#pama and her earth

[yarchurr]

"hello c-sec, i'd like to file a complaint about these two batshit-crazy weirdos..."

"... yeah, one of them flung me off a roof and the other burned my friend's faceplates off."

[eeveequ33n]

I've had the epic choir version of Madonna's Like a Prayer from the end of Deadpool & Wolverine on repeat for 3 days, here's piece of a Guardians of the Galaxy Soulmate/ HDM Daemon AU I've been working on for years

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When Ronan was a boy, his father took him to a place where Daemons couldn’t walk.

The land stretched on for miles, nothing but bone white soil that had been devoid of life for centuries.  According to the stories Ronan’s grandmother told, a proud and arrogant colony of Kree had once lived on the land. They had scorned and insulted the Goddess Pama, and for their disrespect, she killed their daemons, cursing them to live soulless half-lives. The waters around the colony dried up, the land became barren, and the Kree who called the land ‘home’ faded to dust along with everything else, leaving hardly any trace of their presence. Since then, no daemon had been able to set foot on the cursed land – a punishment, his grandmother said, for their ancestors’ hubris.

Ronan stood beside his father and thought about her stories as he stared out across the dead ground.

Father stood tall with his arms folded behind his back. “Your mother insists that you’re too young for this, but I’ve let her coddle you long enough,” he said. His tone was firm, his voice was cold, like it always was. “I was younger than you are now when I completed my Separation, and so was my father, and his father before him.” Father made a wide sweeping gesture towards the dry earth, finally turning his gaze to Ronan. “You understand what’s expected of you?”

Ronan nodded, trying to hide how anxious he felt. His daemon made their unease apparent, though; Delmarva was shaking, flickering from shape to shape, trying to back away from the border where grass ended, and barren earth began. Father’s daemon Cora prowled around Delmarva, her dark feline form dwarfing the younger daemon. She gave Delmarva a nudge back to Ronan’s side. “There will be pain, but you must endure,” she warned.

Ronan put a hand on his daemon’s head. ‘Calm,’ he thought to her through their Link. ‘We can do this.’

Ronan knew better than to disobey Father – his punishments were always worse when he deliberately disobeyed an order. He crossed the invisible threshold and stepped on the dead ground. He took another step, and then another, until he was several feet away. After just a few more steps, though, he stopped and looked back as something pulled at him from the inside. A dull throb beat inside of him, and he realized that he’d reached the limit of his and Delmarva’s bond; Any more distance between them was going to hurt them. That was the pain Cora had meant – not physical pain, but the pain Inside that came with being too far from your daemon.

Father’s tone was still cold, his expression stern. “The bond between man and daemon is sacred, but it is also a weakness your enemies can exploit. Having her by your side night and day paints a target on the both of you.”

They’d been prepared for today; they knew what to expect. Still, it was hard turning away from Delmarva, hard to take one shaky step after the other. He only got a few steps past their limit when his heart clenched, his steps faltering. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, but one more step was too much. Letting out a distressed yelp, he stumbled, falling to his knees. A high, mournful whine rose behind him.

Delmarva.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave her.

Ronan got back up and nearly ran back to his daemon, holding her close as she shifted into something small and furry. “Sorry, I’m sorry,” he murmured, burying his fingers in her fur. He looked up to Father, then to Cora. ‘I can’t leave her,’ was what he wanted to say, but admitting his weakness out loud would only make his punishment worse.

Father was unmoved. “Either you finish the Separation, or you don’t come home.” With that said, he turned on his heel and walked back towards home; Cora was still sitting beside Ronan, and Ronan watched in awe and fear as Father got further and further away from her.

“So, if he doesn’t get across, we can’t go home?” Delmarva whined petulantly. “Where are we supposed to go, then?” They could get away with being childish with Cora, but there was still a limit.

“If you don’t cross, that is no longer our concern,” said Cora. As she watched their frightened expressions, she sighed and stepped closer to butt heads with Delmarva. “This isn’t a punishment, you know,” she crooned, her tone firm but gentle. She’d always been visibly kinder to them than Father was; she was how they knew Father truly cared despite how cold he acted. “You will succeed, and you will be stronger for it.”

“I want to go home,” Delmarva admitted.

“Then you’d better hurry and get it over with,” said Cora before turning to follow Father back towards home.

So that was that. He had to cross, or they’d never go home. They’d never see Mother and Syrax or any of their siblings ever again.

Ronan did his best to steel his nerves, and then he released his daemon and began the walk without looking back. The bond pulled tight again, seeming shorter than when they’d begun, as if it was trying to pull them closer together even as he walked away. He only made it a few more feet before the pain made him run back to her again, clutching her tight. Boy and daemon were close to tears and shaking from trying to pull out a bond further than it was meant to go.

“We have to be strong,” Ronan said quietly, his voice unsteady. “One day we’ll meet our One, and they’ll need us to be strong enough to protect them.” He released his daemon and stood back up, wiping his eyes. If Father was here, he’d have scolded him for crying. He wasn’t, though, so Ronan wiped his eyes again, took several deep breaths, and looked at Delmarva one last time. “For our One,” he said, trying to keep his voice firm.

“For our One,” Delmarva echoed.

Ronan stood straight, found a focus point out beyond the horizon, and took off running.

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

Father and Cora were waiting for them at the front gate when they returned home.

Ronan’s father turned away from them without a word and began the walk up the path that led to their home, with Ronan walking behind him. Delmarva sat by Cora’s side, still as a statue as Ronan got further away, never making a sound or showing any signs of distress. Father and son disappeared inside the house while their daemons stayed outside by the gate. Minutes passed before Cora stood and stretched, beginning a slow walk towards the Gardens, and Delmarva followed behind.

The Gardens were full of blooming trees and meticulously arranged flowers. Ronan’s mother took great pride in it, and kept it as orderly as possible, not a leaf or shrub out of place – everything planned to the last petal. The daemons came upon a pond surrounded by pink flowered trees and stopped at the water’s edge, observing their reflection. Sitting side by side, Cora’s powerful feline form was still much larger than Delmarva’s. The younger daemon was recognizably feline, though neither her or Cora recognized what animal she’d taken the form of; stocky build, tawny coat streaked with black and gray, large black ears with tufts of fur at the tips, oversized paws, and a short bobbed tail.

“Will you change again?” Cora asked.

“I don’t think so,” Delmarva answered after a moment of hesitation. “I think this is it.”

Cora nodded once. “I didn’t change again after we made it home from our trial; I suspected it would be the same for you.” She looked back towards the house. “It is difficult, but necessary. You did well today.”

Delmarva said nothing, still staring at her reflection.

[sleepingjasminetea]

The Cutest damn love story you ever did hear

@liveandletrain

This is a tradgedy

and this is a comedy

This is the story of the Lioness of the El'Banna clan, Emia-Pama Beir Canna, and The Beauty of the Q'evn clan, Ammas Bar Allyl. 

Ammas, the ever-active Chaos-Touched coppersmith of the Q'evn clan never found a life-partner in his youth, despite his beauty, and had decided that he would simply live his life, encountering people as he went, according to fate.

Emia, the fierce Lioness of the El'Banna, unwed, for she would tolerate no man who thought he could control her, even subtly.

Emia once accompanied her sister to the Q'evn clan's Elder's Village on a routine trade caravan and went with her to pick up a copper kettle that she had ordered the previous route. and she met the smith that forged it. and she, despite all normal preconceptions, fell near-instantly in love with him. His quirky greeting of her and her sister, fawning over them like they were royalty in a distinctive teasing manner. His blunt honesty, his respect, his kindness. (his beauty)

and she kept running into him for all the time that they stayed in that village, and same the next year, until that third year, she requested his hand. Ammas's brother was loth to let his little brother marry out of the clan to the "assassin's clan", and denied their request. Emia, not one to be denied (she earned her Lioness title), invoked one of the ancient Clan Laws and set forth a Marriage Challenge. She and the representative of Ammas's family would fight until yield, and should she win, she would be granted Ammas's hand.

And It was a long and drawn out fight. But Emia won. And swept Ammas away to her clan to be wed.

And that is how Emia-Pama Beir Canna and Ammas Bar Allyl came to be wed.

They only raised one child, Yahya-Rial Bar Ammas, through tragedy and prophecy, and they raised him well. Supporting him through hell and heaven, ever a pillar.

Until Ammas met an early end when the earth shook and buried him beneath the rubble of the home he had built.

But that was not the end of Ammas Bar Allyl on the mortal plane. Stubborn in death as he was in life, he refused, outwitted, and slipped by all of Death's calls to the afterlife, preferring to wreak havoc for his son's enemies from the spirit realm, and provide comfort to those he left behind.

He only moved on when his wife dragged him there by the ear........ (the man was having fun!! How can you blame him??)

[docgold13]

365 Marvel Comics Paper Cut-Out SuperHeroes - One Hero, Every Day, All Year…

May 26th - Mantis

The heroine known as Mantis is the daughter of Gustav Brandt and Lua Nguyen. While a child, she was trained by the alien Priests of Pama, a religious sect of the Kree who believed in the prophecy of the ‘Celestial Madonna.’  Excelling in her martial arts studies, the young woman earned the name ‘Mantis.’ as the protectors of the Cotati, the Priests of Pama enhanced Mantis’ mind, giving her telepathic abilities. On her 18th birthday, she was mindwiped and was given false memories of a childhood as an orphan in Vietnam, in order for her to experience a regular human life, which was believed be an aide for her to become this Celestial Madonna.

Mantis met The Swordsman in Viet Nam where the one-time villain was hiding out and trying to find new direction in his life.  Mantis encouraged him to rededicate himself toward becoming a hero and the two ventured to The United States where the pair aided the Avengers.  Both were offered previsional membership in The Avengers and embarked on a number of adventures.  

Whereas The Swordsman very much loved Mantis, she was merely fond of him.  Rather it was her Avengers teammate, The Vision, whom Mantis pined over.  It was only after The Swordsman sacrificed his life to save Mantis from Kang that she discovered that she loved him as much as he did her.  

The Swordsman was buried in the sacred garden of the Cotati in a rural region of Viet Nam.  The sentient Cotati plants had taken root in The Swordsman’s body, reanimating him as a composite being that was both the original Swordsman as well as a part of The Cotati.  Mantis chose to accept her destiny and become the Celestial Madonna; she married the Swordsman and together they conceived a child prophesied to bring about a resurgence of the Cotati race.    

The Priests of Pama took away Mantis’ son when he was a toddler so to teach him the ways of The Cotati.  A restless Mantis went on further adventures.  She had a vision foreshadowing the Annihilation Wave and situated herself so to become an ally of StarLord and the new Guardians of The Galaxy, aiding the team in helping to defeat the threat.  Mantis continued on as a member of The Guardians throughout the Skrull Invasion and subsequent War of The Kings event.  

Years later, Mantis’ son, Sequoia, oversaw the forestation of oxygenated Blue Area of The Moon.   Sequoia and his father, The Swordsman, were able to convince The Avengers that the Kree and Skrull Empires were seeking to exterminate the Cotati as a means of cementing their union.  This was actually a ruse; Sequoia meant to fulfill his destiny as the Celestial Messiah and purge all animal life from the earth, thus making it a paradise for the flora-based Cotati.    

Mantis returned to earth in the battle against her misguided son.  She helped the Avengers and Fantastic Four prevail while also ensuring that her son was not harmed.  In the end, Sequoia and the rest of the Cotati were transported to a secluded planet in uncharted space, where they could live in peace without posing a threat

A version of Mantis has featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe portrayed by actress Pom Klementieff.  The heroine first appeared in Avengers Vol. 1 #112 (1973).

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Bolin x female airbender (Tenzin’s daughter) Part 2

You and Bolin continue sneaking around as your relationship progresses but after a dangerous development the relationship between you, Bolin and your father becomes even more strained and changes permanently

Part One here

Your POV

Ever since your dad caught you in Bolin’s bedroom he had watched you like a hawk. He didn’t bar your windows like he promised (your mother forbid it as a fire hazard) but he did have the air temple island guards incorporate your room into their patrol routes, which meant you had soldiers pass your window about fifty times a day. He also disovered you were using Pabu to send messages to Bolin and made the fire ferret wear a bell so he could hear him at all times. He even enrolled your younger siblings into keeping track of you. Jinora wasn’t too interested but Meelo and Ikki posted themselves in the hallway between your and Bolin’s rooms and would yell anytime either of you left them. With all this you’d think you and Bolin would get disheartened or put off trying to see each other but it only made it all the more fun. You’d soon learnt the patrol routes and worked out the times you could leave out of your window undetetced. Pabu got really good at sneaking around will holding onto the bell so it didn’t ring and you enrolled Jinora to distract Ikki and Meelo when needed. Which you’d done today, you were supposed to be in your room but had paid Jinora to keep everyone away from your room so you could sneak out to see Bolin’s first probending match of the season. You’d asked your dad to go see it and when he told you no you’d taken it upon yourself to disobey him and go see Bolin.

The operation was tricky, there were two active patrols, multiple windows and a sea to cross to get to the stadium but for Bolin you took it all on. When you finally reached the arena you smiled and made your way to the fire ferrets training room. You knocked and the door was opened by non other that Bolin. “Y/n!” Bolin cried seizing you in a hug that, with the height difference, turned into him picking you up “I didn’t know if you’d be able to make it”. “Of course I would” you smiled as he put you back down “it’s your first match of the season, no way my dad could make me miss that”. You took Bolin’s hand and he stared at you with pure adoration. “Maybe we should...” Asami coughed pointing to the door and Korra nodded “yeah let’s go get some waters or something”. “But there’s water right here” Mako protested but Korra yanked his arm dragging him out of the room, leaving you and Bolin alone. “So how are you feeling?” you asked “nervous?”. “A bit...” Bolin admitted “we’ve been out of practice for a while”. “Don’t be!” you cried “you, Mako and Korra are an amazing team, you’ve worked so hard and you’re the best earth bender in this whole thing, you’re going to smash the competition, literally”. Bolin grinned bashfully “you think so?”. “I know so” you smiled and took a t-shirt out of your bag. It had the fire ferrets in writing across it with a picture of Pabu as honorary mascot. Bolin cheered in glee grabbing it from you “this is amazing! Where did you get it?”. “Had it made” you smiled “turns out my uncle knows a guy so I had him make me a batch”. You tugged it over your head and turned back to Bolin “how does it look?”. “Amazing, you’re amazing, you being here is amazing”. You grinned as Bolin drew you into a hug burying you against his chest. It had been a while since you’d been able to just be alone together and not have to worry about your dad or anyone catching you. You forgot how much you missed him, just being with Bolin and smiled. “You’re pretty amazing too” you smirked blushing and Bolin’s smile grew. He leaned in and you met him half way and wrapped your arms around his neck to reach his lips easier. Bolin smiled against the kiss but soon became transfixed by the sensation of kissing you. You also hadn’t been able to kiss Bolin in a while and especially not like this so took your time enjoying it. Bolin did too and he carried on kissing you, the intensity growing as you both got more and more passionate. “erm guys...” a voice called beside you and you both opened your eyes to see Korra waving awkwardly with Mako and Asami by the door. Water in hand and in full view of you and Bolin. You both blushed and Bolin let go of you “sorry...we didn’t hear you”. “Yeah well you were pretty busy” Korra smirked and you blushed even more as did Bolin. “We have to go now or we’re going to be late! I knew we shouldn’t have gone for water” Mako cried and Asami rolled her eyes. Korra and Bolin hurried to finish getting ready and Bolin put his helmet on and turned to you “how do i look?”. You retied the straps of his helment, ensuring it was on properly, and smiled “perfect, now go win”. You pecked his lips and Bolin grinned before going to stand beside Mako and Korra. The three of them were pushed onto the stage by the moving platform and you took your seat beside Asami. “So you and Bolin seem good” she smirked and you nodded sighing happily “we are, he’s perfect” you smiled watching him on the stage. “If only my dad would but out and leave us alone”. Asami noticed how quickly your face turned from joy to fury and frowned, she’d never heard you talk about your dad so negatively. "You know your dad’s just looking out for you right?" Asami asked you and you sighed "yeah but it’s so over the top, i’m not a little kid, he can’t stop me from dating just because he doesn’t like it and i could do a lot worse than Bolin". As if to prove it at that moment Bolin knocked the opposing earth bender off the platform into the water and you jumped up cheering for him. Bolin grinned glancing over to where you were when his smile turned into a frown. You were confused when you felt a presence behind you. A hand grabbed your arm tightly "what do you think you’re doing here young lady?" Tenzin asked and you groaned. "Answer the question" your father glared "you know I forbid you from coming here". "But why? Korra’s here and it’s the first game of the season! You can’t punish me forever for what happened with me and Bolin it was weeks ago!". "Ow I think I can and it’ll be for a lot longer now too" he glared "now go home this instance". You sighed glancing to where Bolin was getting ready for round two but nodded, if you didn’t go your dad would probably drag you there himself. "Fine" you glared at your father and left the training room.

You exited the building and headed to the docks for a boat back to air temple island. You were so angy at your dad you didn’t even realise there were people following you. You didn’t become aware of them until they were right behind you. You’d taken a wrong turn and ended up at dead end. They stood at the opposite end of the street blocking your exit. When you locked eyes they sprang into action, running towards you and you went in panic mode. You ran forwards and used your bending to propel yourself upwards and then altered your air stream to push off of a building and touched down behind them. You had no idea who these people were but didn’t want to wait find out, you ran. Not really paying attention to anything besides the people chasing you, you shot around every corner rapidly, jumping over fences and under any barrier you could, using air bending to help you in any way but it didn’t seem to do much, they were still hot on your tail. If anything more people appeared to chase you until finally you rounded a corner to see a man waiting with his back to you. The man turned and you saw a white mask on his face. It was Amon, the famous chi blocker who could take a benders power away and wanted to ruin the air nation, apparently starting with you. You went to turn around and run the other way but his men were blocking it, having caught up with you. You frowned knowing you couldn’t let them capture you and went to airbend upwards anything to get away but the man spoke. "I wouldn’t do that if i was". Ignoring him you tried it and were met with a flurry of wires latching onto you that sent you crashing back down hard. You hit your head hard and were barely conscious but the last thing you remembered was the masked face coming closer.

12 hours later

"This is all your fault!" Tenzin yelled at Bolin who frowned. Bolin had been out all night looking for you, he was sleep derpived, out of his mind with worry for you, hadn’t eaten in over 16 hours hours and was bruised and aching all over due to his probending game. So while normally he wouldn’t have talked back to your father he was too exhausted to control his mouth "my fault?" Bolin asked "how is it my fault?". "She snook out to come see you! She was there because of you! She’s missing because of you it’s all your fault and if anything’s happened to her I will blame you and only you" Tenzin yelled. Pama and Korra frowned as Bolin’s face crumpled but Tenzin didn’t care "I never should’ve allowed this in the first place, I want you out of my house immedietly! You’re a bad influence on y/n and I won’t have you dating her anymore". Tenzin was cut off when the door was thrown open and Mako appeared with you. You were walking but had one arm around Mako’s neck to help you. "Y/n" everyone cried and your parents both got emotional over your bruised face and slumped posture. Your eyes were red raw and they asked you a thousand questions but you didn’t answer any. You turned away and they looked to Mako confused. "I found her by the docks unconscious, it was Amon’s men". "That scoundral!" Tenzin yelled watching as you walked soundlessly to your room. "That’s not all" Mako said as Tenzin went to follow you "she told me...she tried at the docks but she couldn’t...he took her bending". The whole room went silent and they jumped as you slammed your door, sending shock waves through the house.

Hours later you still hadn’t spoken a word. You wouldn’t answer your mother or father’s questions, or eat their food, or allow korra to heal you. You just curled up in your bed and stared at the wall. It seemed nobody remembered Tenzin’s harsh words after Mako’s bombshell, Bolin especially. He was the first to offer words of encouragement to your parents, the first to offer his condolences but also to remind them you were okay, you were alive, that was all that mattered. Your parent’s worry wasn’t easily washed away though and they hovered in your room fussing over you in every way possible. Pema thought you needed space to process but Tenzin refused to leave your side. Bolin itched to rush to your side and be with you but he knew Tenzin wouldn’t allow that, so he sighed and sat on the floor outside your room waiting. He heard as Tenzin tried everything to break you out of your silence, soothing tones, hugging you, begging you, even being harsh and raising his voice but nothing worked. Exhausted Tenzin fell asleep on a chair beside your bed, while you stayed awake not moving or talking just staring at the wall.

When Tenzin woke up hours later you were gone and the plate of food beside your bed empty. "Pema" he cried jumping up and his wife rushed to him "Tenzin?". "Y/n she’s...". "She’s fine" Pema told him. "She’s eaten?" Tenzin cried showing her the plate and Pema shushed him. She waved her hand and Tenzin followed her to were you were in the living room. You were curled up on the sofa, knees against your chest, beside Bolin fast asleep. Bolin was asleep too, sat upright with an arm around you. You were curled up into his side wrapped in a blanket, what of your face was exposed was pressed against Bolin’s side. "She’s...i don’t understand". "When you fell asleep Bolin tried with her, he convinced her to come and eat, Korra healed her injuries while bolin sat with her and then she fell asleep next to him on the sofa". Tenzin felt a stir of anger and Pema rolled her eyes "don’t you dare get angry! You didn’t see all that boy did, y/n was in shock and he was so kind and patient, she talked, he got her to talk! And to eat and even sleep! She’s woken up a few times scared and whimpering and Bolin wakes up too and calms her back down. If you can’t see how good that boy is to our daughter and how much he loves her then you’re an idiot Tenzin". Tenzin gaped, Pema never spoke that strongly to anyone and never him but his wife was dead serious. “I...I just don’t understand, why him? Why does she feel safer with him than us?”. Pema frowned “because he doesn’t see her like we do, like you do...”. “What do you mean like I do?” Tenzin asked and Pema sighed. “When y/n was born I saw how much attention you paid to her, how you watched her every move right up until the time she first started air bending, I’ve never seen you happier than the day she started airbending and I get it, on that day you were no longer the last airbender anymore, there were two of you but Tenzin she’s your daughter first and sometimes I don’t think that you see it that way, she’s your future, your whole next generation of airbenders”. “Now hold on...” Tenzin started but Pema carried on “I know you love her but I saw your face when Mako said her bending had been taken away”. Tenzin went quiet feeling guilty and Pema frowned. “But Bolin...I didn’t mean to overhear but her first words Tenzin were “”my bending””. After all the trauma, the physical and mental pain she suffered her main shame was losing her bending. She was ashamed of herself but do you know what Bolin said to her? Without missing a beat he told her she was more than her bending, her bending didn’t define her, she was amazing with it and she’ll be amazing without it, I don’t think either of us have ever told her that”. Tenzin frowned looking at you so content with Bolin and nodded “you’re right, I see her as my daughter the airbender...i don’t mean to but it’s hard”. Pema nodded hugging Tenzin’s arm “I know you don’t mean it but y/n notices, she’s had those expectations on her shoulders since the first time she used airbending but Bolin doesn’t see her like that, he doesn’t treat her like an airbender and she noticed that too, that’s why he soothes her, thats why she sneaks out to see him, that’s why she’s do anything for him...he sees her Tenzin”. Tenzin frowned feeling teary and nodded his head “I was wrong about them”.  

The next few days Tenzin was amazed to see how much better you’d become. You were not your old self, you jumped at loud noises, didn’t smile as easily and of course couldn’t airbend but you no longer looked so sad. Sat next to Bolin you physically brightenned and relaxed. Tenzin noticed how attentive Bolin was to you, how concerned he was with your wellbeing and knew he had to apologise to him. He managed to catch Bolin alone and gestured for him to follow him. Bolin did so nervously and Tenzin led him outside. Bolin stood beside him a few feet away as if worried Tenzin would yell at him again. Tenzin wanted to show him this wasn’t one of those talks but didn’t know how so just started talking. “When Y/n was missing I blamed you” Tenzin coughed “I unfairly put all the blame on you and i am sorry, that was not correct, I shouldn’t have said that to you”. Bolin frowned “You don’t have to apologise, I know you were just worried and I mean you were right" Bolin said sadly "she got hurt because of me, that’s why i’ve got to help her recover, it’s all my fault". Tenzin could see the boys eyes were filled with tears and shook his head. "No i wasn’t right at all! She was there for many reasons but I was one of the reasons, she snook away because i banned her from seeing you so she had to be sneaky, not to mention i sent her home alone late at night..." Tenzin sighed "i know you’d have walked her home and would’ve protected her, you’d have never let her get hurt". Bolin seemed shocked but nodded his head adamantly "of course sir". "But that didn’t happen because of me. I was so scared and so fixated on protecting her from irrational things like you and because of that she got hurt". Bolin frowned "it wasn’t your fault either, you didn’t know what would happen". Tenzin nodded but didn’t believe the earth bender "you’ve been a big support to her, the most helpful, you got her to eat and sleep and walk and smile and even laugh" Tenzin sighed "she feels safe with you" Tenzin told Bolin "she trusts you, more than anyone". Bolin blushed and smiled looking back into the house "yeah well...i trust her more than anyone too, she means everything to me sir, honestly". Tenzin nodded his head "i’m starting to see that, i’ve been treating you like the enemy, a threat to my daughter’s safety when you’re my biggest ally there, you only want what’s best for her don’t you". "Of course" Bolin nodded "i lov.." before he trailled off going red "i care about her". Tenzin stared at him before nodding his head "go back inside to her". Bolin looked at Tenzin shocked. He expected this talk to be Tenzin kicking him out of the house but now he was literally inviting him inside. Tenzin repeated himself "go inside, you’ve proven yourself, i shouldn’t have needed you to do it so drastically and i’m sorry for that but i trust you son, i can’t think of anybody better for my little girl and i know i don’t need to threaten you about hurting her because i think you’d beat yourself up more than anyone could if you hurt her". Bolin nodded his head "totally". Tenzin smiled "you have my blessing". Bolin grinned thanking him and went to go back into the house when Tenzin grabbed his arm "but still if you hurt her...the air in your lungs won’t be safe from me, got it?". Tenzin watched to see the boy’s reaction but Bolin only grinned. "Trust me if i hurt her i’ll give you all the air from my lungs voluntarily I promise!". Tenzin frowned thinking the threat didn’t really work if Bolin was okay with it but the boy was already back inside the house

Bolin’s POV

"Y/n you’ll never guess what" Bolin called coming into your room but stopped seeing Ikki and Jinora sat on your bed with you. Bolin had forgotten tonight was the big sister sleepover but smiled to see how well you were getting along with both of your sisters. "Hey, what is it?" You asked getting up and Bolin smiled. "Hi girls, I just got back from a conversation with your dad...". "Ow no, i’m sorry..." you started but he shook his head "no it was okay, great actually". "Should we go?" Jinora asked but Bolin shook his head "no it’s okay, don’t worry i won’t be long" before turning back to you "he gave me his approval y/n". Ikki and Jinora got what Bolin meant before you did and gasped. "He did?" you asked glancing back at your sister’s dramatic reactions and Bolin nodded. "I know i couldn’t believe it either! He actually thinks i’m worthy of you". "Of course you are" you smiled "you’re the best guy i know". "Me too" Jinora added and you smirked at her over your shoulder. "That means a lot thank you" Bolin smiled at you all "but i just can’t believe your father approves of me, this is so great! No more sneaking around or hiding, we can be seen and honest with each other! I don’t have to hide how much i like you". You nodded blushing and Bolin paused. He looked like he wanted to tell you something but looked at Jinora and Ikki and decided not to smiling instead "so i just wanted to tell you that". You smiled "that’s great news i’m really pleased but you know i always approved of you anyway right? I didn’t need my fathers approval to know how great you are". "Of course" Bolin nodded "i just never wanted to come between you and your family, i’d hate to be the thing making you unhappy in any way". "That’s really sweet but you only make me happy" you replied and Bolin’s face lit up. "That’s amazing to hear" he smiled looking at you like you were the best thing in the world. You blushed and Bolin shook himself out of his trance "so i’ll be going, I know it’s the big sister sleepover so i’ll get out of your way, goodnight girls have fun!". "Goodnight Bolin" Ikki and Jinora called and you smiled "night Bolin". He hugged you and you smiled closing your eyes. You seperated and Bolin’s smile mirrored yours "i’ll be right next door if you need anything...anytime". You smiled "thanks but i think we'll be okay". "Okay good" he smiled before closing the door.

Your POV

Bolin’s visit apparently made an impression on your sisters too. "I like Bolin" Ikki told you as you got ready to go to sleep. "Me too" you smiled and Ikki continued "he’s so strong and handsome but also so sweet and kind" she sighed wistfully. "Yeah, how did you get such a great guy to love you?" Jinora asked in typical annoying little sister fashion. You shrugged “honestly I don’t know" you smiled "but i love him too". "Awww" Ikki smiled "you should tell him". "Yeah i think it’s about time i did" you agreed. Ikki’s eyes closed and you drew the quilt around her more. "I didn’t mean what i said you know, i was just teasing" Jinora told you "you’re both amazing". You smiled "thanks". She smiled at you and you closed your eyes. "I heard him telling you how our bending doesn’t define us" Jinora whispered "not even dad told us that y/n, Ikki’s right he’s really special". You smiled thinking back on the memory "he is isn’t he?". Jinora nodded "i’m glad you’ve found someone so lovely, i hope i do". "You will" you smiled tucking her hair behind her ear "i promise". "Thanks y/n" she smiled hugging you and you held your little sister. "Also if you don’t tell Bolin you’re in love with him soon I think Ikki will beat you to it". You chuckled and sighed "don’t worry i’m going to tell him first thing tomorrow".

---

I wasn’t planning on doing a part two but you guys seemed to like the first one a lot and who doesn’t love more Bolin?

[princesspuresarahk]

Kandie and her kids redone . Kandie Catori Rose , (the cousin of Pama Foxpaw ) and her 3yr old twin baby boys Koa and Ember Rose , at 31 standing at 6′0 Kandie is one of the first/maybe only women to enter in the Kengan match yet nobody knows how she was able to enter . Kandie is a tough hardworking single mother of also native american decent with a feisty/patient , humble , motherly ,loving and fearless woman who loves a wrestle and a good joke , her two loving tator-tots Koa and Ember are the two sweetest and curious little babes you’ll ever meet Koa (older by 3 seconds ) rarely seen without a smile on his face Koa is outgoing and happy-go-lucky always wanting to on a adventure, he loves eating blueberries and playing/spending time with his brother and rarely seen without him , Ember ( youngest by 3 seconds) Unlike his brother, he is very shy and prone to tears at the best of times but he tries to be brave like his mama and go on adventures with his brother who he is rarely seen without , he loves eating strawberries  and playing/spending time with his brother he has a teddy bear named Brownie . they are watched over by her cousin Pama and their Great-grandma Winona , as their mother fights for/ representative for Blackcrow Inc. a environment company that supports in producing supplies in helping keeping the earth and water clean restoring nature and wildlife to help grow back restoring its environment . Kandie is nicknamed The Iron Bear .    

[thisiswhatwereupagainst]

Obscure Marvel fancast of the day: Jade-Anh Ngo as Mantis! (Note: While Mantis is perhaps not “obscure” given that she’s appeared in the “Guardians of the Galaxy film series, her comic-book counterpart is significantly different than her film version, and seems to still be “little known” to most fans, so I felt she qualified!) Mantis's father is the German supervillain, Gustave Brandt aka Libra. Before he was Libra, Brandt served with the French forces during the Vietnam War. While in Saigon, he met and fell in love with a Vietnamese woman named Lua, and eventually had a daughter with her. However, Lua's mobster brother Khruul was enraged with the interracial coupling of his sister and a European man. He and his men attacked Gustav and his family with flamethrowers. Lua was killed in the ensuing battle, and Gustav lost his eyesight. He brought his daughter to a temple run by the Priests of Pama, who were a religious sect of the Kree aliens on Earth, and left her in their care. The Priests believed that the child might be the Celestial Madonna, a perfect human woman destined mate with the eldest Cotati (a species of tree-like aliens from the same world as the Kree) on Earth to become the mother of the Celestial Messiah, "the most important being in the universe". They trained her to become a master of martial arts, and, upon adulthood, wiped her memory and sent her out into the larger world to gain life experience. She became a bar maid and sex worker in Saigon. While working at the bar where she plied her trade, she met a Frenchman named Jacques Duquesne. Once the costumed adventurer known as The Swordsman, he was now a burnt-out wreck of his former self, and working for none other than her long-lost uncle Khruul, though they did not realize their connection at the time. After a raid gone wrong in which Jacques was shot by rival mobsters, Mantis took him back to her apartment and nursed him back to health. They began a relationship, and he took her with him when he returned to the United States to become a hero again, where the pair joined the Avengers in 1973. Mantis was a valuable member, and during her time with them she discovered the identity of her father and more about her own past, as well as developing an attraction to The Vision...despite being friends with the Scarlet Witch and still involved romantically with The Swordsman. She realized too late just how much she loved The Swordsman when he died to save her from Kang the Conqueror. The prophecy of the Celestial Madonna proved true. Mantis too The Swordsman’s body back to Vietnam, and buried him in the temple where she had been raised. SHe entered a mental communion with the eldest Cotati on Earth, who had been planted in the Temple. This Cotati-Prime reanimated the body of the Swordsman, who had been buried among its roots. He then possessed it, becoming a living man suffused by a green, glowing energy, and she agreed to wed him in this state and fulfill the prophecy. It was a double-wedding, with Scarlet Witch marrying Vision alongside Mantis and the Cotati-Swordsman. Mantis and the Cotati-Prime then turned into pure energy and flew into outer space. Mantis has since resumed physical form and returned to Earth to carry out her pregnany and give birth to her son Sequoia, Quoi for short, who is a human-plant hybrid owing to his mixed Cotati/Human heritage. She has also continued having many adventures. Mantis is unusual in that she is a Marvel character who has also appeared in other comics canons. After her writer Steve Englehart had finished the story in which she became the Celestial Madonna, he left Marvel to work at DC, where he wrote a Justice League of America issue where a pregnant Mantis popped up, though she called herself Willow. When asked where Willow came from, she remarked "this-one has come from a place she must not name, to reach a place no man must know." And when Englehart worked for Eclipse, who should appear but Mantis, now called Lorelei and having given birth to her son. And when he came back to Marvel, so did Mantis and her boy Quoi! Mantis has no known birth name besides Mantis, but has used the pseudonym Mandy Celestine while living as a civilian raising her son. Besides her formidable mystic martial arts skills, she also sports a pair of insect-like antennae and empathic abilities. It is unknown if this is due to being a mutant, the training she received from The Priests of Pama, or her destiny as the Celestial Madonna. After communing with the Cotati-Prime, she also gained the ability to communicate with plant life, control vegetation, and astral-project. Mantis has a notable speech tic in which she refers to herself in the third person as “This one”. For instance, she would say “This one loves you” instead of “I love you” or “This one would like to order a soda” instead of “I would like to order a soda.” Much of her personality and past (mixed-race Vietnam War baby, Asian prostitute, mystical Eastern martial arts mistress, etc) are racist stereotypes and products of the time she was written, but she still has the capability to rise above it in modern times, and is an interesting character nonetheless.

[thecorteztwins]

More Mantis and Haven!  In the comics, Mantis is a German/Vietnamese woman who was raised and trained by The Priests of Pama, a religious sect of pacifist Kree who were exiled from their world by the militaristic majority and set up a temple on Earth to practice their ways in peace and protect the last of the Cotati plant people (which the Kree had attempted to genocide). I think Haven would be really interested in hearing about the religious practices of aliens, since she’s so well-versed in human religions. And she’d really like the story of the pacifist Kree working to protect the same race their ancestors had tried to wipe out.  As for Mantis, I think she’d get good vibes from Haven in a very literal sense---she wasn’t psychic in a straightforward sense like being telepathic or seeing the future, but instead just had a sort of general mystic sensitivity. Mostly to her environment, attuned to vibrations and when the natural world was in order/disorder, but she could also pick up on some stuff from people, like instantly sensing something had changed about a police officer when someone else took over his mind, even though he wasn’t acting amiss. She gets much more powerful empathic abilities later, but I’m not there yet.

[dailymarvelcharacter]

Magnitron

Yon-Rogg

Powers: possesses the natural attributes of the Kree race including increased strength and durability as well as resistance to disease and toxins. Can also fire photon blats from his hands.

A member of the Imperial Kree Army, Yon-Rogg was the second in command of the Pama. When on a mission to find the Kree military hero Devros, Yon-Rogg became jealous of a young and idealistic Kree solider called Mar-Vell.

When Yon-Rogg was sent on a mission to Earth by the Supreme Intelligence he sent Mar-Vell on the lone mission to the planet with the hopes that he would die on the primitive planet. His hatred for Mar-Vell growing even stronger, Yon-Rogg reactivated a Kree Sentry in the hopes that it would fight and kill him.

When Yon-Rogg kidnapped Carol Danvers to use a hostage against Rick Jones he was stopped by Mar-Vell. In the course of the battle Carol was irradiated by a Kree Psyche-Magnitron granting her powers and Yon-Rogg seemingly died when the device exploded. Yon-Rogg later resurfaced having survived the explosion and gaining enhanced powers similar to that of Carol Danvers.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Giant-Size Avengers #4: ... Let All Men Bring Together

June, 1975

Hmm. Looks like a double wedding. And dread Dormammu is going to interject during the “speak now or forever hold your peace” bit.

Maybe its symbolic.

SO! Last time: There was a star that signaled the Celestial Madonna, that Celestial Madonna was Mantis, Kang tried to kidnap her and conquer the world, repeatedly, he failed, repeatedly!, Swordsman died, Immortus sent the Avengers on a timequest to learn Mantis’ origin and sent Vision on a different timequest to learn Vision’s origin, Moondragon showed up, as did a ghost? of the Swordsman and Mantis’ maybe dad Libra, Vision vanished into the dark, Wanda was possessed or something while learning magic from Agatha Harkness!

This time: the thrilling conclusion.

So Vision finds himself in some place and also under a noticeably different penciler and inker.

And because Vision is a comic book character in a comic book, he narrates to himself what has been happening recently. If there were any body just coming into the adventure, this would be helpful at getting them up to speed. But also, it must be relaxing since so many people do it. Like, a way to center yourself in times of confusion or stress?

But you know the drill if you’ve been following along. Ultron ‘borrowed’ the original Human Torch from the Mad Thinker, kidnapped original creator Professor Horton to force him to remodel the robot into the Vision, Horton refused to erase the Torch’s memories so Ultron killed him and replaced the Torch’s mind with brainwave data from Wonder Man, because it was available. Ultron is lazy.

So Vision’s question is this: obviously his timequest is over. He saw how he was created and filled in the gaps up to the point that he already knew. He should have been returned to Immortus. So whats the deal with this dark dimension he finds himself in?

... Its not much of a mystery. The answer is staring at you from the cover. Vision ended up in Dormammu’s Dark Dimension. And following the sound of a woman screaming, he finds the fire-headed man himself moshing in a fire.

Oh, also Dormammu’s sister Umar, who warns the fiery tyrant that the Vision is behind him. Dormammu has a sister?? Why isn’t her head on fire?

Dormammu has apparently been having a busy day. Clea visited him earlier, during Dr. Strange #7. Oh but also after that, a Scarlet Witch came to play. And Dormammu is gonna kill her.

Probably because of the time Scarlet Witch thwarted his takeover plan of Earth and got him shot through Loki’s brain.

Vision promises that he’ll use all his robot logic to stop Dormammu and save Wanda.

BUT FIRST: I bet you’re dying to know what’s up with Mantis, right?

Too bad.

So back at the Temple of Pama, Swordsman’s ghost? notices that Vision isn’t back from his timequest. He senses pain and sorrow and that Avengers are involved because of course. And despite or perhaps because it was a quest through time, Vision is overdue. So Immortus goes looking for him.

But by all means, continue the story Ghost Swordsman. Immortus already knows it anyway.

So we’ve covered pretty much all the historical aspects to Mantis’ backstory now. How the Kree are jerks and genocided their Cotati neighbors because the Skrulls maybe liked them more. How the Kree pacifists became the surviving Cotati’s secret allies and smuggled them off Hala. And how a pair of Kree pacifists founded the Priests of Pama.

So how does it relate specifically to Mantis?

Well. She’s the perfect human.

Mantis’ expression seems to indicate ‘hahahah what?’

The fact that Mantis doesn’t believe it is the reason why Mantis is the perfect human, apparently. Why, just look at near-perfect human, Moondragon.

See, Mantis and Moondragon were given very similar upbringings. They lost their family, were taken to a temple founded by Kree pacifists to be taught perfect control of mind and body, were worshiped by the priests for what they might someday become and how they could kick a thick pole in half. Their training also covered the arts of the mind and became the first non-Kree to commune with the Cotati. This is the basis for what Mantis called her empathic connection to nature.

But when they completed their training, the two women were taken in wildly different directions.

Moondragon was allowed to stay in the temple to continue her work as a priestess.

Mantis had her memories erased, was given false memories of a life on the streets of Saigon, and was dumped to fend for herself.

... Geez. That’s... geez.

Ahem, anyway. When the two completed their training, it was decided that Mantis had an earthier nature than Moondragon, perhaps due to actually living on Earth.

Swordsman?: “So she was selected to abandon her temple and walk amidst other humans -- to seek perfect humanity.”

Fucks sake.

Ahem again. A cloistered life in a temple was judged to be incapable of imparting complete understanding of life in the full society. Which is fair.

Moondragon is a bit surprised to hear that she was brought here to day to stand besides Mantis so that an ethereal Frenchman can point at her and say ‘see, this is what happens when you don’t make your prospective messiah build some character.’

Or at least that’s how I’m interpreting it.

A quick interjection here. According to Swordsman?? the reason why they trained two girls is because, hey, its better to have a backup in case one dies. By that logic, it would have been better to have multiple girls also going down the ‘learning humanity’ path with Mantis in case something happened and maybe a control group of not subjecting children to warped education schemes but its for the best that this weird conspiracy kept itself to only two girls.

Thor and Iron Man share a moment to talk about what a journey into mystery this is that they’re observing but Hawkeye has something to show them.

Its the Titanic Three (Radioactive Man, Titanium Man, Crimson Dynamo - who all decided that instead of going back to their home countries to be used as pawns or continue to attack America, they’d become Vietnam’s superhero team). And someone beat them up right in front of the temple.

Well, Titanic Three. It took you one additional appearance to go from patsies for a criminal not-so-mastermind to being worfed to show that something bad is coming.

And if you think I’m exaggerating:

Iron Man: “These guys are tough -- but something did a job on them!”

Its textbook worfing.

Anyway, the Titanic Three were investigating the Avengers’ disappearance (when they were kidnapped to Limbo) because hey they don’t like them but they’re committed to their new roles. But then they ran into Kang.

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE DARK DIMENSION:

Vision confronts Dormammu.

Dormammu tells Vision he shouldn’t even bother rescuing Wanda. She’s headstrong. She ignored Agatha Harkness’ warnings and called upon forces she couldn’t control.

So I guess that’s why Wanda was acting like a dick. Explicitly she was possessed by Dormammu when she attacked Moondragon.

Wanda sure gets possessed a lot. Part of messing with magic, I guess. Like how Vision gets hacked a lot. They really are a pair of peas in a pod.

Anyway, yeah don’t even bother rescuing her. You should just go. And hey, Dormammu ain’t got no reason to hate you but if you stick around, he just might.

Vision notices that Dormammu is talking an awful lot considering that this is his domain and he should be adjacent to all-powerful. Vision’s robot logic hazards a guess that Dormammu is bluffing.

So Dormammu summons some demons to attack Vision.

Its no big to just go intangible and let their attacks fly through him. But controlling density with precision in this hellish environment takes energy. And Vision is low on energy after his voyage through time left him little opportunity to replenish his solar battery.

BUT: he has just learned that he used to be the Human Torch, who could absorb flame within certain limits. And his systems were revamped but his plastoid flesh was left mostly untouched except for being made bright red. Hypothetically, Vision could absorb some of this demonic flame to replenish himself.

And yes, this turns out to be true.

I don’t know if it ever comes up that much, like Vision’s ability to remote-control his cape’s density, but for this moment right now, he can absorb fire through his solar gem.

And then he uses Solar Beam on the demons and it is Super Effective.

Umar wonders if Dormammu really will admit that he’s bluffing, that his powers have not fully returned after reconstructing himself from that being eaten by the Evil Eye thing.

But eh. No. He still has other pawns to throw at Vision. Like how about this Scarlet Witch? Remember how Dormammu is controlling her? That’s still a thing.

And he commands that she destroy the Vision.

Which is sure to be an exciting fight and oh we’re cutting away back to Vietnam, okay.

Swordsghost continues his story. Confirming that yes, the priests just dumped Mantis somewhere to fend for herself.

Swordsman??: “The Priests of Pama led their charge from their temple on the night of her eighteen birthday. Dressed in the clothing of the time -- she was abandoned unceremoniously in Saigon, left to make her way as best she could.”

That is the worst birthday gift.

Luckily? she was soon employed by her unbeknownst uncle Monsieur Khruul (he got killed by a dragon and deserved it) to work as a pretty face in a bar.

It was there she met the Swordsman and was drawn to the frail nobility in his soul and as previously relayed managed to convince him to turn his life around when he almost died.

And it was this trick of fate that brought her into contact with the Avengers.

Geez. This story is continuing for some reason even though its getting to the stuff Mantis already knows.

Although I guess Moondragon wasn’t there for it. But I’m surprised she’s still around since she was brought into this just as an unfavorable comparison. Learning that she was a failed attempt to make a perfect human might go some way to explaining how she acts later, except she pretty much always acted like that. So. I guess she’s taking it in stride.

Thor, Iron Man, and Hawkeye are less than thrilled that Kang is back again again and decide to split up and cover more ground that way.

Or rather, Hawkeye proposes the plan and Iron Man jokes that Thor better watch out or Hawkeye will be after chairmanship of the Avengers.

Which makes Hawkeye ponder. He always used to get on Cap’s case during the kooky quartet days about who should give orders but he hasn’t thought about leading the Avengers in a very long time. And he likes the thought.

Thor has different feelings. He knows that he has held the position long enough and that it is time for someone else to lead the team. But he enjoys the responsibility of leading the Avengers and wishes not to give up the position.

Thor muses on godhood for a while and how Mantis is poised to ascend to it but spots Kang.

Kang: “Curse you, Thor! You may have discovered me -- but you won’t turn the tide of battle this time!”

And blah blah blah. He’s going to get that Celestial Madonna for sure this time. Kang really doesn’t know when to give up.

So Thor hits him really hard with Mjolnir. Kang tries to zap him but then Thor hits him with Mjolnir a couple more times until the conqueror is out.

Thor contemplates killing the insensate villain to fulfill his vow to avenge Iron Man’s death in Limbo. But Immortus returned Iron Man to life. And it would probably be a dick move to kill a man’s younger self after he saved your friend and let you go on a cool timequest. So he ultimately decides against it.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye explores the grounds around the temple, still musing on being chairman of the Avengers. He decides that next time he does something impressive (like capture Kang, maybe?) he’s going to propose new elections.

And then he runs into Kang.

Wait what?

Kang: “Curse you, Hawkeye! You may have discovered me --”

Hang on. Anyone else getting deja vu?

BUT TIME TO CHECK IN ON VISION AGAIN

VISION VS SCARLET WITCH

I mean. Wanda is scary powerful now. Her new command of magic gives her control over natural forces. She attacks Vision with molten lava and with a giant boulder. But being able to control his density means he no-sells it all. And since he’s a synthetic man, he’s immune to her powers.

Except, not precisely.

There is one part of him that’s not man-made. And that’s the jewel on his forehead.

And Wanda simply has to command it to release all of its stored energy, and Vision’s goose is cooked.

Drained of power, Vision starts to collapses. But he tells Wanda that only she can save him now but she must remember who she is and who he is. And for one last time, he says he loves her.

SLUMP!

That snaps Wanda out of it and in despair she shouts “WHAT HAVE I DONE?!!”

TIME TO SWAP VIEWPOINTS AGAIN

Ghost!Swordsman is still telling Mantis’ story, including the parts she already knows that aren’t that flattering. He claims that Mantis actually knew nothing of love when she first came to the Avengers.

Libra: “He speaks of exploring the limits of your humanity... your attraction to glamor, your competitiveness, your selfishness, loneliness, lust-- all that which passes for love and is not. For all that you had learned, you could not love with so much of you still bottled up inside. Thus, there came a time when you needed to learn that there was more to learn about life.”

And that was Libra’s role, as the balance. See, this whole time Libra knew more than he let on. Part of the reason he became Libra of Zodiac was that as the leader of an international crime-cartel, he could be assured to encounter Mantis no matter where she ended up or what she ended up doing.

So after leaking enough information to Taurus to make him think Zodiac could defeat the Avengers (they couldn’t) he told Mantis enough about her past to make her question her life.

Which, as I theorized when covering those issues, is what made her turn to the Vision. She saw him as a pillar of stability.

NOW BACK TO THE DARK DIMENSION

Scarlet Wanda promises to make Dormammu pay for what he made her do. Dormammu isn’t impressed. He brought her here as a means of filling time until he could figure out how to conquer Earth. She’s not in charge here. He is.

Big mistake.

Dormammu tries to put Wanda under his control again but Agatha Harkness finally shows up, revealing that Wanda freed her when she regained control over herself. And Agatha Harkness returned the favor by stopping Dormammu from controlling Wanda again.

And that leaves Wanda free to strike. Which she does, using her newfound magics to cool the lava Dormammu has been sitting in. Which he needed the heat from to complete his regeneration.

Umar goes to intervene, less out of love for Dormammu and more because she has plans for him, but Vision pops up and fists through her skull, knocking her out.

See, when Wanda freed Agatha Harkness, she also restored Vision. She’s great at multitasking.

Dormammu desperately sues for peace, unable to afford further heat loss.

Not sure she can trust him, Wanda nonetheless lays out her terms.

1. He’ll return herself, the Vision, and Agatha Harkness to Earth with no further fear of himself or his sister bothering them.

2. He’ll free the Earth spirit (old woman tied to a wall or whatever. Its a Dr. Strange thing)

3. He’ll abandon his plans to conquer Earth

Dormammu agrees, secretly planning to renege (he only kept his similar vow to Dr. Strange because he owed Strange a solid) and make Wanda pay. But he does need to return them to Earth because those are immediate right now demands and he can’t afford to get on Wanda’s shitlist.

Meanwhile back on Earth but also on the temple grounds instead of Mantis listening to a story about Mantis:

Kang finishes his familiar statement about how nothing can keep him from the Celestial Madonna this time.

Hawkeye is slightly less of a match for Kang then Thor was. But Hawkeye has been giving it a lot of thought and blasts Kang with gas arrows. And Kang’s force field doesn’t keep out air, otherwise he’d suffocate. So Kang passes out.

Iron Man walks in on the scene, holding his own Kang. And then so does Thor. And all three think they fought Kang. The Kang they fought fought like Kang. And had his technology. and they have heartbeats so they’re not robots.

Realizing that this is some kind of deception probably, the three take their Kang prisoners and head back to the temple.

After loads and loads of exposition, Mantis is finally prepared to believe this story about her. But she’s still a bit unclear why this. Why this anything.

Swordsman????: “Woman, have you not seen that you are to marry that tree?”

Mantis: “What? What did you say?”

That’s the only reasonable response really.

Ghost Swordsman clarifies. That tree is the eldest Cotati on Earth. And in the prime of his life. Y’know, at that point where a young tree’s fancy turns to pollen. But also, he has spent years perfecting his mental powers. And now he is the perfect plant seeking the perfect union.

And Mantis is the perfect human.

Mantis: “This -- this is insane!”

Again, the only reasonable response.

Mantis insists that even if she could marry a tree and lets put a pin in that to come back to later because no, she couldn’t become a Madonna because a human can’t have a child with a tree.

Well, no. But that’s why Elder Earth Cotati resurrected Swordsman’s body and possessed it. As a wedding gift! Since she loved him!

And now a tree is wearing his body around like a meat suit!

Geez. The Swordsman gets no dignity in life or death.

But seriously, put your forehead to my bark and you’ll understand all, Swordstree promises. And a suspicious Mantis does.

SCENE CHANGE AGAIN, AVENGERS MANSION:

blip, Vision, Wanda and Agatha Harkness were transported back here. Which was mighty kind of Dormammu. He could have put them in the Everglades and kept to the letter of the agreement. Earth is a big place.

Wanda asks Agatha Harkness if they could delay her witch training for a bit so she can have a moment with Vision.

Agatha Harkness: “My child, this is your house. I am only a guest here. Besides, you are the woman who just saved the world, as well as three of its occupants -- quite skillfully, too, I might add. You’d make me feel silly asking my permission to do anything.”

Besides, Wanda has completed her training with Agatha Harkness. She has learning to do still but its learning she has to do for herself.

So Agatha Harkness scampers off to give the two some privacy while also noting in a dirty old woman kind of way that she’d love to hear what the two of them talk about.

And when she’s gone, Vision reveals that he too has been learning recently.

Vision: “Wanda... she spoke of your instruction, but it’s I who’s been learning over the past months. First we were apart because we quarreled... then because you were immersed in bettering yourself... and for the first time, I lived a life without your warmth. I found that such a life was far more barren than life with us together. I didn’t truly realize how I felt -- or that I felt as deeply as I do -- until Mantis offered herself to me -- and I felt no desire to accept her. Wanda, you are the only woman for me! I can make you happy! Forget all the human rules and please... marry me.”

Wanda asks why it is that Vision loves her. Is it only because she was the first girl he met?

And he answers that its partially because his life is so tied into being an Avenger that he could only love a woman who can understand that. And also because he has finally become fully aware of himself as a man. He’s no longer a mysterious synthezoid of unknown origin. He was created to be human. He had a father.

Vision: “Now I can be your man for all my synthetic flesh.”

Wanda: “I know you can. Don’t you see, love is for souls, not bodies? Yes, Vision -- yes, I’ll marry you!”

Aww.

SCENE CHANGE!

Back at Vietnam.

Mantis has just finished communing with the tree, having accepted her role as the Celestial Lorax. She realizes everything she’s been told is true and that this tree is definitely her soul mate. She’s gonna do it, she’s gonna marry a tree.

And then Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor and three Kangs show up. Warning, hey Kang is probably about and causing trouble. But since forewarned is forearmed, they must stand ready for anything and- dangit.

Kang just materializes his time sphere above Mantis, puts a force field around her, scoops her up, and then amscrays to the ends of time.

Kang: “This was my most brilliant strategy of the war! As a time traveler, I can journey to the same moment many times, from different points in the future! Thus I appeared three other times this day! I expected you to take longer in battling my other selves -- but even with your early return, I yet emerge victorious! Despite all predictions, Kang has captured the Celestial proving me the most powerful man on Earth -- and when Mantis mates with me, I shall become ruler of the heavens!”

If she doesn’t bite your head off first.

Anyway, it was just that simple. One wonders why he didn’t just do that before. But remember, Kang is an idiot who likes a challenge. Until it becomes too challenging and then he cheats.

The Avengers and discolored Moondragon get ready to follow him... somehow... but Immortus stops them.

Oh, yeah, and Immortus is back. Look who he found at Avengers Mansion! Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Agatha Harkness.

Oh and also, yeah, he knew Kang would pull this. Because he is Kang and remembers doing this. So now its time to open the wedding gift he brought.

Remember that big box he brought, called attention to, and refused to explain?

He opens it now to reveal... Mantis?

Remember that Immortus is rule of Limbo. And Limbo only has one subject.

THE SPACE PHANTOM.

Yup. Immortus trolled Kang with a Space Phantom disguised as Mantis, while swapping the real Mantis into a giant simulated Limbo box.

The Celestial Madonna Saga as a whole is basically just Kang trolling himself through time. Like he’s Karkat or something.

Kang doesn’t take it well. But its not like the Space Phantom enjoys it either. Rawwwwww, its a living.

Anyway.

Mantis announces that she’s totally going to marry a psychic tree and give birth to a new lifeform. Because.

Cotati Swordsman: “Yes, beloved. Humans deal broadly with life, but not deeply... while plants deal deeply but not broadly. One has mobility, the other mind control. There must be a mingling of the two, for the benefit of both!”

Scarlet Witch: “If there’s any mingling going on, the Vision and I want in on it!”

Yup. Scarlet Witch crashes Mantis’ destiny wedding to make it a double wedding. Because she didn’t want a big ceremony anyway. She just wants to tie the knot with her love machine.

Although it also sounds like Scarlet Witch is into swinging?

Anyway, Immortus decides he’s going to officiate these weddings. Sure, he isn’t a registered minister or anything. But he has a cool castle. The weddings won’t be legally binding, having been performed by a person not yet born in another country. So Wanda and Vision will have to fill out some paperwork when they get back.

But also, how often do you get to have a double wedding alongside a tree and a Celestial Madonna officiated by a weirdo who lives in a timeless Limbo? None often, probably.

And before the ceremonies can get started, Thor does what should have been done a while back and officially makes Mantis an Avenger, instead of just a de facto Avenger that lives in the mansion and goes on all the missions.

And Wanda is happy for her. Sure, she didn’t like her for a long time and really only likes her now that she’s marrying a tree and not coming after Vision anymore... but.... um.... Hey, she’s happy for her! They were besties for five seconds once. I remember those five seconds sadly and fondly.

So then the wedding ceremony.

It happens.

And Mantis bids the Avengers farewell. Aww...

And then... she and her Cotati Swordsman husband turn into pure energy and fly into space?? To I guess mingle their essences and conceive a perfect god baby.

And having done that, Mantis will become a free agent, backpack around space, and flirt with Silver Surfer. Perhaps that’s why she agreed to marry the tree after all.

Get your destiny over and done with and then enjoy the rest of your life. That’s the way to do it, if you want to do it.

.... Yeah.

So. The Celestial Madonna Saga. According to the collected edition, it covered Avengers #123-125, 129-135 and Giant-Size Avengers #2-4. That’s thirteen issues, three of which are Giant-Sized. It covered that bit from Libra claiming to be Mantis’ dad and the Star-Stalker, took a break for some one-offs and for Crystal and Quicksilver’s wedding, and then picked up again from the appearance of the Celestial Madonna star to the double wedding.

A lot of weddings in this stretch of time.

It was a big, dense storyline that covered not only Mantis’ awakening as the Celestial Madonna but also revealed her true backstory, Vision’s true backstory, Kang’s future as Rama-Tut and Immortus, the first time an Avenger died that was an Avenger for more than a single issue, the backstory of the Kree/Skrull War, space intreegue, Wanda taking a level up by studying witchcraft, the development of Wanda and Vision’s relationship, Mantis becoming an official Avenger and leaving the team for pure energy space sex a page later, and a double wedding.

It covered a lot of ground and the final stretch of that was incredibly exposition heavy.

As you can tell from my hasty summary of everything, the Celestial Madonna Saga was arguably as important, if not more so, for Kang, Vision, and Wanda’s character development as it was for Mantis’.

Was it a good story?

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Your mileage may vary? Parts of it were very good or at least entertainingly bad or batshit.

I liked the backstory confirming that the Kree have always just been the biggest assholes in space.

But. You can see the shadows here of how Carol Danvers leaves the Avengers in issue #200.

In fact, just like Chris Claremonte had Carol blast the Avengers for that story, the Crossing was supposed to be Mantis’ revenge for the Avengers letting her be bamboozled into going off into space to marry a tree wearing her dead boyfriend.

And, in fairness... Cotati Swordsman does stress that the Eldest Earth Cotati is super good at mind control.

I guess what I’m dancing around here is that Mantis’ grand destiny as the Celestial Madonna means that her destiny is in her womb. She’s going to have an important baby. Its a terrible version of the Chosen One.

And it means that nearly her whole life, Mantis has been groomed into an arranged marriage by her biological father and by the priests that raised her.

She’s guided and railroaded into this decision. And although it (seemingly) is her decision in the end, she’s really pressured into it.

In so many ways she lacks agency in this story. The Celestial Madonna Saga is the story of things happening to Mantis while everyone else gets cool character development.

Oh and also I know that Celestial here refers to heavenly things but it occurred to me when Kang called Mantis the Celestial full stop that Celestial is a term that used to refer to things Chinese and maybe calling a Vietnamese-German woman a Celestial Anything was a misstep.

Still cool that the Perfect Human was a Vietnamese-German woman. Not as cool that being the Perfect Human meant you had to marry the Perfect Tree.

I think based on modern sensibilities, a lot of small things could have made it less bad. Although modern sensibilities would probably not do it at all. And that’s probably why modern portrayals of Mantis act like the Celestial Madonna is still something she has to get around to doing eventually.

So. One thing would be to make it so that it was Mantis’ decision to leave the temple, live among normal people, learn humanity, and her decision to wipe her own memories for that goal. Instead of being dumped to fend for herself and build character, it would have been more like the Buddha’s journey. Except with more auto-mind-wiping.

Going along with that would be to make becoming the Celestial Madonna an explicit goal of pre-mindwipe Mantis. Something she was working toward. Something that was, again, her choice.

Another thing would be I guess, to make the Cotati Swordsman have the Swordsman’s memories and soul or whatever. So its less of Mantis marrying a tree with basically a picture of Swordsman stapled to it. Except worse.

So aside the big Mantis marrying a tree elephant in the room, what else is there to say about the Celestial Madonna Saga? Just some structural complaints.

Its a very long and dense story. Perhaps longer and more dense than it needs to be. It gets very exposition heavy at the end. Its possible that some of the reveals could have been spread out to be less back loaded.

The exposition heavy nature means that for the last few issues of it, the Avengers (sans Vision) are just hanging around, spectating, and peanut gallerying Mantis’ backstory. Because moral support and because they don’t have anything better to do. Perhaps why Kang attacks in this issue. Gives the Avengers some reason to be hanging around.

And Kang comes back about one too many times. Or three too many times at the same time? He’s very much the big villain of the piece but he attacks three times in fairly rapid succession, with diminishing effectiveness. I did like Immortus trolling him though so iunno.

I will also say again about Swordsman that it was a shame to see him die without fully living up to the potential as an Avenger. And that his tenure and death and post-death were so ignoble.

Next time, the Avengers go through a period of change but first a rerun.

[marvelloussynergy]

COMIC BOOK REFERENCES & EASTER EGGS - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

James Gunn has packed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with plenty of references to the comics. The following is a guide to all the ones I’ve spotted along with any deviations from the source material (I will update this as more come to light). Note that owing to the convoluted and complex nature of comic books, I’ve tried to include only the most essential information regarding a character’s history and backstories. Additionally, anything I’ve covered in the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) chapter of my book won’t be repeated here. Let’s start with the characters returning from the first film. The Groot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t appear to grow as fast as his comic book counterpart—he’s still a baby after two months, whereas in the comics he can grow from a splinter to his adult form in a relative short amount of time. Yondu acquires a new larger fin in the film; reflective of the one he has in the comics. To confuse matters, the comic version of Yondu with the large fin is actually from an alternate reality, Earth-691. After the release of Guardians of the Galaxy another Yondu was introduced into the mainstream Marvel Universe in Star-Lord #1 (2016), this one being the leader of the Ravagers.

Early on we’re introduced to the golden-skinned Ayesha. In the source material the character has also gone by the names Kismet, Her, and Paragon. She was created by the Enclave as a genetically perfect life form—a status that’s bestowed upon the entire Sovereign race in the movie. In one of the mid-credits scenes, Ayesha reveals that she has created something that could defeat the Guardians, dubbing him “Adam.” This is a reference to the character Adam Warlock, an artificial creation designed to be the perfect human. He can encase himself within a cocoon, allowing him to heal (hence the gold sarcophagus). Adam was actually created by the Enclave first, with Her/Ayesha coming about after Adam escaped. In the comics Ego is known as the Living Planet, and as his name implies is a planet with sentience. He was created by the Stranger, his consciousness not having developed naturally as previously believed. Unlike the cinematic version, Ego is not a Celestial, with the biggest deviation being his status as Peter Quill’s biological father (in the comics it’s J’son, Emperor of the Spartoi Empire). Among other powers, Ego can create humanoid anti-bodies, communicate using telepathy, and has control over every one his molecules. In the film Ego wishes to transform other planets to be like him. A similar event has occurred in the comics: when Tana Nile bonded a part of Ego to another planet in an attempt to terraform it, Ego-Prime was created. Ego-Prime—a human-shaped entity with its own consciousness—attempted to merge himself with all the life on Earth and become a single entity. On a side note, the Guardians properly meet Ego on a planet called Berhert, which in the comics is home to the Sagittarians.

Mantis’ background in the film deviates greatly from the comics. In the source material she’s a human of Vietnamese and German decent, the daughter of Gustav Brandt and Lau Nguyen Brandt. She grew up under the care of the Priests of Pama (exiled pacifist members of the Kree race) who believed she would grow up to be the Celestial Madonna, who would give birth to the Celestial Messiah. As such, they trained her in martial arts and taught her emphatic abilities. Other powers Mantis possesses include telepathy, limited precognition, and astral projection. She first joined the Avengers before becoming a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (2008). The cinematic incarnation of the character has flesh-coloured skin in keeping with the comic book version’s early appearances. Though she appears green nowadays, she can change her skin colour as she pleases.

Believe it or not, Taserface is an actual character from the comics, though bears no resemblance to his comic book incarnation who is a cyborg and scout for the Stark (though both versions do come to blows with the Guardians). Other ravagers with names taken from the comics include Brahl (a member of the Minions of Menace) and Tullk (a galactic bounty hunter). Though we see the individual characters throughout the film, in a mid-credits scene we witness Stakar Ogord assembling other Ravager leaders together. This is a reference to the original Guardians team of the comics. The characters present are Stakar (also known as Starhawk, generates light energy and possesses a vast intellect), Krugarr (Doctor Strange’s successor in Earth-691), Charlie-27 (possesses enhanced strength and durability; Caucasian in the comics), Aleta Ogord (Ogord’s adoptive sister, merged with him to become Starhawk), Martinex (has a body made of silicon crystal, can emit blasts of heat and cold from his hands), and Mainframe (an alternate version of the Vision). It’s worth noting that the original Guardians lineup in the comics was initially composed of Charlie-27, Martinex, Vance Astro, and Yondu.

Stan Lee appears in the film talking to a bald figure with a large head. The character is known as a Watcher (we see more of them in the post-credits scene) with his species observing and recording the events of the universe, vowing to never interfere. The most well known watcher is Uatu, who keeps an eye on Earth and its solar system.

In terms of MCU Easter eggs we have Howard the Duck once again making an appearance (he can be seen on the ice planet Contraxia—an actual planet from the comics), and during the credits themselves an image of Cosmo can be spotted as well as a dancing Grandmaster (a character from the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok).

[lasinlucifer]

The only agony after break up is you realized she doesn't have anything left in you. 12 years and nothing to fond of. She left and all you got is madness, isn't sad? He been waiting for her for 9 years, despite dating anyone, if she calls, he skyrocketed even all the way across the world, he skyrocketed to her despite living with his gf at the time. He always skyrocketed for people who he has feelings because he believe that all girls deserve 1000% him, except himself, well, never thought he need to be there for himself.

I have put myself through my own nightmare for years and thought little mischievous me gonna enjoy it. Little do I know it became my greatest regrets. Because I choose that life, when you desire it enough, it just comes. I keep asking myself why am I always feel hollows in every relationship. I was thinking that hollow is you, but turn out it's me. I was not there for me. I desire a life that wasn't for me. Girls, parties, drugs well, Lucifer's stuffs. I thought it's gonna make me happy and whole. "Argg my life is complete" while sitting in the middle of Lucifer. My desire start when I star to desire things, and what things you are going to experience when young? Lucifer stuff but with a green heart. I act and react accordingly to the environment i'm in, that's the price for kids to experience. Them kids pay their prices differently, me like 10 years later. I keep attracting bad relationships, all kind of relationship.

Up until now, I don't have any feelings for anything. As I was for the last 10 years. All feels for the last 10 years were meant to feel for a night or day best. He be gazing at the stars everytime there're stars on the sky, he got vibe same with the vibe of his hollowness inside, a bit relief. and try to think that is star real? Stars came from ages ago, it traveled for millions billions years just to get to earth #realstory #thatdreamy

Now back to my agony. I never have faith in anything. "I trust you" and "I love you" are most saying things of mine and yet ha ha ha i feel nothing all at once up. up until recently ha how sad . I feel sad for myself. I do. I really do, and it just gonna keep repeating. Trembling how one self can treat self that low. I hate myself and every decision i have made, yet, I'll live thru hell again just to get back on earth and gazing stars. It is sad that 10 years and all I got is nothing real stay. I hate myself for cannot find a single feeling that worth to stay in me. What a sad little mother fucker asshole how the fuck did you alive after all those year. Trembling nonstop for hours and what the fuck. What is it? That keep he trembling what the fuck is it. maybe because he doesn't got himself, so now he feels lonely even within himself, and that thought scary enough to keep his body trembling. What's right, what's wrong and what is even real?

Since I felt nothing, I have nothing else to say but have you every seen Lucifer hate himself so much, tryto hold everything inside that the outside world trembling. i think think that's how earthquakes create.

Dialdown from trembling:

He be acting funny, cute, jumping up every time seeing cockroaches. He created himself a version that would thrive in the world, somehow. But when alone, roaches don't scare him, he can eat spicy, all thing he said he can't before and more.

He knew he gay since day 1. And his deadass just know stuffs straight outa womb. He closed himself up since day one of his life because he knows gay is not a thing ever. And all the years later, he always act accordingly to all the standards and never once think about himself. He try to be himself one trait at the time. Sometimes he just want to just turn of the fucking lights and scream i'm gay while his pama in the room. because it's who he is and it can't hide. He started showing the real him, live tru with himself 6 years ago. I rmb ma said lớp 3 mà biết yêu r đó hả.

"maze, bring my wings back here, and let me start sewing that shit"

Noted: When you vibe with a sad song when you are not sad, there's a reason and ahhh.

"mối tình đầu là mối tình đẹp nhất trên đời"

"đâu ai lại muốn thế tâm tư bị trói vào nhà lao tình"

"muốn tim mình cứ nhói trong nhiều năm tới tự làm đau mình"

"vài phút yêu đuối đó xin đừng hòng bắt ép tôi sai"

"vì trở về căn phòng chẳng thể vẽ lại thứ phôi phai"

[yetanothercomicbook]

A Christmas Tale

Fantastic Four #325

A lot of standing around talking, followed by a lot of inconsequential fighting.

The Silver Surfer finds the Human Torch trapped in space near Mercury, and learns that Mantis is alive. Back on Earth, atop Four Freedoms Plaza, their reunion is interrupted by Kang, the High Cotati and the Priests of Pama. Everyone fights over Mantis’ son.

After hearing both sides, it’s hard to feel much empathy for Mantis. It seems like her son has a great destiny and she should leave him with the Cotati. Their case makes a lot of sense. Therefore, the reader isn’t invested in the heroes’ cause.

The fight itself isn’t very exciting or interesting. Too many participants. Kang’s involvement seems strained. Why is he there? And the ending is oddly inconclusive.

This is basically the last time we see Mantis for over a decade. (Except for starring in one 8-page back-up story.) Kang will be back in 3 years for INFINITY WAR.

Steve Englehart (24 of 32). 

6/10

[princesspuresarahk]

Kandie Catori Rose , (the cousin of Pama Foxpaw ) and her 3yr old twin baby boys Koa and Ember Rose , at 34 and standing at 6′4 Kandie is one of the first/maybe only women to enter in the Kengan match yet nobody knows how she was able to enter . Kandie is a tough hardworking single mother of also native american decent with a feisty/patient , humble , motherly ,loving and fearless woman who loves a wrestle and a good joke , her two loving tator-tots Koa and Ember are the two sweetest and curious little babes you’ll ever meet Koa (older by 3 seconds ) rarely seen without a smile on his face Koa is outgoing and happy-go-lucky always wanting to on a adventure, he loves eating blueberries and playing/spending time with his brother and rarely seen without him , Ember ( youngest by 3 seconds) Unlike his brother, he is very shy and prone to tears at the best of times but he tries to be brave like his mama and go on adventures with his brother who he is rarely seen without , he loves eating strawberries  and playing/spending time with his brother he has a teddy bear named Brownie . they are watched over by Pama and their Great-grandma Winona , as their mother fights for/ representative for Blackcrow Inc. a environment company that supports in producing supplies in helping keeping the earth and water clean restoring nature and wildlife to help grow back restoring its environment . Kandie is nicknamed The Iron Bear .     

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #135: The Torch is Passed!

May, 1975

Another really great title and another lying cover!

But, again. Flashback mode doesn’t give many options. At least there are some angry faces. Iron Man is so angry that he’s looking away in disgust. Or maybe he just has terrible peripheral vision in that helmet and can’t figure out what everyone else is looking at.

So last time: Hoo boy. Kang attacked multiple times to try to marry the Celestial Madonna who turned out to be Mantis. Defeating him in Limbo, the Avengers then went on a far out time journey to uncover the origins of Mantis and Vision, which involved the robot Human Torch dying multiple times and space intreegue.

When last we left Vision, 1967 Ultron-5 had just KRUMP’d through the wall.

This time: Ultron-5 continues to KRUMP.

Unfortunately, not the dance move.

Apparently the Mad Thinker pointed Ultron towards the Human Torch’s dead deceased corpse. To contextualize this moment in time, the Human Torch’s memorial service was the previous year but Reed Richards kept his ‘respectful gesture’ of leaving the Human Torch to molder in an abandoned underground laboratory a secret.

When Ultron is the one thinking that’s a ‘respectful gesture’ you know you goofed up.

Anyway, Ultron is not alone with a corpse. Because the Mad Thinker’s solitude maddened living computer Quasimodo is also in the area.

Quasimodo begs Ultron to give him a human form. Ultron responds ‘fuck no.’ Because then Quasimodo would be a robot and Ultron doesn’t want the competition.

He also decides to narrate his entire backstory to Quasimodo. Because he’s going to erase this memory anyway and he loves hearing himself talk.

You know most of it. Hank Pym built a crude robot based on his five seconds of research into non-man non-dragon Dragon Man.

Hank Pym was so bad at building robots that not only did he somehow create Ultron-1 so self-aware that it turned itself on before Hank ever activated him, Hank also built him too durable to crush and with lethal weapons equipped.

Hank Pym, how do you fuck up so badly? Pro-tip: Your first attempt at building a machine intelligence? Don’t give it its own means of locomotion and DON’T GIVE IT WEAPONS.

Anyway, Ultron-1 blasts Hank with a hypno-beam to make him forget this incident and abandon this lab.

With his existence now a secret to everyone, Ultron OH YEAHS through the wall in plain sight of several civilians and flees.

Clearly no one saw that or reported it.

He returns a week later to find the lab as abandoned as he hoped. Using the solitude of the abandoned lab, Ultron repaired the lab equipment so he could use it to rebuild and upgrade himself.

And only six days ago, Ultron finished his upgrade into Ultron-5, “the most perfect example of a robot in all the world!”

To again contextualize this into a time frame, this was right after the fight against the Super-Adaptoid. Hank and Jan walk by the house/lab but Hank refuses to go inside, the hypnosis still holding.

Having perfectly upgraded himself to a perfect existence, Ultron decides that his perfect murder plan will require the acquisition of an android. So he went to hunt down the Mad Thinker to ‘borrow’ one of his.

So wait. Where does the new Masters of Evil fit into this? This would seem to imply that he acquired Vision first so did he then always expect the new Masters of Evil to fail?

He sure seemed peeved at the time that his plan failed.

Anyway. Mad Thinker initially avers that he needs all his androids in his latest most doomed scheme to destroy the Fantastic Four. But since he calculates with his mad thinkering that Ultron will attack in 3.8 seconds if he’s not appeased, he asks if Ultron will accept an old, busted android.

Ultron would actually be good with that. He was planning to do a complete overhaul anyway so the more primitive the better.

So Mad Thinker offers him the original Human Torch. “He was more trouble to me than he was worth!”

And then the Mad Thinker realizes he’s been talking to a robot and gives Ultron the oddest look but also gives him directions to that old, abandoned lab.

Thus ends Ultron’s tale. Which I just realized was a flashback inside of a time-travel-assisted flashback. You are bad at your job, Space Phantom disguised as a staff.

Quasimodo asks why Ultron wants an android and Ultron says its because he wants a son!

Which is funny because we’ve seen how Ultron treated Vision. ‘You don’t need a name, you are only meant to obey without thinking!’ Although, there have been human parents as bad.

Quasimodo offers to be Ultron’s son but Ultron blasts him with the hypno-beam to erase this whole conversation, grabs the Torch, and skedaddles.

Because he just heard an incoming noise. And seconds after Ultron has vacated, the Silver Surfer busts into the lab, having been drawn here by Quasimodo’s extreme angst (from Fantastic Four Special #5).

Geez, this is a busy lab.

But now it is time to check in on Team Rest of the Avengers now. When last we left them, they finished the Mantis Origin Journey and saw the beginnings of the Kree empire and the sad fate of the Cotati. And at the end of it, they were transported back to the Eternal Garden of the Priests of Pama where the Avengers had buried the Swordsman, based on a weird gut feeling that Mantis had.

A gut feeling about where to bury Swordsman, I mean.

Ghost Swordsman repeats that today will see THE COMING OF THE CELESTIAL MADONNA! Or maybe we went back a little to repeat that scene.

Mantis demands that Libra, as her self-proclaimed father, explain all this. Libra says its not his right but then a spaceship happens.

Specifically Moondragon.

In previous issues, she responded to the Avengers’ call for Captain Marvel based on a weird gut feeling (a lot of that going around), went to Avengers Mansion, got her shit kicked by possibly possessed Scarlet Witch, and then got back on her spaceship to head to Vietnam to find the Avengers.

And here she is!

Ghost Swordsman asks Moondragon to explain her origin (oh my god origin overdose!) and Moondragon decides okay spoopy ghost man, I trust you.

THANOS!

Is what led her to encounter the Avengers in the past. You remember the Thanos War? I hope so, I’m not explaining it again.

But Thanos also is her tragic backstory. While scouting Earth, he blasted a random automobile because it may have spotted his UFO.

Heather Douglas survived the attack and staggered out of the wreckage to be found by Mentor, ruler of Titan. Who had followed Thanos to Earth to find out what he was up to.

Heather, probably a bit loopy from the experience, assumed Mentor was an angel and begged him to take her to heaven.

So he took her to Titan. And had her placed within the Shao-Lom Monastery, where she learned the full knowledge of body and soul. And grew to be a priestess, an athlete, and a geneticist and took the title Moondragon.

This is actually a double origin. Because although Moondragon’s dad Arthur Douglas died in the crash, his spirit was used by Kronos to create Drax the Destroyer to combat Thanos.

Thanos really does create most of his own problems for himself.

Anyway, Mantis realizes that Moondragon’s backstory is in many respects identical to her own as relayed by Libra. Earth girl trained at an alien temple. Trained to master body and mind. Cool codename.

Back to Vision’s origin.

Six months have gone by, it is now the spring of 1968, and Ultron is getting fed up with this project.

The Human Torch had burned himself out when he died. Ultron had thought that a rebuilding project would involve component and wires but he lacks the understanding to remold plastoid flesh. There are systems in the Human Torch that only the inventor could- oh. Duh.

So Ultron goes off to kidnap Professor Phineas T. Horton. It takes him two additional months to track down Horton, now making a living in Stamford, Connecticut (eesh!) as a television repairman.

And then he just tucks him under his arm and carries him off.

Ultron re-introduces Horton to the Human Torch and demands he help repair him. But Horton refuses. Creating the Human Torch was his crowning achievement and also his downfall. After the Torch escaped, Horton was ostracized by scientific society for creating him and the Torch never, ever returned to his creator.

For three decades he’s been drinking to forget and relying on television repair to get by.

So please, don’t make him face his old shame now that he’s so, so old and so, so drunk.

BACKHAND.

Ultron: “Now get to work, my decadent Gepetto -- get to work and give me a Pinocchio!”

Ultron’s favorite Disney movie is Pinocchio apparently.

So, held hostage, Horton was forced to perform to Ultron’s weird whims. Changing the Torch’s face so he has a completely new life, divorced of his time as a hero. OOO ALSO NEW SUPERPOWERS! Flame is old biz. Give him something that will be the new hotness. Oh but make his face scarlet! ISN’T THAT A HILARIOUS JOKE??

Ultron: “For though he will remain ignorant -- I shall be reminded of his past every time I look upon his flame-hued visage! It is the most subtle of jests professor! Why do you not laugh?”

Ultron and Kang both confirmed for shit senses of humor.

Finally, in September, 1968, the revamp to turn the Human Torch into the Vision is complete (making Vision a Virgo according to a caption).

But if you wanted to know what happened next, then you’d best hold your shorts. We have to check up on the others first.

At the Eternal Garden, Immortus shows up with a glass box and tells Iron Man they’ll learn what it is when the box opens. You sure are vague and smug, Immortus.

And at Avengers Mansion, Jarvis relies on the ancient servant’s gambit of bringing tea and snacks to check up on Wanda. But he hears a malevolent male voice coming from Wanda’s room. But when he busts open the door, the room is dark and deserted.

Wanda, Agatha Harkness, and mysterious malevolent male mirth have vanished.

Okay. back to Vision of September, 1968.

The revamped robot is activated but proclaims himself the Human Torch and angrily questions what happened to his body.

Horton could not bring himself to destroy the Torch’s memories, his soul, even as he was forced to rework his body. Even though he created the Torch for base money reasons, Horton poured his soul into him. Even after all the trouble the creation brought him, he loves his creation. The Human Torch is the high point of his time on Earth.

Ultron is not pleased by this betrayal or with Horton’s “maudlin human nostalgia.” He runs off to grab weaponry he can use to restrain the rampaging Vision Torch but before he does, he eye blasts Horton.

The Vision Torch doesn’t notice this in the midst of his rampage but as he’s wondering if he’s gone to robot hell, he comes across the wounded Horton.

Horton: “my torch, i was not a man for marriage -- yet i wanted an issue, creation, some part of me to live on! i thought of you -- and the thought grew into a dream -- and that dream almost grew into reality! i build you flawed -- just as i was flawed -- but i gave you life. tell me, was i... wrong?”

And then Horton died.

Which on a petty note means that Horton is too dead to show up and retcon this whole story in West Coast Avengers when John Byrne decides that the Vision will be more interesting if he walks back all his character development.

Anyway, he’s dead now. And Vision Torch marches out of the lab wondering what to do with his new life. But he’s definitely coming after Ultron for revenge!

Its not a long search. Ultron is waiting for him.

Ultron asserts that Vision Torch belongs to him. And then there’s a robot rumble.

But even though Vision Torch has added strength to compensate for his lost flame, Ultron outmatches him (especially since Vision Torch doesn’t know how to exploit his density powers). And while he was gone, he grabbed a laser gun that he uses to laser gun Vision Torch to death.

So back to the ol’ drawing board.

Of course, without Horton, its going to be hard to do a mind alteration procedure but Ultron just thought of a cool life hack. He’ll just use this random computer tape recording of Wonder Man’s brain as a model for his robot’s new mind!

Genius!

So far we’ve had Ultron have to borrow an android from the Mad Thinker because he didn’t want to build his own, had to kidnap the original creator because he couldn’t figure out how to revamp the Torch, and then had to use another brain because he couldn’t figure out how to program an artificial intelligence from scrap.

This is a sort of pattern with Ultron. Vision was based on Wonder Man’s brain. Jocasta from the Wasp’s. Alkhema was based on Mockingbird’s. And in Ultron Unlimited Ultron kidnaps Hank Pym, the Wasp, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, and the Grim Reaper to use their brain patterns to create a new race of robots.

But since it was later revealed that Ultron himself was based on Hank Pym’s brain patterns, it kind of makes sense. Ultron can’t create a mind from scratch because his mind wasn’t created from scratch.

Anyway, using already existing brain patterns is apparently a great life hack. Because the new mostly blank slate Vision is ready that same evening.

But we know how that turned out. He sent Vision against the Avengers. Vision turned on him and helped the Avengers destroy him. And now Vision knows he did not spring full blown from Ultron’s mind. His genesis was in one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen.

And since he learned his origin, now its time to return to Immortus.

But something goes wrong. Instead of finding himself back in Limbo or the Eternal Garden, Vision finds himself floating adrift in a black void. The Synchro-Staff vanished from his hands. Abandoned and no apparent way home.

Next time: the fate of the Vision, nine surprise supervillains, and the moment of the Celestial Madona. Sounds like a lot for one issue, right?

Well, its another Giant-Size Avengers next time! Geez. That will be three Giant-Size issues for the Celestial Madonna Saga. In addition to eight regular-sized issues so far. Englehart really had a lot of story to tell.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #133: Yesterday and Beyond...

March, 1975

This cover is a filthy, filthy lie. The hooded man does reveal his identity this issue but the Avengers are otherwise occupied and aren’t around for it. And the person he reveals his identity to already knows who he is.

We really start with Wanda’s magic training. Y’know, the thing that has kept her away from the team while they’ve been punching dead people?

She’s come pretty far.

She manages to Sorcerer’s Apprentice a chair to life, although it tires her way out. Using her mutant power to magic is exhausting. And since she was exhausted, she turned her attention from the man chair and it tries to kill her.

But Agatha Harkness is a good teacher and re-chaired the chair to protect Wanda. And gives her the important life lesson: “When one summons forth forces from beyond, one must never relinquish control, my dear.”

But she is pleased with Wanda’s progress.

Wanda only wishes that the Avengers would return from Vietnam so she could show them how far she’s come.

Agatha just darkly remarks that the Avengers are not in Vietnam. OR ON EARTH!

Wanda, maybe: ‘If those jerks went to space without me...’

But, no. The Avengers are in Limbo with the third tier evolution of Kang, Immortus.

Immortus explains that yes, he was totally humoring Kang about his sudden but inevitable betrayal. Getting angry about being a tube boy, pretending to want to team up to take out the Avengers. All of it was a cunning ruse to teach Kang the dominance of destiny by letting him make an ass out of himself, apparently.

And in exchange for using the Avengers in that scheme, he offers to show the hidden pasts of Mantis and Vision.

Except Vision has to go alone. Because his past is too recent and may affect the present if anyone but Vision knows it. APPARENTLY.

It sounds fake but its really so that Vision is alone for when he runs into mishaps in the next issue.

So Immortus hands Vision a synchro-staff which will guide and narrate Vision’s journey into the past.

Also, it later turns out that the synchro-staffs are Space Phantoms in disguise. Everything is Space Phantoms. Your lamp is a Space Phantom. Your dog is a Space Phantom. Your parents are Space Phantoms. That sudden feeling of existential paranoia you get when you realize that with shapeshifters like Skrulls and the Space Phantoms, anything and anyone could be imposters and you can never know for sure that what you know is real is a Space Phantom.

Why Immortus had a couple dumb aliens disguise themselves as glitzy sticks is known only to Immortus and Kurt Busiek. Its probably so that the sticks could lie to Vision and/or Mantis so that troublesome background elements could be retconned.

Although you could always just say the sticks lied so there’s still that matter of why the sticks had to be Space Phantoms specifically, Immortus?

Anyway, voop. Vision is in the past.

Now for the rest of everyone. They’re all going to Mantis’ backstory. Her past doesn’t get to be private. She’s going to have Hawkeye, Thor, and Iron Man watching and peanut gallerying her origin story.

Oh and Hawkeye makes a comment very much in line with Hawkeye’s tendencies towards sexual harassment.

Meanwhile elsewhere IN SPACE, Moondragon. The priestess of Titan and a character from the Captain Marvel book. She once was spanked by Ben Grimm and once fixed Daredevil’s eyes. She once turned into a dragon and was ridden through space by her girlfriend.

These are all far off things or irrelevant.

What is relevant is that she has picked up the Avengers’ signal calling for Captain Marvel and since he hasn’t answered, she feels compelled to. So off she goes to Avengers Mansion, to obey the inscrutable exhortations of her soul.

But that’s for later. For now its:

THE ORIGIN OF THE VISION

Firmly grasping an alien shaped like a scepter, Vision flies through time musing and contemplating and recapping.

He remembers the Sentinel back in #102 identifying him as three decades vintage.

Three decades and change would put that back to 1939, when the robot Human Torch first appeared.

And the alien disguised as a stick clarifies that it was November 1939. And then introduces itself. Except as a staff. Leaves out the part about being an alien because that hasn’t been invented yet.

Basically tells Visions that it will summarize events for his greater ease of understanding as they zip past them.

So 1939. We see Professor Phineas T. Horton introducing his synthetic man. As seen in Marvel Comics #1. Except there’s one tiny eensy little design flaw.

The dang thing bursts into flames if exposed to oxygen.

The gentlemen of the press overreact, demanding Horton destroy his creation before “some madman can grasp its principles and hurl it against our civilization!”

Horton refuses so the gentlemen of the press create an outcry that forces Horton to bury the project.

Literally bury it.

Put the air-tight tube in a steel container and then dunk that container in fast-drying cement.

There to stay until further experimentation finds a way to correct the flaw of having oxygen reactive skin. Or a way to control the synthetic man and make him do Horton’s bidding and make him a fortune.

Professor Phineas T. Horton is actually very concerned about money. He’s not in this solely for the discovery or prestige. He wants to make bank.

Unfortunately, he went a little cheap on the materials for burying the Human Torch forever. The alleged air-tight tube developed a small leak and after a few days enough air leaked in that the Human Torch ignited. And exploded.

The Human-shaped Torch was set free and freely did he fly around New York, accidentally spreading terror because he is a flying man on fire going around and melting things.

He came to realize that he was different from other people. For one thing, nobody else was on fire. And decided that he didn’t deserve the name “Human.” So unable to control himself, he flew into a swimming pool. But the pool belonged to a rackets boss named Sardo who trapped the Torch under the winter glass cover.

And there we get the meme. “You fucked up a perfectly good robot is what you did. It has anxiety.”

Because so perfectly did the Human Torch replicate a human being, he could even develop claustrophobia. And did. Because of being buried underground and because of being trapped in the pool.

And this latent claustrophobia is what caused Vision to panic with Dormammu’s quicksand, Taurus’ pool, and Kang’s Macrobots.

So that’s that explained. FOR NOW.

In the present Vietnam, the hooded man is still meeting with Swordsman’s force ghost. Swordghost tells hooded man to chillax a little. Everything is going according to plan. Moondragon is coming and Mantis is beginning her instruction in the history of the universe.

But despite all hooded man’s training with the Priests of Pama, he has to fret. The plan is so intricate with so many different points. If even one little thing goes wrong... and even if Swordghost says nothing will go wrong, Mantis is hooded man’s daughter!

Yeah. Hooded man is secretly Libra.

AND NOW THE ORIGIN OF MANTIS.

And here a cheeky narration box says that this was why Avengers #123 was titled “An Origin for Mantis.” Like I said at the time, it had ambiguity about it.

The party of Thor, Mantis, Iron Man, and Haweye fly through time. Except Thor is leading this time voyage and holding the Synchro-Staff despite this being about Mantis’ backstory because: “Mantis may yet be overcome by her empathic nature during this voyage, and she cannot be entrusted with my care.”

Fuck you, talking stick that is secretly an alien.

Annnnyway. Planet Hala. The Kree homeworld. And the first year of their recorded history. Because yes, Mantis’ backstory goes back this far. Or at least the context for understanding it does.

And the Kree were already a warlike people. Strong, brutal, quick to anger, and obligate carnivores. If you see a Kree eating a salad, it’s fake.

And their leader was Morag, the mightiest male who hunts the mightiest, most ferocious beasts for his eats.

Oh and Hala was inhabited by another intelligent race at this time too.

The Cotati. Psychic plant people evolved from algae. They can locomote, slowly, and can communicate telepathically.

And neither the Kree nor the Cotati have anything to do with each other.

Since the Kree can’t eat them and since the Cotati aren’t competitors for resources, the Kree consider the Cotati and also all plants as beneath their notice.

And the Cotati consider the Kree frenetic and unstable barbarians WHICH ISN’T REALLY WRONG.

But everything changes when imperialism happens.

A spaceship touches down on Hala, observed by both races and believed by both races to be harbinger of the end of the world. WHICH ISN’T REALLY WRONG.

And from the spaceship comes the Skrulls! In the future, the age old enemies of the Kree. In this flashback, some little green men from space. And these Skrulls are not the Skrulls we know.

I mean, they’re still arrogant jerks but they’re straightforward arrogant jerks. Emperor Dorrek I lays out exactly what their deal is.

In the past decade, the Skrulls have perfected interstellar travel and Skrull scouts have traveled around space only to discover that they’re the best in space. Nobody else they found even approached their level.

But not being warriors, the Skrulls have decided there’s another way to exploit all these space people. So Dorrek has been traveling planet to planet and offering a beneficial proposition (not sure its ‘mutually beneficial’ but it could reasonably be described as beneficial).

The Skrulls will provide knowledge and technology in exchange for the loyalty and resources of their vassal planets. Sounds easy enough.

Sounds a lot like the Shi’ar actually. They’re the most notable space empire for having a lot of vassal planets. Except they’re kind of assholes while the Skrulls would be mostly exploitative and condescending. So like less bad Shi’ar.

There is one caveat though. Having two intelligent races on a single planet could create confusion or dissension over who will be representing the planet to the Skrulls. So the Skrulls will set up a small test and settle who should represent the planet.

Seventeen Kree and seventeen Cotati will be taken to different uninhabited planetoids for a year with complete supplies. And when the Skrulls swing back to pick them up, they’ll judge what each group has done with their time. Easy peasy.

The Cotati immediately accept. They sense “arrogance but no deceit in the Skrulls” and plus they want to grow. Its a plant thing, probably.

The Kree are “too barbaric to allow themselves a luxury like trust” or maybe wise enough to know that you don’t immediately trust weird chinned aliens that come bearing situational gifts and not having psychic powers would prefer to take some time to think through their course of action.

So for the rest of the day, the Kree debate whether to take the Skrulls up on their offer or not. Declining would probably mean the Cotati would win by default but when Morag decides to agree to the offer its because “he has heard no way to gracefully decline.”

And buddy, I’ve been there. Social is hard.

So seventeen Kree and seventeen Cotati are taken aboard the Skrull’s mighty spaceship. The Cotati are taken a random planetoid and dumped off. They’re starting off on bad footing though. These seventeen Cotati have never been this far from the rest of their people before and suffer from the psychic isolation. Apparently they’re plunged into shock for days.

Hawkeye interrupts the story to comment that he was pretty sure that this whole thing was a Skrull trick. Speaking of tricks, someone, possibly Coloring Error, stole his pants while he was distracted by all this space history.

ANYway. Next the Kree are dropped off on a familiar looking planetoid called Earth’s Moon. Yup.

Of course, this took place a long, long time ago so life on Earth is still of the cellular variety.

The Skrulls set up an artificial atmosphere and left supplies and tools for the Kree. And then they leave the Kree for a year.

And the Kree haven’t been idle on a spaceship for the first time. During the journey, they’ve been making plans and as soon as the Skrulls leave, the Kree get to it.

They mind, they refine, they build. Its like Minecraft: Kree edition.

They apparently have near-perpetual daylight to work with. Which. I don’t know if that’s right. But whatever.

Each Kree works until he passes out, slumbers where he falls, and then gets back up to work again.

They stick to this routine for one full year (no party time for the Kree) and are finally able to look upon their completed project. A gargantuan gleaming blue city, a testament to Kree muscles and dedication and Skrull technology. A city with an artificial atmosphere on the Moon.

Yup. The Kree built the Blue Area that the Watcher squats in.

The Skrulls are extremely impressed. Its a nice city (Or it was when they first built it. Its a decaying ruin by the time the Fantastic Four find it) and they built it in a year with only seventeen people.

So the Skrulls gather up the Kree to transport them back to Hala. All through the journey back, the Kree envision long and glorious futures in the Skrull Empire for themselves. Which is a change in attitude from ‘we’re only doing this because we can’t think of the right way to say ‘thanks but no thanks to our first alien contact.’

But when Morag gets back home, he discovers that the rest of the Kree are all depressed and pissed off and nobody came out to welcome him home. Which: rude.

Nameless indistinguishable Kree guy tells Morag that the he wasted a year of his life. The Skrulls are more impressed with what the Cotati accomplished.

When the Cotati were left on their barren planetoid they reached out with their psychic plant powers and found ancient seeds and water beneath the planetoids surface. And they used these to create a, well, the comic doesn’t say this so I might as well. The Kree created the Blue Area of the Moon and the Cotati created a Green Area of Some Planetoid. A garden on an otherwise lifeless rock.

So Nameless Indistinguishable Kree Guy is sure that the Skrulls are going to pick the Cotati as the winners. And Morag is blown away that after struggling to build a city in only a year, a park is going to be judged more impressive.

Hell no. He worked too hard for the Kree to be left behind.

So the Kree pull out their ace in the hole to give themselves the edge in this contest. Which is that they are really, really good at murder.

Like, super good. Best at murder for lightyears.

So they head over under the cover of darkness and KILL THE COTATI!

And I don’t really approve or endorse using murder to win a contest to determine which race a silly group of green imperialists like best but.

I mean, you have to give them credit where its due. I wasn’t joking about the Kree being super good at murder.

Over one night, they manage to kill every Cotati. A species of plant people that occupied an entire half of the planet. And they manage this with nothing more than a pointy rock tied to a stick.

Its definitely an achievement.

Anyway, by morning the Kree greet the Skrulls and tell Emperor Dorrek that they went ahead and solved the dilemma of Hala’s reputation for him. No big.

Perhaps not surprisingly (since these are the relatively kinder and gentler Skrulls of untold ages ago) Dorrek does not take kindly to the news. He is, in fact, horrified.

Emperor Dorrek: “You -- did what? Fools! Did you believe this would gain you our favor? Skrulls may deal with barbarians, but we do not condone barbarism! Now, Hala shall be shut forever from our circle of favored worlds!”

Yup. He just up and perma-bans them.

Which might have come as a shaming moment for the Kree except they just killed half a world. A handful more won’t matter. And after being exposed to all the Skrull’s wonderful toys, they’re not going back to their former ignorance.

Hawkeye (Mr. Peanut Gallery apparently) calls Morag stark, raving crazy and the stick doesn’t disagree but does wonder if they would see any more sanity if they were perusing Earth’s history.

So the Kree rush the Skrull spaceship with their pointed sticks and murder all the Skrulls.

Because, again, these are the Skrulls of long ago. They are not the scheming warriors that endless war with the Kree made them. Instead, they’re pacifists. Of the ‘think fighting is beneath them’ type. So they all die without fighting back.

“So much for pacifism” announces Hawkeye. Because Hawkeye.

Mantis argues that pacifism doesn’t preclude self-defense and grieves that the Skrulls believed otherwise.

Although its weird that this is apparently the first time the Skrulls’ sales pitch was met with violence. They never went somewhere where someone tried to kill them? They had no contingency for that? Huh.

So now the Kree have the planet all to themselves and they have a pile of Skrull bodies (probably to eat) and a Skrull spaceship. And they’re going to reverse engineer that ship and go out into space and kill the rest of the Skrulls because then the Kree can be bosses of space.

And apparently the Skrulls back on their homeworld weren’t keeping great track of their emperor because they never knew what happened to that ship. Probably figured it fell into a negative space wedgie. So they were entirely unprepared when decades later, the Kree attacked them with an armada.

And thus began the Kree-Skrull War.

Again, don’t want to condone killing and eating aliens and stealing their stuff necessarily but to go from using spears to mastering spaceship construction in decades? That’s really impressive.

But its still a little unclear what this has to do with Mantis. And I love space history but we’re here to learn about what Mantis has to do with space history.

And that will come next issue as the stick tells them to prepare to journey onward for more story.

But geez. The Kree really are the biggest dicks in space, huh?