Marvel UK’s abandoned Motormouth project, RE-MIX, recalled

Comic artist Carlos Pacheco made his debut for Marvel in the early 1990s, first working for Marvel UK, and the talented Spanish comics artist has, rightfully, never looked back. But one early project, Motormouth: RE-MIX – also for Marvel UK, which Carlos recently highlighted on Twitter – was never published.

Alternate Avengers designed by Carlos Pacheco for the planned Marvel UK project, Motormouth: RE-MIX
Alternate Avengers designed by Carlos Pacheco for the planned Marvel UK project, Motormouth: RE-MIX

As we’ve previously noted, several Motormouth-related projects were planned but abandoned by Marvel UK, including a crossover with Death’s Head II drawn by 2000AD artist Jesus Redondo and a battle with a bizarre character, Removal Man, the invention of Glenn Dakin, a two-issue series pencilled by Pedro Espinosa and inked by Tim Perkins. Motormouth RE-MIX was intended as an alternative take on the Marvel Universe, in which Spider-Man is a Vietnam veteran, The Punisher is an evangelist and Captain America is a sadistic villain.

Announced as launching in March 1994 but subsequently cancelled, Motormouth RE-MIX was written by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco and drawn by Carlos, whose first comics work for Marvel was at Marvel UK, first drawing Exploits of Spider-Man covers and then a short Motormouth strip for Motormouth & Killpower #12, written by Matthew Hyde.

“We tried to connect the Marvel UK characters, mainly Motormouth and Killpower, to the American Marvel Universe,” Carlos has previously recalled. “A story where Killpower was lost in the multiverse and Motormouth was jumping form different parallel realities looking for him.”

For RE-MIX, “Rafael Marin and I explored the Marvel Multiverse using Motormouth and Killpower, combined with the Slow Glass concept,” he recently outlined on Twitter.

Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco
Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco

“We divided that trip in three chapters,” recalls Carlos of the ambitious project. “In the first, Peter Parker was enlisted to Vietnam. The Green Goblin discovers Peter identity and killed all his relatives and friends. Peter went back [to the US] claiming revenge and a military priest, Frank Castle, tried to stop him.

“Then we went to a Universe where Galactus landed on Moscow, when it was the capital of the Soviet Union. The Fantastic Four didn’t exist and Reed creates a group to help the Soviet Supersoldiers in the fight against the Devourer of Worlds.

“In the final chapter, the world visited was a one where The Secret Empire defeat America. The president committed suicide… and superheroes activities were forbidden. Captain Nomad started a rebellion against the government.”

  • Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco
  • Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco
  • Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco
  • Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco
  • Unpublished art from Motormouth: RE-MIX project for Marvel UK, by Rafael Marin and Carlos Pacheco

Sadly, Marvel UK suffered an implosion and almost all its planned comics projects projects were abandoned, and although some were published by Marvel US, such as Nocturne, an updated take on Night Raven, Motormouth: RE-MIX was not one of them.

It’s always great to hear more about Marvel UK’s many plans, although sad that so much was actually written and drawn in some cases and is now lost, much art consigned to a skip over a weekend without the knowledge of editors and creators, when the company moved from Arundel House in London to Tunbridge Wells.

Thankfully, some artists and writers held on to some materials and we’re endeavouring to report these in our now-expanded section of downthetubes devoted to “Marvel UK – Genesis 1992”, the revamp of the MUK line initiated by Paul Neary.

Owing to increasing amount of information discovered about the later years of Marvel UK, our “Genesis 1992” section has now been broken up into more pages

Part 1 – Published Comics 1992 | Part 2 – Published Comics 1993 -1994 | Part 3 – Published Comics 1994 – 1995 | Part 4 – Frontier Comics | Part 5 – Unpublished Projects Developed during 1990 – 1991 | Part 6 – Unpublished Projects Developed during 1992 – 1993 | Part 7 – Other Unpublished Projects Developed during 1993 | Part 8 – Unpublished Projects Developed during 1994 | Part 9 – 1994 (Marvel UK branded) Core Relaunch | Part 10 – Final Unrealised Projects 1994 – and a Postscript

With thanks to Adrian Clarke of GetMyComics for spotting Carlos’ Twitter thread



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