AVENGERS (volume 3) # 3

April, 1998

"Once an Avenger..." Part Three: "Fata Morgana"

By Kurt Busiek & George Perez

with Al Vey (inks), Tom Smith (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters), Digital Chameleon (additional color), Tom Brevoort (editor) and Bob Harras (editor-in-chief).

EXTERIOR COVER:

The revived Wonder Man, as drawn by George Perez, with coloring by Tom Smith.

INTERIOR COVER:

Only a few of the story's many characters are individually introduced here this month due to the space taken up by recapping the events of previous issues. Apart from the villains of the tale (Morgan and Mordred), the lucky few characters singled out for individual attention are Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Quasar, Photon and Justice, all of whom play prominent roles in this story. Strangely, the similarly prominent Wasp is omitted from this cast list, just as she was last issue. One wonders if these heroes will be among the core cast Busiek has said he will establish as of issue 4; all eight are plausible candidates, though Quasar and Photon seem less likely to stick around than the others. Especially intriguing is the inclusion of Justice in the principal cast list, hinting that he may indeed become a new Avengers member as has been speculated.

PAGE 1:

The sorceress Morgan Le Fay has remade the world in her own image, as a pseudo-Arthurian kingdom of which she is absolute ruler. Those Avengers who resisted Morgan Le Fay's magic enough to recall their true selves have assembled in the forest to plot the liberation of their teammates--and the world--from Morgan's control. The free Avengers, engaged here in a training session, include Thor, Justice (actually a member of the New Warriors currently allied with the Avengers), Hawkeye, Photon, Wasp, Quasar (the third Marvel character by that name) and Captain America. All seven heroes are clad in the altered costuming of their Morganverse identities (Donar, Squire Justice, Longbow, Daystar, Pixie, Star-Knight and Yeoman America).

Morgan Le Fay used the Twilight Sword and the magical power of the captive Scarlet Witch to remake the world in her image. For simplicity's sake, this text refers to Morgan's self-made alternate reality as the Morganverse.

Panels 2-4:

Thor is trying to tag Justice with lightning conjured by his hammer, Mjolnir; Justice is evading Thor by using his mutant telekinetic powers. As the youngest and least experienced hero here, Justice is still rather awed by his idols, the Avengers, and as such is running scared from Thor's attack.

Panels 5-7:

Photon evades a slew of arrows fired by Hawkeye. Hawkeye wishes he had an "electro-disruption arrow" to use against Photon, presumably a variation on the "electro-arrow" Hawkeye frequently employs, a shaft that releases a substantial electrical charge on impact. The "electro-disruption" arrow Hawkeye mentions here, presumably intended to disrupt Photon's energy form, might be the same as or similar to the modified electro-arrow Hawkeye used to take down Living Lightning in Avengers West Coast # 80; like Photon, Living Lightning can convert his body to living energy.

Panels 8-10:

Wasp keeps Quasar disoriented with a flurry of her bioelectric sting blasts.

Panels 11-12:

Captain America calls an end to the training exercise.

PAGE 2:

Panel 4:

Note how deferential Justice is to Captain America, his role model--even saluting him.

PAGE 3:

As was observed last issue, Morgan has a penchant for plot synopses. Does she get a cut of Busiek's salary or what?

PAGE 4:

Panel 1:

Morgan Le Fay interrogates one of her guards with the aid of the Ghost of Stone (the Morganverse incarnation of the Vision) and Priestess Selene (the Morganverse incarnation of Moondragon). Moondragon is using her telepathic powers to read the guard's mind.

The Scarlet Witch is a mutant sorceress and longtime Avengers member whom Morgan imprisoned, using the Witch's magic to make the Morganverse's creation possible; as such, the Witch's escape infuriates Morgan. Presumably, the Witch escaped with the aid of long-lost Avengers member Wonder Man, whom the Witch she called back to life at the conclusion of last issue.

Panel 6:

Kro is a warlord of the Deviants, a mutated sub-species of humanity created by Celestial experiments on early humans. He appears here as the ruler of Lemuria, the Deviants' hidden kingdom in the "real" Marvel Universe, just as it is here in the Morganverse.

PAGE 7:

Panels 6-8:

Here we see the Scarlet Witch, in her Morganverse costuming, fresh from escaping Morgan's castle with the aid of Wonder Man, whom she reanimated last issue.

PAGE 8:

Panel 1:

Here we see Wonder Man (Simon Williams), now a being of pure ionic energy. Wanda's comment about suspecting that Simon only existed while she could see him is ironic, perhaps consciously so, since Wanda conceived her twin sons, Thomas and William, though magic--only to learn, eventually, that they were vanishing whenever she left them, and that they only existed when she concentrated upon them. It's understandable that she might fear a similar fate for Simon since he was returned to life through her magic.

Panel 2:

As Wanda says, Simon was an Avenger for a long time. He first encountered the team as an adversary turned ally way back in Avengers (v1) # 9, betraying the group to Baron Zemo before seemingly dying to save them. Years later, he was revived as a zombie in Avengers (v1) # 151-152 and returned to full consciousness through the power of the Serpent Crown in Avengers Annual # 6; turns out he'd only been in a death-like coma while the superhuman physique he'd been given by Zemo gradually mutated into an indestructible form suffused with ionic energy. Having nowhere else to go, Simon made his home with the Avengers and acted as a provisional or informal member of the team for quite some time, eventually getting official Avengers credentials while the team was operating under the strict supervision of US government liaison Henry Peter Gyrich. Wonder Man left the team to pursue an acting career (Avengers [v1] # 211), but rejoined as a founding member of the team's new western roster in the West Coast Avengers limited series, remaining an active member throughout most of the West Coast Avengers ongoing series. He took a leave of absence for personal reasons in Avengers West Coast # 92 and did not return until AWC # 102, by which time the Avengers had shut down their western roster. The disgruntled Simon then joined a new rival super-team, Force Works, a group formed by other displaced AWC members, including Scarlet Witch.

Panels 3-6:

As Simon and Wanda recall, Simon was slain in battle with the alien Kree and Scatter in Force Works # 1: an ion cannon blew up, taking Simon with it, dispersing his physical form for miles in all directions. He was, understandably, presumed dead. But Simon's evolving superhuman form had consisted principally of ionic energy for years, and his revival was possible if something could reunite and reanimate his scattered energies. Wanda's magic managed to do this.

After he exploded, Simon says he concentrated upon something that kept him from fully dying, something that kept his consciousness from passing into the afterlife. He declines to say what that "something" was, but it was almost certainly his love for Wanda, whom he loved from afar for years while she was married to the Vision; Simon and Wanda even pursued a romance on and off after Vision and Wanda broke up, but Wanda could never bring herself to commit to the relationship for various reasons, one of them being that Vision had been Simon's psychic twin of sorts, programmed with Simon's brain patterns; being involved with Simon was too much like being involved with the Vision for Wanda, and she was too used to relating to Simon as a platonic friend after their years together in the Avengers.

As Simon recalls, Wanda used her magic in last issue's story to issue a mental summons to any and all Avengers who might be able to help her. This mystical "call" freed a few Avengers from Morgan's thrall, and was also strong enough to draw the disembodied Wonder Man to Wanda's side.

PAGES 10-11 (two-page spread):

Panel 1:

The Queen's Vengeance (the Morganverse incarnations of the Avengers) charge their rogue comrades. Visible here are Blackbird (Falcon), Iron Knight (Iron Man), Sir Fulminator (Living Lightning), Sir MacHinery (Machine Man), Sealord (Sub-Mariner), Circe the Sorceress (Sersi), Firemaiden (Firebird), Kreature (Beast), Lady Marvel (Binary), Lady Comet (Firestar), Gigantus (Giant-Man), Knave of Hearts (Starfox), Sir Devilfish (Stingray), Chevalier (Swordsman), Black Knight (Black Knight), Lady Magdalena (Magdalene), Serf (D-Man), Heracles (Hercules), Falconer (Darkhawk), Arachne (Spider-Woman), Nubian Prince (Black Panther), Grimalkin (Tigra), Gypsy Davy (Quicksilver), Priestess Selene (Moondragon), Elementelle (Crystal), Liegeman (USAgent), Ghost of Stone (Vision), Blacksmith (Rage), Jade Giantess (She-Hulk), Quarryman (Sandman) and Tsarina (Black Widow).

Panels 2-5:

As noted earlier, Justice is overwhelmed at being in the presence of the Avengers, widely regarded as Earth's greatest heroes, icons he has admired from afar for years. Quasar can understand Justice's feelings since the two heroes have similarly idealistic personalities and a shared respect for the Avengers legend; Quasar was a wide-eyed rookie Avenger himself not long ago, having joined the team relatively late in the game in Avengers (v1) # 305, resigning from active duty as of Avengers (v1) # 348 to devote more time to his duties as Protector of the Universe.

Wasp apologizes to Giant-Man for zapping him, understandable since they've been close friends and sometime lovers for years.

PAGE 12

Panel 1:

The mace used to be Hercules's trademark weapon, but he hasn't been wielding it of late; like his costuming, Hercules's choice of weapon seems to have reverted to a traditional mode in the Morganverse.

Panel 2:

The Uni-Mind referred to by Sersi is a physical and mental union formed by the members of the Eternal race to which she belongs

Panel 4:

When Morgan gloats of having the "Pendragon" on her side she refers to the Black Knight, the spiritual heir of her old foe, King Arthur; it's doubly delicious for her since the modern Black Knight has battled Morgan in the past, like Arthur before him.

Panels 5-8:

Morgan has been one of the less impressive aspects of this storyline, often seeming little more than a plot device and expository vehicle steeped in trademark super-villain melodrama and implausible overconfidence; but Busiek nails the character in this sequence and makes her plausible, interpreting her overconfidence as a need for worthy challenges and an unwillingess to appear weak by being cautious. In this sequence, Morgan rings true.

Van Plexico has theorized that a relatively "weak" character, Morgan, was used as the initial villain in the series so as not to distract from the Avengers themselves, and Busiek has said that was "pretty much" the idea. Though powerful, Morgan lacks the uniqueness of concept or personality that distinguishes the better Avengers villains; as such, the Avengers are the undisputed stars of the storyline that reintroduces them to readers.

PAGE 15

Even before his latest "death", Wonder Man's ionic energy form had become sufficiently versatile for him to alter its shape in various ways, including the ability to assume a size of gigantic proportions at will.

PAGE 16

Panel 1:

As noted previously, Justice is a founding member of the New Warriors, and has recently served as their leader.

PAGES 17-18

The heroes combining their energies to overcome the foe is an old fantasy adventure device, and this particular instance of it is highly reminiscent of the conclusion to Avengers: Yesterday Quest (originally printed in Avengers # 187), in which the assembled Avengers combined their will power to free Wanda from the demon Chthon. This sequence is very similar, right down to the laying-on of hands.

Note that, in the final panel of Page 18, the Avengers have, perhaps unconsciously, formed an "A" shape by joining forces.

PAGE 20

Panel 5:

Busiek says he loves the way this panel turned out.

PAGE 21

Panels 2-3:

The lighted portions of Iron Man's armor have been miscolored again; they should be red, with only the frames glowing gold.

Panel 4:

Giant-Man and Iron Man being called to the Vision's aid makes sense since they are two of the Avengers' foremost scientists; Hank even created Vision's creator, the robot Ultron, and has studied Vision extensively.

Panels 5-6:

Sersi has the ability to transmute matter at will, but since she isn't familiar with the configuration of the Vision's body parts, she can't restore them from thin air. Mind you, this explanation--while conceptually plausible--seems a bit shaky in light of previous stories such as Avengers Annual # 22, in which Sersi transmuted a then-liquefied Vision into a small army of tiny solid Visions and then reintegrated them into an undamaged, normal-sized Vision again. Perhaps she can instinctively restore transformed matter to a previous state even if she is unfamiliar with the original configuration, but is unable to reconfigure unfamiliar material "from scratch" once it has been destroyed. Regardless, for whatever reason, she cannot restore Vision's body.

Panels 7-8:

Apparently, Simon has reverted to formless energy once more, perhaps permanently.

PAGE 22

Panels 1-2:

Thor's quest for the missing Asgardians presumably leads into the forthcoming revival of his ongoing series, and may indicate that he's not sticking around to be part of the ongoing team roster as of issue 4. If so, this is in keeping with an old plotting pattern established by Avengers writers such as Stan Lee and Steve Englehart: keeping Thor off the active roster as a great power held in reserve for major events.

Panel 6:

Beast is understandably moved by Simon's seemingly fleeting revival since Beast and Wonder Man had been close friends for years, both during and after their time together as members of the Avengers.

Some readers have speculated that Beast wanting to talk to someone about Simon's brief resurrection is an indication that Beast may lead some effort to restore Simon to life yet again; however, John Warren has theorized that the Beast's comment is just an expression of his grief, and a resultant desire to talk with someone about it. Says Busiek, "That's pretty much correct. The line would have come through better if the fine folks at Comicraft had lettered it in small letters, as I asked in the script, so it would have read more like an aside, and less like a declaration." So Beast is mourning rather than forming a plan of action.

Panels 6-7:

Beast's closing question paraphrases the famous closing line from Giant-Size X-Men # 1, in which Angel (the "old pal" Beast mentions) asked what his team was going to do with all the X-Men they had after an impromptu membership drive. That changing-of-the-guard question has been echoed or parodied in a few team book stories since then, most recently this one; it's particularly fitting coming from Beast since he's a founding member of the X-Men himself.

Thirty-Nine Avengers? Presumably the Beast's counting the heroes present in this scene: Sersi, Starfox, Spider-Woman (II), Quasar (III), Swordsman (II), Magdalene, Darkhawk, USAgent, Black Widow (II), Sandman, Tigra, Moondragon, Binary, Rage, Iron Man, Vision (II), Black Knight (III), Scarlet Witch, Stingray, Machine Man, Hercules, Firestar, Justice, D-Man, Quicksilver, Crystal, Falcon (II), She-Hulk, Stingray, Living Lightning, Firebird, Sub-Mariner, Black Panther and Beast himself. That comes to thirty-four, plus off-panel teammates Captain America, Hawkeye, Wasp, Photon and Giant-Man, for a total of thirty-nine. The departing Thor and incapacitated honorary member Rick Jones don't make the cut, presumably.

Panel 7:

Note that Sandman seems to be brushing himself off--a subtle visual gag of sorts: a guy made of sand brushing sand off his shirt.