Avengers #37: Review

Feb 1967

Roy Thomas, Don Heck

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Story Name:

To Conquer a Colossus

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers #37 Review by Rob Johnson (June 23, 2011)

The entries in the original Avengers and X-Men Indexes for this issue and X-Men #21 say that Ixar's Sirians came from Sirius III. But they had a colony on Sirius IV which escaped the war. It is this colony which which was later conquered by the Quists, as described in X-Men #21. There is also an non-humanoid race called the Siris from Sirius II (Yomrot), one of whom was behind Factor Three in X-Men #28-39. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch rejoin the Avengers from this issue.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers #37 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

The Avengers and Black Widow have travelled to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's homeland Transia to rescue them. They have been captured by Ixar, a sentient computer from Sirius, in its flying saucer. It intends to transfer their powers into its android Ultroids, for use in an interstellar war Ixar's race has been waging.

The Ultroids are led by Ultrana, another android controlled by Ixar. The recently-caught Avengers join Wanda and Pietro in cylinders that will siphon off their powers. However the aliens hadn't expected Black Widow, and there is no cylinder ready for her. She is taken away to be imprisoned elsewhere.

Ultrana relates the Sirians' history. They have been at war with a nearby star system for millenia. Both sides in the war eventually used Ultroids to prosecute the war for them. And both sides' populations were gradually destroyed until only a leader was left of each race. Ixar was leader of the humanoid Sirians. Recently the other side's Ultroids breached Ixar's palace and mortally wounded him. Ixar had his mind transferred to a computer, and set off on his search for super-humanoids.

Ixar's flying saucer now leaves Earth with the captive Avengers aboard. Only a few Ultroids stand guard over the cylinders.

Ixar designed the cylinders to counter the powers of specific Avengers, as well as siphon them off, using imformation gleaned from the minds of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Goliath realises that the absent-on-leave (since #30) Wanda and Pietro didn't know he had regained his shrinking power. So his cylinder doesn't stop him shrinking small enough to escape through an oxygen tube. (Wasp's oxygen tube has a fine mesh to stop her performing the same trick.)

Goliath quickly releases the other Avengers, and they start beating up the Ultroids. The rationally-minded androids recognise a superior force and soon surrender. Hawkeye rushes off to find Black Widow.

Ixar threatens to electrocute the Transian village burgomeister who is still linked to the computer. While the Avengers are stymied it gathers up the energies of Ultrana and the other Ultroids, and transforms itself into one giant Ultroid. After a long battle the giant knocks out four of the Avengers present, and reimprisons the Witch in her cylinder.

But then Hawkeye and the Widow reappear. Hawkeye has somehow deduced that the burgomeister is actually the real Ixar, and threatens to kill him if the giant Ultroid doesn't deactivate. The burgomeister confirms that he is the real Ixar and the computer was a front (he never transferred his mind in there?). He took the burgomeister's place a few weeks ago (to study Wanda and Pietro?).

Ixar now says that he doesn't believe Hawkeye's threat. It would be against the Avengers' code. Hawkeye backs down. But Black Widow takes his place, saying that she isn't bound by any such code. Ixar daren't call her bluff. he returns his saucer to Earth and lets the Avengers go, before flying off to find suitable subjects elsewhere in the galaxy.

The Avengers tell the villagers their burgomeister died a hero. Hawkeye declines to tell the other Avengers how he and Natasha got Ixar to surrender, thinking they might not approve/understand what the Widow did. (The author seems to have forgotten that Scarlet Witch saw it all.)

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