Avengers West Coast Annual #6
Subterranean Wars Part 5: Storm in Subterranea
This story continues from Iron Man Annual #12….
The Avengers West Coast — Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, the Scarlet Witch, Living Lightning, US Agent, and Wonder Man — are enjoying some downtime at the compound when suddenly, the emergency alarm goes off. This signals the arrival of Iron Man who has brought with him Kala, the former ruler of the Subterranean realm known as the Netherworld. Kala is seeking the Avengers assistance to help liberate her beloved Mole Man whose domain has been conquered.[1] US Agent is reluctant to want to help because the Commission — the government agency he used to work for — has a huge file on the Mole Man and the threat he has posed to the surface world in the past.[2][3] Hawkeye wants to hear more and Iron Man informs them that the Mole Man and other subterranean rulers — Tyrannus and Groktesk — are trying to fight off an invasion by Deviant mutates led by Brutus. More importantly, 9 members of the east coast team are down there as Deviant prisoners.[4] They decide to invite Kala into their headquarters to hear more and Kala lays out recent events for them.[5] Hearing the full scope of the situation, the team decides to believe her and aid in any way they can.
Borrowing a “Groundhawk” vehicle from Stark Enterprises, the Avengers West Coast burrow their way into Subterranea. As they make their way through the tunnels, Hawkeye spots some rock chips falling down the side of the tunnel and suspects that it might be something important to investigate. He convinces Iron Man to stop the Groundhawk so they can look. When Wonder Man punches through the rock wall they uncover Captain America and the Black Widow, two of the captured Avengers. Untying their comrades they learn how they were left to die buried under all that rock after they were defeated by the Deviants. Continuing on their course, Kala gets mixed up about where to go next. That’s when the tunnel floor gives out from under them causing them to fall in a lower cavern that is full of Moloids, Tyrannoids, and Lava Men. As the Avengers disembark the Groundhawk and prepare for a fight, the Mole Man comes out and pleads with the heroes not to attack his subjects.
While the Mole Man readily accepts aid from the Avengers, he is less than happy to see Kala and doesn’t want her assistance.[6] Mole Man warns the heroes that the threat posed by Brutus is greater than they originally thought. The Deviant mutate and his armies have recently acquired abandoned weaponry that would allow the ability to not only conquer Subterranea, but also dominate the surface world as well. Grotesk, who has just returned from a scouting mission confirms that Brutus has gotten control of an Oscillatron device that can shatter the Earth’s crust. While Grotesk originally sought to destroy the surface world himself in the past, he tells the Scarlet Witch that the Vision convinced him that allowing Brutus to achieve his goals would result in a hollow victory.[7] The Mole Man then takes them down to a tent where they are keeping Tyrannus, hoping that the Avengers can do something for him after he was poisoned by the Hulk.[8] When they see the former Roman emperor, he is less concerned about the poison and more worried about how he is aging now that he has been cut off from the Fountain of Youth.
Iron Man takes this opportunity to try and convince the Mole Man to be kinder to Kala since she was the one who brought the Avengers to help, explaining how she gave up reclaiming the Netherworld throne and youth to be with him.[9] Before the Mole Man can give an answer Grotesk begins blowing a horn warning them that the Deviants are coming. The Avengers join an army of Moloids, Tyrannoids, and Lava Men in fending off the Deviant invaders. Soon, Brutus arrives with the Oscillatron who tells the Avengers that they are too late to save their comrades and to surrender or he will unleash his new weapon upon them. The Scarlet Witch refuses to believe that the rest of the east coast team has perished and remembers that one of their members — the Eternal Sersi — is an empath. Reaching out with her mind, Wanda makes a mental connection with Sersi and pinpoints the location of the captured Avengers. Telling Hawkeye her discovery, the archer sends her and Iron Man to rescue the others while they stall for time.
Iron Man flies the Scarlet Witch to the location where the other Avengers were buried alive. Iron Man blasts the rubble loose and they discover that the east coast team — the Vision, Hercules, She-Hulk, Sersi, Sandman, and Rage — were also trapped in some kind of force field, preventing them from escaping with their powers. Wanda then uses her hex powers to make the field brittle so it shatters like glass. The trapped Avengers are quickly freed and they join the battle with their west coast comrades. The added heroes begin turning the tide and allows Mole Man’s forces to push forward. However, when one of the Deviant mutates attempts to stab the Mole Man from behind with a spear, Kala gets in between them, getting injured instead. As the battle rages, Sersi reaches out to Brutus with her minds and learns that he isn’t a pure Deviant as he has claimed but a mutate himself who has been trying to pass for one. When she reveals this to the mutate army they turn on Brutus and rip him to pieces before peacefully departing.
However, the danger has far from passed, with Brutus out of the way Grotesk has seen an opening to gain control of the Oscillatron. Firing up the device he reveals that he only sided with the Mole Man and the others to secure the weapon so he can get his final revenge against the surface world. Unfortunately for him the Living Lightning is able to use his electrical powers to short out the weapon, rendering it useless. With that, the Avengers attack Grotesk en masse, knocking him out. With the battle over, the Mole Man has been touched by Kala’s willingness to sacrifice herself for him and has her rushed back to the medical tent for treatment. There the pair admit that they still have feelings for one another. The Mole Man also reveals that he always had the antidote for the poison that Tyrannus ingested and gives it to him.
With the battle over, the Avengers decide that it is time to head back to the surface. As they leave, Tyrannus gets dressed and recalls hearing Iron Man mentioning that Kala gave up her kingdom and decides to pay the Netherworld a visit.[10]
Recurring Characters
Avengers West Coast (Iron Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, US Agent, Living Lightning, Spider-Woman), Avengers (Captain America, Vision, Hercules, Black Widow, She-Hulk, Sersi, Sandman, Rage), Kala, Mole Man, Grotesk, Tyrannus, Brutus, Moliods, Tyrannoids, Lava Men
Continuity Notes
It’s mentioned here how Iron Man once fought Kala many years ago. This was in Tales of Suspense #43. Its also pointed out how she has rapidly aged. This is due to the fact that her time away from the Netherworld and its restorative properties has caused her to age.
The Mole Man has frequently attacked the surface world dating back to Fantastic Four #1. US Agent saw this first hand when he helped the Avengers fend off an attack on Los Angeles by Giganto, one of the Mole Man’s mutates in Avengers West Coast #54.
Spider-Woman mentions how the Commission gave her grief for many years. She was forced into their service in Iron Man #214. US Agent worked with them until he became a full fledged Avenger in Avengers West Coast #74.
The east coast team clashed with Brutus and his followers and were subsequently captured in Avengers Annual #19.
Seeing US Agent, Kala mistaken him for Captain America and thought he had escaped. The confusion isn’t that hard to believe since John Walker, aka the US Agent was Captain America at one point from Captain America #333 through 350. When he took on the mantle of US Agent in Captain America #354, John began wearing an his current cosume which was originally worn by Steve Rogers during the period John usurped the role of Captain America.
This is because the Mole Man once had Kala as his consort. However, she later betrayed him to be with Tyrannus so she could get access to his Fountain of Youth. See Fantastic Four #127-128.
Grotesk is the last survivor of the Gortokian race that lived below the Earth until it was entirely wiped out by underground nuclear tests. Since then, he wanted to avenge his people by destroying the surface world. See X-Men #41.
Tyrannus is said to be a former Roman emperor who ruled in 476 AD. He was banished to Subterranea by Merlin the magician and has sustained himself with the Fountain of Youth ever since as told in Incredible Hulk #5. More recently, Tyrannus was seemingly poisoned by the Hulk and cut off from his Fountain of Youth in Incredible Hulk Annual #17.
Kala turned down the chance to rule her former kingdom again in Iron Man Annual #12.
Although this story ends suggesting that Tyrannus will claim the Netherworld as his own, he doesn’t actually accomplish this. Things pretty much go back to the status quo in Subterranea as we’ll see in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #34-35.
Topical References
The Scarlet Witch is reading an issue of Newsweek while the Avengers are travelling into Subterranea. This should be considered a topical reference as Newsweek is a real world publication.
West Side Story
Its midnight at Avengers Compound and Spider-Woman heads down to the subbasement so she can continue her orientation training as a new member of the team.[1] Part of her training includes watching a video presentation put together by Hank Pym that delves into the origins and history of the West Coast Avengers.
Hank begins the tale by saying that the formation of the new team happened at a time when the Vision was acting chairman of the core Avengers group. At the time, the team was going through a roster change and the Vision decided that it was time for the group to expand and have a secondary team that would operate from the west coast of the United States. The Vision surprised everyone by choosing Hawkeye as the one to found this new team.[2] When Hawkeye set up the new team it consisted of himself, his newly wed wife Mockingbird, Iron Man, Wonder Man, and Tigra. The team’s first mission pitted them against Graviton and the Blank.[3] Following this, the Avengers West Coast battled Doctor Demonicus twice in rapid succession.[4]
Hank then talks about the roughest moments during these early days was when Wonder Man went on live television to publicly confess his past crimes. While Hawkeye was not impressed with this move, Simon Williams was forgiven by the public and it gave him a much needed career boost.[5] The team next faced the threat of Master Pandimonum and worked along side both Firebird and the Thing, who were both considered as membership at that time.[6] The team next had to deal with the issue of Tigra’s two warring souls. This led to a trip to the dimension of the Cat-People where Tigra was able to seemingly cure her.[7]
Pym then gets into the time when the team found itself being sent backward in time and Mockingbird was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider in the American Frontier.[8] However, he briefly deviates for a moment to talk about how, at the time, he was contemplating suicide when he was stopped by Firebird — now calling herself La Espirita — who helped him find new purpose as a scientific adventurer instead of a superhero.[9] Getting back to the primary conflict of the time, Hank recounts how Mockingbird was brainwashed into loving the Phantom Rider until she was freed from this control. In a fight against the corrupted hero, Mockingbird let him fall to his death. Something she kept secret from the team for a while.[10]
Hank then glosses over the next series of events, about how his ex-wife the Wasp became a de facto member of the team, the west coats team’s regular baseball games with eastern team, and the time that Quicksilver briefly became a foe of the Avengers. Soon enough the truth about how Mockingbird let the Phantom Rider die came out. Her husband Hawkeye was unhappy with this as it violated the Avengers rules about killing and led to a schism between the team. Mockingbird left the group with Tigra and Moon Knight, leaving only Hawkeye and Wonder Man left. The Vision and Scarlet Witch then agreed to temporarily join the team to bolster their ranks.[11] From there the two teams worked together to battle the Night Shift before parting ways again.[12]
Hank then details his continued involvement with the team during the periods when US Agent was forced upon them, the deconstruction of the Vision that left the android devoid of any emotions, Hawkeye and Mockingbird leaving to train the Great Lakes Avengers, and Tigra going feral again. During this period the team also started referring to themselves as the Avengers West Coast. During this time, the team also revived the android Human Torch and Iron Man rejoined their ranks. Not long after this, Agatha Harkness arrived to tell the Scarlet Witch that her twin children were not real and they were ultimately destroyed in a battle against Master Pandemonium. This pushed Wanda over the edge and she briefly rejoined Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This was until she was abducted by Immortus who wanted to use her powers as a Nexus Being to control all of history. The Avengers came to her assistance and Wanda rebelled, returning to normal in the aftermath.[13]
After battling the Living Lightning, the Human Torch took a leave of absence from the group.From then on the core members of the team have been Iron Man, Wonder Man, the Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, the Wasp, and Tigra, however Hank and Janet have announced that they will soon be leaving the team.[14] This concludes Hank’s recording leaving Spider-Woman to consider all the changes that have happened to the team since it was completed, namely their battle with the Pacific Overlords and US Agent, herself and Living Lightning joined the team.[15] She reminds herself to have Living Lightning watch the recording as soon as possible before the team undergoes any more drastic changes.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Woman, Hank Pym
Continuity Notes
Spider-Woman recently joined the AWC in Avengers West Coast #74.
The Vision suggested the formation of a west coast team in Avengers #243.
The formation of the original west coast roster and their battle with Graviton and the Blank was told in West Coast Avengers #1-4. There is an issue with the version of Iron Man presented see the “Errors” section below.
The battles with Demonicus occurred in Iron Man #193 and 196. A footnote here tells readers that Pym recorded this history of the group prior to the team’s recent battle with Demonicus and his Pacific Overlords which took place in Avengers West Coast #70-74. It’s interesting to note that Demonicus is stated as having a “lizard monster”, this creature is actually Godzilla who was mutated by Demonicus. See, Marvel ran a 24 issue licensed Godzilla comic book where the titular monster existed in the Marvel Universe. When Marvel no longer had the rights they skirted around it by having Godzilla mutated into a legally distinct form and stopped referring to the monster by name.
Before becoming Wonder Man, Simon Williams ran Williams Electronics and got caught in an embezzlement scandal. Although he was guilty, Simon seemingly died as a result of a side effect of his powers as seen in Avengers #9. Although Simon returned to life in Avengers #151, he never took ownership of his past crimes and society at large mostly forgot about them. There was also a period where Simon’s brother, the Grim Reaper, took ownership of the embezzlement as seen in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2. Simon eventually owned up to the crime and revealed it publicly in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #4.
The West Coast Avengers fought against Master Pandemonium in both West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #4 and 9. During this period they were considering both Firebird and the Thing for membership. It’s mentioned here that the Thing had quit the Fantastic Four at the time. The Thing quit the FF in Thing #23. Although the AWC made Ben Grimm a member in issue #9, his membership came to a quick end to the following issue. Firebird didn’t end up joining either because she was snubbed in favor for Ben Grimm. Ben would later rejoin the FF in Fantastic Four #296.
Tigra was brought to the Cat People in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #6, although a solution to the problem was not found until issue #15. The narration here is particularly bad, leaving the reader to believe that Tigra was turned back to her human form for good, yet she’s seen in the next panel as Tigra. Tigra didn’t lose her powers at all, this was just bad writing.
Again, the narration does a poor job explaining what exactly happened to the West Coast Avengers during their trip through time. It glosses over the fact that they were sent into the past by the alien invader known as Dominus who used a broken time machine that could only go backwards in time. These events were chronicled in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #17-24.
Hank Pym’s attempt at suicide was a long time coming. See Hank was still struggling with the fact that he was recently divorced after hitting his wife. This left Hank disgraced from the Avengers and he ultimately retired from costumed heroics as seen in Avengers #213, 217, 227-230. Hank joined up with the west coast team in a support capacity in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1. During that time he fooled around with Tigra who was literally fucking anything that moved at the time because of the whole two-souls thing. When Tigra got her shit together she ended their romance in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #16. Hank tried to eat a bullet in issue #17 but was stopped by La Espirita and he was convinced to become a “science adventurer” in issue #21.
Mockingbird was kidnapped by the Phantom Rider in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #18 just as the Avengers were going further backward in time. He used a love potion to force her to love him but with the help of the Two-Gun and Rawhide Kid, she was freed from the Rider’s control. She let him fall to his death in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #23. This recap skirts around the issue but as per Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1-5, Phantom Rider totally raped her.
This is where the narrative of the story gets really sloppy and plays things fast and loose. It references a lot of things out of order and glosses over many other important facts. So let’s break it down bit-by-bit and talk about their proper chronology and context:
Regarding the Wasp: The narration makes it sound like Janet Van Dyne started palling around with the AWC after they returned from the past in issue #24. However, she did not actually start chumming around with the team until issue #32. She joined up to fill the gap left by Iron Man when he took a leave of absence in that same issue.
The baseball games between the east and west coast rosters actually began earlier in Avengers Annual #15 and West Coast Avengers Annual #1 which took place prior to the time travel adventure. However, they did have a second game shortly after their return to the present as seen in West Coast Avengers Annual #2 and Avengers Annual #16.
Quicksilver going evil started in West Coast Avengers Annual #1, as revealed in X-Factor Annual #2, his mind was being influenced by Maximus the Mad. He clashed with the west coast team again in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #33-36. It states that Quicksilver later got over his madness and is now presently a reserve member of the team. Pietro got his mind back in order in Fantastic Four Annual #21 and became a reservist on the AWC in Avengers West Coast #70.
The narrative states that Moon Knight was a newly added to the team around this time, suggesting that it happened during their animosity with Quicksilver. It actually happened when the team was on their time travel adventure, specifically West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #21.
With respect to the revelation that Mockingbird allowed the Phantom Rider to die, this story glosses over the fact that the truth came out because Bobbi was being haunted by the spirit of Lincoln Slade who had possessed the body of his descendant Hamilton, the present day Phantom Rider starting in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #31. He exposed the truth in issue #34, leading to the schism in the team in issue #37.
At the time of this story, the Vision and Scarlet Witch were on an extended leave of absence from the Avengers that began in Avengers #255. Wanda and the Vision then got sucked into the battle with Quicksilver in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #33 and agreed to join up in issue #37.
Here, Hank states that he and the Wasp had left the team “for different reasons”. Hank left to treat a woman who was claiming to be his first wife, Maria Trovaya, who had been experimented upon in by the Hungarian government, as seen in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #36. He pretty much gave up on this following the events of Solo Avengers #16 and went back to the AWC in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42. The Wasp decided to leave the team in issue #37.
The fight with the Night Shift took place in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #40.
These events all surrounded the Scarlet Witch and happened in between major developments going on in her life, specifically the dissassembly of the Vision in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45, the destruction of her children in Avengers West Coast #51-52, getting conscripted by Magneto in issue #56-57 and being manipulated by Immortus in issues #60-62. They include:
Hank and the Wasp returning to the group in issue #42.
Tigra also started going feral again in issue #42. Hank was forced to shrink her in order to contain her in issue #49 but she escaped in issue #52. She ultimately was cured by Agatha Harkness in Avengers Spotlight #38.
US Agent being forced onto the team in issue #45.
Hawkeye and Mockingbird leaving to mentor the GLA took place in issue #46, although Hawkeye returned to the AWC in Avengers West Coast #60.
The team inversed their name going from the West Coast Avengers to Avengers West Coast starting in issue #47.
The Human Torch being reactivated in Avengers West Coast #50. He had been offline since Fantastic Four Annual #4.
Iron Man returned to the team in Avengers West Coast #51.
Although Wanda’s children were seemingly destroyed in issue #52, they would be reincarnated as explained in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6.
The battle between the Human Torch and the Living Lightning took place in Avengers West Coast #63. The Torch later went on a leave of absence starting in issue #65 so he could find the remains of Toro, his former partner who died years earlier in Sub-Mariner #14. The final roster change mentioned by Hank was determined in Avengers West Coast #69. That story also saw US Agent kicked off the team.
Spider-Woman mentions the battle with the Pacific Overlords which took place in issue #70-74 which ended with Hank and the Wasp leaving while US Agent, Spider-Woman and Living Lightning were taken onto the roster.
Errors
When discussing the original roster of the AWC, Iron Man is named as a founding member. While this isn’t wrong, the incorrect version of Iron Man is presented here. Here, Iron Man is depicted in his Silver Centurion. However, this was not the Iron Man who was present when the team first formed. At the time, Jim Rhodes was Iron Man and was wearing the Model 4 armor as the AWC were formed during the period Tony Stark could no longer be Iron Man as he was spiraling into alcoholism at the time as seen in Iron Man #167-183. Tony would overcome his addiction and become Iron Man full time again in Iron Man #200 in his newly built Sivler Centurion armor. He would only join up with the AWC in Avengers West Coast (vol. 2) #1. One could assume that Pym didn’t make this distinction in order to maintain Tony Stark’s double identity as it wasn’t known to the general public at the time of this story.
Topical References
When describing Tigra’s struggle between her human and cat spirits, Hank Pym diagnoses her as having “schizoid tendencies”. However, this is not an accurate assessment. According to the DSM-V schizoid tendencies are stated as “persistent detachment from social relationships and limited emotional expression in social settings.” During this period, Tigra was the exact opposite as she became more out going, flirtatious and shifting into aggressive behavior. Pym’s inaccurate diagnosis could be chalked up to what was known about mental illness when this comic was published in 1991 coupled with the writer’s limited understanding of psychology. As such, this should be considered a topical reference.
When talking about the time the Avengers were sent back in time to the days of the American Frontier, he states that the villains from that era would “make most people run screaming to a Lash LaRue film festival.” Alfred “Lash” LaRue was one of many actors who were popularized due to their roles in film westerns that were all the rage in the 1940s and 50s. LaRue himself was in 27 westerns from 1945 to 1952. References to LaRue here should be considered topical considering I had to just explain who Lash LaRue was to you.
When thinking about how many changes the WCA have had over the years she quips that Magic Johnson and Fernando Venezuela might be on the team by the time the Living Lightning gets to watching Hank’s computer record. Johnson and Venezuela were both popular professional athletes at the time this story was published. Magic Johnson was in the NBA but would abruptly retire from the game after being diagnosed with HIV in 1991. He briefly returned in 1996 before retiring again. Venezuela was in Major League Baseball playing from 1980 to 1991 and 1993 to 1997. References to both athletes should be considered topical as they have both retired from professional sports.
A Wasp in Hollywood
After leaving the Avengers West Coast, Janet Van Dyne — aka the Wasp — has been shopping around a screenplay about her life and time with the Avengers to various movie studios in Hollywood.[1] It gains the interest of Italian producer Dino Domani who calls a meeting with Jan to discuss purchasing her script. Domani loves the script but wants to make some changes to the story. He has called in his personal assistant Tony Romano to talk about the changes they want to go over.[2]
They go over the Wasp’s origin story, including how she met Hank Pym — aka Ant-Man — as well as the death of her father by the Creature from Kosmos.[3] Domani wants to change the story since the Creature of Kosmos part is too expensive for such a short part of the film and instead. He suggests a change by making Pym an absent minded professor and also changing her father’s death scene, making it at the hands of Egghead instead of the monster. Janet points out that Egghead — despite his name — wasn’t actually egg-themed like Domani believes, only that he had a very round head, but notes he once used an ant-eater to attack them before.[4]
Then they go over the part of the script where the Avengers were first formed and battled Loki.[5] Dino wants to make changes to this scene as well, he wants to make Hank Giant-Man already as well as Janet being a giant-woman. He also wants to change the Hulk’s colour from green to purple to avoid conflicts with a rival studio that owns the film rights to the green goliath.[6] When Janet agrees to these re-writes, Dino says he’ll get his people to make them. He then shuffles her out of his office so he can have a meeting with Arnold Schwartzberger. Schartzberger is interested in playing the role of Captain America, but Dino wants to save that for the sequel and has an idea for a brand new character called the Mighty Man of Kobar.[7] Janet tries to explain that no such individual exists but gets the door slammed in her face. As Janet leaves Mammoth Studios she jokingly welcomes herself to Hollywood.
Recurring Characters
Wasp
Continuity Notes
We first learned about Janet’s screenplay in Avengers West Coast #71.
It’s also interesting to note that there is a poster on the wall for Arkon IV, this was a film that Wonder Man starred in back in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #6.
Janet’s origin as the Wasp was originally told in Tales to Astonish #44.
Egghead had been on of Ant-Man’s earliest foes starting in Tales to Astonish #38. His name derived from a pejorative used to describe people who were overly intelligent, also his head was round. The time he attacked Ant-Man and the Wasp with an actual ant-eater was in Tales to Astonish #45.
This happened in Avengers #1, obviously.
Hank Pym later became Giant-Man, but that happened after the Avengers were formed in Tales to Astonish #49. Also mention was how he became Yellowjacket, that also wasn’t until later in Avengers #59.
Indeed, Captain America did not join the Avengers until later. Issue #4 to be precise.
Topical References
Dino Domani promises to get a number of big name Hollywood talent behind the film suggesting Steven Spielberg to direct with the roles of Thor, the Hulk, and Iron Man played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Sylvester Stallone respectively. These should all be considered topical references as these are real world actors who are now senior citizens and are on their way into retirement as of this writing, if not already having done so. Casting Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk is a nod to the fact that Ferrigno played the titular character on the Incredible Hulk TV show that aired from 1978 to 1982. He has regularly been casted as the voice of the Hulk in subsequent Hulk related movie and TV projects since.
It’s also interesting to note here that Tony Romano states that Universal Pictures has “dibs” on the Hulk character. Marvel sold off the rights to Universal Pictures and they actually retained distribution rights to solo Hulk films until 2023.
Romano also makes a reference to the fact that Stallone is working on a film called Rocky Rips Rambo. This is a lame joke about the fact that the star of both the Rocky and First Blood franchises is Stallone. This should be considered a topical reference since both franchises appear to be retiring or at least moving away from Stallone’s character as he is being aged out of an action hero role.
Other celebrity name drops and movie references include Winona Ryder, Paula Abdul, Jackie Kennedy, Christopher Lloyd, Back to the Future, The Rocketeer, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. All topical references, particularly Jackie Kennedy since she died in 1994.
Justice, Like Lightning
Miguel Santos, aka the Living Lighting, returns to his neighborhood in East Los Angeles for the first time since he got his powers.[1] Arriving at his home, Miguel’s mother is shocked to see her son as he has been missing for weeks and she suddenly faints. Miguel carries her inside where he is helped by his brother José. Noticing the front window of the home is boarded up, Miguel asks what’s happened while he was gone. José tells his brother that they were victims of a drive-by shooting while Miguel was gone. Tragically, Lisa was caught in crossfire and died.
José blames Lisa’s death on the local Vietnamese street gang, but their mother points out that this only happened after José started hanging out with the Jaguars gang. Hearing that his brother is dealing drugs angers Miguel to the point where he briefly loses control of his electrical powers. He then explains to his family how he got these powers and how he is now a member of the Avengers West Coast. When José asks Miguel to get his teammates to deal with the street gangs, he explains that local crime is kind of out of the group’s scope since they are a part of the United Nations. This angers José who runs off to avenge Amy’s death himself. Miguel promises his mother that he’ll bring José back alive. Seeing her eldest boy transform into his energy form and fly off, Maria Santos drops to her knees and prays for the safe return of her sons.
Miguel then pays a visit to his old girlfriend Asuka and asks for her help finding her brother. They are interrupted by Song, the leader of the Snakes — the Vietnamese Gang responsible for killing Amy. Song gloats that he’s dating Asuka now since Miguel went MIA for weeks. When Miguel confronts them about his sister he is struck in the back of the head with a pipe by one of the other gang members. When they move in to finish him off, Miguel instinctively turns into his Living Lightning form, scaring them off.
When Miguel recovers he races to a nearby part where the Jaguars and the Snakes are about to rumble. He tries to stop the violence but unfortunately, one of the Jaguars shoots at Miguel and the bullet passes through his energy form and fatally stikes Song, killing him instantly. With the situation about to boil over, Miguel unlashes jolts of electricity threatening to zap them all if they don’t stop fighting. This convinces José that being in a gang is not all its cracked up to be. When the police arrive on the scene both gangs flee. José stays behind to face the music, with Miguel promising to help him get out of jail. However, as his brother is being leaned into a cop car and Song being carried away by the meat wagon, Miguel thinks about how both gangs believed in eye-for-an-eye and considering all the damage done this evening thinks its a lousy trade off.
Recurring Characters
Living Lightning, Maria Santos, José Santos
Continuity Notes
Miguel was transformed into the Living Lightning in Avengers West Coast #63. He was rescued by and joined the Avengers in issues #70-74. Miguel also mentions how his father was a member of the Legion of the Living Lighting. See Tales to Astonish #97-99.
Subterranean War Reading Order
Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #1
Avengers West Coast Annual #6 <— You Are Here