Night of the Crawlers

The Avengers have returned home after defeating Ultron. Iron Man thanks the team for freeing him from the killer robot’s control. That’s when the Wasp realizes that Wonder Man and the Beast have not returned home yet and wonders where they are.

The two friends have been out drinking after Simon was fired from his most recent acting gig.[1] The pair have wandered into an unfamiliar neighborhood and realize that they’re lost. They ask some locals for directions and are attacked because the Beast is mistaken for something called a Crawler. They quickly realize their mistake and explain to them that the area has been terrorized by these creatures which have been robbing stores and kidnapping kids. When one of the youths suggest they get the Avengers help, their leader — Lenny — decides against it, saying they can defend their homes without their help.

That’s when Wonder Man and Beast are approached by a young girl named Juanita Lopez, who tells them that her little brother, Hugo, has been kidnapped by the Crawlers. She tells them that she last saw her brother going into the sewers with the monsters. That’s when Juanita’s mother comes to collect her daughter. Downplaying Hugo’s disappearance, she slaps Juanita for speaking out of turn. Simon and Hank are a little disturbed by the scene but decide to go looking for Hugo anyway.

When they enter the sewers, the two Avengers are ambushed by the Crawlers, bizarre yellow creatures. The fight is stopped by Hugo, who tells them that the Crawlers mean no harm. He also explains where the creatures came from: That they were an experiment to create anaerobic life forms for colonizing space. However, the project was scrapped and the scientists dumped their chemicals into the sewers instead of properly disposing of them. The mixture of chemicals and raw sewage is what brought the Crawlers to life and they have been going to the surface to gather food and supplies. Hugo knows all of this because the creatures can communicate telepathically. When Wonder Man and the Beast try to convince Hugo to return home, the boy refuses, hating his abusive home life and tells them he intends on staying in the sewers and living among the Crawlers.

However, the peace doesn’t last long as Lenny and his gang arrive and a fight breaks out. Seeing that it is not safe for Hugo to remain, the two Avengers force him to return to the surface. When they bring the boy home, Hugo’s mother slaps him across the face for running away she then tells Hugo’s rescuers to get lost, leaving Simon and Hank to wonder if returning the boy was the right thing.

Meanwhile, Lenny and his gang have broken into a construction site to get some dynamite and are heading back into the sewers to blow up the Crawlers once and for all. By this time, Wonder Man and Beast are trying to find their way back home when they are found by Juanita who frantically tells them that Hugo ran away from home again. The pair then race back down into the sewers to find Hugo. Their arrival coincides with Lenny’s attack on the Crawlers. They use dynamite to force the creatures to a sealed drain pipe they have rigged to explode. When the explosives go off, Hugo and the Crawlers are swept out into the river. Hugo’s final words to his sister is for her not to worry as he’s going to live with his friends. When they return to the surface, Juanita is found by her mother who is not happy her children left the apartment again. When Juanita tires to explain what happened to Hugo and that he is not coming back, her mother thinks it’s just as well as the boy was too much trouble. Her attitude disgusts the Beast who tries to scold the abusive woman, but Juanita tells them not to both and instead just remember that Hugo is the fortunate one.

Confused by this whole surreal experience, the two Avengers wander out of the neighborhood as the sun begins to rise. The next block over, they find a police officer and tries to convince him to investigate the Crawlers and the missing Hugo. However, when the cop insists that there were no reports of explosions the night before, it leaves Simon and Hank to wonder if what they experienced was real or not.

Later that morning, when the Wasp and Hawkeye wake up for breakfast, they find Wonder Man and the Beast sleeping on the couch. Unaware of their ordeals, the Wasp muses how they weren’t there to save the world but are sleeping like they did.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Beast, Jocasta), Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Wonder Man played the role of the dimwitted Mister Muscles on the Uncle Elmer Show in Avengers #194. He got fired from the show in issue #201.