Mighty Avengers, The #6: Review

Dec 2007

Brian Michael Bendis, Frank Cho

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Story Name:

The Mighty Avengers part 6

Review & Comments

Rating:

Mighty Avengers, The #6 Review by Rob Johnson (March 11, 2015)

No Official Index follows Mr Fantastic's appearances or the Mighty Avengers issues, but the Marvel Continuity Project behind the OI says Reed appears here between Fantastic Four #546 and #547. But he's away on a 2nd honeymoon with Invisible Woman on Titan in the issues spanning those 2 (as he was when SHIELD tried to contact him in #4). The MCP Calendar has to suggest that he popped back to Earth for 1 reason or another. Reed and Sue Richards went to Titan in FF#544 and will return in the storyline in #547-550 (after MAv#1-11). Meanwhile Black Panther and Storm take their place in the FF in #544-546, BP#27-34 and some guest apps, including some after MAv#11. There are also some appearances of 1 or both of the Richards in this issue and the mini-series Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel, Sub-Mariner: Revolution and Penance: Relentless (this last also including Human Torch and Thing) (which other internal evidence places in that order). A problem arises because the last 2 series also include Dr Doom. It is difficult to place these 2 joint MF/IW/DD apps. Dr Doom will be imprisoned by SHIELD in MAv#11 where he'll stay until Secret Invasion, with a documented escape and recapture in FF#557-562 (with no space for other adventures within). MCP currently has Revolution and Relentless between FF#550 and #557 with the assumption that Doom there is a Doombot or he has another (undocumented) escape and recapture - neither of which they actually like. But if they are moved to between FF#544 and #547 then Reed and Sue are away. (And between MAv#11 and FF#547 all 3 players are unavailable.) (And #544 is supposed to happen immediately after Civil War, with no room for eg the 8 days of Revolution in between.)

I have proposed a solution to MCP which involves extending Reed's visit to Earth this issue and including Sue in it. Then the 3 limited series (including A:LBM) can be put before MAv#1-11. In FF#544-546 and BP#27-24 King Solomon's Frogs took the alternate FF hopping through space, dimensions and timelines. I suggest the unpredictable artefacts took them for a jaunt through time as well (which is within their capabilities), so that they arrived back long after they set out. The Baxter Building alerted Reed and Sue that their friends had been missing for a while, so they came home to investigate, and meanwhile made the relevant appearances. The alt-FF returned between Revolution and Relentless, and BP and Storm took the opportunity to check up on their kingdom of Wakanda, which is why the original FF are together for Relentless. After this issue Reed and Sue return to Titan, and the alt-FF continue to have adventures after MAv#11. The 1st of which has Storm revisiting the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #487-491 while Reed and Sue are away, HT and Thing are alone in the Baxter Building, and BP is (still?) absent (in Wakanda?). The MCP are still considering this.

The New Avengers discovered that the current Elektra was a Skrull when they killed her in NAv#31. In NAv#32 Spider-Woman took the body from the rest of her team against their will to bring it to Tony Stark. This is the 1st indication of the Secret Invasion. Spider-Woman is also a Skrull replacement, their Queen Veranke. In NAv#42 we will understand that the Skrulls want to sow distrust among superhumans. In fact in #16 we will be told that Skrull Pagon was sent as Elektra to take over the Hand specifically in order to provoke some superhero(es) to kill her, thereby exposing the Skrull infiltration and starting the spread of paranoia. This has already begun within the NAv, and now Veranke is presumably bringing Pagon's body to Tony Stark to infect the MAv as well. The Ultron in the helicarrier's computers will strike in the Avengers/Invaders limited series. But before that we'll see that the consciousness from the female body here escapes into space and will play a major role in the Annihilation Conquest Event.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Mighty Avengers, The #6 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

We start by backtracking to insert a scene before the end of last issue. Henry Pym explains he's written a virus in an old programming language that Ultron won't know about that will reverse the changes the robot made to create the female body it's using now, and hopefully get Tony Stark back. Ares will be miniaturised to deliver the virus before Ultron manages to get control of another nuclear missile.

Cut to the end of last issue as little Ares drives a sky-sled down Ultron's throat, and Ultron panics as she detects the virus inside her. Her missile site hacking attempts stop, and Black Widow calls the Mighty Avengers off to avoid damaging the body that they hope will soon be Stark's again.

Ares flies through Ultron's bloodstream, fighting off antibodies. But he's suddenly buffeted as Sentry returns from Pittsburg (where a punch from Ultron sent him last issue) and resumes his attack on the killer of his wife. Wonder Man tries to stop him, and then Ms Marvel.

But Ares fights through everything and attaches the necessary device to Ultron's brain. And the virus starts working. Ares now has to fight his way out again as Ultron's form starts spasmodically morphing. Wasp dives in to help him.

Everyone else watches as Ultron seems to explode. Wasp flies out of the explosion carrying mini-Ares. And stark-naked Tony Stark falls to the ground.

Tony wakes up later in a SHIELD hospital bed surrounded by his teammates, Henry Pym and Reed Richards. They have to explain about Ultron taking him over and turning him female. (Stark hurriedly checks that he's male again.) Extremis pulled him through the transition and removed any problem side-effects. Reed gives him a clean bill of health. Wasp says ex-husband Hank saved him.

After the others leave Ms Marvel reports to Tony on the team's performance. As she expected Ares isn't a team player, but he had a lot to do with getting rid of Ultron. And Sentry is the loose cannon she feared he would be.

As Tony falls asleep Carol Danvers muses on his weather-controlling satellites that Ultron used to nearly destroy civilisation. And she wonders what other secrets he has up his sleeve. And what will happen when he goes too far.

What follows is a series of epilogues.

Sentry returns to his Watchtower and is shocked to find his wife Lindy is alive again. It suggests that he unknowingly brought her back when he touched her body last issue.

Ms Marvel meets up with Wonder Man and we learn that they are in a relationship. Simon Williams accuses team leader Carol of trying to keep him out of danger. (In #3 she wouldn't let WM stay with Sentry to fight Ultron.)

Jan Van Dyne has a prickly conversation with her ex Henry Pym. She pays him a back-handed compliment about saving the world from the monster he created. Then makes snide remarks about his current affair with Tigra. (We also see Ultron's normal robot face briefly on a computer screen.)

Tony Stark's recuperative sleep is disturbed by Spider-Woman breaking into the room carrying the body of a Skrull dressed as Elektra.

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