The World is Not Burning!

Following their battle with Arkon, the Avengers return to their mansion so Thor can use Mjolnir to send them and their headquarters back to their native dimension. While they all enter the dimensional crossroads together, they all appear in different places. For the Black Knight and his horse Aragorn, they reappear at England’s Stonehenge. Thor and the Black Knight reappear in New York City but find no sign of Goliath, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, or the Vision. Hoping they made it back okay, they head off to assist Captain America and Spider-Man hand out toys to underprivileged children as part of a Christmas charity. Although both Thor and T’Challa put on a cheerful demeanor for the children, both men wonder what happened to their teammates.

Goliath and the others appear in New York City as well but discover that they are all intangible and invisible to everyone around them. This is a mercy for them as the city is in chaos as the sun — which appears to be going super-nova — is pounding the planet with incredible heat. The Avengers are horrified by the scene before them. That’s when Quicksilver finds the front page of a newspaper and is shocked to discover that they have been transported a few weeks into the future. Desperate to do something to save lives, the Scarlet Witch attempts to cast her hex powers.[1] This causes them to fully materialize on the street, but everything is back to normal. Racing to a nearby newspaper stand, they discover that they are back in the present day. With foreknowledge of an impending extinction-level event, the four Avengers head back to the mansion but wonder why nobody on the street recognizes who they are.[2]

When they arrive at what they think is Avengers Mansion, they notice that it looks slightly different. Inside, they set off security devices they have never seen before. That’s when they are confronted by Nighthawk, who demands to know who these intruders are and why they have invaded his headquarters. The Avengers can’t believe that Nighthawk doesn’t remember them for their last battle.[3] When the Avengers attack, Nighthawk realizes that he is facing impossible odds and escapes through a secret passageway. The Vision uses his phasing powers to open the passage from the other side allowing his teammates to follow after their foe.

When they arrive in the secret meeting room they are shocked to see a group of costumed individuals they have never seen before. They are the patriotic American Eagle, the diminutive Tom Thumb, Hawkeye the golden archer, and a woman calling herself Lady Lark. American Eagle suspects that these intruders are communist instigators and a fight soon breaks out. In the middle of the battle, Doctor Spectrum calls in to the rest of his team — whom he calls the Squadron Supreme — and says that he, Hyperion, and the Whizzer are about to launch Brain-Child One into orbit. Hearing New York being referred to as Cosmopolis, the Vision deduces that they are not on their Earth but a parallel reality. This startling revelation gives the Squadron Supreme the upper hand as Nightwing joins his comrades in battle. However, the Avengers eventually turn things around and defeat their counterparts.[4]

Realizing that the cataclysm they saw was likely caused by the Brain-Child One satellite, the Avengers take Nighthawk with them to go and warn the other members of the Squadron Supreme. Hearing the Avengers story, Nighthawk is convinced that they are telling the truth. Now it’s a race against time to save this world from destruction.

Continuity Notes

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Black Knight, the Vision), Squadron Supreme (Hyperion, Nighthawk, Doctor Spectrum, Whizzer, American Eagle, Tom Thumb, Hawkeye, Lady Lark), Spider-Man, Aragorn

Continuity Notes

1. The Scarlet Witch’s hexes are described by the narration as a “mutant gift”. However, neither she nor her brother Quicksilver are actually mutants. As detailed in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, the twins were experimented upon by the High Evolutionary while they were infants. In order to cover up his work, he made it so genetic testing had the Maximoffs register as mutants.

2. The Avengers are actually in a parallel universe as we’ll learn later in this issue. This reality was designated as Earth-712 in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Realities 2005.

3. The Avengers previously fought Nighthawk’s Earth-616 counterpart in Avengers #70. It’s later revealed in Squadron Supreme #7 and confirmed by All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #10 that the Grandmaster was inspired to create the Squadron Sinister from a previous encounter with Earth-712’s Squadron Supreme.

4. Goliath is insulted by the Squadron Supreme’s Hawkeye. This because the name and archery motif were previously used by Goliath. Indeed, Clint Barton previously went by Hawkeye from Tales of Suspense #57 until he adopted the Goliath identity in Avengers #63. He will return to his old Hawkeye identity in Avengers #98.

Topical References

• The date that the Avengers read on the future headline is January 4, 1971. Goliath states that the current date is sometime in December 1970. The years identified here should be considered topical. Per the Sliding Timescale, while these events happen around New Years’ on the Gregorian calendar, these events all happen in Year Three of the Modern Age calendar.

• Real-world organizations: Toys-for-Tots