When Strikes the Squadron Sinister!

The Avengers have agreed to participate in the Grandmaster’s Game of Galaxies. Selected as champions of Kang the Conqueror the team will have to defeat the Grandmaster’s chosen warriors, the Squadron Sinister.[1] Watching from the year 4000, the Grandmaster destroys assassins that Kang sent to kill him.[2]

On present day Earth, Captain America, Thor, and Goliath are joined by Iron Man.[3] The Squadron Sinister then reveals that they were given their powers by the Grandmaster and they are now in different parts of the world where they will try to destroy a monument. Iron Man heads to the Taj Mahal in India under his own power while Thor uses Mjolnir to teleport himself and the others to the other locations.

Captain America appears on Liberty Island where he has to prevent Nighthawk from stealing the Statue of Liberty. Knocked out by a trip wire, Captain America awakens on Nighthawk’s plane which is using a magnetic device to remove the Statue of Liberty. As the pair fight, Nighthawk explains that he was a bored millionaire when the Grandmaster gave him his night spawned powers. When Nighthawk tries tossing an explosive pellet at Captain America, the Star-Spangled Avenger uses his shield to protect himself. While Cap is shielded from the blast, it knocks Nighthawk out, making the Avenger the first victor.

Iron Man soon arrives in India where he has to defend the Taj Mahal from Doctor Spectrum. He quickly discovers that Spectrum’s Power Prism is sentient and can speak out loud.[4] Overhearing how Spectrum’s prism powers are poly-chromatic, he is able to incapacitate his foe with a blast of ultra-violet blast from his chest plate.

In Egypt, Thor protects the Sphinx from Hyperion. The super-powerful Hyperion reveals that he actually comes from a world that existed in an atom that was destroyed when humanity used the first cyclotron to split the atom. The lone survivor of his world, Hyperion was saved from oblivion by the Grandmaster and now he seeks to avenge the destruction of his world.[5] When Hyperion unleashes his atomic vision, Thor’s hammer Mjolnir can absorb its power. He then tosses his hammer that creates a vortex around Hyperion, shrinking back down in size and trapping him within a sphere of glazed sand.

Lastly, Goliath arrives in London to protect Big Ben from the Whizzer. However, his arrival attracts the attention of the Black Knight, who insists on getting involved because London is his home.[6] That’s when the Whizzer arrives atop Big Ben and launches himself at Goliath at super-speed.[7] Racing around the titan, the Whizzer attempts to disintegrate Goliath by vibration him into nothingness. However, before he can kill Goliath, the Black Knight knocks out the speedster with the flat of his Ebony Blade. Goliath is furious that the Black Knight interfered and takes the Ebony Blade from his hands. Suddenly, both Goliath and the Whizzer are teleported away with the sword. The Grandmaster then confronts the Black Knight and tells him that he has interfered in the contest and the first round is now in forfeit. After the Grandmaster disappears, the Black Knight vows to do everything in his power to save the Avengers.[8]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Goliath, Black Panther, Vision), Black Knight, Kang, Grandmaster, Squadron Sinister (Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer), Aragorn

Continuity Notes

1. Yes, the Squadron Sinister are a parody of the Justice League of America. How quick you are. It’s later revealed that the Grandmaster was inspired to created the Squadron Sinister after encountering the Squadron Supreme, a team of heroes that exist on Earth-712. See Squadron Supreme #9.

2. This is actually an alternate reality. It is designated Earth-6311 per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2005.

3. The Avengers wonder why Iron Man wasn’t present when Tony Stark was hospitalized. Stark collapsed in battle in Iron Man #19/last issue and underwent a heart transplant to remove the shrapnel in his body that has threatened his life since Tales of Suspense #39. At the time of this story, none of the other Avengers know how that Iron Man and Stark are the same guy.

4. The origin of the Power Prism is unexplained here. However, in Iron Man #65, we learn that it was previously a Skrull named Krimonn who was transformed into the prism by Emperor Dorrek as punishment.

5. This Hyperion doesn’t come from a microworld and is in fact a construct created by the Grandmaster in immitation of the real Zhib-Ran, who will not appear until New Thunderbolts #16.

6. The Black Knight relocated to England during the events of Marvel Super-Heroes #17.

7. The Whizzer states that he took his name from an old comic book character. He is referring to Robert Frank, the original Whizzer of World War II who first appeared in USA Comics #1. He is not a mere “comic book” character as he will appear in the Modern Age in Giant-Size Avengers #1. This comment is another nod to Barry Allan, the Silver Age Flash over at DC Comics. In his first appearance in Showcase #4, Barry takes his name from the Golden Age Flash who he read about in comic books. This was Jay Gerrick who first appeared in Flash Comics #1.

8. This story is expanded upon in Thor Annual #17.

Topical References

• Any reference to the Modern Age taking place in the 20th Century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age forward so that it does not begin until the 21st Century.