#and yes now we know why the wedding stuff in particular was a sore spot

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

*

[sugarcontent322-blog]

Reminiscence — A Trip to Remember

This article was first published on Medium.

It’s been a few months since my solo trip to Japan, and I still remember vividly every single moment with precise detail. I mean, how could I not? It was the most memorable trip that I ever had, not to mention, my very first solo trip. Remembering every moment brings joy and excitement to my heart, which gave me the motivation and drive to write this journal.

I wasn’t planning to travel alone in the first place, to be honest. The thought of solo travelling never did cross my mind whenever I planned an overseas trip. Part of the reason was because I felt it would be too boring without friends, without having someone to talk to. But, circumstances *psst— leave approvals* prevented me from joining my friends’ itinerary. And thus I was left with the option of planning a solo trip.

Planning an itinerary alone proved to be very enjoyable, as I realized. Researching on places to visit, planning the route and mode of transport, day-to-day schedules, it gives you a sneak preview of what kind of adventure awaits. Not to mention, I can go wherever I want to go, as my mind pleases. That’s sort of a main perk of solo travelling I guess, flexibility in plans. Few days before my flight, I switched a day in Osaka with a trip to Hiroshima, just because I suddenly had the urge to explore. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

My trip lasted for 10 days, travelling through Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. Looking back at my itinerary, I wondered how I was able to follow through such a spartan schedule. Everyday was a visit to a new area, and I never did spend much of my time in the city, only at night when I’m done for the day.

Waking up at 7.30am every morning (why can’t I have the same motivation for work!), I planned to start my day early so I could maximize my time spent at places I was visiting. Having bought the painfully expensive JR Pass, I had unlimited rides on JR lines and also the shinkansen, so I was determined to capitalize on it as much as possible. Booking my shinkansen ride at 8/9 plus, I was always rushing to the station without having breakfast. Hunger wasn’t a concern to me, but missing my ride was. And yes, I have missed x number of trains throughout this trip, and 1 particular shinkansen which got me panicking for the first time on the trip.

Kamakura

Throughout my stay in Tokyo, I visited Kamakura, Nikko and Hakone. Approximately 1 hour away from the capital city, each of these places have their own iconic landmarks. My first destination was Kamakura, a suburb filled with Buddhist Zen temples and shrines. Walking on the streets of Kamakura felt different from walking in Tokyo, there was no no urge to walk briskly, no rush. Everyone around me was strolling casually along Hachiman-gu street, occasionally stopping halfway to indulge on the variety of souvenirs, sweets and snacks that the roadside shops had to offer.

I was absorbed into the 'slow-paced life’ of Kamakura, and took time to appreciate the traditional architecture of the shops, before reaching Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu at the end of the street. At the entrance of the temple, I chanced upon a pair of Japanese newlyweds decked in Japanese wedding kimonos, having a photoshoot with a group of people who seemed to be like their families and relatives. The tourist spirit inside me sprung into life, as I whipped out my phone to take a couple of photos and an instastory. Mind you, I wasn’t alone in doing this.

Venturing into the temple, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw yet another pair of Japanese newlyweds! This time, the pair were in the middle of a ceremony, exchanging vows as per tradition, I guessed. Then again, Kamakura is a place famed with its shrines, so its no surprise that newlyweds would hold their wedding ceremony here. But still, to chance upon two wedding couples on the same day, I think I was very fortunate and lucky. On towards Hase, which is 3 Enoden (the local railway in Kamakura) stops away from Kamakura station, I went to visit the famous bronze Great Buddha Daibutsu.

The Great Buddha statue, Daibutsu

A majestic, magnificent statue. I stood still for a few minutes, just staring intently in awe at the great figure in front of me. The interior was open to visitors for a small fee, and there were details of the weight, the height of each part of the statue. I took a few photos, paid my respects to the Daibutsu, and headed back to Tokyo for dinner.

I met up with my Japanese friend in Kanda, he brought me to an Izakaya his friend owned. While we were having dinner halfway, there were a huge group of people in colourful traditional costumes, parading and cheering down the streets of Kanda, carrying a lavishly decorated palanquin. My friend explained that there was a festival happening— the Kanda Matsuri. Another lucky coincidence!

Although this was supposed to be a solo trip, I did meet up with some groups of friends for dinner sometimes. Honestly, I was really lucky to have company for some parts of my journey, given my talkative nature, so shout-out to those people (you know who you are ☺).

Nikko

The next day was a long, long journey into Nikko, taking the Tohoku shinkansen to Utsunomiya station, the local Nikko line towards Nikko station. I used the 2 hour travelling time to review my plans for the day — head to Ryuzu Falls, which is the start of the nature trail, towards Senjougahara Marshlands, Yudaki Waterfall, and finally Yumoto Onsen. Never would I have thought that I’ll willingly go on a nature trail myself, but hey there’s a first for everything I guess.

Ryuzu-no-taki, Ryuzu Waterfall

Alighting at the Ryuzu-no-Taki bus stop, I stared at the limitless flight of stairs in front of me. Did I mess up, I wondered? I didn’t know these stairs existed when I was researching the area! Well, that was the start of my “spartan” trail, as I dubbed it. When I reached the top, I realized that the flight of stairs was not even part of the nature trail! If I alighted one stop after, I would have skipped the stairs altogether. Oh well, lesson learnt and I continued (started) forward nevertheless.

A warning sign at the entrance of the trail — beware of bears!

Unfortunately (or fortunately), there were no signs of wildlife to be seen throughout the trail, only birds which I was unable to identify. The journey to Senjougahara marshlands was a brief one; took roughly half an hour to reach. I was greeted by the majestic view of the marshlands — its hard to believe that such a breathtaking landscape was 1400 meters above sea level! The rustling of leaves in the wind, the serenity it exudes, made the whole hiking trip worthwhile.

Fast forward to the journey back to Tokyo city, I was racing for time to catch my shinkansen to Shin-Osaka at 8.33pm, because my accommodation for the night was there. Unfortunately, I was 6 minutes late (Yes, I vividly remember) and my shinkansen had left without me. I went to inquire at the ticketing counter in Tokyo station whether there were any Osaka-bound trains left, and the earliest ride was next morning. Then the sudden realization hit me. I was left stranded in Tokyo, without any accommodation.

Hungry and angry — “hangry”, I was walking around Tokyo station aimlessly. The cons of solo travelling started to surface: I felt lost, I didn’t know what to do, nobody was around to tell me what to do, there was nobody for me to discuss with. Cold sweat, goosebumps — you name it, I felt it. Firstly I had to find a way to calm myself down. I went into a Family Mart, dragging my luggage along, bought a bottle of Mitsuya Cider (good stuff, highly recommend), and took a huge gulp.

Now that I have calmed down, it’s time to make a Plan B. I whipped out my phone, opened the Agoda app and searched for the nearest capsule hotel with a vacancy. Fortunately, capsule hotels are aplenty in Tokyo, and I had no issues finding one with a vacancy — in Kanda, just a street away from the Izakaya I had dinner at the day before. After settling down in my new accommodation and grabbing dinner at a nearby eatery, I crashed into my bed. It was a long roller-coaster ride of a day, and it was about to get even more exhausting, because I would be starting the next day with a 6.26am shinkansen to Osaka!

Miyajima, Hiroshima

For my first time stepping outside of the Kanto region, I was excited to explore more places that I could only see through the Internet. The first place I visited was Miyajima, an island off the coast of Hiroshima, western Honshu. Though Miyajima was totally out of the way for my plans, I just went with it because hey, with the power of my JR pass I can go anywhere! It was really easy to get to Miyajima also, connected by local trains from Hiroshima, since it’s a popular tourist destination that hosts the World Heritage Site: Itsukushima Shrine.

On board the JR ferry, I could clearly spot the iconic “floating” torii gate over the distance. Its tall orange pillars stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the green and turquoise landscape of Miyajima.

Spotting the torii gate over the distance

When I disembarked from the ferry, I couldn’t believe what I saw — there were deers all around! There was no mention of deers roaming around the populated areas of Miyajima when I was doing my itinerary planning, or so I believed. But, unlike their counterparts in Nara, the deers in Miyajima are not really as tame and friendly. They don’t bow unfortunately, I tried in embarrassment. There were warning billboards that advise tourists not to feed the deers as they are considered wild animals. Nevertheless, I did spot some deers approaching tourists for snacks, though in a slightly aggressive manner.

Stare-down with a deer outside the Miyajima pier

Before heading into Itsukushima shrine, I took a little detour to take a look at the floating torii gate. Luckily for me, it was low tide and sightseers were able to walk down the coastline and get a close-up with the majestic torii gate. I stood in front of the torii gate, staring intensely at its pillars. To think that this structure remained unscathed and survived the destruction brought by the atomic bomb in World War 2, it truly is a miracle indeed. The bottom part of the pillars were eroded though, because of the waves. Tourists took this opportunity to grab a selfie/group photo with the torii gate, including me.

Up and close with the famed ‘untiltable’ torii gate

After visiting the torii gate and Itsukushima shrine, I headed out for my main objective of the day: reaching the summit of Mt Misen, the highest mountain in Miyajima. Of course, I wasn’t going to start my ascent from scratch, there were ropeway services that brought tourists up to Shishi-iwa observatory, and another 30 minutes walk up to reach the summit. However simple it sounds, this walk is far from easy. Slopes after slopes, I kept leaning my body forward to push myself up these slopes.

Along the way I met a bunch of hikers, tourists and locals. When we walked past each other, I was caught off guard by their afternoon greeting konichiwa, I couldn’t react in time to give my reply, barely giving a smile and bowing my head slightly in return. Such an act of courtesy was heartwarming. Almost every Japanese people greeted me on my way up to the summit, to the point where I started to initiate the greetings myself.

Rock formations at the summit of Mt. Misen

The view at the summit of Mt Misen was absolutely breathtaking. You could see the Hiroshima Bay in its entirety. Fresh air, clear blue skies and clouds, invigorating wind, all these made my effort (and money spent) worthwhile. Having accomplished my plan for the day, I spent the remaining afternoon browsing through Omotesando shopping street.

On a side note, if you’re planning to visit Miyajima, don’t forget to grab some Momiji Manjyu as souvenirs on your way back! They are Miyajima’s specialty, and they well deserve that title.

Kyoto

Kyoto — the land of temples and shrines, was nothing short of amazing. In this laid back town, the streets are not as bustling as its neighboring city Osaka, just peace and quiet. Also, the number of temples and shrines in this town is astonishing; for every few hundred meters you walk, there is almost certainly a temple or shrine nearby. But, each and every temple or shrine has its own story to tell, with different history and architecture. For travelers seeking out Japanese religious culture, Kyoto certainly is a must-visit.

As I was travelling solo, I could quickly decide what I wanted to do, so I tried to visit as many landmarks as I could within the two days I allocated in my itinerary. Places like Ginkaku-ji, Kinkaku-ji, Kiyomizu-dera are “mandatory” visits for tourists in Kyoto, so I prioritized those places first. I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by a friend of mine, despite a hectic schedule, if not I’ll be hopelessly lost in Kyoto’s complex bus system.

I have to say, riding on a Kyoto bus was interesting, and a tad scary. The entrance is at the back, which was supposed to be where the exit is, and vice versa. Only at the terminus do commuters board from the front. Also, I noticed that Japanese drivers like to drive very, and I mean VERY, close to one another, leaving just a few inches of gap, too close for comfort. So when the bus I was on came utterly close to a car beside (I sat at a window seat, so I could see the car being CRAZILY near), I felt very uneasy and claustrophobic.

Shortly after I arrived in Kyoto, I was told by my friend that there was a festival Aoi Matsuri, one of the three main festivals in Kyoto, happening at the Kyoto palace. Second festival that’s happened during my trip, how lucky I was, really! I pushed my plans back and headed straight for the palace. A large crowd had already gathered outside the entrance of the palace, with some photographers setting up their gear in preparation for the big event. But the first of the palanquins appeared only an hour later, and suddenly the crowd sprung into action, whipping out their phones and cameras and snapping away. Of course, that included me as well!

The parade heads off from the Imperial Palace

It was a grand festival all right, with horses and oxen walking beside people in ceremonial attire. A strikingly beautiful palanquin stood out most of all, with the high priestess Saio riding in it. After walking alongside the parade for a while, I decided to call it quits and head for my next destination.

The Golden and Silver Pavilions, I could only see them through the Windows wallpapers when I lock my computer. They already look magnificent digitally, but seeing them in person is truly a sight to behold.

The Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji

While being surrounded by greenery and a pond, the Kinkaku-ji stands out with its striking gold. Covered in gold leaf for its exteriors, you could see the gold brilliance clearly reflected by the surrounding pond.

While the Ginkaku-ji is not as flamboyant as its golden counterpart, the Silver pavilion offers a dry sand garden with a striped line pattern situated just beside.

Sand garden of Ginkaku-ji

The simplicity of the garden gives off a serene vibe, I felt at ease while looking at the pavilion, also maybe because the crowd here was smaller here compared to Kinkaku-ji. After a few walks around the garden to make my money’s worth (the entrance fee is 500 yen, goodness!) I decided to head towards the most famous structure in Eastern Kyoto: Kiyomizu-dera.

Similar to the two Pavilions, Kiyomizu-dera is widely popular on various mediums. Any travel ad and tour package would feature the temple as one of the main highlights in Japan. Unfortunately the roof of the main hall was under construction when I visited, so the scenery of the whole temple wasn’t as great as before, but at least the main hall was open for visits, so it’s not all that bad.

The temple is located up in the hills, so there’s a arduous 10 minute uphill walk to expect. The walk was not in the slightest boring though, because you’ll be walking through the Higashiyama district, where a whole line of shops and cafes awaits a curious traveler. There were a lot of shops selling Japanese sweets, and a few of them offered samples to shoppers (wouldn’t have known if I wasn’t guided by my veteran friend!). There were samples for matcha tea as well! What a great pit stop in the middle of the district, perfect for a short tea break before continuing further.

At the top of the hill, at the entrance of the temple, the view was simply breathtaking. I could see the entirety of Kyoto all the way to the mountains in the west.

The view atop of the hills, outside Kiyomizu-dera entrance

The crowd here was really huge, probably double the size of Kinkaku-ji crowd. That’s to be expected from the most popular temple in Kyoto, with tourists flocking in to see the temple and the spectacular view.

After a full (scorching) day of temple-hopping, what better way to cool down than to visit an onsen? What I like about Japan, especially Kyoto, is the abundance and convenience of bathhouses, there’s bound to be one around your vicinity (provided you are in an urban area of course).

For the remaining 3 days of my trip, I decided to spend my time leisurely. I spent the late afternoons on an onsen spree, going to popular onsens. In total I visited 4 onsens within these 3 days (maximum health & wellness!) One onsen that left a deep impression on me was Yunessun in Hakone, the place is a water theme park combined with an onsen. Visitors can check out the unique wine/coffee/sake pools and then relax in an onsen, it really is a cool concept, I don’t regret spending half a day there!

Four buckets of coffee ready for splashing people!

Afterthoughts

Honestly, I felt very skeptical about going on an overseas trip all by myself. All the what-ifs fogged my mind, while worrying about safety and the probable loneliness. However, this trip made me realize that a leap of faith into the unknown was the push I needed to understand how enjoyable and exciting journeying solo could be. From the start of the trip planning till the end, it was a phenomenal experience.

The power of the JR pass is limitless

I’m really glad that Japan was my first country to experience solo travelling (not to mention how safe Japan is), definitely would recommend Japan for avid solo-trippers! Writing this journal has spurred me on to plan for my next Japan trip already. If you have any recommendations on where/what to visit in Japan, please do share them with me! Or, if you are planning a trip to Japan yourself and would like some ideas, I’d love to share and discuss my thoughts and experiences!

Special thanks to Nurulhuda, Lee Ming Rui and Wilson for taking their precious time to proofread and provide their valuable inputs!

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #141: The Phantom Empire!

November, 1975

VERSUS THE SQUADRON SINISTER! THESE GUYS AGAIN! ‘Nuff said.

Or not ‘nuff said because this is a pretty okay cover. Its a pretty aggressively average example of two teams lined contentiously.

Although, it may have been a trend-setter in that regard because apparently this particular cover gets homaged and parodied a lot.

I mean, sure, some of the lining up is awkward. Iron Man is standing in a really bad punching pose. Golden Arrow is sorta crouched in the back between several legs. And Beast is jumping down from the void.

And tiny, grumpy Vision is glaring at his larger counterpart.

Last time: Wasp and Yellowjacket managed to get themselves hurt in separate ways. Wasp was cured through the healing power of actual medicine. Yellowjacket by having a robot swim inside his heart.

Also, a mysterious woman has been trying to contact the Beast by camping out on the Avengers Mansion stoop.

This time: Payoff to that particular plot hook.

But we start with Beast bouncing along the middle of a road, in flagrant disregard for traffic laws.

Oh, hi George Perez!

Anyway, Beast is just so thrilled that his new pals Wasp and Yellowjacket are getting better. So thrilled that he almost doesn’t notice some green jumpsuited weirdos sneaking up on him.

But he do notice and he do dodge and throw out some witticisms and knocks some heads. But one of the weirdos gets a lucky shot on him and a bunch of those green jumpsuits jump him.

Luckily, Beast is saved by Captain America, dynamically entering the fray with his silliest maneuver.

With Beast and Captain America back to back, the tide of battle turns and the green suits flee.

So that was a weird thing that happened for no apparent reason.

Nah. Seldom do jumpsuited people attack superheroes on the first page of things for no reason.

Cap has been tailing the sergeant of that crew. Back when Cap was Nomad, he saved Roxxon president Hugh Jones from Warlord Krang and the Serpent Squad. Then later, Jones dropped a hot tip in Cap and Falcon’s lap when they were trying to find the Red Skull. And then at the Skull’s hideout, some strange troops burst in and massacred his men.

Long story short, Cap is mighty suspicious of Roxxon right now. He was snooping around Roxxon when he saw the dude he was tracking grab some pals and go prowling for Beast.

But why? What’s the connection between Beast and Roxxon?

Beast confusedly states that he and Cap aren’t even contemporary Avengers, which baffles Cap because Cap hasn’t been keeping up with the news and missed new membership news.

Meanwhile, mysterious woman is still mysterious and still hanging around Avengers Mansion waiting for Beast. But Jarvis mentions that the Avengers are at Mercy General Hospital. So off mysterious woman goes, to the hospital!

So, meanwhile at the hospital: Wasp and Yellowjacket are still on the mend. Lying in hospital beds. Wasp has gotten a lot of flowers, which she is thrilled about.

Yellowjacket has also received a bouquet, which has threatened his fragile masculinity.

It was actually Vision who ordered the flowers, for Scarlet Witch. Since her honeymoon and also witchy upgrade, she’s just really into having flowers around.

Around now, Cap and Beast burst in to report cool superhero nonsense is going on. He’s going to need to borrow the Avengers to fight a private army.

So Vision, Thor, and Scarlet Witch join Beast and Cap and head out of the room. Thor privately exulting that maybe Cap is finally rejoining the team.

Cap, also possessing of fragile masculinity, advises Yellowjacket to ditch the bouquet of roses.

After they leave, Wasp expresses how glad she is that the two of them helped found the Avengers. And Yellowjacket just passes her the bouquet of flowers, lest anyone else insinuate things.

Which is when mysterious woman shows up. Which you may recognize as literally right after the Avengers left. She just missed them. Mysterious woman immediately turns around and heads back to the mansion.

Wasp vaguely recollects knowing her from somewhere... and Yellowjacket confirms that mysterious woman was present at the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards, back in Fantastic Four Annual #3. So, hey, that narrows it down if you want to investigate which character appeared in Amazing Adventures and also at the wedding. But I’d advise not putting down this review to go look up the answer. I’ll just tell you in a bit.

Meanwhile, on the streets home, because the Avengers like to walk now and again, they spot a Quinjet flying overhead. Which means Iron Man and Moondragon have returned, possibly with Hawkeye (except nope).

When the Avengers return to the mansion, Jarvis tries to advise them about the mysterious woman but the Case of the Missing Hawkeye is more pressing and the Avengers just brush right past the butler.

Iron Man expresses surprise that Vision and Scarlet Witch have returned from their honeymoon so soon, which apparently has become a sore point at this point.

Iron Man: “Well, hi, lovebirds! I didn’t expect to see you back so soon! That was a short honeymoon!”

Scarlet Witch: “We know, Iron Man.”

But pleasentries aside, Iron Man and Moondragon fill the other Avengers in re: the missing Hawkeye and the obvious and transparent trap that has been set up to lure them to their doom via the Doom time machine.

Except its not Doom luring them to their doom. It’s obviously Kang the Conqueror.

Even computer-brain Vision is getting tired of how monotonous Kang’s frequent attacks have gotten at this point. Which says something.

Anyway, Moondragon proposes that she and Thor be the ones to seek Kang. For reasons of them both being gods.

Whatever. This works out fine for Cap’s needs anyway. He has his own situation so they’ll have to split the team anyway and that’s as good a division as any. He’s only investigating the private army of a giant powerful and possibly evil oil company. As long as he has numerical backup, he should be fine.

And then mysterious woman bursts in, shoving right past Jarvis, and announces that Beast is hers at last!

And hey! Mystery of the mystery woman solved! It’s Patsy Baxter, nee Walker, and also Patsy Walker again these days!

You may recognize her from her eponymous comics, her role in Amazing Adventures, this series of Avengers issues, Netflix Jessica Jones, certain eras of the Defenders, and a more different and cool eponymous comic about her and all her cool friends doing cool stuff.

Patsy Walker rocks and I’ll brook no disagreement on these true facts.

Anyway, Beast takes Patsy into the next room so they can talk in private and also so she can yell at him in private.

Moondragon figures that this is probably going to take time and they already know what they’re doing and judging by the look on Thor’s face, he wants no part of this drama. So they’re off.

And yeah. It does take time. The apparently contentious and loud conversation goes on for ten minutes before Beast leads Patsy back into whatever vague room the other Avengers have been awkwardly waiting.

See, Patsy has a BIG announcement to make.

BEAST IS REALLY HANK MCCOY!

... This comes as a surprise to exactly zero people. Not even Scarlet Witch and Vision who weren’t even on the team when he joined and revealed his identity. Or possibly they just don’t care and/or don’t even know who Hank McCoy is.

Either way, blackmail attempt failed. Because, yes, Patsy was trying to blackmail Beast with knowledge of his secret identity.

And somewhere, Peter Parker just woke up in a cold sweat.

Still though, Beast did promise her a thing. And even though she has zero leverage, he decides its the done thing to bring her along on an Avengers mission as an observer!

Obviously!

Cap has an objection though. Bringing a woman into danger to observe superhero stuff might be dangerous.

Beast says nah, Patsy has grit.

ALSO, POINT OF ORDER, DID YOU OR DID YOU NOT DRAG A TEENAGER NAMED RICK JONES INTO DANGER WITH YOU? HOW IS YOUR GLASS HOUSE, CAP? HOW IS ITTTTTTTTTTTTT?

Cap reluctantly concedes the point.

Meanwhile, away from this specific brand of hypocrisy, Thor and Moondragon on a random rooftop.

Thor requests Moondragon stop mentioning how much of a god he is. Moondragon asks if he disliked being called a god in front of mortals. This will be a plot point, kinda.

Oh. And then Moondragon rings up Immortus with psychic powers, like a time-a-phone. Apparently its that easy.

I’m never really sure how Moondragon stacks up next to the mutant psychics. Jean Grey was never trained by trees but she turns into a sun-devouring firebird. Moondragon turns into a dragon, of the moon. But only the once.

Anyway. Immortus agrees to transport Thor and Moondragon through time so that they may avoid mechanical time machines, which Kang might be watching. Although, if he’s spying on the present so maybe he saw Thor and Moondragon sitting on the roof yelling at nothing.

I can’t be sure because when Immortus does lead them to where Kang is, Kang just declares that they’ve definitely fallen into his trap. The guy is so self-confident that he’d say that even if he was completely surprised by them.

The usual Kangfrontation things happen. Thor throws his hammer. Immortus yells at Kang for never learning himself a thing and causing shit in three out of four Giant Avengers issues.

But Kang will never learn himself a thing. He swears it. He also swears he’s going to destroy the Avengers for keeping the Celestial Madonna out of his hands. And then he blasts at Thor.

And Thor just absorbs the energy and blasts it back at Kang, who falls backwards in time. Into a time. Time is weird.

Thor swears that this time will be the end of Kang for realsies this time! Even though Immortus is kinda cool and killing Kang will kill Immortus and Immortus saved Iron Man’s life when Kang’s machinations killed him.

Meanwhile - whatever that means in the context of time traveling - the Avengers investigate Brand. Which has a sleek, modern looking brand. If you told me the Brand brand was for a 2000s company, I’d buy it.

Anyway.

The Avengers stop outside the Brand gates to chat. Iron Man tells Cap that Brand has always struck him as bad news. That and Cap’s smiling face are why he’s with him all the way!

“So am I!” chimes in Patsy Walker, just happy to be part of the moment.

Wanda does not chime in with moral support. Because she once again thought of her shortened honeymoon and Vision insisting that they return to check on the Avengers and how now they’re drawn into stuff. And she realizes that she does not really like these circumstances.

Inside, Roxxon President Hugh Jones and Colonel Buzz Baxter, chief of Roxxon security, are watching the Avengers just having their team bonding experience right outside the gate and laughing at Beast for thinking that security is still at 1973 levels instead of the far superior 1975 levels. What an idiot.

But Jones is surprised to see Buzz’s wife with the Avengers.

Colonel Buzz Baxter: “Good lord! It is! But whatever hare-brained scheme that twerp’s got cooking this time -- it won’t slow Colonel Buzz Baxter! Anyway, she’s my ex-wife!”

Okay so back to the Avengers, totally intruding on Brand Corporation’s grounds. Beast does a cool flip over the gate. But Vison has him beat, just slipping through the gate like some sort of vision. Plus, he opens the gate for the rest.

Beast finds it spooky. Vision is the hardest Avenger to figure out of all the ones he’s met. And being an X-Men and living the X-Men life, he knows from spooky.

But here’s also a spooky thing: no guards.

And then a portal or a teleport or something happens and out steps:

THE SQUADRON SUPREME!

Whizzer: “That’s ‘Supreme’ -- not ‘Sinister,’ Avengers! Just so you’ll know who creamed you!”

...

You lied to me, cover.

Why do I still open up my heart to be hurt by you??

Anyway, we have Lady Lark, the Whizzer, Dr. Spectrum, Golden Archer (can’t be Hawkeye now that Hawkeye is back to being Hawkeye), and Hyperion.

Aka: Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Superman by way of serial number filing off.

Cap spends a kooky triangular panel recapping the situation with the Squadron Whatever. The Squadron Sinister was created by the Grandmaster for his game with Kang and technically those people exist on Earth-616 and the sinister Nighthawk (aka Not-Batman) would end up joining the Defenders.

The Squadron Supreme were the heroic equivalents, from a parallel dimension. The Avengers ended up having an adventure involving them when a dimensional mishap occurred after another encounter with Arkon of Polemachus.

Oh and Golden Arrow was a disguise Hawkeye used to shake Cap out of his post-Secret Empire funk and the Squadron Golden Arrow stole the name because Hawkeye stole his name and there’d be confusion if there were two Hawkeyes (Kate Bishop says ‘nonsense’) even if Hawkeye isn’t currently contemporary. Anyway, that’s why Golden Archer is Golden Archer. Coincidentally, it also gave him the same initials as Green Arrow.

Meanwhile, Whizzer whizzes around and kicks Iron Man’s ass, who just can’t keep up. A later Flash expy that Iron Man fought during the Long March Of Nihilism that was the lead-up to Secret Wars dismantled his armor in the middle of the fight. Iron Man is bad versus speedsters. Maybe he should install an oil slick.

Beast ends up fighting Hyperion. Which. Which dang. That’s a mismatch.

Dr. Spectrum fights the Vision. And just uselessly blasts through him.

And just like clockwork, Scarlet Witch gets the Designated Girl Fight and fights Lady Lark. But Scarlet Witch has fought Lady Lark before so knows to keep her off-balance and uses her magickery to explode the sand beneath Lady Lark and knock her off her feet.

But then Patsy Walker decides she Wants to Be Part of the Moment and jumps in to join the fight. And I guess starts pulling Lady Lark’s hair?

Scarlet Witch tells Patsy Walker to step off but talking time is not magicing time and also Patsy is in the way.

Lady Lark uses her Lark Sceam or Whatever and knocks out Patsy and Wanda Witch.

And then everything goes to hell in short order.

Vision gets distracted by <BAD THING> happening to Wanda, leaving him vulnerable to Dr. Spectrum’s blasting.

Whizzer finishes off Iron Man. This probably would have happened one way or another even without Patsy’s interference. Speedsters are a real bad match-up for Tony.

Speaking of mismatches, Hyperion just grabs Beast and slams him into a wall.

And although Captain America is doing okay against archer guy, Lady Lark is free to use her sonic attack and knock him out.

And that is that. It only took four pages for the Avengers to go down like chumps.

But going down like chumps against lawyer friendly expies of the Justice League just makes a victory later all the sweeter. Hopefully.

Anyway, the Squadron Supreme reports in to Jones and Baxter. Jones is still confused why Baxter’s ex-wife is hanging out with the Avengers. Baxter says he always sensed she had some weird connection or perhaps pact with the Beast. BUT HEY, THEY CAN GET ALL THE ANSWERS THEY WANT WHEN THEY PUT THE AVENGERS PLUS PATSY INTO AN ESCAPE-PROOF CELL!

And also: then no one will be able to stop Roxxon’s final march to victory. So its going to be pretty rad overall.

But in the mean time, Immortus, Moondragon, and Thor land in the Old West of 1871. You can tell from the cactus. And also because Immortus says so.

EXCEPT WRONG. It’s 1873, interjects an off-screen voice with wiggly text bubbles. Master of Time, my ass.

So, yeah. Old West stuff next time. Also some more stuff at Brand.

Dammit, why’d they have to split the party! You’re terrible, Kang!