Whatever Gods There Be!

The Black Knight arrives outside Garret Castle, the first of an assembly of all Avengers, past and present. Summoned to this location by Rick Jones, they all arrive one-by-one or in pairs. They are: Captain America, Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, the Black Panther, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Thor, Quicksilver, Iron Man, and the Vision. The last to arrive is the Hulk, who everyone is surprised to see. Although the creature is antagonistic toward them, Captain America insists that they’ll need the brute’s strength in the coming battle.[1]

As it was the Black Knight who summoned them, he brings them down into the dungeon of Garret Castle to learn what he has learned. None are aware of the late arrival of the Swordsman, nor that he is following them from the shadows. Tossing a torch into a brazer, Dane Whitman summons the spirit of his ancestor, Sir Percy of Scandia, the original Black Knight. The spirit tells the assembled Avengers what he had told Whitman before them. Earlier, Dane had asked his ancestor the fate of the Ebony Blade, his cursed weapon that was believed to have been destroyed in the Well at the Center of Time.[2]

Earlier

Instead of being destroyed, the sword ended up being transported to Olympus where it became stuck in a tree near where Ares, the God of War, brooded in silence. Feeling like the sword was brought there just for him, Ares was able to pull it from the tree. Feeling the power surging from the weapon, Ares is surprised when the Enchantress suddenly appears before him. She had followed the sword and pleased to see that Ares has claimed it. The war god decides to use his newfound weapon to help him destroy the Earth and then get revenge against Asgard and Odin itself. Since this aligns with the goals of the Enchantress, she agrees to help him.[3] To start, Ares decides to snuff out the Promethean Flame to eliminate any resistance from his fellow Olympians.

At that moment, Zeus was trying to fend off boredom by watching a joust between Hercules and Phoebus. At the Promethean Flame, Ares slew the Titan set to guard the flame and then plunges the sword into the brazer. This causes all the Olympians except for Hercules to turn into crystal. Trying to make sense of what just happened, Hercules is ambushed by two Yellow-Crested Titans and is easily overpowered. That’s when Ares and Enchantress arrive and explain that they are responsible for what happened. Ares also tells Hercules that he was spared due to the fact that the Prince of Power is half-human. With that, Ares made his cryptic poem about the fates of both Earth and Asgard before tossing Hercules from Mount Olympus. Hercules found himself falling between dimensions for days before he ended up on Earth with little memory of who he was.

From here, Ares began his plot to destroy both Earth and Asgard. Starting with his formation of the Warhawks on Earth, whose scheme to tip Earth into a nuclear war was foiled by the Avengers, and more recently, how Kratos and Bia kidnapped the amnesia stricken Hercules from Avengers Mansion.[4]

Now

With the plot all laid out, the spirit of the original Black Knight departs, wishing the Avengers the best of luck. Hearing all of this, Thor realizes that Ares is using Earth as a staging ground for an invasion of Asgard since he closed off the direct portal between Olympus and Asgard a long time ago.[5] That’s when the Swordsman makes his presence known and insists that he join the Avengers in the coming battle. Even though he was only a member for a short moment he wants to help since the whole planet at stake.[6] With that settled, the pair decides to split up into two groups: One will stay on Earth to defend it from any attack while the other goes to Olympus to attack Ares directly. Since Mjolnir has the power to open a portal to Olympus, he takes the Hulk, the Vision, Iron Man, and the Black Knight with him. This leaves Captain America and the others behind to watch things on the homefront. While everyone prepares to get ready, Quicksilver can’t help but notice that his sister watches the Vision goes and fears that her love for the android will lead to nothing but heartbreak.

When Thor and his team of Avengers arrive in Olympus they find themselves attacked by the other mythical creatures that live in this dimension. Iron Man is the first to fall when he is blasted out of the sky by a Centaur. The Black Knight is then ambushed by some Satyrs. Getting to the palace, Thor and the Vision find Hercules being tormented by the Enchantress. Thankfully, Hercules has been cured of his amnesia since arriving in his homeland and struggles to get free. When the Enchantress tries to fire a mystical bolt at Thor, the Vision stands in the way. Although he survives the attack, the Vision is knocked out by the blast. That’s when Amora summons Kratos and Bia to deal with the thunder god for her.

Back on Earth, Captain America and the others have arrived in the city of London. There, a portal opens over Kensington Church Street. This allows the minions of Ares to begin crossing over. As the police keep bystanders on the sidelines, the Avengers leap into battle.

Meanwhile, Thor is able to best both Kratos and Bia and battle. Watching from the sidelines are Ares and a Yellow-Crested Titan who wait for the right moment to strike. That’s when they are ambushed from behind by the Black Knight, who has come to reclaim his Ebony Blade. With his opponents defeated, Thor aids his comrade as the Enchantress flees the scene. Elsewhere, the Hulk has been distracted from the battle by all the crystal states of the Olympians. Soon he hears the music of some nearby Satyrs and decides to sit down and listen to them play. By this time, the Black Knight and Thor have defeated Ares in battle and he willingly surrenders the Ebony Blade to Whitman.

The Enchantress has made her way to the portal to find the Hulk sitting there listening to music. On the other side, the Earthbound Avengers have driven off the invasion force from Olympus. Fleeing back to their home dimension, the invaders interrupt the Hulk who takes them out with a single punch. Meanwhile, Thor and the Black Knight free Hercules and recover Iron Man. When they head to the portal, they find the Hulk sitting on his defeated foes with the Enchantress as a prisoner. With the Promethean Flame restored and the Olympians coming back to life, the Avengers leave the Enchantress to be punished by Zeus. Once all of the Avengers except Hercules have crossed back over to Earth, both the Prince of Power and Thor strike the portal on each side. The force of the blow closes the portal between Earth and Asgard. In the aftermath of the battle, a police officer asks the Avengers to come down to the station and explain what happened. Thor jokingly tells the office to not ask.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Hercules, Black Panther, Black Knight, the Vision), Rick Jones, Ares, Enchantress, Kratos, Bia, Zeus, Aragorn

Continuity Notes

1. Mention is made to how the Hulk was a founding member and the first to quit the Avengers. The Hulk’s tenure lasted two issues up ending in Avengers #2. The Hulk quit after learning that none of his teammates actually trusted him.

2. The Black Knight attempted to destroy the Ebony Blade in Avengers #84.

3. The Enchantress mentions how she was exiled from Asgard. This happened in Incredible Hulk #102.

4. These events happened in issue #98 and 99 if you haven’t been paying attention.

5. Thor sealed this portal back in Journey into Annual #1.

6. The Swordsman briefly joined the Avengers in issue #20 as a mole for the Mandarin. He was quickly exposed and has operated on the opposite side of the law ever since.

Topical References

• Rick Jones is depicted using a ham radio to contact the other Avengers. This is a holdover from when he was a member of the Teen Brigade. This should be considered topical. Per Avengers: The Origin #1-5, Teen Brigade are now hackers who communicate via the Internet instead of ham radios/