Dark Reign: Young Avengers #4
Young Masters, Part 4
The Young Avengers are trying out new recruits for their team, only to find out that not all of them are as altruistic as they’d like. Little do they know that this recruitment has also caught the attention of Norman Osborn (Director of HAMMER) who is closely monitoring the situation to see how he can exploit it.
The team has hit a snag when the Executioner (Danny DuBois) has figured out that Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) is actually his classmate, Kate Bishop. He uses this to get her out on a date to a fancy gala hosted by his mother. Zelda DuBois is glad to see her son managed to get Kate out on a date with him. However, Kate insists that she and Zelda’s son are only friends, much to his annoyance. This event is suddenly interrupted when the Young Avengers — Patriot (Eli Bradly), Hulkling (Teddy Altman), Stature (Cassie Lang), the Vision (Jonas), Speed (Tommy Shephard) and Hawkeye (!?!) — come barging through chasing the Swordsman. As they pass by, Hawkeye pauses long enough to compliment Kate Bishop on the dress she is wearing.
However, this was all a ruse orchestrated by the Young Avengers to trick Danny into thinking he was wrong about Kate. Later, back in the ruins of Avengers Mansion, the team regroups where the Vision and Wiccan finally drop their disguises.[1][2] They figure this will work, considering that the Executioner hasn’t figured out that his mother is the criminal known as Princess Python.[2] Patriot tells the team to get some rest as tomorrow they are going to give their final decision to their potential recruits. Eli admits that he is struggling to come up with a way to explain their position without coming off as patronizing and Kate says he is tempting fate with that kind of talk.
The next day, the two groups meet at the Invisible Mansion in Central Park. There, the Patriot announces that they are going to be taking the Enchantress (Sylvia Lushton) and Coat of Arms (Lisa Molinari) on a provisional basis. He also tells the others that they can continue to operate on their own but under a different name and they’ll check in from time to time to see how they are doing. The Melter (Chris Colchiss) is furious over this decision, protesting that the Young Avengers can’t just take who they want and leave him with the rest. While he argues with Eli, the Executioner is furious with Kate for making him look like a fool in front of his mother. Hawkeye scoffs at this, and reveals that his mother is actually the criminal known as Princess Python. Speed, on the other hand, notices that Coat of Arms is disappointed by the news because she doesn’t want to leave her team without the Melter. Big Zero and Egghead are unsurprised by any of this.
Meanwhile, the argument continues, with Eli trying to figure out what has Chris so afraid of using his powers. He tries to soften things by saying that Sylvia doesn’t have to move out and that she will be the link between the two teams. Colchiss doesn’t buy this promise, and accuses Patriot of being a poor imitation of Captain America. In the end, the Young Avengers leave before things get any more heated. Once they are gone, the Enchantress continues to try and smooth things over because she really wants to join the Young Avengers. She tells them all that she will continue to keep the Invisible Mansion open to them no matter what. The Executioner, however, is furious about Kate’s revelations and promises that he will show Hawkeye just how committed to justice he really is.
That night, while the Enchantress sleeps, Chris is awake thinking. He remembers the first time his powers manifested. It was while he was playing with his parents and he accidentally melted them. Hearing Enchantress muttering in her sleep about destiny, Chris picks up his cell phone and goes into Coat of Arm’s studio. There, he finds the business card that Norman Osborn gave her before she formed their group.[3] When he calls, he is shocked to discover that not only has Norman Osborn been expecting his call, but that he has been watching them as well.
After the call, Norman Osborn meets with Loki, who confirms that she was the one who gave the new Enchantress her powers because of the opportunities for mischief it presented.[4] Osborn has also developed dossiers on the others: The Executioner is a “nobody with guns”, while Big Zero (Amity Hunter) and Egghead come from a fascist world in the Microverse,[5] and Coat of Arms having found a coat belonging to the mystical entity known as Tiboro.[6] Osborn finds only three of them useful, but using them to potentially net some of the official Young Avengers might be the worth of making them an offer.
Meanwhile, Chris is caught in the act by Coat of Arms. Amy is disappointed to see that it was the Melter who called Osborn as she saw him as the Hamlet to their little drama. While in her bedroom, Big Zero schemes with Egghead. She knows the Enchantress is going to ditch them for the Young Avengers and wants to do something to get back at them. The two then plot to take down the heroes.
The next day, the Enchantress is brought to the Young Avengers headquarters in the ruins of Avengers Mansion.[7] She then begins private training in the use of magic with Wiccan (Billy Kaplan). When t he pair are alone, she tries to seduce him even though he is gay and in a relationship with Hulkling (Teddy Altman). This doesn’t matter to Sylvia in the slightest. Meanwhile, Speed (Teddy Altman) meets with Coat of Arms in public alone. She warns him that Chris has betrayed them all to Norman Osborn and she is telling him because she thinks he deserves to escape. Meanwhile, Zelda DuBois (aka Princess Python) is returning to her car and is furious to discover that someone smashed her passenger side window. That’s when she gets a call from her son, the Executioner, who reveals that he planted a bomb in her car before detonating it and seemingly killing her.[8] At the same time, Stature (Cassie Lang) and the Vision (Jonas) are out for dinner together and discussing the other team.[9] She thinks they should be easier on them considering how divided the community has been since the civil war.[10] That’s when they are attacked by Egghead, while Cassie manages to fight him off, he manages to get into physical contact with Jonas and downloads something onto his hard drive about the Enchantress that is so dire that they need to call a team meeting immediately.
As a result of this information, Enchantress is booted off the team without a single explanation. She returns to the Invisible Mansion in tears. Melter then calls another meeting with the Young Avengers. However, it is not to discuss why, but to lure them into a trap because of Norman Osborn’s offer. When the Young Avengers arrive on the scene they find Iron Patriot (Osborn himself), Wolverine (Daken), and Hawkeye (Bullseye) of the Dark Avengers waiting for them!
Recurring Characters
Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulking, Wiccan, Stature, Hawkeye, Vision, Speed), “Young Avengers” (Melter, Coat of Arms, Executioner, Enchantress, Big Zero, Egghead), Dark Avengers (Iron Patriot, Hawkeye, Wolverine), Princess Python, Loki
Continuity Notes
The clue that this was a trick (even though it was explained in the next few pages) is the fact that Wiccan poses as the Swordsman (Jaquest DuQuesne), who —at the time of this story — has been dead since Giant-Size Avengers #2. As of this writing (May, 2024), he still remains among the deceased.
The Vision offers Cassie to take on Kate’s appearance later if she likes (ick). The Vision was previously a suit of neuro-kinetic armor that downloaded the personality of its wearer, Nathaniel Richards (aka Iron Lad) and the data from the Vision (who was destroyed at the time, per Avengers #500). These two personalities made him sentient as seen in Young Avengers #1-6. Hinted at in issue #10 and later revealed in Young Avengers Presents #4, the Vision has feelings for Cassie because his creator had feelings for her. Lang, for her part, doesn’t know how she feels and has keeping him at arm’s length. Smart move.
We saw Lisa’s explosive encounter with Norman Osborn in issue #2.
Loki appears here in female form. This is because, after being resurrected following Ragnarok (see Thor (vol. 2) #80-85 and Thor (vol. 3) #5) he had stolen the form of Thor’s lover, Sif, trapping her in the body of an elderly woman undergoing end of life care as revealed in Thor (vol. 3) #8. She will be freed (and Loki recast as male) in Thor #602.
He is likely referring to Moto, which was created by the Shaper of Worlds to create the ideal fantasy world of Nazi scientist Otto Kronsteig, as seen in Incredible Hulk #155. However, this has yet to be definitively confirmed time of this writing (May, 2024), particularly since Otto’s fascist world was merely an illusion that collapsed on itself after he was defeated by the Hulk.
Tiboro is the ruler of Sixth Dimension, first seen in Strange Tales #129. What he used this coat for and why it was left for Lisa to find has yet to be explained time of this writing.
At the time of this story, Avengers Mansion was left in ruins after it was attacked by the Scarlet Witch in Avengers #500-503. It will remain in this state until New Avengers (vol. 2) #1.
Although Princess Python is supposedly killed here but somehow survived as she appears again without explanation (as of this writing) in Secret Avengers #21.1. One possibility is that Mephisto had a hand in her survival or resurrection as she is later depicted as being corrupted by him in Avengers (vol. 8) #55. In that story it is revealed that she worships the demon, so the idea that she made a pact with him to cheat death isn’t that outlandish to consider.
The Vision’s “human” form is based on Nathaniel Richards (aka Iron Lad) his creator as explained in Young Avengers Presents #4.
As seen in Civil War #1-7, the superhero community was split over the implementation of the Super Human Registry Act (SHRA), which required superheroes to register with the government. This law remains in effect until Siege #4.
Topical References
Melter’s cell phone is depicted as having physical buttons. This should be considered a topical reference because this style of phone has fallen out of common use thanks to smart phones and touch screens eliminating the need for buttons.
