Avengers #202: Review

Dec 1980

David Michelinie, George Perez

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Story Name:

This evil undying

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #202 Review by Rob Johnson (April 21, 2015)

This issue like some of the last 1 is based on Jim Shooter's short story of the same name in Marvel Pocket Novels #9 Next issue we'll find out what Beast and Wonder Man were doing while all this was going on. It mentions here that Captain America is pro tem leader only. Iron Man resigned the chairmanship in #197 but they still haven't had the planned election. Wasp gives an expanded explanation in MPN#9 of her trip in Scarlet Witch's glove. The book is a *bit* more explicit than comics could be in those days, and Jan makes it fairly clear that Wanda and Vision were being intimate in their room. Luckily, she says, she only arrived after they were finished. Then she was rendered unconscious too when Iron Man zapped Wanda, and she woke up just in time to do her intervention. Tony Stark suggests that Ultron left a hypnotic suggestion in his brain last time the Avengers fought the robot (#170-171) - specifically in Stark's brain not Iron Man's and Ultron doesn't know they are the same. But it was Iron Man involved in that story, not as Tony Stark. I think this is the 1st time the adamantium resins are named. It doesn't say here but this is Ultron-9, and his next version Ultron-10 will be in Marvel Two-In-One #92-93. That time it will be Jocasta who obeys a post-hypnotic command to recreate him. Thor's next app will be a cameo with other Avengers in Daredevil #164 where DD admits his secret ID to Ben Urich. But this won't happen until after #206.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #202 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

It''s the middle of the night and Iron Man has called an emergency meeting in Avengers Mansion. Present with him are Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision and guests Hawkeye and Jocasta. Suddenly a window shatters and tiny Wasp crashes to the ground before becoming full-size.

She tells them what happened last issue. Jan Pym was home alone (Yellowjacket had gone to a science symposium) when a robot broke into Hank''s lab and stole 2 cannisters. Wasp was injured in a fight and the robot appeared to blast her to dust. Now we learn that she actually shrank out of the way and flew here.

Wasp changes out of her costume and gets an arm bandaged. Iron Man asks her if the stolen cannisters were labelled Ad Resin X and Ad Resin Y. He reveals that similar chemicals were stolen from Stark International last issue. These resins are mixed to make adamantium, and the Golden Avenger thinks that the thefts mean Ultron is back, although it wasn''t Ultron that attacked Jan.

The Avengers remind each other about Ultron. How he was created by Hank Pym (#58). How he hates humanity. How he upgraded his body to adamantium (#66) with a molecular rearranger built-in - the only thing that allows him to modify his own body. (Adamantium is normally indestructible once the resins have set.) And how Scarlet Witch defeated him last time (#171) with a hex that caused the molecular rearranger to go out of control. (They forget to mention that Ultron created Jocasta (#162).)

Iron Man figures that Ultron stole the resins from SI to build the robot that broke into Hank''s lab. Now he''s got more resin, and IM suspects he intends to build an adamantium army. Cap suggests they need to protect Wanda - Ultron is bound to want to neutralise her threat after last time. The Witch counters that they should go after him - Jocasta can locate him cybernetically. But the silver robot informs them that her senses are being jammed. She''d been trying to locate Beast and Wonder Man (who left the Mansion last issue).

Vision offers to guard his wife Wanda, and Cap decides they''ll just have to wait for Ultron to make a move. He goes for a workout and discovers an audience of Wasp back in costume. Hawkeye pops in to tell him that Ultron''s robot stole some more resin. Jan says she''s going home to clean up the mess the robot made - she''ll be little use against Ultron.

Meanwhile Tony Stark records a message because he couldn''t get hold of Thor, the only Avenger who knows he is Iron Man. In the message he admits his dual identity and says that he believes Ultron left the industrialist with a post-hypnotic command to rebuild the robot after its destruction last time, without realising that it was also contolling Iron Man. When Ultron realises this he will use the Golden Avenger against his teammates. So last issue he built a tracking device tuned to his armour and he''s put it in the Mansion''s secure vault. If Ultron gets control of him the Avengers must use it to find and kill him.

Iron Man then prints the message out and erases the original recording. He puts the message in an envelope addressed to Thor and gives it to Jarvis. If IM turns bad and Thor hasn''t turned up he should give it to any other Avenger. On no account is he to give it back to Shellhead himself.

Later Iron Man takes Jocasta aside and tells her he''s devised a way to get through Ultron''s jamming. But when the robot plugs in she is electrocuted. Then IM goes to Wanda and Vision''s quarters. He tells Vision that he''s detected vibration beneath the Mansion and fears Ultron is tunnelling his way in. Vision turns intangible and ghosts down to investigate leaving IM to guard his wife. But Shellhead renders Scarlet Witch uncoscious with an energy pulse.

Tony Stark contacts Ultron who tells him to bring the Witch to him. On the way out Iron Man sends a laser beam to burn the envelope addressed to Thor. He flies to an abandoned industrial plant where Ultron commends Stark on the trick of disguising himself as Iron Man to invade Avengers Mansion. (Thus ensuring future writers don''t have to worry about Ultron knowing IM''s secret ID.)

Captain America hears a call of distress from Vision who has just found Wanda gone. Hawkeye reports that he''s just found Jocasta with her circuits fried. Thor finally gets here and Jarvis confesses that Iron Man''s important message was destroyed while he took a nap. But he''d figured the message was vital so he''d copied it (without peeking of course). Thor reads the copy to himself (so the other Avengers still don''t get told that Stark and IM are the same person) and then tells the others what''s going on.

They go to the vault and find the door fused shut with a heat beam, but Thor breaks through it with Mjolnir. Then they use the tracer to track the Golden Avenger to the derelict factory.

Where Ultron is about to carve the unconscious Witch up with convenient laser machinery. But this helps Tony Stark break his conditioning. He attacks the evil robot, but Ultron is ready for him and drains the power out of his armour. Unfortunately this also cuts off the signal that the Avengers are tracking before they reach their destination.

Ultron returns to his planned butchery but Iron Man drags his heavy armour towards a recharging point. Ultron is about to kill him when he is attacked by the Wasp. Apparently she never went home but instead hid in Wanda''s glove. This gives IM time to recharge. He blasts Ultron and tries to fly away carrying the Witch with Wasp by his side. But the robot recovers fast and fires at them, knocking them down with debris.

But before he can deliver a killing blow Ultron is hit by the hammer of Thor. As soon as IM recharged the tracking device had picked him up again. Hawkeye fires blast arrows at the robot while Vision tends to his wife and Cap sees if Iron Man is OK.

Ultron fires at Thor, but Cap uses his shield to send the send the blast back to its firer while Thor braces him for the impact. The Thunder God then grapples with the robot while Vision fires heat rays from his eyes. But Ultron temporarily blinds the Asgardian.

Iron Man distracts Ultron from the others with taunts, then jets out of the way as the robot lunges for him. This has positioned Ultron in front of a vat of still-molten adamantium, where Hawkeye swings down and knocks him in. Thor and Cap smash the heating lasers with Mjolnir and shield, and the evil robot is encased in rapidly hardening super-metal.

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