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Mighty Avengers #17

Aug 2008
Brian Michael Bendis, Khoi Pham

Story Name:

(no title given)


Synopsis

Mighty Avengers #17 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
Several months ago Henry Pym approaches a lonely nighttime cafe in Oregon and asks the proprietor Bruno for a house speciality coffee with hot chocolate. He says he had it here years ago and it's on his list of the top 10 best things on the planet. In return he's going to let Bruno in on a secret. But before he can do so Dum Dum Dugan of SHIELD enters and calls him Dr Pym, which makes Bruno realise he's got a famous Avenger here.

Dugan and Pym retire to a corner table to chat privately. Pym says he wanted to talk to Queen Veranke but he can't get hold of her so he called him instead. Dugan says she's busy being an Avenger, and post-Civil War everyone's minimising contact. Pym says he needs to make her understand that the invasion isn't going to work and they should pull out now. Dugan says he thinks this is Dr Pym talking, not Criti Noll the Skrull - he's gone native. And as Henry Pym he's going to do what Henry Pym always does, screw things up. But they need Noll to get a hold of himself and get back to gathering intel. Noll replies that the intel he has gathered tells him that it's all going wrong. Nick Fury has eluded them, Thor seems to be back and they don't know where the Scarlet Witch is.

Bruno is phoning a friend to tell them what's happening when Dugan loses patience and ushers Pym outside where there are gathered troops, tanks and helicopters. And the cafe gets blown up. Bruno miraculously survives, and through the smoke and debris he sees a giant-size Yellowjacket being strafed by 'copters while he picks up and throws at tanks. Then he shrinks down and escapes. Dugan sends the troops to search with infrared- and bio-scanners. Then he shoots Bruno dead, repeating the Skrull mantra "He loves you".

Fairly-small YJ is running through the woods being shot at. Dugan tells his SHIELD Agents to take him out by any means necessary. Because they're using lights the target is able fly at them in insect mode and zap them with his stinger. So they switch to infrared goggles. Dugan spots him and fires several times but the shots miss the tiny target until it's almost upon him. But then an Agent turned Super-Skrull whacks Pym with a Thing fist on the end of a flexible Mr Fantastic arm. Dugan sees that many of his team have reverted to their Skrull forms which they're *never* supposed to do, even though he said "by any means necessary".

And anyway they still haven't killed or caught Criti Noll. Who now attacks giant-size, battering most of the troops. He picks up Dugan, complains that he should have listened to him and throws him against a tree. Then he picks up the FF-style Skrull who flexi-punches him in the nose, which makes Pym drop him. Another Skrull leaps down from somewhere to land in Pym's eye, and Noll reflexively throws him a long distance away. In pain and partly blinded he still fights back against the attacking Skrulls until finally Dugan shoots him in the head and his giant body collapses dead. And now at last he reverts to a (normal-sized) Skrull.

The other Skrulls turn back into human SHIELD Agents and Dugan initiates a cleanup which includes checking that no satellite surveillance noticed what they did, and killing anyone nearby who might have witnessed something. At least it was a remote location. But back at Bruno's destroyed cafe a crowd has gathered and the local sheriff gets told it was a mutant attack. They don't believe it, pictures get taken and they want to know what's happened to Bruno. We aren't shown what happens next.

But we do see another Criti Noll (presumably a clone) being turned into Henry Pym. Veranke tells the newbie that (s)he's not the 1st but (s)he's going to have to take over the role seamlessly.

We see 1 such test where new Hank Pym continues his sexual relationship with Tigra at the Initiative training site Camp Hammond. But SHIELD Agents break into the bedroom to take him to his ex-wife (Wasp).


 

Review / Commentaries


Mighty Avengers #17 Review by (June 22, 2024)
The cover replicates that of Tales To Astonish #27 for Henry Pym's debut in The Man In The Ant Hill, with the same dialogue but Skrulls instead of ants.

Andy Lanning assists Danny Miki with the inking.

We saw the 1st Criti Noll taking Pym's place in #15's flashbacks. (S)he's been there though House Of M, the Beyond mini-series and Civil War. However the 'SHIELD Agents' seem to suggest that this isn't the 1st Hank Pym Skrull that's gone rogue.

The scene in Bruno's cafe has what seems to be World War Hulk on the news. But the Marvel Chronology Project has WWH well after our #3 ...

... and the last page with Tigra duplicates a scene in the middle of #3 where SHIELD come to take Pym to the Wasp with the Avengers to help against Ultron.

But before that the new Hank Pym cameos in Fantastic Four #547-549 examining an object from space for Reed Richards (also before WWH).

After #3 he remains in #4-6 fighting Ultron. Then it's on to the Initiative series starting with #1 (which has WWH in #4-5).



> Mighty Avengers comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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

Khoi Pham
Danny Miki
Dean White
Aleksi Briclot (Cover Penciler)
Aleksi Briclot (Cover Inker)
Aleksi Briclot (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Dave Lanphear.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: Joe Quesada.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman

(Veranke)
Tigra
Tigra

(Greer Nelson)

Plus: Dum Dum Dugan (Skrull), Yellowjacket (Criti Noll).