Mighty Avengers #26

I completely forgot I even had this comic laying around. I might as well give it a read now before I forget about it again. This issue is written by regular series writer, Dan Slott.

-This issue picks up from the events of last issue which saw the Mighty Avengers disguising themselves as enemies of the Fantastic Four and attacking them so Hank Pym could steal a device called the Dimensional Wave Inducer from the Baxter Building. Basically the Wave Inducer would allow Pym to open portals to other dimensions. Why the hell does Pym need to go to other dimensions? Because he's been working on something ominously called Salvation 2 in another dimension.

-Vision attacks the Human Torch disguised as the Red Ghost while Hercules attacks the Thing disguised as the Red Hulk. While these skirmishes are occurring, Amadeus Cho releases hundreds of ants into the Baxter Building disguised as Skrulls. Mr. Fantastic, fearing another Skrull invasion sends his children to Wakanda along with Invisible Woman.

-Mr. F soon realizes that his scanners were set off by ants, not Skrulls, and rushes to secure the Wave Inducer before Pym could get a hold of it. After Mr. F leaves the ants, one of the ants transforms into Pym. Pym looks around expecting to find Stature alongside him, but is surprised to find her missing.

-Instead of assisting Pym with his theft, Stature has stowed-away on the airplane transporting Invisible Woman and the kids to Wakanda. Stature reveals herself to Invisible Woman and spills the beans about Pym's plans, which causes Invisible Woman to turn the plane around.

-Pym finds Mr. F sitting in a room in the Baxter Building with the Wave Inducer right next to him. Pym tries to run over to the Wave Inducer, but can never get near it. Reed explains that Pym will never be able to get closer than halfway to the Inducer thanks to the special composition of the room they were in.

-By this point, the Human Torch and Thing have figured out they were fighting Avengers and they make their way back to the Baxter Building, figuring Mr. F and Invisible Woman were in trouble.

-Pym realizes that sound must not be affected by the room since Mr. F's voice is able to travel to him. With that in mind, Pym uses a sonic tool he was carrying with him to grab the Wave Inducer. Before Pym can drag the Wave Inducer over to his side of the room, Mr. F grabs it, which causes the Wave Inducer to teleport both itself, Pym and Mr. F away.

-Invisible Woman returns to the Baxter Building along with Stature and the kids and discovers the ants attacking vital defense systems. In a move that instantly makes me into a huge fan, Valeria Richards sends a feedback loop through the ants and into that smug bastard Amadeus Cho, knocking him on his ass and forcing him to release his hold over the ants.

-While that is happening, Mr. F and Pym are hurtling through several dimensions thanks to the damaged Wave Inducer. The two decide to momentarily table their hostilities long enough to repair the Wave Inducer. Upon fixing the Wave Inducer, Pym teleports the two of them to a seemingly empty dimension. Pym points something out to Mr. F and claims that the unseen object is the reason he needs the Wave Inducer. Mr. F immediately gives Pym the Wave Inducer and the two return to the Baxter Building where Pym collects his team and leaves with the Wave Inducer.

-Pym returns to his lab in the pocket dimension and uses the Inducer, along with Jocasta's body to stabilize his portal system. The team is shocked that Pym would use Jocasta as no more than a spare part, but Jocasta's disembodied voice assures the team that she is still around, even without a body. Pym tells the team it's time he leveled with them and he invites them to follow him while he shows them "Phase 2".

Well, I do love a good cliffhanger, and this comic sure had that. What was Pym going to show the team? I guess it was the same thing that convinced Mr. F to stand down and allow Pym to take the Wave Inducer in peace. I for one can't wait to see what convinced Mr. F to give up the fight against Pym so easily.

So far Dan is really doing a fabulous job with his characterization of Pym in this series. Dan has been writing Pym as the frigging nutcase he is. By his very nature, Pym is half crazy, and perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This issue had Pym making out with Jocasta, who is a robot created by his robot "son" Ultron, breaking into the Baxter Building to steal something, fighting Mr. Fantastic, dismembering Jocasta, all while working on something he's named Salvation 2...

Just for those of you who may not know, Salvation 1 was a robot Pym created to attack the Avengers back in the day. At the time, Pym was suspended from the team due to his erratic behavior, and he figured if he was able to "save" the Avengers from Salvation 1 they'd allow him back on the team. However his wife, the Wasp, discovered what he was planning and attempted to stop him, which led to Pym infamously striking her. Pym carried out the faux attack on the Avengers against Wasp's pleading and wound up unable to halt the robot's attack. Eventually Wasp managed to stop the robot and Pym's scheming was revealed to the Avengers. Pym was subsequently expelled from the Avengers, and Wasp divorced him... That story in a nutshell is why I'm a huge fan of Hank Pym. The guy is off the wall, out of his mind insane!

The above story is why I'm so very intrigued at what exactly Salvation 2 is all about. If Salvation 2 is anywhere as disastrous as Salvation 1, the next couple of issues of this series should be a blast to read! For a score, I'll give this comic a 7 1/2 out of 10. My favorite part of this issue? Seeing Mr. Fantastic's 2-year-old daughter completely outsmart that pain in the ass Amadeus Cho. God do I HATE Cho!!!