#but then BAM Namor

[scoundrels-in-love]

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Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i think this is good to internalize for myself and also for some people who might be weary and worried how to deal with me when i am in cert

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I love that Ashton is all "I will literally stand between any harm and any of these *gulp* friends", but then they just don't trust Chetney as far they could throw him (which is far) and I feel like it's mostly because he keeps being dick to Dorian and others. Like, you soft hearted punk, I love you so much.

204 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

#4

Ashton being the one to restrain FCG, one advocating for letting them down and even saying please, reminding they're all powderkegs that have hurt rest of the party in crossfire, trying to find kindest way to share the roughest news, setting up Orym's speech about taking care of each other and being first to agree with Orym's speech while most of the party didn't actually voice their agreement, just Ashton and their friendship with FCG and how much they care about their friends. /openly weeps

224 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#3

I am thinking about Ashton, left to grow up in an orphanage, going through the change that perhaps is brought upon by one of their unknown parent's heritage, alone and confused, and like no one else.

Having to navigate that alone, most likely scared the first time they realized their hair was changing into stone, or even it first all fell out, the skintone shifting and all these physical changes truly no other puberty would be alike and there was no one to tell them they weren't straight up dying of some unknown disease and I just--

268 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#2

One thing I think about a lot is how resigned, perhaps even inadequate, Ashton seems to feel about their role as purely muscle within the group.

There are definitely more than just these examples, but what comes to mind is post-duel at the ball when Orym approaches Ashton and says they might need Ashton, and Ashton immediately asks who needs beating up. As if that's the only input that they can contribute or be expected to contribute.

And then in latest episode, when they've all looked at Ruidus, someone needs to help the telecope to be moved so it can look at Catha and Ashton immediately volunteers all "this is what I'm good for".

And it's after everyone has chimed in with opinions about the moon storms and Imogen's experiences, but Ashton remained quiet, because what do they know? All these people are magic users or at least connected to someone wise and knowledgeable and Ashton's just a thug from orphanage.

I don't think it helps the way Bell's Hells sometimes don't hear them, like Ashton several times said they can have a go at picking locks (proficient), but the group always looked to someone else for that or a different solution.

The few times they're confident is when Gus "spoke Marquesian" and Ashton stepped up to speak bluntly with some cussing, and when they're fighting - and as they said themselves, it might be in part to make someone look at them and care. And when they're in smaller groups and dealing with odd vendors. Or have to protect someone, even if it's making sure FCG isn't hurting themselves emotionally.

I also recall how eagerly Ashton just echoed and boosted up Imogen's lines at first in the knick-knack store. They're eager to learn and support in more than just muscle-way, but so many of the current problems Bell's Hells have are magic and knowledge aligned, where they cannot help much and I feel like they feel kind of inadequate about it.

I wonder if it's something that comes from how they were treated in Nobodies, with how excited they were about their bribe moment early in the campaign, or just how cards have fallen currently in the story.

And I really hope they will gain confidence in themselves and their place with Bell's Hells. (And get a hug.)

308 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Between having been really into mermaids and underwater kingdoms as a concept during my childhood and the absolutely hauntingly stunning horror movie sequence where you root for the sirens introduction to Talokan, it's not really any surprise that I became instantly and deeply fascinated with this nation and its' people.

Like, there is so much I kept thinking about during the movie and even now, a whole day later. This great post by @thebctman raised even more that I hadn't gotten to.

Until the call to arms scene, I assumed that they cannot speak under the water, so I was quite stunned at the scene. But it does make me wonder just how much of importance does body language carry in Talokanian society! And how hard it might have been to preserve their native language, especially before the establishing of the cave sanctuary(ies).

And I have to think for how long Namor was only one who could only briefly exit the water, how, before the invention of water masks, there could be no sanctuary and he would be the only one wandering the caves. Pushed into role and revered as the leader from birth, fitting in with none of them.

The fact they ended up building this sanctuary and filling it to the brim with parts of their cultures they couldn't practice under the water - like the murals. How they must have lost their national cuisine, without access to ingredients or ways to practice it - or even consume, since they cannot eat above the water. I have no idea how much jade deposits are under water, but perhaps even that became a scarce material.

It makes me think of Namor's speech the first time he meets with Queen Ramonda and Shuri - about how clean and unharmed the land is and how much Wakanda's people have not had to change and compromise who they are, their culture, just to continue to exist. Though Talokan is their new land, it is still an exile. Exile deep into the cold waters that have slowly been poisoned and polluted by people.

Somehow, they've managed to befriend sea animals and even communicate with them (which leads back to my point about non-verbal communication under the water, maybe they quite literally can emit sounds similar to dolphins or whales), there is no way that they do not know the absolute devastation done to the oceans, that it has not impacted them, that Namor or his people haven't personally known whales that have been killed by whalers.

And yes, I do wonder about the pressure - how fast can they raise and lower themselves in these depths, without reprecussions, and just how damn fast can they travel because they seem to traverse incredible distances so very swiftly. One moment they're near USA, then Namor can respond to Queen Ramonda's call very swiftly. Like, just how fast can they all swim, without exhaustion?? Fascinating.

I know most of these things will never be answered, if any at all, but a lot of them are just lot of feelings about things in the subtext and I'm gonna go drown in those kthxbye.

392 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

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[pensnstars]

WAKANDA FOREVER SPOILERS BELOW

why isn’t anyone talking about shuri remembering namor SMILING AT HER when she was about to kill him like after watching the movie for the 2nd time, that shit got me and solidified even more why i ship them bcos they have literally only spent time together once n the memory that came to her ABOUT HIM was namor smiling at her.. idk about y’all but to me, it looked like she got feelings

[starbound-wanderer]

There’s already people whining about Namor doing bad stuff and blah blah blah. I literally do not care. It’s enemies to lovers vibes so there’s gonna be some war crimes

[thislilstangirl]

Penny for your thoughts on the Hades/Persephone symbolism re: Namor x Shuri? 😃

well, the three main elements of the hades and persephone myth are: the abduction, the mother’s search, and the inevitable return. and we see close to all three in wakanda forever.

the abduction of shuri:

though in the film shuri “willingly” goes to see namor, the reaction of everyone in wakanda is to see it as an abduction. okoye sees the talokanil leave with the unconscious princess. queen ramonda declares her daughter ‘lost’. nakia is sent to rescue her. shuri has a descent to the underworld underwater kingdom of talokan after picking up a flower riri williams.

the queen mother’s search:

the mother/daughter relationship is central to the persephone myth, and it’s central in this story too. queen ramonda is relentless with finding shuri, serving as a demeter figure of course. while demeter has the torch, ramonda has the shell.

the contrast between the dark, cool underwater scenes between shuri and namor and the warm, summery feel of queen ramonda on the beach with namor makes me think of the seasonal cycle the persephone myth symblolises as well. and of course, like demeter, her search is fruitless- there’s ‘nothing’ that can be given in exchange for the princess’ safe return.

ultimately it is up to nakia to ‘rescue’ shuri and riri. and funnily enough nakia shares similarity to hermes, the god who helps and finds persephone in the underworld. her (familial) love for shuri makes her to come back to the wakanda fold and find shuri. she is a very knowledgeable, from languages and culture to countries due to her spy background.

the inevitable return:

in the myth hades tricks persephone into eating the pomegranate seeds, she not knowing that eating anything from the underworld will mean she is eternally bound there. interesting that food is offered to riri but we don’t see her consume anything.

while namor doesn’t trick shuri into eating anything, i wonder if he knew that gifting her his mother’s bracelet would one day help create the synthetic heart shaped herb? like playing the long game. by the time he ties the bracelet around her wrist, he is already wanting her as his queen by his side as they burn the world together.

shuri consumes the herb and so BAM she is eternally bound to talokan. mythically anyway. the alliance that namor proposed to her in the middle of the film is accepted by the end. they have an alliance, a union. an eternal union to stop an eternal war?

namor is counting on shuri coming back to him. and he’s sure of himself because he understands her and the predicament wakanda faces. just like how hades is certain persephone will come back to him every six months to the underworld.

anyway these are just some quick thoughts off the top of my head x the persephone and hades myth is primarily about death and rebirth though. and boi, wakanda forever is full of death/rebirth imagery.

[writerscafehub]

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑❜𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

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c /づ づ 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 all the works made by the very talented members of the writer's café server in the month of JUNE. we ask, and highly encourage, that you reblog them in support. ♡

ALL WORKS ARE FOR THOSE 18+ ONLY.

𖥔 indicates smut

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By ☁︎☽ Cocoa ☁︎☽ @cocoamoonmalfoy @darksideofthecocoamoon

𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 | Novacane!Michelle Jones x black!Reader

You say space will make it better and time will make it heal.  I won't be lost forever and soon I wouldn't feel.  Like I'm haunted, woah, falling

𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 | Life’s Perfect Ache!Paul Atreides x Pharao Hekau (OFC)

Please call me your baby, baby, baby.  Look how long that you have kept me waiting.  I'm all in, look at all that I have given.  Ooh, I knew your love before I kissed you.  And now you’ve only made me miss you.  Come get me, come love me, baby, come love me.

𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄 | Paul Atreides x black!Reader

Are you with me?  Are you in or are you out?

𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐄𝐈𝐕𝐎𝐑 | Eivor Varinsdóttir x black!reader

you’re out on a date with Eivor and a guy sends you a drink thinking yall are just gal pals

𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 | Michelle Jones x Black Cat!Reader

MJ only knows you as Black Cat. When she doesn't hear from you for weeks and hears from Peter that he’s been with Black Cat a lot lately, she can only assume….

By ★ Jen ★ @jen-with-a-pen

𖥔 𝐂𝐎𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐍 | Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes

A chance encounter one night at a house party sparks the hottest hookup Bucky and Steve ever have.

By ☆ Stella ☆ @a-lumos-in-the-nox

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀

✶𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐘 & 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 | Fred Weasley x black!fem reader

Villainous duo doing bad shit.

𖥔𝐌𝐀𝐌𝐀 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄’𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 | Neville Longbottom x black!female OC

The Morgan's take their kids to a family reunion in Louisiana to celebrate Mama Gene's Birthday, and Ruby and Neville have some fun themselves.

By 𓆺 Witch Aunt 𓆺 @moonlight-prose

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀

By ✬ Astro ✬ @eulalielatibule

𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐆𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐘 

Original Character Bio

By ⎈ Navy ⎈ @navybrat817

✶𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓: 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎 | Club Owner!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Fic Summary: The owner of The 107th wants you to be his girl whether you like it or not.

Chapter Summary: You're anxious before your date.

𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄 | Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Bucky doesn't think he's good enough for you, but still wishes he could be your guy.

✶𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓: 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 | Club Owner!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Fic Summary: The owner of The 107th wants you to be his girl whether you like it or not.

Chapter Summary: The date is just beginning, but you're not sure if you can keep it together.

By ❥ Courtney ❥ @chasingmidnights

𖥔𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 | camp owner!Max Burnett x secretary!reader

Max comes to the camp to see how things are going, when he meets you, one of the newest secretaries to join the staff. Max is immediately smitten with you and wants to make you his. 

By ✾ Annie ✾ @nekoannie-chan

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 | Steve Rogers x reader

Steve broke your heart

By ✧Bella✧ @madwomansapologist

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌 - 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 | Thranduil x female!reader

Thranduil thought the recent attack of spiders on a periphery village was the only thing deserving of his attention. If he could've imagined what he would found there, who he would found there, the Elvenking would wait a millenia in front of that river so he could see her sooner. Or: how Gandalf managed to keep a secret for 14 months.

By ఌ Bam Bam ఌ @buzzkillers

✶𝐅𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐑𝐁 | Namor x fem!reader

namor comes to the call

By 𓆸 Rika 𓆸 @fushic0re

𖥔𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑!𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 | Choso Kamo x fem!reader

what it is like to date the choso kamo.

© all works belong to the respective writers of the writers café server.

[wkandaforever]

im obsessed with the whole idea of namor strategically planning to get shuri on his side but not in an evil captor kinda way but more like... in a namor-thinks-he's-so-damn-cool-but-is-actually-kind-of-a-dork kinda way

like he wanted shuri to come visit talokan. but he wanted her to come willingly. he offers her the shellphone but when she doesnt call he specifically instructs his his people to bring her to his kingdom as soon as she even hints that she wants to meet him

then he goes ahead and puts on his best outfit, gets a custom-made royal garb for shuri, invites her to his royal chamber while he's chilling pretending to look busy signing random documents with his fancy-ass quill, strategically places the jade bracelet on the conch so it's the first thing shuri notices, shares his tragic backstory and love for his people to make shuri curious about who these people even are. and as soon as shuri asks the question - BAM. time to drop the funniest joke he practiced with his people multiple times and when no one laughed he still went ahead with it

namor: "well, you can't go in dressed like that." (because i made sure to dress you in the most delicate garb, ensured attuma took off his mask too so there's no way you can breathe underwater - tee hee)

namor: "the hypothermia will kill you instantaneously, your blood will become toxic, and the depths of the ocean will break every bone in your body." *glares*

shuri: *visibly disturbed*

namor: ".... or you could wear a suit! we have some! come on!" *laughs to himself and mentally high fives himself at the immaculate delivery*

like i can just imagine him scrambling to get everything ready, make himself look perfect for the princess' arrival, role-playing with his people like

namor: "and then i'm gonna pause for a sec and then go like 'or you could wear a suit!!!' how's that? wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious???"

talokans: "my king, that's a little too much for a first encounter don't you think?"

namor: "no no it would be perfect! i know the princess her humour is violent! the first time we met she pointed a spear at me!" *chuckles at the memory*

talokans: *confused*

namor: "don't you get it? she wanted to turn me into a fish skewer! do i really have to spell it out for you?"

talokans: *blank stares*

namor: "it was a meat-cute!"

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Jay Guthrie/Icarus: When Namor happens upon a fishing Jay, the interaction takes a number of turns, before the younger man offers an ear to the ancient royal. Even if part of him believes the man to be a ghost.

Jay turned slightly to look at the wet figure behind him- no monster, but Jay wasn't going to rule out the man being some sort of spectre. He was surprised to notice the small, hummingbird like wings on the man's ankles. Ever since he'd gotten his wings he hadn't been one much for submerging himself. Then again, there was waterfowl.

Maybe this man was more like a duck.

Jay glared at him slightly as his heart slowed down. "You got me pretty damn good," he said to the figure. "And that's a shame about the bass."

Namor stopped, turned, and squinted. "Never doubt that I do everything 'pretty damn good.'" He took a swig of water. "There is more pleasant fishing on the other side of the lake — a healthy stock of perch." He stretched his arms wide, seemingly unbothered by being wet in the chilly March air.

Jay's politeness got the better of him, now that he was willing to rule the figure out as a ghost after watching him drink. "Well, I'll be taking that advice if'n you'd like to join," he figured it would be a no and kicked off. Why walk all the way around the lake when he could fly there in a shorter path?

This got a stare. "You," and the incredulity in the Atlantean's tone was so plain as he squared his shoulders that he might as well have been pointy, "Clearly understand nothing of Namor." His eyes blazed with pride for just a moment, but then, "I have not been fishing in 5,000 years."

Maybe Jay had judged this Namor as not being a spectre too soon. He didn't sound like he was exaggerating when he said 5,000 years. "You want to be joining in then?" He asked, not letting himself be put off by this self important man's attitude, especially when he sensed just a hint of sadness in his last statement.

The full weight of inhuman ice blue's eyes fell upon Jay Guthrie as the young man received his full appraisal. Whatever they found, Namor answered, "We accept your invitation. It should be diverting, at the least." He nodded. "What is your weapon of choice? Simple hook and line?"

"Well, I don't got a net for trawling and I never liked folks who shoot at the fish," Jay said as he began to fly to the other side of the lake, following Namor's knowledge of it. It also gave him an excuse to turn away from the man. That stare gave him the heebie-jeebies something fierce.

The other, muscled man took a minute to retrieve his water bottle from the dock, although he didn't follow immediately after. He had retreated back up to the boathouse itself, grabbing an item. Still, his voice echoed across the water to Jay in questioning disbelief.

"They do what to the fish?"

"Shoot at 'em," Jay called back, gesturing as if he held a shot gun in his arms. "Bam! Just overkill I think."

The Atlantean was there, then, crossing the lake on his own flight — movements quick and jerky compared to Jay's own soaring. A man stepping on air between hovers. His wings blurred in motion. "Typical," Namor judged, "Mankind loves to show power when it is least needed." He had fetched, it seemed, both a practice spear and an old, unloved fishing pole.

Namor darted forward, if only to be just a breath in the lead. "The joy is in the hunt, not the kill. Foolish."

Jay watched the other man fly, hummingbird-like and urgent, like he had to get wherever he was going yesterday. He observed Namor's fishing gear- he hadn't even thought of spear fishing. Jay wasn't sure he had ever met anyone who spear-fished. Then again, if this man was some sort of ghostie like he had expected, why wouldn't he? Wasn't that something they'd done before fishing poles?

Just how old was this guy?

Jay landed into a walk, setting his own fishing gear about. "My joy's always been in the atmosphere and the wait, but to each his own. I agree with you about the power thing though. No need for it."

[dapper-zappa]

Ttg pav x indo!reader RIL 🗣🔥 he would love indo culture fr ‼️🙏

Pavitr Prabakhar x Indonesian!Reader HCs!

Pairing: Pavitr Prabakhar x G/N!Indonesian!Reader

A/N: My Indonesian ass is crying bc I barely see Indo!Reader fics so I’ll just write it myself and the last time I read one with an Indo!Reader is one with Namor 😭 ALSO I FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT FOR BEING AN INDO WHO BARELY WATCHES INDO ROMANTIC MOVIES HDUSIHBFRJGHTFG

Ik I said that I don't take requests atm but anon, thanks a lot for the inspo so I'll just dump out my HCs here and I'm writing this from my own experience as an Indonesian living in Indonesia so hai buat kalian para pembaca fanfic yg sesama Indo!!! (hi to my fellow Indo fanfic readers!!!)

I just know for sure that Pav, no matter what would try to get to know your culture when you guys first met.

Let's just say that you moved to Mumbattan from your hometown, and for your information, Indonesia's diverse in a lot of aspects, like religion, ethnic groups and culture, traditions, and all that!

Generally we speak in Bahasa Indonesia here as it's considered to be the main language, but in many areas of my country, there tend to be dialects exclusive to that zone like the Javanese dialect or Sundanese dialect. So if Pav wants to learn your language, I'd say he'd lean into the main language spoken by Indo people here BEHEHHEHEHEH

Usually we Indonesians are pretty close to our families and lemme tell you, I feel like your parents would absolutely love Pav once they get to know him more and think he's such a great partner for you.

Yes he might not be the best at speaking it but HE'S TRYING OK 🥺?? AND HE'S ONLY LEARNING ABT IT

Oh my fucking god. Pav would rock a batik shirt or sarong (worn over a basic tee bc he tried to try it himself during one of his visits to your place) so well.

"Oh my godness, Pav, I- You look good in it!"

"Do you think so? I hope you're not mad at me for snooping in your wardrobe-"

"Are you kidding? Honestly, I think batik suits you so much and I'd love it if you wear them more often."

Bam, you've just combusted because your boyfriend managed to look so damn good in the traditional cloth and he fell in love with you more for liking how good he looked in it!

Don't even start on how many traditional food your country have. And I personally imagine Pav to be a bit of a foodie kind of guy so he'd absolutely love to try your traditional food.

Now here's the fun part. Chai time AND trying your traditional food that your mom had cooked or bought! Ofc you'd also enjoy chai time hehe

Stray cats living in places in my country are pretty common so you and Pav would def bond over petting stray animals in the street! (Tho if you're a Muslim like me, just wanna say that you can still touch dogs but we Muslims usually try to avoid contact with their saliva because dog saliva is considered impure so we must purify ourselves by washing the area seven times, one of which must be done with soil)

Ok maybe to stay safe, let's just say you've always found yourselves being attached to stray cats more than stray dogs even tho you find Pavitr's interactions with stray dogs to be SOO adorable. 🤣

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD YOU AND PAV SITTING SOMEWHERE AND THEN A BUNCH OF STRAY CATS APPROACH YOU BOTH

OR IF A PARTICULAR STRAY CAT KEPT COMING INTO YOUR HOUSE FOR FOOD RIGHT WHEN PAVITR'S VISITING

IT'S THE CUTEST SIGHT EVER BUT PAV THINKS YOU'RE WAY CUTER THAN ALL THOSE CATS

"Meri jaan, if anything, you're way cuter than all of these cats." he booped your nose.

Dude's just gonna be amazed at how diverse your country is, ngl. And the fact he's dating such a wonderful person ;)

Extra A/N: Dear anon and my fellow Indonesians, I hope I did this justice 🏃🏻‍♀️/gen

[sebeth]

Fantastic Four # 4 - 6

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Brief Summary: The return of Namor, the debut of Doctor Doom, and the first Namor-Doom team-up.

Debuts:

·         Doctor Doom

·         Baxter Building

·         Yancy Street Gang

Favorite Cover: #4 – I love the image of Namor escaping into the ocean with Susan.

Points of Interest:

·         Ben’s very indecisive on Johnny’s leaving the team. He starts with “He’s nothin’ but a spoiled brat of a teenager! What do we need him for?” to “When I find ‘im, I’ll team him to run off on us that way!” So do you want Johnny gone or not?

·         Sue once again causes panic in a public setting by using her powers for ordinary tasks. Why do you need to be invisible to drink soda in a café?

·         The amount of time Johnny has been away from the team isn’t specified. If it’s only been a few hours, the team is panicking over nothing. Johnny wouldn’t be the first teen to storm off for a few hours, cool down, and then return home. If it has been over a day, Johnny owes Sue a huge apology.

·         Reed yanks a passing motorcyclist off his bike to see if he’s seen Johnny.  Reed tells the man “But if you don’t know where Johnny Storm is, I’ve no more time to waste with you!”Reed’s rather rude.  I mean, Reed was the one who yanked the poor man off of his motorcycle – possibly damaging the bike in the process.

·         Reed thinks “I’ve got to keep trying!  Sooner or later I’ll find some teen-ager who’s seen him!” Yep, that’s Reed’s solution to the missing Johnny problem – question every teenager in New York City on Johnny’s whereabouts.  I was expecting more from the world’s smartest man – maybe a device that would sense Johnny’s elevated temperature or energy output but nope, instead he’s going to interrogate all of New York’s thousands upon thousands of teenagers.

·         It’s revealed that Johnny is at Swanson’s Garage working on cars and hanging with his pals. The same Swanson’s Garage we saw Johnny at during the first issue of the Fantastic Four.  I can understand Reed not being aware of the garage – he becomes so absorbed in his experiments he forgets the outside world – but are you telling me that Sue didn’t check out the place?  Sue wouldn’t be fooled by the “tell her I’m not here” game – one invisible drop-in later and Johnny’s busted.

·         Johnny uses his powers to weld the engine.  He also shows off by flaming on – while near cans of gasoline!  Johnny explains: “Notice how I can control my flame!  By not moving, it doesn’t go near the gasoline!” Way to scare the crap out of your friends!  

·         Ben enters the garage by breaking through the wall.  The team is racking up the collateral damage for a simple search mission – Swanson’s garage wall, the man’s motorcycle, and who knows if Sue paid for that soda!

·         Ben warns Johnny: “And now I’ll teach you what happens to deserters!  And your flame doesn’t scare me!  I know you can’t move while you’re burning, because there’s gasoline all over here!  One spark and your pals are done for!”

·         Reading Ben’s early appearances are rather jarring compared to his later personality. I understand Ben’s anger, frustration and bitterness.  I’m also sure his transformation caused a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder but casually dismissing the safety of innocent bystanders?  Not the Ben we know and love.  

·         Johnny, acting as the mature one, immediately flames off and attempts to defuse the situation.  Ben proceeds to throw a car through the other wall of the garage.  Ben takes a swing at Johnny: “You’ve always laughed at me because I was ugly!  Well? Why aren’t you laughing now? Don’t worry, sonny boy…I’m not gonna spoil your pretty features!  I’ll just rough you up a little…teach you who’s boss, once and for all!”

·         Ben turns back to human mid-rant.  Johnny takes the opportunity to flame on and retreat.  Ben’s calls after Johnny: “Go on, Torch!  Fly off!  What do I care!  Ha Ha! I’m human again!  Fly away, you flaming freak!!”

·         A flying Johnny thinks to himself: “The poor fool!  He should know by now his change is only temporary!” Sure enough, Ben changes back into the Thing seconds later.

·         Johnny’s often portrayed as the immature one but he was the exact opposite in this scene – he stayed calm, attempted to defuse the situation, prevented innocent bystanders from being harmed, and retreated at the first opportunity instead of being dragged into a senseless fight.

·         The scene nicely shows that Ben’s rage is caused by the transformation – as soon as Ben regained his human form, he lost all interest in the fight.  “The flaming freak” comment was interesting – did Ben feel that he was removed from that category since he regained his human form. Would Ben consider Sue a freak? Does Ben call Johnny a freak because he resents Johnny’s attractiveness?

·         Johnny decides to retreat to the Bowery and hang with the derelicts.  Johnny finds a comic from the 1940’s about the Sub-Mariner.  A derelict tells Johnny that they have “a stumble-bum right here who’s supposed to be as strong as that Joker was supposed to be!”

·         The derelicts harass the stumble-bum until a brawl breaks out and the bodies hit the floor! “Wham!  Pow!  Bam!”

·         The derelicts gear up for round two but Johnny intervenes: “Hold on!  Let him alone!  Can’t you see, he’s ill?  He’s got amnesia!  A loss of memory!  He doesn’t even know who he is!!”  Johnny decides to shave off the amnesiac man’s beard and cut his hair with his flame abilities.  Johnny proclaims: “Wait!! His face! No – it – can’t be!  It is!  It is!! He – He’s the Sub-Mariner!”

·         Johnny has clearly been working hard on controlling his powers as evidenced by this scene and the previous scene at the garage.  He seems to have done this without any prompting by Reed or Sue.  It makes sense as Johnny’s powers are clearly the most destructive of the Four.  

·         I highly recommend this issue for Johnny fans – he has many shining moments and it’s a nice, subtle look at his character.  

·         Reed’s continues his quest of randomly harassing random citizens on Johnny’s whereabouts – the latest being a helicopter crew (while in the sky) and travelers in the subway.   This amuses me way more than it should – maybe Reed really needed social time?

·         An invisible Sue enters the Bowery: “I can’t believe that Johnny would ever come here!” Sue proceeds to walk right past Johnny and Namor!  Seriously, is Ben the only observant member of this team? I guess Johnny gets points too for recognizing Namor

·         Johnny flies Namor to the ocean and drops him in!  Thankfully the bum is Namor and not some homeless man that Johnny terrorized for no reason.  

·         Namor returns to Atlantis to find that “It’s destroyed!!  It’s all destroyed!!  That glow in the water – it’s radioactivity!  Now I know what happened!  The humans did it, unthinkingly with their cursed atomic tests!”

·         Sadly, this issue is from 1962 but the “human unthinkingly destroy” plot is still relevant today – for example, the bleaching of the coral reefs and the tons of plastic found in the ocean.  

·         Namor returns to New York City with vengeance on his mind: “I am the mightiest living mortal on earth!!  And now, mankind shall feel that might…as it is turned against you all!”

·         Namor’s been able to make that claim – unchallenged in the Marvel Universe – since World War II.  He had to be really annoyed when the Thing, the Hulk, and Thor all debuted within months of each other.  Namor being Namor, I’m sure was still telling everyone that he was “the mightiest mortal living on earth!”

·         Namor uses a monster-controlling horn to summon Giganto from the depths of the ocean. Ben defeats Giganto by hauling a bomb into the monster’s abdomen. Poor Giganto!

·         Sue adds another name to the list of men infatuated with her. Namor declares: “Well! Here is a prize worth catching! You’re the loveliest human I’ve ever seen!  If you will be my bride, I might show mercy to the rest of your pitiful race!”

·         Namor’s not one to beat around the bush!  We now know Namor’s true weakness – it’s not lack of water, it’s beautiful women.  We can’t even justify that he’s attracted to Sue’s personality – Namor glanced at Sue and was all “Whoa, mamma!”

·         We now begin the longest running triangle in all of comics – Namor, Sue, and Reed.  I don’t count Superman-Lois-Clark as that triangle only involves two individuals.

·         Namor’s the epitome of mercurial mood swings so he changes from “Now I’ll have the girl, and my revenge!”  to annoyance that Sue isn’t properly impressed by his manly manliness.

·         Issue 5 opens with Doctor Doom playing with chess pieces modeled after the Fantastic Four. First Doom and later the Puppet Master – do all of the FF’s enemies act out their upcoming fights with action figures?

·         Doom’s lair contains a stuffed vulture and reference books labeled “Demons” and “Science and Sorcery” on the table. The books nicely foreshadow Doom’s later affinity with magic.

·         Johnny’s reading the “Hulk” comic back at the Fantastic Four headquarters. Marvel was really pushing the debut of the Hulk title – the previous issue had multiple “who is the Hulk” statements at the bottom of the pages.

·         “Fantastic Four!! Heed my words!  This is Doctor Doom!”

·         Sue: “Who?” I wish Sue had been able to say that to Doom’s face.  I don’t think his ego could handle it.

·         Reed: “That voice!  I recognize it!  But I thought he was dead!”  Reed has quite the talent for voice recognition since Doom is speaking through a metal mask from a helicopter.

·         I’m loving campy, over-the-top Doctor Doom.  Can you imagine if this was your first exposure to Doom in modern years?  You’d seriously question how Doom became the top villain in the Marvel Universe!  The crossover I want to see:  First-appearance Doctor Doom versus Batman from the 1966 tv series!

·         Flashback time: Reed and Victor Von Doom were college roommates.  Doom, a brilliant science student, was fascinated with sorcery and black magic: “One night, the evil genius went too far, as he brought forth powers which even he could not control!”  Cue explosion, facial disfigurement, and school expulsion.

·         The extent of Doom’s scarring/disfigurement caused much debate throughout the years – was it a small scar that Doom’s ego couldn’t tolerate or was it massive disfigurement?  The panel shows Doom’s entire head wrapped mummy-style so I’m going with the massive disfigurement option.

·         Reed tells the group that Victor left the school and when he was last heard of “he was prowling the wastelands of Tibet, still seeking the forbidden secrets of black magic and sorcery”.

·         Doom demands the Four send Sue to him as a hostage.  Sue:  Girl Hostage happens a lot in the early comics.  Sue insists it’s the only way and Reed agrees.  Seriously?  The net only covers the exterior of the building – Ben and Johnny have the strength to tunnel underneath the building and exit elsewhere.  Shouldn’t that be an option instead of handing Sue over to some ranting psycho?  Reed’s definitely not earning “the world’s smartest man” title during the early adventures of the Four.  Doom opens a section of the net so Sue can enter his helicopter.

·         Doom demands the rest of the team “board my plane, and you must swear you will not attack me!”  The team agrees.  What?! Seriously, Reed, this is why you can’t hang with Captain America and Cyclops when it comes to strategic planning.

·         Doom sends the male members of the Four back in time: “: “Gone to bring me the gems which, unknown to them, will make Doctor Doom the ruler of the earth!”

·         The boys disguise themselves as pirates.  Ben tells Reed to “Take it easy, Bub!” Ben was using “Bub” decades before Wolverine!

·         Ben’s having a blast playing the role of pirate: “Ahoy, matey!  Let’s see if we can date one of these pretty barmaids!  Heh Heh!”  It’s nice to see Ben enjoying himself as he’s been miserable throughout the series.

·         Johnny’s also having fun: “This is keen!  I feel like Errol Flynn!”  

·         Reed’s a fuddy-duddy: “Knock it off!”

·         Ben has a moment where he refuses to return to the present: “Why can’t I stay?  The future holds nothing for me!  In the Twentieth Century I’m nothing but a monster…a freak!  But here I’m somebody!  I’m a leader of men!  I’m a captain!  I’m the guy who started the legend of Blackbeard!  The kids will read about me in school some day!  I ain’t never giving this up…never!” Ben, you’ve been in the past for 30 minutes, calm down!

·         The trio returns to the present only for Doom to escape.

·         A total campy, ridiculous and fun issue.  Despite the goofiness, a few of Doom’s defining characteristics – the intelligence, the sorcery, the Doom-bots, the ego, the grudge with Richards – were clearly established in this issue.

·         “Have the Fantastic Four at last met their match when Mighty Sub-Mariner and Evil Doctor Doom team up??  Don’t miss the Diabolical Duo join forces!”

·         Johnny blazes across the sky.  An onlooker gasps “The Torch!! A living legend!  And I thought I’d never see him with my own eyes!” The onlooker seems to be mixing Johnny up with the World War II era Human Torch (Jim Hammond).  Johnny hasn’t been the Torch for long. Definitely not enough time to be considered a “living legend”.  Would the general public even realize there was a difference between Johnny and Jim?   Issue 6 was published in the early 1960s.  The original Human Torch operated in the 1940s – the older citizens of the Marvel Universe would assume it was the original making a comeback after a long sabbatical.  After all, how many blonde men can set themselves on fire, fly, and call themselves the “Human Torch”?

·         The same citizens gawking at Johnny are pushed aside by an invisible Sue.  Sue turns visible to apologize and enter the Baxter Building.  We’ve seen Sue use her powers multiple times to scare or push through people.  She’s either a big fan of the “jump-scare” or using her powers to let out her frustrations by shoving people. Seriously, it would be easier – and more polite – to stay visible and skirt around people as opposed to moving around unseen and shoving people out of the way.

·         Sue notes that “The Torch has been scouting for signs of Doctor Doom.”  Isn’t Sue better suited for the task?  She is the “Invisible Girl”!  Johnny’s a human-sized ball of fire – Doom will see him coming from a mile away!

·         We receive our first detailed glimpse of the Baxter Building.  The Fantastic Four’s headquarters are located on the 34th to the 37th stories of the building.  The members of the Four take the express elevator to the 34th floor.  The elevator operates via a signal that is sent from the belt buckle of the members’ uniforms.  The 34th floor clearly belongs to Reed – it consists of labs and computers. The 35th floor are living quarters, the recreation room, and the gymnasium.  The 36th floor are conference rooms.  The 37th floor holds the team’s vehicles.

·         Reed catches up on the team’s mail.  He discovers a letter sent from a child at Harmon General Hospital.  The hospital is located across the street so Reed stretches across to have a long chat with the child.  A sweet moment for Reed who is too often characterized as obsessed with science and oblivious to social mores.

·         Johnny and Ben continue reading the mail.  We receive the first mention of the Yancy Street Gang: “…and if the Thing will meet us on the corner of Ashby and Main Street, we’ll knock that chip off his shoulder and make him like it!  Signed, the Yancy Street Gang!”

·         Ben is not amused: “I’ve heard from those mealy-mouthed braggarts before!  They get their kicks out of tryin’ to rile me!” Ben decides to answer the challenge: “This block is titanium steel – six inches thick and the strongest metal known to man!  I’ll just roll it by hand into a from acceptable for mailing – I wouldn’t want the Yancy Gang to think I wasn’t neat – Here!  Send this to them!  And on the day they manage to unroll it, I’ll personally congratulate ‘em!” Clearly, adamantium wasn’t known to the Marvel Universe at this point.

·         The Fantastic Four – secret identities or publicly known?  The writers in the Fantastic Four and Strange Tales titles go back and forth on this point in the early issues. A few issues ago, the identities were stated to be a “secret”?  If so, how does the Yancy Gang recognize Ben?  He looks significantly different post-transformation!  If the identities are still a secret at this point and the Yancy Gang still realize the Thing is Ben Grimm…well, Batman will have to forfeit the “World’s Greatest Detective” title!

·         Ben’s itching to fight someone worthy of him, “a foe like Doctor Doom…or a Submariner!”

·         Sue defends her crush: “Submariner is hostile because he’s hurt and bitter!”

·         Yeah, Namor has man-pain!  The fact that he looks damn good in a speedo has nothing to do with Sue’s defense of him!

·         We switch to the ocean where the “hurt and bitter” Namor instructs porpoises in swimming maneuvers.

·         Doctor Doom travels to Namor’s location, proposes an alliance, and brags up his credentials: “ I am strong – strong enough to join the powers of science to those of darkness!  Show me the puny mortal who does not tremble at the name of Doctor Doom!”

·         Let’s recap Sue’s reaction upon hearing the name of Doctor Doom: “Who?”

·         Doom notes “It would appear that you’ve taken a holiday from your campaign against the surface world!  Men no longer speak your name in fear!”

·         Well, playing with dolphins doesn’t exactly reinforce an angry and vengeance-driven persona.

·         Doctor Doom notes a framed photo of Susan Storm.

·         Namor warns “Take care!  That female is no concern of yours!”

·         How did Namor get the photo?  Did Sue give it to him?  Did he take the picture while he held her hostage a few issues ago?  Clip it out of a newspaper?

·         Doom taunts Namor into assisting him: “What happened to your thirst for revenge? Have you forgot the glistening towers of your once great civilization?  The culture and comfort enjoyed by your happy subjects…imagine your great and proud people struggling for thousands of years, defeating all the terrors of the deep to build a civilization, superb and beautiful…yes, beautiful and glowing with life until that last terrifying moment when that monster of a bomb lodged in the midst of that beauty…gone! All that glorious history gone in one brief instant! Replaced by an ugly crater in the ocean floor…littered with fused masonry and bitter memories that cry out…revenge! Revenge! Revenge upon the surface world which did this in its ignorance! Revenge upon humanity’s defenders! Death to the Fantastic Four!”

·         Namor agrees: “I cannot harm the girl! But I will aid you in defeating the others!”

·         Dr. Doom is a large ham.

·         Namor is easily manipulated.

·         I want to see a “What If?” where Namor’s all “Nah, I’m gonna keep playing with the dolphins”.

·         Wouldn’t it be easier for Namor to simply ask Reed for assistance in locating the lost Atlanteans instead of trusting some random dude in armor?

·         Namor leaves to pursue his part of the plan and plays “chicken” with an airplane along the way: “No time to dodge! It’s going to hit us head on!” “Bah! That’s enough horseplay!  I mustn’t forget the mission!”

·         Back to the Baxter Building where Johnny snoops around Sue’s possessions. Why is Johnny snooping in Sue’s room? Typical younger sibling nosiness? Johnny’s around 16-17 years old at this time.  Sue raised Johnny – I’ve always felt that she was 10 – 12 years older than him.  The dual mother-sister role makes it even odder that Johnny is nosing around her room.

·         Johnny finds a photo of Namor and isn’t happy about it: “So! You’ve gone soft on Submariner – our arch-enemy!” The Four have only fought Namor once. I don’t think that’s enough to qualify him as an “arch-enemy”. Of course, the other options are: a short man who lives underground, aliens who were outsmarted by “B” horror movies, a maybe-maybe not hypnotist, and an egotistical man in armor whose master plan was throwing a net over a skyscraper.  I can see why Johnny chose Namor for the arch-enemy role.

·         Sue is not amused: “Give me that photo, you insolent brat!” When did this photo exchange between Namor and Sue take place?  Were they taking pictures of each other during issue #4?

·         Namor arrives at the Baxter Building and all hell breaks loose as Ben and Johnny brawl with the Sub-Mariner.

·         Namor advises Sue to get out of the way: “He’s too angry to listen to reason! You’d best stay out of the way! I do not fear the Torch!”  Yeah, Namor has had plenty of experience battling Human Torches.

·         It’s curious that Johnny is so angry over Sue’s crush on Namor. Does he dislike Namor so much or is he afraid it would cause the breakup of the Four which is his home, family, and a large part of his identity?

·         Namor states he’s come in peace and doesn’t mention the devices he’s rigged to the Baxter Building.

·         Crack! The Baxter Building is launched into space for the first but not the only time!

·         Namor rages: “The double-crossing dog is in a rocket plane above pulling this building into space!” And yet Namor will continue to ally with Doom after this betrayal.

·         Namor’s not in much danger – he can simply jump out and fly away.  Johnny would normally be able to escape but he “exhausted his flame” during his fight with Namor.  Johnny didn’t have much stamina in the early issues. The Four’s planes were damaged in the launching of the building.

·         Reed insists “our only hope of ever getting down is to seize control of that plane!”

·         Does Doom ever recall his earliest attacks on the four and face-palm?  They were so ridiculous and over-the-top!

·         Reed stretches after Doom’s plane: “Somehow, conditions in space tend to weaken my powers!” Was this ever mentioned again? The Four spend a lot of time in space.

·         Namor decides enough is enough: “That jackal Doctor Doom still has Prince Namor to reckon with!” Namor dives into a water storage, amps up to full strength, launches himself to Doom’s ship, evicts Doom from the ship, assumes control of the ship, and returns the Baxter Building to earth.  Doom hitches a ride to earth on a meteor.

·         Ben: “How do you thank an enemy? Submariner’s above us in that confounded ship.  And if I could reach him I still don’t know if I’d shake his hand or try to smash him!”

·         Sue: “Oh, he isn’t our enemy! I just know it! He’s so full of pain and bitterness that it blinds his better instincts! Submariner needs time…time to heal!” Sue, dear, I think the boys are over your continued defense of Namor.

·         Namor: “So shall I return to the sea! Perhaps someday when I am no longer haunted by bitter memories of my lost people, I may return…but, until then, this is where I belong! In the sea which is my home!”

·         So ends the first super-villain team-up in the Marvel Universe and the beginning of one of Marvel’s longest running love-hate relationships.

[ultralaser]

BAM. now i just need namor (who i want) and black bolt (who i don't). thankfully the iron man figure has no okoye parts so i can ignore him. (yes, this means the bp movie series only has four movie characters if you buy the baf.) (otoh when was the last major toy series with two black women in it?) #marvellegends #blackpanther #nakia #lupitanyongo

[imperiuswrecked]

Artists are amazing: Why do you ask? Case in point Namor the Sub-Mariner. Two almost identical drawings. Yet the top shows displeasure, anger, a stern and forbidding face. In short Namor's usual expression. One that says he wants to punch you in the face. The bottom drawing shows a face on the brink of a smile. A slight widening of the narrowed eyes, a few less lines around the forehead, and a small change of the mouth. Suddenly bam. Two different expressions. One cold the other slightly warmer. A little bit more light in the eyes and the whole freaking thing changes. Yes there are bigger, grander, much more beautiful drawings out there full of color and amazing quality. Of which I am a big admirer. Yet I feel it is the small changes, the subtle ones that pass us by that truly show just how a few very slight changes can change the whole picture. So while I sit here unable to make my stick figures even look like stick figures, I just have to say ARTISTS ARE AMAZING. For any artist out there that is struggling. Just know you are great. (Thanks to @jayleeg for giving me comic panels to obsess over today)

[god-hunter]

Avengers #6

I love the Avengers, but I have to admit.. I’m not loving Waid’s main title...

This is issue #6, but it really feels like Issue #12, thanks to his .1 issues. By this point, that nostalgic back-story ended, and one subtle thing of continuity from all the way back then is supposed to tie-in to this issue.

This issue is really about the crazy, warped up, hard-to-wrap your head around Kang War that’s been going on.

Now.  Like I said.  I enjoy Waid’s style, and I was really impressed with his first issue of this new era.  But its a weird one.  All of this Kang stuff is hard to understand.  Beyond that, the team itself is good, but...  I dare say, almost too new.  Vision is the only notable vet on the team, and I’m whatever with him.

Yes, Hercules has been an Avenger before, but.. he was always sort of a D-Lister.  And so far, I don’t really see that changing, although Waid does give him a fun voice.  Spider-man was a New Avenger via the Bendis era, so yes.  I absolutely love that.  Sam Wilson and Jane stepped into the roles of Captain America and Thor since All-New All-Different, so seeing them interact is not foreign to us any more.  But still...  there’s something weird about seeing Sam lead.  [Which is strange to say, because we sort of saw it in Al Ewing’s Captain America and the Mighty Avengers series.]  And then there’s Nadia Pym, the new Wasp, who really seems out of place on that team.  Why didn’t they bring back Janet Van Dyne??  Then it’d really feel like old-school Avengers are back.

Well, anyway.  Thats exactly how I feel about the team.  They’re good, and work pretty well together.  But... they’re not all that interesting.  I really hate to say that.

Last issue and this one are better off for having them interact with the Avengers from different eras.  And what makes this type of arc interesting is to see who plans affecting time can really backfire fast.

But, as fun as they are to read.  They’re really hard to explain.  Its all a bit much.

So with all of that said, I will attempt to talk about the conclusion of the Kang War arc.  And I’m hoping that further continuity in this book will get stronger and become more enjoyable as a whole.

[SPOILERS]

So Bam!  This issue starts with time being fluid.

(I forgot why, but one of the Avenger teams failed.) Vision and his eerie future-self watch this from I don’t know where.  I forgot where they are.  Doesn’t matter.

Eerie future version asks Vision what’s wrong and he’s basically like, ‘you mean besides my Team dying?’  He brings up that “It is disconcerting to learn that I am destined to outlive all whom I know and love.”

Eerie Future version isn’t concerned with that.  They focus on the Teams in different times.

The ‘Egypt Team’ in 2948 B.C. is...  well I don’t know what they’re doing, but when they blow up a pyramid, it ends up destroying all of Kang’s future weapons.  So that’s pretty cool.

On Planet Sacniaa in 7215 A.D. Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne take note that Kang is stealing the future.  “Without it. There are no Avengers.”

We see Spectrum, and both Thors sort of melt away.  Spectrum gets sent back home, or so she thinks.  Jarvis doesn’t recognize her and calls Stark Security.

Time seems to have erased Avengers Mansion completely at this very moment.

Meanwhile, the Thors combine hammers, to fight back against... whatever monster they were fighting.

This releases the ‘future stealing’ machine, which Giant Man is able to use to bring back Janet, Thor, Jane and Monica back to full, whole vitality.

[You lost yet?]

Monica suggest to Jane that they focus “on breaking up Kang’s little Time Farm for good.”  She’ll carry out the rest of whatever their mission was.

I don’t quite know how, but I’ll take Hank’s word for it that they “shut down the ket to Kang’s financial empire.”

With 2 of 3 missions successful, one had to go haywire, right?

And that would be the one in North America, 4022 A.D., hosted by Captain America, She-Hulk, Namor and Iron Man.

As they’re fighting off Kang and whoever his people are, She-Hulk decides to change up the plan.  “Isn’t changing history exactly what we came here to do?”

So... I forgot what they were supposed to do, but instead, Cap takes Jenn’s advice and orders them to “Hit anything and everything until it’s rubble!”

[Jeez.  Way to fly off the handle.  Thats hardly the same cap that ‘stuck to the plan’ from Issue #5.1]

It was neat however, at this point to see Kang’s weapons all disintegrate out of nowhere, because technically they never existed.

Nadia is in charge of dealing with some sort of time bomb, and it explodes.

At that point, I still don’t know where they are, but the Visions pull all of the Avengers teams to their location.

They think the day is won, but suddenly the Scarlet Centurion and Immortus show up, indicating that they have no idea what they’ve done.

At this point, they’re confused and Sam Wilson realizes he bit off way more than he could chew here.

Doctor Doom even showed up out of nowhere and calls them fools for challenging them at a time when they’re all at their greatest power.

[I don’t... even, understand right now.]

...Doom kills everyone.  And I do mean everyone.  Past teams.  Current teams.

The only one left is Hank Pym, who is running away in his Giant Man uniform.  Immortus and Scarlet Centurion let him do so, because in their words.  “He is the least among them.”

[Damn, guys.]

This is when Giant Man has an awesome, epic moment.  Out of desperation, he runs to grab that confusing Future Stealing machine again.  I guess he steals it from a helpless Kang who is in the room.

Then he uses it on all of them, including the Doctor Doom who basically destroyed everyone.

In doing so...  I don’t know HOW, but all of our current and past guys are back.

“explain to the back of the class...?” Hulk asks.

Using it, basically... erased all the actions of his future selves.  Meaning, those attacks never technically happened?  And thus, our Avengers never died...!?

[Ugh, God.  Waid.  This is getting so hard to follow.]

Future Vision sends all of the Avengers Teams back to their respective times with no memory of their own futures.  The current roster does no need to be mind wiped, however.  “Unless, you, Vision, would prefer not to know of me--?”

Vision shakes his hand.  “... Leave the memory.”

Before they go home, Cap apologizes for botching this whole thing up.

Vision says that it wasn’t necessarily a bad move.  “...his entire future is now held captive within the weapon Dr. Pym used.  ...Which if I do say so myself, is now in the most trustworthy of hands.”  He says as we see a panel of his future self holding the device and looking inside at the trapped versions of Kang.

“We are at last free of his villainy...  I would suggest we savor the victory... and hope there are no consequential aberrations in the time stream.”

At this point we find that 37 stories below them is a grave stone that reads, “Here Lies Avenger X Bravest Of Us All”

-To be Continued-

Damn.

But where WERE they!!?

Now that I’ve read Avengers #5.1, I know that Cressida was buried somewhere on Earth in the woods, but this thing seemed to just appear at whatever facility they were in.

So... is she just an anomaly now?

This doesn’t make sense man.  I swear.  But it has been entertaining.

And I’ll be veeeery happy to move on from this awkward arc.

Next time, apparently Iron Doom is entering the mix!  And he may even become a member of the team.  That would add some much needed life to this group dynamic, IMO.

...until Avengers #7.