Night of the Swordsman

Following an attempt on the Vision’s life, Wanda fears that the couple will continue to be targets of those who fear and hate them. She is also upset that her brother, Quicksilver, has also denounced their romance even as he himself found love in the Inhuman known as Crystal.[1] In the training room, both Iron Man and Captain America spar with the Vision to test his effectiveness in battle. He passes the test with flying colours. However, hearing her teammates refer to the Vision as an android angers Wanda and she decides to go for a walk to let off some steam.

Passing a construction site, Wanda is cat-called by the workers there who figure she’s fair game since she is dating an android. This doesn’t help Wanda’s mood and she lashes out at the worker with one of her hex bolts. Recovering from the blast, he responds by slapping her in the face. That’s when the mystery woman called Mantis arrives on the scene. Using her martial arts skills, Mantis easily beats the man into submission.

Mantis walks Wanda back to the Mansion, where the Wanda’s fellow Avengers are upset that she brought an unauthorized visitor to their home. That’s when the Swordsman appears and explains that both he and Mantis have come to petition the Avengers for membership. Captain America flat out refuses because while the Swordsman was briefly an Avenger it was to infiltrate and destroy the group for the Mandarin.[2] Following that, the Swordsman continued to attack the Avengers and commit crimes.[3]

The Swordsman doesn’t deny his past sins, but tells them that he has hit on hard times because his mercenary work has made him a wanted criminal in nearly every country. Down trodden, the Swordsman gave into sorrow and became a drunk. It was in a bar that he was found by Mantis who convinced him to quit drinking and turn his life around, hence why he has come to the Avengers. This elicits no sympathy from Captain America, but the other Avengers all disagree.[4] Out-voted, Cap concedes to the others, but insists on keeping an eye on the Swordsman for the first sign of betrayal. While Wanda looks forward to having another woman on the team, Mantis is so happy that she kisses all the male Avengers on the cheek as thanks.

Over the next few weeks, Thor personally oversees the Swordsman on various missions and is convinced that he is loyal to the Avengers. Next, the Vision and Black Panther decide to test his loyalty by sparring with him in the training room. The Swordsman is able to defeat both in battle. However, when given the opportunity to kill, the Swordsman spares their lives instead, convincing them that he is loyal to the group.

Later, the team has gathered to watch news coverage of Hawkeye and the Hulk’s battle with the creature known as Zzzax.[5] Since Clint did not contact them, they realize he must really be trying to make a name for himself without them. The Swordsman scoffs at Hawkeye, saying that they don’t need him since it was the Swordsman who taught Barton everything he knows. When the Swordsman and Mantis retire to their room, Captain America is still suspicious and decides to follow them. Once in the privacy of their quarters, the Mantis then uses her mystical attunement to summon the Lion God so the African diety can get revenge against the Black Panther and the Avengers.[7]

Although the Swordsman and Mantis help the Lion God defeat the Avengers, they quickly turn on the diety. Before it can burn the Black Panther at the stake, Mantis and the Swordsman combine their skills to hypnotize the god. This allows Iron Man time to recover and trap the Lion God in a cylinder of Adamantium until Thor can banish it again. In the aftermath of the battle, the pair explain they had to go along with the Lion God’s scheme in order to stop it from destroying their new allies. While the other Avengers accept this explanation, Captain America still can’t bring himself to trust the Swordsman and wonders if this is only a smoke screen for a much larger betrayal.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Black Panther, the Vision, Mantis), Hathor-Sekhmet (identified as the Lion God here)

Continuity Notes

1. Quicksilver was injured during the Avengers battle with the Sentinels in Avengers #104. He was rescued and nursed back to life by Crystal in Fantastic Four #131. They announced their marriage to the Avengers in Avengers #110. They will be married in Fantastic Four #150.

2. The Swordsman attempted to join the Avengers to destroy it from within from Avengers #19-20.

3. This story specifically mentions the time the Swordsman attacked the Avengers in Avengers #29-30, but he also fought the group in issues #65, 78-79, as well as Avengers Annual #1, Tales of Suspense #88 and Captain America #105.

4. Iron Man points out that both the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye had criminal records when they first joined the Avengers. Hawkeye was manipulated into helping the Black Widow back when she was a Russian spy in Tales of Suspense #57, while Wanda was a founding member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in X-Men #4. Both joined the Avengers in Avengers #16.

5. This battle took place in Incredible Hulk #166.

6. The Swordsman claims here that he taught Hawkeye everything he knows. Avengers #19 revealed that the Swordsman trained Hawkeye when he was younger. However, the Swordsman wasn’t Hawkeye’s only teacher. However, Clint was also trained by Trick Shot, as detailed in Solo Avengers #1-2.

7. The Lion God previously fought the Avengers in Avengers #112. This diety is only referred to as the Lion God in this story. All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #4 and Avengers: Roll Call #1 confirm that this is Hathor-Sekhmet of the Ennead (or Egyptian) pantheon of gods.