Synopsis
Avengers, The (1963 series) #83 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
Wasp is back in Avengers Mansion for a visit from Alaska (where she and husband Yellowjacket went in #75) but she finds the Meeting Room occupied only by Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Medusa of the Inhumans and an unknown char named Valkyrie who call themselves the Liberators. Val recounts her origin as a female scientist ignored or disparaged by her male colleagues. So she worked long and hard to prove her work valid until it accidentally gave her superstrength. She persuades the others that they too suffer from male chauvinism. Scarlet Witch and Wasp live in the shadow of Quicksilver and Yellowjacket. Black Widow was rejected for Avengers membership more than once while Black Panther and Vision were accepted 1st time. And Medusa is consigned to being the voice of Black Bolt. Strangely the women are immediately convinced and join Valkyrie in her chariot drawn by 2 wingless flying horses (which she claims are another product of her scientific experiments).
The 4 male Avengers have gone to the Annual Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont which is populated by fans in (Marvel) superchar costumes. They are greeted by organiser Tom Fagan dressed as Nighthawk and meet fans Roy and Jeannie Thomas (as Spider-Man and Invisible Girl). The team occupy 1 of the Parade floats but they are also there to protect Dr T W Erwin (on the following float) of Miskatonic University and his Parallel Time power source. He is attacked by the Masters Of Evil (last seen in #55 where all but Whirlwind were imprisoned - Klaw has since broken them out). This results in 1-on-1 fights. Melter buries Vision in molten tarmac which he can't go ghostly to escape because the boiling tar would damage his body during the transformation. Klaw buries Black Panther under a falling wall. Whirlwind and Quicksilver rush around each other inconclusively. Goliath falls foul of Radioactive Man's paste gun.
Then the Liberators arrive and take on the villains. Wasp blinds Melter temporarily with her sting. Black Widow takes out Klaw with her 'bite' and a kick. Medusa tangles Whirlwind up in her hair. And Scarlet Witch's hex causes a tree-trunk (which Goliath had uprooted to use as a weapon) to fall on Radioactive Man's head. The male Avengers applaud them until the females turn on *them*. Medusa's hair is equally good at dealing with Pietro as his sister Wanda cheers. Sting and bite combined are too much for BP (who can't bring himself to hit women). And at last Valkyrie joins in as her power-lance takes down Goliath and Vision.
The Liberators take Dr Erwin and the shackled Avengers to Erwin's lab in Miskatonic U and his Parallel-Time Projector which his energy-unit will power. He says he's never tested it yet - it might work or it might explode. Then Valkyrie reveals that she's really the Asgardian Enchantress, and she explains what's really going on.
In Hulk#102 she and Executioner attacked Asgard. Now we learn that Odin banished them to a barren dimension saying that if they ever escaped to another realm their powers would be halved. They survived together there until the female ruler of the place appeared and asked Executioner to be her consort. He gladly left Enchantress alone. She eventually found her way to Earth with her power halved and a hatred of males.
She wants to use Erwin's Projector to take her back to Asgard where her full power will be restored. She used spells to disguise herself, to affect the Liberators' minds and to bind the male Avengers. She prepares to kill the men but Scarlet Witch's hex surrounds her with a sphere which rebounds her spell back on her and causes an explosion. When the smoke settles there's a big hole and no Enchantress. Wanda explains that she'd become suspicious when Valkyrie called Wasp a 'wench' so she didn't use her hex power in the battle but reserved it all to use against her.
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Goliath (
Clint Barton), Melter (
Bruno Horgan).