Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Avengers: The Children's Crusade #6 Synopsis by
Rob Johnson
The Young Avengers have just returned from a time trip. Iron Lad's technology took them and Wanda Maximoff to the scene of Avengers Disassembled, and the returned memories and power of Scarlet Witch brought them back. And with them is Stature's father Ant-Man, who was one of the fatal casualties of that event. But no-one knows if they've also restored the Witch's insanity.
They're still out front of Avengers Mansion, and Wanda is hovering in the air, explaining how she had blamed the Avengers for losing her young twin sons. She had confronted them with others of their 'mistakes' such as:- Kree warships seeking revenge for the Kree-Skrull War. Ultron robots (descended from Hank Pym's original creation). And she has conjured those 2 elements here again.
The only occupants of the Mansion appear to be Beast, Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and Jessica Jones. Beast and Hawkeye both admit to having separately located amnesiac Wanda in Transia earlier. Beast says he had tea with her. Hawkeye says he did that too. But the way he says it makes Jessica realise that he had sex with Wanda.
Hawkeye is saved from embarrassment by the joyful meeting between Jessica Jones and Scott Lang. And Scott and Clint joke that they're both back from dying in Avengers Disassembled.
Wiccan tells the Avengers that they found the amnesiac Wanda in Latveria, where she was about to marry Dr Doom. The Wanda in Transia was a Doombot. Jessica is tickled by the idea that Hawkeye made love to a robot!
While all this chat has been going on, no-one has attacked the Mansion. Instead the Kree and Ultrons seem to be attacking Scarlet Witch. It occurs to Jessica that Wanda may be using them to punish herself, commit suicide. The YA and Avengers set out to disrupt that plan.
The 2 Hawkeyes (or Hawkeye and Hawkette as Speed calls Kate Bishop) fire explosive arrows at the Kree warships. (And talk about how to tell Scott that there's a new Ant-Man too.)
Stature grows to giant-size (and it is only now that Scott realises his daughter has taken on Hank Pym's size-changing potions). She lifts the de-powered (by Dr Doom in #4) Wiccan to talk to his levitating 'mother'. Billy thinks she's possessed. (He still believes that must be the explanation for all the bad things she's supposed to have done.)
Wanda warns him off, saying she is responsible for the deaths of Avengers, husband and children, and she doesn't want any more casualties. Billy counters that Hawkeye and Ant-Man are now alive, and there's a new version of Vision (who she has already met in the YA). And now he finally gets to tell her (without interruption) that he thinks he and Tommy (Speed) are reincarnations of her boys William and Thomas.
The Witch somehow uses her magic to investigate Wiccan's claim. And she hugs him, saying that it's true.
Speed isn't so impressed. He's willing to believe Wanda's his mother. But now he's only going to lose her as soon as he's found her, because she's a criminal hunted by the Avengers (and the X-Men).
Talking of whom, Captain America, Iron Man, Magneto, Quicksilver, Wolverine and Wonder Man (and presumably Luke Cage, Ms Marvel and Spider-Man) are flying back from Latveria. Clint lets them know what's happening, but they won't be there for a while. Wanda is willing to pay for what she's done. But Beast suggests maybe she can undo it.
The deaths in Avengers Disassembled have already been reversed. But Beast is talking about reversing the spell which de-powered most mutants at the end of House of M. He long ago found that only she can do that. The ex-mutants should each be given the individual choice of course. But first they need a test case.
Jessica Jones calls in X-Factor. Their leader Jamie Madrox and Strong Guy are suspicious. Quicksilver restored some mutants' powers using the Inhumans' Terrigen Crystals, but the subjects eventually exploded. But Rictor is desperate enough to try. Despite the pleas of his boyfriend Shatterstar.
The process looks very painful for Rictor, but it works, as his restored earthquake power almost brings the building down.
Rictor is delighted, but this still doesn't mollify Madrox. Wanda's next problem is how to contact all the other ex-mutants (and as Jamie put it earlier, get them to listen to her offer before they kill her). Strong Guy says sarcastically that maybe the X-Men will let her use Cerebra, as Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Gambit, Iceman, Rogue and Storm have arrived outside Avengers Mansion.