The Blaze of Battle… The Flames of Love!

The Scarlet Witch has been kidnapped by Arkon, the ruler of a world in another dimension.[1] Worse, he has kidnapped a number of Earth’s leading atomic scientists to create a bomb that will annihilate the planet. All this, so Arkon can restore the light-giving rings that sustain his world. Now the Avengers are racing around the clock trying to build a device to breach the dimensional barrier between their worlds. The first test of their D-Machine almost kills the Black Panther, luckily the Vision is there to absorb the energies and save T’Challa’s life. This upsets Quicksilver, who accuses the Avengers of not caring enough to save his sister.[2]

Needing to blow off some steam, Quicksilver goes to the training room. Unfortunately, it is already occupied by Goliath who is testing out a bow he constructed for use while in giant size. After Pietro leaves, Clint is visited by the Black Widow who comes to tell him that she has to leave him for good. When he questions her love for him, the Widow turns her back and tells him that she never really loved him, even though saying so is a lie and brings a tear to her eye.[3]

Meanwhile, a dimension away, Arkon takes the Scarlet Witch on a tour of his world, hoping that she will accept her fate of becoming his bride. However, she cannot bring herself to love him because he is planning on annihilating her homeworld. When they return to the palace, Graybeard — Arkon’s advisor — tells him that the captured scientists are refusing to help. Leaving Wanda in the care of his aids, Arkon then oversees the scientists being subjected to the Ultimate Persuader a device that can bend the wills of even the strongest minds. On his way to the dungeons, he comes upon the Toad who pledges his allegiance to Arkon. However, the cowardly display is met with nothing but disgust.[4] When the loudest descent among the Earth scientists is made into an obedient slave, the other scientists fall in line to avoid sharing the same fate. Soon, Greybeard produces the fruits of their labors: a glowing nuclear sphere that, once smashed on the ground, will annihilate all life on planet Earth. The resulting nuclear explosion would then power the rings of light around Arkon’s world for all eternity.

When Arkon returns to the Scarlet Witch, he tells her that his scientists found a way to restore his planet without endangering the Earth. This gladens Wanda, and he takes her to see the Flower of Life that grows next to the palace walls. He tells her that it is to be picked by the betrothed of the kind. Wanda is taken aback by the flower’s beauty and it reminds her of Flower in the Crannied Wall, a poem by Alfred Tennyson. She then recites it to Arkon and for the first time, there is a potential spark of romance between the two.

However, this moment is interrupted when the Avengers finally arrive in Arkon’s dimension. This is thanks to the arrival of Thor who used his enchanted hammer Mjolnir to break the dimensional gulf between worlds. Also joining the team is Iron Man, whose advanced armor technology give them the edge against Arkon’s best warriors. With his armies fallen, Arkon returns to Greybeard and recovers the nuclear sphere, making no effort to hide the fact that he has been lying to Wanda this whole time. She is horrified to learn that he still intends to destroy her homeworld. As the Avengers begin breaching the palace, Arkon uses his mystical lightning bolts to teleport himself and the Scarlet Witch back to Earth.

They appear atop the Empire State Building where Arkon prepares to drop the nuclear sphere onto the streets below. Opposing him are Goliath, Quicksilver, the Black Panther, and the Vision, who have been teleported back to Earth to stop him. In the ensuing battle, Arkon suddenly receives a telepathic communication from Greybeard telling him that there is no longer a need to destroy the Earth. While Arkon was away, Iron Man was able to build a device that could channel the energies of a storm summoned by Thor to repower the rings around Arkon’s planet.[5] With the need to destroy Earth passed, Arkon decides he no longer wishes to force the Scarlet Witch to be his bride. Wanda admits there is nobility to Arkon and wishes him well. The warrior then returns to his world and the other Avengers come back to Earth. Quicksilver is glad his sister is finally safe. When nobody is looking, Wanda takes a moment to look upon the Flower of Life, which she still has in her possession, and reflect on what could have been.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Goliath, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision), Arkon, the Black Widow, Toad, Greybeard

Continuity Notes

1. Arkon’s world is not identified by name here. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1’s Arkon entry reveals that he comes from the world of Polmachus.

2. Mention is made how the Black Widow works for SHIELD. She has previously gone on missions for the spy agency in Avengers #38-44 and 57/63/Captain Marvel #12. The Widow’s decision for breaking up with Clint is not really explained here. Marvel Fanfare #10 reveals that she wanted to give up costumed heroics and being a spy to live a life of a jet-setter. She will grow bored of this and eventually return to her costumed identity in Amazing Spider-Man #86.

3. Throughout this issue, both Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are referred to as mutants when they actually aren’t. It’s revealed years later that the pair were experimented upon by the High Evolutionary as infants and in order to cover up his work he made it so genetic tests made them read as mutants. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.

4. This is the last we see of Toad in this issue. His fate is not revealed in Avengers #138, the Toad manages to escape Arkon’s prison and build a ship that allowed him to return to Earth’s dimension. Kind of a flimsy explanation, but what are you going to do?

5. This device will malfunction on a number of occasions in later years, prompting Arkon to threaten Earth’s destruction only for its heroes to stop him and/or repair the device. See Fantastic Four #160-163, X-Men Annual #3, Avengers #358-359, Quicksilver #2-3.