The Ties That Bind!

Sersi, Starfox, and the Wasp have just been captured by the Delphan Brothers at a swanky New York party. Witness to the event, the She-Hulk can only leave a message for the rest of the Avengers because she has to report back for duty with the Fantastic Four.[1] This message is viewed by the Vision and the Scarlet Witch. As acting chairman, the Vision decides that since they have not received a distress beacon from either Eros or Janet, that the best thing to do is rally active Avengers for a potential rescue mission. The Vision then begins searching the data files the team has on Sersi, remembering that name from when he directly connected to the mansion’s computers. He admits to himself that he misses having access to all that data but reminds himself that soon he will have access to it and more once his plans come to fruition.[2] The Scarlet Witch, unaware of her husbands plans, has noticed a change in his behavior and after learning that he had been talking to the President about making the Avengers chairmanship a cabinet level post within the government, she wonders what he is planning for and why.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Monica Rambeau has just finished telling her parents that she is Captain Marvel. Frank and Maria Rambeau are proud to learn that their daughter is now a member of the Avengers. Monica is relieved that her parents are so accepting of the news. When she starts hearing what they have been up to, Frank talks about how he’s just not ready to retire at his age. This is great news for Monica, who tells her parents that she is also starting up her own business to run when she’s not busy for the Avengers. Before she can get into anymore detail, her Avengers alert goes off. Excusing herself, Monica changes into Captain Marvel and speeds off to New York in her light form. She arrives at Avengers Mansion moments later and is greeted by the Vision, who tells her about the Wasp and Starfox’s capture.

The two missing Avengers have been taken to Olympia, home of the Eternals, along with Sersi. However, instead of a fight, the pair are surprised when the Eternals welcome them with open arms. When meeting Ikaris, the Wasp suddenly remembers hearing about the Eternals from Thor, who had encountered their secret society recently.[3] Sersi, on the other hand, isn’t happy about being abducted and fights off the Delphan Brothers who brought her back to Olympia. Using her transmutation powers, she turns the Delphans into ant-eaters until Ikaris calms her down and convinces her to change them back. With everything sorted out, the Wasp asks why the Eternals wanted Sersi to come back home.

Ikaris tells her that to understand their motivations she must know the history of the Eternals. He tells her that millennia ago the Earth was visited by the Celestials, massive cosmic beings that experimented on their primate ancestors creating three different species: regular humans, the immortal cosmically powerful Eternals, and the genetically unstable monstrosities called the Deviants. While humanity struggled up the evolutionary ladder the two offshoots of humanity carved their own independent empires. The Deviants retreated underground where they developed a warlike society, while the Eternals went to the mountains to establish a utopia for themselves.[4]

However, the Eternals were no strangers to war and their first settlement — Titanos — was the site of a bloody civil war. Ultimately, the Eternals leader Chronos defeated the dissident Uranos and his followers. In order to maintain peace, Uranos and his people were ordered into exile and they left Earth to find their destiny in the stars. Chronos became obsessed with casting off the Eternals need for war by giving his people immortality. While Chronos succeeded in this effort, his attempts to isolate the cosmic energy required exploded in his hands. While Chronos’ body was destroyed his mind lived on, becoming one with the universe itself. Learning of the gift Chronos bestowed upon them, the Eternals found themselves divided over choosing a successor between the two sons of Chronos, Zuras and Alars. Ultimately, the Eternals chose Zuras and in order to prevent another civil war, Alars left Earth and sough to find the exiled followers of Uranos in space.[5] Concluding their tale, the Eternals say that they are unsure what became of Alars after that.

They are provided an answer from a surprising source, Starfox, who reveals that Alars is his father. He explains that Alars — now known as Mentor — arrived on the Saturnian moon of Titan and discovered a remains of a city. Searching the ruins, Alars found a lone survivor, a woman named Sui-San. The two fell in love and sired many children and rebuilt the city as their new home. He constructed a vast underground society maintained by a powerful world-computer called ISAAC. Hearing Eros’ amazing tale, Ikaris believes that this could change everything and suggest they tell Domo and Thena everything they just learned.

Back in New York City, the Vision continues to wait for word on the Wasp and Starfox, while calling in other Avengers.[6] He also finds information on Sersi and the Eternals in a report that was filed by Thor. Learning about the Eternals home in Olympia, the Vision dispatches Captain Marvel to check on their friends. Moments later, she reports back and tells the Vision that Janet and Eros are safe. It’s then that Domo finishes a genetic test on Starfox, confirming that everything he has told them about his lineage is true. He insists that Eros must be included in their ritual of the Uni-Mind.

At that moment, at a small village in Transia, Quicksilver’s search for Bova has come to an end. However, instead of recruiting the cow-woman to be a nanny for his daughter Luna, he has found her on her death bed following an attack by Magneto. This attack was instigated when Magneto learned that he is the father of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. News of this attack angers Pietro who was visited by Magneto shortly after this attack. It was there that Magneto claimed that he had changed his ways, however the attack of Bova proves that this was a lie. Once Bova has been deemed healthy enough to move, Pietro intends to use Lockjaw to teleport her to the Inhuman’s city on the moon where he hopes their healers can save her life. He vows to begin preparing for his next meeting with Magneto in which he will make the Master of Magnetism pay for what he has done.[7]

Back in Olympia, the Eternals are preparing to begin their ritual of the Uni-Mind and agree to allow the Vision to observe and record the event for the Avengers records. When Captain Marvel asks if they won’t be vulnerable to attack from the Deviants, the Eternals reveal that their mortal enemies have all been transmuted into a massive cube that rests beneath their feet.[8] The Avengers watch in awe as the Eternals all begin circling around Thena in the ritual of the Uni-Mind. Eros and the other Eternals then merge with the flame that appears round Thena, causing them all to transform into the massive brain-like entity called the Uni-Mind.

As the Wasp and Captain Marvel watch in awe, they are suddenly ambushed by someone. This attack cuts off communication with the Vision in New York. When the Vision and Scarlet Witch re-establish communication they discover that the attacker is the Deviant/Inhuman hybrid known as Maelstrom who intends to steal the power of the Uni-Mind.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Maelstrom, Eternals (Uni-Mind, Thena, Ikaris, Sersi, Delphan Brothers, Domo, Valkin), Quicksilver, Lockjaw, (in flashback) Chronos, Uranos, Alars, Zuras, Ziran the Tester, Deviants, Frank Rambeau, Maria Rambeau

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, the She-Hulk was a member of both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. During Secret Wars, Ben Grimm discovered that he could change between human and Thing forms and opted to stay behind. She-Hulk became an official member of the FF in Fantastic Four #265. The mission she is going on here is to help the FF stop the threat of Terminus, as seen in Fantastic Four #269-270.

2. The Vision knocked into a coma during the Avengers battle with Annihilus in Avengers #233. When his mind finally woke up, he was hooked into the Avengers computer and the Titan world-computer ISAAC from Avengers #238-242 when he regained his mobility. His secret plans are to turn the world into a peaceful utopia by taking over every computer on the planet, a scheme that will reach its fruition in Avengers #252-254.

3. Thor had a long running exploration into the origins of the Celestials and their possible connection to the gods of Asgard, which led to a number of encounters with the Eternals from Thor #283-300.

4. The Celestials tampering with humanity was all laid out in Eternals #1.

5. The Eternal civil war and the schism in Eternal society between those loyal to Chronos and Uranos as well as between Zuras and Alars was detailed in What If? #23-28. What’s not detailed here is that when Uranos and his people first arrived on the moon of Titan they discovered a Kree outpost and this is what decimated them.

6. The Vision states here that Captain America is off on a mission for the government. At the time of this story, Captain America was battling the Red Skull for the “last time” (which totally wasn’t) See Captain America #294-301.

7. There is a lot going on in this scene that needs to be unpacked:

   • Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are referred to as mutants in this story and the parents of Magneto and his late wife, Magda. Both of these facts turn out to be false. In reality, the twins are the children of Natalya Maximoff and an unidentified man, per Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #4.

   • They were kidnapped as babies and experimented upon by the High Evolutionary before being turned over to their aunt and uncle. To cover up his work, the High Evolutionary made it so that future genetic tests had the Maximoff twins register as mutants. See Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4.

   • While they were in the possession of the High Evolutionary, the infants were cared for by Bova, the only part of their past (at the time of this story) that seems to be true. It was first depicted in Giant-Size Avengers #1.

   • It has been stated in Avengers #186 and Classic X-Men #12 tell that Magneto’s wife Magda, fully pregnant, fled to the High Evolutionary’s Citadel of Science where she allegedly gave birth to the Maximoff twins. After giving birth, Magda fled into the mountains to hide the location of her children and apparently died. Is there any truth to this? At the time of this writing (August 2021) there is no definitive answer.

   • Magneto was told that Pietro and Wanda where his children in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4. It was then that he attacked Bova and later tried to convince his “children” that he had changed.

   • It is stated here that the sorcerer Modred was present during Magneto’s attack and went missing in the mountains. Modred was left in a childlike state after following Chthon’s failed attempt to possess the Scarlet Witch’s body in Avengers #185-187. He was left in the care of Bova until Magneto’s attack. He will resurface with his mind intact again in Captain America #305-306.

   • Does Pietro ever avenge Bova’s attack? Not really. When he next encounters Magneto in Avengers West Coast #55-57 & 60, he pretends to want to ally himself with his “father” and reform the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Ultimately his ruse is exposed, but Magneto gets away. Subsequent encounters don’t mention Bova. So I guess he kind of forgot to avenge the cow lady.

8. The Eternals turned the Deviants into a massive cube back in Iron Man Annual #6. This is by no means all of the Deviants as many escaped this fate. The Deviants will become a threat again in Eternals (vol. 2) #1-12. The reason why they are not a threat here is because they are experiencing a power vacuum following their ruler, Tode, becoming part of the cube the Eternals are using for a patio.