Young Avengers #9
Family Matters, Part 1
In the Bronx, Eli Bradley (formerly the Patriot) is getting ready for school. He pauses at the wall of photos of his relative, Isaiah Bradley (aka the Black Captain America of World War II) as he overhears a public station Captain America (Steve Rogers) has made about his former team, the Young Avengers.[1] He tells the press that while the youthful heroes are brave, they have been pressing the group to disband. Before leaving Eli tells his guardian (Faith Bradley) that he will be volunteering at the reference desk after school until 7 pm that evening. Faith then asks if she calls to see if he is there when he said he would be, he promises her that he would.
Meanwhile, Cassie Lang (aka Stature) is being dropped off at school by her mother. They argue over if she can take the subway home when they overhear a radio report about a man threatening to jump off the Flatiron building. Cassie thinks she can help with her size-changing powers, but her mother quashes that idea. Peggy tells her daughter that the NYPD will handle it and Cassie will not be superheroing until she turns 18 years of age.
Cassie isn’t the only person who hears this report. He fellow Young Avenger Billy Kaplan (aka Wiccan) hears the report as he is biking to school. He rushes to the scene and arrives just as the man jumps. Billy then tries to cast a spell to break his fall. Moments later, Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) of Avengers fame swoops in and scoops the guy out of the air instead. Now running late for school, Billy rides away trying to cast a spell that will hopefully get him there on time.
At the Hawthorne Academy, Kate Bishop reads the newspaper which features a front page story about the alleged disbanding of the Young Avengers. This is in the middle of her fencing class and her teacher takes advantage of her distraction to challenge her. He is concerned that she is not focused enough, but Kate proves him wrong by easily disarming then tripping her teacher. Having him at the end of her sword, she calls him out for trying to embarrass her in front of the other students, and walks out of class.
Later in the day, Teddy Altman is heading to a meeting with the Young Avengers when he comes across a purse snatching. He uses his powers to stop the purse snatcher and when people ask who he is, he uses his shape-shifting abilities to make himself look like Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. The other see it, they chide him for using his powers in public. However, this only illustrates the fact that they can’t help but use their powers to help people even when they aren’t in costume. Billy and the others wonder if they should come clean to their parents. However, since Cassie’s mother found out that she was Stature she has been a wreck between worries that Cassie will get herself killed and fear that her superhero hating husband will find out.[2] Besides, none of them feel that being the Young Avengers is the same without Eli. However, he has been ghosting them ever since he quit the team.
That’s why they have all agreed to meet out front of the New York Public Library to catch Eli as he goes in for his reference desk duty. When he arrives he doesn’t understand why they came after he lied to them about where his powers came from. Kate points out that Eli was the one who defeated Mister Hyde and he is the best person to lead their team. Eli questions how he could be a leader if he doesn’t have any powers. He is reminded that Kate doesn’t have any powers either, but despite this he still refuses and heads inside.
Before they can go after them, Teddy is suddenly snatched by the Super-Skrull (Kl’rt), who tells him that he has come to bring him home. Teddy breaks free, saying that he’s a mutant, not a Skrull, but is quickly restrained in an invisible sphere. Despite the fact that this will blow their covers, the Young Avengers spring into action to save their friend. As Billy and Kate try to keep the Kl’rt at bay, Eli is ordered to get Cassie and Teddy to safety. While they are all worried about the Super-Skrull’s Fantastic Four based powers, they are unprepared when Kl’rt uses a Skrull’s natural hypnosis abilities to put Wiccan in a trance.
Teddy then hits the Super-Skrull with the full force of his super strength. This sends the Skrull crashing into a nearby building. Recovering from the hit, Kl’rt wonders if there is any truth to the rumors about who the boy’s father is. However, the hit also allowed the Young Avengers to make a run for it. When they get to a nearby subway station, Eli tells them that he can’t get further involved in this and heads home. Little do any of them know that the Super-Skrull had made himself invisible and is following them. As the others head off, Kl’rt turns his focus to Eli Bradley.
The rest of the team rushes back to Teddy’s apartment. He frantically tries to call his mother but she is not picking up. When they arrive in the lobby, he says that he can’t believe that his mother is a Skrull since she is a real estate agent. When asked about his father, Teddy tells them that he was told he had died of cancer before he was born.[3] When they get into the apartment, Teddy is relieved that his mother is safe. Surprisingly, she also called Billy’s mother Rebecca because she has something important to tell her son. Before she can tell him what that is, the Super-Skrull comes crashing in through the wall. He has Eli as a hostage and demands that Teddy come with him if he wants his friend to remain alive.
Teddy continues to deny that he is a Skrull, prompting Kl’rt to use a device that will reveal the truth. It does nothing to Teddy, but causes his mother to revert to her true form: That of a Skrull. With her cover blown, “Mrs. Altman” refuses to let Teddy go since she was sworn to the princess to keep her son safe. She then pulls out a weapon from her purse and tries to shoot the Super-Skrull. He responds by immolating her with his flame powers. Billy rushes to her side and tries to cast a spell to put out the flame. Unfortunately, he isn’t fast enough and the woman they knew as Teddy’s mother dies. Eli then tells the others that, while they were distracted, the Super-Skrull made off with Teddy!
Recurring Characters
Young Avengers (Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan, Stature, Kate Bishop), Super-Skrull, Faith Bradley, Isaiah Bradley, Peggy Burdick, Rebecca Kaplan, Antalya, Captain America, Ms. Marvel
Continuity Notes
There is a lot going on with Eli here off the top, so lets break it down:
He is descended from Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America who was active in 1942, as told in Truth: Red, White & Black #1-7.
Eli was later approached to join the Young Avengers in Young Avengers Special #1 and was a founding member of the team in Young Avengers #1. Captain America and Iron Man have been trying to convince the team to disband since their inception.
However, over the last two issues we learned that Eli’s powers were derived by the street drug known as Mutant Growth Hormone. When the truth was revealed he decided to quit the team.
Cassie’s mother learned that she was Stature over the last two issues as well.
We will learn in Young Avengers #11 that Teddy is the son of the Skrull Princess Anelle and the Kree Captain Marvel. He was conceived sometime between the events of Avengers #92 and 93. The story about his father dying of cancer is true. Mar-Vell died of the illness in Marvel Graphic Novel #1.
Topical References
Teddy’s cell phone is depicted as having physical buttons an a small screen. These types of phones were quite common at the time this story was published. However, they have fallen out of common use following the invention of the smart phone. Its depiction here should be considered topical.
