Bride and Doom!

The Avengers are about to sit down to a turkey dinner prepared for them by their butler, Jarvis, when suddenly Gorgon of the Inhumans teleports into their dinning room courtesy of Lockjaw, the Inhuman dog. He has come to bring them to the Hidden Land of the Inhumans for the wedding of Quicksilver and his cousin Crystal. He is furious to learn that the Avengers had no idea that the wedding was today, yet another frustraiting issue he has had to deal with since Pietro arrived in their kingdom. The Avengers haven’t learned about the wedding day because Quicksilver has cut off his sister after learning that she was in a romantic relationship with the Vision.[1] Stopping Gorgon’s temper tantrum, the Avengers agree to be in attendance for the wedding.

Meanwhile, back in Attilan, Maximus the Mad is scheming to take over the kingdom with a new ally. However, with their plan set up, this new benefactor betrays Maximus, blasting him into unconciousness.

By this time, the Avengers have arrived in the Hidden Land where they are greeted by the Inhuman royal family, the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue’s son Franklin, as well as his babysitter the sorceress named Agatha Harkness.[2] Wanda is happy to finally meet his brother’s bride to be, Crystal, who is equally upset that Pietro had snubbed the Avengers.[3] That’s when Mantis notices a massive humanoid statue standing in the middle of the city and asks what it is. Medusa tells her that it is Omega a massive android created by her mad cousin Maximus. The android was fueled by the collective guilt the Inhumans felt over the Alpha Primitives who have been used as slave labor for centuries. However, when they emancipated the Primitives the menace of Omega ended.[4]

However, Medusa grossly under-estimates the feelings of the Alpha Primitives. As, at that moment, a group of dissidents are now meeting with Maximus’ ally. He tells them to prepare for the attack as he will be ready momentarily.

Later, the Avengers and the Fantastic Four entertain the crowds gathered for the wedding by showing off their super-powers. Suddenly, both Medusa and Iron Man enter a trance and begin trying to kill the Alpha Primitives. Although this a purpousful display to turn the Alpha Primitivies against their former masters, the gathered heroes quickly realize that their friends have been hypnotized and restrain them. However, the damage has already been done and the leader of the Primitives — the leader of the insurrection — blames this fully on Black Bolt. The Inhuman leader then quickly goes into a private conference with Mister Fantastic and Thor to discuss this recent development.

Meanwhile, Crystal finally finds her husband-to-be who has been ghosting everyone since the Avengers arrives and tries to convince Pietro to make peace with his sister. That’s when Wanda enters the room and asks to speak to her brother privately. However, when she refuses to end her romance with the Vision, Quicksilver tells her that there is nothing to discuss and he walks away. At that same moment, the Human Torch approaches Crystal and tells her that he has gotten over their break-up and wishes her all the best in her upcoming wedding.[5] On a balcony above, the Swordsman tries to get Mantis decide who she loves: Him or the Vision. However, Mantis is not happy with being put on the spot, but tells him that she is not sure of her own feelings. That’s when they spot Crystal below and Mantis suggests they keep it down. That’s when they see Omega come to life and grab Crystal and takes off.

The pair race to tell the Inhumans, who gather the Avengers and Fantastic Four to help look for Crystal. They seek out the obvious person responsible, Maximus, only to discover that he has been knocked out. As they carry Maximus to get medical help, he suddenly gets up and — in a hypnotic trance — begins attacking the Alpha Primitives. The Swordsman is the one to take down Maximus but he collapses to the ground moments later. This is enough to start a riot among the Alpha Primitives. The gathered heroes then begin trying to contain the violence but, one by one, each suddenly finds themselves in a hypnotic state. That’s when Omega returns and boasts over his victory. Noticing that the Vision recognizes his voice, “Omega” decides to drop his disguise. Pulling off his humanoid looking face, “Omega” reveals that he’s actually Ultron-7!

…. This story is continued in Fantastic Four #150.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, the Vision, Mantis), Quicksilver, Inhumans (Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal, Gorgon, Karnak, Triton, Maximus, Lockjaw), Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Ultron-7, Omega the Ultimate Alpha, Franklin Richards, Agatha Harkness, Alpha Primitives

Continuity Notes

1. Quicksilver has been living with the Inhumans since Fantastic Four #131. He disowned his sister in Avengers #110 after learning she wants to schtupt a robot.

2. It’s interesting to point out that the Human Torch is wearing a red and yellow costume here instead of the trademark blue and black of the rest of the team. At the time of this story, Johnny had been wearing this costume to pay homage to the original android Human Torch of the 1940s. He will wear this variant from Fantastic Four #132 until issue 159 of that series.

3. Reed also takes this opportunity to introduce the Avengers to Medusa, calling her an “unofficial member” of the Fantastic Four. That’s really down playing things. Medusa joined the team, taking the Invisible Girl’s place, during a period where Reed and Sue were going through a rough patch. She joined the team at the same time Johnny changed his costume in issue #132. She will also leave the team in issue #159 of Fantastic Four. It’s interesting that Reed is “introducing” the Avengers to her here, since a lot of them previously met Medusa in Avengers #83. I think that was probably more for the benefit of new readers than anyone else.

4. Omega terrorized Attilan in Fantastic Four #131-132.

5. Johnny and Crystal dated from Fantastic Four #65 to 105. Crystal was forced to return to Attilan in order to escape the outside world’s pollution which was proving to be fatal to her.