Avengers vol. 3 #33Avengers vol. 3 #33
Title: "Tainted Love”
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciller: George Perez
Finished Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inker/Finished Pencils: Al Vey
Colors: Tom Smith
Editor: Tom Brevoort
CONTINUED FROM THUNDERBOLTS #43
Madame Masque stands, as she believes, among her enemies. She says that their words are honeyed and sweet, but behind them is fear and a threat. She says that they want her secrets. She says that it is risky to listen and believe. She thinks about how it all started.
Before, Madame Masque’s butte hideout is under attack by her father. Nefaria tells her to stop her tantrum or he will have to become “stern”. Madame Masque tells Nefaria to do what he will. She says that her father is dead and that she doesn’t follow any man’s orders. Wonder Man, Atlas, Grim Reaper, and his Steelskulls continue to fight against the Avengers and Masque’s robots. Triathlon leaps over Reaper’s scythe. Triathlon says that Atlas used to be a bad guy, but he thought that Wonder Man was on their team. Masque says that this charade won’t work. She tells her inner guard to protect her by killing all of them. Atlas squashes the robots and says that they aren’t going to kill anyone. Wonder Man punches Iron Man and tells Masque that she is going to obey her father. Wanda begs Simon to stop this. Wonder Man looks at her. He says, “W-Wanda? I… You oppose Nefaria, woman. You… must… die…” Wanda says that she will free him and starts a hex. She says that all she needs is the right hex and that it will free him. Wonder Man tries to plow into Wanda, but Triathlon grabs her and carries her out of his path. He tells her that “Wonder Man has left the building”.
Wasp tells Vision and Warbird to concentrate on Nefaria. She says that she and Triathlon will keep the Steelskulls off of them. Vision and Warbird blast Nefaria, but he just remains perfectly in place while hovering in the sky. Wasp tells Iron Man to concentrate on Atlas. Iron Man hits Atlas. Reaper cuts the head off a robot and says that he is getting sick of them. Wanda begs Simon to think and hits him with a hex. Nefaria hauls off and punches Warbird. Goliath says, “We have no chance against these opponents.” Triathlon asks him what he said. Goliath goes on and explains that the last time they fought Nefaria that they beat him by a fluke. He says that even Thor didn’t stand a chance. Hank speaks flatly as if in a lab and not in battle. Triathlon asks if he is saying that they should just give up. Goliath says that if he is anywhere close to full power, and with Atlas and Wonder Man at his side, that there is no hope of victory. Hank says that they don’t give up. He says that they will still fight… they just won’t win. Hank fires a weapon. Triathlon says that he has to believe that they can win especially against someone they can’t undo. Hank says that he doesn’t intentionally delude himself.
Wasp stings Nefaria and asks him what he is after besides his daughter. Nefaria smiles at her and says, “What’s due me, my dear Wasp… nothing more, and not an inch less!” Nefaria said that he had been a man of influence, the head of the European Maggia, but the old ways had changed and he sought out super powers. Nefaria says that he gained his powers, but that his plan failed and he died. He says that the ionic powers revived him as they did Wonder Man. He says that he had been changed, revived him, and given him a hunger for more. Nefaria says that he regained his ancestral estate and began rebuilding his life. He says that he dallied with breeding his own ionic power sources, but that he found it beneath him. He says that he took a more direct approach. Nefaria says that capturing Wonder Man was easy. He says that he drained enough of his power off of him and bonded him to him as his slave. Nefaria says that he then sent him out after his ionic brother Atlas. Nefaria says that he has power, servants, and that soon he will have a position in global matters… as befits a Nefaria. Nefaria advises Wasp to step back since his daughter is going to be “obstreperous”. Wanda wonders what that means for a moment and looks over to see Madame Masque’s image in the sky.
Madame Masque tells the Avengers that this has been diverting. She says that she can’t tell if they are in league with her “father”, but that they will depart or share his fate. Beta-cannons rise out of Masque’s butte and target Nefaria. Everyone else moved out of the way, but Nefaria just stood his ground. Masque blasted him for ten seconds at enough power to level a mountain, and then she doubled it. After the firing stopped and the smoke cleared, Nefaria fixed his hair and asks his daughter if that is the best she can do. Masque tells him that it was merely a warning. She says that she believes that he is her father now, but that he abandoned her and betrayed her. She says that she will not serve him again. She says that she has spent years preparing for this. She says that she has prepared defenses that will kill even him, and that if he doesn’t leave she will use them. Nefaria says that the daughter will respect and obey her father or that she will be made to. He says that he takes back all that is his, including the Maggia and her.
Inside, Madame Masque’s butte, the recaptured Masque tells her template to ally herself with the Avengers and present a united front against Nefaria. She tells her to let them help her. Madame Masque ignores her and tells Benedict, the spider robot, to activate the Nefaria Protocols.
Benedict withdraws into the butte. Nefaria tells Atlas and Wonder Man to destroy the butte and everything in it. Atlas swats away Iron Man and Warbird. Atlas starts, “Your will, Master…” and Wonder Man finishes, “…our life!” Wonder Man and Atlas plow into the butte and start destroying it. Masque curses herself for being tricked and orders all to abandon the base.
The Avengers watch stunned. Atlas and Wonder Man stand among the rubble of the butte. Nefaria says that took less than a minute. He says that should eliminate anything that she had up her sleeve. He says that he can also hear the escape shuttles launching in the underground tunnel. Nefaria punches a hole in the ground and reveals the underground tunnel. He pulls Masque from the train and says that her father wishes her to return home. Iron Man rams Nefaria causing him to drop Masque. He tells Nefaria to leave her alone. Nefaria asks if Iron Man is mad. He says that he can’t stop him. Iron Man says that he can delay him, and suddenly all the Avengers are piling on Nefaria. Wasp flies by Triathlon’s ear. She tells him to fall back and get Madame Masque to safety. Triathlon snatches Masque up and runs away with her. Nefaria swats all the Avengers away with one swing. He tells his minions to go after his daughter. Triathlon runs fast, but Atlas’ giant legs and Wonder Man’s flying is catching them up to him. Vision floats overhead. He says that he was going to save this for use against Nefaria, but that Wonder Man and Atlas are close enough together. He increases his density to its maximum and drives the two of them to the ground. Nefaria shouts, “Blast it!” He tells Vision that he has irked him, and that he will see him suffer for it. Nefaria hits Vision. He says that there is no point in continuing this now that his objective is gone. He says that he will just collect his servants and take his leave. Nefaria throws Wonder Man over his shoulder and holds Atlas by the back with his other hand. He says that this doesn’t really matter in the long run and that they will all be showing him the proper respect soon. Nefaria flies away. Iron Man says that he has gone too far too fast to follow him. Wasp asks if anyone saw where the Reaper went.
Reaper watches the end of the battle from the door of his ship. He says that they concentrated on the boss too much and didn’t see him slip away. He says that he will soon have his defensive shields up and that they won’t be able to touch him. He says that he will rendezvous with Nefaria to see what is next. Reaper turns around and is punched in the face by Warbird. Warbird asks the unconscious Reaper if anyone ever told him that he talks too much.
Back at the mansion, Madame Masque sits trying to decide if the Avengers really want to help her or just steal her secrets. Iron Man is telling her that he doesn’t know what her Nefaria Protocols are, but that they might be the world’s only hope against him. Wanda tells her to be reasonable and that she would be saving herself as well. Grim Reaper is lead in, in manacles, and tells them to go ahead and try to convince the crackpot to save the world. Reaper says that she doesn’t have anything. He says that Nefaria is going to change everything, make a complete shift in the balance of power. He says that then they will see who is in power and who is locked up. Wasp says that is enough of him. She says that if he won’t tell them where the rendezvous point is that he is going into a holding cell. Wasp tells Iron Man to keep trying to convince Madame Masque and takes Reaper out. Warbird tells Wanda not to worry. She says that they will get Simon back safe and sound. Wanda says that she isn’t worried about Simon, and that the Avengers won’t let him down. Vision, Warbird, and Wanda walk out leaving Iron Man and Masque alone.
Iron Man looks
at her in the chair and says, “Whitney.” Masque looks
up at him and says, “Tony.” Tony flips his mask up and
says that she remembers then. He says that he erased that secret
from the minds of the world, but that he had a feeling that it
didn’t work on her. Masque says that she is resistant to
most forms of mental assaults, but that even if it had that she
records her memories nightly in case of undetected tampering.
Tony says that sounds a little paranoid. Masque says that she has
many enemies and that she did it to protect her against him. Tony
tells Whitney that he is sorry, but that she used to be
different. He says that she used to be vibrant and alive. He says
that he knows she has been through some tough times, but asks her
how it came to this. Whitney says, “Break someone’s
spirit often enough… and it’ll scar over…”
Tony says that he never meant to hurt her. He says that she has
to know that, and that she has to know that they are trying to
save everyone from her father. Masque thinks to herself that her
bio-duplicate trusted them and wonders if she can. Masque thinks
back to the first time Tony kissed her. She thinks about how
supportive he was when they were a couple. She thinks about how
he crushed her father’s life support system and how Tony
crushed it. She thinks to herself that it seems that her father
was never really dead and that maybe it wasn’t a betrayal of
her after all. She says that it is hard for her to believe and
trust after so many years. Tony puts his face mask down and says
that they can go see what the others are doing. He says that she
will see that they are only working to stop Nefaria.
Goliath, Wanda, and Wasp are talking with Jasper Sitwell on the monitor. He says that he is uploading SHIELD’s recent Maggia activity. He says that there has been a series of recent thefts of high-tech sophisticated components. Goliath says that he is building something. Suddenly Jasper sees Madame Masque and Iron Man enter the room. He says, “…Whitney?” Masque thinks to herself that it is logical for them to be in contact with him, but that it could be aimed at her as well. She tries to think if he betrayed her. Warbird interrupts Jasper’s transmission. She says that they are at Nefaria’s estate in the New Jersey Palasides, sort of. She says that they are where it used to be, but that the entire castle has been swooped out and taken. Vision says that it was taken within the last few days. Wanda wonders where Nefaria has taken it and for what purpose. Suddenly, Warbird’s transmission is interrupted by Hawkeye and Black Widow. Hawkeye says that they have news and that it isn’t good. Widow says that they have been investigating the Maggia and that they may know what Nefaria is building. Hawkeye says, “It’s a bomb. A freaking humongous ionic bomb. Big enough… to irradiate the entire world!” The Avengers stand stunned. Masque keeps repeating to herself that it is all a trick but then she gives in. She says that she will help them and rebuild the Nefaria Protocols.
In Nevada, a withered body crawls its way out of the ground and walks away.
Avengers Files rating: 10 out of 10
This issue is outstanding. Nefaria is enough of a villain to defeat the Avengers by himself, but with Atlas and Wonder Man at his side… well as Goliath said it- they can’t win this fight. I love the plot of Nefaria trying to irradiate the world into Ionic People. Just as I’m a big fan of the Gamma People and their creation so am I interested in the Ionic People. I love the interaction between Masque and Iron Man. My favorite issues of the Avengers have a familial feeling. Let’s see we have a Nefaria/Masque/Iron Man feel. A Nefaria/Wonder Man/Atlas feel. A Wonder Man/Reaper/Vision feel. A re-teaming of Grim Reaper with Erik Josten. This one is filled to the brim. George Perez does an amazing job with the pencils in this issue. He really creates some amazing visuals in addition to storytelling an awesome battle.
Review and pictures by The Leader