Avengers #37
To Conquer a Colossus!
The Avengers have been lured to the nation of Transia where they have been taken prisoner by Ixar and his Ultroids. The final two to fall are Captain America and the Black Widow. The pair are put into stasis cylinders under orders of Ultrana — a female Ultroid — so that the Avengers can be drained of their superpowers. Trapped and unable to free themselves, the Avengers goad Ixar into tell them why he has come to Earth. Ultrana explains that Ixar was the last survivor of a humanoid race that was in nearly wiped out in a nuclear war against another alien species. The lone survivor of his species, Ixar built the Ultroids to fight his battles. The enemy responded in kind. Ultimately, Ixar grew old and with his life fleeting he had his Ultroids transfer his mind into a super-computer. From there, he guided his creations across the universe to find a species that developed super-human powers that he could steal and give to his creations and thus have an edge over his enemies.[1] They first captured the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and used the knowledge they gained from the twins to set a trap for the rest of the Avengers.
Once they are left alone, Goliath gambles on the fact that they don’t know that he has his size-changing powers back and manages to escape from his prison by shrinking to ant-size.[2] Goliath then free the others, leading to a happy reunion for Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. They then fight their way through the Ultroids to confront Ixtar. However, the super-computer warns them to stay away as he has the burgomeister of the village as his hostage.[3] Unwilling to risk an innocent life, the Avengers quickly find themselves in a stalemate. Ixtar then absorbs all of the Ultroids into his computer body, transforming himself into a massive Ultroid himself.
Ixtar attacks the team, and at first he has the upper hand and begins incapacitating each Avenger. The Scarlet Witch ultimately defeats him when she realizes that she needs to trigger her hex power on him as though he is an intricate machine that his humanoid form disguises. While this stops Ixtar in his tracks momentarily, the massive Ultroid springs back to life and imprisons the Scarlet Witch again. This leaves only Hawkeye and the Black Widow standing. By this time, Hawkeye has deduced that the Burgomeister is actually Ixtar in disguise and threatens to kill him with one of his explosive arrows. However, Ixtar calls his bluff, reminding the archer of the Avengers’ vow never to take a human life. That’s when the Black Widow sets her widow’s bite to a lethal setting and warns Ixtar that she is not an Avenger and therefore, not bound by their rules.
Ixtar decides not to call the Widow’s bluff and he soon releases the Avengers from captivity and flees the Earth in his ship. Leaving Earth orbit, Ixtar vows to find a way to defeat his pursuers and seeks new galaxies to explore.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Goliath, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch), Black Widow, Ultroids (Ixar, Ultrana)
Continuity Notes
The identity of Ixar’s species and the alien race he was at war with are unidentified. The alien race index in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8 identified Ixtar’s race as the Sirians. Per X-Men Index #1, Avengers Index #1, and the Lucifer entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5, the race Ixar is at war with are the Quist. Ultrana’s story states that the war cost the lives of everyone except Ixar and the leader of the Quist. This is clearly not the case as the Quist has appeared in many stories thereafter. This may have been a lie, considering Ultrana also lied about the true nature of Ixar.
Goliath found himself trapped at a height of 10 feet in Avenger #28. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch left the group to return to their homeland to restore their powers shortly after this in issue #30. This left them unaware of the fact that Pym managed to cure himself in issue #35.
The Burgomeister of the Transian village is not mentioned in this story. He is later identified as Hans Geldoff in the Ixtar entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5.
Topical References
Dated pop-culture references: Mickey Mantle, The Munsters
