The Plan — And the Power!

During the Avengers battle against Diablo and the Dragon Man android, both Goliath and the Wasp are captured. Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch have just returned to Avengers Mansion to figure out how to rescue their friends. There, Hawkeye is annoyed that Hercules is just sitting around eating their food in the middle of a crisis. The pair get into a heated argument and are about to come to blows when the Scarlet Witch reminds them that there is more at stake. Quicksilver then goes to the communications room to see if he can reach the Fantastic Four.[1] Luckily, Mister Fantastic is at the Baxter Building to answer the call and he gladly provides the Avengers with the precise location of Diablo’s castle in Transylvania.

There Diablo intends to force Goliath to help him bring to life an army of Dragon Man duplicates. In order to ensure that the Avengers’ resident bio-chemist complies with his wishes, he has left the Wasp in a nearby cave with Dragon Man. If the creature does not receive pre-planned signals from Diablo, it has instructions to kill the Wasp. Realizing that he has no choice in the matter, Hank Pym agrees to help Diablo.[2]

Not long after this, the Avengers arrive in their aero-car. They quickly locate the Wasp on their scanners and Hercules takes point, wanting to test his strength against Dragon Man. Hawkeye and the others then storm Diablo’s castle to rescue Goliath.[3] Inside the castle, they are opposed by Goliath himself who, unaware that Hercules is battling Dragon Man, is fighting his teammates in order to keep the Wasp safe.

While in China, the Black Widow has withstood a prolonged exposure to Colonel Ling’s Psychotron device. Impressed that the psychological weapon didn’t break her mind, Ling leaves her alone to recover. The Widow then tries to sneak off and destroy the Psychotron but she is caught by guards. As she fights them off, she is unaware that both Colonel Ling and Doctor Yen have been watching.[4] After she defeats the guards, they then gas her into submission.

Back in Transylvania, the Avengers quickly realize that Goliath will not stop fighting them, so the Scarlet Witch reveals that Hercules is in the process of saving Jan. This convinces Hank to stop fighting his teammates and assist them in stopping Diablo. However, the mad alchemist has erected an invisible barrier around his control pannel. He then races to the control panel to activate a bomb he planted in the cave where the Wasp is being held prisoner. Luckily, he is stopped by Captain America who has finally come back to rejoin the Avengers. Diablo is surprised to see the Star-Spangled Avenger as he last heard that Cap had allied himself with the Red Skull, unaware that it was a ruse.[5] Captain America easily overpowers and takes down Diablo.

Meanwhile, the battle between Hercules and Dragon Man rages on and the damage caused to the cave uncovers that an inactive volcano exists under it. Ultimately, Hercules dumps Dragon Man into a pool of lava, seemingly destroying the android.[6] Hercules and the Wasp are soon reunited with the rest of the Avengers. After Captain America wires Diablo’s castle to explode, they flee the scene so the villain’s hideout and his army of Dragon Man duplicates are destroyed in the blast. Once back in the United States, Goliath learns that the Black Widow has been taken prisoner in China and that she was actually a double agent working for SHIELD. When Captain America suggests they act as a team, Hawkeye is against this, saying that he wants to rescue Natasha by himself.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch), Hercules, Diablo, Dragon Man, Black Widow, Wai Ling, Chao Yen, Mister Fantastic, the Thing

Continuity Notes

1. Pietro was unable to reach the FF previously because they were on vacation. That would have been in Fantastic Four #64 where the group’s vacation was cut short when they uncovered the Kree Sentry.

2. Diablo mentions how he used alchemy to bring the original Dragon Man to life. That was in Fantastic Four #35.

3. Hawkeye quips that he needs better PR and suggests that he might paint his arrows all one color. This is a tongue-in-cheek jab at the Green Arrow, the resident archer over at DC Comics. Green Arrow first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 which came out 23 years before the first appearance of Hawkeye who first appeared in Tales of Suspense #57.

4. The full names of Colonel Ling and Doctor Yen are not revealed in this story. They are identified as Wai Ling and Chao Yen in the China entry of Marvel Atlas #1.

5. Captain America was on a leave of absence from the Avengers after being lured into a trap and then forced to ally himself with the Red Skull. See Tales of Suspense #88-91.

6. This is not the end of Dragon Man as it will survive this encounter. The creature’s next chronological appearance is in X-Men First Class Special #1, or Sub-Mariner #15 if you don’t think X-Men First Class is not part of continuity. (I do)

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: Boris Karloff

• Dated Cold War reference: Reds, Bamboo Curtain