Avengers #143
Right Between the Eons!
In the year 1873, Hawkeye, Thor, and Moondragon have been working with the Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, the Rawhide Kid, the Ringo Kid, and the Night Rider to liberate this era from Kang the Conqueror. To this end, they foiled an old-fashioned train heist that Kang organized to secure a shipment of much-needed uranium for his conquest of this time period. With the outlaws nabbed, Hawkeye decides that it is time for them to take the fight directly to Kang.
Dressing in era-appropriate clothing, the three Avengers and the Two-Gun Kid head to the citadel that Kang has erected in the middle of Tombstone, Arizona. As further subterfuge, Thor has reverted to his mortal guise of Don Blake to add an extra element of surprise. Sure enough, when they enter Kang’s citadel he has been waiting for them and has set a trap.[1] When Hawkeye yells the Avengers rallying cry of “Avengers Assemble”, the four heroes are suddenly incapacitated by one of Kang’s high-tech weapons. Kang then vows to make the Avengers suffer for all of his past defeats at their hands.
Back in the present day, the rest of the Avengers are prisoners of the Roxxon Corporation thanks to the Squadron Supreme. Trapped in an energy cage created by Doctor Spectrum’s Power Prism, it appears that they are trapped with no way out. Not even the Vision’s phasing powers seem to work against the energies of the cage. However, Captain America has come up with an idea and pressing his shield against the cage, asks the Vision to pass his hand through it instead. This works and the Vision is able to phase through the shield to get outside the cage where his solar powers can shatter it.[2] Now that they are free, Captain America leads the Avengers onwards.
While in the past, the Avengers and the Two-Gun Kid wake up to find themselves in a chamber with a hyper-evolved coyote of Kang’s own creation. While Two-Gun, Hawkeye, and Moondragon battle the massive creature, Don Blake manages to slip into Kang’s control room. There he doffs his disguise by changing back into Thor. As they anticipated, Kang was unprepared to face the thunder god. Thor knocks the time-traveler outside with a single blow of Mjolnir. While back inside, the others hold their own against the evolved coyote until Moondragon can take it down with her mental powers. Back outside, Kang tries to pit his future technology against Thor. The thunder god is able to shrug off his attacks, forcing Kang to crank up his power levels beyond its safety parameters causing himself to be ripped apart atom by atom, seemingly to his death.[3]
With Kang defeated, his citadel suddenly vanished from existence. They are then contacted telepathically by Immortus from his home in Limbo. He tells them that with Kang dead he will never become Rama-Tut or Immortus and having made peace with this fate. As Immortus begins to seemingly vanish from existence, Moondragon sheds a tear for a man she considers akin to a God.[4]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Moondragon, the Beast), Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt, Rawhide Kid, Ringo Kid, Night Rider, Immortus, Patsy Walker, Kang, Roxxon/Brand Corporation (Hugh Jones, Buzz Baxter)
Continuity Notes
Kang wants revenge against the Avengers for preventing him from making the Celestial Madonna his bride. See Avengers #129-135 and Giant-Size Avengers #2-4.
Here, Iron Man mentions how he could have used the Vision during his solo battle with Doctor Spectrum. This is a reference to Iron Man #63-66. However, he is mistaking this Doctor Spectrum with the nearly identical member of the Squadron Sinister.
Kang does not actually die here as he has created a means of transmitting his mind into a newly cloned body in his home timeline whenever he dies. For expanded details on this story see Fantastic Four Annual #25, Avengers Annual #21, and Avengers Forever #8.
Immortus fakes his own death here as part of a long-time manipulation of the Avengers destiny as detailed in Avengers Forever #9. He will resurface again in Thor #281-282 as part of yet another manipulation.
Topical References
References to the Modern Age taking place in the 20th Century. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale, which has pushed time forward that the Modern Age does not begin until after the start of the 21st Century.
