1980: The Jocasta's On You part II: No Really, I'm Still Here*

By Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

Starting out as "the bride of Ultron" in the mid 70s, the sentient robot Jocasta quickly sided with the Avengers against her creator and lover. She moved into the mansion, aided them on numerous missions and proved capable, tough and a true heroine in spite of her origins. You'd think that by the 1980s, Earth's mightiest would have gotten the hint. Yeah. Think again...

Your name is Jocasta, you are a living mechanoid. You're superstrong, tough, capable of firing destructive energy beams and erecting forcefields. Your cybernetic senses not only make you supremely intelligent, you are also able to sense just about anything out of the ordinary... And the only people in your life treat you like a doorstop.

Even though Jocasta had been a part of the team since the Korvac crisis, even living at the mansion full time, the Avengers didn't seem to notice her. It's not that they were particularly unfriendly to her or felt awkward around the wife of one of their greatest enemies. None of that, they simply overlooked her.

"For she feels a longing, a desire to join in the casual banter, and yet..."

Feeling uneasy in social situations became a bit of a theme with Jocasta. She wanted to belong, but felt out of place, mainly because of her robotic nature. Clearly suffering from a bit of an inferiority complex and desperate to connect with someone she could relate to, she continuously reached out to Vision. On paper, it would seem they have a lot in common... But the synthezoid Avenger felt otherwise.

"I just thought you might to, well, talk."

What's prevalent in all their interactions is the way Vision (not too) subtly tries to keep her at arm's length. Jocasta simply wants to bond with him, but he's not having any of it. 

"How can a machine worry?"

Vision has never been accused of being the most emotionally sensitive person in the room. And yes... even though he's preoccupied by the fact his wife took off without him... That very emotion disproves his whole "how can a machine worry?" line that was indirectly also insulting to Jocasta. You'd think he'd learn his lesson and improved on his behavior. This was not the case, as we saw in Avengers I#194 when they had another little chat.

"The other Avengers seem to have forgotten that I even exist (...) I can't help feeling... lonely"

"Machines do not get lonely, Jocasta"

Ow Vision... You insensitive prick. And to make matters worse, when Jocasta complimented him on his almost poetic way of describing the emptiness he experienced without Wanda, he became so angry he wrecked the entire training room. 

Man, even with all that classic Pérez art scenes like these are tough to stomach. It's clear Vision was so overwhelmed by his own emotions that he tried to deny them by embracing the robotic, unfeeling side of his nature... Which is exactly what Jocasta did not need from her fellow Avenger. Her sense of alienation from the team grew and grew, even though she continued to fight at their side. More often than not, she proved crucial in winning the day. For instance in #196, when the Avengers first fought the Taskmaster only to find the villain's photographic reflexes made him more than a match for them. But he hadn't counted on Jocasta (heck, if even the villains don't bother noticing you... worry).

"Huh? A metal woman?"

The Taskmaster, overconfident after having just given the likes of Iron Man and Captain America a run for their money, attacked Jocasta... And found out she was more than a match for him.

"That's fine by me, bimbo!"

Go, go, Jocasta, go!

"And that's because Jocasta's delaying tactics bought us some time"

... "Delaying tactics"? Really Cap, is that what you're calling it? Looks to me like she was well on her way to single handedly kick the crud out of the Taskmaster before you showed up. But hey, that's hardly the last time the Avengers downplayed her contributions. In #198, the team faced the threat of Red Ronin. The giant robot was hijacked by an insane professor who no longer wanted to wait for what he thought was an unavoidable nuclear conflict with Soviet Russia. He decided to use the killer robot to attack the USSR and get World War III started. The Avengers assembled to stop him, but no one ever listened to Jocasta...

"Wonder Man, wait! My cyber-senses indicate that the doorway is..."

Of course, Jocasta herself is more than capable of dealing with Red Ronin's security systems. She managed to get herself and Beast on board the big robot (that red pylon Wondy tried to enter was actually his leg). And over the course of two issues, they worked their way up to Ronin's control booth where they were crucial in nipping nuclear armageddon in the bud. 

Oh, Jocasta also got to participate in the much maligned Avengers I#200, in which Ms. Marvel gave birth to her own rapist. Well, at the very least, she was able to add "midwife" and "nurse" to her already impressive list of credentials.

" My cybernetic senses confirm your diagnostic readouts, Dr. Blake"

Let's ignore the travesty that followed, instead we'd better focus on the first on panel interaction between Jocasta and the woman Ultron based her mind on: Janet van Dyne. Even though Jocasta allegedly spoke in Jan's voice, it took well over 2.5 years for them to actually have a conversation. And when they did speak, no one mentioned the fact that Wasp was the Wonder Man to her Vision.

"There's still so much about human emotions I don't understand..."

Janet gave Jocasta her usual non-descript answer, in typical early 80s Wasp fashion. To think the two of them could have had an actual, much needed heart-to-heart about their shared feelings. After all, they were essentially the same woman. But where Janet was always gregarious, bubbly and more than a little flighty, Jocasta was soft spoken, considerate and caring. Which were all aspects of the Wasp that would emerge a few years down the road when Roger Stern made her Avengers chairman. For now, though... Wasp was acting oblivious, as seen in #201 when Jocasta surprised her and Hank.

"I hope you like roast beef"

So, a metal woman built by your husband's equally robotic, evil "son" whose brain is a copy of yours packs a picknick lunch for you and the aforementioned hubby and all you can say is "You're a doll! Thanks!"? While that *is* a polite response, one can't help but feel even slightly creeped out. Even poor ol', mentally unstable Hank Pym noticed how awkward it was talking to a robot that sounded just like his wife. And, ever the thoughtful spouse, this is what Jan had to say...

"I know, darling... But don't worry... You've got the original all to yourself!"

Meanwhile, back in Avengers I#200, Jocasta still got a bit more screentime and decided to visit with Vision, who she had been observing from a distance before Wasp showed up. Some fans have suggested Jocasta was harboring a secret crush on the android Avenger who, for all intents and purposes, would be her stepson (proving once again that robotic relationships can get weird). Yours truly didn't quite get that vibe from their interactions, Jocasta simply wanted to belong and connect and decided Vision would be the go-to guy. Guess even cybernetic senses can be off, sometimes.

"Darling, I've... Oh, I'm sorry if I interrupted, Jocasta. I didn't know you were here."

As soon as the Scarlet Witch arrived, Vision's focus shifted completely towards Wanda. Of course, it would make sense for a husband to pay more attention to his wife than another "woman" of sorts (though it's hard to imagine early 80s Wanda getting jealous of a metal female with no genitalia)... But there's dividing one's attention and flat out ignoring someone...

 "Neither she nor the Vision notice when Jocasta turns and, softly, leaves the room. And that, thinks the metalloid would-be Avenger, is the most harshest hurt of all..."

So, why didn't the Avengers even bother to make Jocasta a member? Well, funny story... They did, but then they kind of forgot about it as we'll see in part III of The Jocasta's On You: Membership Drive Away

* With sincere apologies to the late Elaine Stritch and all the other grande dames who performed Sondheim's showstopper.

1982 - Avengers House Ad

Grabbed from Iron Man Annual #5:

1978 - Marvel Comics Index #7A

By Ken Stacy.

Lovely cosplay by Riddle!

http://riddle1.deviantart.com/gallery/11785862

1983 - Avengers Sorta Disassembled Part II: Hit, Miss And Definitely Maybe

By Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

Three issues into his Avengers run, Jim Shooter had managed to turn longtime member Yellowjacket into an inept failure, both as a hero and a man. But the fun was only just beginning for ol’ unhinged Hank Pym.

If you thought systematically treating your wife like dirt,  and shooting an unarmed woman in the back with your disruptor were despicable deeds, wait til you see what Yellowjacket did for an encore in issue # 213, better known as “the one where Hank hits Jan”.

Lets get it over with.

Now, sure, I know it looks bad, but hear me out… It wasn’t intentional!

At least, that’s what Jim Shooter claimed on his blog:

“Hank is supposed to have accidentally struck Jan while throwing his hands up in despair and frustration—making a sort of “get away from me” gesture while not looking at her.  Bob Hall, who had been taught by John Buscema to always go for the most extreme action, turned that into a right cross!  There was no time to have it redrawn, which, to this day has caused the tragic story of Hank Pym to be known as the “wife-beater” story.”

So, accident or not, lashing out at someone is a pretty awful thing to do no matter what. And what was she even doing there in her nighties? Well, faced with the looming court martial and the prospect of being kicked out of the Avengers, Hank’s deranged mind came up with a plan that would prove he was a hero after all.

How? By building Salvation One, a sentient, adamantium clad killer robot programmed to recognize and beat the Avengers.  He planned to have ‘Sal’ attack the mansion during the court martial and since only Hank knew its secret off-button, he’d casually swoop in and save the day once the robot had them all on the ropes. Yeah… fool proof. When Janet discovered his plans, she tried to reason with him, but their argument ended with the allegedly accidental slap.

Accident or not, it left her with one heck of a shiner she tried to cover up on the day of Hank’s court martial. Captain America started off the proceedings and inquired why Hank did what he did. After offering up a rambling, nonsensical explanation for his actions, even inferring he only got court martialed because Cap had the hots for his victim, Janet lost it and took off her glasses.

Even this wasn’t enough to keep Hank from going through with his plan. He summoned Salvation One who came crashing through the wall and knocked all the Avengers around. The robot proved unstoppable, just as Hank had planned.

Unfortunately for him, just when he was getting ready to act the part of the hero and stop Sal, his disruptors backfired and the robot started attacking him. In the end, Janet was the one to hit the Sal’s off switch. Defeated and broken, Hank left Avengers Mansion, disappearing into the night.

By issue # 214, weeks had gone by and when a disheveled, remorseful Hank turned up at the Wasp’s New Jersey home, she quickly booted him out right after announcing she wanted a divorce, causing feminists everywhere to yell ‘you go girl!’.

Meanwhile, the Avengers were having girl troubles of their own. Their newest member Tigra wasn’t exactly working out. She did okay against Linnea the Elf Queen, but after the Ghost Rider hits her with a blast of his soul searing hellfire, she completely lost her cool.

 
Unfortunately, Tigra’s scaredy cat act would continue into #215 and 216, which saw the Avengers and guest star Silver Surfer go up against the recently resurrected and always all powerful Molecule Man. The villain casually dismissed and seemingly destroyed both the Surfer and the male Avengers, keeping Tigra around as a pet while he worked out his latest scheme: conquer Earth by consuming it.

In the end, it was Tigra who saved the day. Not only managing to talk him into abandoning his plans, but also convincing the weak willed villain to turn himself in so he could get some proper psychological help. One might think single handedly saving the planet would give Tigra the confidence boost she needs to become a valued member of Earth’s mightiest. And one would be wrong because, well… This happens.

“And, lets face it, you guys mess with some heavy-duty opposition!”

Somehow, that line loses a lot of its impact when you see the ‘heavy-duty opposition’  Tigra is talking about. She only really went up against Ghost Rider. The swordsman Gorn was dead long before the Avengers even arrived, Yellowjacket never lifted a finger against her and Linnea the Elfqueen tossed her into orbit with a single spell. Still, Tigra went on her merry way and the number of active Avengers was reduced to three.

By the time issue # 217 rolled along, a lot of things had changed. For one, with her divorce finalized, the Wasp returned to active duty as Janet van Dyne. She immediately took charge of the situation when she dropped this bombshell on the team during their meeting.

Unfortunately, just as Janet was bouncing back, her former husband Hank was about to hit bottom again. After wandering aimlessly through New York for weeks, missing several shots at redemption, Hank was approached in a bar by his former arch-enemy Elias Starr, better known as Egghead because of his genius and, well, pointy cranium. Starr made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Egghead claimed he felt bad about his past crimes, especially because it cost his niece Trish Starr one of her arms. Feeling remorseful, Egghead had constructed an artificial replacement for her. But, figuring she wanted nothing more to do with him, he offered Pym 500.000 dollars to visit Trish and help her install the cybernetic limb. Hank agreed and, well, no good deed really does go unpunished…
 
Not sure if Shooter intended this particular parallel, but seeing Yellowjacket get slapped around after (accidentally) hitting the Wasp feels rather ironic and well deserved.

Turns out you can’t trust evil masterminds called Egghead. Who knew? The villain gleefully explains Trish’s cybernetic arm not only allows him to take over her body, it also contains powerful explosives that would kill her if anyone tried to remove it.

Forcing his cooperation, Egghead egged Hank on to steal two cannisters of Ad Resin X and Y, the main ingredients for creating adamantium. But as Yellowjacket infiltrated the military base that held the metals, he got the idea of triggering a silent base alarm that would bring in the Avengers. Unfortunately, by the time they got there he was already driving the getaway truck with Trish and the adamantium canisters in tow.  

Threatening to kill Trish if he didn’t cooperate, Egghead forced Hank to go out and fight his former team mates. He was actually holding his own for a while, not realizing the others were holding back. When they finally did take him down, Hank hurriedly informed them of his predicament and begged them to help. But guess what…

Not only did Egghead lie about there being any explosives hidden in Trish’s arm, he also used his mental connection to give her a set of false memories. As a result, all Trish could remember was that stealing the adamantium was Hank’s idea all along. Given Pym’s propensity for using adamantium in his robotics, framing him for stealing the metal actually made a lot of sense. Not knowing any of this, the Avengers have no choice but to take Hank into custody.

By the time he is in jail the next morning, the media have already picked up on the story and Hank’s life is now officially ruined. And still, the worst was yet to come as we’ll see in part III of Avengers Sorta Disassambled: Kick An Ant-Man When He’s Down.

1981–83: Avengers Sorta Disassembled Part One: If It Ain’t Too Broke…

Guest blog by Jef Willemsen (clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com)

Marvel recently released the Trial Of Yellowjacket, a paperback containing a huge chunk of early 1980s Avengers continuity. Plenty of reason to look back at these comics that, in retrospect, didn’t just shake up the book’s status quo, but actually demolished it with fevered fury.

As great a read as The Trial Of Yellowjacket is, its rife with glaring omissions and equally baffling inclusions. For instance, the issues leading up to the formation of the featured, ill fated Avengers line up are left out, while fairly forgettable tales like a Hawkeye and Ant-Man team up (#223) or an inconsequential two part romp in Avalon (#225 & 226) did make the cut. The actual TPB doesn’t tell the full story, so lets get that out of the way first.

In the Spring of 1981, Jim Shooter returned to the title with #211. During his previous run, he had written the immensely popular Korvac saga, so the fans were giddy with joy and anticipation for what cosmic tale of wonder he’d come up with next. Little did they know, he planned to tell a completely different kind of story… And he didn’t waste any time getting to it.

The opening pages of #211 feature an uncharacteristically harsh and snippy Cap, who rather randomly announces the team had to downsize the number of active Avengers to six; at least three of the current members would have to step down.

In more ways than one, this spelled the end of the status quo the book had been in since the late 1970s, a time many fans would consider the glory days of the book. It meant the end of an era with founders Wasp, Thor, Cap and Iron Man, fighting along beloved mainstays like Vision and the Scarlet Witch. Not to mention Beast and Wonder Man whose camaraderie really added to the book. In fact, the sales for the book had been steadily increasing every month since 1978. So, why mess with success? If it ain’t too broke, why fix it?

Shooter might have figured that a way to keep the sales momentum going was to shake things up a bit. So, an impromptu membership drive was held, thanks to a little unwanted help from Moondragon. The former Avenger and full time goddess of the mind believed her judgement to be superior, that’s why she decided to pick the best possible new members herself. Using her mental powers, she ordered heroes like Dazzler, Tigra, Iceman and Yellowjacket to Avengers Mansion for an audition. After the team thanked Moondragon for her input by forcibly kicking her out, the new line up was decided on… And this mind boggling scene took place.

 Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Beast and Wonder Man all gone in one issue… Ow, and that figure leaping away is long time Avengers associate Jocasta. After Shooter introduced her as Ultron’s rebellious robot bride in the late 70s, she hung around the mansion, ever ready to pitch in but never granted full membership. Her willing departure was truly a symbol of the good old days literally thrown  out of the window. Still, onward and upward… by the end of issue # 211, the new team was set and ready to go.

To be fair, with five founding Avengers back on active duty this is hardly a new team. But as issue # 212 proved, all was not well in the world.

Hank Pym had changed. A lot. The kindly inventor turned reluctant superhero had always been in flux. Shifting between power sets and costumed identities almost as often as his wife changed Wasp outfits, he rejoined the team as Yellowjacket but appeared cold, distant and seething with passive aggressive rage.

Reading this dialogue in 2012 is fairly cringeworthy. Pym treats Janet like she’s an irresponsible, air headed nuisance and she seems mostly able to spout trite lines straight from 1950s style romance comics. He can’t even stand to share a car with her.

As seemingly out of character this might have appeared at the time, Jim Shooter recently shared his initial intentions for this Hank & Jan storyline on his blog…

“I reread every single appearance of both characters.  His history was largely a litany of failure (…) He was never the Avenger who saved the day at the end and usually the first knocked out or captured.  His most notable “achievement” in the lab was creating Ultron.  Meanwhile, his rich, beautiful wife succeeded in everything she tried.  She was also always flitting around his shoulders, flirting, saying things to prop up his ego.”  

Well, forgetting for a minute that Hank, as Ant-Man, managed to trap Loki in Avengers # 1 and was key in the formation of the team… It does stand to reason that one might feel a little insecure if your fellow team members include an Asgardian god of thunder and a gamma powered behemoth.

Finding himself on the team with Thor, genius inventor Tony Stark and Cap, living legend from World War II, might have pushed Pym over the edge. Shooter already had some experience writing a deranged Hank Pym when he gave him another nervous breakdown during his first run (#161 & 162). Pym hasn’t snapped just yet, but if you thought he was frantic at meetings, see what he’s like during the team’s first field mission to stop Linnea the Elf Queen.

Why, yes, Linnea… She and her warrior companion Gorn were introduced in this issue to serve the need for an obligatory fight scene ánd mirror the marital problems of the Pyms. For centuries, Gorn had been content living with Linnea in her magic glade somewhere in Virginia. But one morning, the warrior awoke, hungering for conquest he forced his woman to go on the prowl with him.

Finding it hard to deal with modern times, not in the least because they can’t understand the language, Gorn grows frustrated and actually strikes his woman. Shocked, a teary Linnea takes off, forcing the unreasonable warrior to fend for himself.

Before long, he runs into a street gang and despite his best efforts to show them the true meaning of chivalry, he gets gunned down. When Linnea discovers her man is dead, she goes on a rampage, destroying everything in sight… And this is where the Avengers come in. After a prolonged fight, Captain America manages to talk her down, despite the language barrier. And then, Hank does something incredibly stupid.

Striking down an enemy who had already surrendered (well, sort of) just to prove yourself? It’s a court martial offence. If he’d known what was ahead of him, Hank might have actually jumped towards the car Linnea tried to crush him with. But he was saved by Janet’s timely arrival. Nearly exhausted from flying to Washington DC under her own power, the Wasp manages to blast away the car wreck with her sting.
Already ashamed he needed to be rescued, Yellowjacket was now about to face an official Avengers court martial. Incidentally, the Elfqueen teleported away… Never to be heard from again.

Hank didn’t have that luxury and things went from bad to worse for him, as we’ll see in part two of Avengers Sorta Disassembled: Hit, Miss And Definitely Maybe