Nick Peron

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Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13

Nick Peron

Into Infinity

Credits

This story takes place during the events of Infinity War #2 and 3…[1]

Members of the superhero community have been summoned to the Four Freedoms Plaza by a man who they thought was Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four to discuss an impending cosmic threat.[1] That’s when Wolverine of the X-Men came in and accused the man of being an impostor. This has caused a brawl between the mutant and non-mutant members gathered at the meeting.[3]

With his powers now needing to be fueled by his rage, Wonder Man dives into the battle.[4] Giving in to his rage, Wonder Man gets too caught up in the dynamics of the battle and begins referring to Wolverine as a mutie, a mutant slur. This shocks the Scarlet Witch, who believes herself to be a mutant and she pulls him aside to scold him for using such hurtful language.[5] Simon apologizes to Wanda, saying he got caught up in the rage he needs to fuel his powers. He’s then cold clocked by X-Factor’s Strong Man and the battle continues until a gamma bomb set up by the Reed Richards impostor goes off. Luckily, the Invisible Woman is able to funnel the explosion upward with an invisible force field so it only blows the roof off the Fantastic Four’s headquarters, but doesn’t harm anyone. In the aftermath of the explosion, Wonder Man comes concerned for the Scarlet Witch’s safety and is relieved that she is safe and sound.[6]

That’s when a portal opens in the room and the Magus — whom everyone mistakes for Adam Warlock — and a man appearing to be Thanos collect the Mister Fantastic impostor as well as Iron Man, who also turns out to be an impostor as well.[7] In the aftermath of the battle, Wonder Man realizes that he still cares deeply for the Scarlet Witch but wonders what this will mean for his budding relationship with Alex Flores. He also worries about Alex and his friends back in Los Angeles after his powers flared out of control and bathed them in ionic energy.[8]

Back in Los Angeles, Jamie Flores wakes up from a very vivid dream. The noise rouses her mother, Alex, who comes and checks in on her daughter to make sure everything is ok. Jamie tells her mother that, in her dream, she was flying over the city and she woke up just after she scared a black cat onto her windowsill. Alex tells her that the dream is probably a product of Angkor’s rampage through LA and tells her to get back to sleep. Jamie does as told and neither woman notice that the very cat Jamie saw in her dream is in fact on the windowsill.

In New York, the Scarlet Witch has sensed that the portal that was used to help the doppelgangers escape was created using magic, so she has decided to seek out Doctor Druid and Agatha Harkness to help. Wonder Man, meanwhile, is concerned that Hawkeye and Spider-Man haven’t shown up and asks his friend the Beast to convince Wolverine to help track them down. Hank tries to talk to Wolverine, but Logan says that if Williams wants his help so badly he can ask himself.[9] When Simon questions him directly, Wolverine plays coy that he did see something on his way to Four Freedoms Plaza. Growing angry, Simon demands answers and Logan reveals that he saw Hawkeye and Spider-Man being attacked by the phony Iron Man that showed up at their meeting.[10] Wonder Man gets the location and asks Beast to join him in the search. Unfortunately, Hank turns him down, saying that the anti-mutant sentiment in the room is still pretty high and he wants to back up his fellow X-Men in case there is another fight.

Instead, Wonder Man enlists Thor and Hercules to help him search and the pair quickly find Spider-Man and Hawkeye injured on a nearby rooftop. When the arrive they discover that their comrades are still alive but need immediate medical attention. Before they can leave, a Wonder Man doppelganger arrives looking to fight.

While in Los Angeles, Ginger Beach returns home from a lousy date to find her brother, Spider, glued to the TV. He is watching the news coverage of the explosion in New York for any word on Wonder Man. Both are worried about something bad happening since both have been set up with Wonder Man by their agent — Ginger as Simon’s girlfriend and Spider as his sidekick.[11] Ginger is also worried about earning a proper living as she had to hire a lawyer to keep custody of her brother after their mother ran out on them. The two then begin bickering and this leads to a pillow fight. The fight comes to an abrupt end when there is a sudden snap of ionic energy and Ginger realizes that this power came from her.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, Lotus Newmark is also watching the news. Between the incident in New York and the business with Angkor, her instigation of gang violence has hardly made the news. She has decided to stop letting her plans from being interfered with and orders her assistant to call a planning meeting so she can ramp up her efforts.[12]

As this is taking place, Wonder Man is fighting his doppelganger, who explains that he has come to replace Simon. It considers itself superior to him in every way, but is not prepared for the fact that the real Wonder Man’s powers are boosted by his rage. Eventually, Thor and Hercules step in to break up the fight. Unable to take on all three heroes alone, the Wonder Man doppelganger retreats, vowing that it will return and prove itself the superior. With the battle abruptly ended, Wonder Man puts aside the matter since Hawkeye and Spider-Man still need help, but he hopes he gets another shot at defeating his impostor. Simon, Thor, and Hercules return to Four Freedoms Plaza with Spider-Man and Hawkeye. Once there, Captain America assigns the Black Cat to watch over them while they recover from their injuries.

Wonder Man then gossips with the Human Torch and Thing while the Vision and Hank Pym assist the Invisible Woman on figuring out a scientific method of tracking their foes.[13] That’s when the Scarlet Witch arrives with Agatha Harkness and Doctor Druid, who believe they can help. Wonder Man hopes that he can keep up with the battle ahead, however with the combined forces of both Avengers teams, Alpha Flight, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, X-Factor, and others he believes that they’re more than ready for whatever is thrown at them.

… Infinity War continues in Infinity War #4.

Recurring Characters

Wonder Man, Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Hercules, Vision, Black Knight), Avengers West Coast (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, US Agent), Fantastic Four (Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), X-Factor (Havok, Strong Guy, Multiple Man), X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit), Black Cat, Darkhawk, Doctor Druid, Agatha Harkness, Hulk, Nova, Puck, Hank Pym, Quasar, She-Hulk, Speedball, Spider-Man, Warpath, Windshear, Magus, Alex Flores, Jamie Flores, Ginger Beach, Spider Beach

Continuity Notes

  1. Per the Marvel Chronology Project, the events of this issue take place between page 37 of Infinity War #2 and page 10 of issue #3.

  2. The summons went out in Infinity War #1. What nobody suspected at the time was that Reed had been swapped out by an evil doppelganger as seen in Fantastic Four #366. He will remain a prisoner until he is rescued in Infinity War #6.

  3. Wolverine’s accusations were made in Infinity War #2 leading to this brawl.

  4. Wonder Man’s powers have been fluctuating based on his emotional state after being exposed to a nega-bomb explosion in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #9. This will remain the status quo until issue #25.

  5. At the time of this story, everyone believes that the Scarlet Witch is a mutant. However, it’s later revealed in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5 that she is not. She was actually experimented upon as an infant by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his work he made it so future genetic tests would have her register as a mutant.

  6. Wonder Man has had mostly unrequited feelings for Wanda since West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #44. Although they briefly dated between Avengers West Coast #63 and 69.

  7. The Magus is the personification of Adam Warlocks’ dark side hence his similar appearance as explained in Infinity War #2. The Thanos seen here is another doppelganger created in Infinity War #1. The Iron Man doppelganger took the real Tony Stark’s place in that same issue.

  8. Wonder Man’s powers flared out of control in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #11 and 12. While there were no apparent effect on Alex and Simon’s other friends, they will discover that they have all gained superhuman powers over the course of the next few issues. They will become the Crazy 8 in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #19 but ultimately they’ll lose their powers in issue #25.

  9. The Beast mentions how he and Wonder Man served on the Avengers together. The two quickly became best buds after Hank joined up in Avengers #137. They were long standing members of the team together until they both parted company in Avengers #211.

  10. The faux Iron Man attacked Hawkeye and Spider-Man in Infinity War #2.

  11. Simon has been saddled with the Beach siblings, much to his chagrin, in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #1 and 3 respectively.

  12. Lotus Newmark has been instigating gang violence since Wonder Man (vol. 2) #10. This is so she can sell her private security firm called Armed Response, as we’ll see in issue #16.

  13. Here, the Thing reminds Johnny and Simon that both Thanos and Adam Warlock once attained godhood. He is referring to the time both men held all of the Infinity Gems. See Infinity Gauntlet #1-6.

Topical References

  • Ginger’s date brags about being able to get her a part on Full House. This was a family sitcom that aired on ABC from 1987 to 1995. The show experienced a brief revival as Fuller House which ran on Netflix from 2016 to 2020 before being cancelled.

  • The TV in the Beach home is depicted as a CRT television. This should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.

  • The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.

Infinity War Reading Order

Infinity War #1, Alpha Flight #109, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7, Fantastic Four #366, Spider-Man #24, Captain America #408, Deathlok (vol. 2) #16, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #42, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #67, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #43, Infinity War #2, Fantastic Four #367, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #68-69, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #44, Guardians of the Galaxy #27, Quasar #37, Infinity War #3, Marvel Comics Presents #108-111, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #8, Fantastic Four #368, Alpha Flight #110, New Warriors #27, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #4, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #41-42, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13, Nomad (vol. 2) #7, Quasar #38, Daredevil #310, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #45, Infinity War #4, Alpha Flight #111, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #5, Guardians of the Galaxy #28-29, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #9, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #14, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #43, Quasar #39, Infinity War #5, Sleepwalker #18, Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #46-47, Fantastic Four #369, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #10, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #15, Infinity War #6, Fantastic Four #370, Marc Spector: Moon Knight #44, Alpha Flight #112, Quasar #40