Earth's Mightiest Annotations
by Sean McQuaid

AVENGERS (volume 3) # 19
August, 1999
"This Evil Renewed"
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez
with Al Vey (finisher), Tom Smith (colorist), Richard Starkings &
Comicraft's Wes Abbott (lettering), Tom Brevoort (editor) & Bob Harras
(editor-in-chief).

Avengers Assembled:
Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision [II], Firestar &
Justice (as active members); Wasp (as reserve member); Black Panther (as
inactive member); and Wonder Man (as former member). In addition, this
issue's flashbacks include appearances by Hank Pym (as Goliath &
Yellowjacket), Hawkeye (as Goliath [II]) and Jocasta.

Other Characters:
Wakanda Design Group employees, Alkhema, Edwin Jarvis, various reporters
(including Mr. Amberson & Megan McLaren), Transian dancers, the patrons of
Cafe Transia, Stavros (owner of Cafe Transia), Alice Nugent, Aaron (a CNN
news anchor), Dieter Hansen (a German correspondent for CNN), Elli (a CNN
cameraman), the people of Slorenia, and Ultron. In addition, the Grim
Reaper has a cameo in a flashback.

EXTERIOR COVER
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and colored by Tom
Smith) features everybody's favourite killer robot, Ultron.

PAGES ONE through THREE
The supersonic aircraft called QUINJETS are the Avengers* principal mode of
long-range transportation. They were designed by the Black Panther*s
Wakanda Design Group and were manufactured for years by Tony Stark (Iron
Man) through Stark's various business enterprises. In addition to two
pilots, quinjets can seat five other passengers. They can reach speeds of
Mach 2.1 and climb to heights of 220,000 feet. Fully loaded, a quinjet can
fly 9,500 miles without refueling. Quinjets have VTOL (vertical takeoff and
landing) capability, and all active Avengers members are instructed in
their use.
The Avengers were banned from launching their quinjets within New York*s
city limits some time ago, which is why they used Hydrobase as an air strip
for a time, and later they*d been launching their quinjets from an
underground tunnel. They have since regained the right to launch quinjets
from the Mansion, though they have modified the quinjet hangar in an
attempt to make its activities less disruptive for the local inhabitants.
The original quinjet first appeared in Avengers [v1] # 61, and the
Avengers have maintained a small fleet of quinjets since then. Previous
Avengers aircraft included the Avengers Jetcopter (a helicopter), DC-8
Jetliners, the Avengers Airship, an XL-750 Rocket Hunter Plane, the
Jet-Stream Cruiser (a.k.a. rocket-jet), the Rocket-Jet Air Car,
Jet-Scooters, the Wing Jet, Aero-Cars, the Air-Cruiser and the Aerocraft.
When Tony Stark was mistakenly believed dead after Onslaught, his company
(then known as Stark Enterprises) was taken over by rival corporation
Fujikawa, forming Stark-Fujikawa. Unwilling to pursue the legal battle
necessary to get his company back, Stark instead founded a new consulting
business, Stark Solutions.

The BLACK PANTHER (T'Challa) is an inactive Avengers member who last worked
with the team in Avengers [v3] # 1-4, when he aided the group against
Morgan
Le Fay and Whirlwind. He currently stars in his own ongoing series.
T'Challa
is the warrior king of the secluded, technologically advanced African
nation
Wakanda, a country that derives much of its considerable wealth and
impressive technology from a large stockpile of the rare meteoric metal
Vibranium. Under the western-educated T'Challa's guidance, Wakanda has
become a very modernized and technically advanced society while remaining
faithful to traditional African cultural values. The title and costume of
the Black Panther comprise a ceremonial guise that T'Challa assumed
upon becoming Wakanda's leader, after completing tests that included a
trial by combat and the quest for a rare heart-shaped Wakandan herb that
further enhanced T'Challa's already impressive physical abilities.
As the Black Panther, T'Challa is both Wakanda's head of state and
one of the country's finest warriors, defending Wakanda from a variety of
internal and external threats. He has befriended many American adventurers,
beginning with the Fantastic Four and Captain America. When the Captain
decided to take a leave of absence from his Avengers duties, he asked the
Black Panther to serve as his replacement. The Panther accepted, hoping to
learn more about North America and American crimefighting methods and serve
as a Wakandan ambassador to the western world. Nominated for membership by
Cap in Avengers [v1] # 51, T'Challa joined the team in Avengers [v1] # 52,
taking a leave of absence from his royal duties but occasionally returning
to Wakanda to supervise affairs of state. He also maintained an American
dual identity as schoolteacher Luke Charles in an attempt to learn more
about America and better acquaint young African Americans with their
cultural heritage.
The Panther returned to his royal duties full-time as of Avengers
[v1] # 87 but continued to assist the Avengers on occasion. He informally
rejoined the team in Avengers [v1] # 105 and officially resumed active
membership as of Avengers [v1] # 112; however, he soon resigned from active
membership to return to his royal responsibilities on a full-time basis
again, as of Avengers [v1] # 126. He has been a frequent ally and
occasional
reserve member of the Avengers in the years since then, but he has not
rejoined the Avengers on a full-time basis, preferring instead to
concentrate on his duties as Wakanda's ruler. The Black Panther first
appeared in Fantastic Four [v1] # 52.
The Black Panther is a scientific genius whose physical abilities
are developed to peak human levels (thanks in part to their enhancement
through his use of heart-shaped Wakandan herbs and his mystical connection
with the Wakandan Panther God). He is a phenomenally formidable unarmed
combatant whose unique fighting style incorporates a variety of martial
arts
and animal mimicry. He has highly acute senses, in particular his eyesight,
night vision and sense of smell; he is also an expert hunter and tracker.
A genius in physics and advanced technology, the Panther is an accomplished
inventor, computer expert and machinesmith.
The Black Panther and his Wakanda Design Group have supplied the
Avengers with a great deal of advanced technology, including Falcon's
winged costume (which grants Falcon the power of flight) and some of
Hawkeye's more exotic high-tech arrows. The Panther's most notable
contribution to Avengers equipment is the team's standard supersonic
aircraft, the quinjet, designed and manufactured by the Panther's Wakanda
Design Group (formerly manufactured by Stark International and Stark
Enterprises).

PAGE FOUR
Justice began talking of moving into Avengers Mansion as soon as he became
an active member, in Avengers [v3] # 8. After gradually becoming more
enthusiastic about her Avengers membership, Firestar decided she wanted to
move into Avengers Mansion in Avengers [v3] # 13.
Justice has had trouble adjusting to Avengers membership ever since he
joined the team, finding himself overawed by serving alongside his lifelong
idols. He was accidentally injured by a fellow Avenger, the Black Knight,
in Avengers [v3] # 16. He subsequently broke his leg in Avengers [v3] # 17
after going into action against doctor's orders and battling the Doomsday
Man. The Black Knight and the Doomsday Man are described in detail in the
EMA annotations for those issues.

PAGE FIVE
The Avengers have had uncharacteristically poor relations with the media
since Avengers [v3] # 15, when their pursuit of the mysterious
super-criminal Lord Templar led them to the temple of the Triune
Understanding religious movement. The Triunes were hostile and
uncooperative when the Avengers asked to search the premises, and publicly
implied that the Avengers were trying to mask their own incompetence by
linking the Triunes to a menace they couldn't stop. Since then, the
Avengers have been the targets of unfounded accusations of religious
intolerance, as seen most recently in Avengers # 0. The Triune
Understanding's leader, Jonathan Tremont, is secretly in league with Lord
Templar, and is encouraging the public perception of the Avengers as
anti-Triune bigots since he hopes to see his group benefit from the
resultant publicity and public sympathy.
Cafe Transia was first and last seen in Avengers [v3] # 1; it is a
favourite haunt of the Scarlet Witch, who was born and raised in the tiny
Balkan nation of Transia.

PAGES SIX & SEVEN
Wanda has not previously been known as a dancer, or as someone given to
exhibitionism (except in terms of her costuming), but it's not altogether
surprising to see her come alive in the role of a performer. During her
early days with the Avengers, she often spoke of wanting to pursue an
acting career--something she has in common with her current boyfriend
Wonder Man, who was a professional stunt man and actor for years.

CHTHON is a major elder demon with vast magical powers who was imprisoned
in Transia's Wundagore Mountain for many years. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff
were born on Wundagore Mountain during Chthon's imprisonment there, and
Chthon's presence imbued Wanda with great magical potential during her
birth. Many years later, Chthon escaped his captivity by using the Scarlet
Witch as a host body. The Avengers defeated him, however, and he was
reimprisoned in Wundagore Mountain. He first appeared in Marvel Chillers #
1. His Avengers appearances include Avengers [v1] # 185-187 (with the aid
of his pawn Modred, inhabited the Scarlet Witch as a host body and battled
the Avengers until they forced Chthon out of the Scarlet Witch's form and
reimprisoned him in Wundagore Mountain).

The TOAD (Mortimer Toynbee) is a misshapen mutant misfit who possesses
slightly superhuman strength, most especially in his legs, which enable him
to leap to amazing heights. He can also secrete various sticky resins which
can serve as adhesives, poisons or hypnotic drugs. Abandoned by his parents
at an early age and mocked by his peers while growing up, Toynbee developed
a pathetically subservient personality which made him fanatically loyal and
obedient toward anyone he regarded as a friend. When the mutant terrorist
Magneto recruited Toynbee into his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and dubbed
him the Toad, Toynbee became Magneto's most trusted--and most
abused--henchman, regarding Magneto as a sort of surrogate father figure.
During his time with the Brotherhood, the Toad fell in love with fellow
member the Scarlet Witch; but though she was kind to him, she did not share
his feelings.
The original Brotherhood broke up during an ecounter with the enigmatic
alien Stranger, who turned Mastermind (another Brotherhood member) to stone
and exiled Magneto & Toad to an alien world. The remaining Brotherhood
members, twin siblings Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, had always been
reluctant criminals who served Magneto out of a mixture of fear and a sense
of obligation--so once he was gone, they gave up crime and became members
of the Avengers. The Toad, meanwhile, was abandoned on the Stranger's
planet by an escaping Magneto, an incident which may have begun to erode
Toad fanatical loyalty to his master; however, when Magneto escaped a
second time after being reimprisoned on the Stranger's world, he took the
Toad back to Earth with him. The damage to their relationship had been
done, though, and Magneto's abusive ways soon spurred the Toad to lash out,
abandoning Magneto to die in the aftermath of an unsuccessful clash with
the Avengers and the X-Men. Magneto later turned up alive, but never
renewed his connection with the Toad.
After leaving Magneto, Toad spent some time in the company of fellow
Brotherhood defectors Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch as a nomadic wanderer.
When all three were captured by the otherdimensional warlord Arkon and
subsequently freed by the Avengers, the Toad opted to remain on Arkon's
world, Polemachus. During his time there, the Toad studied the exotic
technology of Polemachus and used it to return to the Stranger's world,
where he mastered much of the Stranger's technology. The Toad hoped to use
these alien technologies to become a powerful man, imagining that this
might finally win him the affections of the Scarlet Witch; but by the time
he was ready to return to Earth, he learned that the Scarlet Witch had
married the Vision in his absence. Furious, the Toad attacked the Avengers
in search of the Scarlet Witch and was defeated.
In the years that followed, Toad tried unsuccessfully to find a new niche
in life. After failing as a hired assassin, he became an amusement park
manager with the financial assistance of his old foe the Angel until the
park was driven out of business by Doctor Doom. This left Toad suicidal
until he was befriended by the costumed hero Spider-Man. Fanatically
devoted to Spider-Man as he had been to Magneto, Toad tried unsuccessfully
to convince Spider-Man to take him on as a partner; however, Toad settled
for a partnership with fellow amateur adventurers and Spider-Man groupies
Frog-Man [II] and Spider-Kid, forming a crimefighting trio called the
Misfits.
Despite the support of the Misfits and the advice of his psychiatrist,
Toad could not shake his obsession with the Scarlet Witch, which eventually
led him back into criminal activity. Using his advanced technology to
construct robots, battle armor and other weapons, Toad tried repeatedly to
abduct the Scarlet Witch, battling Quicksilver, Vision, Spider-Man and the
Scarlet Witch. During the last of these kidnapping attempts, the Scarlet
Witch was eight months pregnant, and the Toad was so repulsed by her
condition that he fled without her despite the fact that no one had
succeeded in defeating him on this occasion.
Tired of being ridiculed and rejected, the Toad decided to rededicate
himself to becoming a major super-criminal. He enjoyed some success for a
time as the cunning and ruthless leader of a new Brotherhood of Evil
Mutants, but this group soon disbanded without amounting to much of
anything. Since then, the Toad has resumed the life of a misfit wanderer
seeking acceptance.

The Toad first appeared in X-Men [v1] # 4. His Avengers appearances
include...

Avengers [v1] # 16, 111, 185 & 234 and Avengers [v3] # 10
(various appearances in flashbacks to the Scarlet Witch's past)

Avengers [v1] # 47-49
(returned to Earth alongside Magneto; as henchman of Magneto, helped abduct
Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch and manipulate them into briefly rejoining the
Brotherhood; as henchman of Magneto, invaded United Nations assembly and
battled Avengers; escaped alongside Magneto, Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch)

Avengers [v1] # 53
(battled X-Men and Avengers as henchman of Magneto; abandoned Magneto to
die during the destruction of his isand base; began nomadic wanderings in
the company of Quicksilver & Scarlet WItch)

Avengers [v1] # 75-76
(alongside Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch, abducted by Arkon and freed by
Avengers; parted company with Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch)

Avengers [v1] # 137-139
(posing as the Stranger, used advanced technology to attack the Avengers in
search of the Scarlet Witch; seriously injured the Wasp; exposed, defeated
and apprehended by Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 182
(mystical duplicates of the Toad, Princess Python and Nighthawk conjured to
battle the Avengers by Django Maximoff)

Avengers [v1] # 400
(mystical duplicates of the Toad and many other villains conjured by Loki
to attack the Avengers)

NECRODAMUS was a diminutive, disfigured sorcerer who became a disciple of
the evil, otherdimensional Undying Ones. As their agent, Necrodamus plotted
to release the Undying Ones into the earthly plane so they could conquer
it, and he was promised a stronger and more attractive physical form as a
reward. His efforts were thwarted by the original Defenders, and his
subsequent schemes eventually led to his apparent destruction. Before that,
however, he plotted to steal the souls of the sorceress Agatha Harkness and
her pupil, the Scarlet Witch, hoping to use them to grant himself a more
normal physical appearance. With the aid of Harkness and Agatha's familiar
Ebony, the Scarlet Witch defeated Necrodamus, and swept him away in a
torrent of other souls he had imprisoned over the years. Years later,
Necrodamus was briefly resurrected as a zombie by the Grim Reaper to battle
the Avengers. In his usual form, Necrodamus was a small, relatively feeble
man who relied mostly on his sorcerous powers. At one time or another, the
sources of these powers included the Undying Ones, the stars (depending on
their alignment) and mystically imprisoned souls. When the stars were
properly aligned, Necrodamus could assume more powerful physical forms,
including a gigantic version of himself and a powerful demonic form that he
assumed in battle with the Scarlet Witch. His Avengers appearances include
Avengers # 128 (tried unsuccessfully to steal the souls of Agatha Harkness
and the Scarlet Witch; defeated by the Scarlet Witch, Harkness and Ebony)
and 353-354 (briefly resurrected as a zombie by the Grim Reaper to battle
the Avengers).

PAGE EIGHT
Wanda's behaviour and emotional state have always been heavily influenced
by the men in her life, so it makes sense that she might become more
outgoing in the company of Wonder Man, as opposed to the more reserved
attitude she displayed during her years with the introverted Vision.
The Grim Reaper (Eric Williams), a longtime Avengers foe who is also
Wonder Man's insane criminal brother, was brought back to life and subdued
by the Avengers in Avengers [v3] # 10-11. He was placed in the care of a
mental institution thereafter, but robots broke him out in Avengers # 0.
Wanda catches sight of Vision in his holographic disguise as Victor Shade,
an alter ego adopted in Avengers Spotlight # 40 and last seen in Avengers
[v3] # 14 & 18.

The GRIM REAPER (Eric Williams) is the criminal brother of Simon Williams,
better known as Wonder Man. When Simon sacrificed himself to save the
Avengers from Zemo's Masters of Evil, Eric went mad with grief and wrongly
blamed the Avengers for Simon's death. Armed with a high-tech miniature
arsenal in the form of a scythe, Williams dubbed himself the Grim Reaper
and set out to kill the Avengers in his brother's memory. They defeated
him, but he returned again and again to menace the team, both alone and as
the founder of the original Lethal Legion.
The Reaper was confused and tormented by the existence of one Avenger in
particular, the Vision, whom the Reaper came to regard as an obscene
mockery of Simon since Vision's mind was created from Simon's brain
patterns. This situation became more confused when Simon himself returned
from his seeming death and joined the Avengers as Wonder Man. Unable to
accept Simon's new superhuman form, the Reaper eventually decided that
neither Wonder Man nor Vision was the true Simon Williams and set out to
destroy them both as well as the Avengers. This ultimately led to a
confrontation in which Simon and Vision convinced Eric that they were
legitimate living beings, and that he was their brother. Guilt-stricken,
the Reaper fled from them and fell to his death.
That might have been the end, but the Reaper's lover Nekra revived him as
a zombie to use as a weapon against their enemies. Sickened by his undead
state, the Reaper convinced Nekra to return him to his grave. Later,
though, she revived him once again, this time as a zombie who could sustain
his life indefinitely by killing victims with his scythe. After that, he
became a more mystical being in league with various demonic forces, and
tried unsuccessfully to kill the Avengers by creating the fourth Legion of
the Unliving. After that defeat, the Reaper bided his time in the
netherworld until his brother Wonder Man's own returns from the dead (in
Avengers [v3] # 2-9) began weakening the walls between the realms of the
dead and the living. Taking advantage of this, the Grim Reaper managed to
return to the Eartly plane along with a group of dead Avengers (including
Wonder Man) whom he'd bent to his will. The Reaper and his undead Avengers
defeated the living Avengers and plotted to drown the world in sorcerous
manifestations of the Reaper's pain & hatred, but the undead Avengers were
freed from the Reaper's control by the Scarlet Witch and turned on the
Reaper, helping the living Avengers defeat him. In the end, most of the
undead Avengers returned to their respective afterlives, but Wonder Man was
permanently resurrected through the sorcerous intervention of the Scarlet
Witch, while the Grim Reaper himself returned to life and abandoned his
fight when he was forced to admit his love for his brother.
The Grim Reaper first appeared in Avengers [v1] # 52. His Avengers
appearances include...

Avengers [v1] # 52
(first appeared as the Grim Reaper; near-successful attempt to murder the
Avengers thwarted by the Black Panther; defeated by Panther but escaped)

Avengers [v1] # 78-79
(recruited original Swordsman, Power Man [now Atlas], Living Laser and
Man-Ape; with them, founded the first Lethal Legion; alongside Lethal
Legion, tried unsuccessfully to destroy the Avengers; learned the Vision
had a mind based on the brain of Simon Williams; defeated and captured by
Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 102
(secretly offered to transfer Vision's mind into Wonder Man's body and make
it live again in exchange for Vision not opposing Reaper's efforts to
destroy the Avengers; Vision initially refused, but departed to consider
the offer)

Avengers [v1] # 106-108
(allied with Space Phantom in conspiracy against the Avengers; revealed to
Vision that he was lying about being able to revive Wonder Man's body, but
said he could transfer Vision's mind into Captain America's body using the
Space Phantom's technology; offered Cap's body to Vision, who played along
to infiltrate the Reaper's plans but ultimately refused and turned on the
Reaper; prevented Space Phantom from killing Vision; saved from HYDRA
troopers by Vision; alongside Space Phantom & HYDRA agents, battled and
defeated by Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 160
(imprisoned Vision, Wonder Man & several other Avengers and staged a mock
trial to determine whether Wonder Man or Vision was the real Simon
Williams; decided that Wonder Man truly was his brother; defeated and
subdued by Wonder Man)

West Coast Avengers [v2] # 1-2/Vision & Scarlet Witch [v2] # 1-2
(formed new Lethal Legion with Man-Ape, Goliath [III], Black Talon [II],
Nekra and Ultron; decided that neither Wonder Man nor Vision was his real
brother; plotted to steal the minds of Wonder Man and the Vision and use
them to create a "pure" Simon Williams consciousness that would then be
transferred into the body of a Simon Williams lookalike zombie; opposed and
defeated by Avengers; confronted Vision & Wonder Man, who convinced him
that they were true living beings and that they were both brothers to him;
fled in shame and fell to his death from a ledge)

Avengers West Coast # 61
(battled Wonder Man as part of Immortus's Legion of the Unliving)

Avengers West Coast: 65-68
(revived by Nekra as a zombie who could sustain his own undead existence
indefinitely by draining the life from his victims; embarked on a killing
spree opposed by Wonder Man; murdered Nekra, the Mandrill and many others;
entered into alliance with Ultron, intending to subvert Ultron's plans to
"robotize" the human race; along with Ultron, defeated by the Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 352-354
(as demonic being, tried to destroy Avengers using his Legion of the
Unliving, but was himself seemingly destroyed instead)

Avengers [v3] # 10-11
(attacked Avengers with a group of resurrected dead Avengers; defeated
after the dead Avengers turned on him and fought alongside the live
Avengers; brought back to life by his brother, Wonder Man, and placed in
psychiatric care)

Avengers # 0
(freed from psychiatric institution by Ultron's robot army)

PAGE NINE

Panels 1-3:
Wanda is surprised and troubled to hear that Victor Shade (Vision) is a
regular customer at one of her favourite restaurants--an indication that
even though Vision ended his relationship with Wanda, he perhaps cannot
bring himself to fully let go.

Panels 4-7:
Despite the wording of McLaren's question, neither Iron Man nor Cap has
actually "disparaged" the Triune Understanding; they've merely stated (as
Cap reiterates here) that they tracked a dangerous menace (Lord Templar) to
the Triune's headquarters and were refused access to investigate.
The Avengers have generally enjoyed good press, so it's somewhat odd to
see how quickly the press seem to have turned against the Avengers,
determined to portray them in the worst possible light. What's motivating
this on the part of the reporters remains unclear.

Panels 8-9:
Out of 54 past and present members, only five Avengers have been black, and
none of them are on the current active roster: Black Panther, Falcon and
Photon are all inactive members, while Jim Rhodes (formerly War Machine)
and Rage are former members (Rhodes retired from superheroics and Rage was
expelled for being underage). It's worth noting, too, that two of those
five heroes had racially motivated memberships. Falcon's initial membership
stint was imposed on the team by the U.S. government to fill an equal
opportunity quota, while Rage lobbied to join the group on the grounds that
the team lacked a real African-American presence.
Of course, Avengers membership is determined by merit as opposed to race
or cultural background, so the general scarcity of black Avengers is
probably just a reflection of the fact that black people make up a small
fraction of the superheroic community.

Panels 10-11:
Vance Astrovik (Justice) was verbally, emotionally and physically abused
for years by his father, Arnold Astrovik, an insecure bigot who could not
cope with the fact that his son was a superhuman mutant. Finally, during
one especially vicious beating, an exhausted and furious Vance
instinctively lashed out with his telekinetic powers, inflicting injuries
that killed his father. Vance was arrested and tried for his father's
death, and was convicted of manslaughter. Determined to learn from his
experience and become a stronger, wiser person for it, Vance served his
time (declining opportunities to escape) and was a model prisoner respected
by both the prison authorities and his fellow inmates. Released early for
good behaviour, he adopted a new costumed identity as Justice (Vance
previously used the costumed alias Marvel Boy) and rejoined the New
Warriors. The story of Arnold's death, Vance's trial and imprisonment and
Vance's eventual release was told in New Warriors [v1] # 20-26, 36 & 43.
Many people in the Marvel comics have long displayed the paranoid, racist
belief that mutants pose a threat to ordinary humanity and are secretly
plotting world domination. The Avengers have generally ignored these
nonsensical theories and have freely included mutants in their ranks,
including Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Sub-Mariner, Firestar &
Justice (not to mention honorary members Vance Astro & Starhawk). This has
sometimes been a source of controversy, but the team's overwhelmingly
positive image has generally protected them from the same extreme level of
disapproval and persecution suffered by less prestigious, more
mutant-centric groups such as the X-Men; however, recent negative publicity
generated by the Triune Understanding conflict has led the media to focus
on other controversial aspects of the Avengers, such as the mutant members
of their team. With three mutants as active members, the current Avengers
roster also has one of the larger percentages of mutants in the team's
history.
The "debacle with the Sandman" is a reference to former team member the
Sandman, a reformed super-criminal who joined the Avengers as a
probationary reservist in Avengers [v1] # 329 but resigned in anger during
a procedural dispute with team leader Captain America shortly thereafter
(in Amazing Spider-Man [v1] # 349). He has only worked with the Avengers
twice since then, when he aided the team against Morgan Le Fay and
Whirlwind in
Avengers (v3) # 1-4. More recently, John Byrne's rampage of retcons and
revamps in the Spider-Man comics has included a retcon of the Sandman's
history, such that his reformation (in the new version of events) was never
genuine, and that he was merely biding his time while waiting for
opportunities to take advantage of his new, non-criminal lifestyle. He was
outed as a super-criminal in a battle with the Fantastic Four & Spider-Man
in Amazing Spider-Man [v2] # 4 while trying to assist the Trapster in an
assassination, effectively ending his association with the Avengers and
returning him to outlaw status.
The Sandman can convert part or all of his body to various forms of sand,
and can reshape his bodily structure into a variety of configurations. He
can even alter his size, or completely disperse himself into sand particles
and them reform. In his sand form, Sandman is capable of great superhuman
strength, and is almost impossible to injure. He obtained his sand powers
when he was accidentally caught in a nuclear test explosion while fleeing
from the law. Sandman first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man [v1] # 4.

PAGE ELEVEN
ALICE NUGENT, formerly Hank Pym's research colleague and one-time love
interest, has apparently become the owner and operator of a technological
r&d firm, Nugent Technologies.

PAGE TWELVE
Wasp is wearing one of her older outfits (one of the annotator's
favourites), first seen in Avengers [v1] # 194 (which happened to be drawn
by some Perez guy). The flashback image in the final panel depicts Hank Pym
(wearing a lab coat over his Goliath costume) and the original version of
Ultron. Ultron's creation and how he turned against his creator were first
chronicled in Avengers [v1] # 58.

PAGE THIRTEEN
Ultron's hypnotic powers have been part of the robot's arsenal from the
beginning, and he has used them many times over the years.
Ultron-5 attacked the Avengers twice, first as leader of the second
Masters of Evil (in Avengers [v1] # 54-55) and then through his own
creation, the Vision (in Avengers [v1] # 57). Ultron-6 battled the team in
Avengers [v1] # 66-68, as shown in Panel Four's flashback to that story.
Avengers pictured in that panel include Iron Man (in his "classic" red &
gold armor), Wasp, Hawkeye (in his then-current guise as the second
Goliath), Vision, Hank Pym (as Yellowjacket) and Thor.
Panel 6 depicts friends and foes of the Avengers who have been created or
equipped by Ultron: Vision, Jocasta, Alkhema and the Grim Reaper. All have
been described elsewhere in the EMA annotations. Ultron has also been
covered in previous EMA editions, most recently the annotations for
Avengers # 0.

PAGE FOURTEEN
In addition to serving as part of the Avengers' original rotating
chairmanship (specifically in Avengers [v1] # 12 & 38), Wasp was full-time
chair and team leader in Avengers [v1] # 217-238, 240-243, 256-264 and
266-278; Avengers Annual # 11-12 & 14-15; and West Coast Avengers Annual #
1. She has also served as unofficial leader of a group of Avengers culled
from various time periods (in the Avengers Forever limited series), and
briefly co-chaired the western Avengers roster with Doctor Pym in Avengers
West Coast # 69-74.

PAGE FIFTEEN
The murderous ALKHEMA is the second of two female robots created by the
renegade robot Ultron to serve as his bride. The first such bride, Jocasta,
ultimately turned against Ultron and joined his enemies, the Avengers.
Alkhema was created years later in Avengers West Coast # 90-91 with the
unwilling aid of Mockingbird (whose brain patterns formed the template for
Alkhema's mind), Doctor Henry Pym (Ultron's own creator) and Myron MacLain
(the scientist who invented adamantium). At the time, Ultron was plotting
to exterminate all organic life on Earth and decided to create another
robotic mate for himself as a partner and companion; however, while Alkhema
was more ruthless than Ultron's first bride (Jocasta), she was just as
human--a humanity that, in her case, found an outlet in violence and
sadism, forms of recreation Alkhema was unwilling to give up by
slaughtering all of the world's other living creatures at once. After she
and Ultron were blown into space in Avengers West Coast # 91, she joined
Ultron in another global slaughter scheme that ended when she betrayed him
to the Avengers, in Avengers West Coast Annual # 8. Alkhema (nicknamed War
Toy) had not been seen since then, until now. Like Ultron, she is a
superhumanly strong and phenomenally durable robot composed of adamantium
and outfitted with a variety of offensive weapons. She has apparently
adopted Ultron's old habit of numerically renaming herself each time she is
rebuilt or upgrade into a new model; this being the second version of
Alkhema, she calls herself Alkhema-2.

MOCKINGBIRD (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse Barton) was a biologist turned SHIELD
agent who later went freelance as the costumed intelligence operative
Mockingbird. As Mockingbird, she met and married Hawkeye after they joined
forces against Crossfire (Hawkeye [v1] # 1-4), and she began serving
alongside Hawkeye in the Avengers (Avengers [v1] # 239), becoming a full
official member of the group when she joined Hawkeye in founding the team*s
west coast roster (West Coast Avengers [v1] # 1-4).
Mockingbird remained a mainstay of the team until an ethical dispute
estranged her from both Hawkeye and the Avengers (WCA [v2] # 37); this
dispute hinged on Mockingbird*s abduction and violation by her crazed
admirer, the Phantom Rider (WCA [v2] # 17-22), who died in their final
confrontation (WCA [v2] # 23) when she allowed him to fall from a cliff
after he*d tried unsuccessfully to kill her. The Phantom Rider*s ghost then
began tormenting her (WCA [v2] # 31), and prompted Mockingbird*s
estrangement from the Avengers when he convinced Hawkeye that Mockingbird
had "murdered" him. Mockingbird eventually exorcised his ghost from the
earthly plane (WCA [v2] # 41) and started working with the Avengers again
on an irregular basis as of WCA [v2] # 42-45, while trying to mend her
marriage to Hawkeye.
While on leave from the WCA, Hawkeye and Mockingbird became mentors to a
midwestern team of novice adventurers called the Great Lakes Avengers (WCA
[v2] # 46) until Hawkeye returned to the western Avengers roster (Avengers
West Coast # 60), prompting Mockingbird to rejoin as a reservist (AWC # 69)
and, eventually, as a full active member (AWC # 87-88). By that time,
Hawkeye and Mockingbird had realized how much they still loved each other
and finally fully reconciled (AWC # 89-91), calling off their divorce
before it became final. Their renewed bliss proved short-lived, though,
when Mockingbird was seemingly slain in action by Mephisto (AWC # 100).
More recently, she was one of several deceased Avengers temporarily
resurrected by the villainous Grim Reaper to serve him in Avengers [v3] #
10, but shook off the Reaper's control and helped the Avengers defeat him
before returning to the realm of the dead once more in Avengers [v3] # 11.
Mockingbird was an experienced biologist, a highly trained intelligence
agent, an acrobatically agile gymnast and an extremely formidable
hand-to-hand combatant. Her principal weapons were her battle staves, steel

striking rods that could be snapped together into a single battle staff.
She took her code-name from her habit of unnerving opponents with derisive
verbal banter (a habit that seems to have transferred to Alkhema).
Mockingbird first appeared in Astonishing Tales [v1] # 6 as Bobbi Morse
and became Mockingbird in Marvel Team-Up # 95.

PAGE SIXTEEN
Vision encountered Alkhema immediately after her creation, in Avengers West
Coast # 90-91. Iron Man and Wasp faced Alkhema in Avengers West Coast
Annual # 8.

PAGE SEVENTEEN
The most famous application of Vision's "drop onto an opponent while at
maximum density" tactic came about in Avengers [v1] # 166, when he used it
to strike the final blow against the supremely powerful Count Nefaria.
Unfortunately, it proves somewhat less effective on Alkhema.

PAGE TWENTY
Scarlet Witch has faced Alkhema before, in Avengers West Coast # 90-91 and
Avengers West Coast Annual # 8. Wonder Man also faced Alkhema in Avengers
West Coast # 90-91. It's not surprising that Wanda would try to intimidate
Alkhema into surrendering since Scarlet Witch is the only Avengers
Alkhema's counterpart Ultron has feared in the past, since her
unpredictable mutant mysticism is one of the few things that can get past
his adamantium defenses. Alkhema has guarded against this, but does not
know that Scarlet Witch has gained greater control over her mystical
abilities since Agatha Harkness helped her discern their true nature in
Avengers [v3] # 10-11, when Agatha helped Wanda realize that her powers
channel chaos magc--a force Wanda is learning to consciously direct.

PAGE TWENTY-TWO
It's no coincidence, of course, that the attacking ships bear more than a
passing superficial resemblance to Ultron-1.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE
The Avengers watch in varying degrees of shock and horror. Most of them
have faced Ultron on several occasions, often barely escaping with their
lives. Wonder Man used to be deathly terrified of Ultron, though he
seemingly conquered that fear once and for all in West Coast Avenger [v2] #
7 when he single-handedly wrecked Ultron-11. Firestar and Justice have
never faced Ultron before, but his reputation and what they've seen in
Slorenia seems enough to make an impact on both of them. Wasp, of course,
has suffered more than most at the hands of Ultron since she's his
mother-figure, and he once tried to kill her in the process of creating
Jocasta. Vision, meanwhile, is Ultron's creation, and has fought his
robotic "father" many times.