Times Square

Name	Times Square
Aliases	Square of Time
Location Details
Reality	Earth-616
Galaxy	Milky Way
Star System	Solar System
Planet	Earth
Continent	North America
Country	United States of America
State	New York
City	New York City
Locale	Manhattan
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Joe Simon, Larry Antonette
First	Daring Mystery Comics #6 (June, 1940)
First	Daring Mystery Comics #6 (June, 1940)

Times Square was a major intersection in Manhattan, New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The Times Square area consisted of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.

History

As one of the most populated districts in Manhattan, Times Square has been the sight of many major battles between superhuman opponents. On November 14th, 1940, young Steve Rogers went to a movie theater in Times Square where he saw newsreel footage of the atrocities taking place in Nazi Germany. Enraged by what he had seen, he dashed off to join the U.S. Army, only to be rejected as 4F.

Years ago, after participating in an adventure in Asgard, Odin sent the Hulk back to Earth where he arrived in Times Square. Though he wanted nothing more than to be left alone, the Hulk ultimately found himself in combat against military forces. This was not the first of such encounters for the green behemoth, and it would certainly not be the last time that visitors to Times Square would witness wanton displays of violence by the Hulk.

During a New Year's celebration, the futuristic warrior woman Thundra came to this era to publicly challenge the Thing to a trial by combat. To guarantee the Thing's cooperation, she kidnapped his girlfriend Alicia Masters.

In recent years, Times Square was the sight of a major battle between the New Avengers and a rogue Hulkbuster Iron Man Armor. The real Iron Man, Tony Stark, temporarily killed himself in order to shut down the armor's systems.

Soon after, a great Stone Ship piloted by the formerly exiled hero the Hulk appeared in the sky over Times Square. The Hulk, bent on revenge against those whom he blamed for the death of his wife and child, warned everyone to evacuate the city or else they would suffer his anger. Several heroes, including Iron Man, arrived in Times Square in the hopes of preventing an event that would come to be known as "World War Hulk".

More recently, Times Square was the scene of a battle between the Thunderbolts and Spider-Man (Peter Parker). The Thunderbolts sought to sanction Spider-Man for illegally violating the Superhuman Registration Act. Their fight was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the time-displaced World War II heroes, the Invaders.

At this same time, Times Square was also attacked by a massive contingent of Super-Skrull invaders. Nearly every registered member of the Initiative fought valiantly to repel the invaders, but suffered great losses in the ensuing carnage.

After arriving in the Heroic Age, Qweeg found himself in Times Square. Awestruck, he stepped in front of a bus. After regaining consciousness, he shot the responding NYPD officers as Captain America and Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara) rushed to the scene. A skirmish ensued, and they eventually defeated the cyborg only to be thwarted by the sudden arrival of Aisa and the forces of Fist, who distracted the heroes long enough to escape and recruit Qweeg into their terrorist organization.

Alternate Reality Versions

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Earth-828)

In Earth-828, Shalla-Bal arrived in Times Square to herald the coming of Galactus. Human Torch gave chase, but she was able to escape. A Bridge was later built on the site as part of Mister Fantastic's plan to teleport the Earth away from Galactus, but this plan was thwarted when Bal destroyed other bridges across the globe. Johnny was able to lure her to Times Square, confronting her with recordings from both Zenn-La and the worlds she sacrificed to keep it safe. Suffering from an identity crisis, she left once more.

Reed came up with another plan, to send Galactus himself through the Time Square bridge, using his Power Cosmic-imbued son as bait. The Fantastic Four attempted to trick him by moving Franklin mid-fight, but Galactus saw through this and left Times Square. After Galactus acquired Franklin, his mother used her powers to the brink in order to force Galactus through the bridge, with Reed narrowly rescuing their son. As the wormhole was still open, Galactus attempted to return to Earth, only for Shalla-Bal to have a change of heart and push him and herself through the wormhole.

Marvel's Spider-Man (Earth-1048)

In this reality, Doctor Octopus stole a sample of the deadly viral agent Devil's Breath from Oscorp Industries. He released it at Times Square to infect the entirety of New York City as part of a plan of revenge against Norman Osborn. Two years later, Harry Osborn, who was bonded to VNM-252, broke out of Oscorp Tower and made his way to Times Square. He was confronted by Kraven and his hunters, ultimately defeating them and biting off Kraven's head.

Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)

In Earth-1610, Sue Storm journeyed with Namor to Times Square where they got into a physical alteration. This led to an immediate escalating conflict with the Fantastic Four.

Months later, Psycho Man mentally controlled the crowd on Broadway. He made his way to Times Square enjoying his adulation from Enid Richards and the rest of the mentally controlled masses. Eventually, he was confronted by the Fantastic Four.

The Amazing Spider-Man (Earth-120703)

In this reality, Electro came here to gather some electrical power, not knowing how to control his powers. As he started absorbing the area's electricity via a power cord, the police and Spider-Man arrived to stop him, but not knowing what to do, Electro accidentally got his face up on every marquee in the square and launched police cars everywhere. After Spidey saved the police officers, he tried to calm Electro down, but the media quickly focused their attention of him, enraging Electro. Electro proceeded to destroy Times Square, and was stopped when Spider-Man used a power hose on him.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999)

In Earth-199999, on 2011, Steve Rogers broke out of a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and found himself in Times Square. Rogers was shocked by the advanced technology. He was located by Nick Fury, who explained that Steve had been in suspended animation since 1945.

Thirteen years later, Spider-Man and Michelle Jones were web-swinging across Times Square when the Daily Bugle broadcasted footage that framed Spidey for Mysterio's attack on London, tricked people into thinking he murdered Mysterio, and exposed Peter's identity. Peter sought out Doctor Strange for help, but this resulted in a failed spell that brought interdimensional super villains into their reality. Parker later called the Daily Bugle, apologizing for the arrival of the criminals and telling them to meet him at the Statue of Liberty. This message was broadcasted on the Times Square screens.

Points of Interest

• Bizbo

Residents

• D. W. Griffith

Former Residents

• Luke Cage

Notes

• Early in his career as a "Hero for Hire", Luke Cage leased a 3rd floor office off 42nd Street at The Gem Theater.

See Also

• 830 appearance(s) of Times Square
• 69 minor appearance(s) of Times Square
• 104 mention(s) of Times Square
• 2 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Times Square
• 78 image(s) of Times Square
• 10 article(s) related to Times Square

Links and References

• Times Square on Wikipedia.org