Nick Peron

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Avengers #397

Nick Peron

Crawling from the Wreckage

Credits

In the Canadian arctic, the gamma mutates known as Hotshot and Jailbait stand at the crater of a massive gamma bomb explosion wondering if the Hulk could have survived such a blast.[1] The pair are soon confronted by the Avengers — Black Widow, Masque, the Vision, and Swordsman — prompting the pair to try and flee. Their vehicle gets smashed by the Vision and a fight breaks out until Thor arrives and announces that the Hulk is dead, putting an end to hostilities.

Meanwhile, in the Grand Canyon, the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye were heading to California when their hex-ship was shot out of the sky. They survived the crash but are knocked out. Their unconscious bodies are soon found by a group of soldiers. Not far away, Giant-Man and the Wasp are in the area searching for their two missing friends.[2] Unable to find a trace of Wanda’s ship, they decide to circle around and sweep the area again.

By this time, the Avengers are heading south in their Quinjet with Hotshot and Jailbait. Along the way, they learn how the being known as Omnibus was responsible for the launch of the gamma bomb. Conferring with Thor, the Vision wonders if this Omnibus had anything to do with the temporary return of Thor’s godly powers.[3] The pair muse that hunting the Hulk is bringing the Avengers back to their roots, but Thor grimly points out that they are vastly different than in those early days and only blood will tell if they are getting back to the way things used to be.[4]

Meanwhile, the Black Widow and the Swordsman are trying to get answers from their two prisoners as to who Omnibus is and where he is located so they can prevent more gamma bombs from going off and potentially triggering a world war. Hotshot and Jailbait are somewhat tight lipped about this, explaining that Omnibus lives in a sanctuary with other gamma mutates and they are reluctant to reveal its location. However, they know the locations where Omnibus have planted other bombs, although the Widow questions how they could know such things.[5]

Back in the Grand Canyon, Hawkeye wakes up just moments before the soldiers follow through on their orders to kill the two Avengers. Tossing a smoke arrow, Hawkeye grabs the still unconscious Scarlet Witch and dives into the nearby river. Unfortunately, Clint can’t swim in the currents while carrying Wanda’s body. However the dive in the water wakes Wanda up and she quickly swims out to Clint before he is swept away in the rapids.

By this time, the Avengers have arrived in St. Louis, Missouri where Omnibus has planted another one of his gamma bombs. However, once they arrive, Hotshot steps on a trap that merges him with one of the Leader’s Humanoid androids. As it turns out, the artificial being is the gamma bomb and it is using Hotshot as its energy source. The Avengers leap into action but the Humanoid continues fighting even after Swordsman decapitates it. Luckily, the Vision is able to use his phasing power to pull Hotshot free. Masque then snags the android with a grapple line and uses the Quinjet to fly it into the upper atmosphere where it harmlessly explodes.

While at the Grand Canyon, the Scarlet Witch has pulled Hawkeye to shore and has begun performing CPR and gets him breathing again. Meanwhile, Giant-Man and the Wasp continues searching for their missing comrades. Along the way, the pair talk about Janet’s recent transformation into a more insectile form. While Hank had to do this in order to save her life, he vows to find a way to restore her back to normal.[6] Jan’s in the middle of telling her ex-husband that this is a conversation for later when she finally spots Wanda’s wrecked hex ship on the ground.

Simultaneously, the Avengers go to the site of the next gamma bomb, which had been planted at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. There they battle another Humanoid that can also transform into a tank. Before the bomb can go off, Thor uses Mjolnir to create a vortex to send the Humanoid into the upper atmosphere where the bomb safely detonates.

Finally, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch get the drop on the soldiers who have been hunting them. After the ambush, the troops are tied up and the pair start a campfire while they wait for rescue. The pair talk about their insecurities — Scarlet Witch always being part of a team, while Hawkeye feels like a perpetual loner — in the face of Iron Man’s betrayal, the two vow never to fall from grace like their former comrade had.[7] Soon, the pair are found by Giant-Man and the Wasp and taken back to Avengers Mansion. After a celebration, the Black Widow and Scarlet Witch go down to the med-lab to check on Jailbait and Hotshot, who were injured in the battle with the Humanoid. However, they discover the pair had fled while nobody was looking and the hope that they can trust that the citizens of Freehold will do the right thing and avenge the Hulk themselves.[8]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Black Widow, Swordsman, Masque), Riot Squad (Jailbait, Hotshot, Ogress), Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

  1. The Hulk was embroiled in a battle with Omnibus who launched a gamma bomb on him, see Cutting Edge #1 and Incredible Hulk #436-440. The Hulk did indeed survive but we won’t learn this until issue #443 of that series.

  2. Here, the narrative states that Giant-Man and the Wasp were once married. The couple tied the knot back in Avengers #60. Years later, Janet divorced Hank after he struck her in issue #213. Since then the pair have had an on-again-off-again relationship since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42.

  3. At the time of this story, Thor was stripped of most of his powers in Thor #491. They were temporarily restored in Incredible Hulk #440. His powers will remain diminished until Avengers (vol. 2) #10.

  4. The Hulk was a founding member of the Avengers in the 1st issue of their series but quit in Avengers #2. One of the Avengers early adventures involved trying to hunt down and contain the Hulk, as seen in Avengers #3.

  5. This sanctuary they are speaking of is Freehold, hidden in norther Alberta. It was established by the Leader in Incredible Hulk #400 as a safe haven by those transformed by gamma radiation.

  6. Janet was seriously wounded by Iron Man in Avengers #393 and, in an effort to save her life, Hank put her through the same process that first turned her into the Wasp back in Tales to Astonish #44. Janet then spun a cocoon which opened in Avengers #394 revealing that she had been transformed into a insectile form. This will remain the status quo until after Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1, Janet will be back to human form again in Avengers (vol. 2) #1.

  7. The whole situation with Tony Stark is quite complicated:

  8. The only person left in the lab is Moonraker a man they believe is Gustav Brandt, aka Libra of the Zodiac Cartel. Moonraker first appeared in Force Works #16 and was swept up in The Crossing where he was tortured before the Avengers rescued him. What they don’t know is Moony isn’t the real Gustav Brandt but, as per Avengers Forever #8, is actually a Space Phantom posing as Brandt as part of Immortus’ grand scheme. The real Brandt will resurface in Avengers Forever #1.