"HARD REBOOT"
Issue #72 by Steve Crosby
July 2023
July 2023
There were few times in her life that Monica Rambeau, the super-hero known as Photon, had felt helpless. Certainly it had been a long time before her current situation, her energy form trapped within the ionic matrix that made up Wonder Man. Try as she might, Photon struggled to free herself, or to assert control. She suspected the failure to do either was because of the Scarlet Witch.
It had been nearly two days since the fateful trial of the Vision. Black Panther had sought custody of a storage device Captain America had acquired, which contained the sum-total of Vision’s personality and memories, as recompense for the crimes that Vision had committed against the nation of Wakanda. In the midst of the proceedings, it was discovered that the Eternals from Saturn’s moon Titan possessed Vision’s personality and memories from an earlier point in his life. Black Panther had demanded this as well and, thanks to back-room dealing with the United States government, was poised to receive a judgement in Wakanda’s favor.
The intervention of the Scarlet Witch had changed everything. With the assistance of Wonder Man, the Vision’s ex-wife seized the storage device. Photon hadn’t been aware of this, for she was en route from Titan. The many bytes of information that made up a past iteration of Vision had been transferred into her energy form. No sooner had Photon materialized into the courtroom than Scarlet Witch cast a hex forcing Photon, and in a sense the Vision, into the ionic energy form of Wonder Man.
Everything that happened since, Photon was fully aware of. Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch flew away to a location that Photon was not familiar with, but contained computer systems that Wonder Man had a skilled knowledge of. He set to work at a task that, seeing through his eyes, Photon soon recognized.
“We’ve found it!” Wonder Man exclaimed. “We were right, Wanda. Whatever they may have assured the Avengers of afterwards, the United States government maintained detailed schematics from when they disassembled Vision.”
“In this regard I’m glad for your government’s dishonesty.” Scarlet Witch had been standing behind Wonder Man the entire time, her hand on his shoulder. Every so often her fingers would tap in a specific manner, and Photon would feel the sensation of a hex passing through Wonder Man. “Are you able to access them from here?”
“No. They’re maintained in a system closed off from any network access. We would have to physically be at the terminal. Which as it just so happens, I have the exact location of.”
Scarlet Witch forced a weary smile. “This is the universe balancing out all the misfortune that had befallen us for so long. The next step to restoring Vision is at hand.”
#####
Inside the ionic body of Wonder Man, Photon raged as she helplessly witnessed the violence. Armed guards tried their best, but Wonder Man beat them all down with little effort. From what she could see, Photon didn’t think that any were killed. For the sake of Scarlet Witch, they better not have been.
As the pair of former Avengers made their way through the government installation, Wonder Man fought the tangible aspects of security. It did not appear that Scarlet Witch did anything but weave her hand in meaningless gestures, but Photon suspected that hex bolts prevented alarms from reaching anyone outside the installation.
“This is it,” Wonder Man said after he ripped a secured door from its hinges. “There will be heavy encryptions. Passcodes, maybe even biometric data to match with what’s internally stored.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Scarlet Witch looked around as she cast a hex. “Speaking of, will we need a storage device?”
“Yes. There should be some portable drives in that cabinet.” Wonder Man indicated the general direction as he said down at the terminal. He typed a long sequence and smiled. “Huh. Guessed it on the first try.”
Scarlet Witch produced a portable drive and handed it to Wonder Man. “Here. And while we’re at it, maybe we can draw Photon out of you and separate her information into a drive.”
“If you think you can trap her in this terminal,” Wonder Man said as he navigated the system. “I’ve been aware of her this whole time, fighting against what you’ve done. Wanda, I think she hasn’t succeeded only because I’m not helping.”
Scarlet Witch had her hand on Wonder Man’s shoulder again. “Thank you Simon, and I am sorry. I just…I’m willing to accept the consequences of my actions. But at least you have a plausible defense. Even if Photon can hear everything we’re saying, it’ll be her word against the evidence that I am doing something to you.”
Wonder Man placed a hand over Scarlet Witch’s. “We’ll all have things to answer for when this is over. Even Vision, if we bring him back. Black Panther and Wakanda will demand a reckoning for what he did there, at the very least.
“First we need to bring him back.” There was determination in Scarlet Witch’s voice.
Having found the proper files, Wonder Man connected the portable drive. “Well, step two is complete. Instead of telling me how you plan to actually rebuild Vision, have you considered my question about Photon?”
Scarlet Witch nodded. “Like you, I can feel her fighting. It’s taking me a lot to keep her contained and to keep what she has…intact. If I knew more about what she could do, I could be confident about transferring her into the terminal. Eventually the Avengers or someone would be here to let her out.”
Scarlet Witch looked down at the terminal’s power connection. It was a series of batteries, meant to continuously provide power and drained cells could be swapped out as needed. “For all I know, this couldn’t trap Photon. She may be free as soon as I disentangle her from you. And I can’t risk a proper fight, or her immediately going for help. Not until it’s too late for that to matter.”
The transfer of information completed, Wonder Man disconnected the portable drive. “I can’t say I’m not uncomfortable, but I understand. So, what’s next?”
“We’ll need materials. And no place is better than the source.”
#####
“What are you doing, mother?”
Mantis stood over the terminals of the threat-monitor room of Avengers Mansion. Soon after the calamity with Scarlet Witch, Captain America was called away on an urgent matter and the other Avengers were alerted to a situation in the war-torn nation of San Marco. Mantis had tried to object, but apparently the situation in San Marco had something to do with the nation of Genosha. The Avengers seemed convinced that Scarlet Witch may try to go there, and had even persuaded Starfox to go with them.
Fortunately, the Avengers had agreed to grant Mantis access to the systems in the mansion. Now she was running her own search for where the Scarlet Witch may end up next. As her eyes read across the screens and hands tapped across the keyboards, the Celestial Madonna answered the query of the Celestial Messiah.
“This one is searching for a wounded soul. Scarlet Witch has known great pain, and this one is anguished to have contributed.”
Standing next to the Vietnamese woman whose black hair was styled in such a way that it appeared she had two antennae above her forehead, the young Sequoia did not appear to be related. Their dark skin had the texture of bark, with hair that resembled blades of grass. The features were sharp and angular, with no openings except for deep green eyes that were certainly human.
Images of Scarlet Witch and Vision appeared on one of the monitors. “Before your birth, this one had known only the crudest forms of intimacy with other persons of flesh. In these two there was evidence of more, a deep connection borne from their souls. This one sought to understand, and callously sought this by pursuing the being known as Vision. As a man of metal, how could he have a soul? How could a man such as he love, and be loved in return?”
“A soul is not limited to those with hearts,” Sequoia said inside his mother’s mind.
“It is joyous that you understand so innately what this one has taught,” responded Mantis. “But such knowledge was not always known to this one. It was in understanding the emotion within Vision and the feeling Scarlet Witch share with him that this one was able to join with one such as your father. In seeing the attentions directed to her love, however, Scarlet Witch felt threatened that Vision would reciprocate and thus cast her aside.”
The image on the monitor changed. Vision and Scarlet Witch were embracing, but it was in comfort of each other against an angry mob of people.
“That conflict worked itself out. The two were joined in ceremony, as this one was with your father. In leaving Earth however, we were spared the judgement of it’s primary inhabitants. There are those with such a limited understanding of love, and react so angrily to the idea of others living in a contrary manner.”
“I was a kid when the marriage was announced.” The young super-hero Gravity was standing in the doorway. “So many people in my town, adults I knew and liked, showed a cruelty I’d never seen before. Just all of a sudden they would say these horrible things about people they’d never met. Would likely never meet.”
The burned ruins of a house appeared on the monitor. “For their own reasons, Vision and Scarlet Witch wanted to live in what is considered a contemporary manner. For this they were treated as invaders, a virus to be purged. This one understands it was a catalyst for Vision’s ill-conceived attempt to conquer to the world.”
The massive form of Drax appeared behind Gravity. “I was told that Vision had recently been repaired by ISAAC, the supercomputer of Titan. That may have influenced him, after a fashion.”
“Nevertheless, after Vision was talked down and surrendered himself to the authorities…” Mantis tapped at the controls and a scene of horror flashed onto the screens. Vision disassembled and carefully laid out on tables, a sophisticated machine to be studied. “Those who did this would have carefully documented the process. For Scarlet Witch to fulfill her goal, she would be wise to seek out those records.”
Gravity stepped forward until he was standing beside Sequoia. Oddly, the being who had not been born when the Vision and Scarlet Witch entered into marriage appeared older than the man who said he’d been a kid at the time. “Would the Avengers have access to that?”
“It is doubtful,” Mantis said as she displayed technological skills learned from years of traveling among advanced civilizations. “This one is no master, but if the suspected actions have been taken it should not be necessary.”
An alert sounded, and the details appeared on the screen. “It is sound to assume the Avengers have ways to learn of assaults on government facilities. Particularly if they are hidden from official records.”
“Then let us fly there are fight,” declared Drax the Destroyer.
“We would likely find them already gone,” Sequoia said into the minds around him. Gravity gave a start. “Wouldn’t it be better to move ahead on the path? If Scarlet Witch has the instructions to assemble her husband, she will next require the materials.”
“Would she go to Wakanda?” asked Gravity.
“Vision was not always of Vibranium,” said Mantis, referring to the recent upgrade Vision had made when he betrayed the Avengers. An image of Vision appeared on one of the monitors alongside a humanoid on fire. “For reasons unknown to this one, Ultron sought out and repurposed the inert body of the artificial Human Torch.”
#####
Wonder Man was again flying over Manhattan. Scarlet Witch was in his arms, casting a hex to help them avoid detection. They were approaching a skyscraper with a spired rooftop and a unique symbol on its edifice. Imprisoned within Wonder Man’s ionic energy form, Photon recognized the building as the headquarters of Oracle Incorporated.
From what little Photon could recall, Oracle Inc. had been founded by Namor the Sub-Mariner. It’s primary purpose had been to funnel treasure from salvaged shipwrecks into funds for environmental causes or settling the many lawsuits against Namor. In time the leadership changed and the mission with it. For a time Oracle had funded a team of super-heroes, under the direction of CEO Jim Hammond.
“He should be inside,” Scarlet Witch said as Wonder Man neared one of the rooftop platforms. “I’ll approached him first. Maybe he’ll have enough spare parts so that we don’t have to damage him.”
Wonder Man set Scarlet Witch down. “Wanda, we shouldn’t lie to ourselves. The Human Torch is probably going to die.”
“Just like Vision had certainly died? Their sort can last through a lot. You can help make sure of that.” Scarlet Witch waved a hand, and Wonder Man felt more confident in his skill as an engineer. “We cannot let doubt get in our way Simon.”
Before Wonder Man could give a response, a massive figure of green and purple struck him from above. Though the blow from Drax the Destroyer appeared powerful, Wonder Man barely moved. The reason hovered above Drax, as the young hero Gravity used his abilities to keep Wonder Man in place.
“From what I heard, you’re holding a good person against her will,” Gravity said. Subtle ripples traveled the air between his hands and Wonder Man. “Let’s change that.”
As Wonder Man was assaulted, Scarlet Witch raised her arms to cast a hex. A hand caught one of her wrists, and the left side of her ribs exploded in pain. Mantis threw her former rival to the floor. Scarlet Witch screamed and managed to release a hex from her other hand. Mantis exhaled a gaseous substance that may have been fatal to another person, and planted her foot on Scarlet Witch’s throat.
Around and inside Wonder Man’s body, gravity was increasing and decreasing. Photon could feel it’s effects and struggled to shift with them. Finally, her light form was forced out of Wonder Man, along the lines of shifting gravity. This took Photon straight into the gaseous cloud that was expelled from Mantis.
The explosion did little more than startle Gravity and Drax. However Mantis, with one foot on Scarlet Witch, was knocked off-balance. She fell off the building.
“No!” Gravity moved his attention to Mantis. He shifted his power towards her, as Drax was also flying down to catch her. This meant neither was prepared when Wonder Man flew up. He punched Gravity in the face with just enough force to knock him out. Now Drax would have two fallen bodies to deal with.
“We have to get in.” Scarlet Witch jumped from the platform towards and access door. Photon hovered in place to block her path.
“Please, you have to stand down.” Photon pointed at the bag tied to the side of Scarlet Witch. “Twitch a finger, I can erase one or all of those drives with a thought. Conversations can still happen, but only if you stop to listen.”
Scarlet Witch at her arms raised, but her fingers didn’t budge. “Until he is back there is nothing to talk about. I will not leave Vision helpless.”
Wonder Man was hovering above the two women, watching them out of the corner of his eye. His main attention was on Drax, who had just caught Mantis and was flying to assist Gravity.
Unlike Wonder Man, Photon was capable of absolute sensory include while in energy form. That was how she knew when the access door opened behind her, that it was Sequoia and Jim Hammond.
The Celestial Messiah stepped through the golden Avenger and extended a hand to Scarlet Witch. “Hello, it is nice to meet you.”
In spite of herself, Scarlet Witch felt a profound sense of calm. Cautiously, she lowered her hands. “You look older than I would have expected.”
“All life grows at varied rates. From what I understand, your husband came into being not long before me, yet his wisdom and maturity are well advanced. And it was not from the age of his body. Jim Hammond assures me of that.”
The original Human Torch, flame off, stepped forward to stand beside Photon and Sequoia. “This young person and I have had a pleasant conversation. I’m willing to help, Wanda.”
Tears began to stream down the face of Scarlet Witch. She fell to her knees, reaching for the bag as Photon did nothing. “I’d hoped…it occurred to me that you might not even be enough. I didn’t know what Ultron may have added.”
Wonder Man felt his full control return. Drax emerged with Mantis and Gravity in his arms. Neither made a move toward the other.
“Let’s go inside and find out,” Jim suggested to Scarlet Witch. “Whatever Oracle lacks, I’m sure we can find.”
#####
Hours later, the machines in an Oracle Inc laboratory were hard and work assembling an artificial man. Photon was at Jim Hammond’s side overseeing the fabrication. Gravity was taking in everything with amazement. Mantis and Drax were drinking tea and conversing. Scarlet Witch was lying on a couch, sleeping, while Wonder Man was standing over her and looking at Sequoia.
“Wanda hasn’t slept in several days. Thank you.”
“Do you require anything?” Sequoia asked.
“Earlier, I was telling Wanda that I forgave her, that she didn’t need to control me but I understood why. A part of me did wonder though, at the time, if that had been her speaking through me. Now I know for certain, I fully supported her in all of this. And Vision, I do think of him as a brother. Seeing him again, alive and whole, is what I require.”
Sequoia turned their head to look at the work in progress. “A proper body is not the final step. There will have to be a discussion. One downloaded consciousness is from years ago, before so much of the pain and manipulation in the more recent consciousness. But they are still experiences that should not be discarded. Who among us would be thankful to awaken and find that pieces of our lives had been excised?”
Wonder Man started to protest, but caught himself. He had done so many regrettable acts in his life, up until the final decision he’d made before his first death. To lose any piece of himself, would those be the experiences that had formed the crippling fears, or that enabled him to overcome them?
“I don’t know,” Wonder Man admitted.
Seated a short distance away at a small table, Mantis sipped from a cup of tea. “It is good that this company has such quality supplies for its employees. This tastes close to a brew this one enjoyed back him. Is there much that you remember of home?”
“Before Thanos killed me and Mentor conspired with Kronus to rebuild me?” Drax shook his head. “There are some brief memories of my wife and daughter. I sometimes wonder if they were planted by Moondragon.”
“From the interactions this one has had with her, Moondragon is not the sort for sentimental acts.” Mantis set her tea aside. “It has been too long avoiding Thanos. What do you remember of your encounter with him, and being sent to hunt this one?”
“I sought him out,” Drax said pointedly. “The moment Thanos was free of Shi’ar custody, I knew and I went to confront him. It was a compulsion that did not allow for strategy, a fatal flaw of my design. Thanos altered it when he overcame me, so that I would be hunting you.”
“Yes, Sequoia noticed this and undid what was done. At this moment they suppress what is. To do more would take time.”
“Thanos had a great deal of time. I was utterly helpless against his power. He has only ever grown stronger, while I remain as this unimaginative bullet.”
“The metaphor is lovely,” Mantis says as she takes another sip. “This one suspects that you are capable of so much more than you were designed, so long as you have the time to grow.”
A short time later a chime sounded, and Jim Hammond turned to address those present. “The body is complete.”
Scarlet Witch allowed Wonder Man to help her stand from the couch, and she walked toward the assembled shell that could become her husband. It certainly looked like the Vision, his artificial red skin so still. Nearby, a fabricator had woven his yellow and green costume from unstable molecules.
“He’s not moving. Does anything else need to be done before…?”
Photon gestured to a screen that showed a scrolling readout. “Diagnostics indicate that everything is capable of functioning. They just need a mind to command them. We can operate this body remotely to perform minor tasks, but once Vision is downloaded he’ll be in complete control. While we discuss what to do about that I can have the body dress itself.”
“No. I’ll do that.” Scarlet Witch looked at the cape, with its simple rope tie. “The early backup is from years ago, when Annihilus had taken over the Baxter Building. Vision had walked so confidently into the null field, and just dropped.”
“I was there Wanda. I remember.” Photon moved to touch one of the two drives. “We can use that, and turn the other over to Wakanda. T’Challa made it clear he wanted both, but once this is done I’m sure we can-”
“Or we could leave it to Vision,” Sequoia interrupted. “Download both versions, allow Vision to discuss this with himself.”
“That could be dangerous,” Jim Hammond said. “We could find ourselves with a mad Vision.”
“For too much of his life, Vision has been at the whim of others.” Wonder Man spoke from experience. “He should have his chance. What he decides, we deal with it.”
Scarlet Witch was putting the skullcap over the synthezoid’s head, affixing it around the solar-collector shaped like a diamond.
“Is it possible to only combine the information in the drives?” Gravity asked. “Then maybe somebody can communicate inside. Confirm who exactly Vision is?”
“If the result was not to our desires, it would be too late to do anything but erase him,” Mantis answered.
“It also isn’t possible,” Jim Hammond said. “Vision’s mind is too complex. What is in these drives are non-functional. They’re not even in a state of sleep. Unless one or both are in an adequate processing unit, and right now it’s only this body, nothing would be happening.”
Scarlet Witch had slid all the pieces of green material over the body, leaving only the red hands and feet bare. Before the gloves and boots, she collected the yellow shorts and large belt.
“We could wait and construct another body,” Mantis suggested. “They could then battle physically. This one would prefer Vision’s assistance against himself, but I know he would prefer to battle alone. And with ideas instead of fists.”
Sequoia turned to the original Human Torch, the basis for Vison’s body. “Whatever we may prefer, Mr. Hammond, you are in charge of everything in this room. And as an artificial life form, you have the greatest insight on what may occur.”
The earliest memory Jim Hammond had was looking through glass at a crowd of people. At the time, he did not know that the faint blur of his vision was a rippling of heat caused by the heat of his flaming body. Professor Phineas Horton had just exposed the synthetic to body, and the people had stared in amazement at the Human Torch. But it was when he moved on his own, when a form of intelligence was displayed, they had then recoiled in horror.
The man considered by many a harbinger to marvels stepped past Photon and seized both drives.
“I was told that, somehow, Vision’s original body was made from me. That Ultron destroyed what was inside in order to place his weapon against the Avengers. I don’t know some small piece of me helped Vision to rebel, or if he did it all on his own. At any rate, Vision deserves the chance I would have wanted to have.”
Scarlet Witch had finished fastening the gloves and boots. With the cape secured, she lay the body flat and stepped away. “Then please, restore my husband.”
Jim Hammond connected both drives to the solar jewel on the synthezoid’s forehead. Immediately there was a sound deep within the body, as processes began running.
Drax the Destroyer turned head head to look at one of the drives. His eyes widened, and he looked upwards. “He is coming! We must ready ourselves!”
There was a faint explosion of air rushing away from a suddenly filled space. Thanos the Mad Titan had appeared directly in front of Drax. He raised an arm and slammed a body that he was holding against the Destroyer. At the same time beams of power shot from his eyes at Photon, who flew at him in her light form. The beams reverted her to human form and sent her across the room to lie prone.
“I was dealing with a pest when I felt the stirring of false life on this planet.” The black eyes of Thanos fixed on the still body of Vision. “Ah, a different sort of abomination. Two souls forced into one body. I will deal with this affront, Mistress.”
Thanos raised his other gloved hand. Energy formed. The instant before it could be released, Wonder Man flew forward.
“No!”
The blast of cosmic energy engulfed Wonder Man and continued over the body of Vision. Scarlet Witch and Jim Hammond were hurled away by the explosion of power. When it ceased, fainted wisps of ionic energy were settling over the damaged synthezoid. Torn pieces of costume and skin exposed sparking components. Broken cables were no longer connected to the drives, both of which had been shattered.
Mantis leaped forward. “For that, this one is going to end you!”
#####
Next Issue: With most of the Avengers in Genosha with the X-Men, a small team is left at the mercy of Thanos! With nowhere to run, the Celestial Madonna makes her stand! Don’t miss this senses shattering battle, this final tale before time jumps forward to a new status quo!
WRITERSPOTLIGHT:
Stuart Fairchild: Hello!!! We have Stephen Crosby in the spotlight. I am Stuart Fairchild.
Steve Crosby: Hey there.
Fairchild: I hope you are doing okay. You nervous about this interview? Mwahahaha!
Crosby: Eh, maybe a little. It's been a while.
Fairchild: Then let us start. I will start with the most obvious, what were you thinking when you received the request to relaunch M2K with the others of the fanfic fraternity?
Crosby: Glad to still be thought of, I suppose. I'd kind of dropped off at the same time as a lot of others, and I figured there wasn't much interest in our wacky ideas. I haven't stopped having them, and it's great to have a outlet and knowing folks will want to read.
Fairchild: Most definitely! Curious, did you read or watch anything in that time to keep the mind thinking? Comics or otherwise?
Crosby: Well, when Covid hit a few years ago, there was plenty of time to read and watch things. I reread LoTR, caught up on the Witcher series and checked out those books. A new comic store opened in my town last year so I was getting back into that after a dry spell. Just grabbing a variety to see what was going on. Not all of it was to my liking, but it helped to get my mind thinking on what I'd do with the characters.
Fairchild: Do you look at your titles now and want to change anything due to that? For example, Carol Danvers is still Warbird in your Avengers.
Crosby: Not exactly. The "official" Carol Danvers has gone on a journey that to reach the point of calling herself Captain Marvel, that hasn't come close to occurring in M2K. The various fanfic groups have break-off points, and with some characters the longer it goes the further apart they seem.
Looking through the site, a lot of my ideas so far are still in regards to how characters have been used in M2K. There are still some threads from the Thunderbolts series I helped wrap that I'd like to explore, for instance.
Fairchild: I hope we get to see that.
So on M2K, you took over for Chris Munn in 2007 on Avengers - obviously you have been writing a long, long, long time. Did you have backlog issues that were not published yet or did you find new inspiration for the series by rereading your Avengers?
Crosby: There was no backlog of completed stories. I had notes of course, half-completed ideas and a loose plan to get to issue 100. Some of those I may explore in one-shot stories or maybe in another title I pitch. The only real backlog I had was for the Avengers vs X-Men story I had started with Cory Weigel.
Right now, it's a madcap rush to wrap up what I can before this time jump. After that, some of these untold stories can be alluded to perhaps.
Fairchild: I have to bring up Captain America. The site recently released your Captain America issue 22 - I found it to be awesome with some abstract and metaphysical themes happening in it. Do you have a process for writing both so you do not repeat themes, since Cap is also on Avengers? How do you separate your Captain America ideas with that of the Avengers ideas for such a long time?
Crosby: I tried very hard to not make Captain America the main character on Avengers, to keep it an ensemble with him rarely front and center. And of course I didn't want the battles in his own title to reach the point where of course he'd call the team in, and made sure they were somewhat personal so he'd only call specific people if necessary.
The arc with Vision returning is a good example. I wanted to do that with a limited number of characters, focus on developing Vision and and how he could possibly be brought back. Because the original Human Torch is so tied up in his history, it made sense to use Captain American and Namor through the old Invaders connection.
Fairchild: Most definitely.
Crosby: But of course once that reached a certain point, it made sense to shift it in the Avengers title because Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and others would have to become involved.
Looking back at those stories, I'm very proud of how I put that together while still honoring what Will Short did. I cannot wait to see it through the end and what others think.
Fairchild: I will say I have enjoyed your work over the years.
Crosby: Thank you.
Fairchild: I think its quite obvious, but are the Avengers your favorite title?
Crosby: I absolutely love the Avengers. Over the years I went back through stories from before my time, and revisited old favorites. Finally got around to reading the bulk of Steve Englehart’s run. The Celestial Madonna Saga.
Fairchild: I have two more questions before I wrap this talk up then, from one Avenger fan to another, what do you think is Hank Pym's most iconic identity? He is my favorite Avenger.
Crosby: Honestly I prefer Yellowjacket over the other identities. It's the most versatile, and his attempt at being a heroic figure with those deep insecurities work best with that persona.
Fairchild: Exactly!!!
Crosby: When I think Ant-Man I think Scott, Goliath I associate more with the villain. But Yellowjacket is very much the final form of what Hank wanted to be.
Fairchild: Spoken like a true Avenger fan. Lastly, do you have any goals with your titles or characters within them that you are willing to share for time skip?
Crosby: Before the time skip I plan to set Captain America on a path that should be well advance when we come back in. He just went on this journey to see what the United States is, and he's about to make a decision on how he can best serve his country.
It's not Cap For President. Steve Rogers doesn't have the ego for that but he's certainly realizes that he can't just shut up and sling that shield.
Fairchild: Stephen Crosby, thank you so much for the opportunity to get into your mind. I feel like DJ Vlad. It has been a pleasure and look forward to your work.
Crosby: Thank you for this opportunity. I hope not to disappoint, and also I can't wait to see what you have going.
It had been nearly two days since the fateful trial of the Vision. Black Panther had sought custody of a storage device Captain America had acquired, which contained the sum-total of Vision’s personality and memories, as recompense for the crimes that Vision had committed against the nation of Wakanda. In the midst of the proceedings, it was discovered that the Eternals from Saturn’s moon Titan possessed Vision’s personality and memories from an earlier point in his life. Black Panther had demanded this as well and, thanks to back-room dealing with the United States government, was poised to receive a judgement in Wakanda’s favor.
The intervention of the Scarlet Witch had changed everything. With the assistance of Wonder Man, the Vision’s ex-wife seized the storage device. Photon hadn’t been aware of this, for she was en route from Titan. The many bytes of information that made up a past iteration of Vision had been transferred into her energy form. No sooner had Photon materialized into the courtroom than Scarlet Witch cast a hex forcing Photon, and in a sense the Vision, into the ionic energy form of Wonder Man.
Everything that happened since, Photon was fully aware of. Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch flew away to a location that Photon was not familiar with, but contained computer systems that Wonder Man had a skilled knowledge of. He set to work at a task that, seeing through his eyes, Photon soon recognized.
“We’ve found it!” Wonder Man exclaimed. “We were right, Wanda. Whatever they may have assured the Avengers of afterwards, the United States government maintained detailed schematics from when they disassembled Vision.”
“In this regard I’m glad for your government’s dishonesty.” Scarlet Witch had been standing behind Wonder Man the entire time, her hand on his shoulder. Every so often her fingers would tap in a specific manner, and Photon would feel the sensation of a hex passing through Wonder Man. “Are you able to access them from here?”
“No. They’re maintained in a system closed off from any network access. We would have to physically be at the terminal. Which as it just so happens, I have the exact location of.”
Scarlet Witch forced a weary smile. “This is the universe balancing out all the misfortune that had befallen us for so long. The next step to restoring Vision is at hand.”
#####
Inside the ionic body of Wonder Man, Photon raged as she helplessly witnessed the violence. Armed guards tried their best, but Wonder Man beat them all down with little effort. From what she could see, Photon didn’t think that any were killed. For the sake of Scarlet Witch, they better not have been.
As the pair of former Avengers made their way through the government installation, Wonder Man fought the tangible aspects of security. It did not appear that Scarlet Witch did anything but weave her hand in meaningless gestures, but Photon suspected that hex bolts prevented alarms from reaching anyone outside the installation.
“This is it,” Wonder Man said after he ripped a secured door from its hinges. “There will be heavy encryptions. Passcodes, maybe even biometric data to match with what’s internally stored.”
“I’ll do what I can.” Scarlet Witch looked around as she cast a hex. “Speaking of, will we need a storage device?”
“Yes. There should be some portable drives in that cabinet.” Wonder Man indicated the general direction as he said down at the terminal. He typed a long sequence and smiled. “Huh. Guessed it on the first try.”
Scarlet Witch produced a portable drive and handed it to Wonder Man. “Here. And while we’re at it, maybe we can draw Photon out of you and separate her information into a drive.”
“If you think you can trap her in this terminal,” Wonder Man said as he navigated the system. “I’ve been aware of her this whole time, fighting against what you’ve done. Wanda, I think she hasn’t succeeded only because I’m not helping.”
Scarlet Witch had her hand on Wonder Man’s shoulder again. “Thank you Simon, and I am sorry. I just…I’m willing to accept the consequences of my actions. But at least you have a plausible defense. Even if Photon can hear everything we’re saying, it’ll be her word against the evidence that I am doing something to you.”
Wonder Man placed a hand over Scarlet Witch’s. “We’ll all have things to answer for when this is over. Even Vision, if we bring him back. Black Panther and Wakanda will demand a reckoning for what he did there, at the very least.
“First we need to bring him back.” There was determination in Scarlet Witch’s voice.
Having found the proper files, Wonder Man connected the portable drive. “Well, step two is complete. Instead of telling me how you plan to actually rebuild Vision, have you considered my question about Photon?”
Scarlet Witch nodded. “Like you, I can feel her fighting. It’s taking me a lot to keep her contained and to keep what she has…intact. If I knew more about what she could do, I could be confident about transferring her into the terminal. Eventually the Avengers or someone would be here to let her out.”
Scarlet Witch looked down at the terminal’s power connection. It was a series of batteries, meant to continuously provide power and drained cells could be swapped out as needed. “For all I know, this couldn’t trap Photon. She may be free as soon as I disentangle her from you. And I can’t risk a proper fight, or her immediately going for help. Not until it’s too late for that to matter.”
The transfer of information completed, Wonder Man disconnected the portable drive. “I can’t say I’m not uncomfortable, but I understand. So, what’s next?”
“We’ll need materials. And no place is better than the source.”
#####
“What are you doing, mother?”
Mantis stood over the terminals of the threat-monitor room of Avengers Mansion. Soon after the calamity with Scarlet Witch, Captain America was called away on an urgent matter and the other Avengers were alerted to a situation in the war-torn nation of San Marco. Mantis had tried to object, but apparently the situation in San Marco had something to do with the nation of Genosha. The Avengers seemed convinced that Scarlet Witch may try to go there, and had even persuaded Starfox to go with them.
Fortunately, the Avengers had agreed to grant Mantis access to the systems in the mansion. Now she was running her own search for where the Scarlet Witch may end up next. As her eyes read across the screens and hands tapped across the keyboards, the Celestial Madonna answered the query of the Celestial Messiah.
“This one is searching for a wounded soul. Scarlet Witch has known great pain, and this one is anguished to have contributed.”
Standing next to the Vietnamese woman whose black hair was styled in such a way that it appeared she had two antennae above her forehead, the young Sequoia did not appear to be related. Their dark skin had the texture of bark, with hair that resembled blades of grass. The features were sharp and angular, with no openings except for deep green eyes that were certainly human.
Images of Scarlet Witch and Vision appeared on one of the monitors. “Before your birth, this one had known only the crudest forms of intimacy with other persons of flesh. In these two there was evidence of more, a deep connection borne from their souls. This one sought to understand, and callously sought this by pursuing the being known as Vision. As a man of metal, how could he have a soul? How could a man such as he love, and be loved in return?”
“A soul is not limited to those with hearts,” Sequoia said inside his mother’s mind.
“It is joyous that you understand so innately what this one has taught,” responded Mantis. “But such knowledge was not always known to this one. It was in understanding the emotion within Vision and the feeling Scarlet Witch share with him that this one was able to join with one such as your father. In seeing the attentions directed to her love, however, Scarlet Witch felt threatened that Vision would reciprocate and thus cast her aside.”
The image on the monitor changed. Vision and Scarlet Witch were embracing, but it was in comfort of each other against an angry mob of people.
“That conflict worked itself out. The two were joined in ceremony, as this one was with your father. In leaving Earth however, we were spared the judgement of it’s primary inhabitants. There are those with such a limited understanding of love, and react so angrily to the idea of others living in a contrary manner.”
“I was a kid when the marriage was announced.” The young super-hero Gravity was standing in the doorway. “So many people in my town, adults I knew and liked, showed a cruelty I’d never seen before. Just all of a sudden they would say these horrible things about people they’d never met. Would likely never meet.”
The burned ruins of a house appeared on the monitor. “For their own reasons, Vision and Scarlet Witch wanted to live in what is considered a contemporary manner. For this they were treated as invaders, a virus to be purged. This one understands it was a catalyst for Vision’s ill-conceived attempt to conquer to the world.”
The massive form of Drax appeared behind Gravity. “I was told that Vision had recently been repaired by ISAAC, the supercomputer of Titan. That may have influenced him, after a fashion.”
“Nevertheless, after Vision was talked down and surrendered himself to the authorities…” Mantis tapped at the controls and a scene of horror flashed onto the screens. Vision disassembled and carefully laid out on tables, a sophisticated machine to be studied. “Those who did this would have carefully documented the process. For Scarlet Witch to fulfill her goal, she would be wise to seek out those records.”
Gravity stepped forward until he was standing beside Sequoia. Oddly, the being who had not been born when the Vision and Scarlet Witch entered into marriage appeared older than the man who said he’d been a kid at the time. “Would the Avengers have access to that?”
“It is doubtful,” Mantis said as she displayed technological skills learned from years of traveling among advanced civilizations. “This one is no master, but if the suspected actions have been taken it should not be necessary.”
An alert sounded, and the details appeared on the screen. “It is sound to assume the Avengers have ways to learn of assaults on government facilities. Particularly if they are hidden from official records.”
“Then let us fly there are fight,” declared Drax the Destroyer.
“We would likely find them already gone,” Sequoia said into the minds around him. Gravity gave a start. “Wouldn’t it be better to move ahead on the path? If Scarlet Witch has the instructions to assemble her husband, she will next require the materials.”
“Would she go to Wakanda?” asked Gravity.
“Vision was not always of Vibranium,” said Mantis, referring to the recent upgrade Vision had made when he betrayed the Avengers. An image of Vision appeared on one of the monitors alongside a humanoid on fire. “For reasons unknown to this one, Ultron sought out and repurposed the inert body of the artificial Human Torch.”
#####
Wonder Man was again flying over Manhattan. Scarlet Witch was in his arms, casting a hex to help them avoid detection. They were approaching a skyscraper with a spired rooftop and a unique symbol on its edifice. Imprisoned within Wonder Man’s ionic energy form, Photon recognized the building as the headquarters of Oracle Incorporated.
From what little Photon could recall, Oracle Inc. had been founded by Namor the Sub-Mariner. It’s primary purpose had been to funnel treasure from salvaged shipwrecks into funds for environmental causes or settling the many lawsuits against Namor. In time the leadership changed and the mission with it. For a time Oracle had funded a team of super-heroes, under the direction of CEO Jim Hammond.
“He should be inside,” Scarlet Witch said as Wonder Man neared one of the rooftop platforms. “I’ll approached him first. Maybe he’ll have enough spare parts so that we don’t have to damage him.”
Wonder Man set Scarlet Witch down. “Wanda, we shouldn’t lie to ourselves. The Human Torch is probably going to die.”
“Just like Vision had certainly died? Their sort can last through a lot. You can help make sure of that.” Scarlet Witch waved a hand, and Wonder Man felt more confident in his skill as an engineer. “We cannot let doubt get in our way Simon.”
Before Wonder Man could give a response, a massive figure of green and purple struck him from above. Though the blow from Drax the Destroyer appeared powerful, Wonder Man barely moved. The reason hovered above Drax, as the young hero Gravity used his abilities to keep Wonder Man in place.
“From what I heard, you’re holding a good person against her will,” Gravity said. Subtle ripples traveled the air between his hands and Wonder Man. “Let’s change that.”
As Wonder Man was assaulted, Scarlet Witch raised her arms to cast a hex. A hand caught one of her wrists, and the left side of her ribs exploded in pain. Mantis threw her former rival to the floor. Scarlet Witch screamed and managed to release a hex from her other hand. Mantis exhaled a gaseous substance that may have been fatal to another person, and planted her foot on Scarlet Witch’s throat.
Around and inside Wonder Man’s body, gravity was increasing and decreasing. Photon could feel it’s effects and struggled to shift with them. Finally, her light form was forced out of Wonder Man, along the lines of shifting gravity. This took Photon straight into the gaseous cloud that was expelled from Mantis.
The explosion did little more than startle Gravity and Drax. However Mantis, with one foot on Scarlet Witch, was knocked off-balance. She fell off the building.
“No!” Gravity moved his attention to Mantis. He shifted his power towards her, as Drax was also flying down to catch her. This meant neither was prepared when Wonder Man flew up. He punched Gravity in the face with just enough force to knock him out. Now Drax would have two fallen bodies to deal with.
“We have to get in.” Scarlet Witch jumped from the platform towards and access door. Photon hovered in place to block her path.
“Please, you have to stand down.” Photon pointed at the bag tied to the side of Scarlet Witch. “Twitch a finger, I can erase one or all of those drives with a thought. Conversations can still happen, but only if you stop to listen.”
Scarlet Witch at her arms raised, but her fingers didn’t budge. “Until he is back there is nothing to talk about. I will not leave Vision helpless.”
Wonder Man was hovering above the two women, watching them out of the corner of his eye. His main attention was on Drax, who had just caught Mantis and was flying to assist Gravity.
Unlike Wonder Man, Photon was capable of absolute sensory include while in energy form. That was how she knew when the access door opened behind her, that it was Sequoia and Jim Hammond.
The Celestial Messiah stepped through the golden Avenger and extended a hand to Scarlet Witch. “Hello, it is nice to meet you.”
In spite of herself, Scarlet Witch felt a profound sense of calm. Cautiously, she lowered her hands. “You look older than I would have expected.”
“All life grows at varied rates. From what I understand, your husband came into being not long before me, yet his wisdom and maturity are well advanced. And it was not from the age of his body. Jim Hammond assures me of that.”
The original Human Torch, flame off, stepped forward to stand beside Photon and Sequoia. “This young person and I have had a pleasant conversation. I’m willing to help, Wanda.”
Tears began to stream down the face of Scarlet Witch. She fell to her knees, reaching for the bag as Photon did nothing. “I’d hoped…it occurred to me that you might not even be enough. I didn’t know what Ultron may have added.”
Wonder Man felt his full control return. Drax emerged with Mantis and Gravity in his arms. Neither made a move toward the other.
“Let’s go inside and find out,” Jim suggested to Scarlet Witch. “Whatever Oracle lacks, I’m sure we can find.”
#####
Hours later, the machines in an Oracle Inc laboratory were hard and work assembling an artificial man. Photon was at Jim Hammond’s side overseeing the fabrication. Gravity was taking in everything with amazement. Mantis and Drax were drinking tea and conversing. Scarlet Witch was lying on a couch, sleeping, while Wonder Man was standing over her and looking at Sequoia.
“Wanda hasn’t slept in several days. Thank you.”
“Do you require anything?” Sequoia asked.
“Earlier, I was telling Wanda that I forgave her, that she didn’t need to control me but I understood why. A part of me did wonder though, at the time, if that had been her speaking through me. Now I know for certain, I fully supported her in all of this. And Vision, I do think of him as a brother. Seeing him again, alive and whole, is what I require.”
Sequoia turned their head to look at the work in progress. “A proper body is not the final step. There will have to be a discussion. One downloaded consciousness is from years ago, before so much of the pain and manipulation in the more recent consciousness. But they are still experiences that should not be discarded. Who among us would be thankful to awaken and find that pieces of our lives had been excised?”
Wonder Man started to protest, but caught himself. He had done so many regrettable acts in his life, up until the final decision he’d made before his first death. To lose any piece of himself, would those be the experiences that had formed the crippling fears, or that enabled him to overcome them?
“I don’t know,” Wonder Man admitted.
Seated a short distance away at a small table, Mantis sipped from a cup of tea. “It is good that this company has such quality supplies for its employees. This tastes close to a brew this one enjoyed back him. Is there much that you remember of home?”
“Before Thanos killed me and Mentor conspired with Kronus to rebuild me?” Drax shook his head. “There are some brief memories of my wife and daughter. I sometimes wonder if they were planted by Moondragon.”
“From the interactions this one has had with her, Moondragon is not the sort for sentimental acts.” Mantis set her tea aside. “It has been too long avoiding Thanos. What do you remember of your encounter with him, and being sent to hunt this one?”
“I sought him out,” Drax said pointedly. “The moment Thanos was free of Shi’ar custody, I knew and I went to confront him. It was a compulsion that did not allow for strategy, a fatal flaw of my design. Thanos altered it when he overcame me, so that I would be hunting you.”
“Yes, Sequoia noticed this and undid what was done. At this moment they suppress what is. To do more would take time.”
“Thanos had a great deal of time. I was utterly helpless against his power. He has only ever grown stronger, while I remain as this unimaginative bullet.”
“The metaphor is lovely,” Mantis says as she takes another sip. “This one suspects that you are capable of so much more than you were designed, so long as you have the time to grow.”
A short time later a chime sounded, and Jim Hammond turned to address those present. “The body is complete.”
Scarlet Witch allowed Wonder Man to help her stand from the couch, and she walked toward the assembled shell that could become her husband. It certainly looked like the Vision, his artificial red skin so still. Nearby, a fabricator had woven his yellow and green costume from unstable molecules.
“He’s not moving. Does anything else need to be done before…?”
Photon gestured to a screen that showed a scrolling readout. “Diagnostics indicate that everything is capable of functioning. They just need a mind to command them. We can operate this body remotely to perform minor tasks, but once Vision is downloaded he’ll be in complete control. While we discuss what to do about that I can have the body dress itself.”
“No. I’ll do that.” Scarlet Witch looked at the cape, with its simple rope tie. “The early backup is from years ago, when Annihilus had taken over the Baxter Building. Vision had walked so confidently into the null field, and just dropped.”
“I was there Wanda. I remember.” Photon moved to touch one of the two drives. “We can use that, and turn the other over to Wakanda. T’Challa made it clear he wanted both, but once this is done I’m sure we can-”
“Or we could leave it to Vision,” Sequoia interrupted. “Download both versions, allow Vision to discuss this with himself.”
“That could be dangerous,” Jim Hammond said. “We could find ourselves with a mad Vision.”
“For too much of his life, Vision has been at the whim of others.” Wonder Man spoke from experience. “He should have his chance. What he decides, we deal with it.”
Scarlet Witch was putting the skullcap over the synthezoid’s head, affixing it around the solar-collector shaped like a diamond.
“Is it possible to only combine the information in the drives?” Gravity asked. “Then maybe somebody can communicate inside. Confirm who exactly Vision is?”
“If the result was not to our desires, it would be too late to do anything but erase him,” Mantis answered.
“It also isn’t possible,” Jim Hammond said. “Vision’s mind is too complex. What is in these drives are non-functional. They’re not even in a state of sleep. Unless one or both are in an adequate processing unit, and right now it’s only this body, nothing would be happening.”
Scarlet Witch had slid all the pieces of green material over the body, leaving only the red hands and feet bare. Before the gloves and boots, she collected the yellow shorts and large belt.
“We could wait and construct another body,” Mantis suggested. “They could then battle physically. This one would prefer Vision’s assistance against himself, but I know he would prefer to battle alone. And with ideas instead of fists.”
Sequoia turned to the original Human Torch, the basis for Vison’s body. “Whatever we may prefer, Mr. Hammond, you are in charge of everything in this room. And as an artificial life form, you have the greatest insight on what may occur.”
The earliest memory Jim Hammond had was looking through glass at a crowd of people. At the time, he did not know that the faint blur of his vision was a rippling of heat caused by the heat of his flaming body. Professor Phineas Horton had just exposed the synthetic to body, and the people had stared in amazement at the Human Torch. But it was when he moved on his own, when a form of intelligence was displayed, they had then recoiled in horror.
The man considered by many a harbinger to marvels stepped past Photon and seized both drives.
“I was told that, somehow, Vision’s original body was made from me. That Ultron destroyed what was inside in order to place his weapon against the Avengers. I don’t know some small piece of me helped Vision to rebel, or if he did it all on his own. At any rate, Vision deserves the chance I would have wanted to have.”
Scarlet Witch had finished fastening the gloves and boots. With the cape secured, she lay the body flat and stepped away. “Then please, restore my husband.”
Jim Hammond connected both drives to the solar jewel on the synthezoid’s forehead. Immediately there was a sound deep within the body, as processes began running.
Drax the Destroyer turned head head to look at one of the drives. His eyes widened, and he looked upwards. “He is coming! We must ready ourselves!”
There was a faint explosion of air rushing away from a suddenly filled space. Thanos the Mad Titan had appeared directly in front of Drax. He raised an arm and slammed a body that he was holding against the Destroyer. At the same time beams of power shot from his eyes at Photon, who flew at him in her light form. The beams reverted her to human form and sent her across the room to lie prone.
“I was dealing with a pest when I felt the stirring of false life on this planet.” The black eyes of Thanos fixed on the still body of Vision. “Ah, a different sort of abomination. Two souls forced into one body. I will deal with this affront, Mistress.”
Thanos raised his other gloved hand. Energy formed. The instant before it could be released, Wonder Man flew forward.
“No!”
The blast of cosmic energy engulfed Wonder Man and continued over the body of Vision. Scarlet Witch and Jim Hammond were hurled away by the explosion of power. When it ceased, fainted wisps of ionic energy were settling over the damaged synthezoid. Torn pieces of costume and skin exposed sparking components. Broken cables were no longer connected to the drives, both of which had been shattered.
Mantis leaped forward. “For that, this one is going to end you!”
#####
Next Issue: With most of the Avengers in Genosha with the X-Men, a small team is left at the mercy of Thanos! With nowhere to run, the Celestial Madonna makes her stand! Don’t miss this senses shattering battle, this final tale before time jumps forward to a new status quo!
WRITERSPOTLIGHT:
Stuart Fairchild: Hello!!! We have Stephen Crosby in the spotlight. I am Stuart Fairchild.
Steve Crosby: Hey there.
Fairchild: I hope you are doing okay. You nervous about this interview? Mwahahaha!
Crosby: Eh, maybe a little. It's been a while.
Fairchild: Then let us start. I will start with the most obvious, what were you thinking when you received the request to relaunch M2K with the others of the fanfic fraternity?
Crosby: Glad to still be thought of, I suppose. I'd kind of dropped off at the same time as a lot of others, and I figured there wasn't much interest in our wacky ideas. I haven't stopped having them, and it's great to have a outlet and knowing folks will want to read.
Fairchild: Most definitely! Curious, did you read or watch anything in that time to keep the mind thinking? Comics or otherwise?
Crosby: Well, when Covid hit a few years ago, there was plenty of time to read and watch things. I reread LoTR, caught up on the Witcher series and checked out those books. A new comic store opened in my town last year so I was getting back into that after a dry spell. Just grabbing a variety to see what was going on. Not all of it was to my liking, but it helped to get my mind thinking on what I'd do with the characters.
Fairchild: Do you look at your titles now and want to change anything due to that? For example, Carol Danvers is still Warbird in your Avengers.
Crosby: Not exactly. The "official" Carol Danvers has gone on a journey that to reach the point of calling herself Captain Marvel, that hasn't come close to occurring in M2K. The various fanfic groups have break-off points, and with some characters the longer it goes the further apart they seem.
Looking through the site, a lot of my ideas so far are still in regards to how characters have been used in M2K. There are still some threads from the Thunderbolts series I helped wrap that I'd like to explore, for instance.
Fairchild: I hope we get to see that.
So on M2K, you took over for Chris Munn in 2007 on Avengers - obviously you have been writing a long, long, long time. Did you have backlog issues that were not published yet or did you find new inspiration for the series by rereading your Avengers?
Crosby: There was no backlog of completed stories. I had notes of course, half-completed ideas and a loose plan to get to issue 100. Some of those I may explore in one-shot stories or maybe in another title I pitch. The only real backlog I had was for the Avengers vs X-Men story I had started with Cory Weigel.
Right now, it's a madcap rush to wrap up what I can before this time jump. After that, some of these untold stories can be alluded to perhaps.
Fairchild: I have to bring up Captain America. The site recently released your Captain America issue 22 - I found it to be awesome with some abstract and metaphysical themes happening in it. Do you have a process for writing both so you do not repeat themes, since Cap is also on Avengers? How do you separate your Captain America ideas with that of the Avengers ideas for such a long time?
Crosby: I tried very hard to not make Captain America the main character on Avengers, to keep it an ensemble with him rarely front and center. And of course I didn't want the battles in his own title to reach the point where of course he'd call the team in, and made sure they were somewhat personal so he'd only call specific people if necessary.
The arc with Vision returning is a good example. I wanted to do that with a limited number of characters, focus on developing Vision and and how he could possibly be brought back. Because the original Human Torch is so tied up in his history, it made sense to use Captain American and Namor through the old Invaders connection.
Fairchild: Most definitely.
Crosby: But of course once that reached a certain point, it made sense to shift it in the Avengers title because Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and others would have to become involved.
Looking back at those stories, I'm very proud of how I put that together while still honoring what Will Short did. I cannot wait to see it through the end and what others think.
Fairchild: I will say I have enjoyed your work over the years.
Crosby: Thank you.
Fairchild: I think its quite obvious, but are the Avengers your favorite title?
Crosby: I absolutely love the Avengers. Over the years I went back through stories from before my time, and revisited old favorites. Finally got around to reading the bulk of Steve Englehart’s run. The Celestial Madonna Saga.
Fairchild: I have two more questions before I wrap this talk up then, from one Avenger fan to another, what do you think is Hank Pym's most iconic identity? He is my favorite Avenger.
Crosby: Honestly I prefer Yellowjacket over the other identities. It's the most versatile, and his attempt at being a heroic figure with those deep insecurities work best with that persona.
Fairchild: Exactly!!!
Crosby: When I think Ant-Man I think Scott, Goliath I associate more with the villain. But Yellowjacket is very much the final form of what Hank wanted to be.
Fairchild: Spoken like a true Avenger fan. Lastly, do you have any goals with your titles or characters within them that you are willing to share for time skip?
Crosby: Before the time skip I plan to set Captain America on a path that should be well advance when we come back in. He just went on this journey to see what the United States is, and he's about to make a decision on how he can best serve his country.
It's not Cap For President. Steve Rogers doesn't have the ego for that but he's certainly realizes that he can't just shut up and sling that shield.
Fairchild: Stephen Crosby, thank you so much for the opportunity to get into your mind. I feel like DJ Vlad. It has been a pleasure and look forward to your work.
Crosby: Thank you for this opportunity. I hope not to disappoint, and also I can't wait to see what you have going.