Nightmare at the Dream Factory

Wonder Man and Spider-Man have been hunting down the illusion casting villain known as Psyk-Out after he attacked Wonder Man on the set of his new movie MacBeth. What they don’t know is that the illusionist has been hired by Global Studios to attack Wonder Man in order to ruin his reputation and get him off the project. This is because the studio is actually a front for a gun smuggling operation that they want to keep under wraps.

The two heroes chase Psyk-Out onto the amusement park that Globia Studio’s has on its property. There, Psyk-Out uses his illusion casting powers to make the entire part appear as one massive death trap. The pair find themselves fighting through various locals and foes from numerous genres of cinema. From giant monsters, to Old West cowboys, to futuristic science fiction characters, Spider-Man and Wonder Man are kept on their toes because they can’t tell what’s real and what’s illusion.[1] The two lose track of each other and Psyk-Out begins openly mocking them, saying his illusionary skills are using a highly advanced technology that he wanted to try to sell to Hollywood. This was quickly quashed when lawyers advised him that the illusions were too realistic and could lead to lawsuits.

Eventually, Wonder Man and Spider-Man realize that they are being tricked into fighting each other thanks to Psyk-Out’s illusions making them appear to be threats to one another. When the pair lunge at Psyk-Out he makes duplicates of himself that blast both heroes with jolts of energy, sending them falling into flaming pit. As the heroes fall to their doom, Psyk-Out explains how he wanted revenge against Wonder Man for ruining one of his film projects. Wonder Man figures out who he is dealing with and a means of ending his illusions. Pushing his powers to the limit, Wonder Man makes himself suddenly explode. This sudden surge of energy shorts out the illusions allowing Spider-Man to nab the real Psyk-Out. Wonder Man quickly reforms himself and confronts his foe, realizing that he was working on a dinosaur picture that he once trashed while under the control of the Enchantress.[2] Unmasking Psyk-Out he finally connects the dots that he is the producer of that dinosaur epic as well as the current producer on MacBeth. With Psyk-Out captured, the studio execs show up and blow their cover by trying to kill Wonder Man and Spider-Man. They don’t fare very well and they too get webbed up for the police. With the danger passed, Spider-Man decides to depart before the police show up, wishing Wonder Man all the best.

That’s when Alex Flores arrives on set to talk to Wonder Man about how she signed a deal to write a screen play about Wonder Man’s “savage” period.[3] She explains that as a single parent who wants a future for her teenaged daughter, Alex needed to take the job because it would ensure that future for Jamie. Simon explains that he understands and he still wants to be with Alex. She wants the same thing as well and that’s when Wonder Man asks Alex to marry him and that they can adopt Spider Beach.[4][5] This is a lot for Alex to accept all at once but she isn’t totally against the idea so they agree to take things one thing at a time. That’s when they are interrupted by one of the staff that tells them that the studio has decided that they are canceling production on MacBeth.

Wonder Man is surprisingly accepting of this announcement, telling Alex that’s how it goes sometimes. Saying that sometimes a project isn’t meant to go on forever and the principal people involved have to move on to other things. Now that Wonder Man is free from the film production he decides that maybe it’s time to finally reunite with his teammates in the Avengers West Coast.[6] Alex tells him to go and do that and that they can sort out their personal lives after. Simon then heads for Avengers Compound. Thinking of everything ahead of him now he believes that there is nothing but a bright future ahead for him.[7]

Recurring Characters

Wonder Man, Spider-Man, Psyk-Out

Continuity Notes

1. At one point, Spider-Man states that his wife thinks he’s cute. He is referring to Mary Jane Watson whom he married in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. However, years later, this marriage will be erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545, altering the timeline so that Peter and MJ were never married. In the new timeline, Peter and Mary Jane still live together are engaged instead of married. One could consider them as being in a common-law relationship.

2. This was back in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #2. Wonder Man also mentions when he was hired on to star in MacBeth which was in issue #18. This issue incorrectly attributes it to issue #16.

3. This is in reference to the period between Wonder Man (vol. 2) #9 and 25 when Wonder Man had to be enraged to fuel his powers and became more prone to violence. Alex was offered a seven figure payment to write the screenplay in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #26.

4. Wonder Man’s marriage proposal doesn’t last very long. This series was cancelled following this issue. Wonder Man would later go on to appear in Force Works #1 where he is killed in action during the team’s battle with the Starstealth. Wonder Man will remain deceased until he is brought back to life by the Scarlet Witch between Avengers (vol. 3) #2 and 11. During the time he was among the deceased, Alex would go on to marry director Felix Simon as revealed in Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #2.

5. As explained in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13, Ginger gained custody of Spider after her mother abandoned him. As of issue #21, Child Services had discovered that Ginger had been endangering her brother vis-a-vie their relationship with Wonder Man. Ultimately, they took Spider away to a foster home issue #26. When Simon visited him last issue he discovered that Spider was hiding the fact that his foster parents were abusive. Spider’s situation will also be resolved in Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #2 where it is revealed that Gloria Angel is able to get custody of the boy.

6. Wonder Man will arrive at Avengers Compound in Avengers West Coast #102 only to discover that the west coast branch had been disbanded.

7. Calling his future bright is kind of ironic since Wonder Man is basically killed off when he appears in Force Works #1.

Topical References

• When Wonder Man lands into the palm of a giant ape he quips that he feels like he’s in a sequel to The Monkey’s Paw. This was a short story written by W.W. Jacobs in 1902. The story is about a family who comes into possession with a mummified monkey paw that can grant wishes. A plot twist is that each wish comes with unintended consequences that are usually bad for the person making the wish. This story has been adapted countless times across many forms of media so you’ve probably seen at least some version of the tale. Since this is a reference to classical literature in the public domain this wouldn’t be considered a topical reference.

• The giant ape is also referred to as King Kong multiple times in the story. Kong was the titular monster from the 1933 movie of the same name. The giant ape has been featured in countless forms of media since then. Such a ubiquitous giant ape his referencing here wouldn’t necessarily be considered topical particularly since, depending on who you ask, the original story is now in the public domain. Although that hasn’t stopped movie studios from suing over alleged copyright infringement in the past.

• On the other hand, Spider-Man refers to a group of futurist soldiers with jetpacks as being like something out of Buck Rogers. This was a science fiction tale about a man who wakes up centuries in the future and goes on a bunch of adventures. First appearing in comic strips starting in 1929 the character and stories have been adapted to many forms of media since notably two TV series that ran from 1950-1951 and 1979 to 1981. This would be considered a topical reference.

• When Spider-Man sees a shark swimming toward him he quips that his spider-sense is playing the theme to Jaws. Jaws was a 1975 thriller directed by Stephen Spielberg about a giant shark that terrorizes a resort town and the rag tag bunch devoted to stopping the hungry beast. Tell me you haven’t heard the iconic music from that series and I’ll call you a liar or just way too young. Anyway, this is another topical reference.

• Wonder Man also compares some of the scenery as being a mix between Leave it to Beaver, The ‘Burbs, and a futuristic city. Which, really Simon? You couldn’t think of a third pop culture reference to drop? Anyway, two more topical references. Leave it to Beaver was a family sitcom that aired from 1957 to 1963, remembered for its wholesome nuclear family esthetic. The ‘Burbs was a 1989 dark comedy by Joe Dante and starring Tom Hanks. Taking place in an ideallic suburban neighborhood the movie is about close neighbors who suspect that the new family that moved in down the street are secretly serial killers.

• At the end of the story, when Wonder Man is commenting on the cancellation of MacBeth he quotes Homer Simpson by saying “There is no moral, Marge! It’s just a bunch of stuff that happened!” This is a line from Season 2, Episode 22 of the Simpsons “Blood Feud”. In the episode surrounds Monty Burns needing a blood transfusion and Bart Simpson being the only one having the rare blood type needed to save his life. Homer gets upset when Burns doesn’t reward them with money for saving his life and writes an angry letter. Homer decides against sending it but Bart does instead. Burns is furious but forgives the Simpsons and later gifts them with a massive Olmec carving. The quote comes at the end of the episode when Marge is trying to figure out the moral of the story. It’s actually Lisa who suggests that there might be no moral, with Homer chimin in with the “just a bunch of stuff” line after. This wouldn’t be considered a topical reference anymore now that Disney owns both Marvel Comics and The Simpsons. Brand synergy and all that.