Coming Down

Wonder Man has been plagued by nightmares ever since returning from space following the war between the Kree and the Shi’ar.[1] In it, he is caught in the nega-bomb explosion again. This time, the Avengers escort Simon to the Kree home world of Hala where he is forced to watch as the Kree embrace the coming radiation that will kill them all. He tries to tell the dying Avengers that he tried to stop this from happening. That’s when Williams is confronted by the apparitions of his Hollywood associates: Alex Flores, Ginger and Spider Beach, Neal Saroyan, and his landlord Gloria Angel. While Spider takes perverse glee in the loss of life, the others chide him for trying to be human. Something that is impossible since he has already died and coming back to life.[2] Simon pleads for another chance at life but Alex kicks him down into Hell itself.

That’s when Simon wakes up and realizes that this was all a nightmare. He wonders if this was the result of being exposed to the nega-bomb blast which has also started affecting his powers.[3] He decides the best way to shake the feelings he has had since Operation: Galactic Storm will be to do something ordinary. He calls Alex Flores and tries to ask her out on a date, but she tells him that she is busy doing research on a screenplay she is writing about American refugees from Asia. Since this idea piques Simon’s idea, Alex decides to invite him along as she interviews people in Little Asia.

When Alex picks Simon up and they head into Little Asia, he tells her how he recently got involved in an intergalactic war where billions of people were killed just to prune Kree genetics. They go to a Cambodian restaurant, Alex gets him to open up about his feelings and that he can always talk to her about them. That’s when Williams admits that he is developing feelings for her. Alex quickly changes the subject and suggests that they get to work. She has come so she can interview the local business owners about the troubles they have been having with youth gangs that terrorize the area. The owners are reluctant to talk as they think it will attracted unwanted attention. However, Alex assures them that she won’t sensationalize things, the woman who runs the restaurant suggests that they talk to Father Phimeanakas who runs the local Buddhist church as he is known to help working with victims of gang violence and the gangs themselves.

When Alex and Simon head down to the church — which is inside a former auto parts shop — they are unaware that they are being tailed by two men hired by local crime boss Lotus Newmark who has been keeping a close eye on Wonder Man. Lotus is concerned that Wonder Man might be investigating her colleagues in the Phoenix Triad out of Hong Kong who run a Vietnamese gang in the area. Wanting to do something of it, she asks if Splice is available to hire again. Unfortunately, while Splice is now out on bail, he is still recovering from the injuries he sustained during his last fight with Wonder Man.[3] When she asks her assistant what she should do, he suggests that she cut her losses and sell the movie studio that she operates as a front and forget about Wonder Man.[4] However, Lotus refuses to do any such thing, having learned that to be a successful business person in California one needs to be bold. Instead, she calls her lab technicians who are working on suits of battle armor and tells them to mobilize Armed Response.[5]

Meanwhile, Wonder Man and Alex meet with Father Phimeanakas who primarily provides support for those who have fled the violence in Cambodia. They are then introduced to Thommanom, a priest who fled the country and has been so traumatized by the killing that he has been reduced to praying to Sheiva asking for revenge, particularly against the United States since his people were also disproportionately harmed by American bombs. As Phinmeanakas explains the atrocities that Thommanom survived, the old man’s prayers reach a fever pitch where he summons the power of something called Angkor to help avenge his people. Suddenly the old man projects images from the conflicts in Cambodia as well as showing images of the Kree/Shi’ar war as well, shocking everyone witnessing this vision. Thommanom collapses moments later prompting Phimeanakas to go to his side. He asks Simon and Alex to go while he sees to his friend. As the pair leave, they try to make sense of what they saw and question if it was real or not. Once they get back to Alex’s car, Simon asks her out to dinner. Alex wants to date Simon, but she tells him that there is something that he has to know first.

Meanwhile, two members of the Los Angeles de Muerte gang have pulled up to a ritzy part of Beverly Hills. There they fire a rocket launcher at one of the mansions. When the maid comes running out with the children under her care they are the mowed down by a hail of bullets. After this senseless slaughter, they sign their work by spray painting their name on the street. Moments later, Lotus Newmark is informed that the gang completed their job. That’s when she gets a call from Wonder Man’s agent, Neal Saroyan. Unaware that Lotus is also a criminal, he asks if her studio would be interested in producing a movie based on Wonder Man’s recent adventure in space, which he is calling Operation: Galactic Storm. She turns down the offer, saying that her studio is already making a space epic and hangs up. This makes Lotus paranoid as she continues to wonder if Simon Williams is on to her or not. She decides to get some answers and orders three of her men to go to the Buddhist church and question the priests. When the trio arrive at the scene they are incinerated by Thommanom, who has been transformed into the personification of Angkor. With his first three victims he is now prepared to recreate a killing fields of his homeland to America.

By this time, Alex Flores has brought Wonder Man back to her house. She explains to Simon that she used to be wild when growing up and used to sleep around a lot as an act of defiance to her parents. At first, Simon thinks that Alex might have an STI, while she admits that what she got came from having sex she tells him its not what he’s thinking. Opening the front door, Alex reveals to Simon that she has a teenaged daughter.

Recurring Characters

Wonder Man, Alex Flores, Jamie Flores, Angkor, Lotus Newmark

Continuity Notes

1. This all took place during Operation: Galactic Storm which was chronicled in Captain America #398, Avengers West Coast #80, Quasar #32, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #7, Avengers #345, Iron Man #278, Thor #445, Captain America #399, Avengers West Coast #81, Quasar #33, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #8, Avengers #346, Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400, Avengers West Coast #82, Quasar #34, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #9, Avengers #347, Captain America #401, Quasar #35.

2. Wonder Man famously appeared to die due to a side effect of gaining his powers in Avengers #9. As explained in issue #164 of that series, Simon actually ended up in a death-like coma as his body transformed into pure ionic energy. He “came back to life” in Avengers #151.

3. Simon discovered that his powers have been thrown out of whack in Wonder Man Annual #1. It has caused his powers to only really work when he is enraged. This will remain his status quo until Wonder Man (vol. 2) #25.

4. Lotus sent Splice after Wonder Man in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #4.

5. Other than her criminal operations, Lotus also runs a movie studio. He current production was sabotaged by Wonder Man while he was under the thrall of the Enchantress in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #2.

6. Armed Response is a private security force that Lotus has been building up using the designs from Stuart Clarke’s Rampage armor. He intention is to artificially inflate violent crime in Los Angeles in order to trick the wealthy into paying for Armed Response’s services so she can rake in the cash. This plan will be first launched in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #16.

Topical References

• The refugees that Alex and Simon meet in this story are said to have fled to American from Cambodia to escape the tyranny of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge are a violent far-left organization that ruled Cambodia from 1951 to 1968 and again in 1975 to 1979. Their most heinous crime being the genocide of Cambodian minorities that claimed the lives of somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million people or about a quarter of the population. Making things extra horrific were the actions of the United States army during the Vietnam War where Cambodia was subject to targeted bombings, which killed countless innocent people as well. This should be considered a topical reference. Per History of the Marvel Universe #2, modern readers can assume that these are refugees from the fictional Sin-Cong Conflict instead.

• Neal Saroyan has a Marvin the Martain figurine on his desk. This should be considered a topical reference.

• Simon’s assumption that Alex caught a sexually transmitted infection is because this story was published at the height of the AIDS epidemic. This autoimmune disease was killing scores of mostly homosexual men due largely due to government inaction and misinformation about the illness. It hit the Los Angeles area particularly hard. Back in those days getting HIV/AIDS was pretty much a death sentence. This has changed thanks to advances in treatment. Also a lot of the stigma around STI’s is not as bad as it used to be back then since most are either treatable, have a cure, or preventable.

• Alex’s living room is full of depictions of technology that is now long obsolete. Such as a CRT television (which is playing Ren & Stimpy another topical reference) as well as a VCR.