Avengers #226
An Eye For an Eye
While the rest of the Fomor battle the Avengers in 12th Century Avalon, Bres has ventured into the present day where he hopes to conquer Earth in this era. The only possible opposition are Iron Man and Doctor Druid, but the pair have been in a trance like state since Druid sent the rest of the Avengers into the past.
Suddenly, Thor and She-Hulk appear in the mansion after being blast by the massive cyclopean Fomor known as Balor. As it turns out, the monster’s eye beam didn’t destroy them, just negated the spell that kept them in the 12th Century. Bres is able to hold them off temporarily with his magical powers until a mystical bolt strikes Iron Man to no effect. She-Hulk remembers hearing how their magic doesn’t effect iron and uses Iron Man as a projectile to knock Bres out. With the immediate threat over, Thor wonders how the rest of the team will fare without their two strongest members fighting by their side.
Back in the distant past, the Avengers try their best against Balor, but the creature is too powerful. Seeing his friends in danger, the Black Knight decides to disobey Amergin’s orders and come to their aid. During this time, Captain America, the Wasp, and Hawkeye have sought cover in the mud as protection from Balor’s powerful eyebeams. Thinking his friends vanquished, the Black Knight attacks astride his flying horse Valinor. When Balor knocks Dane Whitman off his horse, Hawkeye saves his life with some parachute arrows. The Avengers and the Black Knight then retreat back to the castle to regroup and come up with a new plan.
Meanwhile, Elathan — leader of the Fomor — manages to convince the dimwitted Balor to put aside past differences and help them destroy Avalon. The brutish monster agrees to help, looking forward to the prospect of smashing something.
Back inside Castle Avalon, Amerigen tells the Avengers that he needs to channel the power of the Fomor to power his new weapon, the Evil Eye. He also tries to explain that Thor and She-Hulk were not killed in battle when suddenly struck by psychic feedback as his mystical defenses around the castle are breached by the Fomor. With no other choice, Amerigen teleports outside the castle to face down the Fomor himself. There, Amerigen begins draining Balor’s powerful eye-beam to power the Evil Eye.
When the rest of the Fomor try to attack the aging Druid, the Avengers and the Black Knight come to his aid. However, they fail to stop Elathan from blasting Amergin with his mystical energies. The Black Knight runs to his masters aid and deflects Elathan’s magic with his Ebony Blade, fending him off. However, the damage has been done and Amergin is dying. He tells the Black Knight to use the Evil Eye to vanquish their enemies. However, at that moment, Balor has grabbed the weapon. However, instead of using it on his enemies, the brute inadvertedly blasts himself with it, transmuting him into pure energy. Reclaiming the Evil Eye, the Black Knight has it absorb the totality of Balor’s energies while the Fomor attempt to open a portal to Earth.
Although Elathan and his minions succeed in the portal, the Black Knight unleashes the full power of the Evil Eye upon them annihilating everything in a blinding flash of light. In the aftermath of this holocaust, the skeletal remains of the Black Knight’s body rematerializes on a 12th Century country side. However, instead of being destroyed the Avengers were returned to their own time just as Doctor Druid and Iron Man are freed from their trance. With no sign of the Black Knight, they asks what became of him. Conjuring up an image from the past, Doctor Druid shows them the remains of the Black Knight in that era. He then assures him that Dane Whitman is not dead. Turning his visions to present day Garrett Castle in England, the Avengers witness as the shattered rubble of his stone body reforms and comes back to life.[1] The Avengers want to head out to the United Kingdom and celebrate the Black Knights return to the present, but Doctor Druid tells them to give him time to adjust and come to them instead, then teleports away.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Hawkeye, She-Hulk), Black Knight, Doctor Druid, Fomore (Bres, Balor, Cethlann, Dulb, Elathan, Tethre), Valinor
Continuity Notes
In Defenders #4, the Black Knight was turned into stone by the Enchantress and his spirit was sent back in time to the 12th Century to possess the body of his ancestor. The Black Knight statue ended up getting shattered in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #37, after it was possessed by Ludi, a demon. Last issue it was explained that the rubble was taken to Garrett Castle.
Topical References
The narration in this story states that the president day is in the 20th Century. However, the Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time so that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st Century. As such, this is a topical reference.
Hawkeye is happy to see the Black Knight back in the present day after “all these years”. Per the Sliding Timescale, Dane Whitman’s body was turned into stone about three years prior to this story. Last issue explained that, from Dane’s perspective, he’s been living in the 12th Century for five years.
