The Coming of the…. Wonder Man!

This story is reprinted from Avengers #9.

He Made Her the Bait

After being given super-powers by Baron (Heinrich) Zemo, Wonder Man (Simon Williams) has been ordered to capture the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne). Simon knows this is wrong, and it twists in his gut. However, he has no choice but to do it because the process that gave him his powers will kill him in 24 hours unless Zemo gives him the antidote.[1]

He finds the Wasp as she is finishing her meeting with Dr. Swofford, who is unable to help with Wonder Man’s condition. As they are saying goodbye, a police officer is passing by on horseback. Simon creates a sonic boom that frightens the horse, causing it to bolt. The Wasp springs into action, shrinking down to size, and using her wasp’s sting to break the straps on the horse, allowing the officer to fall free. Wonder Man then swoops in and carries the horse high into the air before it can trample anyone or get hurt. Once the horse calms down, he returns to the street below.

Unaware of Wonder Man’s duplicity, Janet thanks Simon for the save. The crowd also cheers and some children ask for his autograph. This sudden fame via his association with the Avengers takes Simon back, making him feel even more guilty for what he is about to do. He and Janet go to the pier to get away from people and they get to talk about the Avengers. Simon admits that being seen as a hero is a good feeling, particularly since his crimes. He sees being on the team as a means of redeeming himself.

Despite his conflicted feelings, Simon has lured Janet to his rendezvous point and when Janet isn’t looking he signals the Masters of Evil. That’s when Baron (Heinrich) Zemo’s ship emerges from the water. Wonder Man then pulls a ray gun threatens to shoot her if she tries to use her Pym Particles to shrink. He apologizes for luring her into a trap and explains that he needs to betray the Avengers to Zemo in order to get the cure that will save his life. Janet is furious at this double-cross and unleashes on him with her wasp’s sting.[2] After successive blasts, she seemingly knocks Simon out. However, he is only playing possum to get her guard down. When she thinks he is down for the count, Williams bots up right and claps his hands together so hard it creates a sonic boom that knocks her out.

He then loads Janet into his ship, hating himself for what he has to do to save his life.

Recurring Characters

Wonder Man, the Wasp

Continuity Notes

1. As we saw in Avengers #9, Zemo’s ionic energy process was seemingly fatal. However, Wonder Man did not actually die in that story. As explained in Avengers #165, Simon didn’t die, but entered a death-like state as his body metamorphosized him into a being of pure ionic energy. He would later return to life in Avengers #151-152.

2. This story depicts Janet was firing energy based wasp stings from her hands. This conflicts with Tales to Astonish #57 which depicts Janet’s original wasp’s sting as a compressed air weapon. She wouldn’t get bio-blasts like they are depicted here until Marvel Team-Up #60. The last time her sting abilities were explained in detail was the Wasp’s profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #13, which makes reference to the compressed air weapons, so we can’t exactly write them off as a topical reference. One could assume that the depiction of bio-stings in this issue were either artistic license or a mistake. More over, as of this writing (August, 2024), this discrepancy has not yet been explained in an official capacity.