With Friends Like These!

Seeking help to restore her husband’s emotional state, the Scarlet Witch makes an emotional appeal to the Black Panther who is visiting Avengers Compound. However, T’Challa doesn’t think that the Vision really needs any help whatsoever since he doesn’t seem that much different than when they last met. This insults Wanda who storms out, leaving Hank Pym to explain how the Vision had embraced his human emotions until he was recently disassembled and rebuilt without a personality.[1]

On her way out, Wanda bumps into Wonder Man — the last person she wants to see after he refused to offer up his brain engrams to restore the vision.[2] Hurt by Wanda’s refusal to talk, Simon goes to the Wasp for advice. He interrupts her training session to tell her what’s going on. However, Janet already knows the truth — Simon is in love with Wanda — and this is why he refuses to help restore the Vision. He never followed these emotions before since Wanda and Vision were in love, but now he finds himself conflicted over this now that the who the Vision was no longer exists. Janet figures that there is nothing wrong and offers to help him in his romantic pursuit. However, their conversation is interrupted when they are alerted to the unauthorized launch of one of the compound’s Quinjets.

Meanwhile, US Agent has decided to confront Tigra over her increasingly animalistic behavior after witnessing her chasing a mouse in the kitchen.[3] When he knows on her bungalow door, Tigra bolts outside into the nearby forest. Following after her, US Agent scolds her for her inappropriate behavior but is shocked when Tigra begins flirting with her. However, they stop fooling around once the alarm goes off and they race back to the main compound. As it turns out the Quinjet has been commandeered by the Scarlet Witch who has departed with the Vision. When Janet reaches them on the coms, Wanda tells her that she is taking her husband to someone who can help her since the Avengers have refused to help before killing the connection and activating the ship’s stealth shield so she cannot be tracked.

Thinking that they may have gone to Phineas Horton, the creator of the android Human Torch, they arrive at Grosvenor Memorial Hospital. However, the doctor on staff tells them that they haven’t seen either the Vision or the Scarlet Witch.[4]

In reality, Wanda and her husband have traveled to Texas at the invitation from Jeremiah Random, the Dean of Robotics at Absolom College, who claims he might be able to help restore the Vision to normal. After making introductions, Random invites them inside. Moments after they leave, a trap springs, crushing the Quinjet and dumps the scrap in an underground complex beneath the college.

The destruction of the Quinjet does not go unnoticed as it sets off an alarm at Avengers Mansion on the east coast. The only Avengers on duty are Captain America and She-Hulk, who decide to go west and check things out now that the two teams no longer have geographical boundaries.[5]

Back in Texas, Jeramiah Random has finished going over the details of how they might be able to help out the Vision. When the synthezoid is escorted to a lab for examination, Wanda is then taken to her quarters. Wanda is led into a gride shaped room that has black pillars in various sections of the room. Wondering what’s going on, Wanda has the door slammed closed behind her and she is subdued with a sonic blast before she can use her hex powers. Random’s image is then projected on one of the walls and he states that he represents an entity that has shaping the evolutionary path of homo sapiens for centuries. However, they have come to realize that homo superior — mutants — are destined to be the dominant race. Unfortunately, their attempts to assimilate mutants into their collection have been met with failure and they hope that with Wanda as their prisoner they will finally crack the secret.[6] Suddenly, the room begins filling with black ooze that quickly envelopes Wanda.[7]

At that precise moment, back in California, yet another governess has been hired to look after Wanda’s twin son’s — Billy and Tommy. When one of the boys rolls a toy car under a chair, the babysitter goes to get it and bring it back to their playpen. However, when she turns back to the children she is shocked to discover that the boys have disappeared.[8]

Recurring Characters

Avengers West Coast (Wasp, Hank Pym, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Tigra, US Agent), Captain America, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Charles Edison, That Which Endures, Billy Maximoff, Tommy Maximoff

Continuity Notes

1. The Vision was embracing his programmed humanity since removing a control crystal that suppressed them for years, as seen in Avengers #254, after he failed attempt to create world peace by taking over Earth’s computer systems. Later, the Vision was kidnapped by an organization called Vigilance which wiped his mind and disassembled him. While the Vision has been rebuilt and his memories restored, he no longer has his emotional capacity. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45.

2. The Avengers made a copy of Simon’s brain engrams back in Avengers #9 when they thought he was dead (he got better in issue #151). Later, as seen in Avengers #57-58/134-135, it was revealed that Ultron used these engrams to create the Vision’s personality. When Simon was asked to provide them a second time in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #45, he refused.

3. Tigra has been regressing back to a more animalistic form since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42. She will eventually be cured in Avengers Spotlight #38.

4. It’s stated here that Horton created the Torch and that the Avengers incorrectly believed that the Vision was created from the Human Torch’s remains. This is a complicated situation. The details:

   • Phineas Horton created the Human Torch way back in Marvel Comics #1.

   • Revived in the modern age, the Torch battled his successor in Fantastic Four Annual #4 and was rendered inert in battle.

   • It’s later revealed in Avengers Forever #8 that Immortus then created a chronal duplicate to manipulate the Avengers destiny.

   • One of the bodies was buried in a grave in Sub-Mariner #14 and will be revived in Avengers West Coast #50 while the other…..

   • … Was used to create the Vision as explained in Avengers #134-135.

   • In the aforementioned West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45, the Avengers were tricked into thinking that the Vision was not actually built out of the Torch’s remains, convinced of this by a man claiming to be Phineas Horton. In reality, as detailed in Avengers Forever #8, this was another part of the master scheme of Immortus and the man posing as Phineas Horton is actually a Space Phantom in disguise.

5. Since the foundation of the West Coast team in West Coast Avengers #1, the two team operated independently of one another and split the defense of America down the middle. However, in Avengers #305, Captain America dissolved all the membership rules and boundaries, instead deciding that the Avengers can interchange between the two teams as needed.

6. At the time of this story, everyone believes that the Scarlet Witch is a mutant. However, in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, it’s later revealed that she is not. In reality, she was experimented on by the High Evolutionary while she was still a child. To cover up his work, he made it so future genetic testing would have her register as a mutant.

7. This entity is referred to as That Which Endures in Avengers West Coast #49. It’s been pointed out (particularly in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #11) that That Which Endures has a similar origins of a sentient bacterial life form called Sublime seen in New X-Men Annual 2001. However, any connection between the two has yet to be established.

8. The Maximoff children are the product of Wanda’s will power. As explained in Avengers West Coast #51-52, whenever Wanda isn’t thinking about her kids they blink out of existence.