Wonder Man (vol. 2) #5
Tough Times
After his recent battle with Splice, Wonder Man — aka Simon Williams — has realized that he relies too much on his ionic strength and doesn’t actually have any fighting skills. To correct this issue, he has invited Captain America down to Avengers Compound in California so he can be trained in the art of Aikido. Cap doesn’t only teach him how to fight, but also the skill of using an opponents momentum against them. After their training session is over, Simon is surprised by a visit from his old friend, the Beast. Hank hitched a ride with Captain America so that he can visit his pal as well as go on a culinary tour of Los Angeles. Seeing the pair goof off give both Captain America and the Scarlet Witch joy and note that McCoy could always bring out Simon’s playful side.[1]
Meanwhile, two homeless men are scrounging the trash cans in a public park looking for empty bottles and cans to turn in for recycling. One of them is Stuart Clarke, who was once an inventor who created a suit of armor that could rival Iron Man. That was until an economic recession ruined his career and left him bankrupt. After getting in trouble with the law and going to jail, Clarke is now homeless and still holds a grudge against America’s capitalist society.[2] Every day it is the same, Stuart rants and raves to his friend August while they collect cans. Every day they pass by the Pactech building and when they do Stuart pulls out a strange device and begins fiddling with it. August finally asks why he goes through this routine and Clarke explains that one day it will lead to his ultimate revenge and doesn’t say much else.
By this time, Wonder Man and the Beast have arrived in Koreantown where Hank hopes to try out all sorts of fusion restaurants in the area. The pair catch up and Simon talks about how he’s kind of seeing an actress now and how after an attempt at romance, things have cooled between him and the Scarlet Witch.[3]
Simultaneously, scientists inside the Pactech building are investigating why the original suit of Rampage armor — which they took possession after Clarke Futuristics went out of business — has been making strange clicking noises. Fearing this might affect their attempts at duplicating and mass producing the armor technology they activate the suit to run some tests. That’s when Stuart’s device makes a connection with the armor, allowing Clarke to remotely command the Rampage armor to come to him. Quickly putting on his old armor, the reborn Rampage leaps up into the lab to claim the duplicate suits so he can finally get his revenge.
Meanwhile, Wonder Man and Beast have stopped at Kimiko’s Pastrami Dog, a diner known for its Teriyaki chili dog. As they wait to make their orders they overhear three girls complain about how their shopping trip has been interrupted by Rampage’s attack on the city. Overhearing this, the two heroes decide the best thing to do is to skip out on their order and go and stop Rampage. Still, the pair cannot resist the urge to shout “Avengers Assemble” as they make their way out the door.[4]
The pair quickly get to the scene of Rampage’s rampage thanks to Wonder Man’s leaping abilities.[5] Hank recognizes Rampage from his teammate Iceman who was recounting stories from his time with the Champions.[6] The pair quickly take down Rampage and figure the fight is now over. That’s when the Beast is struck in the back of the head by a thrown chimney, knocking him out. Simon turns around and shocked to discover that Rampage has given all the stolen suits of Pactech armor to his homeless friends who he has now dubbed the Recession Raiders.
Recurring Characters
Wonder Man, Beast, Rescession Raiders (Rampage), Captain America, Scarlet Witch
Continuity Notes
The Beast joined up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes circa Avengers #137 with Simon joining up in issue #152. Hank and Simon became fast friends and hung out all the time when off duty. The pair have drifted apart over the years after they both left the east coast team in Avengers #211.
For more on Stuart Clarke’s disastrous career as Rampage see Champions #5-8 and Spectacular Spider-Man #17-18.
The relationship between Wonder Man and the Scarlet Witch is a complicated one so allow me to break it down:
During a period in which Simon had seemingly died circa Avengers #9, a copy of his brain engrams were made in the hopes of one day using them to bring him back to life. These engrams were then stolen by Ultron and used to form the personality for the android Vision, as explained in Avengers #57.
When the Vision joined the Avengers he and the Scarlet Witch soon fell in love with one another and the pair ultimately got married in Giant-Size Avengers #4. Wonder Man was resurrected shortly thereafter in Avengers #151.
Years later, a government agency had captured and disassembled the Vision. Although the Avengers put him back together again, he was bereft his capacity for emotion. When Wonder Man was asked to provide his brain engrams a second time, he refused as he realized that he was also in love with the Scarlet Witch and this was his chance. See West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45.
Eventually, the Vision abandoned his wife in Avengers #312. Wanda and Simon soon started getting close to each other, starting in Avengers West Coast #63. However, Wanda decided to stop dating him as she only wanted to be friends. Simon was friend-zoned in Avengers West Coast #69.
Here, Wonder Man asks Beast if he is still with X-Factor. McCoy joined up with the group when it first founded in (you guessed it) X-Factor #1. Hank says he’s back with the X-Men now. Hank was also a founding member of the X-Men back in X-Men #1 (obviously). However, at the time of this story he had just recently rejoined the group in X-Men (vol. 2) #1.
Hank states that he misses Wonder Man’s jet pack. Simon used to use a jet pack to fly until it was damaged beyond repair in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #3.
During time away from the X-Men, Bobby Drake was convinced to join the Champions. He was a founding member of the group in Champions #1 and stayed around until the group disbanded for good in Spectacular Spider-Man #18.
Topical References
When comparing New York City to Los Angeles, Wonder Man quips that at least nobody has yelled “Go Mets!” since he and Hank have been out. This should be considered a topical reference as the New York Mets are a real world baseball team.
The three women who complain about their shopping date being ruined by Rampage are speaking in a “Valley Girl” accent. This was stereotypical cadence of speaking that was popularized in the 1990s and was used to characterize rich white girls that lived in Los Angeles. They were usually depicted as vapid, vein, and materialistic spendthrifts. This is now a dated stereotype as nobody really intentionally talks like this, especially nowadays.