Avengers West Coast Annual #5
The Terminus Factor Part 4: When Titans Thrash!
This story continue from Thor Annual #15 …
At the Avengers Compound in California, the West Coast Avengers are standing by as Hank Pym revives the Human Torch, who had recently been deactivated during their fight with Magneto.[1] After confirming that not much time has passed since he was shut down, the Avengers get him up to speed on what has happened while he was shut down.[2][3]
That’s when Quicksilver arrives to warn them of the Terimini, a massive alien creature that just attacked San Francisco.[4] With the team is Machine Man, who also had an encounter with the giant creature and wants a shot at stopping it after it killed his friend Peter Spaulding. The Avengers all load into a Quinjet and head into San Francisco where the Termini is currently locked in a battle with its creator, Terminus.
Hercules is already at the scene watching as Terminus battles his prodigy, the Termini, over supremacy. In the ensuing battle, the Termini rips off his own tail to use as a make-shift lance to match his “father’s” weapon. When the Avengers West Coast arrive on the scene, Hercules gets them caught up on what’s been going on, telling them that Terminus has absorbed Mjolnir and that Thor is believed to have died at the hands of Terminus.[6] Iron Man is shocked to see how the Termini has evolved into a massive being, having encountered it in past evolutions twice already.[7] As the rest of the team tries to come up with a strategy on how to contain the two titans, Hank Pym uses his Pym Particles to enlarge two massive lenses. He then instructs Machine Man and Iron Man to grab on and Wonder Man and the Torch the other and orders them to fly the lenses to the southwest of each combatant. As the fliers take their position, the other members of the team load back up into the Quinjet to observe from the air.[8]
Soon, the massive lenses are put into place causing a blinding flash of light. This disorientates the two massive combatants. This causes temporary blindness and creating ghost images of Terminus and Termini that confuse the pair into separating. However, the ploy doesn’t work for very long as Termini suddenly figures out what’s going on and destroys Wonder Man and the Human Torch’s lense, eliminating the illusion. The Torch then keeps the monster distracted by creating flame duplicates of himself to keep it busy while the rest of the team arrives. Emerging from the Quinjet, Hercules recalls his previous battle with who he thought was Terminus in the Savage Land and how he was able to rip open the monster’s armor.[9] Leaping from the Quinjet, he attempts to make the same move but the Termini easily swats him away. US Agent and the Wasp also try to attack the Termini directly, but they prove unable to harm the monster.
Meanwhile, the Quinjet has swung around to catch up with Terminus, who has also seen through the illusion luring him away from his progeny. However, Terminus blasts the Quinjet out of the sky, prompting Hawkeye and Hank to abandon ship in a sky-cycle. They fare even worse on the ground and would have been stepped if not for Quicksilver pulling them to safety at super speed.[10] Even the arrival of Iron Man and Machine Man are ineffectual to stopping Terminus. Soon he is fighting it out with the Termini and all the Avengers can do is get people out of harms way.
Ultimately, in a one-on-one brawl, Terminus overpowers his creation and shrinks the Termini down to size enough to swallow it whole. This causes a sudden flare up of energy as Terminus undergoes a startling transformation into his ultimate form: a massive four-armed monstrosity more powerful that Terminus and Termini combined. As the west coast team is trying to figure out what to do next, Captain America is meeting with the east coast team at Avengers Mansion. They have been tracking the monster’s movement across the United States. Cap is now mobilizing the team to head west and intercept the monster in the middle of the country.
… This story concludes in Avengers Annual #19.
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Iron Man, Hank Pym, Wasp, Hawkeye, Wonder Man, US Agent, Human Torch), Machine Man, Quicksilver, Terminus, Termini, Avengers (Captain America, Vision, Hercules, She-Hulk, Quasar)
Continuity Notes
The Torch was shut down by the Scarlet Witch’s hex powers in Avengers West Coast #57. The team later defeated Mags in issue #60.
The Torch is concerned about how much time had passed as he was deactivated for decades the last time he was shut down. See Fantastic Four Annual #4 and Avengers West Coast #50.
Here, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are referred to as mutants. However, years later, it is revealed that this is not the case. Their powers were the result of genetic experimentation by the High Evolutionary. To cover up his work he made it so DNA scans after the fact would have them register as mutants. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.
Quicksilver was tipped off about Termini from Hercules, who had just fought the monster in Thor Annual #15. That story explains that the Termini was created by Terminus to create another being similar to himself. Terminus is a parasitic organism created by a long dead race to destroy worlds favored by the Celestials.
A man who appeared to be Peter Spaulding was murdered by the Termini in Iron Man Annual #11. However, years later, Spaulding will turn up alive again in X-51 #6. Some time after that, in Marvel Comics #1001, Spaulding will explain that the man who died in the Iron Man Annual was an impostor. Who he really was and what he was trying to do hasn’t been clearly explained as of this writing in September, 2022.
Prior to this story, Terminus was jettisoned into space in Quasar #7. Thor went into space to find the alien in order to learn his connection to the Termini on Earth in Thor Annual #15. Terminus then absorbed Mjolnir into his body and fled to Earth, leaving Thor stranded in space. Thor will eventually get back in Avengers Annual #19.
Iron Man first encountered the Termini when it was a parasitic organism infecting any living beings that injected it in Captain America Annual #9. He then fought the creature again when it had transformed a bear into a technorganic nightmare in Iron Man Annual #11.
Hawkeye complains to himself about Hank Pym taking command of the team. This is because Hawkeye was the founder and leader of the west coast team starting in West Coast Avengers #1. However, in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #45 when US Agent was assigned to the team by the US government as its new leader, Hawkeye rage quit the team. Although the Agent was supposed to take on a leadership role, Hank Pym was the one who picked up the slack after Clint’s departure. This is never clearly explained in story, but it was likely due to the abrupt changes in writers and certain aspects of John Byrne’s planned story being dropped.
Hercules previously fought who he thought was Terminus in the Savage Land in Avengers #256-257, seemingly slaying the creature. It was later revealed in Thor Annual #15 that this wasn’t really Terminus, but a Deviant named Jarro. See, prior to the battle in the Savage Land, Terminus was trapped in the center of the Earth by Mister Fantastic in Fantastic Four #269-270. Unable to get himself free, he wound Jarro in an underground tunnel and convinced the Deviant help him recover his Power Lance from the surface.
Hawkeye mentions here that he just recently returned to the team after a stint with the Great Lakes Avengers. Hawkeye decided to mentor the GLA in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #46. However, growing bored and wanting back on an official Avengers team, Clint returned to the AWC in Avengers West Coast #60.
Topical References
This story states that prior to his recent activation, the Torch was inert for 35 years. It also states that this story takes place in the year 1990. This should be considered topical due tot he Sliding Timescale, which pushes the Modern Age forward in time. As such, Modern Age stories cannot be assigned to specific dates while the time between it and events that are time locked (such as the period when the Torch went offline in 1954) will continue to grow over time.
Errors
Machine Man is incorrectly called X-15 in a few times in this story. His model number is Z2P45-9-X-51 and actually goes by X-51 for short.
Media Watch
This story continue from Thor Annual #15 …
As Terminus makes his way across the United States, Niteline — a news commentary program — has invited a number of guests on the show to discuss the monster and what its possible origins are. Joining the Niteline host are Dr. Peter Corbeau of Starcore, Senator Wililam Contana, and Ufologist Dirk Keefmeyer. Basically, they recap everything in the first story in this annual as the writers try and fail to make jokes about news magazine programming that was popular in the 1990s. It is about as funny as stage 3 cancer.
… This story concludes in Avengers Annual #19.
Recurring Characters
Peter Corbeau
Topical References
The commentators in this story state that it is the year 1990. This is a topical reference for reasons I have mentioned above.
Televisions in this story are depicted as CRT models. This should also be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.
Tank’s For Nothing
The Atlantean eco-terrorist group known as SURF have come to Marine World to liberate the orca whales that are living in captivity at the aquarium. The attack comes to the attention of the West Coast Avengers who mobilize to deal with the situation. Hank Pym, the Wasp, and Hawkeye soon arrive on the scene and are joined by Firebird. As the others battle SURF, Hank uses his Pym Particles to shrink the orcas and places them in a plastic beaker to get them out of harms way. When Hank is later knocked into the tank, he is rescued by both Firebird and the Wasp, which is an awkward moment for him given his past relationships with both women.[1]
When it becomes clear that the Avengers are also concerned for the orca’s well being, SURF decides to trust them when they explain that the whales are well looked after. Although they take issue with the animals being forced to perform for food, they decide to take the Avengers at their word and depart.
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Hank Pym, Wasp, Hawkeye), Firebird, SURF (Sharkskin, Eel, Undertow)
Continuity Notes
Hank was married to the Wasp starting in Avengers #60. Their marriage ended in divorce when he struck Janet in Avengers #213. Despite this, the pair have been trying to give their romance a second chance since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42. Prior to this, Firebird talked Hank out of committing suicide in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17 after he got dumped by Tigra. While the two considered a romance, they decided to just be friends as seen in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #25.
Topical References
This story is dedicated to Corky and Orky. These were two orcas that were kept at Marineland in San Diego. Orky died of pneumonia while in captivity in 1969. Corky died of Mediastinal Abscess in 1970. They are often used by animal rights activities as examples of why whales should not be kept in captivity.
Don’t You Daaare Miss It!
Hawkeye, Iron Man, and the Vision are watching the US Agent lift weights at Avengers Compound when Wonder Man arrives to make them an offer. Simon was supposed to make a public appearance but has to bow out because he is being called back to the set of the movie he is currently working on. He asks his three fellow Avengers if they would like to go in his place. While Iron Man is reluctant to do so, Hawkeye thinks it is a great idea, reminding everyone that they’re a team and they need to help each other out from time to time.
Hawkeye comes to regret those words when he, US Agent, and Iron Man arrive at a monster truck rally where they are to put on a performance with the monster trucks themselves. While Hawkeye and Iron Man are mortified, US Agent really loves the whole event. The Vision, due to his lack of emotions, is indifferent.
The event is soon crashed by an activist calling himself Doctor Goodwrench. He is a mutant with the power to speak to machinery and has come to protest the rally as it enslaves machines. He then uses his powers to control the monster trucks and makes them attack the three Avengers. The trio make short work of the trucks until Goodwrench hijacks Iron Man’s armor and makes him attack his teammates. The Vision eventually convinces Goodwrench that he is delusional. As a machine himself, he assures Goodwrench that the monster trucks he is controlling are not sentient and any semblance of life is due to the fact that he can mentally control machines. Realizing that he is crazy, Doctor Goodwrench breaks down in tears and surrenders without incident. Feeling sorry for the guy, Hawkeye leads Goodwrench away, promising that the Avengers will make sure he gets all the help he needs.
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Iron Man, Hawkeye, Wonder Man, US Agent), Vision
Topical References
This story takes place at the 2nd annual West Coast Monster Truck Show. This should be considered a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale. As of this writing the show has been around for over 20 years.
When hearing Goodwrench’s machine liberation speech, Hawkeye quips “You gonna go out and throw paint on people wearing a Walkman?” This is in reference to a stunt pulled by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (or PETA for short) wherein they would throw buckets of red paint at people wearing animal fur, symbolic of the blood shed to make such fashions. At any rate, the reference to Walkman’s — a popular brand of portable cassette players that there popular in the 80s and 90s — should be considered topical as that is a real world brand an an obsolete technology.
Honey, I Shrunk the Hyperatomic Anti-Proton Cannon!
The Avengers West Coast have just finished cleaning their headquarters after their recent battle with the U-Foes.[1] The Wasp is showing Hawkeye how tidy the place is when they enter the living room and find Hank Pym and Wonder Man turning the place upside-down. Hank explains that he shrunk his Hyperatomic Anti-Proton Canon down to the size of a half an inch and ended up losing it somewhere in the room. The weapon is incredibly powerful and it being left lying around could put people in danger.
While the rest of the team gets down on their hands an knees to scour for the tiny device, US Agent arrives and demands to know what’s going on. When he is caught up, he too joins the search. When one of the team finds a tiny device on the floor, Hank examines it and determines that it is not his Anti-Proton Cannon but a Non-Euclidian Geometric Protactor that he lost the week before.
The whole time everyone is searching for the cannon, Wonder Man is standing in the middle of the room eating a bowl of potato chips. Little does anyone know that the cannon ended up in with the chips. When Simon accidentally swallows the device he lets out a flaming belch that knocks him off his feet and tells his comrades that he thinks he found where the weapon went.
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Hank Pym, Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, US Agent)
Continuity Notes
That battle took place in Avengers West Coast #53. A footnote here tells readers that this story takes place between that issue and #54.