In
the sub-basement of Brooklyn University, mad scientist/janitor Humbert
Carpenter is conducting his latest experiment to give his nephew Hubert
superpowers by means of his Omicron-Ray Generator. Hubert is zapped and the
machine explodes as it has before but this time is different: Hubert now has
super-strength. Hubert repairs to his room to ponder what animal-themed
super-identity Uncle Humbert has in mind. They are up to “W” in the alphabet
and a glance at a Beatles album gives him the idea…..
Meanwhile,
Henry “Beast” McCoy has been invited to lecture at the University and he is
fighting nervousness. He excuses himself from a crowd of interested women to
huddle with Angel and Iceman, both in their regular identities. When asked who
they are, Warren introduces himself as McCoy’s booking agent and Bobby calls
himself Hank’s boyfriend, which utterly embarrasses the already nervous Beast
and he has to vomit in the restroom. Bobby and Warren ponder Hank’s natural
extroversion and his opportunity to improve the damaged reputation of
superheroes….
Elsewhere,
Frog-Man a/k/a Eugene Patilio, wearing his father Leap-Frog’s old costume, is
on his way to Beast’s lecture as he considers himself a natural to join the New
Defenders. Eugene changes into his civilian clothes and takes his seat in the
auditorium. Nearby, Bobby and Warren are wondering whether Hank will freeze up
under the pressure. Not to worry, Beast comes bouncing across the room, tossing
out jokes at a mile a minute and juggling objects with his feet. As he’s
answering questions from the audience, Eugene quickly changes into his Frog-Man
identity and jumps onto the stage, crashing into the podium. Angel and Iceman
also take the stage ready to support Beast if this was a supervillain attack.
But Frog-Man announces his desire to join the New Defenders, stunning the three
heroes….
Back
at the Defenders’ headquarters in the Rocky Mountains, everyone is relaxing
around the pool. Cloud feels insecure that Beast and the others didn’t invite
them all to New York; Valkyrie explains that the three former X-Men are longtime
friends with their own bonds. Moondragon advises her to eschew such primitive
cultural paths which prompts Cloud to mention MD’s interest in Warren. A
jealous Candy Southern confronts Moondragon who considers herself above it all
and sinks to the bottom of the pool to continue her meditations uninterrupted….
Back
in New York, Hubert Carpenter, now in costume as the Walrus, terrorizes a
burger joint, ripping up water lines to destroy passing cars and rejoicing in
his mass destruction. Then Uncle Humbert contacts him via radio, calling him
back to the college where killing Beast will make him famous….
As
Frog-Man makes his pitch, the heroes try to talk him out of it but the crowd
chimes in, telling the Defenders to give him a chance. But the Walrus chooses
that moment to crash through the back wall onto the stage, challenging Beast. When
Walrus sees four costumed heroes, he calls Uncle Humbert for advice and is told
to kill all of them. The three Defenders attack their new foe and can’t make a
dent in him. Walrus hurls Beast through the wall, sending the combatants out on
the lawn. The guys tell Froggy to stay behind so he won’t get hurt and pursue
Walrus to another lawn where the bad guy uproots a tree and uses it to take
down all three Defenders with one blow. But Walrus starts to feel dizzy as the
Omicron Rays are wearing off. And it’s at this point that Frog-Man leaps
forward to challenge him. Walrus hits him once, staggering him and then the big
baddie passes out. Froggy, quickly recovering from the blow, takes credit for
the enemy’s defeat. The crowd who witnessed all this calls to the Defenders to
let Frog-Man join the team, as Humbert Carpenter slips away into the distance.
As Warren, Bobby, and Hank stall, Eugene’s father shows up, scolding him for
taking the costume and dragging him home for punishment. And then Warren has an
idea—he announces to the crowd that the events they have just witnessed were
all part of a show, giving credit to all the “special effects” people who made
it possible. But the dean doesn’t take this well, upset at all the destruction
caused by a mere show, demanding the Defenders pay for the damage while he
intends to warn other colleges about their reckless behavior. Hank realizes
that this ends his lecture career and all over a guy dressed like a walrus….
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