Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #4
Traveler’s Tales
Seven Years Ago[1]
Warren Traveler had come to an old magic shop to find some rare mystical items. Unimpressed by most everything in the place, he suddenly notices an alluring ball of quartz. The elderly shop owner explained to him that this is all that remains of the powerful artifact known as the Wand of Watoomb. Rather than buy the item, Traveler casts a spell that creates a mystical lion that murders the shopkeeper instead. Too impatient to wait until he returned home to London, Warren found himself in the washroom of a bar in Hell’s Kitchen. There used a knife to cut out one of his eyes and replace it with the one from Watomb. It is a painful and bloody surgery, but he pulls it off adding the power of Watoomb to his magic.
Now
Carol Danvers has returned to her apartment after her battle with Cru and the Brood and is shocked to find her publicist Sarah Day and a camera crew waiting.[2] As they rush her into an interview chair they explain this is her scheduled interview with the Super Powers TV show. However, what was supposed to be a “where are they now” piece, the tone of the interview has changed since Carol’s involvement in the incident in Georgia. The interviewer, Lori Griffin, can’t wait to ask Carol about her thoughts on the proposed Super Human Registration Act that is making its way through congress.[3] As they prepare to start, a cat suddenly jumps up on Carol’s couch. Carol instantly remembers this cat and orders everyone to get out of her apartment right away.[4]
Before anyone can follow her orders, Carol is attacked by Warren Traveler. He has come seeking revenge against Carol after their last defeat. The two battle while the cameras a rolling and Ms. Marvel is incapacitated by a powerful mystical blast. However, before Traveler can finish her off, his personality suddenly changes. He uses a spell to repair the damage to Carol’s apartment and then invites her to sit down and talk. Warren then starts speaking gibberish and Ms. Marvel blasts him one more time to knock him out. Before he fades into unconsciousness, Warren’s last words are a plea for help.
Carol takes Traveler to the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor (Stephen) Strange to get examined. She explains how she only ever fought Traveler in the House of M reality and there he was her most constant foe after she beat him up one day in Hell’s Kitchen. While she explains this story, Strange uses his magics to heal her arm but tells her that there is something alien about the wound and to keep a close eye on it.[5] He then examines Traveler and finds that something about the magic he is using is affecting his mind. He asks if Carol ever encountered him prior to the House of M reality. Danvers recalls having met him many times during the House of M, but now that reality has been set right all she admits that she fought him only the one time. Strange believes that the House of M reality warp caused Traveler to get into opportunities he should not have had.
Neither of them notice that Traveler has noticed the Wand of Watoomb that is hanging on the mantle above Strange’s fire place. Meanwhile, Stephen explains that Traveler’s has become out of sync with the magic that gives him his power and as time progresses he will be able to control it willingly. Carol things this is great, but Stephen emphasizes that not being able to control his magic won’t make him any less dangerous. Their discussion is interrupted when a delivery person drops off a new cell phone for Carol on behalf of her agent, Sarah Day. The moment Ms. Marvel opens the box the phone starts ringing. It’s Sarah herself who tells Carol that since her apartment got trashed, she got her a fancy hotel room that will allow her to bring her cat. When Carol tries to explain that the cat in the apartment isn’t hers, Sarah hangs up.
Strange continues here he left off and says that Traveler must be tied to Carol in some way. When reality was restored to normal, it affected everyone except Warren. Apparently the magics he commanded prevented him from reverting back with everyone else. Strange is curious to see how Traveler reacts when Carol is out of his immediate vicinity and insists that she go back to her hotel and get some rest. When she is gone, Stephen confronts Traveler and tells him he can stop pretending to be catatonic. He then tells Traveler that he intends to strip him of the magic driving him mad and, failing that, send him to another dimension where he can do no harm. He only sent Carol away because doing one or the other is a lot for one not attuned to the mystic arts can witness. However, while Strange is looking for a spell book on his shelf, Traveler uses a spell to break free from the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak that were keeping him restrained. He then grabs the Wand of Watoomb and clubs Strange over the head before he can react. With the magical weapon in his hands, Traveler finally feels like things are getting perfect.
Recurring Characters
Ms. Marvel, Warren Traveler, Doctor Strange, Sarah Day, Wong, Chewie (unnamed)
Continuity Notes
This would be seven years ago in the House of M reality, which was created by the Scarlet Witch in House of M #2 when she used her reality warping powers to change reality to one where mutants were the dominant species. While this was undone in House of M #8, the House of M reality continued to exist independent of itself as seen in House of M (vol. 2) #1-4. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 it has been designated Reality-58163. Carol’s assertion that the House of M no longer exists is, of course, incorrect. I think we can chalk up her statement as an assumption.
Ms. Marvel fought Cru and the Brood over the last three issues. Carol mentions here that she lost her cell phone. She accidentally dropped it while flying to an alien crash site at top speed in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #1.
The SHRA is a law that would require superhumans to register with the government. It will be passed into law in Civil War #3 and remain in effect until Siege #4.
Carol threw this cat into Warren Traveler’s face during their last battle, as seen in Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1.
Doctor Strange is alluding to the fact that Cru linked with Carol as part of the alien’s restoration process. We won’t find this out until Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #21.
Topical References
Carol’s new cell phone is depicted as having physical buttons and a small screen. These models of cell phones were quite common when this comic was first published in 2006. However, they have since fallen out of common use and are on their way to obsolescence thanks to the advent of smart phones. As such, its depiction here should be considered topical.
Sarah states that she got narrator Peter Coyote to do Carol’s voice mail message and that her hotel is at the Ritz-Carleton. Both of these are topical references Coyote is a real world actor and the hotel is part of a real world chain of hotels.
