Issue(s): West Coast Avengers #25
Cover Date: Oct 87
Title: "The greatest show on Earth!"
Credits:
Steve Englehart - Writer
Al Milgrom - Penciler
Mike Machlan - Inker
Gregory Wright - Assistant Editor
Mark Gruenwald - Editor

Review/plot:
Ok, let's get some of the subplot stuff covered first.

Mockingbird doesn't want to tell Hawkeye that she was raped or that she let the Phantom Rider die.

Moon Knight is still not officially an Avenger, but he asks Frenchie to come around to let him know that his services won't be needed while Moon Knight is with the team. Frenchie decides to go have some fun down in Nicaragua.

And Henry Pym tells Firebird that he's not really in love with her after all.

Plus, he's an atheist.

Firebird leaves, still not interested in becoming an Avenger.

Ok, now the main plot. This is really a Wonder Man story. We start off at the opening of his new film, with him doing some stunts out front...

...and then getting rave reviews for his role as the villain.

With this positive feedback, he decides that he's ready to be a big star, and he doesn't want to play villains anymore.

If you were wondering why we never had a Rocky In Space movie, Wonder Man's the reason.

Then, after a taping at Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, the Abomination shows up. Why? Because Tyrannus is still inside the Abomination's body, and he used to be handsome and famous once, and he doesn't like seeing Wonder Man getting all the fame now.

LOLWUT? That's the worst, weakest motivation i ever heard. Say he wants Wonder Man's body to transfer his brain into! Say he just happened to be there and Wonder Man had to step in to stop him from going on a rampage! Please don't tell me he's just randomly harassing people in B movies that happen to receive a modicum of fame on opening night.

Anyway, despite a recent (referenced) beating from Thor, Wonder Man goes into this fight fully confident, but finds the Abomination is more powerful than he expected.

He nonetheless prevails...

...but it turns out that the camera people on the scene think it's all just another big stunt, like his movie opening.

This makes Wonder Man realize that Hollywood is fake, and so he's not going to quit the West Coast Avengers like he's been considering doing.

Like, gag me with a spoon. I bought this at a bargain bin in a convention. I knew it wouldn't be great, but how do you screw up a Wonder Man / Abomination fight? Answer: stiff art, the fact that it's not really Abomination (that's not this creative team's fault, but still), and the dumbest motivation and moral for a fight ever. This fails as a pure gratuitous battle, and also as a vehicle for character development. On the other hand, the interaction between Pym and Firebird is unique and interesting, so the issue isn't a total loss.

I hope Stephen Colbert will do Stupid Pet Tricks, or i'm eventually going to have Sliding Timescale problems.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place soon after West Coast Avengers annual #2 and Silver Surfer #3.

References:

• Wonder Man had his Director worried when he disappeared between West Coast Avengers #17-24 and again when he went to Houston in West Coast Avengers annual #2.
  
• It's said that the adventure in West Coast annual and Avengers annual #16 "has just ended recently", with Mockingbird and Hawkeye relaxing in a hot tub.
  
• A lot of Wonder Man's need for approval and fame is coming from the fact that he admitted on television in West Coast Avengers #4 that he was a criminal in the past.
  
• Marlene Alraune left Moon Knight in Moon Knight #4 (vol. 2).
  
• It was in Los Angeles where Moon Knight debuted in Werewolf By Night #32, and Frenchie thinks that's part of the appeal of joining the West Coast Avengers for Moon Knight.
  
• Firebird was brought back to the West Coast Avengers by the Silver Surfer in Silver Surfer #3.
  
• The merged Hulk/Tyrannus entity was first seen in Hulk annual #15.
  
• Wonder Man notes says that it's not a big deal that the Abomination has fought the Hulk, since he himself has fought the Hulk ("Nearly everybody's fought the Hulk, his personality being what it is!"), with Hulk #316 given as the example. Of course Wonder Man had some high powered help in that fight, and didn't actually win...

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

It's lonely being someone who enjoys Englehart & Milgrom's WCA run. To quote Homer Simpson, "Is there no place for the man with the 105 IQ?"

Don't feel bad about liking Englehart's WCA run, Robert. There are plenty of people that do. Now, if you admit to liking Chuck Austen, then we'll make fun of you.
The ending of Simon's jerk arc and Tigra's catsoul arc had the same problem- the characters got over their issues way too easily, through a contrivance. (Tigra's costume in WCA 15, Wonder Man's fight with the Abomination this issue.) Simon shows no guilt for the way he acted- trying to steal Clint's job while Bobbi was being raped, killing Clint and not caring. Nor do any of the WCA except Iron Man hold a grudge. And because it was too easy, later writers wouldn't let go of the negative traits Englehart introduced. Tigra's slutty portrayal became the default, while Simon went through numerous arcs where he acted like a jerk, claimed to have learned his lesson and then in a later arc found a new way to act like a jerk.

I remember at some point it was revealed that Wonder Man dealt with bi-polar disorder (or an equivalent of such) due to his powers.
I forget where exactly it was, but I don't think it was a recent story. Maybe Roy Thomas's WCA?
Which would explain why Simon's behaviour would be so erratic.

Maybe you're thinking of Simon's powers being scrambled after his exposure to the Nega-Bomb in his solo series in the 90s- they only worked when he was angry and he wound up scaring a gangster to death.

Dino=Dino De Laurentiis
Menachem=Golan or Globus

Reading that felt like reading a Marvel Fill-in from the 70s. Terrible.

What? No mention of the first appearance of Wonder Man's mullet? :)

@ Robert - I'm with you. WCA stayed one of my favorite books for a long time and was the last book I finally stopped buying when I originally stopped collecting in 1992.

Between this and his Avengers 239 appearance, you should add David Letterman to the character list :)