In this feature we examine comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically "overturned" by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An' Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.
My pal Jude was asking me about information regarding Scarlet Witch's assault on Wonder Man during John Byrne's Avengers West Coast run, specifically about whether she was being mind-controlled at the time (as he was planning on writing something about it). While looking into it, I was shocked to see that I had forgotten just how many retcons were involved in that storyline! So read on to see how Immortus ruined the Vision and Scarlet Witch's lives!
It all began in Avengers #233 (by Roger Stern, John Byrne and Joe Sinnott), where the Avengers respond to a mysterious force field cutting through New York City, created by Annihilus. The Fantastic Four end up defeating Annihilus, but not before the Vision is struck down by the field...
In Avengers #238 (by Roger Stern, Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott), Starfox cures Vision's problems through the help of Titan's super-computer ISAAC...
The problem is that ISAAC and Vision combining their brains basically drives vision nuts, as he becomes obsessed with protecting the world, by all means necessary. It comes to a head in Avengers #254 (by Roger Stern, Bob Hall and Joes Delbeato and Rubinstein)...
At the end of the issue, he manages to break free...
The government did not forget, though, and in Avengers West Coast #43 (by John Byrne and Mike Machlan), they kidnap and dismantle the Vision...
Even when he is "fixed," he no longer has emotional feelings for Scarlet Witch.
Thingss got worse in Avengers West Coast #52 (by Byrne and Machlan), where we learn that the Vision and scarlet Witch's kids are not real!
At the end of the issue, Agatha Harkness wipes Wanda's kids from her memory...
That does not last long, of course, and in Avengers West Coast #55, she basically snaps and becomes an anti-human person. Here she is in Avengers West Coast #56 (by Byrne and Machlan), where she assaults Wonder Man SOMEhow...
At this point, Byrne left the title due to a dispute about the future of the title and after some fill-in issues, the story was picked back up in Avengers West Coast #60 (by Roy and Dann Thomas, Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi), where we discover that she is under the thrall of Immortus!
Go to the next page to see just how complicated and retcon-filled Immortus' plan was!
Check out what Immortus does in the next issue, as a "shadow" of his explains things to Agatha Harkness...
Damn, dude did a LOT!
In the next issue, Scarlet Witch rejects the extra power he pumped into her...
And Immortus ended up in Scarlet Witch's place instead and Wanda was back to normal and everyone was cool with her...
Kurt Busiek later re-retconned part of Immortus' plans in Avengers Forever.
And obviously, eventually Wanda would turn out not to be all okay and she would destroy the Avengers during Avengers Disassembled.
Okay, that's it for this installment! Feel free to send in other suggestions to brianc@cbr.com!