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Avengers #51

Apr 2002
Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson

Story Name:

Prisoners - a love story


Synopsis

Avengers #51 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4.5 stars
This issue focuses on Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man in a prison camp.

Simon Williams is brought in 'cosmi-stocks' to the Los Angeles prison camp. He remembers what's happened since Washington was destroyed (#49) by a weapon that killed all the people while leaving the buildings mostly intact. Kang than appeared as a giant hologram head to every city in the World asking them to surrender. #49 ended with Wasp signing the surrender of the USA (the President had been spirited away to safety with the Deviants). Many other nations surrendered quickly, and Kang 'pacified' the others. But rebels continued to fight against his armies. Many superheroes were captured, or surrendered to save innocents. (We see Darkhawk, Human Torch, Mr Fantastic, She-Hulk and Thing in cosmi-stocks.) Some remained at large (we see Spider-Man and Wolverine hunted). Wondy stayed free for a while but was eventually brought down.

Inside the prison camp his stocks are removed but replaced with a Suppressor-Collar (to suppress of course his superpowers). He is greeted by his (ex-)lover Scarlet Witch. Wanda Maximoff was captured in space (see the beginning of last issue) and has been here for weeks. Simon says he was caught helping a rebel group steal supplies. He covered their escape but was captured himself.

They now start their regular routine together. Wanda helps tend to the sick and Simon helps out there and wherever he can. Scarlet Witch says her collar doesn't completely block her magical hex-power which she uses to keep people alive until the medics can treat them. She thinks maybe the authorities allow it because they don't want dead prisoners.

Some days later 2 prisoners pull a guard from his flying platform and use it to escape over the wall. Wanda is horrified because she knows what will happen. Guards take 2 more prisoners up in the air and broadcast a message to the escapees to surrender or these 2 will be killed. The escapees refuse, intending to join the rebels, but they are easily recaptured. Then because they didn't surrender, they and the other 2 plus 2 more are all executed.

2 nights later Simon and Wanda share a kiss, but Wanda pulls away. They stumble towards admitting to each other that they both feel that what they had before they parted ways is over. The original circumstances where their shared feelings brought Simon back from death (in the early issues of this series) led to a passionate affair, but it burned out. Now they agree to be friends who would die for each other. Wanda admits that she still loves her ex-husband Vision, but he seems to have moved on.

They turn instead to an escape plan. Wonder Man asks Scarlet Witch if her trickle of hex power could disrupt his collar long enough for him to break hers. Then with her full powers she can remove his. But Wanda asks about the camp and country Kang can punish if they do it.

However the next day they put the plan into operation and it works. Then SW hex-blasts some guards while WM in ionic form smashes through a prison wall, and Wanda runs through it. Outside as expected they find more guards who they also subdue. But then, also as expected, guards on a hover-platform show up with 2 hostage prisoners. Compassionate Wanda immediately surrenders and ask them to punish her and spare the prisoners. WM stops and dares other guards to recapture him if they can. They attack and he fights back until a cannon on the wall hits him with a suppressor ray. His power waning he is beaten senseless.

Back in the camp Kang says Scarlet Witch will spend a month in solitary. Because Wonder Man didn't surrender he will be executed. But because he stood and fought rather than fleeing no-one will be killed with him. Wanda witnesses the execution which appears to blast him to nothingness. She forces her guards to let her grieve for a while over the execution spot ...

... and we hear Simon whispering to her. Their plan worked. While their collars were off the Witch cast a spell so that his wouldn't work when they put it back on him. WM's ionic powers enabled him to survive the execution, and Wanda's spell made him invisible. So now he leaves to fight the good fight and Kang is none the wiser. Wanda stays behind to allay suspicions.


 

Review / Commentaries


Avengers #51 Review by (October 23, 2020)
Brent Anderson and Tom Palmer are guest penciller and inker for this issue.
Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne continue as the lettering pair.



> Avengers comic book info and issue index

Elektra

Excelsioring your collection:
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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Brent Anderson
Tom Palmer
Tom Smith
Kieron Dwyer (Cover Penciler)
Kieron Dwyer (Cover Inker)
Tom Smith (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Richard Starkings.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Kang
Kang

(Nathaniel Richards)
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch

(Wanda Maximoff)
Wonder Man
Wonder Man

(Simon Williams)