Earth's Mightiest Annotations
By Sean McQuaid

AVENGERS (volume 3) # 21
October, 1999
"This Evil Unveiled"
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez with Al Vey (finishes), Tom Smith (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Tom Brevoort (editor) & Bob Harras (editor-in-chief).

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

Other Characters:
A CNN newscaster, UN troops (including Jack), Ultron's cyborg zombies, Ultron (various incarnations), Grim Reaper, Alkhema-2 and her War Toys, various Pentagon employees (including a Corporal) and Edwin Jarvis. Ultron, Daredevil, Doctor Doom and Sunturion appear in computer records viewed by Justice. Alkhema, Grim Reaper, Tinkerer and Doomsday Man [II] appear in various flashbacks.

EXTERIOR COVER
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and colored by Tom Smith) features Thor, Iron Man, Captain America & Black Panther charging into battle.

PAGE SIX
Ultron created Vision, Jocasta and Alkhema in AVENGERS [v1] # 57-58, AVENGERS [v1] # 162 & 170-171, and AVENGERS WEST COAST # 90-91. All three are shown here as they looked in their original forms.

Busiek is quite correct in his analysis of Ultron as a being who has paradoxically sought to both create and destroy life, a killing machine with family instincts. The new world of machine life he envisions here is reminiscent of his scheme from AVENGERS WEST COAST # 65-68 (when he plotted to transform humanity into robot-like "andrones" under his control), but the key difference is that the robotic life forms Ultron describes here, unlike his earlier andrones, would have individual personalities.

PAGE SEVEN
The final panels of this page depict THE GRIM REAPER in his original costume (from AVENGERS [v1] # 52) and THE TINKERER. The Tinkerer, an inventor and machinesmith who specializes in building, repairing and modifying high-tech equipment for criminals, first appeared in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN [v1] # 2. This flashback cameo is actually his first Avengers appearance, though the Avengers have fought many of the Tinkerer's customers over the years. The Grim Reaper has been described in previous editions of the EMA annotations.

As early as AVENGERS [v1] # 160, Ultron was implied to be one of the initial sources of Grim Reaper's high technology (including the Reaper's coma-ray, first used against the Avengers in AVENGERS [v1] # 52). Ultron and the Reaper have also openly teamed up against the Avengers more than once over the years, notably in WEST COAST AVENGERS [v2] # 1-2/VISION & SCARLET WITCH [v2] # 12 and AVENGERS WEST COAST # 65-68.

PAGE EIGHT
The original HUMAN TORCH (now known as James Hammond) was an android created by Phineas Horton in 1939, but marred by a bizarre flaw that caused his body to burst into flame on contact with air. Escaping confinement and honing his power into a mental mastery of heat and flame, the Torch became a policeman and a costumed adventurer, using his power for good in the 1940s and 1950s until he disappeared and was presumed dead. In recent years, beginning with AVENGERS [v1] # 133-135, the Vision was revealed to be a reconstructed Human Torch. This information came from the Avengers' mysterious longtime adversary and occasional ally, Immortus. Later, during John Byrne's Avengers run (including WEST COAST AVENGERS [v2] # 42-46 & AVENGERS WEST COAST # 47-57), Immortus led the Avengers to believe that Vision's Human Torch origins were a hoax, and this revised version of Vision's history was seemingly proven when the Torch was unearthed and reactivated, having been placed in suspended animation by the criminal Mad Thinker years earlier. Doctor Pym theorized that the structurally similar Vision and Torch were two different constructs who had been built using the same parts and equipment, that Ultron had simply pilfered Horton's spare parts and surviving equipment to create the Vision.

More recently, the Avengers learned that Vision was indeed a reconstructed Human Torch, and that Immortus had made this possible by creating an identical temporal duplicate of the Torch that was rebuilt into Vision by Ultron while the remaining Torch was buried by the Mad Thinker for the Avengers to find years later. Immortus had duplicated the Torch and manipulated the Avengers for the sake of his long-term plots against Avengers member Scarlet Witch. Immortus was determined to prevent Scarlet Witch from bearing children since her offspring were destined to be immensely powerful, so he revealed the Vision's Torch origins to give Vision a sense of personal history and humanity that in turn gave him the confidence to propose marriage to the Scarlet Witch, forming a union that Immortus assumed would leave the Witch childless; but when the Scarlet Witch used her magic to help herself and the Vision conceive twin children, Immortus went back in time to create the duplicate Torch and then allowed the Avengers to discover this second Torch's existence, revealing that Vision's Torch origins were seemingly a lie. This revelation was part of a larger scheme by Immortus to dissolve the Vision-Witch union and weaken the Witch's mystical-emotional bond with her children, a scheme that ultimately succeeded in destroying the Scarlet Witch's children. Immortus's schemes regarding the Vision's origins were recently revisited and finally fully explained in AVENGERS FOREVER # 8.

The Avengers invited the revived Human Torch to join their team, and he gratefully accepted in AWC # 50; however, he served for only a short time before taking a personal leave of absence (as of AWC # 65), during which time he lost his powers in Namor the Sub-Mariner # 12. He has since retired from adventuring (though he maintained his reserve Avengers membership for a time even after his depowering, last serving with the group in AWC # 83). For a time, he accepted an executive position within Namor’s Oracle Incorporated company, in which capacity he managed the Heroes for Hire super-team funded by Oracle. When the unscrupulous Stark-Fujikawa corporation bought Oracle and began restructuring Heroes for Hire, Hammond resigned. Hammond's fire power has regenerated to a limited extent, allowing him to generate and manipulate small quantities of flame, but he can no longer use his full powers without risking physical collapse.

PAGE TWELVE
This is the first appearance of Alkhema's "War Toys", robotic soliders of her own creation. They take their name from a nickname Ultron once gave Alkhema, "War Toy." Here and elsewhere, Alkhema shows a strong (but twisted) maternal instinct when it comes to relations with her own robotic creations. Avengers fan Rob Clough suggests that this personality trait may stem from Mockingbird (whose brain patterns were copied to create Alkhema's artificial mind) being preoccupied with motherhood before her death (which occurred not long after Alkhema's creation). In fact, just before she died, Mockingbird had planned to retire from superheroics and start having children with her husband Hawkeye. Apparently, her maternal instinct transferred to Alkhema.

PAGE FIFTEEN
DAREDEVIL (Matt Murdock) is a lawyer who leads a double life as a costumed crimefighter. He was blinded by radioactive waste, but the radiation augmented all of his remaining senses to superhuman levels and also endowed him with a "radar sense" that allows him to mentally perceive all masses and movement in his immediate vicinity even though he cannot see them. A longtime Avengers ally, Daredevil was offered membership in Avengers [v1] # 111 but turned it down. He has, however, been a recurring participant in the more informal (and currently defunct) Defenders super-team. Daredevil also had a long-running romance and crimefighting partnership with the Black Widow (Daredevil [v1] # 81-124), and they remain close friends despite the eventual end of their romance and partnership. Daredevil first appeared in the first issue of his own ongoing series, which lasted for decades and hundreds of issues until it was recently suspended and reissued as a new series (starting over with issue one again) under the Marvel Knights imprint. Daredevil's Avengers appearances include...

Avengers [v1] # 60
(attended wedding of Yellowjacket & Wasp)

Avengers [v1] # 82
(liberated Manhattan from Zodiac occupation alongside Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 111
(battled Magneto alongside Black Widow & Avengers; refused offer of Avengers membership)

Avengers [v1] # 151 & 159
(cameos)

Avengers [v1] # 190-191
(as Matt Murdock, acted as legal counsel to the Avengers during their Senate hearing; as Daredevil, battled Grey Gargoyle alongside Avengers)

Avengers: Emperor Doom graphic novel
(cameo as one of the billions of people mind-controlled by Doctor Doom until he was thwarted by the Avengers)

Avengers [v1] # 332-333
(among the guests at the grand opening of the new Avengers Headquarters crashed by Doctor Doom)

Avengers 1999
(advised Black Widow during her post-Onslaught Avengers membership drive but did not join the group)

Avengers [v3] # 10
(watched the Avengers Day Parade and mused on his relations with the team)

DOCTOR DOOM (Victor Von Doom) is the tyrannical ruler of the small European nation Latveria. A scientific genius who is also an accomplished mystic, Doom considers himself the rightful ruler of the world and has made many attempts at global conquest, some of them briefly successful. Though his most frequent enemies are the Fantastic Four, he has also battled the Avengers on multiple occasions. He first appeared in Fantastic Four [v1] # 5. His Avengers appearances include Avengers [v1] # 1 1/2, 25, 118 & 155-156; the Avengers: Emperor Doom graphic novel; and Avengers [v1] # 311-313 & 331-333.

As Vance's research and the footnotes indicate, Doctor Doom created an insane Ultron-13 defeated by Daredevil in DAREDEVIL # 275-276. Justice would find Daredevil's defeat of Ultron curious since Daredevil has no raw power or scientific skill to speak of, and Ultron is usually defeated through one or both of these things.

AVENGERS WEST COAST # 65-68 ("The Reaper and The Robot" storyline) saw a more mentally stable Ultron-13 emerge with a plan to transform humanity into pseudo-robotic "andrones" subservient to Ultron's will. The Avengers thwarted Ultron with the aid of Ultron's erstwhile ally, the Grim Reaper, who pretended loyalty to Ultron but opposed the robot's plans since a robotization of humanity would leave the then-undead Reaper without any humans to feed on.

The second-last panel on this page depicts the Avengers' first skirmish with Ultron-13 during that storyline, when Ultron's lair was unearthed by Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Tigra, all of whom were actively affiliated with the western Avengers at the time.

HAWKEYE (Clint Barton), the costumed archer and longtime mainstay of the Avengers, recently took an indefinite leave of absence from the team in AVENGERS [v3] # 9 to become the leader of the outlaw heroes known as the Thunderbolts. He is described in detail in past editions of the EMA, and is the subject of an entire supplement to the EMA annotations for issue 12.

The mutant speedster QUICKSILVER (Pietro Maximoff) is a longtime Avengers member who joined alongside his sister, the Scarlet Witch, in AVENGERS [v1] # 16. He is curently an inactive member of the group, and last worked with them in AVENGERS [v3] # 7 when he fought the Kree Lunatic Legion alongside them. He is currently serving in the political cabinet of Genosha, the mutant-dominated island nation recently taken over by his infamous mutant terrorist father, Magneto. Pietro hopes he will be able to influence Magneto's rule in a positive way, but Magneto's goal is to either make his son as ruthless as himself or destroy him. How their conflict will play out remains to be seen. In this picture, Quicksilver is wearing his second and longest-running outfit, the classic costume he first adopted in AVENGERS [v1] # 75. There are two minor colouring errors: his hair should be white instead of blue, and his shorts should be a darker blue than the rest of his costume (interestingly, this panel's version of Quicksilver's costume is consistent with the version seen in the out-of-continuity X-MEN animated series and its action figure line).

TIGRA (Greer Grant Nelson) was the costumed crimefighter known as The Cat until fatal wounds suffered in battle left her in the care of the otherworldly Cat People, one of whom had created her physique-enhancing Cat costume. The Cat People saved Greer’s life by transforming her into a sort of superhuman cat-woman called a Tigra, in which guise Greer continued her adventuring activities and also pursued a career as a private investigator. She joined the Avengers when Moondragon staged an impromptu membership drive in AVENGERS [v1] # 211, but she quickly grew uncomfortable as she became convinced that she was inferior to her fellow Avengers, and she left after only a brief stint.

Tigra was convinced to rejoin, though, as a member of the team’s new west coast division (WCA [v1] # 1-4), and quickly became a mainstay of the Avengers’ western roster despite the emotional problems inherent in her feline nature, problems resolved when the Cat People transformed her into a stronger, more emotionally integrated Tigra (WCA [v2] # 14-15). Apart from a brief leave of absence during an ethical dispute with the team (WCA [v2] # 37-41), Tigra remained with the AWC until she briefly reverted to a feral state in AVENGERS WEST COAST # 49, a condition cured by Agatha Harkness in AVENGERS SPTOLIGHT # 38. Tigra returned to active duty with the Avengers in AWC # 66, serving until her resignation to reserve status in AWC # 74 for personal reasons. Since then, Tigra has continued to assist the Avengers on occasion as an inactive reservist, and last worked with the group in AVENGERS [v3] # 1-4.

Tigra is superhumanly strong and agile, with superhumanly acute senses. Her prehensile tail can be used as an extra limb. She can resume her human form by touching the mystical amulet she usually wears on her costume. Tigra first appeared as the Cat in THE CAT # 1, and became Tigra in GIANT-SIZE CREATURES # 1.

PAGE SIXTEEN
The "Vibranium Vendetta" storyline (from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL # 25, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL # 11 and WEB OF SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL # 7) chronicled Ultron's unsuccessful attempts to steal a new form of synthetic vibranium, attempts opposed by Black Panther, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Sunturion.

SPIDER-MAN (Peter Benjamin Parker) has been a recurring ally to the team since AVENGERS [v1] # 11, but he either declined or was refused membership repeatedly over the years due to various extenuating circumstances. More recently, he accepted the group's latest membership offer in AVENGERS [v1] # 316 after aiding the team against Nebula, but he resigned from the active roster almost immediately afterward (in AVENGERS [v1] # 318) when a humbling encounter with the Stranger shook his confidence. He consented to join the team's reserve roster in AVENGERS [v1] # 329 but was an unreliable reservist at best given his preoccupation with various personal concerns. He showed up for the team's last general membership meeting in Avengers [v3] # 1, but has declined further involvement with the team since then. Most recently, in the "Eight Day" crossover, it was revealed that Spider-Man formally resigned his Avengers membership sometime after that general meeting.

SUNTURION (Arthur Dearborn) was a well-intentioned but obsessive scientist who converted himself to living microwave energy housed in humanoid armor, though he later regained his human form. As Sunturion, Dearborn can tap and project almost limitless microwave power, and has also displayed abilities such as teleportation and intangibility. He has been both an adversary and an ally to Iron Man over the years. He first appeared in IRON MAN [v1] # 143. This flashback cameo is his first Avengers appearance.

VIBRANIUM is an extremely rare, naturally occurring, exotic metallic substance believed to be of extraterrestrial origin. The best known variety of Vibranium (Type A) is native to the African country Wakanda and absorbs all vibrations in its vicinity. The other variety of vibranium (Type B) is native to the artifical Antarctic jungle known as the Savage Land. Unlike Type A vibranium, Type B vibranium produces vibrations instead of absorbing them; more specifically, the vibrations of Type B vibranium liquefy all other metals they come in contact with. Quantities of Type A vibranium have been found outside Wakanda, though Wakanda remains the largest source of vibranium in the world by far; however, Type B vibranium is found only in the Savage Land, though certain particle bombardments can convert Type A vibranium into a form of artificial Type B vibranium. Type A vibranium first appeared in FANTASTIC FOUR [v1] # 53. Type B vibranium first appeared in DAREDEVIL [v1] # 13.

The Avengers exposed and destroyed an AIM warehouse in AVENGERS [v1] # 13, and Antarctic vibranium was among the warehouse's contents. Formerly a branch of the subversive terrorist organization HYDRA, AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) is a group dedicated to the manufacture, sale and overall proliferation of high technology, especially high-tech weaponry. AIM originally plotted the overthrow of the world's governments with the intention of establishing a global technocracy (rule by the scientifically and technologically skilled elite), but in recent years they have shifted their efforts to weapons sales, their principal clients being criminals and super-criminals. The group still retains some subversive and criminal ambitions of its own, though, due largely to the influence of MODOK, a super-intelligent, super-powerful and somewhat insane telepath who has repeatedly seized control of AIM since their experiments created him years ago. AIM first appeared in STRANGE TALES [v1] # 146, while MODOK first appeared in TALES OF SUSPENSE # 93-94.

The Avengers' battle at the AIM warehouse revived the cyborg known as the DOOMSDAY MAN (Kerwin Korman), a criminal scientist who was grievously wounded in a battle with the original Ms. Marvel (the adventurer now known as Warbird) and the robot known as the Doomsday Man. Korman (also known as the Destructor) was a longtime associate of AIM, who salvaged the original Doomsday Man and rebuilt it into a life support system for Korman. As the new Doomsday Man, the revived Korman battled the Avengers and was subdued, but not before he broke Justice's leg during the struggle. Korman first appeared in MS. MARVEL # 1 and became The Destructor in MS. MARVEL # 2, seemingly dying in MS. MARVEL # 4. He returned as the new Doomsday Man in AVENGERS [v1] # 16-17. Panel 6 of this page is a flashback to issue 17, depicting Justice, Wasp and Warbird (in her Ms. Marvel outfit) in battle with the Doomsday Man.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE
The meaning behind Hank's ravings, already guessed-at by several readers, is revealed next issue.