The Lady… Or the Tigra

After rescuing Hank Pym and Greer Grant from the demon Allatou the Avengers, their allies Hellstorm and Hellcat, and Master Pandemonium are trapped on a boat sailing down the River of Death. If they try to leave the ship they will die and are stuck until the ship finally comes to shore. They have been trapped for what feels like three days. Although the Avengers want to get free, Hellstrom is more interested in Greer, who hasn’t turned into Tigra. She believes that she has been trapped in human form because not being Tigra is her own personal hell. She also takes issue with Hellstrom’s wife Patsy, wearing her old Cat costume. Patsy reminds Greer that she abandoned her costume since becoming Tigra and she more than proved herself on the Avengers and Defenders.[1] The two are about to get into a cat fight (HA!) when they are split apart.

The group then turns their attention back to Master Pandemonium, and Hellstorm demands to hear more about his origins.[2] The sorcerer, real name Martin Preston, recounts the car accident that amputated his arm. Crying out for help, his calls were heard by Mephisto who replaced all of his limbs with demons. When he woke up the next day he found himself in his bed and dismissed it all as a horrible nightmare. That was until he opened his shirt and discovered a pentagram shaped hole in his stomach. Mephisto appeared to him once again and told Martin that this represented the missing fragments of his soul and that the demon has given five fragments to various demons. If Martin wanted his soul back, he would have to search for the fragments and reform them.[3] Wishing to end her eternal suffering, Martin Preston became Master Pandemonium to try and recover his lost soul. Hearing all of this, Greer suddenly feels sympathetic toward the man the Cat People ordered her to kill.[4]

That’s when Wonder Man notices their ship is going to crash into the cavern wall. However, rather than an impact, they pass harmlessly through the wall and are shocked to discover that they are in the Hidden Land, home to the Cat People. Coming to shore, the group is attacked by the Cat People who are furious that the Avengers have returned to their domain after their last encounter. Leading the charge is the Cat People’s emissary to Earth, Balkatar who demands to know why the humans have returned without Tigra. That’s when Greer tries to transform again, and this time it works. Pleased to see Tigra and that she has arrived with Master Pandemonium and decides to take them to see the king. Along the way, Patsy recalls that her Hellcat costume was built by the Cat People and worries if they might influence her. Hellstrom assures her that she has nothing to worry about as her costume is technological and not mystical in origin.

When they are brought before the king of the Cat People, he is furious that the humans have returned. He then reveals that Tigra was supposed to kill Master Pandemonium. This comes as a shock to the Avengers as they were unaware of the details of her deal with the Cat People. This is seen as a betrayal by the Avengers who can’t understand the torture Greer has been going through for months. Mockingbird is exceptionally furious as she realizes that it was Tigra who knocked her out during their last battle with Master Pandemonium.[5] It is also revealed that the Cat People actually have part of Master Pandemonium’s soul, given to them by Mephisto. The Avengers can’t understand why since Mephisto said he gave the fragments to other demons. The king of the Cat People reveals a part of their origins that Balkatar omitted when he told Tigra during their last visit. He explains that the Land Within exists within the netherworld the domain of demons.[6] After centuries living in the Land Within, the Cat People devolved into demons themselves.

Soon, Tigra is put in a gladiatorial arena to fight the Master Pandemonium to the death, forcing the Avengers and their allies to watch from the sidelines. The king also sent Balkatar on a make busy mission so he wouldn’t interfere. To make the job as easy as possible, the king of the Cat People has his soldiers forcibly remove the demons that make up the sorcerer’s limbs. Furious that she won’t carry out his orders, the king uses another soul jar to take away Greer’s Tigra spirit, reverting her back to human form. She is then locked in a cell with her friends. Surprisingly, Patsy takes off her Hellcat costume and tells Greer to put it on, saying that they’ll explain everything later.

By the time Balkatar returns, Greer and her friends have broken out of the cell. However, the king’s concerns that Balkatar would side with the out-worlders were unfounded as he is loyal to his people. He tries to use his seduction on Greer but it doesn’t work. She quickly wraps up Balkatar with one cable-claw before using the other to shatter the soul jar containing the spirit of Tigra. It immediately merges with Greer transforming her into Tigra again. However, this time she becomes even more cat-like than ever — including a tail. She realizes that the original process to was incomplete and that her old Cat costume was needed to complete the bonding process. Now in complete harmony, Tigra is ready to continue the fight but the Cat People refuse to battle their champion and end hostility.

While everyone is distracted, Master Pandemonium shatters the jar containing the fragment of his soul. Absorbing the sliver causes one of the points of the pentagram on his chest disappear. Giddy over his success, Master Pandemonium leaps into the River of Oblivion and begins swimming away. Since nobody knows where the river actually goes, Hawkeye decides to let Master Pandemonium have his victory.[7] With Tigra back and better than ever, Hawkeye suggests they all return home and celebrate by having a barbeque.

Recurring Characters

West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Tigra), Son of Satan, Hellcat, Henry Pym, Master Pandemonium, Balkatar, Tabur

Continuity Notes

1. Greer Grant started her heroic career as the Cat in The Cat #1-4. After suffering radiation poisoning she was imbued with the spirit of Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #1 and abandoned her old costume. It ended up in the hands of Patsy Walker in Avengers #144. She fought alongside Earth’s Mightiest Heroes until issue #151. She later served on the Defenders from Defenders #46 through 125.

2. Master Pandemonium went into part of his origins in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #9.

3. It’s later revealed that Pandemonium wasn’t looking for his own soul fragments, but rather those of Mephisto after he was destroyed by Franklin Richards in Fantastic Four #277. See Avengers West Coast #51-52.

4. Greer has been having to deal with her conflicting personalities since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1 and sought to remove Tigra’s spirit from her body. She entered in a deal with the Cat People to kill Master Pandemonium in issue #6, but hasn’t told her teammates.

5. Tigra knocked out Mockingbird to try and kill Master Pandemonium but the villain managed to escape. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #9.

6. The origins of the Cat People was told in Fear #22 and What If? #35. Tigra was told a part of this story in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #6.

7. The River of Oblivion is a bit of misnomer since Master Pandemonium doesn’t find his oblivion there. Instead, he finds himself transported to the alien world of Arcturus IV where he will be found by the Fantastic Four. See Fantastic Four #314-316.