Mighty Avengers, The #4: Review

Jun 2007

Brian Michael Bendis, Frank Cho

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Story Name:

The Mighty Avengers part 4

Review & Comments

Rating:

Mighty Avengers, The #4 Review by Rob Johnson (March 11, 2015)

The writer probably had Reed Richards not answering the phone because he and Sue are supposed to be on a 2nd honeymoon on Titan in Fantastic Four #544-550, and the temporary team including Black Panther and Storm could be still off in outer space and other universes in FF#544-546 and Black Panther (2005) #26-34. However Reed *will* answer the phone in #6, so the Marvel Continuity Project Calendar had to posit that he popped back to Earth for a visit partway through his holiday. In #6 I'll explain how I use that to fix a bigger problem. #15 will reveal that this is when the Skrull posing as Hank Pym learns (from the Stark AI) about Extremis and how it makes the armour part of Tony Stark's body. (I would have thought Stark would have told fellow science-heroes Pym and Reed Richards about this already, especially during Civil War.) He also learns how Ultron took over the Extremis system. This will enable the Skrulls to disable the armour and all other Stark tech at the start of Secret Invasion. In New Avengers #32 that team are flying back from Japan with the body of the Skrull who was posing as Elektra. They fly through Ultron's bad weather, and then the EMP downs their plane.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Mighty Avengers, The #4 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Ultron now occupies a female body that looks like Janet Van Dyne, a body created in #1 from the Extremis body/armour of Tony Stark. She now broadcasts a message to the world saying she's changing the climate to make the world uninhabitable by man (or any other living creature). She thanks mankind for creating her, but now she will replace them.

Meanwhile at the end of last issue Iron Man's original bulky grey armour joined the Mighty Avengers on the downed SHIELD helicarrier. Now it tells them that it is controlled by Starktech 9, an AI programmed to help them now that Stark is dead. But Ares thinks it's a trick, and slices the armour in 2 with his axe. (Strangely there's no sign that Ultron snapped its shaft in 2 in #2.)

Team leader Ms Marvel drags Ares off. And the newly-arrived Henry Pym confirms that he helped Stark design the AI (as well as creating the 1st Ultron a long time ago). But Ultron has long since outgrown its original programming, and Hank doesn't know how it's controlling the weather.

The damaged IM armour explains that Ultron is using Stark's Sular satellites, an experimental system whose long-term goal is to increase global food production. Carol Danvers sends Sentry and Wonder Man into space to destroy the satellites.

Ultron took control of the SHIELD helicarrier last issue and crashed it. With Deputy Director Maria Hill knocked unconscious and Director Tony Stark assumed dead, Level 10 Agent (and Mighty Avenger) Black Widow assumed command. Now she has Pym using Starktech 9's software to create a system for the helicarrier that Ultron can't hack into. And she sends someone to see why Reed Richards isn't answering their calls for help.

Sentry and Wonder Man return to the helicarrier with the satellites destroyed. But Ultron tells them via a screen that she'll just move to Plan B. And she emits a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that fries all electrical systems. Sentry and Wonder Man fly back out again with Ms Marvel to save falling planes.

The still-Earthbound helicarrier retains power from Starktech 9's armour. The AI tells them that Ultron was able to take over Stark's body as well as his armour because since Extremis they are an integrated system. And the AI was woken up because Tony's lifesigns ceased.

The AI also notes that all the extreme weather is just repetitions of natural disasters that happened previously in history. Ultron is just copying, not inventing something new. This leads Hank and Jan to speculate that the robot is using someone else's Plan B. Meanwhile the AI tracked Ultron to Avengers Tower before the EMP hit.

They rush there to find Jarvis worrying about critical systems without power. And a slew of old Iron Man armours contolled by their foe. But as the Avengers fight them Ultron tells them this is just a stalling tactic. And 1 of the armours whispers to Sentry that the real Plan B was to kill his wife Lindy.

Bob Reynolds zooms up to his Watchtower perched atop the Avengers building and finds Lindy hacked to death.

Outside Ares is riding 1 flying IM suit while using a very big gun to shoot down others. When the gun gets disintegrated he tears the offending armour in 2 and uses its boot jets as an improvised replacement.

Suddenly the War God announces that he knows how to stop Ultron. But meanwhile an atomic missile base in Lithuania experiences a hacking attack.

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