Nick Peron

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Avengers: Finale #1

Nick Peron

Finale

Credits

The Avengers have been decimated by one of their own, the Scarlet Witch.[1] As the fires have been put out, and the dead have been buried, Tony Stark has called a meeting of all available members of the team, past and present, to discuss the future.

Arriving at the ruins of the mansion are Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, aka Yellowjacket and the Wasp. They are surprised to see that Tony hasn’t started repairs on the mansion. Still, Janet finds the ruins somehow beautiful despite itself. On the other hand, Hank doesn’t know what to say about it.

Inside the ruined building is an assembly of Avengers. Some in costume, some not. They include Captain America, Tony Stark, Quicksilver, Wonder Man, the Beast, Warbird, Jennifer Walters, Sam Wilson, and Kelsey Lehigh. With them is Jarvis, the Avengers long time butler who is wiping down surfaces until Cap gets him to stop, telling him it won’t be necessary. The Beast is sharing a story about Hawkeye, and how for the longest time he would argue with Captain America frequently, often being contrary just for the sake of disagreeing with Cap.[2] Everyone is happy to see Janet, who has been recovering since she was injured. Jan notices that Jennifer isn’t in her She-Hulk form. Jen explains that after her mindless rampage during the Scarlet Witch’s attack, she thought doing so would be in poor taste.[3] She feels very bad about how she ripped the Vision in half during the battle, but the others assure her that it wasn’t her fault because she was under the control of the Scarlet Witch.[4]

With everyone having arrived, Tony Stark thanks them all for coming as he wants to discuss the future of the Avengers with them. The first thing Tony tells them is that he has been able to re-establish his secret identity and but did not want to keep this from the rest of the team.[5] Stark also has some unfortunate news, due to the damage Wanda had done to Tony’s reputation and thus his business, he can no longer afford to fund the Avengers, repair the mansion, or finance operations.[6] He won’t even be able to repair the damage done to the mansion. However, after he guts all the sensitive equipment, Tony believes that it will serve as a fitting monument to the Avengers destruction.

This deeply upsets everyone and Warbird admits that she isn’t sure if she’ll ever be able to forgive Wanda for what she has done. When the others say that Wanda would forgive, Carol refuses to believe that. That’s when Quicksilver arrives on the scene and says that his sister would forgive them, that she loved them all. He explains that he was vacationing in Greenland when Wanda attacked the Avengers, and the Quicksilver they saw in battle was apparently a duplicate created by Wanda.[7] When they ask where Wanda is, Pietro tells them that she is with their father, Magneto and Charles Xavier who are working to restore her damaged mind.[8][9] He believes that even if they manage to heal her, she will never be the woman she once was after realizing what she has done. Quicksilver then apologizes for what happened and then speeds off before the others see him start to cry.

As they assess the damage that Wanda has caused them, Sam realizes that nobody has heard from Thor since everything went down. This leaves them to wonder if Wanda’s reach could have extended all the way to Asgard.[10]

With that, Carol asks the others if that’s it and the Avengers are done. For Jennifer Walters it is, after she lost control she feels like she failed the team. While she loves them all, she is done with the Avengers, and leaves.[11] Hank and Janet are also leaving, Hank has taken on a fellowship at Oxford and Jan is coming along to give their relationship one more shot.[12] Sam says that he is also leaving for personal reasons and thinks that he might also be retiring as the Falcon all together.[13] Kelsey then thanks the Avengers for helping her out when she first became Captain Britain, but even though she was only with the team for a short time she too is saying farewell and leaves.[14]

The remaining Avengers then decide to share their best Avengers moment. For Tony Stark, it will always be the day when the Avengers first banned together to fight evil, he still looks back fondly to those exciting early days. For Janet, it was the day they found Captain America and thawed him out after being frozen in suspended animation for decades. For Hank, it is surprisingly a moment he wasn’t involved in, the Kree/Skrull War, saying that that battle exemplified everything that was good about the Avengers. Wonder Man says that he’ll always remember the love between the Scarlet Witch and the Vision, even after everything that has happened. The Beast recalls the battle against Michael Korvac, where nearly every Avenger at the time stood up and defeated a man with the power of a god. Carol’s moment is also one she wasn’t personally involved in, saying that she enjoys hearing stories about the time the Avengers beat Thanos for the first time. For Jarvis is was when the Avengers stood their ground when the mansion was under siege by the Masters of Evil. Even though he himself was injured in that conflict, the dutiful butler will always remember how the team forced back the enemy. Falcon’s fondest memory was a moment he wasn’t involved in either, and that was when the Avengers recently took down Ultron once and for all.[15]

When it is Captain America’s time to speak, he says he cherishes everything as the Avengers were a major part of his life since he was revived in the present day. By this time, Jarvis has passed around glasses and Cap suggests that they propose a toast to all the Avengers who have fallen over the years. [16][17]

Emptying their glasses, the Avengers all head outside and are shocked to discover that a large crowd has formed outside the mansion holding a quiet candle light vigil to honor Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Wonder Man, Warbird, Falcon, She-Hulk, Captain Britain), Edwin Jarvis, Quicksilver, Beast

Continuity Notes

  1. The Scarlet Witch went off her nut and attacked her own teammates. Resulting in casualties and the destruction of the Avengers. See Avengers #500-503.

  2. Hawkeye was one of the Scarlet Witch’s victims, killed during a fake Kree invasion in Avengers #502. Back when he first joined the Avengers in Avengers #16, he frequently butted heads with Cap over leadership decisions. However, the two eventually grew to respect one another.

  3. The Scarlet Witch caused She-Hulk to go berserk, injuring the Wasp in the process, as seen in Avengers #500-501.

  4. The Vision was ripped in half in issue #500.

  5. At the time of this story, Tony Stark had his double-identity unintentionally revealed to the public in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55. After his battle with Clarence Ward in Iron Man (vol. 3) #86-89, Tony decided to let the world believe he was stepping down as Iron Man to focus on his company, claiming that there would be someone new in the armor. Tony will drop this pretense once more during Civil War #1-7.

  6. Around the time of this story, Tony Stark was appointed as US the Secretary of State as of Iron Man (vol. 3) #79. However, the Scarlet Witch made him drunk at a UN meeting where he recommended the wipe Latveria off the map. Due to this disgraceful incident, Tony was fired from his job. Both that and his clash with Clarence Ward had a negative impact on his business. Although Tony will be unable to fund the Avengers in this form, he will be able to start up a new more tightly knit team in New Avengers #1.

  7. We briefly saw this phony Quicksilver in Avengers #502.

  8. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s status as mutants and their relation to Magneto have since been revealed to be falsehoods. The details:

    • Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5 reveals that the pair were kidnapped as children and experimented upon by the High Evolutionary when they were just babies. In order to cover up his work he made genetic tests have the twins register as mutants.

    • The pair were also led to believe that Magneto was their father in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. This has since been revealed to be false. Their mother is Natalya Maximoff per Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3. As of this writing (February, 2023), the identity of their biological father is unknown.

  9. Magneto took Wanda from the Avengers in issue #503. He took her to Genosha for treatment, as seen in Excalibur (vol. 3) #10-11.

  10. Thor is not present because he seemingly perished along with the rest of the Asgardians in Ragnarok in Thor (vol. 2) #82-85. He will return from the dead in Thor (vol. 3) #1.

  11. Jennifer will go back to focusing on her law practice starting in She-Hulk #1. Despite the fact that she says she is done with the Avengers she will eventually rejoin the team, as we’ll see X-Men Legacy #266.

  12. Hank and Janet have been a couple for a long time starting in Tales to Astonish #44. They got married in Avengers #60, divorce after Hank hit her in Avengers #213. They had been on-and-off for years. Most recently they have been off since Avengers (vol. 3) #79. Things don’t work out for Hank and Jan, as we’ll see in Mighty Avengers #15.

  13. Wanda had messed with Falcon’s mind, causing his “Snap” Wilson persona to come back, as seen in Captain America and the Falcon #5-7. He’ll have his life sorted out by issue #10 of that series, no retirement required.

  14. Kelsey’s transformation into Captain Britain and her joining the team was chronicled in Avengers (vol. 3) #77-81. From here she will change her name to Lionheart after Brian Braddock returns to Earth and resumes the mantle of Captain Britain. She will be embroiled in Excalibur’s conflict with the evil Brian Braddock known as Albion. See New Excalibur #4-5 and 18-24.

  15. We get a trip down memory lane of some of the Avengers greatest hits. The moments mentioned are:

16. Of all of the Avengers are handed a glass of whiskey except for Iron Man and Warbird. This is because both are recovering alcoholics. Stark’s troubles with alcohol were first explored in Iron Man #128, while Warbird’s struggles began in Avengers (vol. 3) #4. This toast raising scene was later repurposed to Marvel Comics to memorialize George Pérez when he passed away in May 2022.

17. Each of person toasts to a different Avenger that was deceased at the time this story. They include:

  • Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, who we covered above alreaday. He’ll be resurrected in House of M #1-8.

  • Ant-Man, aka Scott Lang, was seemingly killed in an explosion in Avengers #500. In Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5 we learn that Scott was actually pulled forward in time by the Young Avengers.

  • Vision, who we also covered. The Vision will be resurrected in a way when his mind is downloaded into Iron Lad’s armor. Becoming sentient and taking on a form similar to the Vision as seen in Young Avengers #5. This copy of the Vision’s mind was destroyed later on in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #9. The true Vision will eventually be repaired in Avengers (vol. 4) #19. As per issue #503, the Vision’s betrayal, the Ultron duplicates, and She-Hulk’s transformation into a savage are all more examples of Wanda’s powers being used against the Avengers.

  • Captain Mar-Vel: He died of cancer in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. Other than some minor resurrections in Dead Avengers #1-3 and Secret Avengers #26-28, he remains among the deceased, time of this writing.

  • Jack of Hearts, aka Jack Hart, After going critical mass and exploding in Avengers (vol. 3) #76, he was briefly resurrected in issue #500 to blow up Ant-Man. He will be restored to life in Marvel Zombies Supreme #2.

  • Swordsman, aka Jacques Duquesne, sacrificed his life and is noted as the first Avenger to truly die in battle, as seen in Giant-Size Avengers #2. He too was briefly resurrected in Dead Avengers #1-3, and remains among the deceased as of this writing.

  • Mockingbird, aka Bobbi Morse, was believed to have been killed by Mephisto in Avengers West Coast #100. In reality, this was a Skrull spy who took her place circa issue #91 of that series. The real Bobbi will be rescued in Secret Invasion #8. The details of her abduction and replacement are detailed in New Avengers: The Reunion #2.

  • Yellowjacket, aka Rita DeMara, she was killed by a brainwashed Iron Man in Avengers: The Crossing #1. She will also be briefly resurrected in Dead Avengers #1-3. She still remains among the deceased.

  • Doctor Druid, aka Anthony Druid, was killed in Druid #1-4. After various brief resurrections (Avengers (vol. 3) #10-11 and Dead Avengers #1-3) He’ll cheat death in Squadron Supreme (vol. 4) #4.

  • Whizzer, aka Robert Frank, an honorary Avenger, he eventually died of a heart attack in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2. He remains among the deceased.

  • Two-Gun Kid, aka Matt Hawk, after two trips to the present day will die in the late 1930s as will be depicted in Marvels Project #1.

  • Gilgamesh the Eternal was seemingly slain by Neut, a minion of Immortus in Avengers #391. He like many seemingly deceased Eternals will get resurrected. He’ll turn up again in Eternals (vol. 4) #3.

  • Marrina seeingly perished at the end of the Ebony Blade in Avengers #293. However, her body was recently seen in the Master of the Earth’s lair in Avengers (vol. 3) #47. She’ll be fully brought back to life in Dark Reign: The List - X-Men #1.

  • Thunderstrike, aka Eric Masterson, died in battle with Thor after being corrupted by the Bloodaxe in Thunderstrike #24. He will be briefly resurrected in Avengers (vol. 3) #10-11, and in Strange (vol. 3) #1-2. He also remains among the deceased.

Avengers Disassembled Reading Order

Iron Man (vol. 3) #84-85, Thor (vol. 2) #80-81, Captain America and the Falcon #5, 6, 7, Captain America (vol. 3) #29, Avengers #500, 501, 502, 503, Iron Man (vol. 3) #86, 87, 88, 89, Captain America (vol. 3) #30, 31, 32, Fantastic Four #517, 518, 519, Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, Thor (vol. 2) #82, 83, 84, 85, Avengers Finale #1, New Thunderbolts #1