Avengers #156
The Private War of Doctor Doom!
With the other Avengers captive on Hydro-Base, the Vision has confronted their captor, Doctor Doom to make him a proposition. He explains that the Avengers attacked Doom because they were captured and enslaved by Attuma, who is plotting to take over the world.[1] This was accomplished in part by Tyrak, a genetically engineered warrior created by Attuma to take the Avengers down. The android suggests that Attuma plans on creating an army of such warriors and that inevitably these forces would be used to attack Doom’s homeland of Latveria. Considering this potential threat, Doom puts down his weapon and agrees to plan things out with the Avengers. Using such cold logic has the Vision once again wondering if he actually has feelings as his identity has been rocked by the sudden reappearance of Wonder Man, the man whose brain patterns his mind was based on.[2]
At that same moment, Wonder Man and the Whizzer are recovering from a battle against Attuma aboard a scientific research station. Attuma had tricked the Sub-Mariner into thinking Wonder Man and the Whizzer were his allies. With the truth finally revealed, the trio enters Namor’s cruise ship to follow Attuma. That’s when Wonder Man is contacted by the Beast, who managed to sneak aboard Attuma’s vessel when he made his escape and tells them to be ready to attack on his signal.
Back on Hydro-Base, the Avengers have been released and Attuma’s slave collars have been removed. While the other Avengers are glad to be free, Iron Man is concerned that he might not be up to snuff in battle after his armor was damaged in the previous confrontations.[3] Wanda is particularly happy to see her husband, the Vision, but is brought to tears when he responds to her excitement with cold logic. This raises concerns among the others, particularly Yellowjacket, who fears that the return of Simon Williams has cost the Vision the humanity he has gained until that point.
Meanwhile, Doctor Doom has managed to use the energy signature from the slave collars to pin-point and track Attuma’s approach. Attuma has returned to his undersea citadel. It is here that Beast is discovered, overpowered and taken prisoner. When he fails to report back to his allies, the Sub-Mariner dives out of the craft to go after alone. Once outside Attuma’s fortress, Namor is attacked by Tyrak. Wonder Man dives in after him and arrives just as the Sub-Mariner falls under Tyrak’s might. Seeing that the Beast is also a prisoner and that Attuma is preparing to use the modified bio-stimulator, Simon wonders what to do next. That’s when the Whizzer detects the approach of another submersible ship.
The ship is carrying the other Avengers who attack Attuma’s fortress in a coordinated effort. Wonder Man joins his teammates, going one-on-one with Tyrak himself. The Vision joins him in battle and the pair take down the massive Atlantean with twin blows. They also quickly defeat Attuma, allowing the Vision to recover his cape from the barbarian. That’s when they notice that the bio-stimulator is gone. Returning to the ship, the Whizzer tells them that Doctor Doom took off in the middle of the battle. Recovering from the attack, Attuma tries to blow up the Avengers with some missiles, but he is stopped by the Sub-Mariner.
Meanwhile, Doom has retreated back to Hydro-Base where he knocks out both Namorita and Tamara Rahn so he can examine the bio-stimulator uninterrupted. That’s when the Avengers arrive to stop him. While the team keeps the Latverian monarch distracted, the Vision comes in the back way and uses his phasing powers to destroy the device to prevent it from falling into Doom’s hands. With his scheme foiled, Doctor Doom retreats. In the aftermath of the battle, the Scarlet Witch tries to get the Vision to open up to her but he refuses to talk. That’s when Captain America returns to tell the team that he found something he wants to investigate but walks in on the tense scene between Wanda and the Vision.[4]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, the Beast, Wonder Man), Whizzer, Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom, Attuma, Namorita, Tamara Rahn
Continuity Notes
The Vision mentions that the United States recently entered into a non-aggression pact with Latveria. This happened in Super-Villain Team-Up #6.
Wonder Man seemingly died in Avengers #9 due to a side effect of his powers. In the meantime, Ultron used Simon William’s brain patterns to create the Vision’s personality. Wonder Man has recently turned up alive again. See Avengers #57-58, 134-135, and 151.
Iron Man’s armor was damaged by Tyrak in Avengers #154 and Doctor Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up #9.
What Captain America finds leads to a clash with the Red Skull as we’ll see in Super-Villain Team-Up #11.
