West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #19
Lost in Space-Time Part 3: The Time of Their Lives!
Time Has Split In Three…
After getting stuck in the days of the American frontier with a time machine that can only go backwards, they now go back 100 years to make sure they can make sure they can safely go back even further. Hawkeye protests this trip because…
… In 1876, Mockingbird was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider before she could go back in time with her teammates. On the run from the Rawhide and Two-Gun Kid, he now hides out in a cave with Bobbi’s unconscious body.
… While in the present, La Espirita tries to convince Hank Pym that his life does have value after he attempted to commit suicide.[1]
New Mexico, 1776
Hawkeye and his teammates, Iron Man, Tigra, and Wonder Man appear in this era via the broken Time-Platform. Clint demands that they go back to 1876 so he can rescue his wife, prompting Wonder Man to remind him that their time machine can only go backward and their only hopes of getting back to their own time is to go back to ancient Egypt and enlist the aid of the time traveler known as Rama-Tut. Iron Man agrees, but he doesn’t like Wonder Man’s attitude lately since he has begun viewing original Avengers such as himself as part of a replicable old guard. When Tigra asks how they can be sure they went 100 years into the past like they planned, they are suddenly surrounded by an army of Spanish soldiers, resting any doubts that their time machine brought them where they wanted to go.
New Mexico, 1876
Having kidnapped Mockingbird, the Phantom Ride has retreated to the cave where he hides his crime fighting gear. There, he prepares a Native American potion that will make Bobbi forget her past and love him. As the potion beings taking effect, the Phantom Rider recounts his origins. He recalls how, years ago, a Comanche medicine man went up a mountain to commune with the gods. He witnessed a meteor fall from the night sky and decides to call himself Flaming Star from now on. He then heard from the gods who told him to gather dust from the meteor as one day he will need to give it to their chosen champion. Some days later, Flaming Star came upon Carter Slade — the Phantom Rider’s brother — who was injured and left for dead in the desert.
Taking Carter back to his camp, Flaming Star nursed him back to health and assumed that he Slade was to be the champion of the gods. Using the meteor dust on a costume and a white stallion, Carter became the Phantom Rider. The dust allowed his costume and horse to glow eerily in the dark and by shrouding parts of his body with the dark inner lining of his cape he could create eerie optical illusions that made him appear to be a ghost to the uninformed and superstition. Carter fought outlaws, first at the Ghost Rider, then the Night Rider, then the Phantom Rider.[2] During a conflict with a criminal called Reverend Reaper, Carter was seriously injured in a mine collapse. Dying, he revealed his true identity to his brother — Lincoln Slade, the local marshal — and convinced him to take on the mantle of the Phantom Rider. Lincoln vowed to avenger his brother’s death and continue the legacy of the Phantom Rider.[3]
Since then, Lincoln has come to believe that the spirits have started talking to him and identified Mockingbird as a goddess. Having fallen in love with her, Lincoln is determined to make her his lover. That’s when Bobbi wakes up and is relieved when she professes her love for him, confirming that the potion worked and believes he has been saved.
Los Angeles, The Present
After preventing Hank Pym from committing suicide, La Espirita tells him that he intends show him that his life has value. Hank, however, doesn’t see how she can do that by reminding him of his past failures. She asks him to remind her again how his Pym Particles work. Hank explains that the formula allowed him to shrink or grow in size. The process either shunted or increased his mass from an extra-dimensional source.[4] However, he had to stop using his size change formula because it had a negative impact on his health.[5] He also explains that his frequent exposure to Pym Particles has allowed him to use them at will, without the use of a formula and that it has created an energy field around him that allows him to affect the size of anything he touches.
La Espirita asks Hank to show her by increasing the size of an ant. Using a batch of formula he has in his lab, Hank uses it to increase the ant to giant-size but it dies instantly due to the physical strain on its body.[6] Although the ant has died, this gives Bonita some inspiration on how Hank can use his size-changing powers in the future.
New Mexico, 1776
Believed to be British spies, the Avengers are attacked by Spanish soldiers. Showboating once again, Wonder Man shrugs off their bullets and grabs all of their guns and powder horns and crushes them in his bare hands. While Simon is immune to the ensuing explosion, Hawkeye catches some of the shrapnel and is seriously burned.
Iron Man scolds Williams for being so reckless and they all retreat to a nearby cave to regroup and try and treat Clint’s wounds. Tigra examines the burns and they quickly discover that Hawkeye has serious burns on his left arm, making him useless in a fight. Iron Man once again chastises Wonder Man and calls him out on his ego. Simon doesn’t understand what the problem is and suggests they use the Time-Platform to go back a few hours and prevent Clint from being injured. However, Iron Man points out that they can’t tamper too much with history as they have no idea what impact it will have on the future.[7] Hawkeye calls them to order, saying that they need to get to civilization and find a doctor. That’s when Tigra picks up another scent near by. Turning around to face whatever is coming, they are greeted by a lone Spanish woman.
New Mexico, 1876
With Mockingbird near recovery, the Phantom Rider suggests that they move on from his cave. This is because the Two-Gun Kid and Rawhide Kid are getting close. The pair are searching for Bobbi in order to rescue her from the Phantom Rider while the wait for Hawkeye to return from the past.[8] They have been using their tracking skills to follow the Rider’s trail, and easily see through the Phantom’s attempt to throw them off the trail with a set of false tracks.
They quickly find the Phantom Rider’s cave and their former ally tries to distract them with his ghostly illusions. However, the pair are caught off guard when Mockingbird attacks them. After she knocks the two cowboys out, she agrees to leave with the Phantom Rider, who suggests they retreat to the town where he operates as a territorial marshal.
New Mexico, 1776
The woman who has found the Avengers introduces herself as Carlotta Valdez. After having a vision, she spotted the strangers flying across the sky she decided to follow them and see if the needed any help. Learning that Hawkeye is injured, she begins treating his burns with a salve. She explains that she is in the area with a group of missionaries and that she will be traveling on to Escarlata soon. This sounds familiar to Clint who asks her if she will make her way to San Luis Obispo with her mission and a chaperone of armed men. When she confirms this, Hawkeye suddenly realizes that they are talking to the woman that Firebird had a vision of in the present.[9]
Confirming that the woman in her vision was Firebird, Hawkeye realizes that there is some connection between the two women. Even though it is a long shot, Hawkeye asks for a scrap of Carlotta’s petticoat. Using an ink-arrow as a make-shift pen, Hawkeye writes a letter to Firebird in the future asking her to get in contact with the Fantastic Four and have them rescue the Avengers with their own time machine. Discarding the arrowhead, Hawkeye gives the note to Bonita and tells her to keep it safe until the person in her message comes to claim it, even if it has to be passed down for generations. Bonita agrees, telling Clint that she’ll keep it safe either in her hope chest or her family Bible.
When Carlotta leaves, Tigra wonders why Clint didn’t warn her that she is destined to die on the way to San Luis Obispo. Hawkeye reminds her that they can’t risk altering the timeline, even to save Carlotta’s life. Still, he reminds them that since their Time-Platform can’t travel through space they have to get to Egypt so they can continue their trip backwards in time in the hopes of getting Rama-Tut to fix their time machine.[10]
New Mexico, 1876
As the Phantom Rider begins packing up their things, Mockingbird comes across a strange arrowhead on the cave floor. Little knowing that this is the discarded ink-arrowhead that Hawkeye ditched 100 years earlier, she decides to pocket it because something about it is familiar to her.
Los Angeles, The Present
Hank is exhausted after a day of explaining his Pym Particles to Bonita and the two decide to take a break for the day. Figuring out what to do for dinner, they both agree to stay in, particularly since La Espirita came with the bare essentials and has no change of clothes. What she did bring was her family Bible that has been in her family for generations. Wondering why the Avengers haven’t come back from Albuquerque yet they head to the kitchen, little knowing that Hawkeye’s message from the distant past is within the Bible.
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Tigra), Hank Pym, La Espirita, Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, Phantom Rider
Continuity Notes
The Avengers were sent back in time by Dominus in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17, the same issue where Hank tried to blow his brains out. They were in the year 1876 last issue.
Carter Slade’s origins and tenure as the Ghost/Night/Phantom Rider was chronicled in Ghost Rider #1-7 and Western Gunfighters (vol. 2) #1-5. In Ghost Riders: Heaven’s on Fire #6, Slade appeared next to other past Ghost Riders. What connection he may have with the others — who are traditionally possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance — has yet to be explained. Perhaps it was a mix up?
The changing of the guard and Lincoln’s career as the Phantom Rider were chronicled in Western Gunfighters (vol. 2) #6-7.
The extra-dimensional mass that is integral to Pym Particles was first discovered in Iron Man #194.
Pym Particles caused a strain on Hank’s body for years. The earliest instance was in Avengers #28 when he was stuck at giant size for many months. After his formula affected his health again in Avengers #139-140, he stopped using it all together. Despite the risks to his health, Hank will become Giant-Man again in Avengers #366.
Hank states here that he had recreated his formula while studying the Goliath. The villain was captured and imprisoned at Avengers Compound back in Iron Man Annual #7. Hank examined him in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1-2.
The pair mention how Hawkeye has helped them in the past. Hawkeye previously visited the American Frontier back in Avengers #142-143. Two-Gun also mentions how he spent some time in the present day. He went to the future with Hawkeye in Avengers #147, but returned to his own time in issue #175.
Very Doc Brown of you Iron Man. However, his concerns are quite valid. In the Marvel Universe, time travel that causes a large enough change to history will create a divergent reality. The best example of this is from Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2, when the FF’s mailman Willie Lumpkin was sent back in time and unintentionally altered the course of history. His actions caused many divergent realities, one of which overwrote the Earth-616 universe with another timeline where humanity was wiped out, until the Fantastic Four set things right. With this in mind, one could assume that the Avengers presence in the past did not alter history significantly or was destined to happen that it didn’t alter the future timeline but ensured it would happen. By going back a few hours and preventing saving their earlier selves from the ambush would have created a divergent reality since they would be interfering their previous selves.
Firebird had a vision of Carlotta Valdez back in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #6.
As explained last issue, the Avengers are planning to go back in time to get the aid of Rama-Tut, a time traveler who once rule ancient Egypt. See Fantastic Four #19 and Giant-Size Avengers #2 for all the details.
Topical References
This story fames the present day as taking place in the year 1987 and all measurement of time between the different eras are calculated with that in mind. That said, the year of the present day should be considered topical due to the Sliding Timescale, which pushes the Modern Age forward in time. For example, the Modern Age has been pushed forward so that it no longer takes place in the late 20th Century, only beginning after the start of the 21st Century.
In this story, Native Americans are referred to as Indians. When used by characters from the 1700s and 1800s this would be historically accurate. However, when the term is used by members of the Avengers its use should be considered topical as this is no longer the correct term to use and is seen by many as offensive. The correct terms are either Native American, Indigenous, and Aboriginal.
