Gail Simone has been added to the dictionary. Marvel teases Storm’s Thunder War. Marvel celebrates 616 Day, but what is the origin of 616?
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Episode Transcript:
Gail Simone added to the dictionary.
Marvel teases Thunder War.
Marvel celebrates 616 Day!
This is Comic Book Club News for June 16, 2025.
Gail Simone Added To The Dictionary:
Webster’s Dictionary defines “fridge” as “to kill/harm a character (in a movie, show, etc.) to motivate another.” And who do they give credit to for this? None other than comic book writer Gail Simone, who indeed invented the term.
As Simone announced on BlueSky, “So Mirriam Webster has announced that ‘FRIDGE’ is an official word in their dictionary now, and sited me as the concept’s creator in the definition. Very cool, and weird at the same time. I got death threats over this, cool for it it to be recognized.”
In case you’re not familiar with the history here, back when she was a comic book journalist, Simone based her website “Women in Refrigerators” on an event in Green Lantern where Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend was stuffed in a fridge to motivate him as a hero. And now, decades later, it’s officially recognized by the dictionary.
Now if Simone can get her name under the definition for “bear” we’ll know she has it made.
Marvel Teases Storm’s Thunder War:
After months of build-up, the “Thunder War” is coming for Storm in issues #10-#12. And Marvel is teasing the three-part event by revealing more info for all three issues.
Written by Murewa Ayodele with art by Lucas Werneck and Mario Santoro, the storyline follows the battle between Hada, the oldest storm god, against Ororo, the newest one. Per the publisher, “Leaving Galactus, Silver Surfer and even Eternity in his wake, HADAD, the first and most powerful thunder god who debuted last week in STORM #9, is set to consume the universe! The only hero capable of stopping him is STORM, and to do so, she’ll need to soar higher than ever before. Will the iconic X-Man secure her place amongst the cosmic pantheon or be brutally brought down to Earth? A culmination of Storm’s milestone anniversary year, don’t miss this critical chapter in the iconic X-Man’s storied history.”
While Werneck has been the consistent artist on this title, and will pencil issue #10, Santoro will jump in for the next two parts. Storm #10 releases on July 23, while issue #11 hits on August 6, and issue #12 on September 24.
Marvel Celebrates 616 Day:
Today, June 16, is a day that Marvel is now calling 616 Day. And in fact, they’ll be revealing some sort of surprise for fans on 6/16 at 6:16 am ET, as teased in the back of last week’s Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man #1.
Given this podcast is posted at 6 am ET, and we don’t know what that surprise is, and having a one-sentence news item with no information seems pretty embarrassing… Let’s talk about why Marvel is so obsessed with the number 616.
There are actually two versions of the story. While writer Alan Moore is often credited for the designation 616 for Marvel’s main comic book universe, it actually comes from Dave Thorpe, who wrote Marvel UK’s Captain Britain comic strip before Moore took over the title. Back in 2007, artist Alan Davis, who drew Captain Britain for both Thorpe and Moore, told editor Tom Brevoort that the number came from Thorpe’s hatred for superhero comics.
Said Davis, “616 is an alternate, and some say older, ‘sign of the beast’, 666… Dave Thorpe, who wasn’t a fan of the modern superhero genre, was responsible for most of the more madcap or satirical elements–such as recording his opinion of the Marvel Universe with the designation 616.”
However, in 2019, Thorpe himself recalled events differently. As he told Bleeding Cool, 616 was originally meant to designate another, bad Earth that was plaguing Captain Britain’s universe, aka the main Marvel Universe. He chose that because 666, the number of the beast, “would have been too obvious to use that. I chose 616 = 666 – 50. Why 50? a nice round number, but the school in the world’s coldest town in Siberia closes when the temperature reaches -61.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s an extreme tipping point.”
Thorpe never got to tell that story, though, and when Moore took over the title, he designated Captain Britain’s universe as 616. Chris Claremont picked up that ball in Excalibur, which was also penciled by Davis, and so 616 became canon first to Marvel Comics in the US, and then the movies. And now, today, you’re getting a free Kid Venom comic or something, so it all worked out.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And interesting note, did you know that the word gullible isn’t in the dictionary?
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