Avengers #198
Better Red Than Ronin!
After a disastrous blind date, the Beast and Wonder Man spend the night bar hopping and find themselves wandering back to Avengers Mansion at dawn. The Beast insists on stopping to watch the sunrise, but they are so wasted they the Beast takes them to the west end of the city. It’s here that they witness the Red Ronin striding across the Hudson River, shocking them sober.
They are quickly picked up by the other Avengers who have been assigned to stop the rampaging robot. As the pair change out of their street clothes, Captain America explains how the robot — once used to battle the kaiju known as Godzilla — had been stolen by a scientist named Earl Cowan and that SHIELD wants them to get it back.[1]
As Cowan pilots the Red Ronin into the city for some unknown purpose, the Avengers attack only to discover that the massive robot has many defenses that protects it from their attacks. However, Wonder Man manages to punch open an access door built into one of the Ronin’s feet. Unfortunately, he’s knocked out by a sonic defense system. Forced to leave Simon behind, the Beast follows Jocasta inside the robot after she disables the weapon. Soon, the Avengers are joined by Nick Fury and SHIELD who arrive in the Behemoth, a special helicarrier that was constructed to fight Godzilla.[2]
While the Avengers and SHIELD keep the Red Ronin busy, the Wasp and Yellowjacket shrink down to insect size and get into the robot’s cockpit. There they try to convince Cowan to stop. However, the paranoid scientist explains how he grew up during a period of great political and civil unrest and those traumatic experiences convinced him that the only way the world can achieve peace is by using the Red Ronin to trigger another world war and unite the world against a single cause. Realizing that Earl is insane, the pair try to stun him with their bio-stings, but Cowan uses the Red Ronin’s ventilation system to blow them outside.
Meanwhile, at a hospital in New Jersey, Ms. Marvel tries to come to terms with her current reality: Somehow she has gotten pregnant and that the baby is coming to term rapidly. The day before she was 3 months pregnant and now she has appears to be 6 months due. She cannot understand how this is happening as she insists that she hasn’t been with a man recently.[3] Considering the situation, Ms. Marvel believes her career is now over and tells the Scarlet Witch that her real name is Carol Danvers. Wanda, empathizing with Carol’s situation, assures her that no matter what happens the Avengers will be there for her.
Back in New York, the Avengers and SHIELD continue to try to stop the Red Ronin, to no avail. Growing annoyed by the constant attacks, Cowan gives the robot a command to destroy them all. By this point, Iron Man has been wired into the Behemoth’s power supply and blasts the Red Ronin with a powerful jolt of electricity. This causes the Red Ronin to topple, causing the neural link between Cowan and the Red Ronan to be damaged so that the robot will only follow the last command it was given: to destroy. Moments later, at Cross Technological Enterprises, Hawkeye — the head of security — passes a boring shift by playing poker with some of his employees. When the alarm goes off, Hawkeye decides to check it out, figuring it is nothing more than some kids out tagging. Instead, he is in the for the shock of his life when he goes outside and discovers the Red Ronin.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Beast, Ms. Marvel, Jocasta), Red Ronin, Earl Cowan, SHIELD (Nick Fury)
Continuity Notes
Yes, Godzilla appeared in a licensed comic book that took place in the Marvel Universe. The Red Ronin was constructed in Godzilla #6 to battle Godzilla. The robot was destroyed in issue #14 of that series and was repaired by Cowan last issue.
The Behemoth was constructed in Godzilla #6 and was used as a mobile base of operations for Dum Dum Dugan’s Godzilla Squad.
It’s revealed in Avengers #200 that Carol had been victimized by Marcus Immortus who plucked her out of time, gaslighted, then raped her so he could be reborn into the timestream through her body. It’s as fucked up as it sounds.
Topical References
The guy working in the scrap yard is watching Sanford and Son on a CRT television that is picking up a signal with an antenna. Sanford and Son was a popular sitcom that ran from 1962 to 1974. Presumably, the guy is watching a rerun here. The CRT TV should be considered a topical reference since it is an outdated technology.
In this story, Cowan states that he was a child of the 1950s and grew up seeing everything from the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and all of the civil unrest in-between and that is his motivation for trying to trigger World War III. All of these references should be considered topical. There are no shortage of events since then — particularly civil unrest — to choose from if one wants to reframe his past in a modern context.
