The Snow of Summer

Hercules has swam to the shores of a Caribbean resort to take in some merriment among the vacationers. Since he is attracting attention from all the women, some of the men on the beach are unhappy and one of them tries to pick a fight with the Olympian. Hercules is ready for a fight but all thoughts of a brawl disappear when a freak snowstorm hits this tropical paradise. Sensing that this is an unnatural occurrence, Hercules swims out to a nearby Naval battleship to see if there is anything he can do to help in this crisis.

Meanwhile, the Titan world-computer ISAAC contacts the Vision on Earth to check in on his ongoing plan.[1] However, the Vision has been pre-occupied with examining the corpse of Maelstrom, whom the Avengers fought alongside the Eternals.[2] The Vision’s distraction comes from the fact that he briefly linked minds with Maelstrom during the battle and his sudden death doesn’t convince him that his threat has been dealt with. That’s when the alarm goes off and the Vision excuses himself to meet with his fellow Avengers. Captain Marvel has sounded the alarm because the entire world seems to be besieged with a freak global blizzard.[3] That’s when they receive a radio call from Hercules, who has used his Avengers priority to commandeer a Navy fighter jet to take him back to New York so he can lend a hand. That’s when Thor arrives and tells his teammates that the freak blizzard has been caused by the Cask of Ancient Winters being opened by his foe Malekith the Accursed. This is all part of a scheme by the fire demon Surtur to cover the Earth ice so that he can advance onward and destroy Asgard.[4]

As Thor rallies the Avengers, the fighter jet carrying Hercules arrives in New York just as the demon hords of Surtur arrive and begin laying siege to the city. While Thor leads the Avengers into battle, the Vision remains at the mansion and tries to contact others that will be able to help. Unfortunately, due to interference he cannot reach the West Coast Avengers. A call to Alpha Flight is fruitless as well as he learns that the Canadian superhero team is dealing with the crisis in their own country.[5] A call to Captain America also yields no answer.[6] The Vision is more successful when he contacts the Fantastic Four and succeeds in reaching their leader, Mister Fantastic. Soon, the She-Hulk is dispatched to lend the Avengers a hand. She is soon joined by Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch who arrive moments later. Unfortunately, the Torch discovers his flame powers have no effect on the fire demons, for obvious reasons. Over the city, Hercules is eager to get to the ground and help his comrades. Since the fighter jet has no place to safely land, Hercules activates the ejector seat instead and joins the battle.

Elsewhere, in a secret laboratory, Maelstrom’s mind is transferred into his newly cloned body. He is not pleased with Deathurge, who refused to attack the Avengers on his orders. The mysterious ebon warrior states that it was not yet time for the heroes to perish and since he is no longer needed for the moment, he departs by walking through a nearby wall. Although his attempt to steal the power of the Eternal Uni-Mind was a failure, he gleamed knowledge that will give him the power of the entire Earth itself.

Back in New York City, the battle rages on as the Warriors Three join the Avengers ranks in repelling the demonic invaders. However, no sooner have they finished defeating the first wave, a second appears on the horizon….

… This story is continued in Thor #350.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Thor, Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, Vision, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Sons of Muspell, Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg), Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, She-Hulk), Beta Ray Bill, ISAAC, Gary Cody, Maelstrom, Deathurge

Continuity Notes

1. The Vision has been working to take over the world’s computers in order to create a utopian society since Avengers #238. His plans will come to fruition in issues #252-254.

2. The whole Eternals/Maelstrom thing happened in Avengers #246-248.

3. The Wasp hopes that this isn’t the work of the Weathermen, weather controlling villains that the team fought back in Avengers #210.

4. This is all a long running plot over in the pages of Thor which began in issue #337 when Surtur forged the sword he needs to destroy Asgard. The Cask of Ancient Winters was shattered in Thor #348.

5. Gary Cody tells the Vision that Alpha Flight is no longer affiliated with the Canadian government. Department H (and by extension Alpha Flight) were shut down due to financial reasons back in X-Men #140. Unwilling to stop protecting his country, Vindicator began running Alpha Flight independently of the Canadian government starting in Alpha Flight #1.

6. Cap is unavailable here because he is in the middle of a life-or-death battle with the Red Skull. See Captain America #294-301.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and have since been replaced with the Freedom Tower.