Avengers #158
When Avengers Clash!
The Vision has just destroyed a reanimated statue of the Black Knight.[1] That’s when Wonder Man and the Scarlet Witch enter the room. Seeing Simon Williams offering to support his wife angers the Vision since his humanity has been thrown into question since Williams returned from the dead.[2] The two quickly come to blows.
The sound of battle draws the other Avengers and Iron Man orders the rest to stand down, saying that the pair need to fight it out in order to get past their differences. The pair fight to a stand-still, allowing Iron Man to step in. He tells both Simon and the Vision to stop acting like children, threatening to suspend them if this carries on any further. That’s when Jarvis comes in to tell them that they received a call for help in Northern Canada. When Jarvis explains he told the caller that the Avengers were busy, Iron Man can’t believe that this is what the Avengers have become and calls a meeting right away.
At that moment, at an isolated research community in the Canadian Rockies, Frank Hall has taken over the entire town thanks to his newfound gravimetric powers. Most are loyal except for Joe Parks, who was the one who called the Avengers for help. Frank punishes Joe for this attempted insurrection in front of Joe’s wife, Judy, whom Frank has lusted after for some time. Although he is disgusted when Judy begs for Joe’s wife, Frank spares his life but warns her that she might fall out of favor with him. This is of interest to their fellow coworker, Raquel, who hopes to win Frank’s favor and rule beside him. In order to prevent intruders from coming to his domain, Frank uses his powers to raise the research facility high into the air.
However, the prospect of the Avengers coming has inspired Frank to lean into his newfound powers. He has Judy make up a costume for himself and as he tries it on he thinks about the accident that gave him his powers. He was researching a teleportation system utilizing atomic energy and anti-gravity. Growing impatient with the lack of results, Frank cranked up the power one day and found himself bombarded with energy. He survived and discovered that he now had the power to control the gravity of objects around him and after honing his powers he used them to take over the community. His new costume is a perfect fit and Frank Hall decides that from this moment forward he will be known as Graviton.
When he tries to get Judy to commit to him, she reluctantly complies as a distraction because the Avengers have just arrived on the scene. That’s when Raquel comes barging into the room to warn him. Realizing that Judy kept quiet about the Avengers’ arrival, Graviton accuses her of betraying him. As the Avengers try to attack Graviton, Judy tries to escape but is knocked out by Raquel. Soon, each Avenger falls one by one as they are unprepared for Graviton’s powers. With the Avengers defeated with relative ease, Graviton next sets his sights on the world.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, the Beast, Wonder Man), Graviton, Judy Parks, Black Knight (statue)
Continuity Notes
This statue claimed to be the Black Knight, but it really wasn’t. Some facts:
An unknown entity animated the statue last issue. It is later revealed in the Black Knight profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #1 that this entity was in fact Ultron.
The real Dane Whitman’s soul was sent back in time to the 12th Century to possess the body of his ancestor when his body was turned into stone. See Defenders #4 & 11.
Although the statue is shattered here, its remains are later returned to Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #29. It was later brought to Garrett Castle where it was possessed by Ningal until it was stopped by Doctor Strange. See Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #35-37.
When Dane Whitman’s soul returns to the present in Avengers #226, his stone body is returned to normal.
Wonder Man seemingly died in Avengers #9. In the interim, his brain patterns were used to give live to the Vision, per Avengers #57-58 and 134-135. Williams later turned up alive again in Avengers #151 and issue #164 explains that he was actually in a death-like state while his body underwent a transformation into a being of pure ionic power.
