Sean McQuaid Presents Earth's Mightiest Annotations: AVENGERS (volume 3) # 6 July, 1998 "Earth's Mightiest Frauds?" By Kurt Busiek & George Perez with Al Vey/Bob Wiaceck/Bruce Patterson (inkers), Tom Smith (colors), RS/Comicraft/DL (letters), Tom Brevoort (editor) & Bob Harras (editor-in-chief). Avengers Assembled: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision [II], Wonder Man and Warbird. EXTERIOR COVER This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and colored by Tom Smith) is a tribute to the cover illustration from Avengers (v1) # 141. Like the current issue of Avengers, issue 141 of the original series featured the Squadron Supreme; issue 141 also had historic significance since it marked Perez's debut as Avengers artist. The Perez cover of Avengers (v3) # 6 uses the same composition as the Gil Kane cover of Avengers (v1) # 141, but with the following differences: Thor, Warbird, Power Princess and Shape take the places of Beast, Vision, Lady Lark (now Skylark) and the late Golden Archer in the composition; Shape's elongated arm takes the place of an arrow fired by Golden Archer; Captain America is wielding a different shield; Skylark, Wonder Man, Hawkeye, Moonglow and Haywire are added to the composition; and all the remaining characters from the cover of Avengers (v1) # 141 have new costumes in this issue's cover illustration, with the exception of Captain America. He is still wearing the same basic outfit as he was in the original composition. Everyone else is wearing something different, ranging from small changes like Hyperion's unmasked look to major changes like Whizzer's entirely new costume. Vision (in his current holographic form from issue 4) appears in the exterior cover's corner box, as he did for years in the original series, including Avengers (v1) # 93-152 (Vision standing with arms crossed) and 153-184 (Vision phasing into action). As of issue 185, the original series returned to the old practice of featuring the faces of multiple Avengers in the cover corner box. It's somewhat surprising that Perez, the king of detail, hasn't whipped up some art especially for the cover corner box yet. It'd be especially cool if Perez did a set of Avengers faces for the current series, as John Byrne once did for the original series and AWC. INTERIOR COVER The events of Avengers (v3) # 5 are recapped in this space, along with introductions to the eight featured Avengers and other significant characters (specifically, the Squadron Supreme, Project Pegasus and the Project's security chief, Blue Shield). There are coloring errors in the scenes reprinted from issue 5: Power Princess's armor is golden instead of purple, Haywire's hair is brown instead of red, and Skylark's hair is blonde instead of brown. PAGE 1 A very angry Thor remains outraged at the Squadron Supreme's recent accusations that the Avengers are villainous frauds impersonating the real Avengers. PAGE 2 Panel 1: Edwin Jarvis (the Avengers butler) and an unmasked Iron Man react to Thor's temper tantrum. The "rampage" Iron Man speaks of refers to a recent mishap in Captain America (v3) # 3: when Cap lost his standard circular shield at sea, Iron Man designed a facsimile of the circular shield for Cap's use; however, the subtle differences in weight and balance were enough to make the facsimile shield ricochet wildly around Avengers Mansion when Cap tried it out, doing considerable damage. After that accident, Cap discarded Iron Man's circular duplicate shield in favour of a Smithsonian-manufactured replica of his original badge-shaped shield--not as versatile as his usual circular shield, but more familiar and less unpredictable than the circular replica shield, resulting in greater comfort and less chance of further mishaps. Panel 2: Vision [II], Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Iron Man, Thor, Jarvis and Captain America watch the television news. Visible on the monitor are Squadron Supreme members Whizzer [II], Doctor Spectrum, Hyperion and Power Princess. The latter appears in her standard costuming, as opposed to the new battle armor she wore for the Squadron's confrontation with the Avengers last issue. Iron Man and Captain America both appear unmasked, but all those present already know their secret identities as Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. As Vision points out, however, their teammate Warbird does not know Iron Man's dual identity. Iron Man's civilian identity as Tony Stark was still unknown to almost all the Avengers during Warbird's previous active stint with the team as Ms. Marvel (Avengers [v1] # 183-200). At left we can see a statuette of at least four figures standing back-to-back, presumably a likeness of the team founders. The three identifiably visible figures are Iron Man (in an older model of his armor), Captain America (with his circular shield) and Thor. It is unclear whom the busts flanking the television screen are meant to represent. Scarlet Witch's testy reply to Vision cautioning Iron Man is indicative of the tension building between Vision and Wanda since their failure to revive their marriage. It's also relatively typical behaviour for Wanda, who has shown tendencies to impatience and bluntness in the past. Onslaught was a malevolent psychic entity who threatened the world until the Avengers and Fantastic Four joined forces with other heroes to destroy him, seemingly at the cost of most of their lives (as seen in Onslaught: Marvel Universe); however, the Avengers, the FF and the other heroes returned months later (in Heroes Reborn: The Return # 1-4) after being trapped in an alternate universe created by Franklin Richards, the so-called "Franklinverse" (the particulars of which were chronicled in Avengers [v2] # 1-12 and assorted "Heroes Reborn" companion books). The Avengers soon resumed their normal activities, but the Squadron Supreme (rival heroes and sometime allies from a parallel world) have since accused the returned Avengers of being impostors. PAGE 3 Panel 1: Hawkeye appears, also unmasked; he seldom seriously protects the secret of his civilian identity, Clint Barton, since he has almost no loved ones or interests outside of his Avengers associates. As Hawkeye says, the Squadron interfered with the Avengers' attempts to rescue a crashed commercial airliner last issue, in the process of publicly denouncing the Avengers as fakes. Panel 2: As Iron Man recounts, the US federal government has threatened yet again to revoke the Avengers' security privileges if they cannot disprove the Squadron's allegations. Panels 3-4: As Vision explains, the public has good reason to be suspicious of the Avengers, and not only because of the Onslaught incident: public paranoia and cynicism have been further fueled by the Skrulls (shape-shifting aliens who sparked widespread panic with false reports of their supposedly thorough infiltration of American society in recent issues of Captain America) and the Thunderbolts (a celebrated super-team who arose in the Avengers' absence only to be recently exposed as the super-criminal Masters of Evil in disguise; the Thunderbolts appear regularly in their own monthly series). In panel 3, we see the founders statuette from the previous page, but at a different angle. Panels 6-8: Hawkeye spent much of his last long-term stint with the Avengers as leader of the team's west coast division, a post he held for most of the western roster's history; it's also been quite some time since he served under his old mentor, Captain America. As a result, Hawkeye has been increasingly impatient with Cap's authority since the Avengers reformed, thinking that Cap doesn't take him seriously, that Cap doesn't fully appreciate the present extent of his talents and experience. This has resulted in some friction between the two old friends and longtime teammates. PAGE 4 Panel 1: It's no wonder that Wanda's feelings and relationships seem unreal to her now; the man she married (Vision) transformed into someone entirely different, and has since transformed again into somone more closely resembling the man she married, but he's not quite the same and she can't quite manage to reconnect with him; their children proved to be mystically corporeal figments of her imagination and have since been wiped out of existence; Wonder Man, her long-dead would-be lover, has resurfaced as an energy being she can summon into existence at will; and her powers are erratic, notably her inexplicably increasing facility for and sensitivity to magic, including magical forces that seem to be communicating with her. As such, it's not surprising that everything seems a bit unreal to Wanda now. (Vision's first transformation occurred in West Coast Avengers # 42-45 when government agents dismantled him and seemingly erased his original personality; his second transformation occurred more gradually, during the Bob Harras Avengers run, culminating in the Vision limited series and Vision's subsequent attempts to reconcile with Wanda, beginning with Avengers: The Crossing # 1; Vision and Wanda's children were wiped out in Avengers West Coast # 51-52; Wonder Man began remanifesting in recent issues of the current Avengers series; and Wanda's erratic mystical powers also began to surface in recent issues of the current Avengers series, specifically during her mystical duels with Morgan Le Fay and Moonglow.) Panel 3: As noted, Scarlet Witch's real name is Wanda Maximoff. Warbird (Carol Danvers) appears unmasked; her Avengers teammates (including all the current Avengers) have known her secret identity since her last stint with the team as Ms. Marvel. During that stint, she and the Scarlet Witch were good friends; however, things are somewhat more awkward between Carol and the other Avengers now since Warbird is trying to conceal the truth about her waning super-powers and her new drinking problem, afraid that the Avengers might reject her if they knew about either of these things. PAGE 5 Panels 1-6: As Hawkeye says, Cap seemed to trust and rely upon Hawkeye's judgment during their adventure in Morgan Le Fay's alternate universe (chronicled in issues 2-3 of the current series); but since they returned to their own universe and Cap settled into his duties as team leader, Cap has seemed considerably less mindful of Hawkeye's input. As Cap explains, though, this isn't because he doesn't respect Hawkeye, but rather because of the need for an unchallenged central authority to smoothly manage the team. Cap is the current holder of that authority, so he can't afford to tolerate too much dissent, and Hawkeye understands that once Cap explains that it's a matter of team protocol, not a dismissal of Hawkeye's skills and judgment. Hawkeye has served under his mentor Cap for long periods of time, but Cap has almost never served under Hawkeye apart from a few missions during which the western and eastern Avengers teamed up. As such, Hawkeye admits that he'd have a hard time ordering Cap around even if Captain America did concede the leadership to him. Cap's belief that Hawkeye wouldn't have suggested confronting the Squadron in Washington if Clint were Avengers leader is probably correct; despite his historically bad temper, Hawkeye usually managed to keep his cool when necessary while he was serving as Avengers leader, since he understood that the team's welfare outweighed his personal feelings. Panel 7: Cap's comments on the volatility of the Avengers' personalities echo a variety of comments made by current Avengers writer Kurt Busiek, who says that the team's interpersonal conflicts are a big part of what sustains his interest in the series. PAGE 6 Panels 1-3: The Avengers depart in one of their quinjets to visit Project Pegasus, the federal government research facility where the Squadron have been residing since they were recently exiled to the Avengers' Earth. As noted last issue, various Avengers have visited the Project as individuals or as a team on several occasions in the past. Avengers associates Quasar [III], Thing, Bill Foster and Michael O'Brien were all employed by the Project at one time or another. Inactive Avengers member Quasar was the Project's security chief until he resigned and was replaced by the second Guardsman (Michael O'Brien), who resigned to become a security expert in the employ of the Avengers. O'Brien was replaced as Project Pegasus security chief by the Blue Shield, who resigned after failing to protect the Project from the Omnivore. Later, Blue Shield exposed and defeated the Project's new, corrupt security chief, Firebolt. With Firebolt's apparent demise, Blue Shield was invited to resume his job as Project security chief and accepted. The Project first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One # 42. The Avengers first visited the Project as a team in Avengers (v1) # 236-237 when they repelled the attacking Lava Men and opposed a jailbreak staged by the superhuman criminals housed at the Project. Captain America and Scarlet Witch both participated in that mission. Panels 4-8: Captain America demands to know why Warbird has been refusing to use the vast stellar energy powers associated with her former "Binary" identity. Unbeknownst to Cap and the other Avengers, Warbird has lost the use of those powers for reasons unclear (a state confirmed in Avengers [v3] # 4], and is trying to conceal that fact from the Avengers. She brushes off Cap's critical questioning as male chauvinism--an unfair statement, but not altogether suprising given the aggressively ultra-feminist feelings Warbird often expressed in her original guise as Ms. Marvel. Iron Man correctly suspects Carol's current drinking problem, and as such he urges Cap to refrain from questioning Carol for now until Iron Man has had a chance to discuss the matter with her. As a recovered alcoholic himself, Iron Man was the first to notice Carol's problem (in issue 4) and probably believes he is best equipped to handle it. PAGE 7 Panel 1: The bulk of the Project's facilities are housed underground in upstate New York. Panel 2: As the architectural logo indicates, PEGASUS (the name of a mythical winged steed) stands for Potential Energy Group/Alternative Sources/United States. The Project studies alternative and/or exotic energy sources on behalf of its US government sponsors. The BLUE SHIELD (Joseph Cartelli) is a costumed adventurer who currently serves as the security director of Project Pegasus. When Cartelli was a child, his father was murdered by criminals; he swore vengeance and, as an adult, became a costumed crimefighter using a force-belt which augmented his physical abilities and generated a protective force field. In his civilian identity, Cartelli infiltrated the Barrigan crime family and brought it down from within, but he felt empty and directionless therafter until he found a new purpose as the Project's security director. Over time, constant use of his force-belt gave him the ability to manifest its powers without wearing the belt. He has slightly superhuman physical abilities and can project an impenetrable, radiant blue force field. Blue Shield first appeared in Dazzler # 5. The costume he wears here is a new George Perez version of his traditional outfit: the basic design is the same, but it's armor instead of cloth, and some of the details are slightly changed. The adoption of armor seems a bit odd for a hero whose principal power is an impenetrable force field, but the new outfit looks cool, and it's a thematic match for his abilities. As Kappelhoff says, some of the Avengers have already met the Blue Shield. Most notably, the Shield applied unsuccessfully for Avengers membership in Captain America (v1) # 352. Panel 6: Hawkeye's dismissal of Blue Shield as a second-stringer is unfair but understandable: the Avengers were in business long before the Shield started his crimefighting career, and the Blue Shield has seldom been a prominent super-hero since his early exploits. PAGE 8 Panels 3-5: As Warbird says, Jenkins was one of the NSC agents who helped process her induction into the Avengers in Avengers (v1) # PAGE 9 Panels 1-3: So far as I know, this is the first mention of Doctor Rivera's ongoing efforts at cataloging all known parahumans. Panel 4: Rivera calls up the images of criminals known to control or influence minds. Pictured are (left to right): Baron Helmut Zemo, unknown (obscured by voice balloon), Controller, Corruptor, Doctor Faustus, Lorelei, Beautiful Dreamer, Maximus, Mesmero, unknown (obscured by voice balloon), Mister Doll, Phobius, Overmind, Puppet Master, Purple Man, Mentallo, Ringmaster II, Voice of Doom, unknown (obscured by voice balloon) and Mastermind. BARON HELMUT ZEMO is the son of Baron Heinrich Zemo, a Nazi scientist and war criminal who went on to become a major modern-day super-criminal as the founder of the Masters of Evil (Avengers [v1] # 6-7, 9-10, 15-16). Zemo's Masters broke up after he accidentally killed himself in battle with his old foe Captain America (Avengers [v1] # 16). After his death, his son Helmut assumed the Baron Zemo guise and took up his father's two causes: the pursuit of personal power, and the destruction of Captain America. Using his father's science and his own considerable strategic skills, the younger Baron Zemo has gone on to become one of the most infamous terrorists and criminal masterminds of his generation. In his first conflict with the Avengers, the new Baron Zemo assembled the largest Masters of Evil group to date and led them in an invasion and occupation of Avengers Mansion (Avengers [v1] # 270-271 & 273-277). More recently, Zemo staged a near-successful world takeover which was thwarted by the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and Zemo's own renegade confederates, the Thunderbolts (as shown in Thunderbolts # 11-12). Zemo has made extensive use of mind control technology; his recent attempt at global conquest, for instance, depended largely on the use of a mind-altering device known as the bio-modem. First Appearance: Captain America (v1) # 168 (as Phoenix), 276 (as Baron Zemo II). The CONTROLLER (Basil Sandhurst) was an eccentric, unstable research scientist whose unorthodox methods made it almost impossible for him to find legitimate employment. Hired by Cord Industries due to the influence of his brother, shady lawyer Vincent Sandhurst, Basil was eventually driven berserk by the monotony of his work and provoked a brawl with Vincent, a fight during which Basil was scarred and crippled by exploding chemicals. The guilt-stricken Vicent embezzled Cord funds to equip Basil with his own private laboratory, which Basil used to create mind control technology, technology that not only allowed him to control others, but which also enabled him to tap their mental energy as a power source for the special strength-augmenting exoskeleton he now wears. Using his mind control devices and battle armor, Basil became a super-criminal known as the Controller. He has repeatedly battled Iron Man, and has also fought Captain America and the original Captain Marvel. He once invaded Avengers Mansion on behalf of Thanos (Captain Marvel # 28-30); later, he participated in a mass escape attempt at the Vault, a prison for superhumans, and the Avengers used his technology to help contain the resultant jailbreak (Avengers: Death Trap, The Vault graphic novel). More recently, Controller used inactive Avengers member Photon as a mentally enslaved pawn in an attack on Genis (Avengers Unplugged # 5), but the Avengers freed Photon and defeated Controller, who was later revealed to be a pawn of the villain known as the Master, recently defeated by the Heroes for Hire. First Appearance: Iron Man (v1) # 12 The CORRUPTOR (Jackson Day) was a factory worker at a pharmaceuticals company who was trapped in a chemical warehouse during a fire and doused with psychoactive chemicals. The chemicals altered his body and mind, unleashing the selfish, malevolent side of his personality and granting him the ability to mentally control anyone he touches. His skin secretes a potent psychoactive chemical that renders the victim highly susceptible to the Corruptor's suggestions. Left to their own devices, the Corruptor's victims act in a highly uninhibited, selfish or immoral manner until the effect wears off. Shortly after gaining his powers, the Corruptor used his power on Thor and sent the Asgardian on a mad rampage, but Thor recovered and defeated the Corruptor with the aid of Nova. Later, the Corruptor enslaved the Hulk as his pawn and tried to use the Hulk and Rick Jones to lure the Avengers into his clutches; a group of southwestern super-heroes answered the call first, though, and decided to band together as the Rangers after helping Hulk defeat the Corruptor. One of these Rangers, Firebird, later joined the Avengers herself. First Appearance: Nova (v1) # 4 DOCTOR FAUSTUS (Johann Fennhoff) is a psychiatrist and criminal mastermind who uses his psychiatric skills and persuasive powers in the pursuit of his criminal schemes. He has been known to brainwash his enemies, or even drive them insane. He is a longtime recurring foe to Captain America, and served as mentor to Karla Sofen, the criminal psychiatrist who went on to become the super-criminal Moonstone. First Appearance: Captain America (v1) # 107 LORELEI is one of the Savage Land Mutates. Originally normal members of the Swamp People tribe in the Savage Land, an artificial jungle located in Antarctica, the mutates were given superhuman powers through artificial means by the terrorist Magneto, who went on to lead them in criminal acts. Lorelei has also served with Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. As a member of the Savage Land Mutates, she once battled the Avengers when they visited the Savage Land (Avengers [v1] # 105). Her superhuman power depends on her voice, with which she can hypnotically paralyze male listeners. Her power has no affect on females. First Appearance: X-Men (v1) # 63 BEAUTIFUL DREAMER is a member of the Morlocks, an outcast community of mutants who dwelled in the sewers beneath New York City. She has the mutant ability to alter the memories of others, and uses cigarette smoke as a focus for her power. First Appearance: Power Pack # 12 MAXIMUS is the mad brother of Black Bolt, king of the genetically divergent race known as the Inhumans. Maximus has long sought to usurp his brother's throne, sometimes succeeding temporarily, and has proven to be a recurring threat to both human and Inhuman society in his ongoing quest for personal power. Maximus has strong telepathic abilities which he sometimes augments with mechnical aids via his natural inventive genius. As such, he often manipulates the minds of others in pursuit of his goals. The Avengers first encountered him when they helped Black Bolt topple the usurper Maximus from the Inhuman throne in Avengers (v1) # 95. Much later, in Avengers Annual 12, the Avengers helped expose and defeat Maximus when he had seized the throne again, this time by posing as Black Bolt. Two Avengers with specific grudges against Maximus are Crystal, a princess of the Inhuman royal family, and Quicksilver, her human husband. Maximus has mentally manipulated both of them more than once in the past, and was even responsible for an extended period of criminal insanity on Quicksilver's part (as revealed in X-Factor Annual 2). First Appearance: Fantastic Four (v1) # 47 MESMERO is a mutant criminal with the superhuman ability to hypnotize anyone into doing, thinking or believing whatever Mesmero commands. Very few people can resist his power to any extent. He has repeatedly battled the X-Men and related groups, such as Excalibur. He has also fought Spider-Man and Alpha Flight. Mesmero was one of many mutants recently infected with the fatal Legacy Virus. First Appearance: X-Men (v1) # 49 MISTER DOLL (Nathan Dolly) was a criminal who assaulted his enemies in voodoo-like fashion by abusing dolls carved in their likenesses; squeezing or otherwise molesting one of these dolls would cause pain in the person that the doll resembled. Defeated by Iron Man, Dolly later menaced society in a new form as the consciousness animating the magical mannequins known as the Brothers Grimm. Dolly was eventually destroyed in this form, though the mannequins' costumes were subsequently adopted by Barton and Percy Grimes, the criminals currently known as the Brothers Grimm. First Appearance: Tales of Suspense # 48 PHOBIUS is a servant of the super-criminal Maelstrom, and possesses the psionic power to inspire fear in others. The Avengers encountered him in Avengers (v1) # 250 when they opposed Maelstrom's plans to siphon the kinetic energy of the Earth's rotation for his own use. Later, Phobius was involved in Maelstrom's plot against inactive Avengers member Quasar. First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One # 71 The OVERMIND (Grom) was the greatest gladiator of the Eternians, a warlike alien race who brought about their own destruction by provoking a losing war with the planet Gigantus. Facing certain doom, the Eternians decided to preserve their civilization by transferring the minds of all the Eternian people into the body of their greatest physical specimen, Grom, who was programmed to subjugate whomever he encountered in the name of his people. Cast adrift in space, the transformed Grom eventually came upon Earth, where he became the would-be conqueror known as the Overmind. The Fantastic Four defeated him with the aid of the Stranger, after which the demonic Null used Overmind as a pawn through whom to enslave the Squadron Supreme and their world. Overmind was defeated through the efforts of the Squadron and the Defenders, and during those events his body was usurped by the composite consciousness of six disembodied psychics. While they controlled his form, the Overmind became a benevolent force and fought alongside the Defenders repeatedly. He eventually left the Defenders, though, and his original personality later resumed control of his body, making him a menace to the cosmos once more. Powered by the combined psionic energy of a billion minds, Overmind is one of the most powerful mentalists in the universe. First Appearance: Fantastic Four (v1) # 111 PUPPET MASTER (Phillip Masters) is a super-criminal who uses puppets carved from the radioactive, supernatural clay of Wundagore Mountain to manipulate others into doing his bidding. He is a longtime enemy of the Fantastic Four, despite the fact that his beloved stepdaughter, Alicia, is one of the group's closest friends. He has used Avengers member Sub-Mariner as a pawn on several occasions, and has also battled the original X-Men, the Hulk, Spider-Man, the Vision and the New Warriors. He came into conflict with the Avengers when he joined forces with Mad Thinker and Egghead in an ambitious plot to blackmail the US government (Avengers [v1] # 63). First Appearance: Fantastic Four (v1) # 8 The PURPLE MAN (Zebediah Killgrave) was a Soviet spy who was accidentally doused with an experimental chemical while trying to steal it. The chemical turned his entire body purple and gave him the power to make anyone do anything he tells them to do. Drunk with his newfound power, Killgrave became a super-criminal, repeatedly battling Daredevil. In addition to Daredevil, Killgrave also fought such Avengers members and associates as Paladin, Hawkeye, Two-Gun Kid, Moon Knight and Spider-Man, meeting defeat each time. By the time he was defeated by Moon Knight, Killgrave had already decided to retire from crime and dedicated his powers to seeking a life of leisure. He might have remained in quiet retirement if he hadn't been discovered by Doctor Doom, who used the unwilling Killgrave's powers as a means of taking over the world through a global mind control device. The Avengers resisted Doom's rule, though, and Purple Man was killed by the Sub-Mariner in the ensuing conflict (as seen in the Avengers: Emperor Doom graphic novel). His powers live on in his daughter, Kara Killgrave, the heroic adventurer alternately known as the Purple Girl and Persuasion. First Appearance: Daredevil (v1) # 4 MENTALLO (Marvin Flumm) is a mutant super-criminal with telepathic powers. A former longtime partner of the Fixer, a sometime operative of HYDRA and a former member of the Resistants, Mentallo has fought heroes such as the Fantastic Four, USAgent, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk and the Avengers. The Avengers first encountered Mentallo when they rescued him from the Super-Adaptoid, who had been posing as his old partner, the Fixer (Avengers [v1] # 287); later, the Avengers encountered Mentallo a second time when he played a key role in both starting and containing a massive jailbreak at the Vault, a prison for superhumans (in the Avengers: Death Trap, the Vault graphic novel). First Appearance: Strange Tales (v1) # 141 RINGMASTER (Maynard Tiboldt) is the leader of the Circus of Crime, a troupe of circus performers who use their unique abilities to rob their audiences. The key to their thefts is usually the Ringmaster himself, whose special hypnotic hat enables him to mesmerize entire crowds of people at once, making an audience easy prey for pickpockets. The Ringmaster and his cronies have also occasionally engaged in overt criminal activity, sometimes calling themselves the Masters of Menace. The Ringmaster and his circus have battled many heroes over the years, including the Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, Bill Foster, the Thing and She-Hulk, but they are always defeated. During one of his periods of incarceration, the Ringmaster helped psychiatrist Doc Samson temporarily cure the Hulk's multiple personality disorder. While at large, the Ringmaster's Circus has battled the Avengers on two occasions: once when they tried unsuccessfully to recruit Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into their ranks (Avengers [v1] # 22), and once when they actually had the audacity to assault Avengers Mansion during the wedding of Yellowjacket and the Wasp (Avengers [v1] # 60). First Appearance: Incredible Hulk (v1) # 3 The VOICE (Jason Lorne Cragg), also known as The Voice of Doom, was a radio personality whose voice became superhumanly persuasive after he was accidentally exposed to "ionized atom" radiation. He began using this power for criminal purposes as the Voice until the original Ant-Man (Hank Pym) robbed him of his voice by infecting him with laryngitis. This ended Cragg's professional and criminal career until he was recruited by Hungarian communists who also bore a grudge against Pym, and who used their science to restore and augment the Voice's vocal powers, complete with mechanical aids to further amplify and enhance his voice. Acting on behalf of the Hungarian communists, The Voice captured Pym and his fellow Avengers and compelled the Avengers to stalk Pym until they managed to escape the Voice's control (West Coast Avengers # 36); shortly after that battle, the Voice compelled Mantis to attack the Avengers, but was exposed and captured by Hawkeye (West Coast Avengers # 37). Later, the Voice battled Captain America as a member of the Red Skull's Skeleton Crew. First Appearance: Tales to Astonish # 42 MASTERMIND (Jason Wyngarde) is a mutant criminal with the superhuman ability to create flawlessly realistic, multi-sensory illusions. Both alone and as a founding member of the original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, he battled heroes such as the original X-Men, the Beast, the Champions, the Defenders and Excalibur. He recently died after contracting the fatal Legacy Virus. First Appearance: X-Men (v1) # 4 It's unclear who the remaining three faces are in Rivera's computer display, especially since the largely alphabetical order of the entries is inconsistent (Beautiful Dreamer, Mentallo and Mastermind are all listed out of order, for instance). The first of the three unidentified faces is almost totally obscured; the second face is that of a blond man with purple-clad shoulders; the third face is that of a brown-haired woman wearing some sort of pendant. Other mind-altering menaces whom Rivera might have on file include The Headmen, Crossfire, Doctor Nightshade, Black Mamba, Dredmund Druid, Hate-Monger, Man-Beast, Hate-Monger III, Hate-Monger IV, White Queen, Black Queen, Empath, The Leader, Maha Yogi, MODAM, MODOK, Goddess, Mother Night, Nebulon, Needle, Orb, Proctor, Angar the Screamer, Professor Power, Psycho-Man, Screaming Mimi, Red Ghost, Hypno-Hustler, Lady Lotus, Xemnu, Yandroth, Yellow Claw, Attuma, Dreamqueen, Moonstone, Ghaur, Lucifer, Dominus, Terminatrix, Oracle, Supreme Intelligence, Tyrannus, Worm, D'Spayre, Diablo, Doctor Druid, Dansen Macabre, Enchantress, Techno, Headlok, Iguana, ISAAC, Mandarin, Morpheus, Eric the Red, Radioactive Man, Presence, Sauron, Screaming Mimi, Ultron, Vampires, Fantasma, Will o' the Wisp, Baron Blood, Dracula, Egghead, Madelyne Pryor, Shadow King, Mysterio, Onslaught, Destiny, Doctor Sun, Wraith, Doctor Demonicus, Manipulator II and Ngh. It's unclear whether any of these are among the obscured faces on Rivera's display screen, though. PAGE 10 Panel 1: As the sign indicates, The Whizzer's real name is Stanley Stewart. Panel 2: Depicted in the sketch on Stewart's wall are himself, his wife Madeline, and his daughter Tina. Stanley himself bears an obvious resemblance to the DC Comics character who inspired him, the Barry Allen incarnation of the Flash. In a nice little touch, Whizzer's family sketch is signed by George Perez. Panel 3: In the background at right, behind the magazine Warbird's holding, a picture of the original NIGHTHAWK (Kyle Richmond) is visible. Nighthawk was a founding member of the Squadron Supreme until the Squadron's Utopia Program estranged him from the group, ultimately leading to a conflict between the Squadron and Nighthawk's supporters, a conflict that resulted in Nighthawk's death. Ironically, the one who killed Doctor Spectrum's old friend Nighthawk was Spectrum's lover and Squadron teammate, Foxfire, who was herself killed moments later by Nighthawk's lover, the Mink. Nighthawk first appeared in Avengers (v1) # 85. He quit the Squadron in Squadron Supreme # 1 and died in Squadron Supreme # 12. PAGE 11 The Squadron Supreme (Skylark, Haywire, Hyperion, Shape, Power Princess, Whizzer [II], Moonglow [II] and Doctor Spectrum), last seen last issue, return to confront the Avengers a second time. Haywire's hair is mistakenly colored blond instead of red. PAGE 12 Panels 1-2: Since the second issue of this series, Wanda has become aware of her ability to summon the seemingly deceased Wonder Man back into being at will. How she can do this remains a mystery, as does the precise nature of Simon's current state. Panels 6-7: As noted earlier, Tom Smith is doing a great job on Doctor Spectrum's energy projections; this is one character who benefits from modern coloring techniques in a big way. PAGE 13 Panels 4-5: Warbird and Power Princess are a fitting match as the feminist warrior women of their respective teams. PAGE 14 Panel 1: Moonglow is the superior mystic, so Wanda proving her magical match is a mystery, the latest of several regarding Wanda's sorcerous skills. Ever since the first issue of the current series, Wanda has been experiencing a boost in her magical powers, and a sense of tapping into energy that she can communicate with. This may or may not be connected to her newfound ability to reanimate Wonder Man at will. Moonglow is ordinarily one of the less aggressive, less arrogant Squadron members, but her belligerent behaviour here (and that of the Squadron in general) is explained later in this issue. Panel 3: Without his hammer, Thor proves no match for the similarly powerful but much more mobile and versatile Hyperion. It doesn't come up that often since not many enemies are capable of depriving Thor of his hammer, but scenes like this demonstrate just how heavily Thor relies on his hammer in battle. Without it, he's simply a strongman. PAGE 15 Panel 1: As Skylark says, she usually tended to battle one of the Avengers' female members when the two teams clashed, most often the Scarlet Witch. It's a hokey old tradition of comics battles to pair opponents who match each other in some way, whether on the basis of powers (which makes some sense), or gender (which doesn't make much sense) or some other common link. As Captain America notes, his counterpart on the Squadron was the late Nighthawk: like Cap, Nighthawk was an acrobatic unarmed combatant of great skill, a fine strategist and an inspirational leader with strong personal ideals. They only met once (in Captain America [v1] # 314), and did not fight at that time, but Cap did battle Nighthawk's criminal counterpart, the Nighthawk of the Squadron Sinister, criminals from the Avengers' world who formed in imitation of the Squadron Supreme. Cap fought the criminal Nighthawk in Avengers (v1) # 70. The criminal Nighthawk later reformed and became a longtime member of the Defenders before his apparent death; he's slated to return in a limited series of his own later this year. Panels 3-4: Busiek is doing a good job overall of making Warbird's drinking problem obvious yet subtle. There's no blatant, stereotypical outward signs of the sort sometimes associated with drunkeness, such as slurred speech, sheer stupidity or outright incompetence; but her performance and personality are both sufficiently impaired that the Avengers know something is wrong, even if Iron Man's the only one who has a specific idea of what the problem is. As Whizzer's comments about Hawkeye indicated last issue, the Squadron have apparently been studying the Avengers; otherwise, there's no way Power Princess would have so much as heard of the long-obscure Ms. Marvel, let alone be familiar with her "sterling reputation." The Squadron never met Ms. Marvel, and Carol hasn't been active as Ms. Marvel (or very visible in any form) since the Squadron were stranded on the Avengers' Earth. PAGE 16 Panels 6-7: Hawkeye activates one of his flare arrows, shafts tipped with a magnesium-based head that ignites to produce a brilliant light. Hawkeye uses them as signals, illumination or, as in this case, to blind opponents. He has been using flare arrows since the earliest days of his career. PAGE 18 Panel 1: Hawkeye is warding off Haywire with several arrows that erupt into burts of light or some other energy--possibly flare arrows or fireworks arrows. Panels 1-4: Again, Wanda marvels at her recent affinity for magic, and her resultant sense of something within the magic that she can communicate with. This time, she uses her newly enhanced magical power to detect and negate the force influencing the minds of the Squadron. Avengers colorist Tom Smith continues to color Wanda's eyes green, contrary to official sources listing her as blue-eyed. PAGE 19 Panels 1-3: It's interesting to note that Blue Shield doesn't submit to the mind control quite so smoothly as the Squadron did (note his slurred speech and trance-like state); this may be due to the fact that, unlike the Squadron, he has no reason to resent the Avengers. He also hasn't been mind-controlled nearly as often as the Squadron have, so perhaps he's not as susceptible to mental dominance as they might be by now. PAGE 20 Panel 2: Project administrator Andrew Kappelhof is unmasked as The Corruptor, one of the mind-altering villains seen in Rivera's records earlier. The fact that Corruptor infiltrated the Project's management at such a high level explains how the Project staff could so easily be used as pawns in the earlier stages of the Corruptor's plot against the Avengers last issue. Panels 3-4: The personal holographic projectors known as image inducers are a fairly common piece of high-tech hardware in the Marvel Universe, perhaps best known as a means of disguise employed by inhuman-looking heroes such as the X-Men's Nightcrawler. Panel 7: Corruptor's babbling reflects the personal obsessions of his employer, whose identity is revealed on the last page of this issue. Panel 8: Again, it's nice to see the effort Perez makes to give each character a distinctive physicality: Captain America as the idealized form, the strength-oriented Hyperion as a taller, more massive figure, the Blue Shield possessed of a more slender-seeming build (without the armor) appropriate to his role as the most minor hero in this story. Each character has a different kind of physical presence. PAGE 21 Panels 1-4: While it might be due in part to the lingering effects of the Corruptor's power (which does have a detrimental impact on his victims' behaviour for some time after contact, even when the Controller is not directing their actions), Hyperion's bitter remarks reveal what might have been an underlying motivation of the Squadron's readiness to believe the worst of the Avengers: jealousy. The Squadron are used to being quite literally supreme on their own world, and they must resent the fact that the Avengers are forever defeating or rescuing the Squadron when the two teams meet. The Squadron are also probably more than a little edgy after months of being stranded on another world and cooped up in Project Pegasus. Even so, Hyperion does seem a bit out of line here, strangely so given the extent to which he's matured in recent years. In answer to that point, Busiek cites (in addition to the story's mitigating factors) the Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart characterizations of Hyperion from the earliest Squadron stories, that of an obnoxious, arrogant superman who too often presumes that might makes right. He's just reverting to type for a moment, perhaps due in part to his stressful circmustances and the lingering influence of the Corruptor. That being said, some of what Cap says to Hyperion comes across as a cheap shot. It's true that the Squadron's sometimes simplistic and self-righteous outlook makes them more susceptible to mind control than most super-teams might be; and it's also true that they have a history of being mistaken, manipulated or outright mind-controlled as a result of that (including three conflicts with the Avengers, one with the Defenders and one with Quasar). Even so, it's somewhat unfair of Cap to blame the Squadron for "letting" themselves get mind-controlled by the Corruptor. Thor himself was one of the Corruptor's first victims way back when, and if anything he behaved worse than the Squadron did until he was freed from the Corruptor's influence. And the rest of the Avengers have all had their heads messed with at one time or another, too, with results ranging from super-villainous rampages to attempted world conquest. That being the case, even though Cap is understandably irritated by the Squadron's conduct, his remarks still come across as uncharitable and somewhat unfair, especially coming from someone like the usually gracious Captain America. PAGE 22 Panels 3-7: The mastermind behind the latest plot against the Avengers is revealed to be IMUS CHAMPION, as hinted last issue. Champion is a physically massive billionaire businessman driven to master every skill and be the best in all pursuits. In keeping with that goal, he once hired Hawkeye to teach him archery; however, Hawkeye then learned of Champion's plan to spark a massive earthquake for criminal gain, and thwarted Champion's operation with the aid of the Avengers (in Avengers [v1] # 109). Apparently, Champion either beat the resultant legal charges (his wealth can buy the best lawyers) or has since been released from prison. Regardless, he is evidently active once more as both a businessman and a criminal mastermind. While I don't recognize the one-eyed fish, two other objects in Champion's office are very familiar: he is using one of the heads of the rogue robot Ultron as an ashtray (possibly the head Ultron lost in Avengers [v1] # 57), and the mask on his wall may be that of Jinku, the witch doctor of the Lava Men. Jinku and the Lava Men (a warlike subterranean race possessed of power over rock, earth, ash and magma) first fought the Avengers in Avengers (v1) # 5, and the Avengers later defended Project Pegasus from the Lava Men in Avengers (v1) # 236-237. After that, Jinku's Lava Men severely wounded Gilgamesh and nearly destroyed Avengers Island before finally forming a lasting peace with the Avengers (in Avengers [v1] # 305-308); in the process, Jinku's tribe evolved into new forms as metallic shape-shifters. Some Lava Men retain their original rocky forms, however, and have fallen under the influence of the genocidal tyrant Grotesk, whom the Avengers defeated in Avengers West Coast Annual 6.