Mighty Avengers #24
Chasing Ghosts
Norman Osborn (aka the Iron Patriot) has called a meeting of the Cabal, a secret organization that is manipulating world affairs. Its members — Doctor (Victor Von) Doom, Emma Frost, the Sub-Mariner (Namor), the Hood (Parker Robbins), and Loki[1] — are all connected via a psychic link.[2] Once their identities are confirmed, the group begins to bicker. Doom is annoyed that he has Asgardina refugees in exchange for being allowed to reclaim his homeland.[3] The Hood wants extra protection from the Punisher who has been killing his men and Mister Negative who has been muscling in on his territory.[4] They also want to know if Camp Hammond has been dismantled,[5] how the hunt for Tony Stark is going,[6] what Osborn is doing about the mutant population in San Francisco,[7] and lastly this new team of Avengers that have popped up. Norman assures them that he will handle everything but especially that last point. This makes Loki smirk since she had a hand in forming this new team.[8] When the psi-link is ended, Loki has a good laugh at Osborn’s expense and prepares the next phase of her plan.
Meanwhile, Stature (Cassie Lang) and the Vision (Jonas) have called a meeting with their friends in the Young Avengers at the ruins of Avengers Mansion.[9] They are nervous because they don’t know how to tell Wiccan (Billy Kaplan) and Speed (Tommy Shephard) that they have found their alleged mother, the Scarlet Witch.[10] When the Young Avengers — Patriot (Eli Bradley), Hulkling (Teddy Altman), Wiccan, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), and Speed — arrive, Cassie suggest they go inside the ruined mansion to talk. They send their friends in first while Cassie and Vision work up the courage to drop this bombshell. However, when they walk through the front door, they find themselves instantly transported to Hank Pym’s lab in Chicago through one of his Pym Pocket portals.
The Wasp (Hank Pym) has summoned them alone with the rest of the team — Hercules, US Agent (John Walker), and Amadeus Cho — because they are needed on a mission in Borneo. Although they have issues with being shanghaied like this, they realize that they have no choice but to go on this mission because there are lives at stake.[11]
Meanwhile, Quicksilver is trying to find Hank’s team of Avengers after learning that his sister might be with them. He races to California and searched the long abandoned Avengers West Coast compound in the hopes they are there, but the place is deserted.[12] As he runs along a nearby beach, he overhears a radio report of how the Avengers have been jumping across the globe solving one crisis after another and heads to their current location.
By this point, the Avengers are in Buenos Aires fighting the Swarm (Fritz Von Meyer). They know that the former Nazi scientist’s mind is in the queen bee of the swarm he controls.[13] As Wasp and Stature fight their way to it, Cassie asks why Hank is working with the Scarlet Witch given what she has done. Hank explains to her that he is well aware of Wanda’s crimes and explains that he is keeping her close to figure out what’s going on and tells her to put her issues aside for the time being.[14] They quickly find the queen bee and collar her with a mental inhibitor. With his link to the bees severed, the insects all begin departing without issue.
That’s when Quicksilver arrives and blasts them away by spinning his arms fast enough to create powerful gusts of wind. The Avengers chastise him for doing so before the Wasp and Stature could resume normal size, but they turn out to have been out of harms way. When asked what he wants, Pietro explains that he has come to join the team. Hank then reminds Maximoff how he turned down membership when they last met. That’s when the Scarlet Witch appears and teleports the Avengers off to the next crisis, leaving Quicksilver alone again.
Meanwhile, HAMMER agents have been trying to track this new team of Avengers down, but unfortunately, Hank Pym’s methods of transport via his Pym Pocket makes it nearly impossible. The Iron Patriot then shows up with a giant clavicle he had exhumed from Goliath (Bill Foster)’s grave to help them get a better reading on Pym Particles.[15] That’s when Osborn catches a news report about Hank Pym’s team stopping an incident in Tokyo. Interviewed by a reporter on the scene, Pym justifies calling his new team the Avengers, saying that as a founder of the group it makes his team the only official one in operation.[16] This angers Osborn enough to snap the clavicle in half and he storms out of the room. Moments later, Pym and his team are teleported off to another location. Seconds later, Quicksilver arrives to learn he just missed them.
The Avengers are transported to the island of Biarritz to deal with a giant monster known as the Titan.[17] There they are assisting Global Reaction Agency for Mysterious Paranormal Activity (GRAMPA) agents Blackjack (Ace and One-Eyed Jacquie) deal with this threat.[18]
Back in America, HAMMER Agents have tracked down Hank’s lab in a Van Dyne department store in Chicago and demand that everyone inside surrender. Jarvis begins to panic over this, but Jocasta has a failsafe for this situation. She severs the doorway that connects the Pym Pocket to that location. When the HAMMER agents the bust down the door, they find the room deserted.[19] This has come at a price however as Jocasta explains that in doing this, all of the other Pym Pocket doorways will be severed within 48 hours until there are none left.
Back in France, Quicksilver arrives on the scene and helps them wrap up the battle with the Titan. In the aftermath, Ace and One-Eye suggest that Hank’s Avengers team get around their outlaw status by becoming affiliated with GRAMPA, an international organization, so they no longer have to worry about Osborn hunting them down. Pym reluctantly agrees to do so even though he doesn’t like the name.[20] When the media arrives on the scene, they question Quicksilver’s animosities with both the Inhumans and mutants.[21] Pietro uses this opportunity to claim that the person who was involved in all of that was a Skrull and he just recently gotten free.
With no more emergencies to deal with, the Avengers use the Pym Pocket to return to base. There, Jarvis pulls Hank aside to talk to him about Pietro’s claims of having been replaced by a Skrull. Jarvis doesn’t remember seeing Quicksilver among the other captured heroes and neither does Hank.[22] However, Pym decides to allow this charade to carry on since he believes everyone deserves a second chance.[23] Besides, he hopes that Pietro’s presence will help them figure out the mystery of the Scarlet Witch.
Meanwhile, Osborn has another telepathic meeting with his Cabal. They are even more furious about this new team of Avengers and have heard that they are being referred as the real team.[24] This angers Osborn so much that his face briefly changes into that of the Green Goblin. Reasserting himself, he tells them that the meeting is over. As everyone leaves, the growing dissent among the other Cabal members makes Loki smile.
Recurring Characters
Mighty Avengers (Wasp, Quicksilver, Hercules, Jocasta, US Agent, Stature, Vision, Amadeus Cho), The Cabal (Iron Patriot, The Hood, Loki, Emma Frost, Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom), The Swarm, Titan, Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan, Hawkeye, Speed), GRAMPA (Blackjack (Ace, One-Eyed Jacquie)), HAMMER
Continuity Notes
Here, Loki appears in female form, this has been his status quo since Thor (vol. 3) #5.This gender swap happened after the recent Ragnarok cycle of death and rebirth (Thor (vol. 2) #80-85 and Thor (vol. 3) #1), it’s later revealed in Thor (vol. 3) #8 and 12 that Loki has stolen the body of Sif. This situation will be undone in Thor #602.
At the time of this story, Norman Osborn has become America’s top cop after he killed the leader of a Skrull invasion in Secret Invasion #8. He formed the Cabal to shape the world to benefit himself and his co-conspirators.
Doctor Doom had recently been deposed by Iron Man’s Avengers team in Mighty Avengers #7-11. When Osborn took over one of his first tasks was returning Doom to power in Latveria, as seen in Dark Avengers #1. This was given to him in exchange for Doom hosting the Asgardians, as seen in Thor #600.
Parker Robbins has had his hands full with both the Punisher and Mister Negative in Punisher (vol. 8) #1-6 and Dark Reign: Mister Negative #1-3 respectively.
Osborn has been in control of the Initiative since Avengers: The Initiative #20. It will ultimately be disbanded under his watch in issue #35 of that series.
Tony Stark took the fall for the Skrull invasion of Earth and Osborn has made it his mission to hunt Iron Man down and arrest him. His efforts will be chronicled in Invincible Iron Man #8-18.
San Fran became a safe haven for mutants starting in Uncanny X-Men #500. Osborn’s efforts to deal with this will be chronicled in Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1-3, Dark X-Men: The Confession #1, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1, Uncanny X-Men #513-514, X-Men Legacy #226-227, Dark Avengers #8, and Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1.
Hank Pym’s new Mighty Avengers team was formed with the assistance of Loki, who has been posing as the Scarlet Witch. See Mighty Avengers #21-23.
Avengers Mansion was totaled by the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500-503. It will remain in this state until New Avengers (vol. 2) #1.
The relationship between the Scarlet Witch, Wiccan, and Speed is complicated and not everything was known about it at the time of this story. Here are all the facts:
Many years earlier the Scarlet Witch used her magic to make herself pregnant in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3. She gave birth to twins — Billy and Tommy — in issue #12 of that series. Not long afterwards, the infants were erased from existence by Master Pandemonium in Avengers West Coast #52.
Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shephard were told that they are somehow the children of the Scarlet Witch despite having different parents, this was in Young Avengers #11.
Wiccan and Speed haven’t been able to confirm this connection because, at the time of this story, the Scarlet Witch has been AWOL following the events of House of M #1-8. In fact, she was last seen in Transia in New Avengers #26 with no memory of her past life.
It is later confirmed in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #6 that they are the reincarnations of Billy and Tommy Maximoff.
When Stature and Vision say they can’t be on the Mighty Avengers because they are members of the Young Avengers, Amadeus points out they can be on both teams. He points to Wolverine being on three teams at the time of this story. Logan has been a long standing member of the X-Men since Giant-Size X-Men #1. He has also been a member of the New Avengers since New Avengers #5. Also at the time of this story he has been the leader of the current incarnation of X-Force since X-Force (vol. 3) #1.
Avengers Compound was purchased when the Avengers were expanding to a western roster in Avengers #246. The west coast team operated out of this location until they were disbanded in Avengers West Coast #102. It will remain unoccupied until Avengers Academy #21.
Here, Hercules refers to the Swarm as his old foe. He fought the Swarm during his first outing in Champions #14-15.
Cassie has issue with the Scarlet Witch because during her rampage at Avengers Mansion she seemingly killed her father, Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man), as seen in Avengers #500. In reality, Scott was pulled forward in time by the future Young Avengers as we’ll see in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #5.
Bill Foster was killed in action during a fight between heroes who were for and against the recently passed Super Human Registration Act. See Civil War #5. As of this writing (July, 2024), Foster remains among the deceased.
Do I need to tell you that Pym was a helped found the original team in Avengers #1?
Obscure character alert: The Titan is an Atlas era monster who first appeared in Tales of Suspense #28.
GRAMPA, Blackjack and One-Eyed Jacquie are obscure too, but are more recent creations who were last seen in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #15.
Here, it is specified that HAMMER used to be the spy agency known as SHIELD. After being given control of the organization in Secret Invasion #8, Osborn changed the name. This will remain the status quo until the organization goes back to the old name following Siege #1-4.
One-Eyed Jacque jokes about Hank’s new Wasp identity, which he just recently adopted in Secret Invasion: Requiem #1. Quicksilver also says the motto “once and Avenger” here, referring to the fact that he had originally joined the team in Avengers #16 and has been a member on-and-off over the years.
Quicksilver was responsible for the House of M reality warp making him a person non-grata among mutants. He then earned the ire of the Inhumans (whose royal family he married into circa Fantastic Four #150) after he stole Terrigen Crystals in a misguided attempt to restore people’s mutant powers. These crystals eventually fell into the hands of the US miltiary, putting America in a Cold War with the Inhumans as seen in Son of M #1-6. This conflict will be resolved in Silent War #1-6.
Hank and Jarvis were among many people in the superhero community that were kidnapped and replaced with Skrull impostors during their invasion of Earth. See New Avengers #40-47 and Mighty Avengers #12-19 for the details on who was replaced and when. Quicksilver was not among those captured and replaced.
Hank’s reference to second chances is referring to his own fall from grace which saw him hit his then wife Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp), getting blackmailed into helping his old foe Egghead, going to jail, and ultimately exonerating himself. See Avengers #213, 217, and 227-230.
Here, Quicksilver is referred to as the son of Magneto, which everyone has believed to be fact since Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. However, this will later be revealed as a lie in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5. In Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4, his biological mother is revealed as Natalya Maximoff, although his biological father (if such exists) has yet to be revealed as of this writing in July, 2024.
Topical References
Here, the Vision states that the population of Borneo is about 16 million people. This should be considered topical because that was the population at the time this comic was published in 2009. It has since grown, for example, according to 2023 census data the population is roughly 21 million people.
