The Gods and the Gang

Thor and Moondragon have returned to Avengers Mansion following their adventure into the Old West. There, Moondragon continues to convince Thor that he is wasting his godly potential by hanging out with the Avengers. Thor disagrees and is quickly losing his temper. When he learns from Jarvis that the other Avengers have not returned from the Brand Corporation, he decides that he and Moondragon should go to see if their teammates need help.

As it turns out, the other Avengers have just returned from a trip to the Squadron Supreme’s dimension and now find themselves in a battle against Roxxon’s private army. This comes as a surprise to Roxxon CEO Hugh Jones. As Buzz Baxter — head of security — monitors the situation, Hugh telepathically contacts the President on the Squadron’s Earth to find out why the Avengers are back. Unfortunately, this is the least of the President’s worries, as the Squadron Supreme are holding a press conference to denounce the government and corporations of their world that have been running everything. Hugh wishes his ally luck and decides to unleash his secret weapon.

By this time, the Avengers have defeated the footsoldiers only to be taken down all at once by Hugh’s final operative, the Atlantean known as Orka. Buzz Baxter is shocked how easy it was to take down the Avengers and is even more surprised when Hugh orders the heroes eliminated. However, as they begin carting away the unconscious Avengers, Thor arrives with Moondragon and another battle with Orka breaks out.[1] Due to his massive size and blubbery body, Orka is able to shrug off blows from Thor’s hammer. He is less immune to Moondragon’s mental powers and after she hurts him, Orka knocks her out. This enrages Thor, who has been holding back until this moment and begins attacking with his full strength.

While the two intruders are busy, Hugh Jones and Buzz Baxter hook up the Avengers and Hellcat to a device that will incinerate the heroes, leaving no trace evidence. Buzz is more than willing to kill Hellcat, his ex-wife, since she turned her back on him after their divorce.[2] Hellcat has been playing possum this whole time and when Buzz gets too close she lunges at him. She beats her ex-husband into submission and then threatens to claw his eyes out if he doesn’t free her friends.

Meanwhile, outside, Thor has used Mjolnir to summon a powerful storm to match his rage. He then beats Orka into submission. That’s when Moondragon reveals that she was not knocked out as it appeared, and only pretended in order to force Thor to use his true godly might. Seeing Orka’s defeat, Hugh Jones races to the lab yelling for Buzz to kill the captive Avengers. However, when he arrives he discovers that the Avengers have been freed.

In the aftermath of the battle, Hellcat comes to tearfully come to terms with the fact that her former husband just tried to kill her. Meanwhile, Thor has come to realize that Moondragon was right about him “slumming it” and craves battles fitting of the gods. Iron Man reminds everyone that this all started from the group trying to reform the team and suggests they all return to Avengers Mansion to finalize the new team roster.[3]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Moondragon, the Beast), Hellcat, Roxxon/Brand Corporation (Hugh Jones, Buzz Baxter), Orka, Edwin Jarvis, Squadron Supreme (Hyperion, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer, Golden Archer, Lady Lark, Tom Thumb, Amphibion)

Continuity Notes

1. A footnote here reminds readers of Orka’s past appearances in Sub-Mariner #23-24, and 66-67.

2. Buzz Baxter mentions his military service. Buzz joined the military in Patsy Walker #123. Per Defenders #89, the old Patsy Walker comics are actually “comic book adaptations” written by Patsy Walker’s mother, Dorothy. However, they are inspired by “true” events. See below for some of the finer details.

3. The Avengers had been in the process of recruiting members, both new and old, back in Avengers #137 and got really distracted.

Topical References

• The President of the United States on the Squadron Supreme’s world is depicted as Nelson Rockefeller. This should be considered a topical reference as Rockefeller is a real person.

• Buzz Baxter states that he fought in Vietnam in this story. This should be considered a topical reference. Per the HIstory of the Marvel Universe #2, any statement suggesting that Modern Age characters who were involved in Vietnam is now the Sin-Cong Conflict. Go here for more details.