Mighty Avengers #17

June 13, 2024 Nick Peron

Summary

Secret Invasion continues from Avengers: The Initiative #16…

Several Months Ago…

The Skrull posing as Hank Pym shows up at Bruno’s Nighttime Cafe somewhere in Oregon. On the TV the news is featuring a story about the Hulk’s attack on New York City.[2] He clumsily asks the man working the counter for a mocha coffee and gushes about how much they love the taste. “Pym” says that the drink is one of his top ten things on the entire planet. He is about to tell the diner employee that it is all ending soon when suddenly, Dum Dum Dugan of SHIELD enters the cafe. That’s when the man recognizes Hank as the Avenger known as Yellowjacket.

The two customers ask for some privacy and the man complies, going into the back so they can talk. “Dugan” is another Skrull impostor and wants to know why they have been called. “Hank” says he has been trying to get in contact with their leader, but hasn’t been able to reach her.[3] “Dugan” explains that she is busy on the Avengers, and that it was decided that — after the civil war — they are to remain out of contact and focused on their individual tasks.[4]

“Hank” explains that he needs to talk to their queen because he has come to the conclusion that their planned invasion is not going to work. They have underestimated the resilience of the human race and they will persevere and win the coming war. “Dugan” thinks his colleague is letting the real Hank Pym’s mind override their reasoning.[5] He points out that this defeatist attitude is what lands Pym in the trouble he has had in the past and orders “Hank” to get their head on straight. “Hank” continues to insist that the invasion is going to fail, based on the intel that he has gathered. He points out that Nick Fury hasn’t been dealt with, there are rumors that Thor has returned, and they have yet to find the Scarlet Witch.[6] When there is a pause in the conversation, “Dugan” tells “Pym” to finish his coffee because they are leaving.

The owner of the diner meanwhile is about to call someone and tell them who is in his diner. That’s when he notices that his two customers are leaving as a squad of military vehicles are pulling up outside. Putting the phone down he rushes out to see what’s going on. However, the owner of the diner doesn’t get farther than the door to the dining area when the entire building is rocked by an explosion.

The Skrull posing as Yellowjacket has decided that they aren’t going to be taken in and has grown to giant size. Moments later, “Pym” shrinks down to ant-size to try and escape in the nearby forest. After “Dugan” kills the diner owner he orders his men (all Skrulls disguised as SHIELD agents) to fan out and eliminate “Pym” by any means necessary. When they are in the woods some of the Skrulls drop their disguises to try and catch “Yellowjacket”. This leads to recriminations from “Dugan” who reminds them that they must keep up their disguises at all times. Cornered, “Hank” resumes giant size for the last stand, but while he is busy fighting his Skrull brothers, “Dugan” shoots him in the head, killing him instantly. When asked how many times they’re going to need to swap out Hank Pym, “Dugan” says it will be as many times as they need, he then orders everyone to do a scorched earth protocol to make sure that there is no trace of their real reason for being here or any hint that they are Skrulls in disguise.

Soon, a secure perimeter has been set up around the rubble of the diner. The blast has drawn locals who demand answers from the SHIELD agent stands guard. When the locals start asking what happened he tells them it was a mutant attack. A reporter covering the incident isn’t buying it and the locals demand to know what happened to the owner of the place.

Elsewhere, a new Skrull named Criti Noll has been selected to replace Hank Pym in the field.[7] Present is the queen in her “Jessica Drew” disguise. She tells them that this time they are going to have to improvise in order to carry on the mission. Returning to Camp Hammond, Criti (as Hank Pym) begins a romance with Tigra (Greer Grant). However, during a night of romance they are interrupted when a bunch of SHIELD agents burst into his room telling “Hank” that his ex-wife needs him![8][9]

… Secret Invasion continues in She-Hulk (vol. 2) #32.

Recurring Characters

“Yellowjacket” (Criti Noll & clone), “Jessica Drew”, “Dum Dum Dugan”, Tigra

Continuity Notes

This cover pays homage to Tales to Astonish #27.
This story takes place during the events of World War Hulk #1-5. We saw how the Skrull took Hank Pym’s place last issue, which happened prior to the events of House of M #1.
Here, the Skrull queen is identified as posing as Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman. She took the place of the real Spider-Woman circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1, as explained in New Avengers #42. This Skrull took Hank’s place in Mighty Avengers #15.
Veranke — posing as Spider-Woman — infiltrated the Avengers when they reformed in New Avengers #1-5. The civil war that “Dugan” is talking about here is the conflict that began when the government passed the Super Human Registration Act in Civil War #1-7. This law divided the hero community between those who registered with the government and those that did not. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.
“Dugan” lists off two of the real Hank Pym’s past faillures: Creating Ultron (Avengers #58) and hitting his wife (Avengers #213).
“Pym” is going over some of the status quo around the time of this story. They are :
- Nick Fury had gone underground after it was revealed that he led an illegal coup in Latveria, as seen in Secret War #1-5. He uncovered the Skrull invasion in Mighty Avengers #12-13 and has been working to stop it.
- Thor perished during the last Ragnarok cycle as seen in Thor (vol. 2) #80-85. At the time of this story, he had just recently returned from the dead in Thor (vol. 3) #1.
- The Scarlet Witch had gone missing following the events of House of M #1-8. In New Avengers #26 we learned that she has been living under an assumed identity in her native Transia with no memory of who she once was.
Here, the new Skrull (Criti Noll) references all of Hank Pym’s various identities that 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)
Here we get passing reference to the real Hank Pym’s failed marriage. He married the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) in Avengers #60. The two later divorced when Hank hit her in Avengers #213. The two then had an on-again-off-again relationship. At the time of this story, they were off again after they briefly moved to England together as seen in Mighty Avengers #15 thanks to Skrull interference.
The SHIELD agents are coming to recruit “Hank” to help the Mighty Avengers deal with Ultron, as seen in Mighty Avengers #1-6.

Topical References

The TV in the diner is depicted as a CRT model television. This should be considered topical as this is now an obsolete technology.
The reporter on the scene is depicted taking photos of the diner rubble with a “flip” style cell phone. this model of phone was quite common when this story was published in 2008. However, they have fallen out of popular use thanks to the advent of the smart phone. As such its depiction here should be considered a topical reference.

Secret Invasion Reading Order