In the Marvel Universe, Pete Wisdom has proven to be a crafty and cool operator within the world of espionage. A mutant with connections to the X-Men and Excalibur, Wisdom has also frequently served at the behest of the British Government, effectively giving the Marvel Universe its own version of James Bond.
That’s included some unlikely romances for Wisdom over the years, ranging from dangerous assassins to veteran members of the X-Men. But his wildest romance helped save Great Britain during the events of Secret Invasion — and relying on his brief marriage to Marvel’s version of Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell.
How Marvel’s ‘Tinker Bell’ Married the X-Men’s Ally Pete Wisdom
Tinkabelinos Hardleg — or Tink for short — debuted in the Wisdom mini-series (by Paul Cornell, Trevor Hairsine, Paul Neary, Guru-eFX, and Joe Caramagna). The series focused on the titular agent during his tenure as a senior officer with MI-13, the British government’s premiere superhuman response team. One of his most prominent allies on darker missions was the magically experienced Tink. Instead of hailing from Neverland as she does in Peter Pan and its many assorted adaptations, Marvel’s Tink was reimagined as the rebellious and trigger-happy daughter of Avalon’s Fairy-King, Oberon.
During a mission to save the life of a kidnaped child from the supernatural realm, Wisdom was able to arrange an official peace between Avalon and Great Britain. As part of the deal, however, Wisdom is forced to marry Tink — which the pair initially take to as a largely physical relationship. However, the romance soured when Wisdom began a more emotional affair with their fellow MI: 13 ally, Maureen. Tink was furious over Wisdom’s lies — less because of her feelings for him, and more because she was hurt that Wisdom thought so little of her. Tink had found joy with humanity and would be more than willing to keep up her “marriage” to Wisdom as a means of ensuring peace, even if they weren’t in a formal romance. But by assuming the worst of her, Wisdom turned Tink’s feelings towards him cold.
Tinker Bell Could Allow Marvel and Disney To Synergize
Tink eventually left the team and returned to Avalon, and was there when the events of the original Secret Invasion brought MI: 13 back into her orbit. The Secret Invasion tie-in storyline “The Guns of Avalon” from Captain Britain and MI: 13 #1-4 (by Paul Cornell, Leonard Kirk, Jesse Delperdang, Brian Reber, and Joe Caramagna) saw the titular team trying to keep the Skrulls from gaining control of the magic inherent to the Marvel Britian. The alien armada targeted Avalon, and Wisdom was forced to appeal to Tink so their two sides could work together in the battle. Tink served admirably in the battle, reluctantly working alongside Wisdom and doing her part to beat back the Skrull invasion.
Since then, Tink has largely remained out of the spotlight. However, Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #3 (by Gene Luen Yang, Marcos To, Erick Arciniega, and VC’s Travis Lanham) revealed she has now rejoined MI: 13. Tink represents a deepcut in Marvel’s endless bench of heroes. However, her obvious parallels to the Disney Studios version of Tinker Bell present some interesting opportunities for corporate synergy. If MI: 13 were ever to make their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it could end up incorporating its own wild version of one of Disney’s biggest iconic characters into the superhero landscape. Tink’s addition to a MCU version of the British spy organization and debuting a wildly violent take on the famous fairy alongside the rest of Marvel’s heroes would be a significant development indeed.
