Earth’s Mightiest, Part 2: The Writing on the Wall

Earlier

Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) was working with the Knights of Wundagore in collecting the scattered pages from the Book of Darkhold.[1] The last page was located within the Vatican. However, when Pietro arrived he discovered that he was too late to stop Modred the Mystic from obtaining the last page. He then raced to the Darque Hold Caverns in the Wundagore Mountains in Transia. When he arrives he discovers that Modred has slaughtered all the knights and taken Bova the cow woman captive. The sorcerer then used his magics to restrain Pietro so he could be the host body for Chthon.[2]

Now

The Wasp (Hank Pym) had been convinced by Hercules, Amadeus Cho, Jocasta and Jarvis to form a new team of Avengers to stop the chaos wave that was restructuring reality. Traveling to Transia, they discover the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) there along with Avengers of her own: the Hulk (Bruce Banner), US Agent (John Walker), Vision (Jonas), and Stature (Cassie Lang).[3] Cassie tries to attack Wanda because she was responsible for the death of Cassie’s father.[4] However, Jarvis points out that the Witch is only present in her astral form. The Hulk is also spoiling for a fight, and Amadeus tries to remind the monster that they are friends.[5] US Agent piles on because Hercules and Cho are wanted for refusing to register under the Super Human Registration Act.[6] When Jocasta is damaged by the Hulk, Pym orders everyone to stand down and they all listen. However, the Hulk has had his fill with other people and bounds off to be alone. Pym doesn’t bother trying to go after him.[7]

This situation is being observed by Chthon and Modred. The powerful demon is amused that this team of Avengers are more chaotic than the last time he faced the heroes and dismisses them as a distraction.[8] He then uses Quicksilver’s speed to race off and continue sowing chaos all over the world. Modred, on the other hand, would rather deal with these heroes and leaves with Bova to plan. Their presence and departure is sensed by the Scarlet Witch, who suddenly teleports away without a word to the Avengers she had a part in gathering together. When the others notice this, Cho tells Hank to pull rank. However, the Wasp is more interested in repairing Jocasta than he is leading this new team.

Meanwhile, Chthon races across the Earth using his magics to warp reality to his twisted imagination. This keeps other heroes — such as Britain’s MI13, Russia’s Winter Guard, and the all female Lady Liberators under wraps. His crisscrossing the globe is being tracked in orbit by Iron Man (Tony Stark). He finally decides to head down to Transia to deal with this threat. When the Scarlet Witch sees this, she uses her magics to lure the Hulk back in the hopes that the two running into each other will bring them back into her little game. However, this trick works a little too well as the Hulk manages to remember how Stark had exiled him to space and the countless losses he experienced there.[9] The Hulk then ambushes Iron Man in a fit of rage.[10]

While this is going on, the Avengers have relocated to the Ram’s Head Inn to set up a temporary base of operations. While Hank enlarges a portable lab to repair Jocasta, the others learn from the bartender that he saw Quicksilver going to the Darque Hold, a cavern in the mountains. Jarvis goes to tell this to Pym just as he is finishing up his repairs. He agrees that this is a good starting point to find out what’s going on. He orders Jarvis to stay behind and keep an eye on both Jocasta and Amadeus Cho. Cho argues against this, but his complaints fall on deaf ears. While they head up the mountain, on the other side, Iron Man tries to convince the Hulk that there is a lot at risk. However, the gamma spawned rage monster has no interest in doing anything but crushing the author of his recent miseries.

When the Avengers arrive at the Darque Hold cavern, they notice the walls are lined with a strange language. Hercules notes that had they brought Amadeus with them he could have deciphered their meaning. That’s when Modred appears and tells the heroes that they have reached their doom. Suddenly, the walls begin reforming into humanoid creatures that appear to be immune to everything, including the Vision’s ability to phase through them. As the Avengers gird for battle, US Agent asks the Wasp if he has any other bright ideas. Hank, priming his bio-stinger, tells John that he’s working on a solution. Meanwhile, the battle with the Hulk comes to an abrupt end when Iron Man blasts a booster rocket that the Hulk is using to try and crush him causing a massive explosion. This is sensed by Chthon who speeds back to Wundagore Mountain to see what is going on.

Back in the cavern, the Avengers are still trying to figure out how to take down the stone golems. While Modred is distracted, Bova — who is being guided by a voice speaking to her through the Darkhold — tries to attack. However, the sorcerer is ready for it, but this leaves him open to a blast from a repulsor ray. This is from Iron Man who has arrived on the scene with an unconscious Bruce Banner. As the Avengers bring him up to speed, Bova consults the Darkhold once more. The voice speaking to her in its writings is apparently Quicksilver himself and he tells her to reveal his situation to the Avengers as they are the only ones who can free him from his prison!

Recurring Characters

Mighty Avengers (Wasp, Jocasta, Iron Man, Hulk, Hercules, US Agent, Stature, Vision, Amadeus Cho), “Scarlet Witch”, Quicksilver (possessed by Chthon), Modred, Edwin Jarvis, Bova, MI13 (Captain Britain, Black Knight, Spitfire), Winter Guard (Red Guardian, Darkstar, Crimson Dynamo), Lady Liberators (She-Hulk, Valkyrie, Thundra)

Continuity Notes

1. In his internal monologue, Quicksilver refers to himself as a mutant. This is what Peitro has believed himself to be since his first appearance in X-Men #4. However, this is later revealed to be false. Per Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, as an infant, Pietro was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work, he made it so that future genetic tests on the boy would have him register as a mutant.

2. In his monologue, Pietro states that he took on this mission to redeem himself because he has recently failed so many. They are:

   • His sister the Scarlet Witch: At the time of this story, Wanda had gone mad, decimating the Avengers in Avengers #500-503. Not long after that, Pietro convinced his sister to restructure reality so mutants were the dominant species on Earth. This was stopped by Earth’s heroes and set right. In response to what happened, Wanda used her hex powers to de-power nearly every mutant on Earth by eliminating the x-gene, as seen in House of M #1-8. This will remain the status quo until Avengers vs X-Men #12.

   • Quicksilver also mentions the Inhumans, whose royal family he married into in Fantastic Four #150. After Earth’s mutants were depowered, he decided to steal the Inhuman’s Terragen Crystals in an effort to restore the powers that many mutants have lost. This led to the crystals ended up in the hands of the US government, as seen in Son of M #1-6. This also led to the annulment of his marriage to Crystal and the US and Inhumans entering into a cold war. This conflict will be resolved in Silent War #1-6.

   • The Knights of Wundagore: Quicksilver has had loyalties stem from belief that Quicksilver thinks the High Evolutionary and his New Men selflessly cared for him and his sister after they were given birth by Magda (wife of Magneto) as per Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. In reality, he and his sister were kidnapped from their biological mother (Natalia Maximoff, per Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4). Although Pietro won’t learn this until Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5. At one point, Pietro was leader of the Knights, as seen in Quicksilver #1-13.

3. This is not the real Scarlet Witch, but Loki in disguise as we’ll learn in Mighty Avengers #23.

4. Cassie Lang’s father Scott (aka Ant-Man) was seemingly killed by the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500. In reality, he was pulled forward in time by the future Young Avengers, as we’ll see in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5.

5. Amadeus has been an ally of the Hulk since Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #15.

6. The SHRA was a law passed in the United States that required all superhumans to register with the government. This caused a division in the superhero community, with US Agent supporting the new law and Hercules fighting against it as seen in Civil War #1-7. This law will remain on the books until Siege #4.

7. The Hulk departing here is not unlike when he did the same thing in Avengers #2.

8. Chthon last fought the Avengers back in Avengers #185-187.

9. Iron Man and the Illuminati exiled the Hulk into space from Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #91-105. During his time on the Planet Skaar he met, fell in love, and married an alien named Caiera. She died when the warp core on the ship that exiled the Hulk exploded, rendering Skaar an uninhabitable wasteland. The Hulk then returned to Earth to get his revenge in World War Hulk #1-5.

10. Iron Man lists off other people who could be responsible for the disturbances on Earth. All of these characters have ties to Wundagore. They are:

    • The High Evolutionary (Herbert Wyndham): Whose Citadel of Science has stood in the Wundagore Mountains for decades, as first seen in Thor #134. Punisher Annual #1 reveals that the Evolutionary has operated in the region since the 1930s.

    • Chthon: The demon Chthon was an elder god who degraded into a demon leading to the god-eater known as the Demogorge to go after him and his degraded siblings. Chthon avoided this fate by fleeing into another dimension tied to Wundagore Mountain as told in Thor Annual #10 and Avengers #187.

    • Modred: A pawn of Chthon since Marvel Chillers #1, Modred has been associated with Transia after his brains were turned into pudding for a time and was left in the care of Bova. This was between Avengers #187 and Captain America #305.

    • The Puppet Master (Phillip Masters): The Puppet Master has used radioactive clay to control his foes since Fantastic Four #8. Marvel Two-in-One #74 revealed that he sourced this clay from his native Transia and at the base of Wundagore Mountain. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #10 states that this clay was likely tainted by Chthon’s magic.

    • Django Maximoff: The uncle of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch who raised the children when they were given to him by the High Evolutionary as per Avengers #182. He used the mystically enchanted wood around Wundagore to carve marionettes that he could trap souls inside. However, Django died years earlier in Avengers #187. As of this writing (July, 2024) he still remains among the deceased.