Last Stand on Long Island

At Cross Technological Enterprises, Hawkeye — the chief of security — goes outside to investigate what has set off the perimeter alarm. Outside he is shocked to find the Red Ronin robot has arrived outside the facility. The massive robot had been unleashed by rogue scientist Earl Cowan who intended to use it to trigger another world war. Opposed by the Avengers and SHIELD, Cowan was knocked out after giving the robot a command to destroy through the neural link and it now rampages out of control.

As Hawkeye wonders how he is going to deal with this threat, a Quinjet piloted by Wonder Man crashes into the Red Ronin’s head. This ditch effort fails and Wonder Man quickly gets Hawkeye up to speed on what’s going on. Soon, the SHIELD Behemoth helicarrier arrives and Captain America welcomes Hawkeye to join them on their mission to stop the Red Ronin. After spending time away from the Avengers, Hawkeye is eager to lend a hand.[1]

Boarding the helicarrier, the Avengers welcome Hawkeye back and then get to work with Nick Fury to figure out how to stop the Red Ronin. It’s during this strategy meeting that Wonder Man reveals that the Beast and Jocasta are somewhere inside the robot trying to shut it down from the inside.

At that very moment, the Beast and Jocasta are trying to make their way up to the Red Ronin’s cockpit but have been hampered by the robot’s internal defenses. Meanwhile, Cowan wakes up and is horrified to discover that his neural link to the Ronin was destroyed and it is now running out of control. As the Red Ronin crosses through Long Island, the Avengers and SHIELD resume their attack. This time, they manage to knock loose the Red Ronin’s shield which they then take control and use its built in laser sword to first destroy the Ronin’s hands, then cleave its torso from its legs. Despite being heavily damaged, the Red Ronin begins to crawl toward the Long Island Expressway.

Inside, the Beast and Jocasta reach Cowan and learn how he no longer has control of the robot. As Earl and Jocasta scramble to find a way to shut the Red Ronin down, the Beast saves the day by severing the robots power supply in the nick of time. With the Ronin deactivates, Earl Cowan is sent off to get psychiatric help and the remains of the robot are carted away by SHIELD.[2]

With the danger over, the Avengers return home where they find the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Donald Blake waiting for them.[3] They tell the team that Ms. Marvel — aka Carol Danvers — is somehow experiencing a rapid pregnancy.[4] While Carol is totally distraught, the team thinks of the coming child as a miracle and congratulate her even though this is totally tone deaf to the problem. After Blake sees Carol off to get some rest, the team waits around for more news on Carol’s condition. As they begin to consider the unanswered questions surrounding Ms. Marvel’s sudden and unnatural pregnancy, Don Blake comes bursting into the room to tell the team that Carol has gone into labor and it is unlike any other kind he has seen and doesn’t know if she’ll survive the experience.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Beast, Ms. Marvel, Jocasta), Red Ronin, Earl Cowan, SHIELD (Nick Fury), Donald Blake

Continuity Notes

1. Hawkeye was forced off the team when its membership was under the scrutiny of the NSA liaison, Henry Gyrich in Avengers #181. Trying to make it on his own, Hawkeye got hired on as chief security officer for Cross Technological Enterprises in issue #189.

2. This is not the last of the Red Ronin. It’s remains are later salvage and rebuilt by Stane International in Solo Avengers #15.

3. A number of points are made here that bare further explanation:

   • It states here that Wanda just came back from a leave of absence that started in Avengers #192. This was because she had been considering retiring from heroics to start a family of her own after learning her brother Quicksilver and his wife Crystal were expecting their first child, as seen in issue #188.

   • The Scarlet Witch is identified as Wanda Frank here. This is because at the time of this story, Wanda believes she is the daughter of Robert Frank, aka the Whizzer, as per Giant-Size Avengers #1. This proves to be incorrect and she is the daughter of Natalya Maximoff and an unidentified father as revealed in Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4 &12.

   • It’s stated here that nobody knows that Don Blake is also the Avengers ally Thor, except for Iron Man. Iron Man and Thor deduced each other’s secret identities in Avengers #133.

4. It’s explained next issue that Carol was plucked out of time by Marcus Immortus who gaslighted and raped her so he could be reborn into the timestream through her body. It’s as fucked up as it sounds.