Mighty Avengers #15 — Nick Peron

Jun 13

Jun 13 Mighty Avengers #15

Secret Invasion continues from Avengers: The Initiative #14…

Several Months Ago

Following the dissolution of the Avengers, Hank Pym has moved to England where he has been giving lectures on advanced genetic analysis. During one such lecture he takes questions from the students. One question is about if his experiences with the Avengers have affected the course of his research. He cheekily admits that he has been inspired by some of the alien technologies he has come into contact with. That’s when an attractive blonde woman asks Hank where the Avengers are. He tells her that they are taking a little break and that the team will always be there when the world needs them.[2]

That evening, Hank is working at his computer when his ex-wife, Janet Van Dyne comes home drunk after an evening home with friends. This annoys Hank who tells her to go to bed, but she keeps needling him with the fact that she hates living in England and that she could have cheated on him.[3] Losing his temper he yells at her to go to bed causing her to slam the bedroom door shut.

The next morning, Hank wakes up and discovers that he fell asleep at his computer. Going into the bedroom he discovers that Janet is gone and took all her things. Going into the bathroom he finds a note that simply reads “bye” on it. Annoyed by this, Hank immediately hooks up with the student he met the day before and the two have a one night stand in her dorm room. After they are done, the woman asks Hank about his former marriage and is assured that he and his ex-wife are separated. She then asks if he plans on returning to America. When he asks her why, she pulls up her laptop and shows Hank that there is a news story that the Avengers have gotten back together following a mass breakout at the Raft supermax prison. Pym tells her that the reformation of the Avengers has nothing to do with him and he intends to stay in England.

This delights the woman and over the next few weeks they go on multiple dates. She asks him questions about his superhero career, his time as an Avenger, and his inventions such as the Pym Particles and the Ultron artificial intelligence.[4] This culminates to her asking about the Kree/Skrull War the next time they are in bed together. spend the time talking about Captain Marvell, the Kree soldier who became one of Earth’s greatest defenders. When he gets to talking about the Skrulls, he talks about how shifty they are and how they can infiltrate society. However, he boasts that Reed Richards has found a way to detect them and that they are safe from invasion. That’s when the woman calls him arrogant and gives him an evil glair. She suddenly shapeshifts into a Hulk form and beats Hank into submission.[5]

With Pym knocked out, the Skrull picks up her cellphone and calls her superiors and tells them her mission is done. That’s when there is a knock at the door. The Skrull then resumes her human form and answers in the nude. The visitor turns out to be Janet, who is unimpressed to see a young woman in her ex-husband’s apartment. Janet tells her to give Hank a message: that she is leaving him for good. As she turns to leave, she recommends the “young lady” set her standards higher than Hank Pym.

Later, the Skrull undergoes the ritual to transform herself into Hank Pym in a way that the humans cannot trace.[6] Their leader (disguised as Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman) admits that she doesn’t find Hank Pym very useful for their plans.[7] The Skrull smirks and tells their leader to give her a week.

Two Months Ago….[8]

Having successfully infiltrated the life of Hank Pym, the Skrull spy is called to assist the newly formed Mighty Avengers when the planet was under threat from Ultron. After Ultron is defeated, the impostor goes to a meeting of other Skrull infiltrators and tells them that they uncovered a way to compromise Iron Man’s armor. Thanks to Ultron briefly co-opting Tony Stark’s armor, “Pym” has learned that the reason why their attempts have failed because Stark and his armor are now biologically linked.[9] With this new data, “Hank” has now given them the final plank of their infiltration plan and now all they need to do is set one last trap into motion.

“Hank” then pays a visit to Janet Van Dyne at her fashion studio. He pretends to be coming to make up, giving her an anniversary present, something that will give Janet an edge in battle.[10]

… Secret Invasion continues in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #28.

Recurring Characters

Yellowjacket (Hank Pym, Criti Noll and Criti Noll clone), Wasp, Black Widow, Ultron, “Spider-Woman”, “Dum-Dum Dugan”, “Black Bolt”, “Edwin Jarvis”

Continuity Notes

This cover pays homage to Avengers #213.
The events of this story take place shortly after the Avengers disbanded following an attack on the group by the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500-503/Avengers: Finale #1. Hank’s assertion that the Avengers will be back turns out to be true, as we saw in New Avengers #1-5. The Skrull impersonator in this story goes unnamed here. We will learn their name is Criti Noll in Mighty Avengers #17.
Hank and Janet have had a turbulent relationship since they first met circa Tales to Astonish #44. The two got married in Avengers #60 and years later they ended up getting divorced after Hank hit her in Avengers #213. Since then they have had an on-again-off-again relationship. Prior to this story, they were back on again starting in Avengers (vol. 3) #71.
Hank was responsible for creating Ultron, an ever present Avengers threat, as detailed in Avengers #58. She also asks if he has ever met Spider-Man, Hank first met the web-slinger in Tales to Astonish #57.
There are a few references here about conspiracy theories and the like and how they are treated in the Marvel Universe. The details:
- The assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a real world event which took place in on November 22, 1963. Although all evidence points to a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald, there are still a lot of classified information about the incident that has led to various conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination, particularly since Oswald was shot and killed before going to trail. Its reference here is not topical as it is being made in a historical context.
- In the Marvel Universe, there have been some hints at a possible conspiracy:
  - In Wolverine (vol. 2) #49 features a flashback that occurs a few days after JFK’s assassination. In that story, Sabretooth hints that he might have been involved but these details have never been fully explored. As Wolverine and Sabretooth are long lived thanks to their healing factors, this story is factual.
  - In Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #18, General Ryker hints that he may have been a second shooter on that day. Since Ryker is apparently an ordinary human with a normal life span, this can be relegated to a topical reference.
  - In Moon Knight (vol. 4) #1-4 it has been suggested that the JFK assassination may have involved CIA mind control. The details of this have not been fully explored.
- Marilyn Monroe: In real life, actress Marilyn Monroe was once considered the most glamourous woman in Hollywood. She tragically died at age 36 of a barbituate overdose on August 4, 1962. It was long rumored that Monroe had an affair with JFK and conspiracy theories have spun out of that to the effect that Marilyn was actually murdered to cover up said affair among other equally bizarre things. In the Marvel Universe, these rumors and conspiracies also exist as seen in Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #10 and Deadpool (vol. 5) #2 & 4.
- Galactus: A cosmic being that consumes entire worlds to sustain himself. He has been thwarted from consuming the Earth many times in the past. The earliest instance recorded was during the Renaissance, but was stopped by Leonardo Da Vinci, as revealed in S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. In modern times, Galactus was repelled by the Fantastic Four in Fantastic Four #48-50. There are those in the Marvel Universe that believe that Galactus is a hoax, as we saw in Marvel TV: Galactus - The True Story #1.
- The Beyonder: Is an all-powerful cosmic entity that is a part of a race called the Beyonders (that’s not confusing at all) who first appeared in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1. He later came to and menaced Earth in Secret Wars II #1-9 and nearly destroyed the planet until it was saved by the Avengers in Avengers #266.
- The Kree/Skrull War: Took place in Avengers #89-97, where the Avengers and Captain Marvel saved the Earth from getting caught between this war.
After the Kree/Skrull War, the Skrulls held the Illuminati prisoner and took tons of data on various types of superhumans and over the years they have developed the means to assume human forms that are virtually undetectable. See New Avengers: Illuminati (vol. 2) #1 and New Avengers #40 and 44.
The Skrull leader, Veranke, took the place of Spider-Woman circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1, as seen in New Avengers #42. When taking on the form of Hank Pym, the Skrull lists off the various identities he has had in the past: Ant-Man (Tales to Astonish #35), Giant- Man (Tales to Astonish #49), Goliath (Avengers #28), and Yellowjacket (Avengers #59)
This flashback takes place during the events of Mighty Avengers #1-6 when the group fought Ultron. What is not specified here is that this isn’t the original Skrull that took Hank’s place, but a replacement after the original tried to go AWOL and is eliminated as we see in Mighty Avengers #17.
At the time of this story, Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor has become an extension of his own body after being transformed by Extremis, as seen in Iron Man (vol. 4) #1-6.
This is a flashback from the end of Mighty Avengers #6, “Hank” gives Janet an upgrade to her size changing abilities so she can grow to giant size. This turns out to be a Skrull trojan horse that is triggered during the final battle in Secret Invasion #8.

Topical References

The Skrull Hank has a one night stand with pulls up the news about the Avengers reforming on the Drudge Report website. This is a conservative news aggregation website of ill repute. Its depiction here should be considered topical as it is a real word website.
The cell phones in this story are depicted as “flip” style phones that were common in 2008 when this story was first published. They have since fallen out of popular use thanks to the advent of the smart phone. As such their depiction here should be considered topical.
The Skrull posing as Hank’s student fears that Skrulls could replace the Queen. When this story was published she would be referring to Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled England from 1952 until her death in 2022. She has since been succeeded by her son King Charles III. Any indication that the Skrull is referring to Elizabeth II should be considered topical. Modern readers should interpret this to referring to whomever is currently representing the British monarchy currently or perhaps a fictional monarch that is unique to the fiction.