Earth's Mightiest Annotations
by Sean McQuaid
AVENGERS FOREVER # 4
March, 1999
"Running Out of Time"
By Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern & Carlos Pacheco
with Jesus Merino (inker), Steve Oliff (colors),
Richard Starkings/Comicraft/Albert Deschesne (letters),
Graphic Color Works (separations), Comicraft's John Roshell (design),
Greg Schigiel (Assistant Editor), Tom Brevoort (editor) & Bob Harras
(editor-in-chief).
Avengers Assembled:
Giant-Man (between Avengers [v3] # 11 & 13), Wasp (between Avengers
[v3] # 11 & 13), Yellowjacket (circa Avengers [v1] # 59-60), Captain
America (circa Avengers [v1] # 125), Hawkeye (between Avengers [v1] #
97 & 98), Captain Marvel [III] (from an undisclosed period in the
future), and Songbird (from an undisclosed period in the future) [as
members of the time-spanning Avengers team assembled by Rick Jones];
Rick Jones (between Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98 and Avengers [v3] #
10) [as honorary Avenger]; Two-Gun Kid (circa Avengers [v1] # 142) [as
solo hero prior to joining Avengers]; 3-D Man, Gorilla Man, Human
Robot, Marvel Boy [II] & Venus [as the 1950s Avengers]; and Black
Panther, Living Lightning, Crimson Dynamo, Killraven, Jocasta &
Thundra [as the Avengers of Killraven's 21st century alternate future;
which incarnations of the Crimson Dynamo and Jocasta are in evidence
remains to be seen].
Other Characters:
Libra, The Skorpsmen (including Skrag), Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid, Kang
(circa Avengers [v1] # 142) and a Skrull (posing as Richard Nixon).
FRONT COVER
This issue has four alternate covers. The "Avengers Tomorrow" cover by
Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino features the Avengers of Killraven's
21st century alternate future (Black Panther, Living Lightning,
Crimson Dynamo, Killraven, Jocasta & Thundra). The "Old West" cover by
John Buscema features Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid & Kid Colt confronting
a dinosaur while Kang looks on. The "Time Sphinx" cover by Jeff Smith
depicts the Time Sphinx amidst images of Avengers from various times,
including Scarlet Witch, Vision, Photon, Iron Man (in the golden
version of his original armor), Hulk & Captain America. The "1950s
Avengers" cover by Frank Quitely features the 1950s Avengers: Gorilla
Man, Human Robot, Marvel Boy [II], Venus & 3-D Man.
BACK COVER
The back cover illustration by Comicraft's John Roshell and Doug
Rowell & Randee Z features a computer-generated Time Sphinx set
against a warped montage of scenes reprinted from old Marvel comics:
Killraven battling Skar in a scene from his Astonishing Tales series;
the 1950s Avengers charging into action in a scene from their debut,
What If? [v1] # 9; Ringo Kid, Rawhide Kid and other western
gunfighters confronting Thor and Moondragon, as seen in Avengers [v1]
# 142; and Thundra & Arkon confronting policemen after fleeing to
Earth in an attempt to save the life of their companion, the maiden
Astra, as seen in Avengers [v1] # 358.
PAGES TWO & THREE (two-page spread)
Panel 1:
As shown last issue, Immortus destroyed Kang's cross-time kingdom
Chronopolis and all its inhabitants, converting all the people and
material of Chronopolis into the all-powerful time-altering talisman
known as the Forever Crystal. Genis (Captain Marvel) has previously
claimed to know little of the Destiny War (the title that characters
from the future use to refer to the events of Avengers Forever), but
he knows about the Forever Crystal and how powerful it is--an
indication that he may not be telling his fellow Avengers everything
he knows.
Frustrated by Wasp spurning his romantic advances, Yellowjacket
turned his amorous attention to Songbird last issue and apparently
intends to pursue her.
Panel 3:
Either Hawkeye heard one of his future-aware allies mention the
Destiny War earlier, or he coined the term himself. Exactly who coined
the term "Destiny War" is unclear at this point, though the
present-day Avengers have already begun referring to The Destiny War
as a past event (the Giant-Man and Wasp appearing in Avengers Forever
seem to come from a time between Avengers [v3] # 12 and the latest
issue of Avengers, Avengers [v3] # 13, in which Giant-Man spoke of
Wasp being fatigued after the events of the Destiny War).
Panel 5:
This is a younger, less mature, less patient Hawkeye, so it's not
surprising to see him attack the irritatingly engimatic Libra.
PAGE FOUR
Panels 1-3:
Libra's mentors, the Priests of Pama, were described in the EMA
annotations for previous issues of Avengers Forever. This may be the
first mention of the name of the orphanage were Hawkeye spent much of
his childhood, the Saint Ignatius Home for Orphaned Boys.
PAGE SEVEN
Wasp selecting Hawkeye as leader of one team makes sense since she
knows the future Hawkeye (the present-day Hawkeye from our
perspective) will become an accomplished longtime leader of the
Avengers. By comparison, the past incarnation of Yellowjacket is a
reckless madman and the future incarnation of Songbird is an unknown
quantity.
Like all the early Avengers members, Hawkeye served occasionally as
chairman under the group's rotating chairmanship system. Specifically,
he is identified as chairman in Avengers [v1] # 40. Years later, he
was appointed founding chairman of the team's new western roster in
Avengers [v1] # 243. After establishing the team's western
headquarters, assembling recruits and training them (a process
completed in Avengers [v1] # 244-246 & West Coast Avengers [v1] #
1-4), Hawkeye served a lengthy stint as the western Avengers chairman
and proved to be a very effective leader.
He resigned the chairmanship in protest as of West Coast Avengers
[v2] # 45 when the federal government appointed USAgent to serve as
the western roster's new leader on behalf of the US government.
Hawkeye took a leave of absence at this time, during which he served
as leader and mentor to the Great Lakes Avengers, a team of midwestern
amateur adventurers who had adopted the Avengers name (as seen in WCA
[v2] # 46, Avengers West Coast # 48-49, and Avengers [v1] # 309 &
313); however, Hawkeye soon returned to active membership in the
official Avengers, rejoining the western roster as of Avengers West
Coast # 60. Later, when then-chairman Iron Man faked his own death and
dropped out of sight as of AWC # 87, Hawkeye stepped in to serve as
acting chairman of the western roster. After a brief stint, though, he
decided to resign the chairmanship again so he could devote more time
to his marriage to Mockingbird. He nominated longtime teammate Scarlet
Witch as his replacement, and she was elected as the western roster's
new chair. Ironically, Mockingbird died in action shortly thereafter
while rescuing Scarlet Witch from Mephisto. Hawkeye took an indefinite
leave of absence to mourn her death, and by the time he returned to
the team the western roster had been disbanded. Hawkeye remained
affiliated with the group regardless, but gradually became frustrated
since he had little or no opportunity to apply his leadership skills
in an Avengers roster that by then included most of the team's senior
members and major past leaders. Feeling constrained, he quit the group
as of Avengers [v3] # 12 to become the leader of a new super-team, the
Thunderbolts, and currently appears in their monthly ongoing series.
Hawkeye is designated chairman in Avengers [v1] # 40, 243-246 (prior
to assembling the western roster), 249-250, 253-254 and 302-303;
Avengers Annual # 15-16; West Coast Avengers [v1] # 1-4; West Coast
Avengers [v2] # 1-40 & 42-45; Avengers West Coast # 87-98; West Coast
Avengers Annual # 1-3; Avengers West Coast Annual # 8; and the
Avengers: Emperor Doom graphic novel.
The future Genis does seem to be hiding something, as Wasp already
suspects, and he is aware of her suspicions--possibly through the
power of his cosmic awareness.
PAGE NINE
Cap and Giant-Man have entered the early 21st century of an
alternate timeline in which aliens known as Martians conquered Earth
(exactly where the aliens originated is unclear, but they were using
Mars as their base of operations in their war with Earth). This
timeline is based on the H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds, in which
hostile Martians invaded 20th century Earth but died due to their lack
of immunity to Earthly diseases. Marvel continued the story as an
alternate timeline featured in the "Killraven" stories serialized in
Amazing Adventures. In this alternate timeline, the Martian invaders
returned to Earth a century later in 2001, now immune to Earthly
diseases, and quickly conquered the planet. Most of humanity was
exterminated or enslaved, but some humans remained free and waged a
guerrilla war against the Martian conquerors. The foremost human
freedom fighter of this early 21st century era was Jonathan Raven,
better known as Killraven.
According to some accounts, Killraven's alternate timeline is the
same one occupied by the late 20th century cyborg adventurer Deathlok
and the late 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy in their respective
eras. According to historical records of the Guardians' era, the
Martian invaders of Killraven's time were eventually defeated and
driven out once more.
The use of Killraven's alternate timeline in this story indicates
that Avengers Forever will incorporate characters and events from
outside the "mainstream" Marvel timeline. How alternate timelines will
ultimately impact on the story remains to be seen, as does how many
alternate timelines will come into play (the 1950s Avengers seen later
in this issue may or may not be native to an alternate timeline).
The "Wells Street" sign in panel 3 is a reference to War of the
Worlds author H.G. Wells.
PAGE TEN
Captain America and Giant-Man battle the Skorpsmen, Martian troops
based on the cyborg warrior Skar employed by the Martians in Amazing
Adventures.
PAGE ELEVEN
As we learn on the next page, this is an alternate future Avengers
team consisting of Living Lightning, Crimson Dynamo, Thundra, Jocasta,
Black Panther & Killraven.
The LIVING LIGHTNING (Miguel Santos) is a college student and
occasional costumed adventurer who gained the ability to transform
himself into pure electrical energy after the accidental explosion of
equipment he was trying to salvage from the headquarters of the Legion
of the Living Lightning, a militant patriotic group to which Santos*s
late father had belonged. Miguel gained his powers in Avengers West
Coast # 63 and joined the Avengers in AWC # 74 after aiding the team
against the criminal Pacific Overlords. He served with the group for a
relatively brief time before downgrading to reserve status in AWC # 88
so he could attend college full-time at UCLA. He last worked with the
group when he aided them against Morgan Le Fay in Avengers [v3] # 1-3.
Unlike most of Earth's superheroes, he apparently survived the early
stages of the Martian invasion in Killraven's alternate timeline.
The CRIMSON DYNAMO armor first appeared in Tales of Suspense # 46 when
Russian scientist Anton Vanko created it and wore it in a failed
attempt to best the American armored champion Iron Man on behalf of
his Russian superiors. Since then, several other Russian agents have
worn the Crimson Dynamo armor and come into conflict with various
American heroes, most frequently Iron Man. The Crimson Dynamo armor
shown here resembles the most recent model of the Dynamo armor, the
one worn by Dimitri Bukharin and Valentin Shatalov. Brief histories of
the various Crimson Dynamos follow below. (NOTE: Any references to the
Soviet Union in the following text are apocryphal since Marvel
continuity now officially represents most Soviet heroes and villains
as non-Soviets. Crimson Dynamo, for instance, would be an agent of the
Russian government rather than the Soviet Union in current Marvel
continuity since the Soviet Union has been defunct for years in the
real world.)
Crimson Dynamo I (Anton Vanko)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 46
Description: Soviet inventor who created the high-tech battle armor
that he wore as the Crimson Dynamo in an unsuccessful attempt to
assassinate the armored American adventurer Iron Man. Defeated and
captured, Vanko agreed to betray his superiors and became a loyal
employee of industrialist Tony Stark (secretly Iron Man); when Soviet
agent Boris Turgenov stole the Crimson Dynamo armor in an attempt to
discredit Vanko in the eyes of his American friends, Vanko sacrificed
his own life to stop Turgenov.
Crimson Dynamo II (Boris Turgenov)
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense 52
Description: Soviet agent who stole Anton Vanko*s Crimson Dynamo armor
for himself but died in battle with Vanko.
Crimson Dynamo III (Alex Nevsky)
First Appearance: Iron Man 21
Description: Research assistant to Anton Vanko who was wrongly
suspected of being a traitor after Vanko*s defection to the USA.
Forced to flee to America himself, Nevsky recreated and improved
Vanko*s Crimson Dynamo armor and became the new Crimson Dynamo,
unsuccessfully attacking Iron Man, whom Nevsky blamed for his and
Vanko*s misfortunes. After that defeat, Nevsky fled to Vietnam, where
he joined the Radioactive Man and Titanium Man in forming a communist
super-team called the Titanic Three. Eventually, though, the Soviet
government located Nevsky, assassinated him and confiscated his armor.
Crimson Dynamo IV (Yuri Petrovich)
First Appearance: Champions 8
Description: Son of the infamous defector Ivan Petrovich, Yuri
Petrovich was given the Crimson Dynamo armor by Soviet intelligence so
that he could attempt to forcibly return his father and Ivan*s
longtime partner, the Black Widow, to Russia. Yuri failed in his
mission and was sent to a Siberian work camp after surrendering the
armor to Soviet authorities.
Crimson Dynamo V (Dimitri Bukharin, a.k.a. Airstrike)
First Appearance: Iron Man 109 (as Crimson Dynamo V),
Soviet Super-Soldiers 1 (as Airstrike)
Description: Russian soldier and former KGB agent whom the Soviet
government assigned to serve them as the new Crimson Dynamo wearing
the battle armor invented by Anton Vanko. Bukharin served the Soviets
loyally for years, both alone and as a member of the Soviet
Super-Soldiers (who expelled him after they renounced the Soviet
government) and the People*s Protectorate. The military later
confiscated the Dynamo armor after a disastrous mission compromised
Bukharin*s reputation, but the People*s Protectorate retained Bukharin
as a member and outfitted him with a new suit of high-tech battle
armor, giving him the new code-name Airstrike. The People's
Protectorate and Soviet Super-Soldiers have since reorganized into a
single Russian super-team known as the Winter Guard, but Airstrike is
not a member. His current whereabouts and activities are unrevealed,
as are the reasons for his absence from the Winter Guard roster.
Crimson Dynamo VI (Colonel-General Valentin Shatalov)
First Appearance: Iron Man 255
Description: An ambitious Russian military officer and KGB agent who
engineered the discrediting of Dimitri Bukharin so that he could
confiscate Bukharin*s Crimson Dynamo armor for himself, Shatalov
became the new Crimson Dynamo in pursuit of greater political power,
forming the short-lived Russian super-team known as Remont 4 and
plotting to engineer a Stalinist regime with himself as its head;
however, Shatalov later found himself discredited in a compromising
mission like Bukharin before him, and the Russian military confiscated
the Crimson Dynamo armor.
Prior to Avengers Forever, only the third and fifth Crimson Dynamos
have appeared in the Avengers comics. Crimson Dynamo III (Nevsky)
appeared in Avengers [v1] # 130 (battled Avengers alongside Titanic
Three & Slasher II) and Giant-Size Avengers # 4 (alongside Titanic
Three, attacked and defeated by Kang while plotting an assault on the
Avengers). Crimson Dynamo V (Bukharin) appeared in X-Men vs. Avengers
# 1-3 (battled Avengers and X-Men alongside Soviet Super-Soldiers in
attempt to arrest Magneto on behalf of the Soviet Union; endangered
civilians during attempts to apprehend Magneto; renounced and subdued
by the Super-Soldiers, who abandoned their pursuit of Magneto) and
Avengers [v1] # 319-324 (alongside People's Protectorate, joined
forces with Avengers, Atlanteans and Canadian super-team Alpha Flight
to thwart the Russian terrorists known as the Peace Corpse).
The Crimson Dynamo armor enhances its wearer's strength to
superhuman levels, enabling the Dynamo to lift weights in the range of
50-75 tons. The armor is extremely durable, with an outer layer
composed of carborundum matrix alloy. Its primary weapons are
electrical blasters in the gauntlets which can generate up to a
million volts. Secondary weapons include missiles contained in the
back of the battlesuit. The battlesuit also contains computer systems,
a radio transmitter-receiver set and fully self-contained life support
systems. The current Dynamo armor is the third model. Vanko created
the original Dynamo armor, Nevsky created the second version of the
armor, and unspecified Russian scientists modified and reconstructed
the Nevsky version into the current Dynamo armor.
THUNDRA is one of the greatest warrior women of the United Sisterhood
Republic, a leading nation in the 23rd century Earth of an alternate
future timeline. In this timeline, biochemical warfare sterilized 95%
of the world's female populace, and the fertile 5% seized political
power. The emerging female governments brutally oppressed the male
populace since men were blamed for their world's destructive wars. By
the 23rd century, natural childbirth had been almost totally replaced
by the genetic engineering of children in laboratories, and men were
bred only as servants, entertainers or breeding stock. Genetically
engineered with superhuman physical prowess, Thundra became a
celebrated soldier in the United Sisterhood Republic by battling
foreign powers and renegade bands of free men.
When soldiers from the male-dominated alternate Earth known as
Machus invaded Thundra's Earth in hopes of liberating its male
populace, Thundra retaliated by stealing a Machus time machine in an
effort to journey back in time and prevent the world of Machus from
coming about; however, she ended up in the mainstream 20th century,
which was not truly the past of either Machus or her own Earth.
Determined to ensure a female-dominated future, Thundra decided to
humble the world's strongest male in combat and repeatedly battled the
Thing with that goal in mind. Eventually realizing that her actions in
the present had no bearing on her alternate future homeworld, Thundra
actually became a friend and ally to the Thing, whom she had come to
admire more than any other man. Thundra eventually returned to her own
time, but left for the 20th century again when the prospect of her
people peacefully coexisting with the Machus men left her
disillusioned.
Thundra did mercenary work for Roxxon Oil after they promised they
could send her to an alternate future whose matriarchy had not been
compromised by the men of Machus. Thundra became the ruler of this
alternate future Femizonia and eventually found herself at war with
the otherdimensional kingdom Polemachus and its chauvinistic warrior
monarch, Arkon. Despite their long, bitter conflict, Arkon and Thundra
discovered that they shared a strong mutual attraction, an attraction
that ended their conflict when they became lovers. Thundra has since
joined Arkon in Polemachus as his consort.
Thundra first appeared in Fantastic Four (v1) # 129. Her Avengers
appearances include Avengers Annual 8 (skirmished with the Avengers
when they accosted her admirer Hyperion II), AWC # 75 (employed
Avengers and Fantastic Four as pawns in her conflict with Arkon before
making peace with him) and Avengers (v1) # 358-359 (alongside Arkon &
Avengers, failed to prevent murder of the maiden Astra by Anskar, high
priest of Polemachus, who said she had to die as a religious human
sacrifice).
JOCASTA was a sentient robot created by the evil robot Ultron as his
bride (in Avengers [v1] # 162), but she turned against him and joined
his mortal enemies, the Avengers, instead (Avengers [v1] # 162 and
170-171). Jocasta resided at Avengers Mansion as an ally to the team
for quite some time thereafter, having nowhere else to go, but
eventually tired of being passed over for full membership and left (in
Avengers [v1] # 211--just as, unbeknownst to her, the Avengers were
about to offer her formal membership). Shortly after her departure,
she became romantically involved with fellow sentient robot Machine
Man, but she was destroyed in their resultant battle with Ultron.
Jocasta was presumed dead and mourned by the Avengers, who
posthumously awarded her official membership, but the High
Evolutionary salvaged her parts and reactivated her in an unsuccessful
attempt to use her against the Avengers. She instead joined the
Avengers in defeating the Evolutionary, though the battle ended in an
explosion that seemingly destroyed her once more (Avengers Annual #
17). Her head survived intact, however, and was stolen by criminal
arms dealer Madame Menace; what Menace will do with it remains
unclear, as does whether or not the Avengers or Machine Man will learn
of this and attempt to rescue and reactivate her (Kurt Busiek, current
writer of Iron Man and the Avengers, has said Jocasta and Madame
Menace will be featured in an upcoming Iron Man storyline). Jocasta*s
human personality was based on the brain patterns of the Wasp, but she
and Wasp never really became close. Jocasta did have a longstanding
unrequited crush on another Avengers member, the Vision, but he never
acknowledged or returned her feelings.
An alternate reality Jocasta from another timeline previously
appeared as a member of Proctor's Gatherers, and was last seen in
Vision # 1-4, when an alternate reality Vision (another Gatherers
veteran) altered her mental programming as an experiment in his
ongoing effort to destroy our reality's Vision. The altered alternate
Jocasta believed herself to be a human being and fell in love with our
reality's Vision, who said he would take care of her thereafter. What
became of the alternate Jocasta after that is unknown.
The Jocasta shown here looks nothing like any other known Jocasta to
date, though her silvery-blue skin looks more like the silvery
original Jocasta than the golden alternate Jocasta affiliated with the
Gatherers. This Jocasta looks much more human in appearance than the
more mechanical-looking previous incarnations of Jocasta. The original
Jocasta's robotic body gave her superhuman strength, durability and
sensory acuity; she could also project energy beams from her eyes. The
abilities of this new Jocasta are as yet unknown.
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. He 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 by the Panther's Wakanda Design Group
and manufactured by Stark International.
The Panther seems shocked to see his old friends Cap and Giant-Man--
not surprising since they're probably dead in this timeline, and even
if they weren't they are much younger than the Panther himself. For
the Panther, it's like meeting ghosts from his past.
KILLRAVEN (Jonathan Raven), as noted above, is the foremost human
freedom fighter in the early 21st century of this alternate timeline.
He was born a year before the Martian invasion in the year 2000. His
father was presumed dead during the subsequent Martian invasion, but
his mother Maureen managed to keep him and his brother Joshua safe
until the Martian attack on New York City in 2006. Maureen was killed
by human collaborators, and the Raven boys were pressed into Martian
service. Jonathan was trained as one of the gladiators who fought each
other as entertainment for the Martians, and was given the
gladiatorial title Killraven. As Killraven, he repeatedly rebelled
against his Martian masters and became a charismatic leader among the
gladiators. After an unsuccessful escape attempt in 2008, Killraven
was placed in the custody of Keeper Whitman for rehabilitation
(Keepers were human scientists coerced and/or mind-controlled into
performing experiments on other humans). Mind control prevented
Whitman from directly rebelling against his Martian masters, but he
inwardly longed for their overthrow and secretly groomed Killraven to
become a champion of humanity. He enhanced Killraven's physical
abilities and gave Killraven the latent superhuman power to
psychically enter and control the minds of Martians. Whitman also used
"psycho-electronics" to program Killraven with the sum total of human
historical, cultural and scientific knowledge, fearing that the
knowledge might otherwise be lost through the Martian conquest of
humanity. Finally, Whitman programmed mental blocks into Killraven
that would prevent him from accessing his full knowledge and mental
powers until his mind had developed to the point where he could
control Martian minds.
Not knowing what Whitman had done to him, the supposedly
rehabilitated Killraven was returned to his gladiatorial duties in
2010. He remained rebellious, though, and eventually escaped, becoming
the leader of a band of Freemen dedicated to the overthrow of the
Martians. In the years that followed, the Martians came to regard
Killraven as the single greatest threat to their continued dominance
of Earth. During his ongoing war against the Martians, Killraven slew
Whitman, who told Killraven with his dying breath that he had special
powers, and that he expected Killraven to kill him by the time his
abilities matured. Killraven did not understand what Whitman meant at
first, but by the year 2019 he had begun to manifest his mental
powers, making him an even greater threat to the Martians than before.
The following year, in 2020, Killraven was reunited with his brother,
Joshua, who had become a superhuman Martian agent as Deathraven. Their
battle unlocked Killraven's full mental powers for the first time, and
he used them to mind-control a Martian into killing Deathraven. For
years thereafter, Killraven and his Freemen continued the fight
against the Martians.
Killraven is a master of armed and unarmed combat trained in
swordsmanship, wrestling and various martial arts. An expert in the
use of various weapons, Killraven most often employs swords and
shuriken (pointed throwing stars). An excellent strategist, Killraven
is extremely adept at guerrilla warfare techniques. Thanks to the
"psycho-electronics" treatments of Keeper Whitman, Killraven's mind
contains an incredibly extensive body of humanity's pre-2001
historical, cultural and scientific knowledge; Killraven has been able
to access that knowledge at will since his powers matured in 2020.
Killraven is also able to mentally project his consciousness into
Martian minds and control them.
Killraven has not been depicted as an Avengers member before, but he
has obviously joined his era's incarnation of the team. He has also
adopted the energy shield currently used by the present-day Captain
America, or a facsimile of said shield. In light of this, the blue
chainmail of Killraven's outfit (not a new addition) looks like it
might be taken from or inspired by a Captain America costume. There's
also at least one other potential Avengers connection: Keeper Whitman
might be a future incarnation or relative of scientist Dane Whitman,
who is a longtime member of the present-day Avengers in his alternate
guise as the Black Knight.
PAGE TWELVE
Panel 1:
Black Panther, predictably, looks much older than he does in the
present-day Marvel universe.
Panel 2:
Cap mentions their investigation of a temporal anomaly and Black
Panther immediately knows he's talking about the Destiny War--another
indication that the Destiny War will be regarded as a major event in
Avengers history, especially since the Avengers have had several other
time travel adventures over the years.
Panel 3:
Cap is surprised to hear that the future Avengers include a Crimson
Dynamo since the various Dynamos have traditionally been enemies of
the Avengers (see notes on the various Dynamos' Avengers appearances
in the notes pertaining to the Crimson Dynamo). This incarnation of
Cap actually wouldn't have fought any Crimson Dynamo yet (nor have the
Avengers in this Cap's era), but he would still know the Dynamo
primarily as one of Iron Man's recurring enemies. It's not surprising
that he didn't recognize the Dynamo right away since this incarnation
of the Crimson Dynamo armor had not been created yet in the time
period this Cap comes from. The Dynamo native to this Cap's time
period, Alex Nevsky, wears the second incarnation of the Crimson
Dynamo armor. This Dynamo wears what seems to be the third version of
the armor, variations of which have been worn by the most recent
present-day Crimson Dynamos.
Panel 4:
"Why would the Avengers be immune to change?" This line is funny
coming from Cap for two reasons. For one thing, the Dynamo certainly
wouldn't be the first adversarial or villainous character absorbed
into the ranks of the Avengers--another Russian enemy agent, the Black
Widow, had joined the Avengers during this Cap's Avengers career, for
instance, as did various non-Russian outlaws and criminals. The line
is also funny in an ironic sort of way since this Cap probably has no
idea of how much the Avengers will change in the years between his
time period and our present. From this Cap's perspective, the Avengers
have scarcely more than a dozen members. But as of today, the Avengers
have had about fifty official members plus many more honorary members
and hangers-on. In many ways, change is the only real constant in the
Avengers roster.
PAGE THIRTEEN
Hawkeye ponders how he's managed to ignore Yellowjacket's taunts for
the sake of their mission, and wonders how the Wasp knew he'd be able
to do it. The Wasp, of course, knew Hawkeye was capable of this since
she lived through the present-day Hawkeye's stints as a leader of the
Avengers, during which he proved he could rein in his temper when
responsibility forced him to do so. The Avengers leader incarnation of
Hawkeye mused on this contradiction a few times himself, such as a
scene in West Coast Avengers [v2] # 11: the Avengers get into an
argument with Nick Fury, but Hawkeye has the group leave peacefully
despite his own anger since he has to set an example as leader.
PAGE FOURTEEN
Panel 1:
Hawkeye talks about his childhood fascination with the Old West,
reveals that history was the only part of school he paid attention to,
and says that his orphanage had a pile of old pulp novels. Hawkeye's
enthusiasm for the Old West is no surprise since he seemed to function
well in the Old West when he was stranded there circa Avengers [v1] #
142-143, forming a fast friendship and working partnership with
legendary Old West hero Two-Gun Kid. He has expressed affection for
Old West culture in the past, and spent time playing cowboy in the
present with Two-Gun during an extended absence from the Avengers that
began in Avengers [v1] # 147 and ended in Avengers [v1] # 172. During
his and Two-Gun's absence from the Avengers, Hawkeye appeared in
Marvel Tales # 100, Champions # 11, Avengers [v1] # 161-162, Ghost
Rider [v2] # 27 and Avengers [v1] # 168 & 170.
Yellowjacket jokingly mentions Quick Draw McGraw, a Hanna-Barbera
cartoon cowboy who happens to be a horse.
Panels 2-3:
Hawkeye recognizes legendary Old West heroes Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid &
Two-Gun Kid. Two-Gun usually wears a spotted vest like Kid Colt's,
only tan or brown-colored instead of white.
KID COLT (Blaine Colt) is a legendary hero of the 19th century
American West. Secretly training himself in the use of the Colt .45
handgun that shared his family name, Blaine became an excellent
marksman but never carried a gun since he was afraid his hot temper
might lead him to kill someone. His father, Dan, owned the Flying
Circle Ranch just outside Abilene, Wyoming. Dan disapproved of
Blaine's seeming aversion to firearms, but Blaine concealed both his
shooting skills and his true fellings since he did not want his father
to worry about him. When Lash Larribee, the brutal leader of a gang of
gunfighters, demanded that the Flying Circle Ranch join his "Ranchers
Protection Association", Dan decided to confront the would-be
extortionists single-handedly. Larribee, an experienced professional
gunfighter, easily outshot Dan and killed him. Outraged by his
father's death, which Blaine regarded as murder since his father had
no real gunfighting experience and was unfairly outclassed by
Larribee, Blaine tracked down Larribee and challenged him to a
gunfight. Larribee drew his gun in reply, but Blaine drew his own gun
faster and shot Larribee dead. Afraid that Blaine Colt might come
after them, too, Larribee's men claimed that Blaine had shot Larribee
in cold blood without giving him a chance to draw his gun. Accused of
murder and afraid that no one would believe the truth since he had
previously hidden his marksmanship prowess, Blaine fled and became the
wandering outlaw adventurer known as Kid Colt.
Despite being unjustly accused of murder and other crimes over the
years, Colt actually used his shooting skills to battle real criminals
and became a legendary hero of the Old West. He occasionally teamed up
with other heroic gunfighters such as the Phantom Rider, the Rawhide
Kid, the Ringo Kid and the Two-Gun Kid. Kid Colt even teamed with the
20th century Avengers during their first visit to his time period,
aiding them against the forces of Kang (in Avengers [v1] # 142-143).
He first appeared in Kid Colt (v1) # 1 and starred in his own ongoing
series for years before its cancellation.
The RAWHIDE KID (Johnny Bart, born with the surname Clay) is a
legendary hero of the 19th century American West. When the Clays were
massacred by Indians, their infant son was found and rescued by Texas
Ranger Ben Bart, who raised the boy as his own child and called him
Johnny Bart. Ben was one of the best marksmen in the Texas Rangers,
and he trained Johnny until the younger Bart was even better with guns
than his adoptive father. When two drifters murdered Ben in hopes of
making a reputation for themselves, Johnny outshot the men and brought
them to justice. After that, Johnny became an altruistic wandering
gunfighter known as the Rawhide Kid (Johnny having grown up on Ben's
ranch just outside Rawhide, Texas). The Rawhide Kid was one of the
most celebrated heroes of his era, and occasionally teamed up with
other heroic gunfighters such as Kid Colt, the Phantom Rider, the
Ringo Kid and the Two-Gun Kid. Rawhide even teamed with the 20th
century Avengers during their visits to his time period, aiding them
against Kang, Iron Mask, the renegade Phantom Rider and other foes (in
Avengers [v1] # 142-143 & WCA # 18-23). He first appeared in Rawhide
Kid (v1) # 1 and starred in his own ongoing series for years before
its cancellation.
The TWO-GUN KID was secretly Matthew J. Hawk (born Matthew Liebowicz),
a Harvard-educated Boston lawyer who settled in 1870s Tombstone, Texas
after the Civil War. Shortly after arriving in Tombstone, Matt was
attacked by a gang of toughs led by Clem Carter. Clem's sister,
schoolteacher Nancy Carter, intervened and convinced them to leave
Hawk alone, befriending Matt in the process. Later, Matt saw Clem's
gang harassing an elederly man and came to the old man's aid; however,
the old man turned out to be legendary gunfighter Ben Dancer, who
scared off Clem's gang by drawing his gun. Grateful for Matt's
attempts to help him, Dancer volunteered to train Matt as a fighter.
Matt practiced until he became Dancer's superior as a gunfighter, and
also trained intensively in horsemanship, unarmed combat and the use
of the lasso; however, Dancer encouraged Matt to conceal his new
skills. If Matt's marskmanship skills were common knowledge, thugs
like the Carter gang would harass him in hopes of making a name for
themselves, the same way they had harassed Dancer. To avoid this, Matt
created a masked identity for himself as the Two-Gun Kid, an identity
he would assume whenever he found it necessary to use his fighting
skills. When Clem Carter's gang ambushed Dancer in an attempt to kill
him, Matt went into action as the Two-Gun Kid for the first time and
defeated the Carter gang alongside Dancer. Dancer moved out East to
live a quieter life, while his pupil lived a daring double life in
Tombstone as lawyer Matt Hawk and the Two-Gun Kid. As Two-Gun, Matt
fought a wide array of criminals, ranging from common gunfighters to
exotic costumed criminals like the Hurricane and the Rattler.
An insightful thinker, a skilled fighter and a phenomenally accurate
sharpshooter, the Two-Gun Kid became one of the most celebrated of the
old western heroes. When the Avengers battled Kang in the 1870s,
Two-Gun was intrigued by the team, struck up a fast friendship with
longtime Avengers member Hawkeye (Avengers [v1] # 142) and allied
himself with the Avengers against Kang (Avengers [v1] # 142-143),
accompanying them back to the 20th century once their battle was won
(Avengers [v1] # 144, 147). Two-Gun offered his services to the
Avengers and was awarded membership in absentia (sometime during or
after Avengers [v1] # 151) while he explored 20th century America with
Hawkeye as his guide. Two-Gun became increasingly homesick, though,
and returned to his own era in Avengers (v1) # 174-175. During his
time in the 20th century, Two-Gun appeared in Avengers [v1] # 147 &
151 (cameo), Marvel Tales # 100, Champions # 11, Avengers [v1] #
161-162, Ghost Rider [v2] # 27 and Avengers [v1] # 168, 170, 172 &
174-175.
Since then, the Avengers made a second visit to Two-Gun*s time
period (WCA # 18-23), during which he helped rescue Mockingbird from
the Phantom Rider but declined returning to the 20th century and the
Avengers, though he didn*t rule it out as a future possibility. The
Two Gun Kid: Sunset Riders limited series has since told a story in
which Two-Gun, later in life, faked his death in both his identities
and embarked on a new life as the anonymous leader of a band of
adventurers called the Sunset Riders. Whether that is Two-Gun*s true
future remains to be seen. Two-Gun appears here in his conventional
costuming, as opposed to the less distinctive look he sported come the
conclusion of the Sunset Riders story. He first appeared in Two-Gun
Kid (v1) # 60 and starred in his own series for years prior to its
cancellation. The first fifty-nine issues of the Two-Gun Kid ongoing
series starred Clay Harder, a singing cowboy adventurer known as the
Two-Gun Kid. As of Two-Gun Kid # 60, he was depicted as a fictional
character in relation to the "mainstream" Marvel Universe, and his
stories served as Matt's inspiration for the Two-Gun Kid alias.
PAGE FIFTEEN
Kang says recruiting allies won't save Two-Gun, whom Kang warned to
stay out of his business. When Kang came to the 1870s in hopes of
conquering that era, Two-Gun led the resistance against him--as told
in Avengers [v1] # 142-143.
PAGE SIXTEEN
Panels 1-4:
Thunder is Two-Gun Kid's horse, given to him by his mentor, Ben
Dancer. Steel is Kid Colt's horse. Rawhide's horse, seen here but not
mentioned by name, is Nightwind.
Songbird assures Hawkeye and Yellowjacket that the Kids will escape
safely, and that Hawkeye will help resolve the situation, which he did
in Avengers [v1] # 142-143.
Two-Gun says he dislikes running from a fight, but reluctantly
agrees to retreat alongside the other Kids. This is consistent with
Steve Englehart's characterization of Two-Gun circa Avengers [v1] #
142-143: Two-Gun's exposure to fantastic beings from the future left
him feeling small and inadequate by comparison, making him more daring
and reckless than usual in a subconscious attempt to compensate.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
Panels 3-5:
Calling Hawkeye Clint (an indication of the familiar relationship she
apparently has with him in the future), Songbird explains that Kang
was trying to conquer the 20th century by taking over the 19th,
setting up a base in Tombstone, and that he was opposed by Two-Gun,
Rawhide & Kid Colt, who would return "with help" (gunslingers Phantom
Rider & Ringo Kid) and then be joined by time-traveling Avengers
Hawkeye, Thor & Moondragon, who will defeat Kang. All this happened in
Avengers [v1] # 142-143.
Hawkeye says "Moonwho?" since this incarnation of Hawkeye has yet to
meet Moondragon, one of his future Avengers teammates. This Hawkeye
comes from the period between Avengers [v1] # 97 & 98, but Hawkeye did
not meet Moondragon until Avengers [v1] # 135.
MOONDRAGON (Heather Douglas) is an Earthwoman who was raised by the
Eternals of Titan after a rogue Eternal, Thanos, murdered her parents.
Studying under Titan's Shao-Lom monks, Heather mastered their mental
and martial arts to the extent that she regarded herself as a goddess
responsible for the protection and enlightenment of the universe's
lesser beings. She dubbed herself Moondragon after her first major
victory, her defeat of the demonic cosmic being known as the Dragon of
the Moon. Unbeknownst to the overconfident Moondragon, a fraction of
the Dragon of the Moon survived and concealed itself in Moondragon's
own mind, subtly influencing her actions and encouraging her natural
negative qualities, such as her pride and arrogance. She eventually
purged the Dragon's influence from her mind with the aid of the
Defenders, but remains one of the more self-righteous and abrasive
adventurers of her generation despite her good intentions. Her first
Avengers appearance was Avengers [v1] # 125 (a cameo in a flashback to
the events of the Thanos War), followed by her involvement in the
Avengers' Celestial Madonna adventure (Avengers [v1] # 133-135 &
Giant-Size Avengers # 4). This led to an invitation to join the
Avengers, and she began serving on an informal probationary basis in
Avengers [v1] # 137. The Avengers became impatient with her abrasive
personality, though, and were relieved when she opted to become a
reservist rather than a full-time member as of Avengers [v1] #
150-151. She has assisted the team infrequently over the years since
then, and has also come into conflict with the team on occasion.
Moondragon has vast psionic powers including telepathy, mind
control, personality alteration, memory modification, illusion
casting, levitation (of herself and other objects) and the ability to
generate concussive blasts of mental energy. She has developed her
body to the peak of human perfection and is a master of the martial
arts of the Titanian monks of Shao-Lom. She has almost total control
over her bodily functions, such as heartbeat, bleeding, breathing and
awareness of pain.
PAGE EIGHTEEN
Panel 2:
Jan says she'd be "in raptures" over getting a chance to dress in
"such a kicky retro outfit," but is "staying serious" since this isn't
the time. This remark reveals two aspects of Jan's character: her
passion for fashion (a wealthy clothing designer, Wasp has worn a
greater variety of costumes than any other Avenger); and an infamous
frivolous streak that she can rein in when she believes that a
situation warrants strictly serious behaviour. Wasp was characterized
as a flighty lightweight for many years, but the character became more
formidable over time during her stints with the Avengers, culminating
in the period during which she divorced Hank Pym and assumed the
leadership of the Avengers, experiences that forced her to be more
mature and serious-minded than ever before. Current Avengers writer
Busiek has been criticized for portraying Wasp as the flighty
scatterbrain of old in recent Avengers stories, but Avengers Forever
clarifies Busiek's personal perception of the Wasp as a character who
is only serious when she has to be.
PAGE NINETEEN
Panel 1:
The partially obscured "Welcome" banner seems to say "Smallville
Republicans", Smallville being the idealized small town that served as
home to DC's original Superboy character from 1945 to 1985. Like the
Riverdale of Archie Comics, Smallville is one of the foremost
archetypal idealized Middle American towns in comic books.
The barker's spiel about "the timeliest marvels of the age" and "a
veritable atlas of wonders" is a joke referring to the various names
used by the publishing company now known as Marvel. Founded as Timely
by Martin Goodman, the comics company published under a variety of
banners overs the years, most notably Atlas in the 1950s. Marvel
became the company's permanent name in the 1960s, inspired by the
company's first comic book, Marvel Comics.
The "missing link" is Gorilla Man, the "mechanical man" is the
Human
Robot, and the "veritable goddess" is Venus. The posters of all three
seem to be adapted from other classic images. The Human Robot is
placed in a setting like that of the robot from Fritz Lang's film
Metropolis. Venus seems to be depicted in a scene that echoes an old
pulp magazine cover (Argosy, perhaps? My memory fails me in this
regard.) Gorilla Man's picture doesn't ring a bell, so my default
guess would be that it's taken from a King Kong image.
Panel 2:
The caped toddler is reminiscent of Superbaby, the youngest
incarnation of DC's original Superboy character. The older boy holding
him wears a sweater with an "S" for Smallville. The dog seen here may
be a reference to Superboy's canine pet Krypto.
Panels 3-4:
Harold "Hal" Chandler talking to Robert "Bob" Grayson via radio. Hal
&
Bob appear in their dual identites a few pages later.
PAGE TWENTY
Nixon was impersonated by a Skrull in Marvel Premiere # 37.
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
Panel 1:
Wasp remarks on the traditional enmity between the alien Kree empire
and the rival Skrull empire, a staple of Marvel continuity for
decades. Genis says the reason for his anxiety is "not just that," and
urges Wasp to be ready for anything, another indication that he may
know more about the Destiny War than he claims to know.
Panels 2-3:
"Unlike a certain hero of comics and TV," Hal dons his glasses to
become a superhero. Hal is jokingly referring to DC's Superman, who
wears glasses in his civilian identity as Clark Kent but removes them
when he appears as Superman.