Pete only has like 6 active books at this time, so it is fair that he should also show up in MCP...
Anyway, this is a story about assisted suicide... and I assume this was probably written right around the time Jack Kevorkian was in the public consciousness...
Essential Avengers: Avengers #248: “To Save the ETERNALS!”
October, 1984
Scarlet Witch: “It’s raining ETERNALS!”
Hallelujah?
This is a pretty striking cover. The white background is what sells it. Having an actual background would busify the cover too much.
So last times on Avengers: Bored after giving the chairman role to Vision, Wasp takes Starfox’s invitation to crash a party hosted by Sersi, a truant Eternal. Some other Eternals come to fetch Sersi for a Big, Important Eternal Thing and Wasp and Starfox end up getting dragged along when they try to stop the kidnapping.
After Sersi and Ikaris recap the Eternals’ ENTIRE HISTORY, Starfox realizes hey he’s an Eternal too! So he gets invited to the big, important Eternal Thing. Which is turning into a giant flying brain. As ya do.
But jerk fiend and eventual Great Lakes Avengers punchline Maelstrom takes advantage of all the Eternals being a giant brain and attacks, knocking out spectating Avengers Wasp and Captain Monica Marvel.
So thats a lot.
Vision and Scarlet Witch arrive in Greece after seeing Maelstrom on the video phone.
While Vision flies off in a big hurry, Scarlet Witch goes back into the Quinjet for some good exposition.
She continues to be worried about how Vision has been acting lately. Because after seeing Maelstrom, Vision barely said a word during the flight to Greece and kept pushing the engines until Wanda was afraid they’d blow up. But since he just took off and she can’t fly, she calls up what files the Avengers have on Maelstrom.
Which is Benn Grimm, the Thing, reporting on Marvel Two-in-One #72, where he teamed up with Black Bolt to fight Maelstrom who claimed to be the son of a renegade Inhuman. In the end, the Thing tossed a tube of anti-terrigen gas in his face and then Maelstrom appeared to die in an underwater cave-in.
Vision returns from his reconnaissance and does Wanda a startle so she finally unloads on him for how he’s been acting.
Scarlet Witch: “You don’t seem to be thinking at all these days! We haven’t had a real conversation since you became Avengers chairman! Half of our trip to Washington was taken up by a private meeting you had with the president! Afterwards, you didn’t even have the decency to tell me what you talked about! I had to hear from a reported that you’d discussed making the Avengers chairmanship a cabinet level post! We used to be so open with one another! What is happening to us? What is the matter? Is it me?”
Vision says ‘its not you, its me’ although in the context of him being at fault and not breaking up with her.
But he promises to do better and that she’s important to him.
Which would be heart-warming and romantic if he wasn’t making this face over her shoulder.
Why.
Anyway, with uh whatever that is handled, Vision reports what he found on his scouting nyoom.
He found the Eternal city on the side of Mount Olympus because of course its there.
Although. Wait. Where do the Olympians live? Are they neighbors? Do the Olympians live in another dimension or something? I vaguely remember something like that.
And Vision found Maelstrom who’s wearing a silly techno-harness connected to a big machine and has Captain Marvel and Wasp chained up at his feet.
You have problems, Maelstrom.
Not least of which is that his big scheme is to absorb the giant brain to make himself more powerful.
He blabs his plan to the Wasp who woke up when she sensed the opportunity to sass.
Wasp: “You seem awfully sure of yourself, Maelstrom.”
Maelstrom: “Ah, the Wasp! Back among the conscious, I see! Yes, I am quite confident... Supremely confident, you might say.”
Wasp: “But not so confident that you felt you could keep us here untied!”
Maelstrom: “If you are trying to shame me, it will not work. I am quite without shame!”
Curses, he’s immune to petty ego games.
Wasp also assumes he’s an Eternal which he’s quick to correct. No, see, his mom was a Deviant. And I guess his dad was an Inhuman, based on the Thing’s report on him. But its not like he wants revenge for all the Deviants being compressed into a giant cube.
After all, the Deviants killed his mom and raised Maelstrom in their slave pits.
In fact, after Maelstrom absorbs the giant brain, his next plan is to release the Deviants from the giant Deviant cube one by one and then do harm to them.
But, yeah, no. He does look like an Eternal. Easy mistake to make. The Eternals have been making that mistake as Maelstrom has just been hanging around for days with all the Eternals assuming he’s just some Eternal.
He’s actually maybe a little bit regretful that he has to kill them all to absorb the giant brain since the Eternals have actually been nice to him?
Maelstrom: “But power belongs to those who are willing to seize it!”
Interesting guy, Maelstrom.
He starts absorbing the Uni-Mind and totally spaces out doing that. But unfortunately, Wasp is in no position to capitalize on it because he put some leech manacles on her which are preventing her from shrinking. And Captain Marvel is completely out cold.
But Vision sneaks up intangible through the ground as he do like to do and intangibles his fingers into Maelstrom’s harness, shorting it out.
The energy discharge knocks Vision on his ass unconscious but Maelstrom just has to take a knee.
He yells up at an ominous figure standing up on a tower for not telling him that Vision was sneakign up on him. Maelstrom obviously thinks that this Deathurge is his minion but Deathurge has differing opinions.
Deathurge: For so long have I been with Maelstrom, yet still he does not understand! Still he thinks of me as his lackey! When will he learn... it is a darker power I truly serve!
Kinda wonder why he’s here. He doesn’t seem to be helping Maelstrom’s great brain heist and mostly just seems to... stand on a tower and look ominous.
But while Maelstrom was distracted yelling at a guy, the Uni-Mind breaks free of Maelstrom’s siphon and then explodes into a bunch of Eternals again.
Because it would be very improbable if that happened.
Your plan scheme just got Wanda’d, Maelstrom.
Huh. When I saw the cover, I wouldn’t have guessed that Wanda is the reason why its raining Eternals, hallelujah.
Goes to shows.
But since it was very improbable indeed that the Uni-Mind would explode into peoples, Wanda is wiped out.
Captain Marvel starts waking up and Wasp orders her to bust the chains, don’t even think about just go go go.
And Monica Marvel CHOOOMs the leech manacles.
It’s probably a testament to her power that she can bust right through the power dampening handcuffs but Maelstrom immediately hits her with some pink with kirby krackle which apparently is an energy field for sapping strength and down goes Captain Marvel again.
>=|
Wasp dodges the pink energy and gets out of the way so Vision can shoot his forehead laser at Maelstrom.
I sometimes forget he has that thing.
Vision: “Yes, Maelstrom, I have found your weakness! you are vulnerable to energy that is not purely kinetic! That is why you required the power siphon to absorb the psionic energy of the Uni-Mind!”
Maelstrom insists that he’ll still kick Vision’s ass except we’ll never know if he was talking out his ass or not.
Starfox wakes up from being a giant brain and decides to go punch the bad guy.
Except except except.
Punches is kinetic energy. Fool that he is, Starfox just recharged Maelstrom.
Starfox: “I am Eros, called the Starfox... son of Mentor! The blood of the Eternals flows in my veins... and I am an Avenger! Thus I have the greatest stake in seeing you fall!”
Maelstrom: “No doubt! But you’ll not accomplish it this way!”
And then suddenly giant Maelstrom just picks up Starfox and hurls him at Vision who is forced to super-dense catch Starfox instead of intangible out of the way and let the idiot hit a wall head first.
Hm. Guy absorbs kinetic energy and gets beefier? So he’s like a less stylish Sebastian Shaw?
That’s not a flattering comparison for you, Maelstrom.
Makarri, Thena, and Ikaris of the Eternals wake up and also try to jump on and pummel Maelstrom.
... God, its like they weren’t even paying attention.
Good thing they’re immortal because they have no survival instinct among them.
Maelstrom throws them off and then whips out the pink bio-kinetic energy again, using it to crowd control the Eternals.
Then he announces that yeah, sure, the brain thing was foiled. But he absorbed enough information while he was draining the Uni-Mind that he has an even cooler plan for even greater power now.
So his new plan is to just leave. And go do something else.
‘Walk away with no further conflict you say? Nuts to that!’ - Scarlet Witch, presumably.
In fairness. This isn’t really a no harm, no foul situation.
I wouldn’t give Maelstrom over to the Eternals to add to the Deviant cube but he’s just going to do more asshole things if he walks away.
Starfox wants to go over and start punching Maelstrom again because. I DUNNO! The man is supposed to be smarter than this!
Vision stops him and tells him that instead he’ll need to use his pleasure power on Vision’s mark.
Starfox is startled that Vision knows about his secret weirdo power but this isn’t the time for a conversation.
Instead its time for microwaves.
Vision signals Captain Marvel to do her thing and she flies at Maelstrom, turning into infrared and microwave radiation, toasting Maelstrom up.
Then Wasp pew pews with her pew pew, while staying ten feet away so he can’t absorb any kinetic energy. That’s apparently why her stings sucked when she tried shooting him before. She got too close.
Well, her stings are bio-electrical so him absorbing her bio-kinetic energy would probably weaken them? Probably?
Maelstrom actually panics a little because the Avengers aren’t being dumb. They’re pelting him with energy attacks from a distance, wearing him down and not giving him a chance to build up his energy stores again.
I’m proud of you, guys. I knew you could fight smart if you put your minds to it.
Then with Maelstrom weakened, Starfox tries to use his PLEASURE BEAMS and tells him that actually we’re all friends here, won’t you be our friend?
Starfox: “The others will tell you I’m not one to hold a grudge! Besides, you really don’t want to hurt anyone! You’ll be much happier giving yourself up!”
Maelstrom: “Giving... up? Y-yes, that does sound nice. I... No!! What are you doing to me?!?”
So since Maelstrom succeeds his will save against the persuasion check, or something, Scarlet Witch just casts a spell of ‘on your knees, asshole’ and makes Maelstrom fall to his knees.
Realizing that he might actually be defeated, in the city of his mother’s enemies no less!, Maelstrom calls out for Deathurge to attend him.
Deathurge: “At last, the call I have longed for!”
Hmmmm. Maybe Maelstrom should have been more specific.
I admit that its very possible that this is exactly what Maelstrom wanted Deathurge hanging around for. But having a guy standing by to kill you so you don’t have to tally an L sure is an interesting way of going about things.
Also, the narration says spear but Deathurge’s weapon is clearly a very anime scythe. A dude in Bleach had two of this exact weapon.
Captain Marvel, as the nyoomiest of the Avengers, flies at Deathurge as the “spear” returns to his hand. He tries to hit her with the “spear” but it goes right through her and then she goes right through him when she tries to tackle him.
Since they can both be intangible, Deathurge declares this a stalemate and drops down into the ground. Captain Marvel tries to follow as x-rays but loses the ominous weirdo.
So that was a thing that happened.
Maelstrom sure folded like nothing once people who knew how his powers work actually started fighting back.
And I can’t even ding him for explaining his powers because he didn’t. Vision just did his research.
Anyway, even though the Uni-Mind ritual was interrupted, the Eternals still learned what they should be doing. Since the Eternals have grown stagnant on Earth, THEY’RE GOING TO SPAAAAACE!
Most of them anyway.
Ikaris, Sersi, Thena, Valkin... Lets just say the main Eternals are going to stay on Earth.
The Eternals chosen to go out into space form a Uni-Mind again, grabs the Deviant cube, hurls it out of the solar system, and then takes off into space.
“So does the Uni-Mind, in all its wisdom, protect its native world from the Deviant menace.”
Eeeesh.
I thought squeezing them all into a cube was bad enough, now you’re sending them into space forever? You couldn’t find a planet where they can’t hurt anyone and just dunk them there?
Back down on Earth, the Avengers and Eternals watch a giant brain fly into space.
Wasp: “To think, this all started with Starfox and me crashing Sersi’s party! I certainly never expected to be in Greece at day’s end, watching the Eternals leave Earth!”
Really makes you think. That its a good thing that most Avengers’ day job is being an Avenger.
Captain Marvel asks Starfox if he’s sorry that he didn’t go with the giant brain and he says participating in one Uni-Mind thing was an incredible experience that he wouldn’t have missed but he’s a free spirit and there’s a bunch of stuff he still wants to do on Earth.
Which Sersi certainly agrees with.
The Avengers offer her a lift back home and she has perhaps the greatest of attitudes about everything that went down.
Sersi: “I hope my friends in the city have kept the party going! If they haven’t... well, we’ll just have to start one of our own!”
That’s the spirit!
But meanwhile, halfway around the world in a secret underground lair, Deathurge pops out of the floor.
Villains are villainous and all but you can’t beat the class of “secret underground lair.” Step up, heroes.
Deathurge struts over to some tubes and goes Everything Has Transpired According to Plan.
Because inside one of the tubes (or maybe all of the tubes??) is a fresh new Maelstrom body!
Deathurge: If all goes as you have planned, you shall soon awaken within this newly prepared body, ready to live again. And, as ever, I will stand by... ready to attend... Until all your lives have been lived!
Well!
No wonder Maelstrom has a dude standing by to pop him. He’s got extra lives!
Anyway, that was the unexpected Eternals three-parter nobody called for. But Avengers is the place to go to tie up loose ends from other books and concepts.
Avengers’ll accommodate you, they have room in their hearts and publishing schedule.
Follow @essential-avengers because there’s more Maelstrom coming! Wait, is that anything people want? There’s also Hercules! I know people like Hercules! He gives the best hugs! Also like and reblog if you like to reblog.
When you get so depressed that you have unhealthy and destructive thoughts that are powerful enough to summon an entity whose sole purpose is to push you to give in to them and tries to kill you because it’s convinced that’s what you want.
And the only way to defeat it is for your will to live to be strong.
That last line from Deathurge comes off as petty and it does comes back to bite Wendell pretty badly.
