Trapped in Outer Space!

The Avengers and a rogue faction of the Zodiac crime cartel have been lured into a trap by Cornelius Van Lundt, aka Taurus. Trapped inside a rocket disguised as a warehouse, the two groups as sent to die in the airless void of space. Once they are in orbit, they discover that the steel shutters that trapped them inside are reinforced with a force field. Thor attempts to shatter it with his hammer, Mjolnir. While the enchanted weapon passes through the field, it negates the spell that makes the weapon return to its owner whenever thrown. With sixty seconds before he turned back into his mortal guise, Thor runs for cover and gets under a blanket just as the transformation occurs.

Seeing that Thor has become vulnerable, the members of the Zodiac (Aries, Leo, Aquarius, Cancer, Saggitarius, and Pisces try to attack him. This leads to a brief clash with the Avengers who easily overpower their foes. The Vision then reminds them that they are all trapped and need to work together to get free.

Back on Earth, Taurus meets with Virgo, Gemini, Libra, and Capricorn to gloat about his victory against their foes and the usurpers trying to dethrone him. Libra then reveals that Aries tried to convince him to join the insurrectionists but he refused as Libra must always remain in balance. Taurus dismisses this, thinking that Libra feared the fact that he had built a new star-blaster and orders them out of his sight. Libra and Gemini leave together and while the latter brags about his ability to mentally control his twin brother, he is suddenly attacked by Libra.[1] He then rushes to the room where Damian Link has been kept in a trance since his brother took over his body. Snapping Damian out of his deep sleep, Libra orders him to keep Taurus busy while he steals the star-blaster, which doubles as a spaceship.

Back in orbit, the Scarlet Witch figures her hex powers could create a temporary opening for Iron Man to fly out and find some way to free them. This ploy works and Iron Man is able to recover Mjolnir, which he can lift in space due to the lack of graivty. However, as he approaches the warehouse ship he gets pinned by the hammer because they are suddenly caught in Earth’s gravitation pull and the ship begins a fiery re-entry. However, before they can burn up, they are rescued by Libra in the star-ship, who snags the warehouse in a tractor beam.

While on Earth, the Swordsman watches over Mantis as she recovers from her injuries. He is concerned about the interest that the Vision has shown in her, fearing that she will leave him for someone that is less of a loser. Suddenly, Mantis wakes up as she senses the Vision is in trouble. As she races off, the Swordsman tries to follow her but he is still too weak from recent injuries and he collapses on the floor.[2] While at the Zodiac’s hideout, Damian Link — disguised as Gemini — tries his best to keep Taurus busy. However, he blows his cover when he talks about knowing Taurus’ identity for years when it was only just recently revealed to his brother. After Taurus knocks out the phony Gemini, Virgo and Capricorn come rushing in to tell him that Libra made off with their ship.

When they go outside, Libra has just returned from his mission to rescue the Avengers. Taurus manages to convince the rogue Zodiac members to turn against their saviors, and they gladly join Taurus in the battle. In the ensuing battle, Taurus is knocked into a nearby swimming pool who he pleads with help because he cannot swim.[3] The Vision is the closest, but when he cannot bring himself to dive into the water and save his foe due to a sudden onset of fear.[4] Luckily, Mantis arrives just in time to pull Van Lundt out of the water. When the Scarlet Witch asks why the Vision froze in battle for the second time in a row, he admits to her that he has no idea why.[5]

In the aftermath of the battle, Thor thanks Libra for the rescue. However, he reveals that he only did so because he thought that Mantis was among them and reveals that he is actually her father.[6]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Swordsman, Black Panther, the Vision, Mantis), Zodiac (Taurus, Aries, Leo, Capricorn, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Cancer, Pisces), Damian Link

Continuity Notes

1. Gemini’s mental link to his brother was first formed in Astonishing Tales #8. He brags about using this ability to infiltrate Avengers Mansion. That happened in Avengers #120.

2. Mantis was injured last issue, while the Swordsman has been recovering from an infected gunshot wound since Avengers #117.

3. It’s mentioned here that Cornelius Van Lundt survived almost drowning in Avengers #81 due to blind luck.

4. This is yet another hint that the Vision was constructed from the body of the original android Human Torch, who has had a history of being submerged in water dating back to Marvel Comics #1. This will be revealed in Avengers #134-135.

5. The Vision previously choked up in Avengers #188 during their battle with the Defenders against Dormammu.

6. It’s true, see next issue.