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Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic #10

Aug 2022
Anthony Oliveira, Jethro Morales

Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic #10 cover

Story Name:

Young Avengers: Parallax lost (part 6)


Synopsis

Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic #10 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4.5 stars
This issue begins with the scene from the end of the main section in #5 (the start of this storyline) with Iron Lad (Nathaniel Richards) with crippled armour falling through the void between space and time. And as he falls we will see the Parallax Stone that falls with him asking him who he trusts and loves.

But we turn our attention to snow-covered mountains in Latveria some years ago where Dr Doom shows his young adopted son Kristoff Vernard his massed forces poised to wipe out an insurrection. He tells Kristoff that he was too soft and that mercy bred dissent which among other things caused the death of the boy's mother. The lad must learn to be strong to take over when Victor Von Doom himself inevitably dies.

We then look ahead to a time when Doom was indeed believed dead, and his Doombots implemented a backup plan to brainwash Kristoff into believing he *is* Dr Doom.

Our next scene is Four Freedoms Plaza where teen Kristoff is staying with the Fantastic Four and has become friendly with Cassie Lang, daughter of Ant-Man Scott Lang. Scott is pursuing them along with Human Torch and Thing because they broke into Mr Fantastic's lab. Kristoff built AM's current suit and has a control device which enables him to delay the pursuit by making Scott shrink against his will. Kristoff escapes and Cassie stays to use his controller to bring her dad back to human-size. Scott believes that KV staged the break-in and his daughter was innocently dragged along. But Cassie says that he only did it because *she* wanted to see inside the lab.

Later she finds the boy in his own lab, which includes the armour that the Doombots put him in. He believes that they all hate him. She denies that and says *she* likes him, and her dad's just overprotective. He says that they are correct that he's dangerous. Cassie agrees but says that they're both scientists and that everything that's worth doing is dangerous.

Years later grown-up Cassandra Lang is in a restaurant waiting for her date to arrive late (as she mentioned in a text exchange with America Chavez in #8). Her date is Kristoff and he avoids apologising with compliments and they dance. She explains about her work at Pym labs, lately inventing liquid sunlight (which Kate Bishop used against her vampire mother in #7). He's about to ask her an important question when ...

... Iron Lad's fall ends on their dancefloor. Then future Kristoff follows through his own portal and stabs him through the chest with a sword. Cassie grows super-big so that the fist which punches future-K out of the building is about as big as him. Current Kristoff recognises the dying interloper as Kang The Conqueror, to which Nate responds not yet and probably never now.

The shard of the M'Kraan crystal that we have called the Parallax Stone appears in Iron Lad's hand, and Kristoff takes it off him. Nate comments that he sent the crystal back in time to assemble an army against K but now he sees that instead he now sees how future-K got it in the 1st place. But we see images of the journey it has taken to get here, and Nate thinks it's learned a lot en route. He tells Kristoff how he's rebelled against his destined future to be Kang, and hopes K can fight against the future Dr Doom mapped out for him.

Outside giant-size Cassie is battling future-K who has just killed the youth she once loved. K says it was the only way to become Master Of Time and bring her back. Then current-K interrupts, using the Stone to walk on air and declaring that he will choose his own destiny. He has 1 of Iron Lad's gauntlets and he tells it's AI Jonas to activate protocol White Phoenix Of The Crown. A blast shatters the M'Kraan shard and future-K is wiped out of existence.

Still-dying Nate tells Kristoff and human-size Cassie that the crystal isn't really gone, but K has made his choice. He jokingly tells Cassie that he's dying a hero for once, and at least he got to see her 1 more time. Then he too fades away. Cassie tells Kristoff that she once loved Nate, and K asks her to tell him about him as they face the sunrise through the big hole she made in the wall.


 

Review / Commentaries


Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic #10 Review by (May 6, 2024)
Fantastic Four #247 showed how Dr Doom regained Latveria from rebels and adopted Kritoff Vernard after they killed his mother. (Well actually we don't learn about the adoption until #258.) Then Doom seemingly died in #260 and Doombots programmed Kristoff to believe he was Doom in #278. The FF took him under their wing for a while after that but he left them in order to rule Latveria. It was much later (about #400) that he went back to the FF. Ant-Man became the replacement for 'dead' Mr Fantastic at the same time, and his daughter Cassie came to live with them all in Four Freedom's Plaza. That covers the period of the flashbacks in this issue.

Kristoff made further appearances up to the Tales Of The Marvel Universe 1-shot set in the period when the FF (and Avengers) were off in the Heroes Reborn universe. Then he wasn't seen again until Spider-Man & FF vol 2 #4 some time after Dark Reign/Siege. A bit later Cassie died as Stature of the Young Avengers by the hand of Dr Doom in the Children's Crusade maxi-series. Later the temporarily-good Doom (during the Axis event) brought her back to life in Avengers World #16. She rejoined her dad and became Stinger.

Confusingly future-Kristoff says he wants to become Master Of Time to bring Cassie back, which would suggest he thinks she's still dead. Which would also suggest that current-K isn't in his personal past timeline. But that would negate the plot point that this issue shows how future-K got hold of the Parallax Stone, and that current-K's decision makes future-K not exist.

Pym Labs is where Nadia Pym/Van Dyne's GIRL group works, but this is the 1st time it's been claimed that Cassie is 1 of them.

The only other app current-Kristoff has made since the Marvel multiverse was rebuilt in Secret Wars was #7 of Dr Doom's only series.

Current-Cassie was in some issues in the Empyre event followed by joining her pals America Chavez and Kate Bishop in Hawkeye: KB #5. Already published after this are apps in Ant-Man (2022) #3 and Avengers Inc #5.

This may be the death of (a) Iron Lad from the Young Avengers, but it probably isn't the only variant spun-off by that time-travelling chap. For instance a version was seen in the far future in Avengers (2012) #34. But then again that was (a) future in the old multiverse.

The author of the 6-issue sub-series, Anthony Oliveira, is obviously a Young Avengers fan like me. 4 of his other Marvel stories have featured Hulkling and Wiccan. Only his tale in Marvel's Voices: Pride (2021) was unrelated
In these issues he's resolved some dangling YA plotlines (and some disconnected middles), which also warms the cockles of my heart. So I'm giving this issue a 4.5 rating, more for the sub-series as a whole than this 1 issue.



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Jethro Morales
Jethro Morales
Yen Nitro
Jethro Morales (Cover Penciler)
Jethro Morales (Cover Inker)
Jethro Morales (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Ariana Maher.
Editor: Sarah Brunstad. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Cassie Lang, Iron Lad (Nathalien Richards), Kristoff Vernard.

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