Earth's Mightiest Annotations
by Sean McQuaid

AVENGERS (volume 3) # 13
February, 1999
"Lords & Leaders"
By Kurt Busiek & George Perez
with Al Vey & Scott Koblish (finishes), Tom Smith (colors),
Richard Starkings/Comicraft/WA (letters), Tom Brevoort (editor) &
Bob Harras (editor-in-chief).

Avengers Assembled:
Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision [II], Firestar & Justice (as active members);
Iron Man (as Tony Stark, as an active member on medical leave);
Giant-Man (as reserve member); and Wonder Man & Rage (as inactive members;
Rage appears as an active member of the New Warriors).

Other Characters:
The New Warriors (Night-Thrasher, Nova, Justice, Firestar, Speedball & Rage),
Junior Gates, The Junior Gates Mob (including Lenny), Edwin Jarvis, AIM,
Lord Templar, the Avatars of Templar and Lord Templar's shadowy associates.

EXTERIOR COVER
This issue's cover illustration (drawn by George Perez and colored by Tom
Smith) features Justice torn between the Avengers (Thor, Scarlet Witch,
Wonder Man & Vision) and the New Warriors (Firestar, Night-Thrasher,
Speedball & Nova). The cover corner box features a welcome and long-overdue
addition--new Avengers head shots drawn by George Perez. Avengers editor
Tom Brevoort revealed some time ago that he was having Perez draw a new
set of Avengers head shots for use in the upcoming Official Marvel Handbook,
and that these head shots would be used in the Avengers cover corner boxes
once they were ready. This marks the first large, consistent (single artist)
collection of Avengers head shots created since the John Byrne series of
head shots that began appearing on Avengers covers with Avengers [v1] # 185.
New Perez head shots shown here include Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man,
Vision, Justice & Firestar.

INTERIOR COVER
As of this issue, there is no interior cover content apart from advertising.

PAGE ONE
This story may be the first appearance of Junior Gates and his mob, unless
they appeared previously in some story unknown to the annotator (entirely
possible, of course). The mob's assailants, as revealed on the next two
pages, are the New Warriors. Panel four seems to be the work of Nova. Panel
five is obviously Rage on the attack. Panel six displays Firestar's
microwave powers in action. Panel seven shows a mobster being struck down
by one of Night-Thrasher's truncheons. Panel nine shows Justice's
telekinetic energy in action, in a sequence that continues into the next
two pages.

PAGES TWO & THREE (two-page spread)

Panel 3:
Justice feels great to be back in action with the New Warriors, and no
wonder. They were his first team, and he was a comfortably established
leading figure in their group as a founding member and past leader of
the Warriors. As a Warrior, he feels like he's among peers and has
nothing to prove, and as such his attitude is upbeat and confident. As an
Avenger, Justice has felt like a junior partner striving to be worthy of the
living legends he considers his teammates to be. Justice always wanted to
be a member of the Avengers, but this story repeatedly illustrates that he
is more comfortable and much happier as a member of the New Warriors.
Justice faring better as a Warrior than as an Avenger is not surprising in
light of his history with the two teams: Justice generally seemed to be one
of the most confident, capable and commanding Warriors in the team's
history, as chronicled in the New Warriors' now-defunct ongoing series; by
comparison, Justice has been a starstruck nervous wreck since joining the
Avengers, as seen in recent issues of the current Avengers series.

Panel 4:
The New Warriors (Speedball, Nova, Justice, Rage, Firestar & Night-Thrasher)
are together again. "Super-tights" is the Warriors' longtime nickname for
Vance (Justice) Astrovik, coined by founding Warriors member Namorita in
New Warriors # 2. The nickname has never been explained, though it may
reflect Vance's longtime fascination with and extensive knowledge of
superheroes.

Firestar has finally modified her Wasp-designed costume (adopted in Avengers
[v3] # 8) to eliminate the low-cut cleavage that bothered her so much, as
opposed to covering it with a makeshift red underlayer the way she's been
doing in Avengers [v3] # 8-12 until now.

A heroic super-team composed of youthful adventurers in their teens and
early twenties, the NEW WARRIORS are regarded as the next generation of
super-heroes, a sort of junior counterpart to the Avengers. Four of the
Warriors--Rage, Darkhawk, Firestar and Justice--have served as Avengers
members (Darkhawk has been an infrequently active reservist with both teams,
while Rage started out as an Avenger but joined the Warriors after the
Avengers removed him from active duty upon discovering that he was
underage). A fifth Warrior, Speedball, once applied for Avengers membership
but was rejected.

The Avengers and Warriors are friendly allies, despite some tensions
stemming from two unfortunate incidents: Rage, while still serving with the
Avengers, once helped the Warriors steal an Avengers quinjet for emergency
use; and Warriors member Hindsight illegally procured high-tech equipment
for the Warriors using embezzled Avengers funds (the Avengers forgave the
misdeed out of respect for the WarriorsĘ work, and donated the equipment to
the Warriors). Active members of the Warriors at last report included
Night Thrasher, Nova, Namorita (a.k.a. Kymaera), Speedball, Rage, Hindsight,
Turbo, Powerhouse [II] and reserve members Darkhawk and Dagger, though
Powerhouse was talking about quitting the group and has not been seen with
them since. Former members of the New Warriors include Silhouette
(resigned), Bandit (resigned after serving on a single mission), Turbo [II]
(deceased), Scarlet Spider (deceased) and Timeslip (retired).
The New Warriors debuted in Thor [v1] # 411-412 and subsequently
starred in their own series, which ran 75 issues before it ended. The New
Warriors and the Avengers first met just after the Warriors' formation in
New Warriors # 1, when the Avengers took charge of the clean-up efforts in
the aftermath of the Warriors' victory over Terrax. The two teams have met
on several more occasions since then, sometimes teaming to battle a common
foe. Avengers appearances of the New Warriors include Avengers [v1] #
332-333 (Warriors members Nova, Speedball and Namorita among the guests
assembled at grand opening of new Avengers headquarters) and Avengers [v1] #
341-342 (New Warriors [Night-Thrasher, Marvel Boy [III], Firestar, Namorita
& Silhouette] team with Avengers to battle Sons of the Serpent & Hate-Monger
[IV]; Warriors first meet Rage and invite him to join their team after his
removal from active Avengers duty). The Warriors' more recent appearances
include...

Thunderbolts # 1 (New Warriors [Night Thrasher, Namorita, Speedball & Rage]
among heroes restoring order in the wake of the Onslaught disaster;
Warriors offer comments on the debut of the Thunderbolts)

Thunderbolts # 8 (New Warriors [Night-Thrasher, Nova, Justice, Firestar,
Speedball, Rage & Darkhawk] team with Heroes for Hire, Thunderbolts
and other heroes to battle the Elements of Doom)

Thunderbolts # 10 (New Warriors [Nova, Justice, Firestar & Turbo] among the
heroes pursuing the fugitive Thunderbolts after the Thunderbolts
were exposed as disguised Masters of Evil)

Avengers [v3] # 1-4 (New Warriors members Justice, Rage & Firestar battle
Asgardian monsters unleashed by Morgan Le Fay; Justice, Rage,
Firestar & Darkhawk team with Avengers to defeat Morgan Le Fay;
Justice, Rage, Firestar & Darkhawk participate in Avengers'
unsuccessful attempt to apprehend Whirlwind; Darkhawk declines
active Avengers membership during Avengers roster reshuffling,
and Rage returns to the New Warriors since he is still too young
to serve with the Avengers; Justice and Firestar capture Whirlwind
in an attempt to impress the Avengers; Hawkeye nominates Firestar
& Justice for Avengers membership, and they are awarded membership
by team leader Captain America)

Hawkeye: Earth's Mightiest Marksman # 1 (New Warriors [Night-Thrasher,
Nova, Speedball & Rage] serve as backup on an Avengers case for
Hawkeye, Justice & Firestar at the request of Firestar)

NIGHT-THRASHER (Dwayne Michael Taylor) is the founder and leader of the
New Warriors. His parents were murdered when he was still a young child,
and Dwayne decided to dedicate his life to battling evil in their memory.
To that end, Dwayne used the Taylor family fortune to hone his body and mind
as he trained obsessively to become a crimefighter. He was supported and
guided in his mission by his guardians, Chord (a family friend who'd served
with Dwayne's father in Vietnam) and the mystery woman Tai.
[Years later, Dwayne learned that Chord himself had killed the
Taylors under the mental compulsion of Tai, an evil mystic who manipulated
Chord, the Taylors and others in pursuit of her power-mad goals; Dwayne and
the Warriors ultimately defeated Tai, and Dwayne reconciled with Chord.]
By the time he was in his late teens, Dwayne was well on his way to
fulfilling his mission. As Dwayne, he helped manage the Taylor fortune,
which financed his activities as the high-tech vigilante crimefighter
Night-Thrasher. The knowledge and fighting skills Dwayne had amassed over
the years served him well, but his family's death and his own insular
quest had left him lonely. He took on crimefighting partners, the
super-powered siblings known as Midnight's Fire and Silhouette. Dwayne and
Silhouette became lovers, but the trio's reckless methods and a bitter
rivalry between Night-Thrasher and the ruthless Midnight's Fire led to
Silhouette being crippled by police gunfire. The crimefighting partnership
dissolved, leaving Dwayne emotionally scarred by Silhouette's departure
from his life and physically scarred by a parting shot from Midnight's Fire,
whose blade left a lasting mark on Dwayne's face.
Undaunted, Dwayne continued his crimefighting quest and decided to
seek out new partners. Inspired by the Fantastic Four, whom he regarded
as a superheroic model family, Dwayne decided to form a quartet and
recruited three young adventurers: the original Nova (Richard Rider), the
third Marvel Boy (Vance Astrovik) and reluctant heroine Firestar (Angelica
Jones). Immediately after Dwayne made contact with these three heroes,
the group found themselves in battle with the alien villain Terrax. Two
other young adventurers, Namorita Prentiss and Speedball (Robbie Baldwin),
were drawn into the battle, and the six young heroes managed to defeat
Terrax through their combined efforts. Deciding to expand on his planned
quartet, Dwayne offered all five heroes membership in his new group, and
they accepted. It was Speedball who named the group the New Warriors, after
a phrase used by a television reporter to describe the young heroes during
their battle with Terrax.

To the surprise of many (including some of the Warriors themselves),
the New Warriors turned out to be a great success. The team defeated a wide
variety of major and minor menaces, and addressed threats ranging from
socio-political problems to super-criminals. The group even expanded,
taking on new members such as the recovered Silhouette and super-strong teen
Rage (Elvin Halliday). The team also formed recurring alliances with heroes
such as the mutant vigilante adventurers Cloak & Dagger; Darkhawk (Chris
Powell), a teen whose alien amulet allows him to assume an armored
superhuman form at will; and students Mickey Musashi & Mike Jefferies, who
shared access to the jet-powered Torpedo battle armor they took turns
wearing as the superheroic Turbo.

As the team expanded, however, Night-Thrasher began to lose his grip
on the Warriors. Dwayne and Silhouette grew apart, and Silhouette began a
romance with Dwanye's estranged half-brother, the shady adventurer known as
Bandit. When Rage, Silhouette and the founding Warriors were lost in the
timestream after a confrontation with the Sphinx, would-be Warrior Hindsight
Lad (high school student Carlton Lafroyge) helped Chord organize an
emergency substitute team of Warriors including Darkhawk, Dagger, Turbo,
Bandit and Alex Power, eldest of the Power children, who had formed the
juvenile super-team Power Pack after inheriting super-powers from a dying
alien. The substitue Warriors rescued the original Warriors, and both groups
joined forces to defeat the Sphinx. In the aftermath of that battle,
Silhouette and Bandit left the Warriors together. Dagger, Darkhawk, Alex
(later known as Powerhouse) and the two Turbos all accepted reserve
membership with the Warriors, though Alex and the original Turbo (Mickey)
soon upgraded to active status. Hindsight stayed on with the Warriors as
their archivist, computer technician and strategist, providing information
and analysis in a non-combat role. Night-Thrasher remained the overall
leader of the expanded team at first, but his overbearing leadership style,
secretive personality and lone wolf mentality ignited long-simmering
tensions in the group until Nova, backed by most of the other Warriors,
demanded that Dwayne step down as leader. Night Thrasher quit, and Rage (who
had become Dwayne's ward after the death of Elvin's grandmother) departed
with him.

During their absence from the Warriors, Rage and Night-Thrasher
served as mentors to Psionex, a more troubled group of young superhuman
adventurers who have occasionally battled the Warriors. Justice took over
as leader of the Warriors, who continued to expand. New members included
the Scarlet Spider (a crimefighting clone of veteran superhero Spider-Man)
and Timeslip, a young woman with time-shifting powers. The Scarlet Spider
soon quit the group, and was later killed by Spider-Man's enemy, the
Green Goblin. The backup Turbo, Mike Jefferies, was also killed, murdered
by the Warriors' mortal enemy Volx, queen of the alien Dire Wraiths who
created the Turbo suit. The Warriors, aided by Night-Thrasher and Rage,
destroyed Volx and avenged Mike's death. Night-Thrasher and Rage were
invited to rejoin the Warriors, and they accepted, replacing Powerhouse
(who apparently resigned due to his dissatisfaction with the Warriors'
reckless endangerment of his friend the Smartship Friday during the final
battle with Volx) and Timeslip (who retired after losing her powers in the
final battle with Volx).

Night-Thrasher and the New Warriors have been less visible of late,
but they remain active as adventurers and continue to fight crime in the
New York area.

Night-Thrasher has no superhuman powers but is a highly trained
athlete and extremely adept unarmed combatant proficient in a variety of
martial arts. He is also an expert computer hacker and a talented mechanical
designer whose specialties include battlesuits and small arms.
Night-Thrasher has worn a variety of armored battlesuits throughout his
crimefighting career, and modifies his gear on an ongoing basis. His
costume's armor is bulletproof and fireproof, and the costume is also
coated in a wafer-thin LED casing that allows the suit to camouflage itself
within its surroundings. His helmet contains infrared sights, telescopic
lenses, magnetic resonance scanners, camera equipment, breathing apparatus,
a voice scrambler, two-way radio devices, parabolic sound enhancement
devices and cybernetic links to armor systems. He carries two truncheons
which can be launched from their housings on his forearms, and a spring-lock
titanium blade is concealed in the armor of his right forearm. An adamantium
alloy garotte wire can be released from a launcher on his left forearm.
Miniature offensive missiles can be mounted on both forearms as well. A
spray gun concealed on his right wrist can shoot substances such as pepper
spray. His backpack contains a glider chute, an Uzi submachine gun and a
portable computer. His belt and armor compartments contain items such as
plastique, napalm gel, cordite packs, magnesium flares, smoke pellets,
incendiary caps, ball bearings and spur jacks. Night-Thrasher sometimes
uses a custom skateboard which can serve as a weapon (thanks to a concealed
blade that springs out of the edge of the board) or a shield (thanks to its
fiberglass construction) in addition to serving as personal transportation.
The skateboard attaches to the back of his armor when not in use.
Night-Thrasher first appeared in Thor [v1] # 411-412. Prior to this
story, his only Avengers appearance was Avengers [v1] # 341-342.

NOVA was an ordinary high school student named Rich Rider until a dying
alien conferred the costume and powers of Nova upon him, giving him
superhuman strength and durability and the power to fly at tremendous
speeds. As Nova, Rich became a fairly prominent costumed crimefighter
before departing on an extended outer space quest that brought him into
contact with the Xandarians, the alien race who were the source of his
powers. The Xandarians maintained a super-powered police force known as
the Nova Corps, and it was a dying member of the Nova Corps who had passed
his powers on to Rider. Feeling responsible, Nova stayed on Xandar for
an extended period as a member of the Champions of Xandar super-team,
and helped defend Xandar from threats such as the hostile Skrull empire.
When the Champions, the Nova Corps and the Xandarians finally beat back
the Skrulls with the aid of the spaceknight Rom, Nova decided to return to
Earth but was told he could not retain his powers if he left since Xandar
needed all the Nova Corps members it could muster to maintain its defenses.
The homesick Rider regretfully accepted these terms and returned to Earth
powerless, determined to rebuild a normal life for himself.

Unfortunately, normal life was not kind to Rider. His friends had
all graduated from high school and gone on to college while he was in outer
space, and Rider, never a very good student, quickly became frustrated at
how far behind he was and how incapable of catching up he seemed to be. He
dropped out of high school, wasting his time on dead-end jobs and brooding
over the loss of his super-powers, until he was approached by the vigilante
adventurer Dwayne Taylor, alias Night-Thrasher. Taylor was assembling a
group of superheroes and invited Rider to join after showing him how to
restore his superhuman powers. Grateful for the restoration of his powers,
Rider agreed to join Taylor's new team despite his instinctive dislike for
the other crimefighter's unapologetically arrogant, overbearing attitude
(their relationship got off to a rocky start when Taylor, who had correctly
deduced that a major jolt of adrenaline would restore Rider's powers,
dropped Rider off a tall building to force his powers to reactivate). As
Nova, Rider became a founding member of Taylor's new team, the New Warriors.
He has been an active member of the group through most of its history
(even during a period when he lost his powers again), and has an on-and-off
romance with fellow founding member Namorita, alias Kymaera. Never the
leader of the group since he regards himself as lacking in the necessary
intelligence and tactical ability, Nova has nonetheless proven to be the
heart of the team, its strong arm and its undaunted fighting spirit. He is
on good terms with most of his fellow members (notably sometime love
interest Namorita), and has even developed a grudgingly respectful working
relationship with Night-Thrasher.

Nova's physical abilities are heightened to superhuman levels,
especially his strength and durability. He can fly at supersonic speeds
under his own power, and wears a costume that is resistant to the adverse
effects of high-speed flight. The suit is even practical for use in outer
space since the helmet can be sealed off and is connected to an internal
air supply. Nova's helmet also contains a radio set and a variety of
vision enhancement devices such as telescopic sights, night vision lenses
and heat imaging sensors. When Nova's old foe the Sphinx forced him into a
time travel quest concluding in New Warriors # 50, Nova returned with a
better understanding of his powers and has since been more able to tap into
their full potential. In addition to enhancing his existing abilities,
this increased understanding has given him a new power: the ability to
generate an explosive, omnidrectional release of energy, a sort of human
nova burst. Whether Nova retains this power since losing his powers again
and regaining them in New Warriors # 75 is unclear. Nova currently wears a
facsimile of his original costume, and formerly wore assorted variations on
this costume during most of his time with Warriors.

Nova has worked alongside various Avengers at one time or another
and was briefly a member of the Defenders (in Defenders # 62-64), but
his principal group affiliations are his founding memberships in the
Champions of Xandar (all of whom were reportedly slain during the space
pirate Nebula's attack on Xandar some time ago) and the New Warriors.
Nova first appeared as a New Warrior in Thor [v1] # 411-412, and his role
in founding the team was chronicled in New Warriors # 1. Nova himself
first appeared in the first issue of his original ongoing series, Nova
[v1] # 1. He has had his own ongoing series twice, and the series has been
canceled twice but will soon be revived for a third try. Nova's only
Avengers appearance prior to this story is a cameo in Avengers [v1] # 332,
when he was among the New Warriors attending the grand opening of the new
Avengers headquarters.

SPEEDBALL (Robert "Robbie" Baldwin) was a high school student who became a
costumed crimefighter in his hometown of Springdale, Connecticut after an
accident at the Hammond Research Laboratory where Robbie worked part-time.
The accident occurred when the Hammond scientists were trying to tap into a
mysterious otherdimensional energy source, an energy which accidentally
bombarded Robbie. Baldwin survived the experience but found himself
surrounded by weird energy bubbles and clad in an odd costume (presumably
fashioned from the bubble-energy by Baldwin's subconscious). A chance
encounter with some thieves minutes later led to a battle in which Baldwin
discovered that his body now generated a kinetic energy field that protected
him from any impact and made him a bouncing dynamo of kinetic energy.
Calling himself Speedball, Baldwin made a minor name for himself as a
crimefighter in Springdale. He later moved to New York after joining the
New Warriors, and has gained greater notoriety and greater control over
his powers during his time with the group. He also formed a close friendship
with Warriors teammate Rage, and has dated former Warriors member Timeslip.
Speedball's body is surrounded by an energy field that absorbs,
magnifies and reflects the kinetic force of any person or object that
impacts against him with sufficient force to activate the field. When it is
inactive, Speedball's bodily energy field is invisible and intangible;
however, any significant physical impact is enough to activate the field,
surrounding Baldwin with kinetic energy bubbles and manifesting his
"Speedball" costume (the appearance of which Baldwin has modified over
time). As Speedball, Baldwin is almost impossible to injure. Any force
directed against him is reflected back at its source and sends Baldwin
bouncing away in the opposite direction at high speeds. By controlling his
bounces, Baldwin can become an agile, high-speed human projectile; and by
exposing himself to extreme and/or repeated impacts, Baldwin can generate
and release tremendous amounts of kinetic energy. Even now, Baldwin is still
learning the potential limits of his powers. One of the more exotic and
unpredictable applications of his energy field is an ability to isolate and
affect certain aspects of the timestream, the theory behind this being the
interpretation of time as motion, a motion that Speedball can tap into and
utilize since he is a physical embodiment of kinetic energy.

Speedball first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 22. He
briefly starred in his own ongoing series, the first issue of which revealed
his origin. Though he applied unsuccessfully for Avengers membership in
Captain America [v1] # 352, his only actual Avengers appearance prior to
this story is Avengers [v1] # 332, when he was among the New Warriors
attending the grand opening of the new Avengers headquarters.

RAGE (Elvin Halliday) is a young teen mutated by toxic waste into a
superhumanly strong adult, and was briefly a reserve member of the Avengers
before they expelled him after learning he was underage. The Warriors
offered Rage membership after he left the Avengers, and he accepted,
becoming a core member of the team. After the death of Elvin's guardian,
Granny Staples, Warriors leader Night-Thrasher became Elvin's legal
guardian and mentor. During a period when Night-Thrasher was estranged from
the Warriors and quit the team, Rage left along with him; however, they
both returned to the group after aiding the team against Volx. Rage is on
good terms with the Warriors in general, but his best and closest friend in
the group is Speedball.

Rage's strength, speed, stamina and durability are all augmented to
superhuman levels, particularly his strength (it is increasing as he grows
older, and at last report was sufficient for him to press weights in the
range of ninety tons). He currently wears his third costume, a harsher
look that he adopted after the death of Granny Staples. Rage first appeared
in Avengers [v1] # 326 and joined the Avengers in Avengers [v1] # 329; they
bounced him from their active roster in Avengers [v1] # 341-342 after
learning he was secretly too young to serve with the Avengers. Rage's most
recent Avengers appearances were Avengers [v3] # 1-4, when he aided the
Avengers against Morgan Le Fay and Whirlwind.

Panel 7:
NAMORITA (Namorita Prentiss, alias Kymaera) is a superhuman clone of
Namora, the late cousin of the legendary Atlantean hydrid warrior Namor the
Sub-Mariner. Like Namor and Namora, Namorita has a hydrid human-Atlantean
physiology that enables her to survive in either air or water indefinitely,
though her physical abilities are strongest in water. She can fly, is
superhumanly strong and durable, and can channel large amounts of
electricity through her body. Originally believed to be the long-lost
daughter of Namora, Namorita has always regarded Namor as her cousin and has
an affectionate familial relationship with him that endured even after they
discovered she was a clone. Shortly after her clone heritage came to light,
Namorita's unstable physiology mutated into a less human, more Atlantean
form with blue skin, dark eyes and webbed hands. With the support of Namor
and her teammates in the New Warriors (notably sometime boyfriend Nova),
Namorita came to accept her new form, though she adopted a new superheroic
alias as Kymaera to reflect the changes she'd gone through. An active member
of the Warriors at last report, Namorita is sometimes called away by
business in her undersea homeland, Atlantis.

Namorita first appeared in Sub-Mariner # 50. Her Avengers
appearances include Avengers [v1] # 155-156 (alongside Doctor Doom,
Tamara Rahn and Hydrobase inhabitants, defended Hydrobase from Avengers),
Avengers [v1] # 332-333 (among Warriors who attened grand opening of new
Avengers headquarters) and Avengers [v1] # 341-342 (alongside Warriors and
Avengers, battled Hate-Monger [IV] and Sons of the Serpent).

Panels 14-15:
Justice has been mercilessly hard on himself since joining the Avengers,
dwelling gloomily on his various real and imagined failures at every turn.
As such, Firestar is understandably surprised to hear him "shrug off a goof"
so casually in this scene, another indication that Vance is far more
comfortable with the Warriors than he is with the Avengers.

PAGE FOUR
Wanda began to suspect the true extent of her power in Avengers [v3] # 1-9,
when contact with Morgan Le Fay's magicks led Wanda to perform a wider
range of mystical feats with relative ease. She learned the true nature of
her powers (mutant manipulation of chaos magic) and her full potential in
Avengers [v3] # 10-11 when she consulted her mystic mentor Agatha Harkness.
Wonder Man recently returned from the dead for the third time,
this time through Wanda's magic. He was blown to atoms during his second
seeming death in Force Works # 1, reanimated by Wanda much later in Avengers
[v3] # 2 and blown to atoms again in Avengers [v3] # 3, but continued to
manifest on the earthly plane through his emotional and mystical connection
to Wanda for some time thereafter. Wanda used her magic to return him to
life permanently in Avengers [v3] # 11.

PAGE FIVE
Wanda and Vision (who married in Giant-Size Avengers # 4) were deeply in
love for years until Vision was dismantled and rebuilt in West Coast
Avengers [v2] # 42-45. The resultant robotic, emotionless Vision was
incapable of maintaining their romance, and as Wanda says, this caused
her no small amount of pain for a long time; however, Wanda's summary
of the aftermath seems incomplete or inaccurate in some respects.
For one thing, Vision seemingly regained a semblance of his original
personality as of the Vision limited series and began courting Wanda
again as Avengers: The Crossing # 1, but she rebuffed him since she
did not wish to risk being hurt further. Wanda does not mention this
brief period between the Crossing and Onslaught. Also, Wanda says she
finally "let go" when Vision told her to do so recently in Avengers [v3]
# 4, but she'd seemingly written off the reconstructed Vision long before
that: Wanda was depicted as fully accepting the Vision's "robotic" state
and finally realizing their marriage was over way back in Avengers West
Coast # 91, when an adventure alongside Vision forced her to realize there
was nothing between them anymore. And she apparently stuck by that impulse,
since she was reluctant to consider a reconciliation even when the restored
Vision later began approaching her circa The Crossing. If Avengers [v3] # 4
is when Wanda finally gave up on the Vision, then she must have had a change
of heart somewhere between The Crossing and the current Avengers series
that made her open to a relationship with Vision again until the events of
Avengers [v3] # 4 changed her mind.

Wanda still seems sad and shaken on the subject of Vision's restored
personality, and how he concealed it to spare her pain; however, she proves
surprisingly willing to write off their former relationship again and shows
no interest in trying to win Vision back. Whether this attitude on Wanda's
part stems from pride or indifference or loyalty to Simon or all of the
above is unclear, but Wanda's supposedly undying love for Vision--a staple
of hundreds of Avengers stories for years--seems to be a thing of the past.
Wonder Man's immediate offer to step aside if Wanda wants Vision
represents either a huge change of heart or an industrial strength dose of
hypocrisy. After all, when Vision was dismantled and reconstructed in West
Coast Avengers [v2] # 42-45, Simon initially refused to help restore
Vision's damaged mind (which was created from a template based on a
recording of Simon's brain patterns) since he was reluctant to allow a
second duplication of his brain and did not want to see Vision reconciled
with Wanda. Hoping he could have Wanda for himself, Simon ignored Wanda's
pleas on Vision's behalf for weeks until an anguished Wanda finally lapsed
into a catatonic state, which shamed Wonder Man into belatedly offering
Vision his aid (in Avengers West Coast # 53). The contrast between that
Simon and the current "Anything for my pal Vision!" Simon is startling,
especially since Simon generally regarded the Vision with resentment,
contempt or indifference during the years between Vision's reconstruction
and Simon's recent return from the dead. Today's kinder, gentler,
Vision-friendly Simon isn't totally surprising since Avengers writer Busiek
is a big fan of the character and an ardent advocate of Wonder Man's
virtues, but how Busiek will reconcile this Simon with the character's past
decade or so of largely contrary behaviour remains to be seen. According to
Busiek, some attempt at explaining Simon's recent character development is
forthcoming.

PAGE SIX

Panels 6-7:
As Nova says, the Warriors aren't used to seeing Firestar so upbeat. She's
always been a reluctant adventurer (Night-Thrasher initially recruited her
into the Warriors by threatening to expose her secret identity if she
didn't play along), and that reluctance grew when she learned that using
her super-powers posed an ongoing threat to her health. But as Firestar
says, Hank Pym concocted a cure for her condition in Avengers [v3] # 12.

PAGE SEVEN

Panel 2:
The Avengers (including Firestar & Justice) defeated the Grim Reaper in
Avengers [v3] # 10-11.

Panel 3:
The viewscreen is displaying an image of the core members of the Warriors
(the founders and Rage) as they looked circa New Warriors # 75: Rage (in his
third and current costume), Nova (in one of the modified variations on his
original costume), Justice (in his fourth costume, which he abandoned as of
Avengers [v3] # 8), Firestar (in her second costume, which she abandoned as
of Avengers [v3] # 8), Namorita (in her mutated Kymaera form) and
Speedball (in the current modified version of his original costume).
Conspicuously absent from the picture are Turbo (last seen in Thunderbolts
# 10) and Hindsight (last seen in New Warriors # 75), both of whom were
still active members of the Warriors at last report. Apart from Turbo
(Michiko "Mickey" Musashi) and Hindsight (Carlton Lafroyge), other Warriors
not pictured here include Silhouette (resigned in New Warriors # 51),
Darkhawk (reserve Warrior), Dagger (reserve Warrior), Turbo II (the late
Mike Jefferies), Powerhouse II (active member who was talking about
quitting in New Warriors # 75), Bandit (resigned in New Warriors # 51
after only one mission with the team), Timeslip (retired as of New
Warriors # 75 after losing her powers) and Scarlet Spider (deceased as of
Spider-Man # 75).

Panels 4-5:
The Warriors' appearances have been infrequent and fleeting since the
cancellation of their ongoing series--in fact, this is the team's first
major appearance since New Warriors # 75 (the last issue of their series).
As such, accounts of the Warriors drifting apart are as new to readers
as they are to Justice, though the Warriors' recent appearances could be
interpreted as laying the foundation for this situation. Since the
cancellation of their series, the group has not appeared very often--and
when the team does appear of late, it tends to field a small roster of
three to five heroes. For instance, the team's most recent appearance
in the Hawkeye one-shot featured only Night-Thrasher, Nova, Speedball and
Rage, the same core quartet featured in this story.

Panel 7:
In one respect, Night-Thrasher's low-key reaction to the possibility of the
team splitting up is surprising given his lifelong obsession with the
crimefighting mission he formed the Warriors to assist in; however, he also
formed the Warriors as a sort of surrogate family for himself, and as such
it makes sense that he'd derive some satisfaction from his friendships with
the Warriors even if the team shut down.

Panel 8:
Speedball applied to join the Avengers in Captain America [v1] # 252 but was
rejected.

PAGE EIGHT

Panel 2:
While recovering from serious injuries suffered during various battles in
Iron Man [v3] # 8-12 and Avengers [v3] # 10-11, Tony Stark (secretly Iron
Man) learned that the energy fields generated by his Iron Man armor have
been undermining his physical health for years. As such, he is on indefinite
medical leave from the Avengers while he recovers from his injuries and
seeks a solution to the long-term health problems posed by his armor.
All those present at this meeting (Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch,
Vision, Edwin Jarvis & Thor) are aware of Tony's double identity as Iron
Man. Jarvis presumably had his knowledge of Stark's identity restored
shortly after Iron Man/Captain America '98, in which Iron Man used
Mentallo's global mind control network to erase all knowledge of Iron Man's
secret identity from every mind on Earth; however, Iron Man has restored
knowledge of his true identity to his most trusted associates, including
all the people attending this meeting. Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision and
Wonder Man all had their knowledge of Iron Man's secret identity restored
in Iron Man/Captain America '98. So did Giant-Man, Wasp, Captain America,
Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts. Other people Stark has allowed to gain or regain
knowledge of his dual identity since then include Hawkeye, Black Widow [II],
Warbird, Jim Rhodes & Jane Foster.

Panels 3-5:
Various Avengers have served informally as deputy leader or
second-in-command over the years, but the deputy leader post apparently
became a formal ongoing position at some point during Avengers [v1] #
329-347. Unlike the chairman or team leader, the deputy leader is appointed
by the leader, not elected by the active members. The most notable deputy
leader to date was Black Widow [II], who served as deputy to team leader
Captain America. When he took an indefinite leave of absence as of Avengers
[v1] # 347-348, Black Widow took over as leader and served a lengthy stint
in that capacity. This issue marks the first mention of Iron Man being
appointed deputy leader of the current roster. This appointment makes sense
despite Iron Man's history of disruptive conduct in recent years since he
has extensive leadership experience and is highly respected by Cap
regardless of their various personal and ideological conflicts.
Like all the early members, Tony served occasionally as chairman
under the group's rotating chairmanship system. Specifically, he is
identified as chairman in issues 16 (in which he presided over the team's
first major membership turnover), 103 and 112. Later, when full-time
chairman Thor decided to leave the team, he appointed Iron Man as his
replacement in Avengers [v1] # 150-151. Despite some early rough going and
conflicts with his personal life, Iron Man served capably as chairman for
quite some time before he was replaced by Captain America as of Avengers
[v1] # 92. Much later, Iron Man was elected chair of the team's western
roster (in Avengers West Coast # 76) and served briefly in that capacity
before he faked his own death for personal reasons (in Avengers West Coast
# 87-94) and estranged himself from the group. This estrangement worsened
when Iron Man led a mass resignation of the team's western members and
recruited them into his short-lived rival super-team, Force Works. He has
since reconciled with the Avengers, helping the group rebuild its operations
in the wake of Onslaught.

Iron Man serves as chairman and/or team leader in Avengers [v1] #
16, 103, 112, 150-153; Avengers Annual # 6; Avengers [v1] # 154-163 &
165-166; Avengers Annual # 7; Avengers [v1] # 167-177; Avengers Annual # 8;
Avengers [v1] # 179-185; Avengers Annual # 9; Avengers [v1] # 189-191;
West Coast Avengers [v2] # 20-21; Avengers West Coast # 76-80; Avengers West
Coast Annual # 7; and Avengers West Coast # 84-86. In all, Iron Man plays a
leadership role in fifty-five stories. Only Captain America, Hawkeye & Wasp
have longer Avengers leadership records (117, 79 & 75 stories,
respectively). Black Widow matches Iron Man's record with 55 stories as
leader. Past leaders and chairmen of the Avengers with shorter records
include Thor (29 stories), Giant-Man (12 stories), Scarlet Witch (7
stories), Vision (16 stories), Photon (20 stories) & Doctor Druid (4
stories).

Panel 6:
Thor's new mortal secret identity as paramedic Jake Olson has cut into the
time he spends with the Avengers, as seen in Thor's own ongoing series
and stories such as Avengers [v3] # 8.

PAGE NINE

Panel 1:
Thor's comments echo what a number of readers have been saying since
Avengers [v3] # 4, that most of the currently active Avengers could
conceivably serve as team leader.

Panel 2:
Vision was rendered comatose during a conflict with Annihilus in Avengers
[v1] # 233. The Avengers revived him in Avengers [v1] # 238 with the aid of
the alien computer ISAAC, not knowing that ISAAC was influencing Vision's
thoughts with the intent of Vision controlling Earth the way ISAAC controls
its homeworld Titan. Under ISAAC's direction, Vision conspired to become
the benevolent ruler of Earth, manipulating his way into the Avengers
chairmanship (as of Avengers [v1] # 243) as part of his plan. The Avengers
eventually discovered and opposed Vision's plans, though, and helped him
dispel ISAAC's influence in Avengers [v1] # 253-255. Sadly, Vision had
staged a brief takeover of the world's computer systems before the Avengers
convinced him to abandon his global domination plot; the computer takeover
lasted mere minutes and didn't do any real harm, but many world governments
and intelligence agencies came to regard Vision as a security risk
thereafter. In fact, these events were later used as the excuse for an
international coalition of intelligence agencies abducting and dismantling
the Vision in West Coast Avengers [v2] # 42-45, causing no end of torment
for the Avengers in general and Vision & Wanda in particular.

The Avengers' then-current government liaison, Raymond Sikorsky,
was a willing party to the Vision's abduction and dismantling despite
his self-professed admiration for the Avengers in general and Vision in
particular, so it's not surprising that Vision suspects the team's
current liaison, Duane Freeman, of regarding Vision as a potential security
risk despite Freeman's self-professed admiration for the Avengers.

Panel 3:
It's unlikely anyone would have nominated Wonder Man for leadership even if
he hadn't declined, since he has no leadership experience and has seldom
displayed much in the way of leadership qualities. His quick refusal to
consider a leadership post is something new, though, since Simon jealously
coveted the group's leadership in the past (during the "Lost in Space-Time"
storyline from WCA [v2] # 17-24, Simon pushed for a bigger role in the team
and vied with Iron Man to replace the ailing Hawkeye as team leader after
Simon himself accidentally inflicted life-threatening injuries on Hawkeye;
Iron Man was appointed substitute leader until Hawkeye recovered, a decision
that left the self-important Simon angry and bitter). Mind you, Simon has
learned to be a smidgen more humble since the days when he was coveting the
western Avengers leadership, so it's not astonishing to see that he no
longer has leadership ambitions.

Panel 4:
Justice has a solid leadership record as a past leader of the New Warriors;
but as Wanda says, he and Firestar are still very new to the Avengers.

Panels 5-7:
Like all the early members, Wanda served occasionally as chairman under
the group's rotating chairmanship system. Years later, she was elected
full-time chairman of the team's western roster but served for only a very
brief period before the Avengers disbanded their western division on the
grounds that it had become a superfluous waste of resources. Infuriated
by this snub and incensed at the prospect of being demoted to reserve
status with the eastern roster, Scarlet Witch resigned to become the leader
of a rival super-team founded and financed by Iron Man, Force Works. That
group soon broke up, though, and Scarlet Witch rejoined the Avengers after
reconciling with her old teammates. Scarlet Witch was active as Avengers
leader in only seven stories (Avengers West Coast # 98-102 & Avengers [v1]
# 368-369), she generally hasn't pursued leadership roles in the past
(she was talked into her one previous Avengers chairmanship stint by her
fellow members after Hawkeye nominated her for the position), and her
leadership record is less than glowing (her super-brief AWC chairmanship
is memorable mostly for the death of Mockingbird and the breakup of the
western Avengers, while her Force Works leadership saw the seeming deaths
of Wonder Man and Iron Man, constant squabbling with team founder Iron Man,
and the eventual disbanding of Force Works). As such, Wanda's surprise at
being considered for leadership of the current Avengers is understandable;
however, she is not an altogether implausible leadership prospect since she
is one of the team's longest-serving members and does have some leadership
experience.

PAGE TEN
Formerly a branch of the subversive terrorist organization HYDRA, AIM
(Advanced Idea Mechanics) is a group dedicated to the manufacture, sale and
overall proliferation of high technology, especially high-tech weaponry.
AIM originally plotted the overthrow of the world's governments with the
intention of establishing a global technocracy (rule by the scientifically
and technologically skilled elite), but in recent years they have shifted
their efforts to weapons sales, their principal clients being criminals and
super-criminals. The group still retains some subversive and criminal
ambitions of its own, though, due largely to the influence of MODOK, a
super-intelligent, super-powerful and somewhat insane telepath who has
repeatedly seized control of AIM since their experiments created him years
ago. AIM first appeared in Strange Tales [v1] # 146, while MODOK first
appeared in Tales of Suspense # 93-94. The New Warriors have battled AIM
customers before, as early as New Warriors # 2.

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

PAGE TWELVE
Lord Templar is a new character making his first appearance in this issue.
His name, his rhetoric and his triangular design elements suggest a
connection to the Triune Understanding cult that produced Triathlon, first
mentioned in Avengers [v3] # 9. Avengers security liaison Duane Freeman
may also be a member of the cult since he has been depicted as wearing
their symbol as of Avengers [v3] # 4, which would explain why Triune
follower Triathlon seemed to have inside knowledge of the Avengers.

PAGE FOURTEEN

Panels 1-4:
Founding members and current reservists Giant-Man and Wasp seem more likely
leadership prospects than Wanda since they've both logged more leadership
time and have better leadership track records (especially Wasp, one of the
longest-serving and most capable leaders in the team's history); however,
they have also both been more reluctant to serve with the team in recent
years, wanting to devote more time to their personal lives.
Like all the early members, Hank Pym (currently Giant-Man) served
occasionally as chairman under the group's rotating chairmanship system.
Specifically, he is identified as chairman in issues 35, 47, 49-50, 57 and
68. Years later, when Hawkeye abruptly resigned the western Avengers
chairmanship, Pym took on an unofficial leadership role within the western
roster for some time, a role which led to himself and the Wasp being elected
co-chairs of the western roster. They only served briefly in that capacity,
though, before stepping down to become reservists so they could concentrate
on their personal lives. Hank Pym is designated chairman in Avengers [v1]
# 35 (as Goliath), 47 (as Goliath), 49-50 (as Goliath), 57 (as Goliath) and
68 (as Yellowjacket); and Avengers West Coast # 69-74 (as Doctor Pym). He
served as occasional unofficial leader of the western Avengers during much
of Avengers West Coast # 47-68.

Like all the early members, Wasp served occasionally as chairman
under the group's rotating chairmanship system. Specifically, she is
identified as chairman in issues 12 and 38. Years later, after she began
devoting more of her time to the team following her divorce from Hank Pym,
Wasp nominated herself for the full-time chairmanship and was elected as
Captain America's replacement. After serving effectively for some time, Wasp
took a stress-related leave from the chairmanship following her near-death
experience in the Secret Wars; during this leave of absence, Vision replaced
Wasp as Avengers chair, but she took the chairmanship back from him when
the team learned that Vision was mentally ill and plotting to use the group
as a means to global conquest. Before and after her leave of absence, Wasp
proved to be one of the team's most capable and devoted leaders, guiding the
group through major crises such as the capture of Avengers Mansion by
Baron Helmut Zemo's Masters of Evil. After that traumatic episode, Wasp
retired from the active roster, resigned her chairmanship and was replaced
by Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau). Switching over to the group's western
roster, Wasp was eventually elected co-chair of the western Avengers along
with Doctor Pym; however, she and Pym soon stepped down to become reserve
members and dedicate more time to their personal lives. Wasp is designated
chairman in Avengers [v1] # 12, 38, 217-220, Avengers Annual # 11, Avengers
[v1] # 221-232, Avengers Annual # 12, Avengers [v1] # 233-238, 240-243 &
256-260; Avengers Annual # 14; Avengers: Emperor Doom; Avengers [v1] #
261-264 & 266-272; Avengers Annual # 15; West Coast Avengers Annual # 1;
Avengers [v1] # 273-278; Avengers West Coast # 69-74; and Avengers Forever
# 2-4.

Pym's comments reveal that "The Destiny War" (the Avengers' name
for the events of the current Avengers Forever limited series) takes place
between Avengers [v3] # 11 & 13 (in terms of the participation of
present-day Avengers Giant-Man and Wasp, anyway). While the full events of
The Destiny War are as yet unrevealed, it's understandable that Wasp would
be fatigued since she served as leader of the Avengers involved in this
extended conflict. For more information on The Destiny War, see the EMA
annotations for Avengers Forever.

As Hank says, superheroing was never his first love. He has taken
many leaves of absence to concentrate on his scientific career or his
personal life over the years, beginning with Avengers [v1] # 16, and his
feelings of super-heroic inadequacy led to a full-blown nervous breakdown
in Avengers [v1] # 213, which in turn led to Hank's extended retirment from
super-heroics as of Avengers [v1] # 230 (though Hank eventually came out
of retirement as of West Coast Avengers [v2] # 21). Hank has since returned
to superheroics, but his recent adoption of reserve status indicates that
superheroism still isn't a top priority in his life.

Panel 5:
Tony's assessment of Wanda's leadership record is somewhat generous, though
she generally seemed to be a competent leader during her brief, ill-fated
leadership stints with the western Avengers and Force Works. More accurate
is Tony's frank admission of "trampling" Wanda's authority during their
time together in Force Works, since he often undermined her authority
as Force Works leader and took charge whenever he could. This is a very
significant statement for reasons beyond this particular conversation:
Tony's admission of undermining Wanda's leadership is the first time any
Busiek-written Avenger has so much as mentioned the disruptive,
domineering behaviour Iron Man sometimes displays, behaviour that had
intensified during the last few years prior to Busiek taking over the
Iron Man and Avengers comics; however, Busiek has said an acknowledgment
and explanation of Tony's "Iron Jerk" years is forthcoming.

Panel 8:
The "locator chip" is the device within an Avengers communicard that can be
used to track the location and movements of an Avengers communicard user.

PAGE FIFTEEN

Panel 3:
Hank's "pager" looks like an ordinary pager device but transforms into a
miniature aircraft that Pym and Wasp can pilot when they have shrunk to tiny
size. It first appeared in Avengers [v3] # 4.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

Panel 3:
Night Thrasher and Speedball are both known for their speed and agility
(superhuman in Speedball's case when he's bouncing around with sufficient
energy), so it's surprising to see an opponent fast and agile enough to
tag them both with relative ease.

PAGE NINETEEN

Panels 3-5:
As Wanda says, she was "angrier, more bitter" during her AWC & Force Works
leadership days, due in part to the end of her marriage with Vision and the
eastern-based Avengers' successful motion to disband the western Avengers
while she was leading the western roster.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

Panel 3:
Wanda mused on how her personal relationships defined her place in the
Avengers in Avengers [v3] # 8, and considered leaving due to the state of
those relationships (the extent to which Wanda defines herself through her
relationships is a favourite discussion topic of longtime Avengers fans);
however, a leadership role would help her make a more significant
contribution to the group and give her a way to define herself as an
individual.

Panel 4:
Thor, Wonder Man and Firestar all seem pleased to hear that Wanda is
accepting a leadership position. Justice, preoccupied with his own
problems, looks less pleased. The Vision, as usual, is poker-faced.

Panels 6-9:
The ongoing development of Justice and Firestar hits a new phase as their
roles reverse entirely: Justice has become so uncomfortable with the
Avengers and feels so guilty about the current state of the Warriors that
he wants to leave the Avengers and return to the Warriors, despite the
fact that Avengers membership has always been his fondest aspiration.
Meanwhile, Firestar has been so impressed by the Avengers and become so
happy with the team that her initially reluctant participation in the
Avengers has given way to a desire to put down roots with the group.

Panel 10:
As mentioned earlier, Lord Templar's shadowy associates may be
representatives of the Triune Understanding cult.