Appearing in "What to Do Till the Sentinels Come!"
Featured Characters:
- Avengers
- ⏴ Vision ⏵
- ⏴ Scarlet Witch (Wanda) ⏵ (Main story and recap)
- Hawkeye (Clint Barton) (Main story and recap)
- ⏴ Thor (Odinson) ⏵
- ⏴ Iron Man (Tony Stark) ⏵
- ⏴ Quicksilver (Pietro) ⏵
- ⏴ Captain America (Steve Rogers) ⏵
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Muggers
- J.C.
- Al
- Sentinels Mk II (Main story and recap)
- Sentinel Number 2 (Revealed to be alive)
- A3 (Revealed to alive)
- Sentinel Number 8 (Revealed to be alive)
- C7 (First appearance)
- Numerous unnamed other Sentinels (Returns)
- Sentinel Number 5 (Revealed to be alive)
Other Characters:
- God (Yahweh) (Mentioned)
- Wonder Man (Simon Williams) (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- United Nations (Referenced)
- Project Starcore (First appearance) (Unnamed)
- Dr. Peter Corbeau (Referenced)
- Hillary (First appearance)
- Dmitri (First appearance)
- General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
- United States Government (Mentioned)
- Jack Anderson (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Glenn Talbot (Mentioned)
- Larry Trask (Only in recap)
- Bolivar Trask (Referenced) (Only in recap)
- Beast (Hank McCoy) (Only in recap)
- Iceman (Bobby Drake) (Only in recap)
- Winston Churchill (Mentioned)
- NYPD (Mentioned)
- Butler Jarvis
- Mr. Spock (Referenced)
- Immortus (Behind the scenes)
- Space Phantom (Behind the scenes)
Races and Species:
- Synthezoids
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Pigeons (Mentioned)
- Sentinels (Main story and recap)
- Robots
- Mutants (Only in recap)
- Space Phantoms (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
- Solar System (Main story and recap)
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New York (Main story and recap)
- New York City
- Adirondack Mountains (Only in recap)
- Sentinel Headquarters (Only in recap)
- New Mexico
- New York (Main story and recap)
- Moon (Referenced)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- Sun
- Earth (Main story and recap)
Items:
- Grim Reaper's Scythe
- Grim Reaper's amulet (First appearance)
- Hawkeye's Bow and Trick Arrows
- Mjolnir
- Iron Man Armor Model 3
- Captain America's Shield
Synopsis for "What to Do Till the Sentinels Come!"
Responding to an anonymous letter, the Vision travels to a frozen food locker in a warehouse on the lower east side of Manhattan. There he is met by the Grim Reaper who offers him a proposition: if the Vision aids the Grim Reaper in getting revenge on the Avengers, he will transfer the Vision's mind into the body of Wonder Man, since the Vision's brain patterns are based on that of the deceased hero, the Grim Reaper believes that Vision is his brother. The Reaper has been preserving Wonder Man’s body since his death in Avengers #9 and blames the Earth's Mightiest Heroes for his brother's death. The Vision refuses the Grim Reaper’s offer. Nevertheless, the villain gives him a medallion that will put them into direct contact should the Vision change his mind.
The Vision returns to Avengers Mansion, where the Scarlet Witch is preparing for monitor duty. She is once again confronted by Hawkeye who professes his love for her again and makes an advance that the Vision walks in on unbeknownst to either Clint or Wanda. He departs before he can hear the Scarlet Witch rebuff Hawkeye's advances.
In outer space, the Sentinels are returning from their attempt to destroy the sun in a warped plan to prevent further mutations [1]. Their return is reported on the news, causing Quicksilver to reflect on his and Wanda’s last encounter with the mutant-hunting robots.
Wanda informs her teammates that she is going for an evening stroll in Central Park. While the other Avengers attend to personal matters, the Vision gazes at her from a window and therefore sees a Sentinel approaching her. Vision engages the Sentinel alone while Jarvis informs the other Avengers of the brewing trouble. The Avengers attack but their powers are of little effect against the robot, which escapes with Wanda via an "ultra-linear leap."
As the Avengers plan how to rescue Wanda, Quicksilver angrily pushes them away because they were unable to prevent the Sentinel from taking Wanda in the first place.
This story is continued into the next issue.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- Plot suggestion by future X-Men writer Chris Claremont.
- The Sentinels story continues from X-Men #58 to X-Men #60.
- This story also picks up a plot point left dangling in Avengers #79 -- the Grim Reaper learning that the Vision's brainwave patterns are based on his brother Simon's brainwaves (leading the Reaper to believe the Vision IS his brother.)
- This issue contains a letters page, Avengers Assemble. Letters are published from Beto!, Iran Drucker, and Lawrence Schick.
- The Sentinels note upon examination of the Vision that he is an android of "three decades vintage". This is the first hint that the Vision actually is, or is based upon, the technology of the Original Human Torch.
- Revealed in Avengers: Forever #8, this is the beginning of Immortus's subtle plot to romantically align the Vision and Earth-616's "Nexus Being", the Scarlet Witch.
- As seen on page one, this issue is Story#977-Z.