February 2




February 2

Metro Timesweek Magazine Vol. 1 No. 9, February 2, 1986

On the Cover: President Ferdinand E. Marcos and Corazon C. Aquino

 

Events that happened on February 2

1543 – The Spanish expedition led by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos arrived in the Philippines. He named the archipelago “Las Islas Filipinas” in honor of Prince Phillip II (1556-1598) of Spain.

1818 – The Ilocos Province was divided into Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

1861 – Governor-general Jose Lemery Ibarrola Ney y Gonzalez assumed office. It was during his short term that national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, was born.

1862 – The El Catolico Filipino, the first religious newspaper in the Philippines, was founded.

1902 – The Union Obrera Democratica, the first real labor federation in the Philippines, was organized at the Teatro Variedades in Sampaloc, Manila, and elected Isabelo de los Reyes as president.

 

Personalities and celebrities born on February 2:

1939 – Fred Panopio, singer, actor, comedian and “jukebox king” (late 1960s to early 1970s) – in Nueva Ecija. (d. April 22, 2010)

Fred Panopio

on two of his record album covers, both containing the hit song “Kawawang Cowboy.”

1955 – Zafrullah Alonto, writer, social scientist and Islamic theologian – in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

1982 – Katya Santos (real name Katrina Santos), actress and model.

Katya Santos (with Allen Dizon)

on the cover of Mr. & Ms. (September 28, 2004)

Marvel Comics What If....?

          In February 1977, Marvel Comics started publishing the What If....?, a series of several comic books which explore the idea of “the road not taken,” or the possibility of an alternate future if events unfold differently. The initial 47 issues (1977-1984), which started with What If Spider-Man Had Joined the Fantastic Four? (February 1977), was told by the alien Uatu the Watcher. Thus, What If....? stories usually began with Uatu briefly recapping a notable event in the mainstream Marvel Universe, then indicating a particular point of divergence in that event. He would then demonstrate, by way of looking into a parallel reality, what could have happened if events had taken a different course from that point. It was cancelled after the October 1984 issue. Following the cancellation of the series, Marvel published a one-shot What If....?  Special (June 1988) with the story What If…. Iron Man Had Been a Traitor?

          The second What If....? series ran from 1989 to 1998 with a total of 144 issues.

Three issues of Marvel’s What If....? comics:
Vol. 1 No. 1 (What If Spider-Man Had Joined the Fantastic Four? February 1977),
Vol. 1 No.43 (What If Conan were Stranded in the 20th Century? February 1984),
and Vol. 2 No. 66 (What If Rogue Possessed the Power of Thor? October 1994).
NOTE: In the No. 43 issue, there are two errors in the cover:
the mark “1983” and the intransitive verb “were” should be “was” as Conan is singular.

          A six-comics What If....? one-shot releases came off the press on December 29, 2004, but label-dated February 2005, with such titles as What if…. Jessica Jones Had Joined the Avengers? and What…. If Doctor Doom Has Become the Things? Another six-comics What If....? one-shot issues were published the following year. Separate issues also keep appearing now and then. A special 200th issue was released bearing the question What If…. Norman Osborn Won the Siege of Asgard?”

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Astronaut John Herschel Glenn Jr
on the cover of Life (February 2, 1962),
prior to his successful orbit around the
Earth aboard the spaceship Frienship 7.

Picture Trivia

          John Herschel Glenn Jr was the first American astronaut to have orbited the Earth (aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962), and the fifth man and third American in Space. Glenn was a former Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) “Mercury Program,” the original NASA astronaut group. In 1990, he was inducted in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Glenn is also the oldest man to travel in space, and the only astronaut to be member of both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs. 

 

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