THE GATHERERS
Membership: Anti-Vision of Earth-932, Cassandra, Jocasta of Earth-943, Korg, Magdalene of Earth-9201, Proctor of Earth-374, Rik, Sliver, Sloth, Swordsman (Jarvert) of Earth-921, Tabula, Tarkas, Ute of Earth-374
Purpose: Servants of Proctor, vengeance on the Avengers for the actions of their other-dimensional counterparts
Affiliations: None
Enemies: The Avengers (Black Knight, Black Widow, Captain America, Crystal, Hercules, Hank Pym, Quicksilver, Sersi, Thunderstrike, Vision), Coal Tiger of Earth-355, Lockjaw, Sprite, Thena
Base of Operations: Formerly a small townhouse in Greenwich Village. Formerly Proctor's citadel in the Andes mountains of Earth-616, Formerly their own native dimensions
First Appearance: (As a team) Avengers I#355 (Late October, 1992)
History: (Avengers I#355 (fb)) - Each Gatherer came from an alternate Earth on which Sersi went mad and killed everyone. On their alternate Earths, they were Avengers. They were each the last survivor of their own world and were recruited by Proctor to destroy Sersi and the Avengers of Earth-616. In some, but not all cases, the Gatherers would not cope well with the transition between dimensions, and to exist in Earth-616, their counterparts in the Earth-616 reality had to be killed through a process called a "gathering" so that the Gatherers themselves could live.
(Avengers I#363 (fb)) - A long time ago, Proctor found Ute, the Watcher of Earth's solar system in an alternate reality. Ute was broken and nearly dead after he came to that Earth to observe its final moments, and instead became a victim of its fate. Proctor took Ute and used his powers to seek out the worlds that would yield him his Gatherers.
(Avengers I#359 (fb)) - At some point, Proctor recruited the Gatherer called Tabula, whom served him well on many missions. Eventually, due to Tabula's "curiosity," Proctor put Tabula in stasis, apparently for many years.
(Avengers I#355 (fb/bts)) - At some point, Proctor recruited Cassandra, Sloth, Magdalene, and lastly the Swordsman to the Gatherers, probably in that order. He also, under unknown circumstances, came to share a telepathic rapport with Cassandra.
(Avengers I#348) - Proctor and Magdalene confronted Magdalene's counterpart on Earth-616, Marissa Darrow. They then "gathered" her so that Magdalene could function better on Earth-616.
(Avengers I#355 (fb)) - The Gatherers infiltrated Avengers Mansion on Earth-616 at least twice, completely cloaked from the Avengers, who were unaware of the Gatherer's presence. The first time they infiltrated the Avengers' emergency beacon, and the second time they sabotaged the Black Panther's skycar.
(Avengers I#355) - Proctor sent a team of Gatherers consisting of Sloth, Cassandra, Magdalene, and the Swordsman to another dying alternate Earth to recruit another Gatherer. The one they encountered was an alternate version of the Black Panther, the Coal Tiger. The Gatherers managed to find and knock out the Coal Tiger and teleport back to Proctor. However, the Coal Tiger was affected too much by his transition between dimensions, and laid near death. In order for the Coal Tiger to survive, he would need to have his counterpart on Earth-616, the Black Panther, killed in a "gathering". Proctor sent the four Gatherers to Avengers' Mansion to look through their computer files and locate the Black Panther. However, this time the Avengers were ready for them, and a fight ensued. The Avengers battled the Gatherers back and forth until Cassandra knocked out all the Avengers present with a telekinetic blast. The Gatherers then got the information they came for and headed to Wakanda to kill the Black Panther.
(Avengers I#356) - The Gatherers found the Black Panther, but he was given a timely assist by the Avengers. The Gatherers fought the Avengers again and managed to overcome most of them, if only briefly, with Magdalene incapacitating the Vision, Sloth temporarily defeating Hercules, and Cassandra taking down Sersi. Cassandra then began to "gather" the Black Panther so that the Coal Tiger might live. However, the Coal Tiger convinced the Swordsman, who was very confused about his role as a Gatherer because he had never been properly gathered, that the actions of the Gatherers were not honorable. Swordsman interrupted the gathering, and the Avengers renewed their attack with reinforcements. The Gatherers were forced to retreat and teleported back to Proctor, but the Swordsman was captured by the Avengers.
(Avengers I#358) - As Magdalene begged Proctor to allow the Gatherers to rescue the Swordsman, Proctor ordered the Gatherers on another mission to yet another dying Earth. On this Earth, Proctor claimed that the Gatherers would find a new recruit that would rescue the Swordsman. In reality, the Swordsman had gained too much knowledge and had become dangerous to Proctor, who intended not to recruit a new Gatherer to aid the Swordsman, but actually to murder him.
(Avengers I#359) - Proctor freed Tabula from stasis in order to assist in his plan to assassinate the Swordsman. Meanwhile, the Gatherers managed to defeat an alternate form of the Vision and bring him to Proctor, although they sustained injury to themselves in doing so.
(Avengers I#360 (fb)) - The Gatherers laid a trap for the Vision of Earth-616, in which Tabula took the form of Laura Lipton, the wife of the man whose brain patterns were the basis for the Vision's computer mind. While Tabula distracted the Vision, the Gatherers attacked him from behind and captured him. Proctor then had his newest gatherer, an alternate counterpart of the Vision, switch bodies with the Vision of Earth-616 and infiltrate the Avengers, posing as the Vision of Earth-616, and to kill the Swordsman when the opportunity arose.
(Avengers I#361) - The alternate Vision continued his infiltration of the Avengers, while the Vision of Earth-616 attempted to escape his captivity, but failed, and was recaptured by Proctor.
(Avengers I#362) - The false Vision's treachery was revealed to the Avengers, who defeated the false Vision and forced him to lead them to Proctor.
(Avengers I#363) - While the Gatherers tortured the
Vision of Earth-616, the
Vision of the Gatherers led the Avengers to Proctor's base in the Andes
mountains. The Avengers burst into the Citadel and attacked the
Gatherers,
gaining the upper hand due to their element of surprise and psychic
safeguards
against Cassandra's powers. Eventually, Proctor intervened and nearly
killed the
Vision of the alternate Earth for leading the Avengers to him. He then
revealed
that Sersi had destroyed the Earth in many alternate dimensions and
that he was
out to make sure that the Sersi of Earth-616 died. Proctor went on to
reveal the
existence of Ute. When his true intent to kill instead of rescue the
Swordsman
was revealed, Magdalene attacked Proctor, whom paid her little
attention. After
the Black Knight plunged his energy sword into Proctor, Proctor
activated the
self destruct sequence for his Citadel and disappeared. Sloth and
Cassandra were
apparently killed in the explosion, and Magdalene went with the
Avengers in the
aftermath.
(Avengers I#372 (fb/bts)) - Proctor gathered a new team of Gatherers, including Rik, Sliver, Tarkas, Korg, and an alternate Jocasta.
(Avengers I#372) - Sersi and the Black Knight were attacked by this new team of Gatherers. The Black Knight managed to disable some of them with a neural shock from his sword, and Sersi fought back as well. Soon the Gatherer called Rik blew up the port they were fighting on to prevent further losses on the Gatherers' side. However, Proctor teleported his Gatherers back to a rented townhouse in Greenwich village, telling them that he did not wish for Sersi to die yet, but instead, to suffer a little more.
(Avengers I#374) -
(Avengers I#375) - As Proctor prepared to destroy all reality by harnessing the power of Sersi and Ute to collapse realities, the Avengers showed up and assaulted him. Proctor's Gatherers sprang to his defense, and the final battle between the Avengers and Gatherers was on. The battle was intense and relatively evenly matched. However, when Thunderstrike knocked Proctor for a loop with a bolt of lightning, all his Gatherers simply collapsed, as Proctor's limited telepathic control over them caused major feedback when the lightning hit Proctor.
Comments: Created by Bob Harras, Steve Epting, and Tom Palmer.
Many of the
Gatherers never had their Earth-616 counterparts named. Korg was
probably the Thing, but most of the others are
opened for guesses. (Some people think Cassandra was Madame Web, some
people
think Sloth was Beast).
People also name Rik as Rick Jones, Sliver as
Mantis, etc.
Antivision, the golden Jocasta, and Tabula will eventually get their own profiles.
Wasn't Proctor responsible for Sersi going
mad and destroying their worlds? He certainly was responsible for Sersi of Earth
616 going mad. Also, wasn't Ute originally from Proctor's dimension? He says in
Avengers 373 that Ute first made him aware of the Sersis of other dimensions.
It's true that Proctor claimed in Avengers 363 that Ute visited a world Sersi
destroyed and became a victim of the catastrophe but in that story he leaves out
that he's Dane's counterpart and that he's driving Sersi mad, so it's possible
that claim was untrue. Of course that raises the question of how a counterpart
of the Black Knight could capture a Watcher.Also, what happened to the Gatherers
at the end of issue 375? Did Ute send them back to their worlds when he restored
everything to its proper place in the multiverse? The ending of the Gatherers
story left a lot of things unclear. I'm still not sure if Proctor took on the
blood curse when he killed his Sersi or if she left him after he willingly took
on the blood curse.
--Michael Fischer
Clarifications: No known connection to
Korg
Apparently an alternate dimensional counterpart to the Thing, Korg was also on the second team of Gatherers. He attacked the Black Knight and Sersi on a dock, but was defeated by them and teleported away by Proctor. He also fought against the Avengers in defense of Proctor in the final battle between the Avengers and Gatherers.
He had superhuman strength to an unknown degree and apparently the ability to shoot energy blasts from his hands.
--Avengers I#372 (374, 375
Rik
Rik's alternate
dimensional counterpart in Earth-616 is unknown. He was a member of the
second
team of Gatherers who observed as Sliver, Korg, and Tarkas attacked
Black Knight
and Sersi on a dock. When it looked as if his teammates were going to
lose, he
blew up the dock. He later fought against the Avengers in defense of
Proctor in
the final battle between the Avengers and Gatherers.
He was a cyborg, probably had enhanced strength, and
used a very
powerful large gun.
--Avengers I#372 (374, 375
Sliver
Silver's
alternate
dimensional counterpart is unknown (somebody guessed Mantis, but I
don't see any
overwhelming evidence in favor of that). She was a member of the
second team of
Gatherers and attacked Black Knight and Sersi on a dock along with
Tarkas and
Korg. She attacked the Black Knight, and kicked him in the face a few
times
before he took her out with a neural shock to the knee. She also fought
against
the Avengers in defense of Proctor in the final battle between the
Avengers and
Gatherers.
Sliver's only evident abilities were advanced training
and skill
in the martial arts
--Avengers I#372 (374, 375
Tarkas
Tarkas' alternate dimensional counterpart is unknown. He was a monstrous creature with spikes on his tail and fangs. He attacked Sersi and the Black Knight on a dock along with Korg and Sliver, and had Sersi's neck wrapped in his tail when the Black Knight intervened. When it became evident that the Gatherer's were at a disadvantage, Rik blew up the dock and Tarakis and the others were teleported away by Proctor. He also fought against the Avengers in defense of Proctor in the final battle between the Avengers and Gatherers.
-- Avengers I #372 (374, 375
Ute
Ute's alternate dimensional counterpart is probably Uatu, the Watcher. Ute came to Earth to record its final hours, but instead became a victim of its fate. Proctor found him broken and near death, and used Ute's powers to find the dimensions that would yield him his gatherers. Ute was kept in an apparent stasis field. In Proctor's final fight, he placed Ute and Sersi in an energy field, and then drew power off Ute and Sersi in order to collapse realities. Ute helped Sersi break out of the field, and as he died, with the last of his strength, he repaired the damage she had done to New York City, fixing the Brooklyn Bridge and Avengers' Mansion, which had been destroyed. Then, he opened a portal to another dimension where Sersi could be at peace.
--Avengers I#363 (373, 374, 375
images:
(Team 1) Avengers I#355 (cover)
(Team 2) Avengers I#372, page 16, panel 2
(Korg) Avengers I#372 page 16 panel 2
(Rik) Avengers I#372, page 28 panel 1
(Sliver) Avenges I#372, page 16 panel 2
(Tarkas) Avengers I#372 page 16 panel 2
(Ute) Avengers I#363 page 24 (page number), panel 1
Avengers I#355 (Late October, 1992)
Avengers I#356 (November, 1992)
Avengers I#358 (January, 1993)
Avengers I#359 (February, 1993)
Avengers I#360 (March, 1993)
Avengers I#361 (April, 1993)
Avengers I#362 (May, 1993)
Avengers I#363 (June, 1993)
Avengers I#372 (March, 1994)
Avengers I#373 (April, 1994)
Avengers I#374 (May, 1994)
Avengers I#375 (June, 1994)
Last updated:01/17/05.
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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