I’m unable to churn out large posts regularly at the moment
due to extra work obligations, but I wanted to put out something of substance,
something that looks more deeply at what a few pages of not-quite Zombies in the MC2 actually tells us about the original Avengers. I’ve already
tackled the History of the MC2 Avengers in the past, so consider this a supplemental
piece to that post.
Created by combining magic with stolen blood and tissue
samples of various former and present Avengers, the ‘magical clones’
are sent against the current Avengers team as a diversion. There are eighteen
‘zombie’ Avengers depicted in Avengers Next #1. They are
as follows:
1.
Falcon
2.
Hulk
3.
Vision
4.
Wonder Man
5.
Quicksilver
6.
Hawkeye
7.
Stinger
8.
Black Widow
9.
Hercules
10.
Luke Cage
11.
J2
12.
Freebooter
13.
Scarlet Witch
14.
Thunderstrike
15.
Black Panther
16.
Bluestreak
17.
American Dream
18.
Yellowjacket *
*seen on later page only
Let’s group them into smaller groups based on their actual Avenger
counterparts. First up, the ‘Zombie’ A-Next Members:
1.
Stinger
2.
J2
3.
Freebooter
4.
Thunderstrike
5.
Bluestreak
6.
American Dream
Obviously, these are all the current-generation of Avengers,
and it’s evident the six of them donated their blood and tissue samples prior
to the events of this story, most likely before Last Planet Standing, as
Freebooter and Stinger were stated to be on leave at the start of
Avengers Next #1. Notably, Crimson Curse is not seen among the horde
of ‘Zombies,’ despite being the only member of the new Avengers
to have died. This perhaps indicates that the new Avengers samples were provided
after her death in A-Next #11.
Next, lets list all of the ‘Zombie’ Avengers whose
counterparts are known to be still alive/operational:
1.
Hulk
2.
Vision
3.
Hawkeye
4.
Hercules
5.
Luke Cage
6.
Scarlet Witch
7.
Black Panther
Bruce Banner is first seen in the MC2 in A-Next
#3 where we learn he hasn’t turned into the Hulk in some time and
has settled down in the suburbs to raise his son. The Hulk was last seen
in Last Hero Standing #5 accompanying Loki to Limbo after being
mind-controlled into causing a swathe of destruction through New York.
See here for more information.
The synthezoid Vision is first glimpsed in What If
#105 on a computer screen, making his first proper MC2 appearance via
flashback in A-Next #7 where we learn he was one of the few original Avengers
to return from the team’s last mission. We later learn in Last Hero Standing
and Last Planet Standing he works as an advisor to the President of
the United States. Apparently destroyed in Last Planet Standing #4, Vision
is presumably restored by the newly combined being formerly known as the Silver
Surfer and Galactus as he returns in Fantastic Five (vol. 2) #5
and is among the reserve Avengers members called upon in American Dream #4.
Hawkeye is first seen in flashbacks in A-Next #7
where we learn he was also among the few original Avengers to return
from their final mission. Clint makes his first present-day appearance
in A-Next #10 where we learn he was blinded as a result of the mission,
but went on to train the members of the Dream Team. Barton would also
return to his costumed identity in Last Hero Standing while
mind-controlled by Loki and as an Avenger in Spider-Girl
#93-#95 with the aid of a device that enables him a form of sight. He is
among the assembled heroes attempting to stop Galactus in Last Hero Standing
and is one of the many heroes to fall victim of Sylene’s energy duplicate
spell in Avengers Next #4.
Hercules first appears in A-Next #6, driven
made by his experiences on the original Avengers final mission to an
alternate world, he was kept in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility until discovered
by the new Avengers. He is currently in the care of his son Argo
and only makes another appearance via flashbacks to the original Avengers
final mission in A-Next #7.
I’ve placed Luke Cage on this particular listing
because, as I’ve noted on a few previous occasions, we know thanks to this ‘magical
clone’ or ‘Zombie’ that Cage was formerly a member of the Avengers,
though it’s unclear exactly when he joined the team. We also know that Luke
is still alive thanks to a comment made by American Dream in this story.
The Scarlet Witch is first seen in the MC2 in A-Next
#7 in flashback where we learn that upon her return from the original Avengers
final mission, she and Iron Man set to work to close the breach between
worlds to ensure there would be no incursions from the alternate universe. We
also get a hint of Wanda in the same issue with a single panel showing her
energy signature. A-Next #8 reveals that in order to seal the gateway
between worlds the Scarlet Witch was placed in a coma-like stasis to
hold it closed with her powers, protecting herself by generating several physical
manifestations of Wonder Man. Wanda remains in this state (as
seen A-Next #10) until kidnapped and awakened by Loki’s spell in Last
Hero Standing #1-#5 after which she briefly returns to active duty as an Avenger
in Spider-Girl #93-#95. She remains with the team during Last Planet
Standing and is seen as an energy duplicate of Sylene in Avengers
Next #4.
The Black Panther, much like Luke Cage, isn’t
actually seen on-panel in the MC2. Apart from his ‘Zombie’
counterpart seen here in Avengers Next #1, the only mentions of T’Challa are in A-Next #4 where his son T’Chaka aka Coal Tiger mentions
the Ruler of Wakanda in the present tense. See here for the Wakandan Royal Family.
List of ‘Zombie’ Avengers whose counterpart’s
status is unknown in the present day MC2:
1.
Wonder Man *
2.
Quicksilver
3.
Black Widow
Wonder Man is a point of contention within the MC2.
In the Main Marvel Universe, Simon Williams died in Force
Works #1, an event that greatly affected Force Works team mate, fellow Avenger
and lover the Scarlet Witch. However, Wonder Man was revealed to
remain lingering in some form in Avengers (vol. 3) #2 and was eventually
restored by Wanda’s powers in Avengers (vol. 3) #11. As the History
of the MC2’s Avengers mostly diverges prior to this point, Wonder Man
may have simply remained deceased. Either he was already dead long ago, thanks
to the shared history of the MC2 and the Main Marvel Universe diverging,
or he was restored under similar circumstances. To further confuse the matter, when
I asked A-Next co-creator and artist Ron Frenz about Wonder
Man’s status in relation to his resurrection in Avengers (vol. 3) he
had this to say:
‘As we’ve discussed, anything we could use, we’d use.
Anything else we’d ignore. We wanted to acknowledge current continuity but, as
you remember, Jarvis says everyone who was EVER an Avenger was
gathered for that meeting and assault so we didn’t really feel we were committing
to any single moment in specific continuity.’
Then, when asked if Wonder Man was still dead:
‘Dead or “Missing in Action,” I guess’
I will one day have
to dedicate an entire post to Wonder Man, so keep an eye out!
The ‘Zombie’ counterpart of Quicksilver is the
only acknowledgment of Pietro Maximoff’s existence within the MC2
and as such, his status remains unknown. The blood and tissue sample later
stolen and used to create this double could have been obtained at any point.
The Black Widow doesn’t make a physical appearance in
the MC2 outside her ‘Zombie’ counterpart’s decaying visage in Avengers
Next #1. However, Natasha Romanoff is seen in Spider-Girl #60
on both the cover and within the thoughts of May ‘Mayday’ Parker as she reflects
on her place amongst the other superheroines who came before her. No specifics
are given, and as such her status remains unknown. Expect a dedicated post on the
Black Widow at some point.
And finally, a list of Avengers who are confirmed as
deceased in the MC2 among those represented by their counterparts in the
zombie horde:
1.
Falcon
2.
Yellowjacket
The Falcon aka Sam Wilson is one of the few
confirmed cases of a deceased Avenger who didn’t die on the original
team’s final mission. We learn in Spider-Girl #60 that the Ladyhawks’
father ‘Boss’ Morgan was revealed to be responsible for the Falcon’s
murder. This information is only brought to light during a police investigation
after Morgan’s supposed death, which occurred while both Ladyhawks’
were still in high school. There are no specifics given for when Sam Wilson’s
death occurred, though when Morgan is revealed to be still alive, he
remarks that the Falcon ‘died quite some time ago’ (Amazing Spider-Girl #7).
I nearly neglected to include this one on the list, but upon
a quick re-read of Avengers Next #1, I realized Yellowjacket is
also among the shambling ‘zombie’ Avengers; though not seen in
the splash page he appears in a single panel later. Of course, Hank Pym
as Giant-Man is seen in the flashbacks within A-Next #7 when the
original Avengers agree to travel to the alternate universe to confront
the threat to the multiverse. Later in the same flashback sequence, we see the
few returning Avengers including a heartbroken Janet Pym aka Wasp
make it back to their world. When Jarvis asks Iron Man where the others are, Stark
states ‘There are no others.’ Shocked, Jarvis continues ‘Y-you mean Captain
America… Giant-Man…. Justice…’ to which Iron Man
confirms ‘And all the rest!’
As I noted above, obviously not all of the Avengers are
represented by a doppleganger. It’s rather interesting to note which characters
aren’t seen amongst Sylene’s army of horrors: the aforementioned Crimson
Curse or the recently deceased Captain America, along with many of
those who died on the final mission and other members of both the ‘interim’ Avengers
era and the A-Next era of the team. It’s more than likely that when
swiping these samples for Sylene, Warp didn’t grab them all. It’s
also possible some members didn’t give permission for samples of their blood
and tissue to be collected.
When I started working on this it was only intended to be a
brief look at where the various Avengers represented by these replicated
off-brand ‘magical clone’ Zombies are now in the MC2. I
think I may have gone a little beyond that, but hopefully the post is informative
and clarifies some things for readers.
Until I stop wondering how they obtained a sample from the super
thick-skinned Luke Cage, I remain
frogoat
