Avengers (vol. 3) #78
Lionheart of Avalon, Part 2
The Avengers have come to England to track down and apprehend the Wrecking Crew. As She-Hulk searched town for the villains she briefly got distracted helping emergency crews extract a person trapped in their car after a car accident. Seeing the Wasp shoot up to giant size and trip and fall, Jennifer asks the rescue crews to step it up because she’s needed elsewhere.
Indeed, the rest of the team — Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Wasp — have found the Wrecking Crew and the super-strong criminals are more powerful than they can handle. Despite this, when Kelsey Lehigh and her children (Martin and Jenny) are in the path of Thunderball’s wrecking ball, he uses himself to shield the blow. While Cap’s shield takes the brunt of the blow, it has enough force to send him crashing through a wall and break his jaw.
When Thunderball goes to make the killing blow, Kelsey picks up Captain America’s shield and protects the hero as he had just done her. She then tells her children to run for cover. Thunderball, meanwhile, is impressed with Kelsey’s bravery. When he quotes a line William Shakespear’’s Henry VI, he is surprised when she knows the response. However, when Thunderball refuses to give up trying to kill Captain America, Kelsey vows to keep standing her ground.
Unaware of Cap’s situation, Hawkeye stands off against the Wrecker and Piledriver who are still trying to steal money from an armored truck. When Piledriver starts talking about their employer, the Wrecker tells him to keep his mouth shut.[1] When Hawkeye threatens to shoot them with his arrows, they scoff at him. However, when he fires, they are surprised when the arrows are able to pierce their skin.
That’s when She-Hulk finally arrives on the scene and is drawn by the cries of Martin and Jenny Lehigh. She is shocked to see that Kelsey is still standing her grown and shielding Captain America from Thunderball’s blows. Surprised that she is still standing after so many hits, Thunderball demands to know who she is. Kelsey simply replies that she is a mere housewife before she collapses on top of Captain America. When Thunderball prepares to swing his weapon again, it’s grabbed by She-Hulk. She hits him with a blow strong enough to send him crashing into a number of parked cars.
With the danger over, the Lehigh children race to their mother’s side however she and Cap are still unconscious. The Wasp — who Cap had been protecting since her sudden size changing made her pass out — is perfectly fine and resumes giant-size so she can carry the injured back to Tony Stark’s British estate for medical attention.
She-Hulk then invites the children to accompany her and Hawkeye back to the Stark estate. Rounding up the defeated Wrecking Crew, She-Hulk puts them in containment cells aboard their Quinjet and takes off. While Martin is overjoyed to be hanging out with his favorite superheroes, Jenny is worried about her mother.
By the time the Quinjet is touching down, Captain America and Kelsey are in the medical bay where the Scarlet Witch and the resident medic have gotten a look at them. The doctor confirms that Captain America has suffered from a broken jaw. Luckily, Wanda is able to use her hex powers to heal it. When Steve wakes up, he asks how the Kelsey is doing as she saved his life. That’s when Wanda gives him the bad news: Kelsey Lehigh died before they even arrived.[2]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp/Giant-Woman, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk), Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Bulldozer, Piledriver), Black Knight, Kelsey Lehigh, Martin Lehigh, Jenny Lehigh
Continuity Notes
As we’ll learn in Avengers (vol. 3) #80, the Wrecking Crew are all pawns of Morgan le Fay. In fact, Thunderball has been possessed by her evil Black Knight.
Kelsey’s sacrifice will result in her being chosen by Brain Braddock to become the new Captain Britain as we’ll see in Captain America (vol. 3) #80.
Topical References
When Hawkeye asks the Wrecking Crew if they have ever seen Robin Hood, Piledriver asks if he means the lousy one with Kevin Costner, aka 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Hawkeye says he means the one with Errol Flynn, aka 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood. The reference to the Flynn version of the film would not be considered topical as it is a classic film. However, the Costner film is mentioned here because it was the most recent (serious) adaptation of Robin Hood at the time (there was 1993’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but that was a parody of the Costner film). As such, the reference to the 1991 film would be considered topical as there are more contemporary versions that have since been released that are equally as bad in 2009, 2010, and 2018. They probably won’t stop either since the story is in the public domain.
When hearing how Martin likes American superheroes, Hawkeye remarks that it is hard to tell what the rest of the world thinks of America these days. This story was written in the aftermath of 9/11 and following the War in Iraq. As such, the context of this comment is in reference to the backlash against the United States regarding their invasion of Iraq. It was a complex issue at the time, but needless to say, the global opinion of the USA was tarnished in some places as a result. That said, the context of this comment should be considered topical and Hawkeye’s statement should be considered a general one, as opposed to something associated to a real life event.
Hawkeye promises the children that they will get back to Stark’s British mansion faster than they can say “Ginny Weasley”. Ginny Weasley is a character in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of novels. At the time of this story, the series was at the height of its popularity. This reference should be considered topical.
