Avengers #110
… And Now Magneto!
The Avengers have their training session interrupted by Thor, who tells the Scarlet Witch that there is some good news in the search for her missing brother. Going to the communications room, Wanda is delighted to see the call has come from Quicksilver himself and his now lover Crystal of the Inhumans. As it turns out, when he was injured during the Avengers battle with the Sentinels she happened to teleport into the Sentinel base thanks to the Inhuman’s teleporting dog, Lockjaw. She brought Pietro back to the Great Refuge where she nursed him back to health. Now that Pietro is fully healed, he announces that he and Crystal are going to be married.[1]
Wanda is delighted to hear the news, however, their reunion goes south quickly when she mentions her new romance with the Vision. This is because Pietro disapproves of his sister being in a romantic relationship with a synthetic being. He abruptly ends the call, telling Wanda to only come back when she has come to her sense. As the Vision comforts Wanda, the other Avengers are left to wonder if society will respond to their romance in the same way her brother did.
Captain America then moves on to other businesses, pointing out that they may need to consider recruiting new members following the departure of both Hawkeye and Quicksilver from the team.[2] This comes at a bad time for the Black Panther who is being pressured to return home to rule Wakanda. The discussion is interrupted when their communicator begins picking up images of a mansion upstate. They watch as the camera goes inside where they see the rooms have been torn to shreds. The camera pans over to a bald man who has been knocked out of his wheelchair. He pleads with whoever is holding the camera. The man refuses to plead for his life and, before the person filming is identified, the feed cuts out. At first, the Avengers have a hard time placing the person they eventually remember the man was Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men.[3]
The Avengers then head upstate in order to help the X-Men. Along the way, Wanda tells Captain America that she is having a hard time focusing on the mission after what happened with Pietro. He tells her that the issue is not with her and the Vision’s romance, but her brother’s attitude toward it and it’s his problem to solve. Wanda’s problems also cause her fellow Avengers to think of their own failed relationships. For Thor, it was his doomed romance with Jane Foster, for Iron Man there is a litany of women which include Pepper Potts, Janice Cord, Meredith McCall, and Marianne Rodgers.[4]
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Hawkeye has decided that he is not going to leave the city until he has talked to the Black Widow. However, when she arrives at his home, only Ivan Petrovitch can be found.[5] He tells the archer that Natasha is off with her partner, Daredevil, and tells him to get lost. Instead, Clint decides to wait in a tree for her to come back.[6]
By this time, the Avengers have arrived at the Westchester mansion that is the headquarters to the Avengers. Inside, they find the X-Men knocked out inside and begin pulling them outside.[7] When Captain America and the Scarlet Witch enter the study to rescue Professor X they are attacked by Cerebro.[8][9] Captain America is able to fight free from the machine and save Wanda thanks to his newly acquired super-human strength.[10] Once they get the X-Men outside, the Avengers are suddenly attacked by giant boulders, then an army of dinosaurs that are answering to the sound of some eerie music. As the other Avengers deal with these threats, the Vision finds the source of the music — the Piper, the last of Magneto’s Beast-Brood.[11]
The group concludes that the mastermind behind these attacks must be the X-Men’s oldest foe, Magneto. That’s when Magneto, who had previously disguised himself as the Angel, reveals himself to the Avengers. He traps Thor, the Black Panther, and the Vision with more boulders and absconds with the X-Men as well as the Scarlet Witch, Captain America, and Iron Man as his prisoners. Escaping, Magneto boasts that he was able to defeat both teams with some newfound powers. When Thor and the others break free, they realize that three Avengers may not be enough to stop Magneto and save their friends.
… This story is continued in Daredevil #99.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision), Magneto, Piper, Quicksilver, Crystal, Hawkeye, Ivan Petrovich, X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman)
Continuity Notes
For Pietro’s ordeal see Avengers #104 and Fantastic Four #131. He and Crystal tie the knot in Fantastic Four #150.
Hawkeye left the Avengers last issue because he was upset that the Vision cock-blocked him with the Scarlet Witch.
Some facts about the Avengers IDing Xavier here:
One of the Avengers remembers meeting Professor X at the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards back in Fantastic Four Annual #3.
Thor also remembers the time that Xavier communicated with him telepathically in X-Men #9.
It’s interesting to note that Iron Man fully knows Xavier since both men had recently joined the Illuminati. He probably doesn’t identify Charles here so as to protect the secret nature of the group. See New Avengers: Illuminati #1.
What a laundry list of old flames. There are lots of fridges to fill here:
Thor pined after Jane Foster, the nurse who worked for his alter ego Don Blake since Journey into Mystery #84. Odin forbade the romance in Journey into Mystery #90. Eventually, Thor revealed his true identity to her in issue #124 of that series. Eventually, Odin would allow Thor to marry Jane if she could prove herself worthy as a god in Thor #136. She flubbed it and was banished from Asgard. This was all an attempt to get Thor to fall back in love with Sif.
Pepper Potts was Tony Stark’s secretary and she was part of a love triangle between her, Tony, and his chauffeur Happy Hogan from Tales of Suspense #45. Eventually, Happy won out and the pair eloped in issue #91 of that series.
Following Pepper, Tony started romancing Janice Cord after her father (and Tony’s rival) Drexel Cord tried to eliminate Stark and Iron Man in Iron Man #2. Ultimately, Janice died during a battle between Iron Man, the Crimson Dynamo, and Titanium Man in Iron Man #22.
Meredith McCall was a childhood sweetheart that Tony’s parents wouldn’t allow him to date. Tony recently saved her from the Controller in Iron Man #28. He kept his true identity a secret from her. However, the pair will reconnect in Iron Man #282.
Lastly, there is Marianne Rodgers, who Tony first dated way back in Tales of Suspense #40. She re-entered her life in Iron Man #49, only to abandon him later in issue #51. She will pop up again in Iron Man #107.
Ivan is depicted here recovering from injuries he sustained in Daredevil #95.
The Black Widow began her partnership with Daredevil in Daredevil #81. It will last until issue #124 of that series. For more on Hawkeye’s encounter with the Black Widow, see Daredevil #99. It doesn’t go well.
It is stated here that the Vision had not yet been created when the Avengers last saw the X-Men. That would be correct. The Avengers encountered the X-Men last in Avengers #53, the Vision was created circa issues #57-58.
Wanda mentions how she and her brother were always treated fairly by the X-Men when they were members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The pair were coerced into joining Magneto’s team from X-Men #4 through 11.
The Scarlet Witch is referred to as a mutant here. However, she actually isn’t. As explained in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, she was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary as an infant. To cover up his work he made it so future genetic tests would have her register as a mutant.
Captain America recently got super-human strength when Viper’s venom interacted with his super-soldier formula in Captain America #157-159. His enhanced strength will fade away around Captain America #193, as explained in issue #218 of that series.
The Avengers previously fought the Beast-Brood, aka the Savage Land Mutates, in Avengers #105.
Topical References
Dated pop-culture references: Roger Corman, Vincent Price