Holocaust

This story continues from Defenders #9…

From their vantage point from the Dark Dimension, Dormammu and Loki watch the on-going war between the Avengers and the Defenders for possession of the Evil Eye. Dormammu is furious that the Avengers have interfered with his plot to merge Earth’s dimension with his own and suspects Loki of tipping them off. Loki denies this reminding Dormammu that he is currently blind.[1] This appeases the ruler of the Dark Dimension, but he still refuses to restore the Asgardian’s vision.[2] Still, Dormammu is convinced that the Defenders — whom he tricked into restoring the Evil Eye — will be successful and returns to his observation.

At this time, the Swordsman has arrived in Bolivia to prevent the collection of one of the Evil Eye fragments.[3] As he tries to land his plane outside a castle he is attacked by Valkyrie who arrives on her flying horse Aragorn. Although this damages the Quinjet, the Swordsman manages to land safely. Going to the castle, he is shown around by its current owner a man who immigrated to here from the United States. The owner confirms that this German castle was built by a Nazi war criminal in 1949. Inside, the Swordsman investigates a noise and finds the Valkyrie searching a treasure chest for the Evil Eye. This leads to a battle between the two, with the Swordsman matching his own blade against the Valkyrie’s weapon. As it turns out, Valkyrie is using the Ebony Blade once wielded by the Black Knight.

During the fight, the owner of the castle begins to fear that the two combatants will find the Nazi gold that he found in the castle. As it turns out, this is where the section of the Evil Eye was stashed. While trying to obtain the weapon, the Swordsman is shot from behind by the castle’s owner. The Swordsman stabs the owner with his sword, but he is too injured to stop Valkyrie from taking the segment of the Evil Eye. She pauses for a moment to consider getting her opponent medical help when the authorities arrive. Confident that the Swordsman will get the medical attention he needs, she then departs.

Meanwhile, Captain America has arrived in Osaka, Japan where he finds that the locals are not overly happy to see an operative of the American government. He has arrived too late to stop the Sub-Mariner from recovering the segment of the Evil Eye hidden here. However, Namor insists on battling Captain America to prove his superiority.[4] As the pair fight it out, the Evil Eye gets knocked out his Namor’s hands. It is snatched up by Japan’s resident hero, the mutant known as Sunfire, who is not happy to see either Captain America or the Sub-Mariner in his homeland.[5] The Sub-Mariner tries to fly after Sunfire but Captain America continues to struggle with him. Namor then explains the real reason why the Defenders are trying to reconstruct the Evil Eye: To restore the Black Knight to human form. Captain America can’t believe it at first but lets Namor go. The Sub-Mariner then attacks Sunfire, forcing the mutant to drop the segment of the Evil Eye. Although it is snatched by Captain America, he willingly hands it over to Namor, having decided to believe his story. The pair then leaves Japan together to figure out who has been manipulating them into fighting and why.

… This story continues in Defenders #10.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Swordsman, Sub-Mariner, Valkyrie, Sunfire, Dormammu, Loki, Aragorn

Continuity Notes

1. Except Loki totally did. See the previous chapters from last issue and Defenders #9. The Defenders were tricked into thinking the Evil Eye could restore the Black Knight who was turned into stone in Defenders #4.

2. Loki was blinded during his battle with Thor in Thor #207.

3. The Swordsman intentionally chose to go to Bolivia because he wants to make up for the time he tried to destroy that country. See Avengers Annual #1.

4. Namor mentions an earlier encounter with Captain America, this happened briefly in Avengers #4 while Cap was still frozen in ice. Neither man seems to remember that they used to fight alongside each other during World War II. Their inability to remember their pasts was due to Cap having memory blocks and Namor having suffered an extended period with amneisa. See Captain America #247 and Sub-Mariner #1.

5. Sunfire mentions his previous battle with Namor which took place in Sub-Mariner #54.