Home is the Hero

Confused by the recent revival of Wonder Man, the Scarlet Witch has decided to go it alone to sort things out.[1] She is drawn back to the Brand Corporation to recover the Serpent Crown, accidentally left behind during the Avengers battle there with the Squadron Supreme.[2] There she is blasted by a laser beam fired by some unknown foe.[3] Although she lands near the Serpent Crown she is disorientated by the attack.

Her attacker then reveals herself to be the Living Laser. He confirms that the reports of his death were exaggerated and snatches up the Serpent Crown for himself.[4] That’s when Brand Corporation security arrives and tries to attack the intruders. The Living Laser suddenly teleports away, leaving the Witch to deal with them on her own.

Meanwhile, the other Avengers have returned home after their trip to New Orleans to learn how Wonder Man was resurrected as a zombie. As there is still a mob of fans gathered out front, they are forced to go into the back door. Having gotten no answers while in New Orleans, the team begins trying to figure out the mystery of Simon William’s resurrection. The Vision is particularly disturbed as Wonder Man’s life signs continue to grow stronger.[5] That’s when Jarvis interrupts to tell them that the Whizzer has arrived to speak with the Scarlet Witch. The Vision goes to meet with Robert Frank since Wanda is not home. He apologizing for disappearing after the wedding of Quicksilver and has come to reconnect with his daughter.[6]

Suddenly, the Whizzer’s entire personality changes. Thinking the Vision is one of his old foes, he attacks the android.[7] After this attack, the Whizzer races to another part of the mansion where he attacks the other Avengers. He literally gives Captain America, Iron Man, and the Beast a run for their money. After defeating them, the Whizzer is brought down by a silent attack by Yellowjacket and the Wasp who had shrunk down to insect size to take down the elderly superhero with their bio-stings. Recovering from the attack, the Avengers go to prepare the lab to examine the Whizzer to discover that it has been trashed and Wonder Man is missing.

The once dead former Avenger is now wandering the streets trying to make sense of his recent resurrection when he is chased by a crowd of Avengers fans. Confused, Wonder Man knocks them all away before running away down an alley. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch tries to escape from the Brand Corporation headquarters and is shot in the arm while fleeing. By this time, the Living Laser, appears before Wonder Man wearing the Serpent Crown. The Laser used his powers to make the Whizzer attack his allies and make Wonder Man come to him in the alley. Now with the power of the Serpent Crown at his disposal, the Living Laser orders Wonder Man to destroy the Avengers.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, the Beast), Whizzer, Wonder Man, the Living Laser, Roxxon/Brand Corporation

Continuity Notes

1. Going to get this out of the way now: Wonder Man seemingly died in Avengers #9 only to turn up alive in issue #151. He didn’t really die but was in a death-like state undergoing a metamorphosis. His brother was partially responsible for his revival. See Avengers #160 and 164 for the deets.

2. The Avengers battled the Squadron Supreme in issues #141-144 and 147-149. The Avengers forgetting to take the Crown with them was likely an oversight due to a sudden change in writers, but I digress.

3. The narration here states that Wanda isn’t an actual witch but a mutant with “witch-like” powers. However, the opposite is true. Wanda was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary while she was still a child. To cover up his work, he made it so future genetic tests had her register as a witch, per Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5. As detailed in Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #11, she was altered to warp reality making her one of the most powerful magic wielders in existence. She also comes from a long line of Scarlet Witches and Warlocks.

4. The Living Laser recalls his last encounter with the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #79. He states here that it was an android of himself that perished in Captain Marvel #35.

5. The Vision is having an identity crisis here because his brian patterns were based on those taken from Wonder Man before his “death” as detailed in Avengers #57-58 and 134-135.

6. Robert Frank was led to believe that he is the father of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch in Giant-Size Avengers #1. However, this is a deception. It is later revealed in Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4 that she is the daughter of Natalia Maximoff and an unidentified father. He was last seen witnessing Quicksilver’s marriage to Crystal of the Inhumans in Fantastic Four #150.

7. A footnote here compares the Whizzer to the similarly named member of the Squadron Supreme (although the two have no relation). It also mentions that the Whizzer was “last seen” in Marvel Premiere #29-30. These were Liberty Legion stories set during World War II and were not his last chronological appearance. Although unstated here, the reason the Whizzer is alive in the Modern Age is due to the fact that the source of his powers also slowed his aging process as detailed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #13.