Avengers #215
All the Ways of Power!
Tigra has gone to the bank to cash her Avengers stipend cheque. What should have been a routine trip turns into a situation when some of the other patrons get a little too handsy with her. Realizing that her provocative outfit draws unwanted attention, Tigra goes shopping for some new street clothes. This makes her feel better especially after she choked under pressure during the Avengers recent battle with the Ghost Rider.
Tigra stops at a bar for a drink when she is approached by a man who tries to pick her up. Not liking the advances, Tigra wraps him up with the bar railing. Taking the subway, Tigra sits next to a man she thinks is a vagrant wearing strange chrome shoes. Tigra then comes to the rescue of a subway performer who is about to be roughed up by a person who doesn’t like his improvised drumming. She tosses the man out of the train at the next stop but has to abandon her newly bought clothes so she can move freely enough to leap back onto the train when it starts to leave without her.
The mysterious passenger that Tigra wrote off as a bum is actually the Silver Surfer who was observing humanity incognito. Having had his fill with humanity’s aggressive nature, the Surfer decides to go flying on his surf board. He is drawn out to the swamps of New Jersey where he senses a voice calling out to him. Following the source he finds a curious looking wand. The mind inside the wand tries to take over the Surfer’s body his cosmic nature blocks the attempt. When the Surfer tosses the wand away, the mind trapped inside is finally able to use its ability to rearrange molecules to create a new body for himself.[1] For the first time in years, the Molecule Man is free from his prison in his own body. The amazing feat prompts the Surfer to stick around and the pair exchange their own origins.[2]
Hearing how Galactus consumed worlds, the Molecule Man decides he’ll get his final revenge by consuming the Earth himself. To give himself a more regal appearance, the Molecule Man then uses his powers to fashion himself a helmet inspired by the one worn by Galactus. Realizing the Molecule Man is insane, the Surfer tries to stop him. Unfortunately, the Molecule Man manages to restrain the Surfer and escape. Unable to break free from the hardened soil, Norrin Radd sends his surfboard into the city to try and summon his allies the Fantastic Four.[3] Unfortunately, the team is away, but the free flying surf board is spotted by Tony Stark. Changing into Iron Man he collects the surf board and summons the rest of the Avengers.
Captain America, Thor, and Tigra meet up with Iron Man at Avengers Mansion. They follow the Silver Surfer’s board back to where he was restrained by the Molecule Man. Quickly freeing Norrin, the Avengers learn about the threat posed by the Molecule Man. Following the madman’s trail, they discover that Owen Reece has erected a transparent dome over a nearby city and constructed a massive fortress inside. Combining their powers the Silver Surfer, Iron Man, and Thor manage to crack the dome. This allows Captain America to use his indestructible shield to break an opening. However it only remains open long enough for Tigra to leap through before sealing back up. Tigra infiltrates the Molecule Man’s hideout but is quickly captured. She tries to use her feminine charms to try and convince Molecule Man into surrendering, but it doesn’t work because Owen’s mother warned him about women like Tigra.
Meanwhile, the other Avengers and the Silver Surfer have broken through the barrier and try to stop Molecule Man’s hideout. This fails when the Molecule Man uses his power to destroy Captain America’s shield, Thor’s hammer, the Silver Surfer’s board, and Iron Man’s armor. As he tries to restrain the heroes, Captain America leaps across the room and snatches Owen’s magic wand. This amuses the Molecule Man because the wand was merely a prop to channel his power. He then restrains the male heroes in a massive press. Tigra tries to plead for their lives but it falls on the deaf ears and the Molecule Man seemingly crushes the life out of her fellow Avengers and the Silver Surfer.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Tigra), Molecule Man, Silver Surfer, Ann Nocenti
Continuity Notes
The Molecule Man’s origins and years imprisoned in his wand for many years. Owen Reece got his powers in an atomic explosion back in Fantastic Four #20.
What Reece doesn’t know is that he was created by the Beyonders as a living bomb to destroy this universe — one of an infinite number of Molecule Men created to wipe out the multiverse once they get bored. This was revealed in New Avengers (vol.3) #33.
After getting his powers, the Molecule Man was spirited away to another dimension by the Watcher. Rapidly aging, the Molecule Man transferred his mind into his “magic wand” for a construct — his “son” — to take his place in Marvel Two-In-One #1.
While his “son” was destroyed, Owen’s mind lived on in his wand and over the last while was taking over the bodies of those who handle his wand as seen in Iron Man Annual #3, Fantastic Four #187-188, and Micronauts #23.
The Silver Surfer explains how he became a herald of Galactus to save his homeworld of Zenn-La and was later exiled on Earth after he betrayed his master to help the Fantastic Four save their world. See Silver Surfer #1 and Fantastic Four #48-50.
This story states that the Fantastic Four are away from the Baxter Building. As the team appears next issue, their previous chronological appearance was in Marvel Graphic Novel #1, during the funeral for Captain Marvel. Presumably, they hadn’t returned home following those events.
Topical References
This story states that the Avengers stipend is $1000 a week. This should be considered a topical reference due to inflation. For example, $1000 in 1981 money would be $3003 in 2021 money.
Tigra’s Avengers identification card is depicted as being signed by Ronald Reagan. Reagan was President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. The use of his name here should be considered topical since Reagan’s term is long over and he has been dead since 2004.
