 issues from Fantastic Four 45 to Fantastic Four 105 although she wasn’t a member of the team for that entire stretch.
08/12/21 - Page 9 - Cyclops
The powers section of this entry is very technical and scientific. It explains how his eye blasts work and there is a description of how his visor works. There is a description that breaks the 4th wall and uses the comic book to try and explain how to visualize the width of his eye blasts.
08/13/21 - Page 10 - Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle first appeared in All-Winners Comics 11 (Dec 1943). It was also mentioned in Captain America Comics 22 (Jan 1943). I am confused as to which is the proper first appearance of the newspaper but those are the only Golden Age appearances of the newspaper. The first appearance of the newspaper in the Marvel Era was in Fantastic Four 2 (Jan 1962).
The Daily Bugle is located at the corner of 39th St and Second Ave. It is 46 stories tall. The Daily Bugle has been located there since 1968 but it has been around since 1897. J. Jonah Jameson is the publisher and the owner of the paper.
There is no mention of where the Daily Bugle was located prior to 1968.
The entry in the OHotMU includes a picture of the building and a floor plan for the 17th floor, the City Room. It is there that Jameson’s office and that of a few of his employees (Glory Grant, Betty Brandt, Robbie Robertson) are located. There are no other employees of the paper mentioned in this entry.
08/14/21 - Page 11 - Daredevil
There are lots of details and descriptions about Daredevil’s heightened senses but for the most part it stays away from technical scientific speak. The one exception is the description of his radar sense.
08/15/21 - Page 12 - Daredevil’s Apartment, Daredevil’s Billy Club
Daredevil’s Apartment was located at 448 E. 66th Street. He relocated to San Francisco (where he lived with Black Widow) in Daredevil 87 (May 1972) and returned to his Manhattan apartment in Daredevil 120 (Apr 1975). His apartment was destroyed in Daredevil 227 (Feb 1986), at which point he relocated to Hell’s Kitchen.
Daredevil’s Billy Club has been lost or destroyed on numerous occasions, before and after this issue of the OHotMU was published. One version of the Billy Club was designed by Ivan Petrovich in Daredevil 117 (Jan 1975). There is no mention of who created the other incarnations of this device/weapon. Making a new one seems beyond the skill of Matt Murdock or Daredevil.
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