Iron Man Annual #8
When Innocence Dies
A Few Months Ago
After getting into trouble at school, Willie Evans, Jr.’s imaginary friend — a talking frog named Grunt suggests that he uses his mutant powers to get revenge against his teacher. Reluctant at first, Willie is eventually convinced that it is the only solution. The following day at school, Willie uses his mutant powers to transform his teacher’s desk into a monster that attacks her.
After the incident, Willie’s father is called into the school and he finds the tales of a desk coming to life preposterous. However, he is well aware that his son is a mutant and has been struggling to keep his powers in check since the death of his wife. When William returns home he asks his son why he attacked his teacher but doesn’t get a straight answer. Later that evening, some armed men force their way into the Evans home, knock would William and kidnap his son.
Now
Tony Stark has just finished building a new alpha-particle accelerator and is bringing it to Project PEGASUS for testing. There he is greeted by the Guardsman — aka Michael O’Brien — the head of security and an old friend. He is also introduced to two of the head scientists, Henri Sorel and Myron Wilburn. As Iron Man is given a tour of the facility, he is disturbed to a sedated child — Willie Evans — being wheeled away. Once they are in the privacy of Michael’s quarters, Tony asks about Evans.[1] Unfortunately, Michael doesn’t no much because much of the Project’s work are closely guarded secrets for national security reasons. Still, while he doesn’t have a problem with super-villains being incarcerated at the facility, the idea of a child being kept here against his will doesn’t sit very well with O’Brien.
Meanwhile, back in New York, William Evans has shown up at X-Factor headquarters and pulled a gun on the secretary and Cameron Hodge. He believes that these private mutant hunters are responsible for kidnapping his son and demand that they release him right away.[2] Believing that this is one big misunderstanding, Cameron convinces William to put his gone down and agrees to arrange a meeting with X-Factor — Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Warren Worthington, Bobby Drake, and Hank McCoy who are all secretly mutants themselves. The team tells Evans that they don’t have his son and ask to hear more about his story. William explains that his son’s mutant powers first manifested a few years back when they created an evil version of the Fantastic Four. After this, Reed Richards suggested that his son be taken to Charles Xavier to learn how to control his powers.[3][4] However, he decided against it and he and his wife were able to keep their son in check until she died in a car accident. He also explains the circumstances around his son’s kidnapping. The only clue he can offer is that the men who took Willie wore badges with a horse head on them. X-Factor promises Evans that they’ll look into it and after some consideration, Hank believes the boy was taken by Project PEGASUS.
Back at Project PEGASUS, Iron Man has finished installing the alpha-particle device when he hears Willie Evans screaming and is instantly disgusted. O’Brien also doesn’t like it and decides to go out to get some “fresh air”. Meanwhile, some doctors have sedated Willie for the night but that has done little to stop him from using his powers. Summoning his imaginary friends, Grunt appears and tells Willie to use his powers to escape. However, the boy is too tired from the drugs to do anything. When Myron Wilburn walks past the boy’s room and comments about how dangerous he could be, Grunt is comments to himself that Wilburn doesn’t know the half of it.
Later that evening the members of X-Factor have arrived in their X-Terminator identities — Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, and the Beast — and are searching the grounds. They are caught by the Guardman who raises the alarm, drawing Iron Man outside to see what’s going on. The security alert also inspires Grunt to put his plan into motion. As Iron Man and the Guardsman fight X-Factor outside, Grunt wakes up Willie and encourages him to use his powers to get them out. In the ensuing battle, the Beast separates Iron Man from the fight and reveals that he is his old Avengers teammate and explains why X-Factor has come to Project PEGASUS.[5] Trusting his former teammate, Iron Man orders a ceasefire and asks the Guardsman to trust him on how to deal with Willie Evans.
However, they are too late to do anything because Willie has escape from his room and is now using his powers to terrorize the Project PEGASUS staff. Iron Man, the Guardsman, and X-Factor try to save Myron Wilburn and the others and are forced to fight a massive crab monster and animated statues of X-Factor created by Willie’s powers. While the heroes are busy dealing with these threats and saving lives, Grunt convinces Willie to escape while everyone is distracted. In the aftermath of the battle, Iron Man and the others help those who have been injured and although they can’t agree on how to help Willie Evans, they need to find him before anyone else gets hurt.
Due to the destruction caused by Willie at Project PEGASUS, the government has called in Nick Fury and SHIELD to hunt down the boy, complicating the search. Needing to find Willie first, Iron Man goes to Avengers Mansion to get the aid of Mister Fantastic.[6] While Reed is giving Iron Man a device that allows him to detect Willie’s power use, the Avenger puts his foot in his mouth when commenting about how dangerous Evans is. This is in earshot of Reed’s son, Franklin, also a very powerful mutant. Reed tries to get Iron Man to understand that as a father, he’d do anything to protect his son as well. Iron Man takes the device and returns to the members of X-Factor, who are continuing to help even though it is unofficial. When Iron Man reiterates the threat Willie poses, Marvel Girl gets upset with him and tries to explain how difficult it is being a mutant. Iron Man tries to keep the peace by reminding her that they are all friends.
Meanwhile, Willie and Grunt have retreated to the town of Pottersville. The boy deeply misses his mother but Grunt tells him to suck it up as his parents are the reason why he is in this situation. Hungry, Willie is goaded into trying to rob a store just as the authorities are descending on the town and he is caught red handed. Not wanting to go back to being a prisoner, Willie complies when Grunt tells him to use his powers to fight back. This sets off Iron Man’s detection device and he and X-Factor race to Pottersville to stop anyone from getting hurt.[7] Also en route is Nick Fury himself, who takes Willie’s father along with him.
When the heroes arrive, the National Guard have been fought back by Willie, who uses his power to transform the rubble of a nearby building into a giant monster. Iron Man destroys this titan but Willie uses his powers to turn his sonic powers again him, prompting X-Factor to save him when he falls out of the sky.[8] As the group tries to figure out their next move, Grunt orders Willie to erect a massive field of energy around himself to push all of his attackers away. Seeing that this is taking a lot of energy, Iron Man, Cyclops and Marvel Girl all hammer at the field with their powers until it collapses. Iron Man then races in and tries to convince Willie to stop fighting, as they all want to help him. Grunt orders Willie to stop listening to them and fight back. However, by this time the Evans boy is completely confused.
It becomes a moot point, because Grunt is now able to take control of Willie’s powers and use them himself. Gaining power and size, Grunt attacks Iron Man and reveals to Willie that he was the one who killed his mother by making the car accident happened. This horrifies everyone in earshot, including Willie’s father. Iron Man and the others realize that Grunt is the personification of Willie’s repressed anger manifested in physical form. Seeing Grunt for what he really is, Willie fights back against his creation and seemingly destroys the monster, however this costs the boy his life and he dies in his father’s arm pleading with his father to explain why he was born so different.
Eventually, a funeral is held for Willie Evans and the burial service is attended by the members of X-Factor and Tony Stark. After the service, Tony tries giving his condolences to Jean Grey. However, when he says nothing could have been done for Evans, Jean disagrees telling Stark if people offered Willie a helping hand to begin with, this tragedy would never have happened. Later that evening, Grunt — returned to his cartoonish stature — appears at Willie’s grave and sobs for his dead friend, promising that he’ll get them back for what happened and things will be just like old times again.[9]
Recurring Characters
Iron Man, Willie Evans, Jr., X-Factor (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Iceman, Beast), Henri Sorel, Myron Wilburn, Guardsman, Cameron Hodge, Franklin Richards, SHIELD (Nick Fury)
Continuity Notes
Here, Tony unmasks in front of Michael. This is because O’Brien has known Tony’s secret identity since Iron Man #99. Michael also mentions how he took over the head of security job from Quasar. Wendell Vaughn was head of security at Project PEGASUS from Marvel Two-in-One #53 and quit after the facility was almost dominated by the Elder God Set in Marvel Team-Up Annual #5.
At the time of this story, the original X-Men formed X-Factor in order to pose as humans who hunt down and contain mutants in order to secretly train them to control their powers in X-Factor #1. This scheme was cooked up by Cameron Hodges, who at first claimed that this was a public relations move. It is later revealed that Hodge is a member of an anti-mutant group called the Right and this is part of a larger conspiracy to further foment anti-mutant hysteria. Hodge’s true agenda will be exposed in X-Factor #21.
Willie’s first manifestation of his powers was chronicled in Fantastic Four #203. Evans states here that this incident happened a “few years ago” which is accurate according to the Sliding Timescale, which dictates that it has been roughly 2 years between that story and this one.
Here, Warren, Bobby and Scott go into some exposition about the training of mutants:
Bobby recounts how they were all trained by Charles Xavier. In fact, the members of X-Factor were Xavier’s first school of students and the original X-Men dating back to (you guessed it) X-Men #1.
They also theorize that Willie could have been a member of the New Mutants, a team of young mutants that Xavier had established aside from the X-Men in the recent past back in Marvel Graphic Novel #4.
They also mention how Xavier’s school is now being run by Magneto. Seriously injured and needing to go into space for a cure, Xavier convinced Magneto to change his ways and run the school during his absence in Uncanny X-Men #200. Magneto’s reformation was genuine however, the members of X-Factor are unaware of his agreement with Charles and thus why they have their suspicions. Magneto will eventually return to form in Uncanny X-Men #253.
Lastly, the members of X-Factor state that Xavier is “gone”, as stated above, he is off in the Shi’ar galaxy getting medical treatment for injuries he sustained in Uncanny X-Men #192. He will remain off world until issue #276 of that series.
Why Iron Man doesn’t recognize the Beast is a bit complicated. Here are the facts:
As seen in X-Men #1, despite being called the Beast, Hank McCoy looked like an ordinary human, just with large hands and feet.
After graduating from the X-Men, Hank took a job at the Brand Corporation where he worked to isolate the cause of mutation. While trying to prevent the Secret Empire from stealing Brand secrets, Hank drank the mutation formula causing him to turn into a hairy beast more in line with his name. See Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #11.
After a brief solo career, the Beast started a lengthy affiliation with the Avengers, joining the team in Avengers #137 until he left the group in issue #211. During that time he worked along side Iron Man on many occasions.
After his stint on the Avengers, Hank eventually rejoined the original X-Men to form X-Factor in X-Factor #1. Not long after this, he was captured by a former colleague named Carl Maddicks from his Brand days. Trying to find a cure for his son’s mutation, Maddicks experimented on Hank. While he didn’t cure McCoy of being a mutant, he caused him to regress back to his original form, as seen in X-Factor #3.
Hank’s regression will prove to be short lived as he will return to his hairy form in X-Factor #33.
Here it is stated that the Fantastic Four are temporarily staying at Avengers Mansion. This was following the destruction of their headquarters, the Baxter Building, in Fantastic Four #278. They will stay there until their new headquarters, the Four Freedoms Plaza, opens in Fantastic Four #285.
While alone with Iron Man, Angel apologizes for Marvel Girl’s stern attitude, telling him that she is has had a rough time lately. At the time of this story, Jean had just returned after the Phoenix Force stole her life for some time. She was replaced by the Phoenix Force, who briefly usurped her life starting in X-Men #101. After the Phoenix was destroyed in X-Men #137, Jean would eventually be rescued and revived by the Avengers and Fantastic Four in Avengers #263/Fantastic Four #286, bereft of her telepathic powers. Jean returned joined X-Factor in X-Factor #1, and was having a hard time with the changes that have happened since she was gone, particularly how her former lover Cyclops had married another woman in his absence, something she just learned in X-Factor #7.
Here, Marvel Girl wishes she still had her telepathic powers. Jean’s power levels are quite complicated at the time of this story. The details:
Jean Grey’s mutant abilities were telepathy and telekinesis. However, her powers first manifested as her friend was fatally struck by a car and their minds were linked as that friend died in her arms. Traumatized by the experience, Jean was sent to Charles Xavier to learn how to use her powers. Chuck shut down her telepathy so she could focus on her telekinetic powers until such a time she was ready to master her telepathy. See Bizarre Adventures #27.
Jean would later have her telepathic powers reactivated during a jaunt to the future but this would ultimately reversed when she and her fellow time displaced X-Men were returned to their proper era. See All-New X-Men #1 through Extermination #5.
Not long after this, Charles Xavier reactivated Jean’s mutant powers to help him ward off an invasion by the Z’Nox circa X-Men #39 as told in issue #65 of that series. That remained the status quo for a long time until…
As stated above, Jean was replaced for a time by the Phoenix Force and when she was eventually revived, she was bereft of her telepathic powers. Jean’s telepathy will ultimately be restored by the Phoenix Force in X-Factor #38.
Despite assurances that he’ll be back, we never see either Willie Evans or Grunt, at least as of this writing (January, 2022).
Topical References
Willie Jr.’s room is decorated with posters of various Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and Dumbo. Something like this would normally be considered a topical reference. However, now that Marvel is owned by Disney, such brand synergy wouldn’t be considered such.