The Invasion of the Lava Men!

This is a reprint of Avengers #5

The Wolf and the Other

Now

At a Veteran’s Care Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, the elderly patients are watching TV coverage of the Avengers hunt for the Hulk.[1] The old man recognizes Cap from World War II. The nurse caring for him humors the old man, but despite his advanced age, he can remember that day clearly….

1944

A gore spattered Private Mauceri flees through the wilderness of Bastogne, Belgium, afraid for his life. When he hears a twig snap nearby he gives out his call sign. The responding passphrase is returned back to him. Emerging from cover are none other than Captain America and his partner Bucky. Noticing that Mauceri seems to be injured, Cap asks what happened to his unit. He tells them that they were all killed by a giant wolf. Neither Cap, nor the soldiers accompanying him buy the story. That is until they go back to the scene and find that all the soldiers in Mauceri’s unit were all slaughtered. Once again, he is asked what happened, and the Private explains they were attacked by a massive wolf the size of a Panzer tank.

The other grunts still think this is nonsense until one of them is attacked by the very creature that Mauceri described. Neither bullets nor Captain America’s shield can harm the beast. That’s when there sky is split by a bolt of lighting, followed by a storm. That’s when a man dressed in Viking garb appears before them and, speaking in a foreign language that none of them understand, he overpowers the wolf and carries it into the sky. What they couldn’t have known that this was Thor, the Asgardian god of thunder and the wolf the legendary Fenris of Norse Mythology. Mauceri, Cap, and Bucky are the only survivors and after everything they witnessed, Cap tells him he wasn’t a coward to run from the wolf.[2]

Now

The old man slumps in his wheelchair, whispering the last thing he remembers Captain America telling him: “You aren’t yellow”. As he nods off, it begins to rain and lightning can be heard crackling outside.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Bucky, Thor, Fenris

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers have been trying to capture the Hulk since he left the team in Avengers #2. This story would take place during the events of Avengers #5. That said, the old man remembering his encounter with Captain America during World War II presents some issues. See below.

2. It is interesting to point out that when Captain America was revived in the modern age in Avengers #4, he doesn’t remember meeting Thor in the past. Marvel Saga #1 states that years of suspended animation affected Captain America’s memories of his past, thus explaining how he doesn’t remember meeting certain characters prior to his revival in the present. You could also argue that because Thor was mostly obscured in shadow and was only present for a few moments, Cap didn’t have enough time to correctly identify him.

Topical References

• The TV in the veteran’s hospital is depicted as a CRT model television. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.

The Problem with Private Mauceri

As this story takes place during the Modern Age, retired soldier that recounts his encounter with Captain America in 1944 poses a problem. This is because the Sliding Timescale, which pushes the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time. A consequence of this is that the gulf of time between the end of World War II and the present day Marvel Universe will expand over time. While it would have been possible for a war vet from WWII to have still been alive when this story was originally published in 2007, it will eventually become impossible without some means of extending, slowing, or stopping the life span of the characters involved.

As a private in the military during World War II and being a one-off character for a minor story, it seems very unlikely that Mauceri would have gotten access to any of these means. As of this writing (August, 2024), Marvel has yet to provide an explanation for Private Mauceri being alive in the present day Marvel Universe. Given that he is a one off character likely means that they probably won’t either.

I think that this Mr. Mauceri is not the person who met Captain America in World War II, but is a descended from that person. This descendant served in the military and ended up in this veteran’s hospital. What he is remembering family history as opposed to memories that he lived himself. I think we could also go a step further and assume that due to this man’s advanced age he is misremembering the events as thought they happened to him. This is plausible given the fact that the other veterans in this story that are given dialogue are depicted as being in mental decline, with one of them asking a nurse if they are his son.