Spectrum of Deceit

Yellowjacket is working on repairing the Doctor Spectrum’s Power Prism to give to his wife, the Wasp, as a birthday gift.[1] He figures it will be safe as the Prism is now powerless. When an alarm warning of Janet’s approach tips him off, he quickly resumes normal size and quickly hides the gem in a locked drawer. Janet knows that Hank is working on an anniversary gift and tries to get him to tell her what it is but he tells her to be patient as she will get her gift in a few hours.

When Hank heads home to change, Janet decides to stay at Avengers Mansion. Her curiosity gets the better of her and gets past the lock on the drawer by shrinking down to wasp size. She is amazed at the gem’s beauty and is compelled to touch it. Suddenly, the Power Prism comes to life as it is actually a sentient being and takes control of her.[2] The sudden surge of power causes the door to the lab to blow off the hinges.

Hearing the explosion, Quicksilver races into the room to see if anyone has been hurt. He is knocked out by Janet who is now possessed by the Power Prism, which has transformed her into the new Doctor Spectrum. Wonder Man follows in after Pietro and is immobilized by the Prism. Relishing having full control of its host for the first time, the Power Prism takes off to find a more powerful host, deciding that Thor will make it more powerful than ever before.[3] The Prism decides to start by attacking Iron Man who is assisting technicians at Stark Industries. Using Janet to get close enough to the Golden Avenger, the Prism strikes Iron Man while his guard is down. She then takes Iron Man and brings him back to Avengers Mansion. It then seals the three defeated Avengers in a cylinder of energy and hides them at the bottom of the ocean so it can continue its scheme unimpeded.

What the sentient gem doesn’t realize is that Hank has been tipped off by the attack at Stark Industries. When he tries to subdue Janet, the Prism transforms her into Doctor Spectrum again. He holds her at bay with an army of ants long enough for Captain America, the Beast, the Black Panther, and Ms. Marvel to arrive and lend a hand. Knocked outside the Pym residence, the possessed Wasp is then ambushed by Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch. However, they are merely a distraction that allows the Vision to sneak up being her and knock out the Prism with its one weakness: a bombardment of ultra-violet light that knocks her out. With Janet clutching the Prism in her grasp, the Avengers call on their ally Doctor Don Blake to treat her, unaware that he is also their ally, Thor.

Changing into Thor to get there as quickly as possible, Don Blake begins examining Janet and discovers that the Power Prism has fused to her hand. This, and the fact that Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Quicksilver are unaccounted for the team realizes that they are going to need outside help to remove the Prism from Janet’s hand.

First, they pay a visit to Doctor Strange at his Sanctum Sanctorum, as he was one of the last people to battle Doctor Spectrum with the Defenders. He tells them that only the previous Doctor Spectrum would know how to remove the gem, but warns them that he cast a spell making the Squadron Sinister forget their super-human powers and identities and that, by making one remember the rest of the spell will break for all of them. Unfortunately, Strange cannot assist them as he is in the middle of training Clea, so the Avengers depart on their own.

The Vision, Black Panther, and Ms. Marvel venture to the Arnold Columbo Health Spa, where Hyperion has been working as a training instructor under the alias of “Mister Kant”. Their arrival comes at a time as Thundra is there seeking a job. Seeing the Avengers makes “Kant” remember who he really is and he and Thundra begin attacking the Avengers. For Hyperion’s part, he wishes to avenge the destruction of his atomic world that was destroyed during a cyclotron test.[4] Ultimately, it’s the Vision’s logic that wins the day when he convinces Hyperion that the scientists who destroyed his world were well-meaning and he should seek them out and educate them so they do not accidentally destroy another micro-world such as his own.

Meanwhile, Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Scarlet Witch go to Hudson Pharmaceuticals to seek out scientist James Sanders, aka the Whizzer. Like Hyperion, he remembers his past upon seeing this trio of Avengers as well. Although he has the advantage in battle with his super-speed, the Whizzer quickly loses it when the three Avengers use teamwork to take him down.

Lastly, the Beast seeks out Billy Roberts, the previous Doctor Spectrum. He is surprised to see that Roberts is a popular Christian Evangelist giving a sermon to a live audience at the Trinity Park Religious Revival. When the Beast meets with Roberts after the show, the Evangelist claims to have found God and is willing to help save the Wasp from the Power Prism. In reality, Billy Roberts lied in order to reclaim the Power Prism for himself. Becoming Doctor Spectrum again, Roberts begins attacking the Avengers. This prompts Don Blake to retreat and change into Thor. When the thunder god appears on the scene, the Power Prism abandons Roberts and imbeds itself into Mjolnir, taking control of Thor.

This also causes the prison holding the three captive Avengers at the bottom of the Atlantic to disappear. Luckily, Iron Man is able to pull Quicksilver and Wonder Man to dry land before they all drown. By this time, the other Avengers have been all knocked out by the Power Prism possessed Thor. When Iron Man arrives on the scene, he uses his knowledge of Thor’s double identity to separate Thor from his hammer for over a minute, triggering a transformation back to Don Blake.[5] When Mjolnir transforms back to a simple walking stick, the Power Prism is destroyed.[6] With the battle over and Janet saved, the Avengers all celebrate her birthday.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, the Vision, the Beast, Wonder Man, Ms. Marvel), Squadron Sinister (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer), Doctor Strange, Clea, Thundra

Continuity Notes

1. Hank mentions the recent defeat of the Squadron Sinister at the hands of the Defenders. This happened in Giant-Size Defenders #4.

2. It’s not really explained here, but the Power Prism is the prison of a Skrull named Krimonn after he failed to assassinate Emperor Dorrek. See Iron Man #65.

3. The Prism glosses over its time being used by the various men who operated as Doctor Spectrum. See Defenders #13-14, Giant-Size Defenders #4 (again), and Iron Man #65-66.

4. This “origin” for Hyperion was first detailed in Avengers #69-71, however, this is a bit of a deception. New Thunderbolts #15-16, Thunderbolts #102, 105-106, 108 reveals that this is actually a construct created by the Grandmaster based on the real Hyperion.

5. Iron Man and Thor deduced each other’s identities in Avengers #113.

6. This is the last we see of the Krimonn Power Prism. The one we see henceforth with future versions of Doctor Spectrum is part of the so-called Lifestone Tree. With was an amalgamation of various powerful gems. See Thunderbolts #44-46.