Avengers (vol. 3) #32
Behind the Masque!
Following their Maggia bust in Chicago, the She-Hulk is making her departure from the team now that the Vision has returned.[1] The Wasp, Scarlet Witch, and Jarvis see her out and as they are saying their goodbyes, the Black Widow shows up, having been summoned to the mansion by Iron Man. Natasha is then escorted downstairs where the rest of the Avengers are preparing for a meeting with SHIELD director Sharon Cater, and agent Jasper Sitwell to discuss matters surrounding the Maggia bust.[2]
Before the meeting, the Wasp asks Wanda if she has heard from Wonder Man recently. Wanda says that he hasn’t come back since his trip to Los Angeles, but she heard reports that he recently clashed with the Thunderbolts. Janet figures that Simon is busy and tells Wanda not to worry too much about it.[3] That’s when Jarvis tells Triathlon that there is a personal call from him. Heading into the comms room, Delroy takes a call from Jonathan Tremont, leader of the Triune Understanding. Tremont would like Triathlon to be present during a rally in Boston. However, Delroy says he has Avengers duty, even though he is a member of the Triune Understanding and he is grateful to Jonathan for giving him his powers, his first duty is to the Avengers. Warbird overhears this part of the conversation and wonders if the Avengers concern over Delroy being a spy for the Triunes was perhaps premature.[4] When Warbird joins the others, the Vision surprises everyone by asking Carol out on a date. Wanda, the Vision’s ex-wife, says she doesn’t have a problem with this, Carol decides to accept.[5] That’s when Jarvis informs them that Iron Man and the others are ready to meet.
Meanwhile, at a pub near Columbia University, a brawl has broken out when one of the patrons suggested that Franz Zernicke didn’t deserve the 1953 Nobel Prize in physics. The instigator, however, is a much better fighter than anyone else. The brawler is none other than Hank Pym, who is having the time of his life.[6]
Back at Avengers Mansion, the important meeting is finally under way. Iron Man reminds them all how their clash with the Maggia stated when the Grim Reaper called together all the regional leaders and suggest the consolidate power under his the command of his employer. In the aftermath of the battle, the Grim Reaper escaped before they could learn who he was working for. Additionally, Madame Masque seemingly died in the conflict. However, Iron Man is convinced that there is much more going on than meets the eye.
He starts with the death of Madame Masque, telling the Avengers that on three different occasions over the years the body of a woman has been recovered by authorities that he had been called in to identify. In every instance, they were all identical to Madame Masque.[7] Then there was the mystery woman named Masque who briefly held honorary Avengers status. That’s when the Black Widow takes over. Natasha recounts how Masque was eventually targeted by a robot calling itself Benedict. Having defeated the other Avengers in battle, the robot took Masque and gave the Widow a gold coin with encrypted data on it in exchange for the woman.[8] The coin contained information on all the Maggia crime families except for Madame Masque’s operation outside Las Vegas. This then brings them to the night before, when Madame Masque seemingly killed herself when the Grim Reaper took her hostage. Her final words to Tony were “she still loves you and needs your help.” Given everything they know now, Iron Man is absolutely certain that the original Madame Masque is somehow still alive.
Iron Man’s deduction is correct as, at that moment, Madame Masque has stepped up security at her secret Nevada facility. She is certain the Maggia meeting was targeting her specifically and now she has her minions working around the clock to find out who it is. She then orders Benedict and her other robotic guards to go over security details and make sure that her fortress remains secure and they can defend it should it come under attack. She demands perfection and will brook no failure.
As her minions get to work, Madame Masque sits down and reflects on her life and how she got to this moment. Things used to be simpler when she believed that she was Whitney Frost, daughter to wealthy financier Byron Frost. However, her whole world came crashing down when the Maggia crime boss Count Nefaria came to her and reveals that she was his daughter. She rejected him then, but when she told her fiancée about her past, he wanted nothing to do with her. With nothing left of her old life, Whitney underwent training to become Nefaria’s heir. She soon was given command of her own branch of the Maggia, which she operated under the alias the Big M.
After her men failed her, Whitney fled from the authorities, resulting in a crash that horribly scarred her face. She was found by Mordecai Midas who gave her the gold mask she would wear as Madame Masque. From there it was a series of betrayals, first Midas, then her former lover Jasper Sitwell. However, she thought she found true love from Tony Stark, who revealed to her that he was secretly Iron Man. However, this ended in betrayal in her eyes when her aging father reigned her back in. During a final battle against Iron Man, Count Nefaria died and Whitney left him.[9] Since then, Madame Masque had come to fear for her own mortality. From her secret base she created bio-duplicates to act as her proxies in the outside world. When one failed her, she had it eliminated and replaced with another.
Her most recent bio-duplicate managed to escape captivity before it was completely programmed. This Masque was then rounded up by Benedict and brought back where she has been held prisoner ever since. She now accuses Masque of betraying her to the Avengers, but the bio-duplicate insists that she didn’t do any such thing, saying that her mental imprinting was incomplete and that she went to the Avengers to help learn who she really was. When Masque reminds her creator of the love Iron Man has for her, Whitney rejects this idea. In fact, in her increasingly paranoid mind she has been led to believe that Iron Man’s recent battle with her seemingly resurrected father was nothing more than a ruse to try and lure her out of hiding.[10] Masque explains that her unique powers allowed her to imprint on those around her and she met Tony Stark and assures her that he means her no harm.[11] Whitney refuses to believe that.
Outside the hidden fortress, an aircraft carrying the Grim Reaper and an army of soldiers called Steelskulls arrives. As they deploy, the discover that the Avenger are there as well. As a battle breaks out between the two factions, Madame Masque sends out her army of robots — led by Benedict — to kill them all. However, the battle is soon interrupted by the arrival of Count Nefaria with the enslaved Wonder Man and Atlas. He chides the Avengers for interrupting what should be a family reunion.[12]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Iron Man, Goliath, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Warbird, Triathlon), Grim Reaper, Count Nefaria, Atlas, Madame Masque, Masque, Benedict, Black Widow, Sharon Carter, Jasper Sitwell, Jonathan Tremont, Yellowjacket, Edwin Jarvis
Continuity Notes
The Vision left in Avengers (vol. 3) #23 and resurfaced last issue. During a roster change in Avengers (vol. 3) #27, She-Hulk agreed to join on a temporary basis. Here, Jennifer mentions how the team recently clashed with the Hulk, that weirdly incestual conflict happened in Incredible Hulk Annual 2000.
Some facts about the two SHIELD agents video conferencing in with the Avengers:
At the time of this story, Sharon Carter had been appointed SHIELD director after Nick Fury. Fury took a leave of absence and appointed Sharon to be his replacement in Captain America (vol. 3) #31. Fury will return to the role in issue #45 of that series.
Jasper Sitwell is present because he had a relationship with Madame Masque, aka Whitney Frost, back when she was known as the Big M. Seeking to romance Tony Stark in order to steal his secrets, Whitney settled for Jasper when Stark wasn’t around. Although she originally posed as his girlfriend, she genuinely fell in love with him. However, when he discovered that she was a Maggia boss that ended the romance as Sitwell became committed to bringing her in. See Tales of Suspense #97-99, Iron Man and the Sub-Mariner #1, and Iron Man #1-8.
Wonder Man took a leave of absence in Avengers (vol. 3) #27. His trip to LA was chronicled in Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #1-3. However, Simon failed to return home last issue. His clash with the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #42 reveals that he has been enslaved by Count Nefaria. The Avengers will free him from Nefaria’s control in issue #34 of this series.
Triathlon’s origins and his membership in the Avengers is a complicated one
Per Avengers (vol. 3) #8-9, Delroy Garrett Jr. was a former track star that was disgraced after it was revealed that he abused steroids. Seeking spiritual guidance he joined the Triune Understanding. They then claimed to unlock his hidden potential giving him abilities three times that of the human peak. Avengers (vol. 3) #50 reveals that, in actuality, Tremont gave Delroy powers he stole from the hero known as 3-D Man.
The Triunes have been using their growing popularity to launch a smear campaign against the Avengers since Avengers (vol. 3) #15. This is all part of a plan to ruin the team, as Jonathan Tremont has had a prophetic vision that the team are part of what he calls the “Triple Evil” destined to doom the world. In reality ,this turns out to be an alien menace and the Avengers would be integral to stopping it, as we’ll see in Avengers (vol. 3) #41-54 and Annual 2001.
Facing increasing public backlash, the Avengers were forced to admit Triathlon on the team or else they would lose their security clearance in Avengers (vol. 3) #27. The Avengers have been suspicious that Delroy might be a spy for the Triunes. In his defense, Triathlon is unaware and ignorant to the religious order’s true plans for the Avengers.
The Vision and Scarlet Witch had been married for years, starting in Giant-Size Avengers #4. However, this came to an end after the Vision was disassembled and put back together again in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45, he was tripped of his capacity for emotion. He and Wanda have been estranged since Avengers . Although the Vision has had his emotions restored (TL;DR just check out Avengers Spotlight #40, Vision #1-4, and Avengers Annual 2001), he has deemed their marriage over since Avengers (vol. 3) #4.
How can Hank Pym be at Avengers Mansion attending a meeting and brawling a bar? Well, he was split into two distinct individuals after being exposed to a spell in Avengers (vol. 3) #28. One is the intellectual Goliath while the other is the emotional Yellowjacket. The two will remain separate until their declining health will force them to merge once more in Avengers Annual 2001.
These bodies that were allegedly Whitney Frost were recovered in Iron Man #245 and (vol. 3) #11 and 20. In two of the recorded instances it was a case of Madame Masque being assassinated by someone who then took her place. As we’ll learn later this issue, these were all bio-duplicates which she first began employing in Iron Man #138.
Masque first surfaced in Iron Man #320. Due to her shape-shifting ability (first seen in Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1), nobody could determine her true identity. She was captured by Benedict in Avengers #398-399 and was promptly forgotten until a competent writer came around to wrap up this dangling plot thread, I mean because the Avengers were caught up in both Onslaught and Heroes Reborn.
There is a huge exposition dump here, so lets get into the weeds and suss out the details:
Whitney’s origins, including the revelation that she was the daughter of Count Nefaria were all told in Iron Man #8. This was also when she was exposed as the Big M and had to flee from the authorities.
Whitney’s transformation into Madame Masque and her alliance with Mordecai Midas happened in Iron Man #17-19.
During the Midas conflict, Tony Stark and Whitney had a brief romance. Seeking to be near Tony, she disguised herself as Krissy Longfellow and got a job as Tony’s secretary in Iron Man #91. Her true identity was revealed in issue #99. Tony revealed his true identity to her in issue #104.
Frost was roped back into her father’s life in Iron Man #115-116, a conflict with Iron Man saw Count Nefaria seemingly killed, prompting Whitney to leave him. In reality, Nefaria would survive this encounter and has since resurfaced in Iron Man (vol. 3) #8. Something that Whitney will discover at the end of this issue.
Whitney is referring to the battle between Iron Man and Count Nefaria that took place in Iron Man Annual 1999. This was the real deal, as Nefaria was able to cheat death by becoming a being of pure ionic energy. A similar process was seen happening to Wonder Man during a period he was thought dead between Avengers #9 and 151, as explained in Avengers #164.
Technically speaking she imprinted on the teenaged Tony Stark of Reality-96020, who was brought to Earth-616 in Avengers: Timeslide #1 and took over as Iron Man when his adult counterpart was killed in Avengers #295. This occurred in Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1. Tony Stark-616 was resurrected between Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1 and Iron Man (vol. 2) #1, as explained in Avengers Annual 2001.
A note at the end of the story tells readers that if they are wondering where the Black Widow went between the meeting and the big battle to check out Thunderbolts #43. In that story she assists the Thunderbolts in stopping the Maggia from getting access to Baron Zemo’s ionic power process.