Saturday, June 3, 2017

Avengerous Tales 2.45 - Avengers #155-#156




To read Avengerous Tales 2.44, go here!

Before we get started today, I need to provide a quick synopsis of Super-Villain Team-Up #9, where the cliffhanger from last issue was picked up.  The Avengers are all fitted with controlling collars and are compelled to attack Hydro-Base, where Doctor Doom of all people is trying to help get the Hydro-men back to normal.  (I assume this is because he was captured by Namor’s cousin Namorita, and she’s making him do her bidding.)  Meanwhile, the Beast has gone to Whizzer and Wonder Man for back-up, and they both agree to help find and free the Avengers.  Also Namor was enslaved by Doom and is dying or something.

We’ve got Pablo Marcos helping George Pérez with the art today, and what a lovely job they both do.

We begin with Doctor Doom standing over Iron Man’s defeated form and demanding the other Avengers surrender.  Once they quit laughing, Doom and his minions beat them up.  Realizing that the Avengers attacked Hydro-Base to find Namor (who is out right now), Doom starts with the questioning.


 Under the influence of whatever machinery he’s hooked up to, Cap tells him they’re working for Attuma.  Namorita recognizes the name and insists Doom stop Attuma before he destroys everything.  Doom responds with a definite maybe.

We make a pit stop in the Avengers’ quinjet long enough to learn a couple of things from Beast, Wonder Man and Whizzer.  One, Wonder Man is just as much in the dark about his resurrection as everyone else, and two, the Beast planted a tracker on Tyrak before advancing to the rear last issue, and the trio is now tracing their taken teammates via that very tracer.

Meanwhile, back with the captured Avengers, Vision notices that their slave collars aren’t as strong in this particular room for some reason.  Our heroes take full advantage of that fact.


Aw yiss

This is followed up by more badassery from Cap, who throws his shield just so and smashes it into Vision’s collar, breaking it completely.  But instead of joining in on the awesome and freeing his teammates, Vision takes off, escaping through the ceiling on his own.  You’d think by now he’d have learned not to run off and do his own thing without warning anybody, but no.

But let’s not forget that Attuma is still on the loose.  Specifically, he’s gone to an underwater research base off the coast of Maryland to steal and weaponize a cell stimulator that can exponentially increase plankton growth.  Fortunately, Beast and company track them there before they can murder all the scientists.


I love Beast in these old comics.  He makes crimefighting look like so much fun.  It’s a nice antidote to the pointless grimdark angst of most contemporary comics.

And then Sub-Mariner, who learned of Attuma’s plan in Super-Villain Team-Up #9 and Was Not Amused, flies into the fray.  Unfortunately, Attuma is smarter than he looks and speaks loudly to our heroes as if they were his allies, tricking Namor into attacking them instead of him.  Beast and Whizzer go down immediately, leaving Wonder Man to kick Namor’s butt before he does anyone any lasting damage.

Wondy holds his own quite well against the Prince of Atlantis, giving his allies time to revive.  Beast notices Attuma “taking a powder” (we need to bring back that expression) and follows Attuma to his sub.  There, he overhears Fish Man asking someone whether or not Tyrak the Treacherous is ready for his “transformation,” and how the plankton proliferator will somehow help him take over the world.

Back in Maryland, Whizzer also tries to fight Namor, but he’s not as spry as he used to be and gets knocked flat.  At this point Namor finally recognizes him (they were both on a superhero team called the Liberty Legion once upon a time) and stops fighting, confused.  Wonder Man, not wanting to take any chances, takes this opportunity to knock the Sub-Mariner out cold.

But what of the Vision, you ask?  Why did he run out on his friends like that?  As we find out next issue, he feared that the others would be too hot-headed to go along with the plan he had in mind, which involves a date with this dude.


Not to stomp all over the big dramatic reveal here, but I really hate the ‘I must lie to you to protect/save you’ trope.  If you can’t trust your lover/teammates/whatever enough to not be constantly hiding important information from them, that partnership has serious problems and must either be fixed or terminated.  Just stop lying already.

We pick right up from this scene in the next issue, but Pérez does not, having been temporarily replaced by Sal Buscema.  Also, for our new writer we have Jim Shooter, who has a somewhat, uh… checkered reputation when it comes to his Avengers comics.  But we’ll get to that when we get to that.


You couldn’t be classy just once, could you, Doomie?

Vision convinces Doctor Doom that Attuma has found a way to create more enhanced Atlanteans such as Tyrak—enough to take over even Latveria someday.  He suggests he and Doom team up to stop him, and Doom takes the bait.  But how much of Vision’s theories are true?  We’ll find out later.

Back in Maryland, Subby is waking up after the beating Wonder Man gave him, but he’s way too angry with Attuma to be holding grudges about that.  Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner and the Whizzer agree to team up against him, and what perfect timing they have too: just as they climb aboard the Avengers’ submarine to track Attuma down, the Beast radios them with an update.


Meanwhile, Doom has freed the other Avengers and Vision is unnecessarily dickish to Wanda when they reunite, prompting her to cry on Jan’s shoulder about how he’s “suddenly so cold.”  I’ll give him a free pass just this once, since he’s obviously taking Wonder Man’s resurrection very hard, but he better stop taking it out on his loved ones, stat.

Doom figures out how to track Attuma using the signal from the machine used to control the Avengers’ now-useless slave collars.  Speaking of Attuma, he’s already reached home base, and one of his lackeys had discovered Beast and knocked him out, rendering him unable to provide the signal that Namor and the rest are so anxiously waiting for.


You could have just asked for a bathroom break.  No need to be so dramatic about it.

Namor swims off the confront Attuma on his own, with Wonder Man in close pursuit.  Unfortunately, our resurrected hero can’t swim fast enough to get to Namor before he’s beaten up by Tyrak, whose already formidable strength is being enhanced by a modified version of the device Attuma stole from Maryland.  Things look pretty bleak, but don’t worry—Doctor Doom (and the Avengers) are here to save the day!


Noyce.

With Tyrak down, the Avengers go in search of Attuma.  They do find him (as well as the barely-conscious Namor and Beast), but he’s got some bad news that I’m sure will shock you: while they were all fighting Tyrak, Doom took the opportunity to steal the cell stimulator and am-scray.  Whoopsie-doodle.

The Avengers (but not Namor, who stayed behind to pound on Attuma some more) follow Doom back to Hydro-base, and another fight scene commences.  Vision sneaks away yet again, destroying the cell stimulator by phasing his hand through it.  Bet the U.S. government loved that.  With nothing left to fight for, Doom just kinda jets off while swearing to avenge his defeat at some unspecified later date.  Maybe he has to consult with his secretary before making such an important appointment.

The Scarlet Witch tries yet again to talk to her husband, but he once again gives her the brush-off.


I see being dead has taught you nothing about tact.

So that’s the end of that plotline, but we still have lots of unanswered questions, most notably, what is Wonder Man even doing here?  Will we finally get an answer next issue?  Not even a little.  Actually, we just get more questions.

The link to Avengerous Tales 2.46 will go here!

Images from Avengers #155 and Avengers #156

No comments:

Post a Comment