Avengers (vol. 3) #12
Old Entanglements!
The top story in the news are the recent activities of the Thunderbolts, a team of heroes that were recently outed as former members of the Masters of Evil. Despite this, the group has continued to operate as heroes, recently saving the world from Graviton. Even more astonishing is the recent recruitment of Hawkeye onto the team. The archer has appeared to have taken a leadership role on the team, leaving the media to wonder if he is working with the Thunderbolts of his own free will or if this is part of some sinister scheme.[1]
This news has Captain America concerned but when he tries to reach out to Hawkeye via his Avengers communi-card, there is no answer.[2] The team’s efforts to try and activate the locator on Clint’s card also fail. The Scarlet Witch worries for Hawkeye’s safety, but Cap assures her that they’ll find him. That’s when Hank Pym tells everyone that he has something to show them in the lab. Heading down there, the group is delighted to see that the Vision’s android body has finished repairs and he is now back on his feet again.[3] Wonder Man is particularly happy to see his “brother” is back up and walking and looks forward to spending time together now that he has returned from the dead.[4][5] Justice once more finds himself in awe over being a member of the Avengers among such legends. Firestar, however, wishes that her own problems could be as easily fixed as the Vision’s body.
That’s when Hank asks to speak to her in private. As everyone goes off on their own business, Wonder Man tells the Vision that he wants to go out and check out his old haunts in town. He apologizes when feels he crossed a line given the Vision’s marriage to the Scarlet Witch. The Vision assures Simon that his and Wanda’s union is all in the past and her current romantic relationship with him doesn’t bother him in the slightest.[6] They then go upstairs for some tea before Jarvis heads out to visit with Maria de Guadalupe Santiago, the child he sponsored for years.[7]
Meanwhile, Captain America and Justice head down to the training room for a practice session. Cap has noticed that Vance has often become starstruck since joining the Avengers and wants to help Justice get over this. He understands how the young hero feels, remembering what it was like when he first met President Franklin Roosevelt back in World War II.[8] While in the lab, Hank Pym runs another test on Firestar and explains that an irregularity in her mutant powers that are making her microwave powers affect her help. However, he has been able to develop a special high-tech mesh that she can wear under her costume to correct the problem so she is no longer at risk, telling her that she’ll have to wear it in six months. This is a godsend for Angelica who has feared that her activities of a superhero might make render her sterile and now her hopes of one day having children will no longer be in jeopardy.[9]
Back upstairs, Wonder Man is heading out to check out the city, leaving Wanda alone with the Vision. She tries to get him to talk about his feelings but he continues to push her away, but makes an off hand comment about how she is radiant as she was on the beaches of Rurutu.[10] Before Wanda can get him to explain himself further, the Avengers priority alarm goes off. It’s Hank again as he has finally managed to activate Hawkeye’s locator and he is at the location of one of the Avengers most deadly battles in the Arizona Desert, a place called the Dominus Base.
There, Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts have arrived outside the Dominus Base, hoping to convert it into the team’s new headquarters. As they arrive at its entrance, Hawkeye explains that the base was once used by a group of alien conquerors called the Arcane. He recounts how they sent a number of operatives to try and take over the world and they used this location as the base of operations. The first such invader was named Lucifer and he had clashed with the likes of the X-Men, Iron Man, and Captain America. After his many failures, he was replaced with Dominus whose own attempts to conquer the Earth were thwarted by the West Coast Avengers. Although Dominus manage to evade capture, the facility is still pretty much intact and ripe for the picking.[11]
The group begins making their way down into the Dominus base and split up to look around to see if the facility will suit their needs. During her search, Songbird ends up running into the Avengers who demand that she take them to Hawkeye right away. Instead, Songbird attacks the Avengers and she is soon joined by her fellow Thunderbolts.[12] As the battle rages, Captain America notices that the Thunderbolts are a more cohesive fighting team this time around and recognizes some of their maneuvers. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch is trying to reach out with her powers and determine if the Thunderbolts are being mind controlled.[13] She is interrupted by Hawkeye, who assures her that everything is on the up-and-up and the pair head off to stop the battle between the two teams. With the battle over, Hawkeye explains that he has taken on a leadership role of the Thunderbolts to teach them how to be true heroes, pointing out that his doing so isn’t any different when Cap accepted him, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver onto the Avengers many years earlier.[14] When Cap brings up the fact that Mach-1 has committed murder in the past, Hawkeye explains that he convinced Abner to turn himself in.[15]
Suddenly, the entire complex around them begins to shake as it transforms into a massive robot called Dominex. It is the final failsafe of the Arcane’s invasion plans for Earth. Upon Dominus’ failure Dominex was supposed to activate and destroy the planet, but damage done to its circuits prevented it from doing so until the Thunderbolts came poking around. Catching both teams off guard, it uses its somni-ray to knock them all out.
A few hours later, the Avengers are awoken by Firebird who came looking for them after learning how Dominex was unleashed. She explains that the Thunderbolts woke up before them and headed off to try to stop the massive robot on its own. The Avengers soon catch up with the Thunderbolts who have been unsuccessful in stopping Dominus from reaching toward the Murray Fracture Zone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There, it intents to crack open the tectonic plates causing a massive ecological disaster that will plunge the entire planet in a nuclear winter that will kill all life on the planet. The Thunderbolts manage to get inside Dominex and try to find some way internally to stop the robot. Meanwhile, the Avengers call in help from Hank Pym and Tony Stark, who begin trying to come up with a way to get through the robot’s impenetrable armor.[16]
While the two scientists are trying to come up with a solution, the Scarlet Witch decides to take the opportunity to talk to the Vision about their earlier discussion. She has come to realize that the Vision is feeling emotions again and has been pushing her away despite them. He tells her that he wants Wanda to be happy and he can see that being with Simon Williams is what’s good for her.[17]
With time running out, Hawkeye orders Moonstone to use her powers to alter her costume to resemble the one worn by Dominus in an effort to trick Dominex into standing down. This doesn’t work as the robot is now struggling to resist the contradicting orders to his programming. This does buy both teams some more time, however pulling data from Dominex proves to be difficult as there is some kind of interference. The Vision deduces that the best way to get past it, is by using his phasing powers on the robot’s outer shell, even though this might cause him to be vibrated to pieces as Dominex begins trying to shatter the tectonic plates. This gambit pays off and Hank and Tony are able to locate the robot’s central power source. Relaying this information to the Thunderbolts, they are able to destroy Dominex’s power supply, rendering the robot harmless.
In the aftermath of the battle, Captain America thanks Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts for their help and decides that — at least for now — he can trust them to do the right thing. Hawkeye promises he’ll make the Thunderbolts into something special but, not wanting the Avengers constantly snooping into their business, Clint snaps his Avengers ID card in half before departing. As the Thunderbolts depart, Cap and the others decide to trust Hawkeye and hope that the Thunderbolts stay on the straight and narrow.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Justice, Firestar), Thunderbolts (Hawkeye, Atlas, Jolt, Mach-1, Moonstone, Songbird), Firebrand, Megan McLaren,
Continuity Notes
And we open with a Thunderbolts exposition dump. Here are the facts as they were when this story was published:
When they first formed in Thunderbolts #1, the group were all former members of the Masters of Evil. They were trying to capitalize on the loss of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1 in order to try and take over the world.
When Baron Zemo finally attempted his domination plot in Thunderbolts #12, it was following the events of Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, and the Avengers were back just in time to stop Zemo. Although the Baron’s plot was foiled, the Thunderbolts actually began to enjoy being heroes and continued to operate as such.
The Thunderbolts battle with Graviton was chronicled in Thunderbolts #17.
Their victory of Graviton piqued Hawkeye’s interest and he quit the Avengers to find out if the Thunderbolts were actually on the up and up in Avengers (vol. 3) #9. He then joined the group as their leader in Thunderbolts #20-21 in order to guide them into becoming better heroes.
Captain America recalls the last time he and Clint spoke. This was in Iron Man Annual 1998.
The Vision’s body was severely damaged during a battle with Morgan le Fay back in Avengers (vol. 3) #3 and has been undergoing delicate repairs since that moment.
Wonder Man was killed in action during a battle with the Kree in Force Works #1. Wanda had been using her powers to briefly bring him back to life since Avengers (vol. 3) #2, but finally succeeded in fully resurrecting him last issue.
Wonder Man refers to the Vision as his brother because the pair share brain patterns. It’s really complicated so be prepared to take notes as there will be a test after:
When Simon Williams was first turned into Wonder Man in Avengers #9, the process was believed to be fatal. Unable to find a cure, Simon seemingly died and the Avengers made a copy of his brain engrams in the event that they might be able to revive him at some future date.
These brain engrams were stolen by Ultron, who used them to created the Vision’s personality as seen in Avengers #56-57 and 134-135.
Simon Williams eventually returned to life in Avengers #151. He eventually came to accept the Vision as his brother in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #2/Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2.
For a time, the Vision’s emotional capacity was wiped out and he got new brain engrams, but a computer virus made the Simon Williams one come back. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45, Avengers Spotlight #40, Vision #1-4, and the Vision profile of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #13 for all the deets.
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch got married years earlier in Giant-Size Avengers #4. However, they became estranged after the Vision was disassembled and had his mind wiped in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45. The Vision has been pushing Wanda away since Avengers (vol. 3) #4. She decided to follow through on her long denied feelings for Simon Williams last issue after she brought him back from the dead.
Maria, aka Silverclaw, was a child that Jarvis has sponsored for years, dating back to before the formation. Now a young woman, she has come to America to study at Empire State University, as seen in Avengers (vol. 3) #8-9.
As detailed in Captain America #255, President Roosevelt first met Captain America shortly after he was created in Captain America Comics #1. In fact, the President was the one who first gave Steve his revised costume and trademark circular shield.
Back in New Warriors #63-64, Firestar learned that using her microwave powers at full intensity put her at risk of becoming sterile. This issue became known to the Avengers back in Avengers (vol. 3) #7 and Hank offered to try and help her with her condition in issue #10.
The island of Rurutu is where Wanda and the Vision spent their honeymoon after getting married, as seen in Avengers #116.
Hawkeye recounts all of the incidents involving Lucifer and Dominus. These battles were chronicled in X-Men #9, 20-21, Iron Man #20 and Captain America #177-178. The West Coast team fought Dominus in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-24. Hawkeye also mentions how Hercules busted up the Thunderbolts previous headquarters. This was in Thunderbolts #22.
During the fight, Wonder Man refers to Atlas as a pale imitation of himself. Erik Josten got his original powers from the same process that turned Simon Williams into Wonder Man, see Avengers #21. Some years after the fact, Josten was given additional size changing powers by Doctor Malus, as seen in Iron Man Annual #7.
Wanda recounts how she used her powers in a similar fashion to reveal that the Squadron Supreme were being mind controlled. This was in Avengers (vol. 3) #6.
Early in his career, Hawkeye was duped into working with the Black Widow who was a Russian spy at the time, as seen in Tales of Suspense #57, while Wanda and her brother Pietro were founding members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants back in X-Men #4. All three joined the Avengers in issue #16 to atone for their past crimes and became heroes in their own right.
Jenkins, as the Beetle, murdered a scientist named Dr. Jared Goulding in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #3. Hawkeye convinced Abner to voluntarily turn himself in circa Thunderbolts #22. He will begin serving his sentence in issue #26 and will continue to serve until issue #33 of that series.
Tony Stark is not present as Iron Man here because he is still recovering from injuries he sustained when he was beaten within an inch of his life by the Espionage Elite. See Iron Man (vol. 3) #8-10.
It’s interesting to note here that the Vision mentions the children he and Wanda had. Billy and Tommy Maximoff were created by magic in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3 and Wanda gave birth to them in issue #12 of that series. Later, it was revealed that the children were a figment of Wanda’s imagination that were brought to life using fragments of Mephisto’s soul. They were erased from existence during a battle against Master Pandemonium in Avengers West Coast #51-52. Agatha Harkness then used her magic to erase all Wanda’s memories of their children and the Avengers all agreed to to bring it up. In fact, when the Wasp accidentally mentions it later it causes Wanda to go mad and turn against the Avengers, as seen in Avengers #500-504. One could assume that since the Vision doesn’t go into specifics here that Wanda continues to forget that she had children.