Avengers #155
To Stand Alone!
This story is continued from Super-Villain Team-Up #9…
Enslaved by Attuma, the Avengers have been forced to attack Hydro-Base in the hopes of destroying the Sub-Mariner. Instead, they face Namor’s would-be ally Doctor Doom. After felling Iron Man, Doom leads the citizens of Hydro-Base against the rest of the Avengers. Due to the fact that their aggression is hyped up by their slave collars, the Avengers are not in fighting form and are all easily defeated. Doom then has the defeated Avengers hooked up to a device that forces them to tell him who sent them. Hearing that Attuma was responsible for the attack, Doctor Doom dismisses him as a threat. However, Namorita assures Doom that Attuma is a force to be reckoned with and that after he destroys Hydro-Base he will go after Doom next.[1]
Meanwhile, the Beast has recruited Wonder Man and the Whizzer to help him rescue the rest of the Avengers. As they follow a homing signal in a Quinjet, Wonder Man makes a passing comment about being dead in the past and explains to the Whizzer what he knows about his recent resurrection — which isn’t a whole lot.[2]
Back at Hydro-Base, Tamara Rahn guards the incapacitated Avengers. Seeing the Vision’s red face, she wonders if he is another survivor of her race but dismisses such an absurd hope.[3] When Tamara leaves, the Avengers begin plotting a way to get free. First, the Scarlet Witch uses her hex powers to carry Captain America’s shield to his hand. He then tosses the weapon up to the ceiling and it ricochets down and shatters the Vision’s inhibitor collar. Instead of freeing the other Avengers, the Vision then phases through a wall, leaving them to wonder if he has abandoned them.
Elsewhere, the Sub-Mariner is flying after Attuma after his last attack, following the villain to an offshore research plant.[4] There, Attuma is attempting to steal a device called the Chloro-Beam that can accelerate the growth of plankton. While the surface scientists intend to use the device to feed the planet, Attuma seeks to weaponize the device. However, when he and his warriors try steal the device, they find the Beast, Wonder Man, and the Whizzer there to stop them. As they battle one another, Attuma spots the Sub-Mariner’s approach and tricks Namor into thinking that the three heroes are his allies. While Wonder Man and the Whizzer deal with Namor, the Beast jumps off the research platform and stows away on Attuma’s ship. At first, the Sub-Mariner thinks he is fighting Quicksilver until he stops the Whizzer and realizes that he is his old ally from the Liberty Legion.[5] While Namor is distracted, Wonder Man manages to ambush him from behind and knock him out.
While Attuma races to Hydro-Base, he plots to use the Chloro-Beam as a weapon, unaware that the Beast has stowed away on the ship. While at Hydro-Base, the Vision is caught snooping around by Doctor Doom who prepares to destroy the android with a gun, when the Vision tells Doom that he has an offer.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Beast, Wonder Man), Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom, Attuma, Whizzer, Joseph Jennings, Tamara Rahn
Continuity Notes
A footnote here reminds readers that Attuma has been clashing with Namor since Fantastic Four #33.
Wonder Man seemingly died in Avengers #9 due to the process that gave him his powers. He turned up alive again in issue #151. It is later explained in issue #164 that he was in a death-like trance while his body underwent a metamorphosis. He also mentions his time as a zombie, see Avengers #152-154.
Tamara believes all of her people were slain during a failed invasion of Earth. See Sub-Mariner #56-58. However, the Banari continued on and members of that race were seen again in Namor the Sub-Mariner #46-48.
Namor mentions that his father is a surface dweller. Namor’s mixed heritage was first detailed in Marvel Comics #1.
There is a lot of Quicksilver/Whizzer facts being tossed around. The details:
Namor wonders if Quicksilver rejoined the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Quicksilver was a founding member of the BHOEM in X-Men #4 along with his sister the Scarlet Witch. Namor encountered them during this period in X-Men #6. The pair later went on to join the Avengers in Avengers #16. Pietro has not been part of the team since Avengers #104.
Namor refers to Quicksilver as a mutant. However, neither he nor his twin sister are mutants. As detailed in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, they were experimented upon by the High Evolutionary. To cover up his tracks, he made it so future genetic testing would have the twins register as mutants.
The Whizzer and Sub-Mariner first met back in World War II, as detailed in Marvel Premiere #29-30. This story incorrectly attributes that meeting to issues #27 & 28 of that series.
Topical References
Dated pop-culture references: Jacques Cousteau