Captain America! Bucky! Thor! Giant-Man!
Hawkeye! The Black Widow! Scarlet Witch! Whizzer! Miss America! Hercules! Human
Torch! Quicksilver! Wonder Man! Iron Man! Master Man! Master Boy! Crimson
Dynamo! The 1960s. The Viet Nam War! Revolutions on college campuses! Social
upheaval! The moon mission! Into this turbulent times, when heroes are deeply
needed, they come together, to fight against deadly menaces from their world
and many others! They are the…
60s AVENGERS #42
INVASION, Chapter I:
“Twin City Turmoil!”
|
A |
s
the Fantasticar streaks through the air, Thor and Johnny Storm fly alongside
it, with Johnny’s flames trailing in his wake. He looks over at Thor, whose
arms are stretched out, as he effortlessly masters the elements around him. Mr.
Fantastic, a pensive look on his face, is driving the vehicle, with Sue at his
side. The Thing is behind them, looking around them, as he leans forward, ready
for action.
“Whaddaya
make ‘a alla this anyway, goldilocks?” the Thing asks, looking over at Thor,
who flies beside them.
“I
was aware of an evil counterpart of myself,” Thor responds, as he continues to
fly forward, not looking back at the brutish Thing, and not bothered by his
otherwise annoying nickname. “However, ‘twould seem that there is also an evil
group of the Avengers from that alternate Earth who hath also come hither.”
“I
can confirm that, Thor,” Mr. Fantastic notes. “After I became aware of the
chaos being raged in the city, I scanned it via my satellite scanner, and
discovered that a group of obviously evil Avengers counterparts were wreaking
havoc.”
“I
plan to do a little of that too, Reed!” Johnny exclaims.
“You
be careful, Johnny!” Sue remarks cautiously. “Don’t you forget who you’re going
up against!”
“Heh-heh!”
the Thing laughs at Johnny’s plight, further embarrassing the youngest member
of the Fantastic four, who would have turned red if he wasn’t already covered
in flames. “That’s right, Johnny boy! I wouldn’t want ya to get hurt…not too much, anyway!”
“That’s
enough, you two clowns!” Reed interjects, shaking his head. “This is serious
business.”
“Reed,
do you know if any other heroes are down below combating the menace?” I didn’t
get to look on that scanner of yours, but it seems like there are more and more
heroes popping up all the time these days.”
“When
I was watching, no one else had arrived,” Reed responds, as the Fantasticar
nears its destination. “However, it would not surprise me to find other heroes
down below. It would be difficult to believe that anyone living near here would
fail to be aware of what is going on.”
Suddenly,
the Fantasticar is rocked to its very foundation, as it is hit by a massive
bolt of fire that sends it streaking from the sky, plummeting towards the
Earth, even as Reed struggles with the controls. The Thing grabs onto the side
of the ship, unconsciously causing an indentation in the metal. Sue looks
concerned, as she watches the ground approach below.
“What
the hell was that?!” the Thing asks.
“That
was a fireball!” Reed responds sharply, as he continues to struggle with the
controls. “But I don’t understand it! I’ve equipped this vehicle to withstand
Johnny’s most intense flames!”
“Well,
it ain’t good enough!” Ben exclaims, as they continue to spiral out of control.
“An’ this don’t look good for my fan club!”
However,
their descent is quickly halted, as the mighty Thor flies under the
Fantasticar, holding it up in the air, and flying it down towards the ground
below.
“Thank
goodness Thor was free to help us!” Sue exclaims, relieved.
“Ya
ain’t kiddin’!” Thing responds. “I still say them bums from Yancey Street’re
behind this somehow!”
Johnny,
however, is streaking forward to investigate the source of the attack, where he
finds Solar Man waiting for him. “YOU!”
Johnny exclaims. “You look a lot like Toro! You must be the one who attacked
us!”
“So
what if I am, you little punk?”
Solar Man asks, challenge evident in his tone.
“What?!” Johnny, enraged, lashes out
with a massive twin flame bolt that strikes the evil Solar Man directly in the
chest. Johnny is unnerved by the sinister laughter, which chills even this
hot-blooded adventurer.
“Was
that supposed to hurt me?!” Solar Man asks, looking over at a clearly stunned
Johnny. “That’s about as ridiculous as trying to kill me with an explosion! It
looks like you need to be taught a few lessons, boy!” With that, Solar Man holds up his right hand, palm upward.
Then, he slowly closes his fingers, as if making a fist. As he does so, Johnny
feels as if his entire body is being ripped apart, as flames streak from his
body, flying onto Solar Man, cascading around him, obeying his unspoken
commands. Solar Man laughs a sinister laugh, as Johnny falls to the ground, his
flame out, his body smoking, as he gasps for air.
“How…?!”
Johnny asks, looking up as Solar Man looks over him, his flames flying and
swirling around his body, which casts a glow that seems to Johnny every bit as
intense as the sun. “I don’t…”
“You
don’t deserve to live, boy!” Solar Man exclaims, as he backhands the helpless
Johnny, sending him flying into a brick wall! Johnny bounces off the wall and
crashes to the ground, unconscious before he reaches the hard pavement. “But
that’s a matter that we will consider later.”
“JOHNNY!” Sue exclaims, as she directs a
force field around Solar man. “What have you done to him, you heartless monster?!”
“Yeah,
he may be a brat, but only I get to kick him around!” the Thing tosses in, as
he rushes over towards Solar Man, who still stands behind Sue’s force field.
“You
won’t be kicking anyone around,
Thing!” Iron Menace responds, directly repulsor blasts at the Thing, which slam
into his body and send him to the ground!
“We’ll
just hafta see about that, won’t we!?” the Thing asks, as he rips up a section
of earth and concrete, using it like a carpet, whipping it upwards, striking
Iron Menace and sending him down towards the Thing, who slams his fist into the
armored villain, who then slams into the ground.
While
the Thing directs his attack against the evil Iron Menace, we see that other
heroes were indeed already at the battle—most notably Spider-Man, Daredevil,
the X-Men, Dr. Strange, and the Hulk!
|
M |
eanwhile, across the United States and
deep under the ocean, a battle is being raged in the undersea kingdom of
Lemuria, where the Avengers (Whizzer, Miss America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Scarlet
Witch, Quicksilver, Hercules, Wonder Man, and the Black Widow) are facing off
against the Lemurian soldiers, inside the building, as they see Captain Marvel
fly in through the side of the building.
“Mar-Vell!” The Whizzer exclaims. “You
took out the soldiers outside?”
“Not quite all of them, but I wanted to
make sure that you were able to free yourselves—or that Hawkeye managed to free
you!” Captain Marvel explains.
“Hey, are you saying you don’t have
faith in me?” Hawkeye asks, amusing himself.
“Clint,” Black Widow jokes, “I don’t
even have faith in you!”
“That’s not what you said last night,
doll!” Hawkeye replies, smiling. Black Widow merely looks over at Hawkeye,
surprised, but makes no response.
“Father, we need to get out of here,”
Wanda comments to the Whizzer. “We don’t know what Jan’s been going through…”
“Let’s not forget our main objective
here, people,” Iron Man points out. “We came here to free the passengers who
had been captured, like we were…by the Lemurians!”
“That’s true,” Miss America agrees.
“But I would have thought that they’d be near to where we were. I didn’t see
them.”
“I hope they didn’t kill them,” Wonder
Man suggests. “They were much more expendable than we were, I suppose. Who
knows what sick purpose they captured us for!”
“I really don’t understand why they
captured those people on board in the first place!” Pietro muses.
“I’ve been thinking about that,
actually,” Iron Man responds. “And every one of those ships had food shipments.”
“Food?!” Wonder Man asks. “Are you
suggesting…?!”
“That there might have been some kind
of food shortage here in Lemuria,” Iron Man finishes.
“No, I don’t think so,” Whizzer
replies. “I believe they were using the food for another purpose entirely.”
“Aye,” Hercules agrees. “For invasion.”
“Invasion?!” Wanda asks, stunned. “What
do you mean, Hercules?”
“’Tis the way an invasion in planned,
fair one,” Hercules explains. “One of the first tasks is to stockpile a
sufficient amount of nourishment for a long war, enough to feed the soldiers.”
“Hercules is right,” Captain Marvel
agrees, nodding. “Coming from a warrior race, I should know that about as well
as anyone.”
“Well, we need to put an end to it even
more then!” Iron Man says with authority.
“We will!” Whizzer agrees. “But, first
things first. We need to find a craft to get us up to the surface
first—preferably the Quinjet if it’s available, and we need to find those
fishermen and cargo carriers. And we need to do that now, before we get enmeshed
in any more wars down here.”
“I agree with that, father!”
Quicksilver adds. “However, I think it would also be wise to destroy their
armaments so that they cannot attack the surface.”
“We don’t really know that they were
going to attack the surface,” Whizzer responds. “This could be for another
attack on Namor’s people. At any rate, you can be sure that they would be
preparing for an assault on the surface at some point, and I don’t mind helping
Namor out a bit with the protection of his kingdom. All right, then, this is
the way we’ll do it: We’ll split
into two groups. Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Hercules, Wonder Man—I want you to
wreck as many of their armaments as you can. You don’t need the rescue vessels
anyway. You can all get back to the surface without them. As for the rest of
us, we’ll look for a vessel. Let’s go, people! We have work to do!”
“That
sounds like a good plan to me!” Iron Man replies. “All right, let’s get to
work!”
With
that, Ironman, Hercules, Wonder Man, and Captain Marvel turn back, rushing down
the hall to wreak as much havoc as they can on the instrumentalities of war,
while the other group of the Avengers begin their search for a way out of
Lemuria and back to the surface!
Before
the other group can even more, two darts of energy shoot off before their eyes.
As they turn to look, Whizzer and Quicksilver are gone!
“Where
did they…?!” Black Widow starts to ask, but before she can even complete her
sentence, the two super-speedsters have returned back to their former positions
before their after-images have completely faded.
“Sorry
it took so long, gang,” Whizzer comments. “But we had to search this entire
fortress to be sure.”
“I
wasn’t aware it would entail forty stories in depth,” Quicksilver adds.
“All
right, you two show-offs!” Miss America admonishes, her hand on her hip. “What
did you find?”
“Several
things,” Whizzer responds. “First, the passengers are alive, and are being held
just down the hall. Our Quinjet is on a spot two floors below. However, we can
access the outside of the fortress from that room. We just need some kind of
triggering device.”
“Just
get us there, pops!” Hawkeye offers. “I’m sure I can handle the rest—or at
least my quiver can!”
“Good
then!” Whizzer agrees. “I’ll just take you up on that! Let’s go free the
crewmen first, then we’ll get around to the other tasks!”
“Wait,
I have a quicker way of doing it,” the Scarlet Witch offers. “How large is the
hanger where our Quinjet is located?”
“Quite
large,” Pietro answers. “It is as large as this entire floor.”
As
they get to the floor where the passengers are being held, Whizzer and
Quicksilver quickly free them. Then, they all stand around Wanda.
“All
right, Wanda,” Hawkeye comments, a question in his voice. “What’s this big plan
of yours?”
“Just
this,” Wanda responds. “As long as there isn’t any obstruction beneath this
floor…”
Smiling,
Miss America uses her x-ray vision to inspect the distance between their floor
and the one beneath them. “No,” she answers.
Wanda
nods in understanding. “Good then,” she responds, as her eyes close, and her
hands stretch out, power sprinkling from her fingertips. “Let’s see what
happens when the chances of this floor decaying are suddenly altered.” As she
says so, the floor starts to give way. Pietro and Whizzer disappear into the
floor, vibrating through it! The floor completely gives way, and the
others—passengers and all—quickly start to fall the two stories down! Before
they can fall very far, however, the updrafts caused by the rapid circular
running motions of Whizzer and Quicksilver completely halt their fall. Then,
they are eased slowly to the ground, as the two speedster gradually slow down
their pace.
As
the others start to pile in the Quinjet, Whizzer flips the switch, expanding
it, which provides them with fifty per cent more seating capacity! “This will
help a lot, but we still don’t have seats for everyone,” Whizzer explains.
“I’m
sure they won’t mind, honey,” Miss America offers.
“You
ain’t kiddin’, lady!” one of the crewmen agrees. “I was beginnin’ to think we
weren’t gonna get outta here!”
“Crank
up the engine!” Hawkeye offers, as he draws out a bow from his quiver.
“I’m
preparing to seal the air lock, Hawkeye!” Miss America responds, as she notices
that Hawkeye has pulled up close to the Quinjet, while pulling back his bow at
the same time. “We’ll be pressed for time once you get that wall down!”
“I
know!” Hawkeye replies. Then, he sends out his arrow, which is a corrosive
arrow. It attaches to the hanger bay doors, and instantly starts to eat through
them, causing a gaping hole in the doors! Instantly, water surges through the
door, and Hawkeye utilizes a back-flip, landing on the entrance ramp to the
Quinjet! As he rushes up the stairs, he dives into the opening. Black Widow
slams the door shut, throwing her body against the door to make sure that the
overwhelming amount of pressure doesn’t bow the door open and drown them all!
“Whew!”
she exclaims. “That was close!”
“We’re
not out of the woods yet!” Whizzer remarks, as the Quinjet makes its way out of
the gaping hole where the bay doors used to be.
“I
wish we were in the woods!” Wanda
comments. “It’s a lot less disconcerting than being under miles of water!”
“A
temporary problem, I assure you!” Miss America responds, as they all feel the
force of the Quinjet shooting through the water, heading up to the surface!
As
they head up the surface, Whizzer flicks the communicator on, tuning in to the
Avengers Mansion. “Let’s see what’s going on over at the mansion. I’m curious
to see if Jan’s had her child yet.” Whizzer remarks.
“Yeah,”
Hawkeye agrees, “I’d like to know too!”
“But,
what about the others?” Wanda asks.
“You
mean Hercules, Ironman, Wonder man, and Captain Marvel?” Miss America replies.
“I’m certain that we’ll see them up on the surface by the time we get out of
here. It won’t take them too long to wreck everything in sight.”
“Especially
Hercules!” Hawkeye agrees.
“Avengers
calling the Mansion. This is Whizzer speaking.” Whizzer says into communicator.
He is surprised by the long silence that follows. Then, another finally
answers…the voice of Betty McKenzie, wife of Namor!
“Whizzer!”
Betty exclaims. “I’m so glad you called! It’s like madness here!”
“What
do you mean, dear?” Miss America asks, concerned.
“An
evil group of Avengers have attacked New York, and Thor had to go stop them!”
she explains.
“An
evil group of…!” Whizzer exclaims, surprised. “But I guess we should have
expected this, ever since Thor told us who was the father of Jan’s child. What
are they doing? How many are there? Is Thor able to contain them?”
“I
don’t know the number, but there are other heroes who are helping to fight
them,” she replies. “If the evil Thor is there, though…!”
While
he is talking to her, his wife is listening to a radio report through the
headphones. She looks completely shocked. “Bob!” she exclaims. “We’ve got some
problems!”
“How
is that possible?” Bob asks.
“There’s
another group of the evil Avengers who are laying siege to Washington, DC!” she
exclaims, excitedly. “We just got a call from SHIELD requesting our
assistance!”
“Did
you hear that, Betty?” Whizzer asks. “We’ll have to go to Washington. There
aren’t any heroes there! Try to get up with Cap and the London heroes. They
should be back by now.”
“All
right, but I’ve been trying!” Betty remarks, frustration evident in her voice.
“With no success. I just hope Namor is all right.”
“I’m
sure he is!” Whizzer responds quickly. “We’ll go to Washington and see what we
can do there. Keep us informed on what’s happening in New York. Whizzer out.”
Then, he turns to his wife. “I want you to try to raise Cap’s group. We need
all the help we can get. We’ll have to get the others to help as well, once we
reach the surface. This looks like one hell of a war we’ve got on our hands!”
It
does indeed! Tune in next issue, as the war continues!
NEXT ISSUE: The New York
Destroyers! The Washington Destroyers! Cap’s group of Avengers! The Golden Age
Vision! All this and much more in the stunning 60s Avengers #44! Thor vs. the
Hulk! And, what about Jan?