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By Kiel Phegley
WARNING: Major spoilers for MIGHTY AVENGERS #23 ahead!
With the shocking unveiling at the end of MIGHTY AVENGERS #23, writer Dan Slott may soon be known as the trickster of the Marvel Universe.
The end of Slott and artist Khoi Pham's opening arc on the title revealed that the Scarlet Witch responsible for bringing these new Avengers together actually answers to another name: Loki. The goddess known for her lying ways and connection to the original Avengers keeps her crown of lies intact, but what does that mean for the series going forward?
"Loki makes this team even 'Avengery-er,'" laughs Slott. "Once again, Loki has put together the Mighty Avengers, but this time she's going to keep a tighter lock on them. And whether they know it or not, they'll be doing things that she wants. Everyone has been saying 'This is Hank Pym's Avengers,' but this is Loki's Avengers."
Complicating matters further comes the fact that Loki currently sits on Norman Osborn's sinister Cabal, the group calling the shots on the biggest players in the Marvel Universe, and two power-hungry leaders on one shadowy cabinet can't be good for Osborn's long-term stability.
"The thing you have to realize about the Marvel Universe for all its power structures is that there's a big, mythical city floating over Oklahoma. Asgard and all of its gods are big power players," Slott reminds. "If you're Norman, and you're trying to control everything, what do you do if there's this
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big city and these gods hanging around? You've got to have some kind of link, an inside man, or in this case, woman. So Loki is a big piece of Norman's plan, and that's probably not the smartest move in the world.
"Loki pretending to be the Scarlet Witch is a very good hiding place. There's so much drama around the Scarlet Witch—who's going to see through that disguise? People didn't see it coming. And that's exactly what Loki wants."
When April 15's MIGHTY AVENGERS #24 hits stands, the focus will be on former Avenger and Scarlet Witch's brother Quicksilver.
"At the end of #23, he's offered a spot on Pym's team, and he says, 'Nah, I don't want to hang around with you. I'm trying to repair my reputation, and you guys are losers,'" Slott recaps. "'My hands are full because I'm trying to locate my sister,' says Quicksilver, and right then she shows up and goes, 'Avengers away!' From Pietro's point of view, now it's, 'I better get on that team!'"
If Quicksilver does achieve Avengers membership once more it may end up a wrench in Loki's plans.
"She's trying to put together the archetypes, and when she can't get the ones she wants, she always goes for the next best thing," Slott notes. "She tries to get the current Captain America, [but] she settles for USAgent. She gets the Hulk. She tries to get Iron Man and can't. But she ends up not even trying to get Hank or Hercules, they just show up."
Now that Pym—carrying the name of the Wasp for the foreseeable future—stands as the public leader of the team, the Mighty Avengers will be dividing their time between
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Loki's secret missions and clashes with the rest of the super hero community, who don't trust the former Giant-Man as much as the public does.
"You're going to get a lot of major power players in the Marvel Universe not too happy that Hank's leading the team," says Slott. "We're going to see how Reed Richards will react to that [in #24 and on]. Hank gets a real redemptive moment at the end of #23 where he saves a world that is literally plunged into chaos and after everybody in the world didn't believe in him. That's pretty cool. But at the same time, Hank while controlling the device that let him talk to everyone in the world, told them all to screw themselves. Other super heroes may frown on that."
Check out the next chapter in the MIGHTY AVENGERS saga with issue #24, available on April 15. For more Hank Pym, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited!
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Well, scratch those presumptions... Doom hardly even batted an eye at being the Sorcerer Supreme when it all boiled down, so no real friction there with him and Hood. I'm doubting more and more that Namor will have anything to say to Doom about his treatment of Black Panther, and with Sakaar gone, there's less hope of seeing Red Hulk banished to it after all. It's always interesting to look ...
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Well, scratch those presumptions... Doom hardly even batted an eye at being the Sorcerer Supreme when it all boiled down, so no real friction there with him and Hood. I'm doubting more and more that Namor will have anything to say to Doom about his treatment of Black Panther, and with Sakaar gone, there's less hope of seeing Red Hulk banished to it after all. It's always interesting to look back on voiced assumptions about what Marvel would, could or should do with their characters. I wonder how much longer they'll keep the real Scarlet Witch off the boards, although I am cool with the fall out when/if Loki gets officially revealed. Here's hoping he doesn't wreck every single possible point of improvement Pym could benefit from having done to his image.
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:ab2d525278="GundamAce"]ok one i thought doom's face was ugly but he looks normal in the pictures and two why tell us about loki so early in the story?[/quote:ab2d525278]Doom's face still looks like it is behind its metal mask, so you are not seeing his actual face even though the artwork/coloring isn't as clear at ... (and maybe it can be capped off with the Red Hulk being banished to Sakaar)
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:ab2d525278="GundamAce"]ok one i thought doom's face was ugly but he looks normal in the pictures and two why tell us about loki so early in the story?[/quote:ab2d525278]Doom's face still looks like it is behind its metal mask, so you are not seeing his actual face even though the artwork/coloring isn't as clear at this size (and if you are looking at another panel, that's Norman Osborne with the Iron Patriot armor helmet panel off)....and...The Loki/Scarlet Witch reveal played out over a few issues in Mighty Avengers already, so telling us here on Marvel.com still just reporting after the fact (as opposed to spilling some big secret before it plays out in the books). If you are following the book and meant why it was revealed so soon i.e. in only 3 or so issues, as opposed to stretching things out for even more impact, then there are these things to consider:1. Loki is key to the original formation of the Avengers, way back when, even though it is repeated often, it may mean less to younger/newer readers2. The impact and implication of Scarlet Witch being anywhere near the Avengers is already immense, so it's served its purpose as a plot device already, with the added bonus that one of the most deceptive villains in comicdom is really pulling this team's strings - doubles or triples the drama3. Four points of interest play off, right off the bat to interest readers (and maybe draw others in); the Quicksilver/SW dynamic as siblings, the Avengers/SW dynamic after M-day and the deaths she caused, the Loki/Avengers dynamic with all the implications Loki being on the Cabal brings as he/she manipulates the Avengers - something that possibly flies in the face of what Norman is already doing by forming the Dark Avengers, and the Loki/SW reveal - the time and intensity of the crushing blow that will be dealt to people when they deal with knowing they've been following a villain's directive and not one of their own, already made tenuous by the fact SW is already a sore point among Avengers for various reasons. The most to 'suffer' from it so far are Quicksilver for not getting his sister back after all, Cassie being involved with who she thinks is the person that caused her father's death, Vision possibly since his previous persona was both involved with and destroyed by SW, and Pym for wanting/needing to be proven a great leader after being seen as the failure for so long, thinking he is finally being that and YET AGAIN being punked because he rallied behind a team brought together by Loki, for reasons that have been said here will suit Loki's goals secretly.I'm watching the clever build up as each Cabal member makes a play against the others across Marvel titles. Emma and Namor already have a potential point of contention with Sebastian Shaw, Doom and Hood will likely have one over the title of Sorcerer Supreme, Norman has some secret back up that supposed to keep everyone else in check, Namor may be a bit peeved over what Doom did to Black Panther seeing as how Namor's history, actions and attitude make him both or neither a hero or villain. Their fallout is going to be 'prettier' than the Illuminati's was (and maybe it can be capped off with the Red Hulk being banished to Sakaar)
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That's awsome how 4 isues into the new group, everything is already going insane.
So when did loki switch with the real Scarlet Witch? Where is she now? Que dramatic music. In marvel three things are brewing. 1 being whos going to be the next Sorcere Supreme.2 a demon war that started a while ago but thier still just moving pawns in place.3 Limbo has no ruler at the moment.If you combine those 3 things you get big marvel crossover story. The demon war started before limbo ...
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So when did loki switch with the real Scarlet Witch? Where is she now? Que dramatic music. In marvel three things are brewing. 1 being whos going to be the next Sorcere Supreme.2 a demon war that started a while ago but thier still just moving pawns in place.3 Limbo has no ruler at the moment.If you combine those 3 things you get big marvel crossover story. The demon war started before limbo didn't have a ruler but now they really have a reason to fight. Because or that war its more important now than ever who becomes the next Sorcere Supreme. That person could be The Scarlet Witch who shows her metal when she defeats loki's plans by returning from where she's bin and defeating Loki in a magic duel. Her best trick she uses her own mutant ability to boost the power of her magic and reducing Loki's power. It could happen
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