Avengers Forever #5
Past Imperfect… Future Tense!
Seven time lost Avengers have been gathered to protect Rick Jones from Immortus who wishes their old ally dead for unknown reasons. Surviving an attack on Chronopolis by Immortus, the band of heroes have escaped into the time stream in one of Kang’s time machines. Detecting three temporal anomalies in the time stream, the Avengers have split into three groups to investigate, leaving Rick to tend to the Sphinx ship.[1] Watching the away teams on the monitors, Rick doesn’t like being force to stay behind.[2]
In one future reality, Captain America and Goliath have joined this era’s Avengers — the black Panther, Crimson Dynamo, Thundra, Killraven, a very pregnant Jocasta, and the Living Lightning — in driving off Martian invaders that have decimated this world.[3] As they fight the Martian Skorpsemen, Captain America admits that he doesn’t like how easily this team of Avengers are willing to take lives. Killraven points out to Cap that the they fight to avenge those who were killed when the Martians first invaded. Goliath takes issue with Jocasta fighting when she is clearly about to give birth. The Crimson Dynamo tells him that Jocasta joined the fight after the aliens killed her husband, Machine Man. With the help of the two time displaced Avengers, the Martian invaders are forced into retreat, the first major victory since this conflict first began. In the aftermath of the battle, Cap and Goliath learn that the toll on Earth has been great, with only 50 thousand humans surviving the carnage. T’Challa still doesn’t want to stop, he wants to follow the Martains back to their home base on Mars and wipe them out for good. With their space ports all destroyed, T’Challa wants to venture back to his native Wakanda where he can use the Vibranium stores to build a space worthy ship. Captain America, who came from an era where he was questioning his purpose, is deeply hurt to see things be this bad.
Rick gets depressed watching this and decides to check on one of the other teams. He tunes to the Wasp and Captain Marvel who have arrived in California circa 1959, during a public speech being given by Vice President Richard Nixon.[4] Thanks to Genis-Vell’s Cosmic Awareness they have discovered that “Nixon” is actually a Skrull in disguise. When changing into their costumes, they are ambushed by a group of super-heroes from this era — 3-D Man, Gorilla Man, Venus, Marvel Boy, and the Living Robot — who call themselves the Avengers. This comes as a shock to Janet, who is unaware that there was an Avengers team that predated the one she helped form.[5] Unfortunately, these Avengers have mistaken the Wasp and Captain Marvel for communist spies trying to kidnap Nixon and a fight breaks out between the two groups.[6] Eventually, both Captain Marvel and the Wasp are subdued long enough for Marvel Boy to telepathically read their minds. He is shocked to discover that the two strangers are telling the truth. They are then let go so they can figure out a way to deal with the Skrull posing as Nixon.[7]
While Rick finds this all fascinating, he picks up a strange flux coming from the location of the third team and decides to see what’s going on.[8] Hawkeye, Songbird, and Yellowjacket had been dispatched to Tombstone, Arizona in the year 1873. When they arrived there, they discovered that Kang had taken over the town. However, Songbird told the others that this time anomaly will get handled by another team of time traveling Avengers.[9] Heading back to the cave where the stashed their time machine, they discover that someone had stolen it while they were gone. That’s when a holographic projection of Kang appears and reveals that he was the one who stole back his technology and rigged the cave with a trap for the thieves. That’s when explosives go off that trap the trio inside. However, the trap isn’t much when Songbird uses her solid sound constructs to punch through the rubble blocking the cave entrance.
As they try to figure out their next move, Yellowjacket starts hitting on Songbird again. Clint gets fed up and asks Yellowjacket is going to get it through his thick head that he’s Hank Pym. Yellowjacket — coming from a period where Pym suffered a mental breakdown and believed himself to be an entirely different person — won’t accept the truth. Clint then suggests that they head back into town and steal back their time machine so they can get back to Rick and the others. That’s when the trio are ambushed by the Black Rider and the Gunhawks known as Reno Jones and Kid Cassidy. Although the three gunslingers think Hawkeye and the others are in league with Kang, Clint convinces them that they are on the same side. With the sun setting, they set up camp to talk out a plan to get into Kang’s fortress. However, Clint is aware that they are dealing with impostors since Kid Cassidy is supposed to be dead.[10] When their guards are down, Hawkeye orders the others to attack. After Songbird restrains them with her solid sound powers, the three “gunslingers” revert back to their true form, revealing that they are all Space Phantoms. This comes as a surprise to everyone as it was always assumed that there was only one Space Phantom.[11]
Back in 1959, FBI agents arrive and tell the Avengers not to worry about the situation they have it under control. That’s when the phony Nixon goes to shake hands with a local general. Detecting a increasing energy flux, Rick uses the Sphinx’s computers to send a warning to the Wasp and Captain Marvel to get out there. This is because the “general” turns out to be Immortus in disguise. He forces “Nixon” to revert to his true form, causing the crowd to panic. Immortus explains that because of the Skrull impostor, humanity will focus its attention on fighting enemies from the stars, something that he cannot allow. Pulling out the Forever Crystal, Immortus then starts erasing this timeline. The Wasp and Captain Marvel flee back to their time ship and begin starting it up. However, it will be a few more seconds before they return to the time stream and the void of nothingness is starting to close in on them!
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Wasp, Goliath, Captain America, Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel, Songbird), Rick Jones, Kang, Immortus, Space Phantoms, Avengers-9930 (Black Panther, Thundra, Crimson Dynamo, Jocasta, Killraven, Living Lightning), Avengers-9904 (3-D Man, Gorilla Man, Venus, Living Robot, Marvel Boy, Venus)
Continuity Notes
The Avengers were all plucked from different points in history as seen in Avengers Forever #1 and explained last issue. They are:
Captain America circa Captain America #175, after he discovered that the President of the United States was secretly the leader of the Secret Empire.
Hawkeye was plucked out of time circa Avengers #99. This was after he returned to Earth following the Kree/Skrull War without his Goliath growth serum or his trick arrows.
Yellowjacket was abducted from Avengers #60. Actually Hank Pym, a mental breakdown convinced him that he was someone else and that he killed Hank Pym.
Goliath and the Wasp come from the present day, having been plucked out of time circa Avengers (vol. 3) #11.
Songbirdand by extension Captain Marvel) aren’t from the mainline Marvel Universe, but an alternate reality. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, it has been designated Reality-98120.
Rick Jones mentions how he got his mobility back thanks to the Destiny Force. Prior to this story, Rick had been crippled in Incredible Hulk #457. He will regained his mobility in Avengers Forever #3.
Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3, this possible future has been index as Reality-9930. It is a variant of Earth-691, circa the invasion of Earth by the Martian Masters first seen in Amazing Adventures (vol. 2) #18.
This isn’t the 1959 of Earth-616, but an alternate reality. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 designates it Reality-9904. It was previously seen in What If? #9. In this reality features a team of Avengers that were formed in the 1950s including the characters we see later on. These 1950s Avengers have counterparts on Earth-616 called the Agents of Atlas, who we’ll see in Agents of Atlas #1.
Janet was a founding member of the original team in Avengers #1. At this point, it was believed that Janet’s team was the first team of Avengers on Earth-616. Later stories have revealed that other groups have gone by that name in the past. The first Avengers were from 1 Million BC, they were formed by Odin as seen in Marvel Legacy #1. Thor formed his own team of Avengers in 1000 AD, as revealed in Mighty Thor (vol. 3) #7. It was also revealed that Nick Fury formed what he called the Avengers Initiative in 1959, this short lived group were first glimpsed in New Avengers (vol. 2) #10. Lastly, there was a team calling themselves the Avengers in 1972, as seen in Mighty Avengers (vol. 2) #12.
Captain Marvel remarks that Marvel Boy isn’t utilizing the full power of his Quantum Bands. Marvel Boy was originally given these powerful bracelets by the Uranian Eternals in Marvel Boy #1. However, Marvel Boy never fully utilized their full power. As we’ll learn in Quasar #2, the Quantum Bands are powerful weapons that can utilize quantum energy and were the tools/weapons used by Eon’s chosen Protector of the Universe.
3-D Man states here that he has fought the Skrulls before. The Earth-616 version of 3-D Man was depicted fighting the Skrulls in Marvel Premiere #35-37.
Rick recalls the time that the Hulk fought the Earth-616 3-D Man, that happened in Incredible Hulk #251.
Songbird’s correct, as those events will be depicted in Avengers #141-144.
The fate of Kid Cassidy is murky. Original accounts in Gunhawks #1-7 places those events as happening a year after the end of the Civil War, which would put Cassidy’s death in Gunhawks #6 as happening somewhere around 1866-1867. However, Blaze of Glory #1-4 has Cassidy still alive in 1885 and becoming a bounty hunter, he was later strangled to death that same year. Per the Apache Skies limited series, many of Marvel’s old western stories are “dime novel” adaptations of real events. So it’s entirely possible that his first reported death was incorrect. That all said, perhaps Hawkeye got his dates wrong and was just extremely lucky with his guess.
The Avengers first encountered a Space Phantom way back in Avengers #2. Rick notes that the Space Phantom had worked for Immortus in the past. This was seen in Thor #281-282. Avengers Forever #8 reveals that there are innumerable Space Phantoms that have been employed by Immortus over the years for various purposes.
Topical References
References to the present day being in the 20th century in this story should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age forward enough to a point that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
The Wasp states that the 1950s Avengers have existed 40 years prior to the Modern Age team. This measurement of time should be considered topical. As the Sliding Timescale moves the Modern Age forward, the gulf of time between 1959 and the start of the present day will continue to grow larger over time.
