Hey comic book world, welcome back to this week’s installment of Ye Olde School Café! This week, we’ll be looking deeper into the lives of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Long ago, not much was known about the origins of these twins, but we were eventually given a glimpse at their childhood and true lineage in a story called Nights of Wundagore! Let’s dive into part two of this story right now!
Back in the late 1970s, the Avengers were at an all-time high. Their number of active members was huge, and after several big battles (The Collector, Korvac), overall things were just great. This was about to change, though, as one night (last week’s column) a strange visitor came to New York City, and magically abducted Pietro and Wanda’s souls!
As Dr. Donald Blake tries to explain what he can to the Vision, Beast and Iron Man argue with Gyrich about the team being cut back on members. Jocasta then enters the room and tells everyone that she picked up another person in the vicinity of the mansion at the exact time that Wanda and Pietro fell unconscious. The Avengers immediately track the signal and head out after it. As the team heads out, we watch as Wanda and Pietro are like caged birds that cannot escape their captor’s grasp. An old man, who tells them about their real childhood. Of how he and his gypsy wife raised them, and not theWhizzer and Miss America as they were led to believe.
As the two siblings are listening to this fantastic story, the Avengers have arrived and it’s about to hit the fan (so they say). Upon trying to enter the building, the Avengers are attacked by a bunch of dressed up mannequins. Pirates, gangsters, cowboys, you name it, they all come after the team. After easily defeating them, the team heads inside. As they open the door, they’re greeted in what seems to be outer space by Django Maximoff. He tells them that they have been a bad influence on Wanda and Pietro, and that they need to come back with him. Next, a few villains appear out of nowhere and attack them. These b-list villains should be no match for the mighty Avengers, but at first, they prove to be unstoppable. Toad, Princess Python, and Nighthawk seem to be impervious to anything Iron Man, Beast, or Hawkeye can throw at them. Beast and Iron Man eventually figure out that it’s all an illusion, though. In the meantime, Django tries to escape with Wanda and Pietro, but the Vision isn’t going to let that happen. He uses his gem (on his forehead) to shatter the cage that keeps the souls of his wife and brother-in-law captive.
As the team lands back at Avengers mansion, everyone is hanging out in the ready room. Django is very sad, and thinks he’ll be taken into custody. Wanda suggests that she and Quicksilver take Django back to their homeland and figure out if what he says is true about their childhood. Iron Man grants them a leave of absence, and they head out on one of the greatest adventures of their lives!
Well, that’s it for now, but be back in one week, because then we’ll see the team take on none other than Crusher Creel, the Absorbing Man, and also watch the journey of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Will they find out about their sordid past, or will they end up six feet under? Come back to find out!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
