Wonder Man (vol. 2) #23
Nothing’s Dead Forever - Hidden Depth Part Two
Wonder Man has found himself in the middle of a conflict between Mephisto and his son Blackheart and Simon’s brother the Grim Reaper. Forced to fight for Mephisto for the soul of Alex Flores,[1] Simon fights his brother the Grim Reaper Simon is stopped dead in his tracks when Eric reveals that he has the souls of their parents — Sandford and Martha Williams — as his own prisoners.[2] When Simon tries to dismiss his parents as some kind of trick, Martha reminds her son of the secret promise they made to one another many years ago. Since nobody else knew about it, Wonder Man realizes that these might actually be his parents.[3]
Furious at his parents, Eric begins using her powers to torture them with eldritch flames. When Simon tries to reach out to his parents these flames completely incinerate his right hand. Demanding that the Reaper let their parents go, the two begin brawling once more. This leaves Mephisto and Blackheart to their own devices and the Hell-Lord decides to summon an army of demons to deal with his rebellious son. Blackheart orders the Grim Reaper to stop fighting Wonder Man and help him. Eric complies and also forces brother Simon to help out as well by threatening to harm their parents. Seeing that Wonder Man is having a hard time fighting with one arm, the Reaper uses his power to graft his own right hand to Simon’s arm and boasts that part of himself now lives in his brother. Growing tired with the conflict, Mephisto decides to deal with it directly and casts a spell to banish all the intruders from his realm.
Wonder Man reappears in the hospital just as Alex Flores goes into convulsions. The doctors try to get her to stop and her daughter, Jamie, wonders what’s wrong. Wonder Man knows that this is the work of Mephisto and demands that the demon let Alex’s soul free. All Mephisto does in response is laugh. Jamie once again blames Simon for her mother getting into this situation to begin with.[4] When Simon reaches out to Jamie the touch of his undead right hand is chilling to the touch. Demanding to know what Mephisto wants all he gets in response is even more laughter.
Deciding that he needs the help of someone who has fought Mephisto in the past. Simon heads to Avengers Compound in the hopes that the Scarlet Witch can help him find someone who can help.[5] However, when he arrives the hand given to him by the Grim Reaper begins choking her. That’s when Hawkeye and War Machine come barging out of the compound to stop Simon from hurting Wanda. Wonder Man tells War Machine to blow off his hand. However, when War Machine complies, the ghoulish appendage reforms itself. That when the Beast arrives and tries to calm his old friend down. Hank explains that he has had a lot to think about regarding the nature of Wonder Man’s death and says they need to talk.[6]
Back at the hospital, Jamie Flores is trying to ease her mother’s pain when she is visited by Blackheart and the Grim Reaper. The two explain that they have come to ease Alex’s pain and desperate to help her mother, Jamie steps aside and lets the pair work. The Grim Reaper waves a hand over Alex’s body, causing her to suddenly stop convulsing. The pair then teleport away, leaving Jamie to try and rouse her mother.
While at Avengers Compound, the team has contact the east coast branch and asked for their help look for Doctor Strange. While they wait to hear back, Wonder Man thanks the Beast and Scarlet Witch for their help and apologizes for his past anti-mutant statements.[7][8][9] That’s when Simon gets a call from the hospital to inform him that Alex has died. This deeply upsets Wonder Man and he begins losing his temper. Looking at War Machine, Simon is reminded how his former boss, Tony Stark, recently faked his death.[10] Simon also blames Tony for sending him down the path to being a hero. Everyone tries to get Simon to calm down but he suddenly fires beams of ionic energy from his eyes, hitting War Machine with sufficient force to knock him outside. The two brawl on the front lawn until Simon’s possessed hand suddenly transforms into a scythe made of flesh. After stopping himself from killing War Machine, his hand returns to normal. The Grim Reaper then begins talking to Simon through his hand. Mocking Simon, the Reaper tells him to return home.
When Wanda asks Simon what’s going on, he tells her he’s a bad person and perhaps this is why he always envied her estranged wife, the Vision. As the android was programmed with his personality it was something that was untainted and pure by the evils of being human.[11] Wanda refuses to believe this and tells Simon to come home with her that evening so they can spend the night together, telling him that she will keep him safe.
After spending some time alone, Wonder Man decides that it is time for him to face his destiny. Kissing Wanda goodbye, Simon walks outside where Blackheart, the Grim Reaper, and his parents spirits are waiting for him. Shrouding Simon in a cloak of his own, his parents welcome him to their Legion of the Night.
Recurring Characters
Wonder Man, Beast, Mephisto, Blackheart, Grim Reaper, Avengers West Coast (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, War Machine), Alex Flores, Jamie Flores, Ginger Beach
Continuity Notes
Alex Flores was seriously injured by Splice in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #20 and has been hospitalized ever since. Mephisto has been using her soul to manipulate Wonder Man into doing his bidding since last issue.
Although Sandford Williams died many years ago (per West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #2), Martha is not actually dead. We’ll see that she is still alive in Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #1. Wonder Man becomes aware that this representation of his mother is false in Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #2. This woman is an impostor or an illusion that was created as part of either Mephisto or Blackheart’s attempts to manipulate Wonder Man. This is all explained in the Wonder Man profile of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #13.
This “secret” is revealed in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #25. Apparently, Martha had Simon promise to always watch out for his brother Eric as he could bring shame to the family if left to his own devices. This memory is apparently a false one and part of Mephisto and/or Blackheart’s manipulation of events.
Alex and Jamie were given superhuman powers along with Simon’s other friends and neighbors when his powers flared out of control in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #11-12. Later, Simon decided to give up on heroics in issue #18. This led to his friends becoming the Crazy 8 to pick up his slack in the following issue. Their adventures led to Alex being injured in issue #20.
Wonder Man mentions a number of individuals who have clashed with Mephisto in the past. They are:
The Silver Surfer who has frequently clashed with Mephisto as the demon has sought to claim his pure soul. See Silver Surfer #3, 8-9, 16-17, Fantastic Four #157, Silver Surfer (vol. 2) #1, Silver Surfer: Judgement Day #1, Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #32, 44-49 and Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection #2-4.
Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme has fought Mephisto on a number of occasions. See Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #15-16, Defenders #94-105, Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment #1, and Doctor Strange Sorcerer Supreme #6-8, and 30-31.
Thor: Mephisto has also attempted to claim the thunder god’s soul on a number of occasions. See Thor #180-181, 202-205, 310, 325, 381, 429-432, 450-455, Annual #13, and Mephisto Vs #4.
Daredevil: encountered Mephisto on a few occasions in Daredevil #263, 266, 270, and 278-284.
Wonder Man underwent a period of near death between Avengers #9 and 151. This story states that Simon was actually dead during this period. This contradicts Avengers #164 that explained that Simon didn’t actually die but entered a death-like state as his body metamorphosized into pure ionic energy. As explained in the aforementioned Wonder Man profile, statements to Wonder Man actually dying are part of Mephisto/Blackheart’s deceptions.
Wonder Man used anti-mutant slurs during a fit of rage back in Wonder Man (vol. 2) #13.
It’s mentioned here that the Beast is taking time away from investigating a possible mutant disease to help Wonder Man out. They are referring to the Legacy Virus which was unleashed upon the mutant population in X-Force #18. A cure will eventually be found in Uncanny X-Men #390.
Here, the Scarlet Witch is referred to as a mutant. However, years later, it is discovered that she was never one to begin with. She was actually experimented upon by the High Evolutionary as a child. In order to cover up his work he made it so she would always register as a mutant when undergoing genetic testing. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5.
That the time of this story, Tony Stark had recently faked his death in Iron Man #284 so he could secretly undergo treatment for a damaged nervous system. After a cure was found, Tony revealed he was still alive in Iron Man #289-290.
The Vision was an android created by Ultron using Wonder Man’s brain engrams which were copied prior to his “death”, as explained in Avengers #57. Joining the team, the Vision and Scarlet Witch fell in love with one another and got married in Giant-Size Avengers #4. The union came to an abrupt end when the Vision was disassembled and put back together, leaving him an emotionless shell of his former self, as seen in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45. He later abandoned Wanda in Avengers #312.
