The Light That Failed!

The Living Laser has kidnapped the Wasp and left Captain America and Hawkeye to their doom. The pair are surrounded by an array of laser beams that are inching closer with each second. Captain America tries to cut through the beams with his shield, which has been treated with a special coating to make it resistant to lasers. However, it doesn’t last long and the shield is destroyed.[1] Luckily, the pair are rescued by Goliath who managed to find them by following the Wasp’s tracking device.

Unfortunately, when he arrives, the Living Laser is long gone and has taken Jan with him. No longer able to track her remotely, the three Avengers return to headquarters to try using the tracker there. It also cannot locate the Wasp, but Captain America figures it is only a matter of time before the Living Laser makes his presence known.

Meanwhile, the Wasp finds herself locked in a tiny cell guarded by lasers at the Laser’s hideout. She overhears as the Living Laser meets with two men from the nation of Costa Verde named Carlos and Valdez, who want to hire him to remove the dictator who runs that country so they can take his place. While the Living Laser accepts the job for a large sum of money, the two men from Costa Verde intend on betraying him once the job is done.[2] With his employers gone, the Living Laser reveals that he is doing all of this to make the Wasp fall in love with him, making the Wasp realize that she is dealing with someone who is completely insane. Soon, the Living Laser is in Costa Verde using his laser weapons to take down the army. With his army in ruins and the rebels being given laser weapons from the Living Laser himself, the dictator of Costa Verde realizes that he has no choice but to abdicate rule and throw himself at the mercy of Valdez and his rebels.

By this time, news of the coup in Costa Verde reaches the Avengers and they race to the island nation in the hopes of rescuing the Wasp. Their arrival is detected by the Living Laser who shoots their ship out of the sky. Splashing down in the ocean, the three male Avengers manage to get to cover before a scouting party notices they made it out alive. Relying on the rebel fighters being occupied combing the ocean floor, the Avengers storm the palace of the former dictator where they face off against the Living Laser. However, between the returning rebels, and the Living Laser’s new laser cannon, the trio are forced to retreat once again. When the Laser gloats to the imprisoned Wasp, she asks him who he really is. He then reveals that his name is Arthur Parks. Janet recognizes that name, as it is the name of her friend Lucy Barton’s ex-boyfriend.

Goliath and the others launch another attack, only to be once again overpowered and this time they are taken as prisoners. Locking in a cell and chained up, Goliath takes a chance to see if the cure he worked on before they left works and successfully shrinks down to ant-size.[3] He then sneaks into the throne room where he frees the Wasp. While Janet runs interference, Goliath crawls into the laser cannon and sabotages it so that it explodes when the Living Laser tries to use it again. Freeing Captain America and Hawkeye, the Avengers then round up the rebels and turn them over to the military who intend to form a democracy now that their former leader has been disposed of. The Avengers then take the Living Laser and return to America.

There, Janet meets with Lucy Barton to tell her about Arthur Parks, and how she is advocating to get him into the care of a mental health professional instead of jail. When Goliath returns, he fills Bill Foster in on how things went down in Costa Verde, and thanks Bill for helping devise a cure for his condition. Meanwhile, Hawkeye returns home to find the Black Widow upset that he went to a sunny destination like Costa Verde without her. While Captain America returns to Avengers Mansion and is left wondering if he will ever have a life outside of the Avengers. That’s when somebody arrives seeking their help, seeing who has come for aid is a great shock to the Star-Spangled Avenger.[4]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye), Living Laser, Manuel Hidalgo, Black Widow, Lucy Barton, Bill Foster, Ultrana (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

1. If this was Captain America’s trademark shield this wouldn’t be possible as it was revealed in Tales of Suspense #94 that the weapon is indestructible. Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Avengers suggests that this was a replica shield created specifically to test out Tony Stark’s laser-proof coating.

2. The men who hire the Living Laser are not identified by their full names in this story. Their names are later revealed to be Manuel Hildago, Rodrigo Valdez, and a third man is identified as Carlos Gormaz. These names are all revealed in the Costa Verde entry in Marvel Atlas #2.

3. Goliath had been trapped at a height of 10-feet since Avengers #28.

4. Next issue reveals that it is an android named Ultrana who is disguised as the Scarlet Witch.

Topical References

• The Living Laser only agrees to attack Costa Verde for the sum of 10 million dollars in gold, which is not a lot of money by today’s standards. Adjusting for inflation it would be nearly 81 million dollars in 2021 money.