West Coast Avengers Annual #3
Heads You Lose — ! Tails You Win!
Evolutionary War continues from Web of Spider-Man Annual #4….
The High Evolutionary’s plans to construct a genetic bomb to hyper-evolve humanity is moving into its next phase. He orders his minion, Stack, to gather a team that will go to Wakanda and steal some of its Vibranium supply to construct the weapon. Before the team departs, one of the Evolutionary’s recruited scientists — Bill Foster — wishes the team leader the best of luck to hide the fact that he is planting a hidden capsule on his armor. As the team teleports away, the High Evolutionary wanders out into the jungle to think about how everything seems to be connected in some way. He recounts how he and the Fantastic Four recently discovered that the Beyonders helped create the Savage Land. He recounts how the Beyonders stole his last creation, Counter-Earth, and put it in an intergalactic museum. Since the Fantastic Four went looking for the Beyonders in the Negative Zone, he wonders what secrets they will uncover there.[1]
When the High Evolutionary’s Gatherers arrive in Wakanda their arrival is detected by the country’s security system so the Black Panther and his warriors are ready to face the intruders when they arrive. With the aid of Throb — a powerful android made out of Vibranium — they are able to defeat the intruders. After a search, the Black Panther finds the capsule planted on their leader. It is a call for help from Foster asking the Avengers and Hank Pym for help and giving the location of the High Evolutionary’s base. T’Challa calls the West Coast Avengers which consists of Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Mantis, the Scarlet Witch, and Vision. Hawkeye explains that Hank Pym recently left their team. When T’Challa asks about Clint’s wife, he says that Mockingbird also quit the team and formed a team with Moon Knight and Tigra.[2]
When they look over the note, the Scarlet Witch recognizes Bill Foster’s name. She reminds everyone that he was once a lab assistant to Hank Pym. Later, he developed a growth formula of his own and became the hero known as Black Goliath. Wonder Man then recounts that during his first mission he was stricken with cancer when irradiated by a villain called Atom Smasher. Becoming terminally ill, Foster was cured after receiving a blood transfusion from the original Spider-Woman. Although he was cured, it took away his size-changing abilities.[3] The Avengers decide to go and investigate the location Foster gave to them. When Hawkeye asks the Panther to join them, he declines, wanting to stay in Wakanda to protect it in the event that this isn’t the only planned attack. As if on cue, T’Challa’s panther totem rises from the ground.
Security alerts the Panther that the technological jungle beneath Wakanda is being attacked by more of the High Evolutionary’s minions. This is a team calling themselves the Sensors — Sight, Touch, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Intuition — whose powers are based on the human senses that they are named after. The Avengers assist the Black Panther in fighting these opponents: Each Avenger finds themselves fighting opponents that are their proper matches. The Black Panther is overwhelmed by Sound’s sonic blasts, Wanda can’t focus her hex powers on Smell, Sight blinds the Vision with his light blasts, Wonder Man finds that Touch is just as strong as he is, taste is able to fend off Hawkeye’s arrows with his acidic touch, while Intuition is able to read the mind of Mantis and evade her blows. Eventually, the Avengers come up with strategies to defeat their opponents. However, while everyone is distracted nobody notices Stack teleport onto the Vibranium mound and steal a chunk of the rare metal before teleporting away.
Believing that they have won the battle, the Avengers decide to check out the location given to them by Bill Foster. The coordinates take them to Antarctica where they are surprised to discover that the Savage Land has been restored.[4] However, when they reach Bill’s location, they discover that whatever base once stood here has been utterly destroyed, leaving Hawkeye to wonder if they were too late to save the world…
Earlier…
Mockingbird, Tigra, and Moon Knight — after quitting the Avengers — have commandeered a Quinjet and have flown to Antarctica to find their old foe Master Pandemonium.[5] They are also surprised to see that the Savage Land has been restored to normal. They are greeted by Ka-Zar who explains that the Savage Land was recently restored by the High Evolutionary who has set up a citadel in nearby to continue his work.[6] Ka-Zar invites them back to his home to meet his newborn son and check in on his wife, Shanna the She-Devil.[7] Moon Knight is uneasy about children and seeing and things get even more awkward when Mockingbird reveals that she has left her husband.
The three former Avengers then decide to pay a visit to the High Evolutionary’s citadel to see what he is up to and make sure it is above board. They are invited inside and taken to the High Evolutionary. Along the way they are spotted by Bill Foster who thinks they are the Avengers who received his message. Preparing for a fight, Bill slips a chemical vile into his back pocket and then asks to leave his station to get a drink of water.
Meanwhile, Mockingbird and the others are granted an audience with the High Evolution. After hearing his plans to hyper-evolve humanity, they try to attack but are gassed. While Tigra and Mockingbird are knocked out, Moon Knight’s body continues to try and fight thanks to being possessed by the spirit of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon. However, he too eventually falls. The Evolutionary then orders the trio to be tossed into a maze to test their abilities.
At this time, Bill Foster is caught in a restricted area by the guards. When he can’t talk his way out of trouble, he attacks them. By this time, Mockingbird is the first one to make it out of the maze. When she tries to fight the High Evolutionary, he uses his control over his own personal evolution to increase his size. That’s when Bill Foster comes in and, seeing the situation, drinks his newly prepared formula. Although mostly intended to kill off the last of the cancer cells in his body, it restores Foster’s size changing abilities. As Tigra and Moon Knight escape from the maze, the High Evolutionary is informed that the mission to steal Vibranium a success. Seeing no reason to continue the battle, the High Evolutionary flees and sets his headquarters to self-destruct. Mockingbird and her allies manage to make it outside just before the base explodes. With the crisis over, they depart just moments before Hawkeye and his team arrive to investigate the situation.
… Evolutionary War continues in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8.
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Tigra, Moon Knight, Mantis), Giant-Man, Black Panther, High Evolutionary, Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, Matthew Plunder, Billy Maximoff, Tommy Maximoff
Continuity Notes
The Beyonders stole the High Evolutionary’s Counter-Earth in Marvel Two-in-One #63. He and the FF discovered that the Beyonders created the Savage Land in Fantastic Four #316-317. The FF went into the Negative Zone in issues #318-319, where they learn the connection between the Beyonder and the Beyonders.
There was a recent shake-up among the WCA’s membership. The reasons:
After discovering that his first wife, Maria Trovaya, was still alive he discovered that she had been mutated. He left the Avengers to try and cure her. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #33-36.
During a trip through time, Mockingbird was kidnapped and forced into a romance with the Phantom Rider via a love potion. When she freed himself of the spell she went after the Rider and left him to fall off a cliff to his death. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-23. When she as rescued, he kept this a secret but the truth eventually came out in issues #34-35.
When Mockingbird left the team in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #37, Tigra and Moon Knight sided with her and left as well. In that same story, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Mantis joined up.
They’re catching us up on Bill Foster’s life here. The details:
Bill Foster first became Hank Pym’s lab assistant way back in Avengers #32.
He later developed his own growth formula and became Black Goliath in Power Man #24.
Foster’s solo-career happened in Black Goliath #1-5.
His cancer diagnosis was discovered in Marvel Two-In-One #58. He was cured in issue #85.
The Savage Land was destroyed by the Deviant known as Jorro in Avengers #256-257. However, it had just recently been restored by the High Evolutionary, as seen in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12.
Master P. was last seen in Antarctica in Fantastic Four #314-316. Mockingbird and Co. learned this in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #37.
Once again, this story recounts how the Savage Land was restored. However, Ka-Zar and everyone else doesn’t remember the X-Men’s involvement. This is because their memories were altered by Psylocke of the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12. This is because — at the time — the X-Men were leading the world to believe they were dead, as detailed in Uncanny X-Men #225-227.
Ka-Zar’s son was born just prior to Uncanny X-Men Annual #12. In this story, the boy is named Adam here. In Ka-Zar: Guns of the Savage Land #1, he is named Kyle. However, he has been consistantly referred to as Matthew Plunder since Ka-Zar (vol. 3) #1. As usual, whenever there are conflicting names like this are given, Marvel just slams them all together into one really long name. The Ka-Zar profile in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 confirms his name to be (deep breath) Adam Kyle Matthew Plunder but everyone calls him Matthew.
The Final Frontier
This story continues from Web of Spider-Man Annual #4….
Thor and Jane Foster depart from the High Evolutionary’s Citadel of Science after assisting the geneticist quell an uprising by the Man-Beast.[1] Deciding to find a new home for his New Men, the High Evolutionary blasts off into space to find a new world to raise his creations. This requires using a experimental star-drive, but it works perfectly.
They eventually find an Earth-like planet that has long been abandoned by intelligent life. There, the High Evolutionary created mates for his New Men and basically retreated from their society to focus on his continued exploration into the science of evolution. Eventually, the Evolutionary’s work was interrupted by war, when his New Men began reverting to their baser instincts.
Seeing someone powerful enough to stop the war, the High Evolutionary summoned the Hulk to this alien world.[2] Injured in the conflict, the High Evolutionary attempted to save his own life by pushing his evolution to humanity’s ultimate form. Becoming a being of pure though and energy, the Evolutionary used his powers to revert the New Men back to their base animal forms and return the Hulk to Earth. With his final affairs in order, the High Evolutionary then allowed his form to dissipate and become one with the universe.
… This story continues in Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8.
Recurring Characters
High Evolutionary, Thor, Jane Foster, Sir Porga, Hulk, Jessica Drew, Bova
Continuity Notes
Thor’s encounter with the High Evolutionary was told in Thor #134-135.
The Hulk’s battle on Wundagore II happened in Tales to Astonish #94-96.
Supplementary Materials
This issue features pin-ups of Hawkeye, Wonder Man, the Vision and Scarlet Witch, Tigra, Mockingbird, Mantis, Doctor Pym, Moon Knight, Master Pandemonium, and an unused cover for West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #14.
Evolutionary War Reading Order
X-Factor Annual #3
Punisher Annual #1
Silver Surfer Annual #1
New Mutants Annual #4
Uncanny X-Men Annual #12
West Coast Avengers Annual #3 <— You Are Here