West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #38
Redemption
Now
The West Coast Avengers have agreed to investigate Mantis’ missing past.[1] Along the way, Wonder Man thinks about how divided the team has become and wishes they could be more united,[2] like when they recently fought the Defiler….[3]
Not Long Ago…
The Defiler — a popular heavy metal musician — chases two of his fans, Michael and Susan, through an alley in Los Angeles. The chase is witnessed by Wonder Man and Tigra who try to stop him. However, Defiler is incredibly strong and overpowers the two Avengers. He then drags Michael and Susan to a nearby billboard advertising the upcoming Defiler show. The billboard suddenly turns into a dimensional portal and he tosses them both in. However, the metal of Michael’s necklace cannot pass through the portal, preventing it from completely swallowing him up.
By this time, the other Avengers have been summon as they were in the area tracking a mysterious energy source. Hank Pym’s energy detection device leads them to the billboard where they discover Michael’s necklace dangling from it. Iron Man and Wonder Man then work together to pull Michael free. He emerges from the portal covered in green goo and weakened from his experience.
He tells the Avengers how he and his girlfriend Susan were huge fands of Defiler. They followed the his band around and landed jobs as part of his road crew. While on tour, they started noticing their friends had started disappearing under mysterious circumstances. One night, they caught Defiler tossing one of the other roadies into a portal. Caught, the pair tried to make a run for it, leading to the situation that the Avengers walked in on. With a Defiler show happening tonight, Michael fears that others will become his victims and asks the Avengers to help stop the rocker and save his victims, including Susan. The Avengers agree to investigate but when Michael insists on coming along, they tell him it is too dangerous. However, when the heroes depart, Michael flags down a taxi cab to follow after them.
At the massive outdoor concert, Defiler uses the massive projection screens to open portals to the other dimension and begins sucking the crowd of fans into it with a vortex. When the Avengers arrives on the scene, Defiler is able to create a force field to keep them out. Undeterred, Wonder Man and Iron Man begin digging under the force field to get past it. They quickly knock down the projection screens and prevent any more fans from being sucked into the portals. Meanwhile, Michael arrives on the scene to lend a hand.
While Wonder Man, Hawkeye, and Tigra deal with Defiler, the others work to free the captives from another dimension. Enlarging a rope with his Pym Particles, Hank ties it to Iron Man as an anchor while he, Mockingbird, and Michael leap into the portal to rescue the captives. In the other dimension, they find themselves being pulled toward those who are trapped. They fend off falling balls of slime which appear to be draining the energy from people brought to this dimension. After freeing everyone from the goo, Hank and Mockingbird begin to feel weak. In order to get out as quickly as possible, Hank enlarges a skateboard and ties the other end of the rope to it so Iron Man can yank them back to Earth.
With his victims being pulled to freedom, Defiler discovers that his powers are beginning to fade. Suddenly, the portal begins trying to suck everyone in again while Defiler tries to make his escape. He is tackled by Michael, causing the rocker to get sucked into his own portal, which seals behind him.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Avengers watch as Michael and Susan are reunited and are happy to see that there are some bonds that are incapable of being corrupted…
Now
Wonder Man is thinking how those were the days when suddenly, the Quinjet begins to lose control and begins nose diving…[4]
Recurring Characters
West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Iron Man, Hank Pym, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Tigra, Mantis)
Continuity Notes
Mantis came to the Avengers last issue to help find her missing past. This happened after she seemingly died in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #9 and appeared on Earth in Silver Surfer Annual #1 with no memory of anything that happened after she became the Celestial Madonna way back in Giant-Size Avengers #4.
The Avengers division came out of Mockingbird allowed the Phantom Rider die in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #23. The team found out the truth in issue #34-35. When confronted about it last issue, Mockingbird left the group alongside Tigra and Moon Knight.
This flashback takes place after the events of West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #28.
This is a really anti-climactic cliffhanger. Next issue it’s revealed that Hawkeye merely jerked the control stick after hearing how Mockingbird and her crew foiled part of the High Evolutionary’s scheme in West Coast Avengers Annual #3.
