Avengers #126
All the Sounds and Sights of Death!
There is tension in Avengers Mansion. The Swordsman is in a training session overseen by Mantis. After the session Mantis allows her partner to kiss him but she can’t keep off the Vision who is watching from the control room. Up in her room, the Scarlet Witch ponders the Swordsman’s previous accusations that her lover is interested in Mantis. If she has competition for the Vision’s love, Wanda intends to fight to keep it.
Elsewhere in the mansion, Thor and Iron Man are shocked to learn that Captain America is thinking of retiring for good. The Star-Spangled Avenger has been disillusioned following his recent clash with the Secret Empire.[1] Thor can hardly believe this could happen since the Avengers revived Cap from suspended animation so long ago.[2] However, none of their words get through to Cap, and they begin to think this might be the end of Captain America.
In yet another part of the mansion, the Black Panther goes over another communique from his homeland of Wakanda. They are continuing to pressure T’Challa to return home and rule the nation, something that may be necessary following his recent battle with the Man-Ape.[3] However, he still finds himself conflicted between his duty as a prince, and his role in the Avengers, recalling how he was instrumental in some of the team’s most recent victories.[4]
T’Challa’s thoughts are interrupted with the arrival of the ambassador from the apartheid nation of Rudyarda. Although the ambassador — like his countrymen — is bigoted toward black Africans he is in need of the Avengers’ assistance has come asking for help knowing the Black Panther will not refuse him.[5] The Panther summons the rest of the Avengers and the ambassador explains how someone has threatened to kill the staff of his embassy and proved their ability to do so by immolating their gardener. Hearing this, they all agree to investigate and head outside.
Inside, the senior Avengers — Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man — are still sitting in silent contemplation when suddenly the entire building is shaken by a massive noise outside. Rushing out, they are shocked to discover the other Avengers trapped in a dome of solid sound. This has been created by Klaw — who appears in a giant solid sound projection of himself. His ally is Solarr, who sits atop the globe of solid sound that traps the Avengers.[6] Klaw explains that he set this all in motion after the Panther left him to rot in a Rudyardian prison. He now gives the Panther an ultimatum: Surrender his kingdom to Klaw within the next hour, or he will have Solarr kill the female Avengers that are trapped in the dome with him. To show that he means business, Klaw has Solarr blast the Rudyardian ambassador with his heat powers, causing him to fall on the ground. With the ambassador needing immediate medical attention, the Scarlet Witch takes a risk by using her hex power to resuscitate him. Surprisingly, it works.
However, the Panther refuses to surrender his kingdom without trying to stop Klaw first. Having deduced the relative range of Klaw’s solid sound projections, he sends Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man to scour the city to try and find the real Klaw before time runs out. Unfortunately, other than a trio of solid-sound panthers hidden in an abandoned tenement, the Avengers find no sign of Klaw anywhere. When they report back their failure, the Black Panther deduces where Klaw his hiding. Attacking the ambassador, he reveals that he is actually Klaw in disguise. He figured it out since the phony ambassador never dropping his briefcase, even when blasted by Solarr, giving away that his hand was a false limb used to disguise the sonic horn that replaces Klaw’s right hand.[7]
When the Black Panther smashes the device that helps Klaw sustain the dome, both the master of sound and Solarr are quickly defeated. In the aftermath of the battle, T’Challa realizes that he must return to rule Wakanda and announces that he will be leaving the Avengers for the time being. This hits Captain America the most, who has felt a strong bond with T’Challa ever since they met and that with his departure, so too must Captain America leave the Avengers.[8]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Black Panther, the Vision, Mantis), Klaw, Solarr, Edwin Jarvis
Continuity Notes
The Secret Empire conspiracy ran from Captain America #169-175, which ended with the revelation that the leader of the organization was the President of the United States who then blew his brains out.
Cap was revived by the Avengers after being frozen in a block of ice for decades. See Avengers #4.
T’Challa fought the Man-Ape in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #5.
These would have been the Panther’s battle with the Lion God (Avengers #112) and the Troglydites (Avengers #115)
The Black Panther recalls how he was unjustly imprisoned during his last visit to Rudyarda. That was in Fantastic Four #119.
This story does not provide an explanation as to how Klaw escaped from a Rudyarda and teamed up with Solarr, as the two had not met previously. Instead, they ask readers to write in their own explanations, stating that the winning explanation would get a No-Prize when it is published in Avengers #130. There probably weren’t many bites since only one letter offered a solution. It was written by Chuck Mabry of Washington, DC. It’s not an overly imaginative explanation: That Klaw read about Solarr after getting permission to receive American newspapers in prison and hired Solarr to break him out. Still, no mention if he won that No-Prize. If you’re out there Chuck, drop me a line and let me know what happened, did you get the prize, or were you cheated?
Klaw mentions how his right hand was ruined by T’Challa. In every version of the Black Panther’s origin, Klaw’s hand is damaged in some way, dating back to the first telling of the Black Panther’s origins in Fantastic Four #52-53. There are many conflicting Black Panther origins. Go here for more on that.
Captain America first met T’Challa back in Tales of Suspense #98.
Topical References
Captain America states that he met T’Challa “years ago”, this should be considered a topical reference as it denotes the passage of time between the publication of Tales of Suspense #98 (published 1968) and this issue (published 1974). Per the Sliding Timescale, they have known each other for about two years.
