Orphan

Force Works has come to Australia to investigate a strange unreality reading. There they discovered a small town under siege by creatures that have come out of the dreams of others. Teaming up with Dreamguard, a local superhero, they went to investigate the source of the problem, Gowanga Gorge, a place of cultural significance to the aboriginal population. En route in the Works Wagon, the team is attacked by a massive glowing skeleton.

Suddenly, Dreamguard finds himself plunged into a dream that tells of an event that happened one hundred millennia in the past. These images are projected to him by an alien entity calling itself the Orphan. It is a sentient alien ship that crash landed in the region long ago. There Orphan laid dormant for a time until it was found by Dreamguard’s ancestors. Because Orphan was constructed to harness the power of the mind, it was able to make their dreams a reality and was worshiped like a god. It explains that the current manifestations are just what it has always done, made dreams real. Dreamguard tells Orphan it has to stop because the dreams it is utilizing are the thoughts of a madman.

Suddenly, Dreamguard finds himself back in reality and laying in the ruins of the Works Wagon. However, the members of Force Works are nowhere to be found. The novice hero demands Orphan reveal what he had done with the others.

The members of Force Works have been plunged into various dream states themselves that quickly turn into nightmares. For Iron Man, it is witnessing the world being swallowed up in a techno-organic growth that consumes him as well, stripping away his armor and his humanity. For Spider-Woman its seeing her daughter trapped on a massive spider web that is a feeding ground for the Scatter. Century is haunted by an army of negative images of himself that soon crowd and overwhelm him. For the Scarlet Witch it is suddenly having her teammates turn on her. US Agent is reduced to a child afraid of a monster lurking in his closet. However, in the case of the Agent, he is no longer frightened by this and reverts back to his adult form and fights back against the monster. This in turn shatters all the dream states, freeing the members of Force Works from their living nightmares.

As everyone recovers from their experiences and compares notes, Dreamguard explains what’s happening. The Scarlet Witch decides that they need to shut Orphan down. As they climb the ridge to get to the alien ship, Wanda reminds Iron Man that she is in charge and she won’t put up with him grandstanding this time. Once they are on the other side and approach Orphan, it unleashes more dream form monsters upon them. As the team fights off these apparitions, US Agent and Spider-Woman go looking for Shane Mundy, the bank robber feeding Orphan these nightmare images. They find the criminal and try to pull him free from Orphan’s machinery. In touching Mundy, US Agent is mentally linked and screams in agony. Spider-Woman reacts naturally and uses her psi-webs to try and pull him away, causing the feedback to flow into her as well.

Suddenly, Orphan unleashes a blast of energy that causes all the dream forms to disappear. In the aftermath of the battle US Agent and Spider-Woman explain that when they touched Mundy, they all became mentally linked to Orphan. The machine then got a crash course on human morality and realized that the dream images created by Mundy were evil. In order to stop them from manifesting into reality it was forced to kill him. With Orphan gone dormant again, Dreamguard realizes that the machine is almost child like in its understanding of the outside world and vows to defend it and keep the locals safe. Force Works thanks him for his assistance and gives him a communications stud in the event he ever need their assistance in the future.[1]

Recurring Characters

Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Century), Dreamguard, Orphan, Alf Robbins, Shane Mundy (corpse)

Continuity Notes

1. Although this alludes to upcoming appearances of Dreamguard as of this writing (in November, 2022) the character has not been seen since.

Sense of Loss

Today is the memorial for Wonder Man, who was killed in the line of duty on his first mission with Force Works.[1] In attendance are the members of Force Works — including Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Century and their PR manager Amanda Chaney — as well as Avengers past and present — including the Beast, Thor, Captain America,[2] the Vision, Quicksilver, Crystal, Hercules, Thunderstrike, the Living Lightning, the Black Widow, Falcon, Giant-Man, the Wasp, and their butler Edwin Jarvis — as well as other representatives from the superhero community including the Thing, SHIELD director Nick Fury, and sorceress Agatha Harkness.

However, Century and Amanda Chaney are watching the proceedings from the sidelines. This is because the Century hardly knew Wonder Man and it didn’t feel right to him to participate in the burial proceedings. More over, Century considers himself responsible for Simon Williams’ death. Had he not been transported to Earth, the Scatter would not have been drawn to the planet and damage the Kree Starstrealth ship causing it to explode.

Amanda thinks this is nonsense and reminds Century that he was drawn to Earth by a fluke of the Scarlet Witch’s hex powers, he couldn’t have foreseen what would have happened as a result. More over, despite the fact that they know almost nothing about him, Amanda has followed Century’s activities with Force Work and he has put his life on the line for the team time and again.[3] She points to the recent battle with the Mandarin and how, if Century wasn’t there, War Machine would have died at the hands of the mad man. It was also Century’s knowledge of the Heart of Darkness that allowed Force Works to ultimately defeat their foe as well.[4] She tells him that he should be proud of what he has accomplished and stop punishing himself for something that is not his fault. Realizing that Amanda is correct, Century thanks her for making him see the truth.

When the funeral is over, the members of Force Works are driven back to their headquarters by Happy Hogan. They all sit in silence reflecting on the loss of Wonder Man and how it reminds each and every one of them of personal losses they have suffered over the years. For the Scarlet Witch it is the loss of her children,[4] Spider-Woman reflects on her failed marriage and the death of her ex-husband Larry,[5] Iron Man thinks about the recent loss of his girlfriend Veronica Benning,[6] while US Agent reflects on a much deeper personal grief that he keeps locked in his heart and has not shared with the others.[7]

Recurring Characters

Force Works (Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Century), Amanda Chaney, Avengers (Captain America, Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Vision, Hercules, Black Widow, Crystal, Thunderstrike), Beast, Falcon, Nick Fury, Agatha Harkness, Living Lightning, Thor, Wasp, Edwin Jarvis, Happy Hogan

Continuity Notes

1. Wonder Man seemed to be killed in Force Works #1 on the team’s inaugural mission. In reality, Simon Williams is now floating on the brink between life and death. The Scarlet Witch will begin pulling him back to the world of the living starting in Avengers (vol. 3) #2 until he is fully restored in issues #10-11 of that series.

2. It’s interesting to note that Captain America is depicted here wearing his trademark costume. Per last issue, this story takes place between Force Works #8 and 9. Chronologically, that places this story as happening after Captain America #431 after Cap was given a battle harness with high tech gear to give him an edge in battle. One could assume that Cap chose not to wear the harness because it wouldn’t be needed at a funeral.

3. Since his arrival on Earth, Century has had no memory of his past. As will be explained in Century: Distant Sons #1, Century is a composite being whose mind is comprised of the Homodurians 100 greatest warriors.

4. This of course is a reference to the then recent Hands of the Mandarin storyline. See Force Works #6, Marvel Comics Presents #169-171, War Machine #9, Iron Man #311, Marvel Comics Presents #172, Force Works #7, War Machine #10, and Iron Man #312.

5. The Scarlet Witch used her magical powers to make herself pregnant back in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3 and gave birth to twin boys — Billy and Tommy — in issue #12 of that series. However, they were later wiped from existence during a battle with Master Pandemonium in Avengers West Coast #51-52. Wanda has stopped mentioning this out loud since Avengers West Coast #89 as she knows dwelling on it will lead to madness and will eventually forget they ever existed until Avengers #500-503. Her children won’t remain deaf for long, they will be reincarnated in new lives as Wanda will learn in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6.

6. Iron Man #214 revealed that Spider-Woman was a divorcee who frequently clashed with her husband Larry over custody of their daughter Rachel. Larry fell victim of the Deathweb in Avengers West Coast #86.

7. Veronica Benning became part of Tony Stark’s life when he required physiotherapy to regain his mobility starting in Iron Man #292. The two eventually fell in love by issue #300. The relationship came to an abrupt end when Tony’s body was taken over by VORTEX, a rogue artificial intelligence. Getting itself drunk, VORTEX tried to force itself on Veronica. She fought him off and thinking this was Tony, she left him immediately after the incident. See Iron Man #308-309.

8. Although it is not specified here, US Agent is likely mourning the loss of his parents, Caleb and Emily Walker. The two were murdered by the Watchdogs, a grass roots militia that targeted John’s parents after his secret identity was exposed. See Captain America #345.