West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17
Outta Time!
It’s a sunny day in California and everyone on the West Coast Avengers are in good spirits — except for Hank Pym who is in a deep depression.[1] Unaware of Hank’s emotional state, the team is heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico to finally recruit Firebird onto the team.[2][3] Hawkeye invites Hank to come along with them, but Pym declines. After the team leaves in a Quinjet, Hank tries to lose himself in his work on Avengers Compound. However, he can’t get Whirlwind’s mocking words out of his head and after all of his losses decides that maybe he should just end it all.[4]
Meanwhile, the Avengers are making their way to New Mexico. On the trip, Hawkeye and Mockingbird express their delight for having formed the new west coast roster of the group. When Hank spots the circus where they recently fought Quicksilver and the Zodiac, Iron Man recounts how it was also the site of the Avengers first battle together. He recounts how they were tricked into fighting the Hulk by Loki, and at the end of the battle, they agreed to work together in the future, and thus history was made.[5] Since Hank Pym — as Ant-Man — was instrumental in the formation of the Avengers, Mockingbird wonders if they can ever convince him to rejoin the team. Tigra figures that this is unlikely, and Wonder Man egotistically figures that its the time for the “old guard” to step aside so the newer members of the team can shine. As they arrive in Albuquerque, Hawkeye flies toward the local airport where they are cleared to land.[6]
While back at Avengers Compound, Hank Pym meets with the groundskeeping staff and gives them his last set of orders. They all notice that something is off about their employer, but Joachin Mendez, the head groundskeeper, suggests that whatever is going on is none of their business and that they should get back to work.
In Albuquerque, the Avengers notices that they are generating a lot of unwanted attention and switch to their street clothes before arriving at Firebird’s apartment. Tigra has to stop at a street vender to buy some clothes that can hide her cat-like features. As they continue on their way, they are unaware that they are being observed by a cactus (yes, really). When they arrive at Bonita’s apartment they learn from her landlord that she has been gone for over a month and is behind on her rent. After paying her Firebird’s back rent, the Avengers head out to try and find her elsewhere.
As the Avengers check in at Office of Social Services where Bonita works, Hank Pym is writing goodbye letters to all of the Avengers before he moves ahead of his suicide. At the local church, the priest tells the Avengers that Bonita came in about a month ago to pray when a her powers flared up and lit a bunch of prayer candles. No closer to finding Firebird, the team changes back into costume and are suddenly ambushed by a group of villains: Sunstroke, Cactus, Butte, and Gila. As the Avengers battle these new foes, Wonder Man tries to show off in an apparent attempt to prove that he’s better than Iron Man.[7] Despite Wonder Man’s grandstanding, it takes teamwork to get their attackers on the ropes. However, as the battle begins to turn, Sunstroke and his allies are yanked away by a tractor beam. Taking the lead, Iron Man uses his on-board systems to track the energy back to its source.
Back in Los Angeles, Hank has finished writing his goodbye letters to every Avenger he ever worked with, except his ex-wife, the Wasp. Instead he decides to call her directly to talk one last time. At first Janet wants to commend Hank for helping capture Tiger Shark and Whirlwind, as they escaped following the Masters of Evil’s assault on Avengers Mansion.[8] Hearing how Hellcat helped them out, Janet begins asking all sorts of questions about her until Hank interjects.[9] Hank explains he called to tell her how proud he is of her making so much of her life while he destroyed his, particularly since she became chairwoman of the east cost team.[10] He doesn’t blame her for anything that happened in the past, and Janet admits that she wishes they could have made their marriage work out in the end. Ending the call, Hank tells Janet that he loves her and once he hangs up decides that it is finally time.
Meanwhile, the Avengers have tracked their attackers down to a cavern in the middle of the New Mexico desert. There, they are confronted by their leader an alien named Dominus. Iron Man notes that he resembles another invader called Lucifer.[11] Dominus explains that he is Lucifer’s replacement and in order to succeed in conquering Earth, he must get rid of the West Coast Avengers. To this end, he has claimed Doctor Doom’s Time Platform.[12] Damaged after its last use, the machine can only travel backward in time. Before the Avengers can react, Dominus activates the device and send them into the distant past to dispose of them.
Back at Avengers Compound, Hank Pym puts a gun to his head and prepares to pull the trigger. However, before he can pull the trigger he is stopped by Firebird. Now wearing a new costume resembling a priest’s robes can calling herself La Espirita, she tells Hank that she has come to bring him hope from God!
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Tigra), Hank Pym, La Espirita, Dominus, Sunstroke, Butte, Cactus, Gila
Continuity Notes
Hank is down in the dumps after Tigra ended their fling last issue.
Firebird was trying to join the Avengers since first meeting them in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #4. Thinking he had a membership cap on his team, Hawkeye chose the Thing over her in issue #9. He learned otherwise in the following issue but by that point Firebird had already decided to leave to find a new purpose in life. Clint was convinced to try and recruit her again last issue.
When Tigra complains about Firebird’s holier-than-thou attitude, Mockinbird suggests that she may have changed She points out how Tigra herself has changed since their last encounter with Firebird. Tigra was having issues keeping her conflicting personalities in check since West Coats Avengers (vol. 2) #1 and just recently found harmony when Greer Grant’s spirit was properly merged with the spirit of Tigra in issue #15.
Whirlwind mocked Hank for all his failures last issue. At the time of this story, Hank was still getting over his divorce from the Wasp, his disgrace in the eye of the east coast Avengers, being framed by his foe Egghead, and his decision to retire from costumed heroics. It’s been pretty rough for Hank up to now. See Avengers #212-213, 217, and 227-230.
The Avengers indeed fight came together to fight the Hulk at a circus, as seen in Avengers #1. More recently, Quicksilver framed both Avengers teams for crimes against the US government, leading to a battle at the same circus before they cleared their names. See Avengers Annual #15 and West Coast Avengers Annual #1.
The air traffic controller clearing the Quinjet is happy to see the Avengers as heroes in the region haven’t been as common since the Defenders operated in the area. For a time, the Defenders operated out of the New Mexico home of their teammate the Angel. This was from Defenders #128 until the group disbanded in issue #152 of that series.
Iron Man states here that while Wonder Man appears to be stronger than he is, they don’t know for sure. The pair fought against each other but the battle was interrupted before a winner could be decided. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #10.
The east coast team barely survived the Masters attack on their headquarters. See Avengers #273-277.
Hellcat helped capture Tiger Shark and Whirlwind last issue. Mention is made how she was once was considered for the Avengers and how she recently married Daimon Hellstrom. See Avengers #151 and Defenders #125 for details.
Janet had become leader of the east coast team in Avengers #217. After being briefly usurped by the Vision from issues #253 to 255. She will remain in this role until she steps down in Avengers #279.
Iron Man fought Lucifer way back in Iron Man #20.
Where Dominus got ahold of this damaged time machine is not clearly explained. See below.
Topical References
Wonder Man makes a joke here about Tigra being their “Indian guide” after she puts on some clothes bought from a street vendor. The term Indian is a dated reference that many consider offensive. The proper term to use is Native American or Indigenous.
Where Did This Time Machine Come From?
In this story, Dominus states that he found this damaged Time Platform in the desert. This doesn’t make much sense if you follow the receipts. In West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #18, Hawkeye states that this time machine was the same one he used to go back to the Old West in Avengers #142-143.
However, in that story, Hawkeye goes to Doctor Doom’s Castle to use the time machine there, the same one that was used way back in Avengers Annual #2 (as a point of clarification, this castle was the one Doom owns in the Adirondack Mountains, and not the one in Latveria). In issue #143, Kang states that he set that Time Machine as a trap. At the end of that story, Hawkeye returns to the present day in Avengers #147 using one of Kang’s time machine. The point here being that the Time Platform was never in the desert for Dominus to find.
The last time Doctor Doom’s Time Platform was seen was in Iron Man #149-150, when Doom used it to go back in time to Camelot to learn all he can about sorcery from Morgan le Fay.
Another issue here (that comes up next issue) is that the Time Platform has always operated as a one way street. The device can be set to return those sent through it at a later time, but the controls and the platform itself does not go with them.
There is no reason to doubt that Dominus found the Time Platform in the desert. Perhaps this Time Platform ended up there from some story yet to be told. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was part of a plot created by Immortus who has a track record of using proxies and time travel to manipulate the Avengers.
I think when it comes to Hawkeye “recognizing” the Time-Platform, he is mistaken or means that it is similar to the one he used in the past.
