In the comics, Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, was one of the original five Avengers. He had fonded the group alongside The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), and the Mighty Thor. During Hank's career as an Avenger, he became known for changing up his superhero identity. He would become Goliath for a while, then become Yellowjacket.
When Jim Shooter became the writer of the Avengers' book, he theorized that the reason why Hank changed up his identity so much was because of feelings of inferiority. As such, he crafted a storyline that would have an effect on Hank's character for years afterward, both in-universe and in the real world. How did that storyline start? Let's find out in Avengers #212.
The cover is an Alan Kupperberg piece, and it's pretty cool. You have the Elfqueen in front of the Capitol Building, knocking the Avengers back with her magic. It gives the idea that she is quite the powerful threat. And it's not wrong there.
"Men of Deadly Pride!"
Writer: Jim Shooter
Penciler: Alan Kupperberg
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Ben Sean
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
The story begins with dawn rising over New York City, including Avengers Mansion. The Avengers' loyal butler, Edwin Jarvis, is doing his morning rounds. However, what the man does not realize is that he's about to be attacked.
Nope, this is not some brand-new villain. It's just Tigra, the Avengers' newest member. The Female Feline Fury just wanted to give Jarvis a bit of a harmless scare. It's stuff like this (as well as an allergy to cats) that makes Jarvis find her more uncomfortable than other Avengers he's served in the past. It's here we get a bit of a recap of Tigra's origin.
In a fancy apartment on the Upper East Side, Tony Stark is getting ready for his day. He's having some flat Dr. Pepper for breakfast (This was shortly after the events of "Demon in a Bottle" over in Iron Man's book). He's staying over at the apartment of a lady he was seeing. He gets into his Iron Man suit and jets off...but not before he calls his secretary and tells her to send a cleaning crew over and some roses.
In Brooklyn Heights, Steve Rogers flips out of bed. He grabs a shower, suits up in his Captain America gear and heads to the Mansion. While he heads out, Rogers is thinking about the big roster shake-up in the previous issue. Vision, Scarlet Witch, and the Beast had left the team in the last issue, and Tigra had joined up. Cap worries about the feline woman. After all, not much was known about her at the time, and he decides he'll keep an eye on her. After all, being an Avenger can be rather...demanding, physically and mentally.
We next look in on Donald Blake, who is working in a West Side medical center. He's leaving for the day, as he had to work the night shift. He walks into an alleyway, and undergoes an incredible transformation.
Yes, our dear doctor is actually the Mighty Thor! With a swing of his powerful hammer Mjolnir, he takes to the skies, Avengers Mansion his destination. Four Avengers down, two to go. And who are those two Avengers? Why, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, aka Yellowjacket and Wasp of course! However, the two seem to be having a bit of trouble in paradise.
Yeah, Hank seems to have grown a bit cold and is in a foul mood. He destroys one of Wasp's outfits, and loses his temper with their chauffeur over their limo being stuck in traffic. Eventually, they manage to arrive. We get a bit of club business. It's time to elect a new Chairman for the team. Iron Man and Thor decided to let Cap remain Chairman for now, as the team recently got its roster shake-up, and letting Cap stay Chairman will let it keep some stability for now. The two veteran Earth's Mightiest Heroes waived it as their right as founding members.
An infuriated Hank roars that he should have been consulted. He was a founder as well. So was Wasp, but Hank doesn't bring that up. He rants that he is fed up with being forgotten, but the matter is tabled. We next shift scenes to something...bizarre.
This little cottage, located out in the wilds of...Virginia, does have a pair of occupants. Rather...strange occupants. Meet Linnea and Gorn. She's a sorceress and he's a barbarian. The setup for a Hyborean Era sitcom. Gorn is feeling a bit restless. You see, Linnea, aka the Elfqueen, was once hunted as a witch. It's funny she's called "Elfqueen", as she's not an elf. Gorn is tired of hiding from the world as a result. If people give them trouble, they will fight.
The two go into town...which happens to be Washington, DC. Yup, they were living right near the nation's capital. How did they get there? They hinted they lived in the cottage for likely centuries. How did they end up living within a horse ride's distance of the nation's capital? And how come nobody in Washington DC has ever noticed them?
(Huh?)
The two find their way to a restaurant, and try to order to order some food. They're awestruck and very confused by the ways of the modern world. Gorn and Linnea's relationship here is shown to be paralleling Hank and Jan's. At one time, the two were very much in love. But now, their union has hit some rocks.
A modeling agent notices Linnea and basically pulls the whole "You ever considered being a model" routine on her. Gorn gets angry about this and confronts the man. However, the agent has taken six whole lessons in Jiu-Jitsu. Which he demonstrates.
I love that bit. It's a nice subversion of the whole "tough guy easily beats down skinny guy" routine. Gorn didn't like his free trip to the salad bar and decides to try to practice his long-neglected skill at defenestration. However, Linnea is able to save the agent from learning what glass tastes like with her magic. The restaurant's owner tries to remove them, but Linnea gives him her golden necklace as an attempt to pay them back for the damage they caused. This inspires the manager to give them the five-star treatment.
After the meal, they leave and find that their horse is gone. Gorn had earlier tied its reins to a parking meter. Guess they forgot to put money in it. Linnea's like, "Gorn, this place is confusing and scary. Let's go home to our vale, where things make sense." Gorn refuses, as he feels like a pet. He wants to regain the past glory he had. Before he can start his quest, a cop goes over to talk to him. After all, there are laws about carrying swords in public nowadays. Gorn accepts what he thinks is the cop's challenge, but he gets maced and cuffed for his trouble.
Linnea rescues her overly-macho barbarian boyfriend, and the two argue over going home. Gorn gets so infuriated that he ends up smacking Linnea. She angrily flies off. Let him pursue his stupid glory. A horrified Gorn tries to apologize, but she doesn't hear it. The Conan-wannabe wanders off into the seedier part of the city.
Over at Avengers Mansion, Iron Man and Yellowjacket are checking out one of the Quinjets, as it wasn't working quite right. Wasp and Tigra are discussing the sightings of Linnea and Gorn. News travels fast in the Marvel Universe. Yellowjacket found the component that was acting up. Hey, he can fix it, no problem. Just call him Hank the Builder!
(can we fix it)
Wasp suggests another idea. She can have her butler fetch a spare component from Hank's lab and can bring it over. It would only take a couple of minutes. Hank explodes at that, ranting that Janet will take any opportunity to show off her wealth. He's Hank Pym, dagnabit! He doesn't need her money! The other Avengers worry about this. Captain America wonders if he should do something.
...yes. Yes you should, Steve! I get that you're uncomfortable about getting into what you think is a family matter, but these two are active members of the team you're leading! This can cause problems in the field! Meanwhile, Gorn meets some...potential new friends.
They don't like Conan cosplayers, and they wish to express their dislike of Conana cosplayers by beating him up. However, Gorn is a rather experienced warrior, so he handily thrashes them. A couple of cops see the fight, and recognize the barbarian. There's an all-points bulletin out on him. Gorn spots the cops and challenges them. They respond by giving him some hot lead.
Linnea appears, but it's too late. Gorn is dead. The Elfqueen furiously attacks the policemen, and vows revenge. She then goes on a rampage. The Avengers arrive (minus Wasp) and engage the mad sorceress. She is able to take down Iron Man. Thor restrains her, but she's able to toss him off. Yellowjacket prepares to blast her, believing that if he does, he can finally get the team to respect him. But his disruptors decide to short out, showing that the universe hates Hank Pym.
The Elfqueen tries to pick up Mjolnir, Thor's enchanted hammer. However, she is not worthy of it, so she ain't going to get it. So, she tries another tactic, one I think is actually pretty clever: She forms the ground around the hammer into a fist, and uses the earth fist to smack Thor with his own weapon.
(smart)
Tigra tries to engage the sorceress, but she gets a free trip heading to orbit for her troubles. Luckily, Iron Man Airlines picks her up. The Elfqueen tries to sic a building on Captain America. The Sentinel of Liberty thinks about her as he dodges the debris. She speaks a language nobody seemingly understands. Her dress is seemingly from an ancient time. Cap wonders if she's like him in a way, a person out of time. She tries to block Cap with a wall of fire, but the super-soldier is able to leap over it. He then tries another tactic with her: Staying still.
(huh)
He's hoping that his showing no aggression towards her will convince her to stand down. It seems to start working, but Hank Pym's got his disruptors working again.
Believing she was tricked, Lianna tries to bring down a car on the scientist. Hank's suit shorts out again, and there's no time to dodge. Hank Pym is a dead man...well, no.
The Wasp had followed the team from New Jersey, and Hank boils with fury over it. Again, Janet gets one up on him. He gets humiliated again by her again. Cap tries to speak to Lianna again, pleading with her not to kill Hank. The other Avengers recover and are ready to rush her, but the Star-Spangled Avenger assures her that will not be necessary. Lianna's rage gives way to sadness. With tears in her eyes, she walks towards the body of Gorn.
The Avengers are understandably confused about this. Steve tries to give her his condolences despite the language barrier. Lianna doesn't understand his words, but she does pick up the compassion and nobility in his voice. This world took the only man she loved from her, and she can't find it in her heart to forgive. But for Steve Rogers, she agrees to leave in peace...for now, anyway. She takes to the air and vanishes in a flash of light. The story ends with the Avengers wondering if she'll ever return...well, except for one.
A worried Wasp looks over at Hank Pym, but the Yellowjacket is too busy fuming, bitter thoughts churning in his mind.
I liked this issue, but it does have some...well, issues. For once is the Elfqueen herself. Why is Linnea called that? She's not an elf, nor is she shown to be the ruler of an elf kingdom. It's bizarre. One thing I did like about this issue is that it showed Linnea and Gorn being confused about the modern world. It does make sense that two people from a presumably medieval-like time of swords and sorcery would be utterly befuddled by things like cars and movies and electric razors. I also like that Gorn and Lianna's relationship parallels Hank and Jan's, and I wish that parallel was explored more. Maybe having them being forced together? Alan Kupperberg turns in some fine art for this issue.
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback Avengers: The Trial of Yellowjacket. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show
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