Avengers/Invaders #9
Yesterday Gambit…
After being pulled into the future, American soldier Paul Anslem returns to 1943 with the Cosmic Cube. Arriving on the scene of battle in Monte Cassino, Italy, he uses the power of the Cube to save the lives of his fellow soldiers who were supposed to be killed in battle that day. This also saves the life of Union Jack (Brian Falsworth) of the Invaders, who was also shot, much to the relief of his sister Spitfire (Jackie Falsworth). Paul then uses the power of the Cube to smash the Nazi soldiers in his path. He sheds a tear of joy as he experiences what it is like to be a hero.
However, this comes to an abrupt end with the crack of a rifle. Shot, Paul drops the Cosmic Cube and is pulled off the battlefield as Nazi reinforcements arrive. He tries to tell his buddies to grab the Cube, but they can’t hear him over the din of attack as they retreat from enemy lines. Pinned down, Paul blames himself for what happened but Spitfire — unaware of what Paul is talking about — promises him that the Allies will win this war no matter what. As if in answer opposite to this, the Red Skull (Johanne Schmidt) arrives on the scene of the battle and recovers the Cosmic Cube. When one of the Nazis asks if it is a bomb, the Skull — instantly discovering the power of the Cube — says it can be any weapon he wishes it to be.
Later, the Invaders — Captain America (Steve Rogers), Bucky (James Barnes), Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Toro (Thomas Raymond), and the Sub-Mariner (Namor) — return 1943 in New York City along with the present day Avengers — Iron Man (Tony Stark), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)[1] of the Mighty Avengers and Luke Cage, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), and Wolverine (Logan) of the New Avengers — who have been sent back in time to prevent the erasure of their timeline.[2] They are horrified to discover that the Red Skull has used the Cosmic Cube to win the war for the Nazis, as evidenced by the fact that the Statue of Liberty has been replaced with one of the Skull brandishing the powerful device.
The three teams of heroes get under cover to get their bearings. Iron Man takes point and sends the Wasp to do some reconnaissance. However, the situation is obvious: They need to get the Cosmic Cube back from the Skull if they are ever going to set history back on its proper course. They need to get to Germany, but Stark suggests that the heroes from his time disguise themselves as superheroes from this era.[3] Toro offers his assistance in this endeavor since he is well versed in what the heroes of this time wear. Soon, the heroes from the future aid the Invaders in their new disguise by rescuing some prisoners in front of a firing squad on the former Liberty Island. Iron Man has disguised himself as the robot Electro, Ms. Marvel as the original Black Widow, Spider-Woman as the Silver Scorpion, while Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Wolverine are disguised as the Black Avenger, the Challenger, and Captain Terror respectively.[4] When they are in battle, Iron Man reminds everyone to play their parts to not give any hint that they aren’t who they say they are.[5]
As they fight with Nazi forces, the Human Torch and Toro bring down two blimps, giving them enough cover while Namor summons an Atlantean craft to pick them up. However, Captain America pauses to get one last look at New York to mourn what has happened to his home town. As they make their underwater getaway, they pass the severed head of the Statue of Liberty, upsetting Steve Rogers even more. He suggests that everyone get some rest while before they arrive in Europe.
Bucky retires to a private quarters and begins writing a journal about his experience through time so there is at least some record of what happened, even if it can never be read. After he is finished he checks on Cap to tell him that they have arrived at their destination and is surprised to see Steve praying at his bedside. When they surface, they discover that the shore is blocked with a massive defensive wall. Namor has learned that this is called the “Aryan Wall” and it stretches all across the European Coast and acts as the first line of defense of all the lands that Hitler has claimed as his own.
Meanwhile, the Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube to teleport himself to New York after reports of an attack there. Surveying the wreckage, he is told by the soldiers that they were attacked by the Invaders. The Skull is happy to hear that his hated enemies have returned as he was starting to grow bored.
Recurring Characters
Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, the Wasp, “Spider-Woman”), New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine), Invaders (Captain America, Bucky, Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, Spitfire, Union Jack), Paul Anslem, Nazis (Red Skull)
Continuity Notes
The woman who appears to be Spider-Woman here is actually a Skrull spy named Veranke, as will be revealed in Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, she took the place of the real Jessica Drew circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1. This is ahead of a planned invasion of Earth that will primarily take place in Secret Invasion #1-8.
Reality-616 was erased last issue due to the fact that history was changed in 1943. This new timeline will remain the status quo until the end of this series when everything is set right. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #1,this new timeline has been designated Reality-93198.
Spider-Man complains about how hard it is to sew a costume because he made his. This is true, as we saw back in Amazing Fantasy #15 among other retellings of Spider-Man’s origins. Per Spectacular Spider-Man #60, Peter used a pair of dance outfits (like the type worn by ballerinas) to make his original costume.
The Mighty and New Avengers are disguised as pre-existing characters from the Timely era of comics who, at the time of publication, had fallen into obscurity. They are:
Electro: A robot built by scientist Philo Zog that first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #4.
The Black Widow: Aka Claire Voyant, she was a murdered woman who was empowered by a demon claiming to be Satan and brought back to life to claim souls of those who had done evil. She first appeared in Mystic Comics #4.
Silver Scorpion: Aka Betty Barstow, she was a costumed crime fighter who first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #7.
Black Avenger: Aka Jerry Carstairs, first got his start as the Thunderer in Daring Mystery Comics #7. At the time of this story, Carstairs was believed to be an ordinary man that used a voice amplifier (hence his original name). However, Marvel Comics #1000 later reveals that he was also empowered with the Eternity Mask, granting him the equal strength of anyone he fought.
The Challenger, aka Bill Waring, whose District Attorney father was killed by the mob. Seeking justice, Bill underwent training under multiple disciplines to become the Challenger. He first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #7 as well.
Captain Terror: Aka Dan Kane’s career started during the Spanish Civil War where he developed the identity of Captain Terror. He later came out of retirement during World War II. He first appeared in USA Comics #2.
Luke Cage complains about having to dress up as the Black Avenger, and is told that he needed to disguise the fact that he is Black. What is implied here that there were no Black superheroes at the time, which is not entirely correct. There were actually two
The earliest Black superhero in this era was that of Slow Motion (Albert) Jones, a speedster that was partnered with the Whizzer (Robert Frank) during the war, he first appeared in USA Comics #6. However, his early appearances were as a comic relief character that would be considered racist by todays standards. He wasn’t recontextualized as a superhero until All-Winners Squad: Band of Heroes #1 which was published after this story.
The other was the Human Top, aka David Mitchell, a young man who was part of Bucky’s Kid Commandos, as seen in Invaders #27.
That said, one could assume that Cage didn’t assume either of these identities because Cage couldn’t imitate their speed based powers.