Uncanny Avengers #30 Spoilers

[brettc1]

So our scene open Wanda walking with Simon/Wonder Man, having a deep heart to heart about their relationship status. Unfortunately, Simon has not seen the rushes of the cover art and so has no idea what the rest of us already see coming - Wanda feels like she needs to move forward into something new. Because, you know, super-hero dating only works if you are constantly dumping old partners and exploring new territory with somebody different.

Of course the somebody different in this case is Jericho/Brother Voodoo, who Wanda later points out has been denying his journey of physical exploration and if offering to help with that. Interestingly the kiss on the cover puts Jericho in the more dominant position [Wanda swooning in his arms and his face forefronted] while in the book the art puts Wanda in the more 'dominant' role.

Johnny has decided that part of his Good Samaratin-ing will be buying and restoring Avengers Mansion, which of course endears him even further to Rogue [see comments above about super-hero dating] and gives Janet a chance to make a quip about it shortly after. We also get to see Jarvis - the real one, not the computer voice from the movies.

Speaking of Rogue, she takes some time to put in a good word for the Shocker at his sentencing, regarding his role in Secret Empire/Darkzone affair. Seems like Shockie might be the latest in a long line of villains turned heroes in order to provide edgy, cynical character types to rub the heroes the wrong way while doing good.

Which of course brings us to Quicksilver.

Pietro is off soul searching. We get his thoughts of contrition via his letter to Emily, who reads it on waking at the Inhuman Hospital [who knew?]. Wanda, incidentally, is mystically keeping an eye on him before she gives Jericho a tongue lashing of a completely different kind to the one she treated her brother to.

Cap turns up and ask Rogue to be an Avenger again - she declines and says they will be more like freelance Avengers because she doesn't like rules and structure.

Which is pretty obvious, because while she was at the courthouse talking up Shocker she apparently completely forgot to tell anyone in authority that it was Jericho and Wanda who let Juggernaut loose on the city while they were trying to fix the Mansion with magic they'd never tried before.

Look, its a solid transition issue but the whole thing with QS still rankles me - even the blurb on the intro page only mentions that QS got Synapse hurt, completely overlooking the fact that she got hurt by the Juggernaut who was secure in custody and was released by Wanda and Jericho messing around with magic. Jim Zub seems to have decided to just gloss over that rather glaring fact. His call, but foor me just paints the team as your typical 21'st century irresponsible super-hero team who say they are around to do good but seem to be long on intentions and short of forethought and responsibility.

Rogue says they will do things their own way. Their own way seems to have little to do with owning their mistakes and respecting the rule of law that everyone without superpowers has to follow and stops general anarchy. I get it - traditionally in most comic books [and especially ones with mutants] the "government" or figures of legitimate legal authority are borderline villains who are there to be at best an obstacle and at worse a clandestine group with a secret agenda to turn super-beings into slave labor.

In this world heroes are rarely called to account for their bungles, and if they are it is inevitably due to or exploited by some scheme like the one mentioned above, which when revealed is seen as a reason to totally exonerate heroes of any guilt over their genuine mistakes.

Sadly this stance is use to completely white-wash the actual dumb things that the heroes do, like releasing powerful super villains by accident.

[Askani's Flame]

Look, its a solid transition issue but the whole thing with QS still rankles me - even the blurb on the intro page only mentions that QS got Synapse hurt, completely overlooking the fact that she got hurt by the Juggernaut who was secure in custody and was released by Wanda and Jericho messing around with magic. Jim Zub seems to have decided to just gloss over that rather glaring fact. His call, but foor me just paints the team as your typical 21'st century irresponsible super-hero team who say they are around to do good but seem to be long on intentions and short of forethought and responsibility..

I understand what you are saying here, as there is definitely culpability for Jericho and Wanda for accidentally releasing him, but Pietro made the rash decision to not do a team approach and take on Cain with just Emily. He thought (from his experience) you could just remove his helmet and do some psychic whammo and Juggs is toast. But like Roxxy Andrews Juggs had second helmet, it was a flawed plan which resulted in Emily's injuries because he thought he knew best. Wanda and Jericho are to blame for bringing Cain, but Pietro is mainly responsible for her injury. So I agree there is culpability, but Pietro is rash and made a bad judgement call.

[Criticalfan]

Thanks for writing this up.
I don't get why Cap put Rogue on this team in the first place, right, but now changes his mind?

[planetxmen]

Thanks for writing this up.
I don't get why Cap put Rogue on this team in the first place, right, but now changes his mind?

Captain Anerica is a sociopath facist.
He should be arrested for crimes against humanity. He doesn’t care about mutants, he thinks they’re scum.

[brettc1]

Captain Anerica is a sociopath facist.
He should be arrested for crimes against humanity. He doesn’t care about mutants, he thinks they’re scum.

Oh yes, there's so much evidence for this (cue eye roll)

[Kurolegacy]

Thanks for writing this up.
I don't get why Cap put Rogue on this team in the first place, right, but now changes his mind?

What are you talking about changes his mind? He didn't change his mind about anything. From seeing how well it was that she led the team even after his evil doppelganger disbanded it, he asked her if she'd join the Avengers stating that they could use someone like her. She declined the offer but said that they'd be there if their help was ever needed to which Cap respected her decision. As for her being put on the team, Cap didn't choose the team, aside from himself, Thor and Havok, the team was brought together in classic Avengers fashion by a threat they couldn't handle alone and stayed together as a team afterwards. Rogue was a mainstay on the team as a founding member.

[brettc1]

I understand what you are saying here, as there is definitely culpability for Jericho and Wanda for accidentally releasing him, but Pietro made the rash decision to not do a team approach and take on Cain with just Emily. He thought (from his experience) you could just remove his helmet and do some psychic whammo and Juggs is toast. But like Roxxy Andrews Juggs had second helmet, it was a flawed plan which resulted in Emily's injuries because he thought he knew best. Wanda and Jericho are to blame for bringing Cain, but Pietro is mainly responsible for her injury. So I agree there is culpability, but Pietro is rash and made a bad judgement call.

I completely agree. Pietro was a dumbass.

Unfortunately his unpopularity as a character is an exvuse for some pretty lazy writing here. Zub has Sw BV release Juggernaut and there is no consequence for them. I mean Jesus, he almost killed someone but do either if them show even the SLIGHTEST sense they are tesponsible after the battle. No, they shift all the guilt for their blunder onto QS. Zub seemingly counts on folks being more interested in the two perps budding romance to care about their foul up. Seems like that gamble paid off for him.

Folks will probably ask whether I want Wanda thrown in jail. What I actually want is that if the writer is going to have the characters make a mistake that big show some consequences. With QS this happens but if you rent prepared to do that with the other two as well then maybe come at the story a different way.

For gawds sake, Wanda erased thousands of mutants and was possessed by a demon of hate. Now this happens and she breezes by like she scratched someones car and left her details.

[teapartyofthedead]

Pietro's role for a long time now has been to be Wanda's whippin boy, to deflect her bad behavior by making him seem irrational and abusive. It started with Steve Englehart in the 70s, was picked up by Robinson in the SW solo, and Zub just continued it. It's also a long time tactic for writers who really like Wanda. Look at how Rogue was treated in UA before Pietro showed up, to make Wanda the respectable one being bullied. It's a tactice that just makes fans give up.

[teapartyofthedead]

Pietro's role for a long time now has been to be Wanda's whippin boy, to deflect her bad behavior by making him seem irrational and abusive. It started with Steve Englehart in the 70s, was picked up by Robinson in the SW solo, and Zub just continued it in UA. It's also a long time tactic for writers who really like Wanda. Look at how Rogue was treated in UA before Pietro showed up, or the X-Men entire during A v X, to make Wanda the respectable one being bullied. It's a tactice that just makes fans of those characters upset, and builds up more resentment towards Wanda.

It's why I don't even want QS on the Avengers anymore, even related to Wanda, if this is how they will continue to treat him. I would prefer it if No Surrender was a prelude to him recovering his mutant heritage and joining the X-Men, leaving his sister behind to take responsibility for her own mess for once. Most likely, he'll be killed off for 'redemption' and giving Wanda more tragic pathos.

[brettc1]

Pietro's role for a long time now has been to be Wanda's whippin boy, to deflect her bad behavior by making him seem irrational and abusive. It started with Steve Englehart in the 70s, was picked up by Robinson in the SW solo, and Zub just continued it in UA. It's also a long time tactic for writers who really like Wanda. Look at how Rogue was treated in UA before Pietro showed up, or the X-Men entire during A v X, to make Wanda the respectable one being bullied. It's a tactic that just makes fans of those characters upset, and builds up more resentment towards Wanda.

It's why I don't even want QS on the Avengers anymore, even related to Wanda, if this is how they will continue to treat him. I would prefer it if No Surrender was a prelude to him recovering his mutant heritage and joining the X-Men, leaving his sister behind to take responsibility for her own mess for once. Most likely, he'll be killed off for 'redemption' and giving Wanda more tragic pathos.

There is no doubt that QS acts like an idiot a lot of the time - which is weird because you see characters like Rogue who have changed radically over the years to the point where she now leads the team and gets a handshake from Captain America, while Pietro is basically the same swaggering jackass he has been for the last three decades.

And Wanda - yeah, I get that I am SUPPOSED to like her, but issues like this one and #29 make it hard. Other characters do bad stuff by accident and have to work to redeem themselves, but with Scarlet Witch it seems is just supposed to be forgiven auto-ad-nauseum. Because she cries a lot, it seems. And this is the moral high ground from which she dispenses judgement on her brother.

I think it's one of the triumphs of the MCU that they have made her character so likeable, considering in the actual comic books she is usually a hot mess. Her various shortcomings could probably be ranked up there with those of Jessica Jones, and yet she is treated like royalty - immune to any criticism because of her lofty status.

As for Simon, he got off easy this time round. Jericho probably should have checked out the fate of her previous romantic partners before he made any commitment.

[Xelossik]

brettc1 :

which is weird because you see characters like Rogue who have changed radically over the years to the point where she now leads the team

I think that a big reason why Rogue was changed so greatly over the years is tv and movies.
Unlike most of other Marvel heroes .... Rogue is very, very different in adaptations.

she had different powers, role, personality etc

As for Simon, he got off easy this time round. Jericho probably should have checked out the fate of her previous romantic partners before he made any commitment.

lol

I think it's one of the triumphs of the MCU that they have made her character so likeable

true

[origami]

I wish the writer would let Wanda be single for awhile.
She doesn't need to be in a relationship to be interesting.

[FIGHT]

Captain Anerica is a sociopath facist.
He should be arrested for crimes against humanity. He doesn’t care about mutants, he thinks they’re scum.

I agree with your assessment.

[brettc1]

I wish the writer would let Wanda be single for awhile.
She doesn't need to be in a relationship to be interesting.

Yes, there's that as well. I think it would be better if she were single for a while.

Better for her, and sure as hell better for the poor schmuck she's dating. How many times has Wonder Man died now? Vision at least twice. And all poor Clint had to do was show interest a couple of decades ago and he got bumped off.

Good thing Jericho knows so much about the afterlife already.