Avengers #45
Blitzkrieg in Central Park!
After they saved the world from the Mandarin, the Avengers are being celebrated in Central Park. The first to head over to the celebrations are Iron Man, Thor, and Hercules.[1] Back at Avengers Mansion, Quicksilver is waiting on his sister the Scarlet Witch. He doesn’t know why they are bothering since they are always persecuted for being mutants.[2] Wanda reminds him that they are Avengers now and their days with Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are long over.[3]
They soon arrive in the park where they are all waiting for Captain America to show up. As the Avengers mill about they are unaware that the Super-Adaptoid is hiding among the crowd, seeking to complete its mission to destroy Captain America.[4] The gathered press also notice that the Black Widow is not present. This is because after her mission for SHIELD she has decided to retire from costumed heroic.[5] Thor begins getting impatient because he has other matters to attend to.[6] Eventually, the Wasp arrives, flaunting her newfound wealth.[7] Eventually, Thor and Iron Man can’t wait any longer and take off. Moments later, Captain America finally arrives. None are aware of the fact that Captain America is contemplating quitting heroics himself.[8] Putting aside his own problems for the time being, Captain America gets the Avengers up on the stage. Once the formalities are out of the way, Goliath announces that the group has all agreed to officially grant Hercules membership on the team while he is exiled on Earth.[9]
With Captain America finally there, the Super-Adaptoid drops his disguise and rushes to the stage. The Avengers discover that the Adaptoid has copied all their powers. First, he battles Goliath and the Wasp at ant-size, forcing everyone to be on their toes to avoid stepping on their comrades. Goliath is knocked out and the Wasp returns to normal size and tires to toss the tiny Super-Adaptoid into a nearby tree. However, the Adaptoid resumes his normal size. He then fights each Avenger individually and is able to defeat each one in one-on-one combat. Observing each battle Quicksilver notices that the Super-Adaptoid only uses a few of the Avengers powers at the same time. Although he is knocked out, he manages to pass the information on to his comrades.
The Avengers then attack the Super-Adaptoid all at once. In response, the android tries using all of his mimicked powers all at once. This is too much power to control all at once and the Super-Adaptoid ends up short circuiting it instead. With the danger over, the crowd comes back and the Avengers Day celebrations begin anew.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch) Super-Adaptoid
Continuity Notes
The Avengers saved the world from the Mandarin in Avengers Annual #1.
Although Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch refer to themselves as mutants here, they actually aren’t. As revealed in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, they were experimented upon as children by the High Evolutionary. To cover up his work he made it so they would register as mutants.
Pietro and Wanda were forced into joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants after Magneto saved their lives from angry villagers. See X-Men #4.
The Super-Adaptoid was created by AIM to destroy Captain America. He first attempted to kill Cap in Tales of Suspense #82-84.
The Black Widow was enlisted by SHIELD as a double-agent to in order to destroy the Psychotron, a psychological warfare device created by the Chinese government. See Avengers #38-44. She will remain retired until she decides to get back in the saddle again in Avengers #57.
Thor complains that this event is like being part of a circus. A footnote points out that Thor is unknowingly foretelling the events of Thor #145, which sees Thor lose his powers and join the circus (for real).
The Wasp inherited her father’s fortune after her 23rd birthday, as seen in Avengers #43. Her father, Vernon Van Dyne, was killed by the Creature of Kosmos in Tales to Astonish #44.
Captain America has decided to quit being Captain America so he can have a normal life as Steve Rogers. See Tales of Suspense #95-96. It proves short lived when Nick Fury convinces him that the world needs Captain America.
Hercules has been exiled on Earth since Avengers #38. He will remain exiled until issue #50.
Topical References
The media is depicted using 60s era cameras and television cameras.
Real world businesses: Lady Clairol
One of the Avengers Day attendees states that the Wasp is worth five-million-dollars. This is not a lot of money by today’s standard. Adjusting for inflation she would be worth $39,158,982.04 in 2021 money.
Dated pop-culture references: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
