Avengers #225
The Fall of Avalon
Thor has arrived on the roof of Avengers Mansion only to be ambushed by a new defense system that traps him in a thick layer of pastanium. The other Avengers come to his rescue, but the thunder god is strong enough to break free on his own. The Wasp assures Thor that it was just an accident and suggests they get down to their regular meeting.
Downstairs in the meeting room, the Wasp suggests that they reorganize inactive members of the team into a new reserve status in the event they need them in an emergency. The meeting is interrupted by Doctor Druid who has come to recruit the team to assist with a danger of great peril. Surprised that this intruder was able to get inside the mansion undetected, the Avengers prepare for battle. However, they are quickly incapacitated by a strange mist that comes from the eye pattern on Druid’s costume. This puts the Avengers in an inert state. Suddenly, every Avenger except Iron Man is pulled back in time to the realm of Avalon in the 12st Century. Iron Man could not be transported due to the fact that Dr. Druid’s magic cannot affect iron.
In the 12th Century, the Avengers are happily reunited with their old ally the Black Knight whose spirit has lived in the body of his ancestor in this era for quite some time. They also meet Amergin, Doctor Druid’s ancestor who rules Avalon. After getting She-Hulk up to speed on the Black Knight’s past history with the Avengers and how his present day body was turned into stone while his soul was sent back in time to possess the body of his ancestor. When the Knight asks about his present-day body, Hawkeye regretfully tells him that it was recently destroyed, leaving Dane to fear that he is trapped in the 12th Century forever.[1] This discussion is interrupted by Amergin, who tells them that he has summoned the Avengers to help defend Avalon from the Fomor, demonic entities that threaten Avalon and will destroy Earth should Amergin’s kingdom falls. Although Amergin is a being a magic himself, his power is now fading and he does not have the strength to fend off the Fomor invasion. With his armies laying dead outside the castle walls, the Avengers are the only ones who can prevent the Fomor from achieving victory.
This meeting is observed through a vision pool by the Fomor themselves — Elathan, Bres, Cethlan, Dulb, Indech, and Tethra — although they all agree that Avalon must fall, they bicker over how it should be done. Cethlan wants Elathan to release her husband, Balor, as he is neigh unstoppable. Unfortunately, none of the other Fomor agree, as Bres is impossible to control and they all vote against her. Chief among those is Elathan’s son, Bres, a clairvoyant states that Balor will not give them the victory they seek, but only tells this because he secretly harbors his own dreams of ruling over everyone. With the their course of action decided, Elathan teleports the Fomor outside Avalon’s castle walls.
By this time, the Avengers are planning strategy when the Fomor attack. While the team ventures out to face their foes, the Black Knight is asked to stay behind by Amergin. The elderly mystic reminds that the true purpose for summoning the Avengers is to force the Fomor to expend the energy to power the weapon Amergin plans on using against them, the Evil Eye.[2] The Avengers hold their own against the Fomor for a little while, but their demonic powers prove too strong for the team. Meanwhile, Bres uses this opportunity to sneak into Castle Avalon and ambush Amerigin and uses his connection to Doctor Druid to travel to the present day.
Meanwhile, the battle is turning in the Avengers favor, prompting Cethlan to free her husband, Balor from his prison. The massive cyclopean demon fires a destructive beam of energy from his eyes that seemingly destroys Thor and She-Hulk in a single blast.
While this is happening, Bres materializes in the present day and with Iron Man and Doctor Druid still trapped in a trance, the young Fomor believes there will be no opposition against him conquering present day Earth.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk), Black Knight, Doctor Druid, Amergin, Fomor (Balor, Bres, Cethlan, Dulb, Elathan, Indech, Tethra), Valinor
Continuity Notes
A lot of Black Knight history is covered here really quickly:
Hawkeye details how Dane Whitman became the Black Knight. Hawkeye states that Dane was selected to become the present day Black Knight by his ancestor Sir Percy of Scandia. That’s not entirely accurate. Dane first became a heroic Black Knight following the death of his uncle, Nathan Garrat, the criminal Black Knight as seen in Avengers #47-48.
Sir Percy did not appear before Dane until Avengers #71, the same issue he officially joined the Avengers. Furthermore, Dane was not given the Ebony Blade until much later in Marvel Super-Heroes #17. We can assume that Hawkeye is mistaken on the details.
The Black Knight’s spirit was sent back in time after his body was turned into stone circa Defenders #4.
Hawkeye is correct in stating that the Black Knight wasn’t overly present during his time with the Avengers. This was due to the fact that Whitman was stationed in the United Kingdom. After joining the team in issue #71 he only fought alongside them in issues #84-85 and 100 before he was turned into stone.
The Black Knight is told that his stone body in the present day was destroyed. That’s an understatement. The statue was re-animated by Ultron and it attacked the Avengers and was destroyed in Avengers #157-158.
It was later restored and stored in the basement of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum where it was possessed by the demon Ludi and subsequently destroyed again, seemingly permanently in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #35-37. However it is restored next issue as Dane’s soul was returned to the present day.
In case you don’t know how time works, this is the origin of the creation of the Evil Eye a powerfully destructive weapon that was first seen in Fantastic Four #54.
Topical References
Dane Whitman states that Hawkeye’s accounting of time is five years out of date. This should not be a measurement of time between being sent back to the 12th Century and this story from the perspective of the present day, but how much time that Dane has lived in the 12th Century. Per the Sliding Timescale, Dane’s present day body has been kept in stone for about 3 years.
Captain America states that the present day is the 20th Century. This should be considered a topical reference as the Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time that it now does not begin until after the start of the 21st Century.
