Assault on Sancturary II

Secret Wars II continues from Incredible Hulk #312….

The Avengers have agreed to help General Zedrao liberate the remnants of the Skrull Empire from the tyranny of a mercenary named Nebula.[1] However, their ally Firelord wants nothing to do with the Skrulls since they have attacked his homeworld of Xandar in the past.[2] When Firelord arrives at his home world he finds it in ruins and Queen Adora gravely injured. She tells him that Xandar was attacked by Nebula and its champions slain.[3]

Meanwhile, the Avengers and the Skrull’s General Zedrao are strategizing their attack on Sanctuary II, the former starship of Thanos, which Nebula has commandeered.[4] They launch a communication probe at Sanctuary II. The probe is recovered by Skunge, one of Nebula’s subordinates. When brought to Nebula, the probe opens and plays a recording of Zedrao and Captain Marvel, ordering Nebula to surrender or suffer the consequences. Nebula refuses to surrender and orders her fleet to intercept the approaching Skrull armada. In the ensuing clash, the Avengers lend their skill in battle with both the Black Knight and Hercules leaving the command ship to attack the enemy ships directly. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel attempts to infiltrate Sanctuary II in her energy form, but discovers that Nebula erected a force field that prevents her from doing so.

With Captain America scrambling with tactical orders, the battle appears to be going in Nebula’s favor until Firelord arrives to get his revenge against Nebula’s armies. However, the former herald of Galactus is blasted by Sanctuary and sent landing on a nearby moon. There he is approached by the cosmic entity known as the Beyonder, who has come looking for the Avengers.[5] By this time, Captain Marvel has managed to short out Sanctuary II’s shields allowing a war party consisting of Captain America, Starfox, General Zedrao and some Skrull troops to board the ship. To confuse and frighten the crew, Zedrao disguises himself as Thanos. With the enemy soldiers defeated, Captain America convinces Zedrao to spare their lives and they begin hunting for Nebula.

Back on the moon, the Beyonder learns from Firelord that the Avengers are trying to put a stop to Nebula as she is a threat to the universe. Wanting to become a hero like the Avengers, the One From Beyond transforms his outfit into a super-hero costume and teleports away so he can lend a hand.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Avengers have boarded Sanctuary II and are dealing with the armies on board. Nebula, seeing the tide of battle shifting, tries to escape with her lieutenants. They are interrupted by Starfox who tries to stop them. However, he is distracted when Nebula claims that she is the granddaughter of his brother, Thanos.[6] When is then stunned by a mental blast by the Rigelian Gunthar. That’s when the Beyonder appears before them and after confirming the identity of Nebula and her compatriots he uses his powers to teleport them away to the farthest regions of the galaxy. This deeply upsets Eros who hoped to learn more about Nebula’s claims and chastises the Beyonder for acting so rashly. Confused by Starfox’s results, the Beyonder admits that he is still trying to figure out the nuances of human behavior and speech and when the other Avengers finally arrive he teleports away in shame. Hearing that this entity called himself “from beyond”, Captain America fears that this might have been the Beyonder and is deeply concerned about the threat he may pose to the universe.[7] Meanwhile, Starfox is determined to hunt down Nebula and learn the truth behind her claims.

…. Secret Wars II continues in Secret Wars II #4.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Wasp, Black Knight, Hercules, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Nebula, Beyonder, Firelord, Queen Adora, General Zedrao, Skunge, Levan, Kehl, Gunthar

Continuity Notes

1. The Skrull Empire has been in disarray since Galactus destroyed their throne world in Fantastic Four #257.

2. The Skrulls previously attacked Xandar in Fantastic Four #206-208 and Rom #24.

3. This would be the Champions of Xandar, who were first formed in Fantastic Four #208. Although they are not mentioned here by name, nor are their deaths depicted in this story. However, this fact was confirmed in the Champion’s profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition #16. That source also clarifies that Adora also dies here. However, the world of Xandar and the majority of its people are resurrected using cloning technology by the time Xandar is revisited in New Warriors #41-42.

4. This story states that Thanos is dead. He died fighting the Avengers and their allies in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2. He will be resurrected in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #34. Nebula highjacked the ship in Avengers #255.

5. The Beyonder came looking for the Avengers to learn about the human experience. See Secret Wars II #3.

6. This claim turns out to be questionable see below.

7. Captain America had recently encountered the Beyonder on Earth in Secret Wars II #1.

Nebula’s Claim

Nebula has claimed to be the granddaughter of Thanos on a number of occasions after this issue. The last time she claimed this was in Annihilation: Ronan #2. However, in Nova (vol. 2) #1, she claimed to be the daughter of Zorr, the alien responsible for attacking Xandar an event that led to Richard Rider becoming Nova, circa Nova #1.

When Thanos learns of this claim later on in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #38, he horribly attacks Nebula burning much of her body and later appearances show her wearing cybernetic body parts to replace her damaged parts of her body.

More recently, in Gamora #1-5, it is shown that Nebula was at one point an adopted daughter of Thanos around the time that Gamora was still loyal to him. In that story, she was depicted with cybernetic body parts prior to the injuries sustained in the Silver Surfer story.

Silver Surfer Annual #5 also tells a tale where Nebula’s mind is probed revealing that she had an abusive father with blue skin and a ridged chin whom she murdered in self defense.

Marvel at the time of this writing (September 2021) has yet to address all of these conflicting issues. It’s the opinion of this index that the idea of Nebula being an adopted daughter of Thanos at an earlier point is not out of the realm of possibility given Nebula’s history of mental instability and the fact that Thanos has neither confirmed or denied having previously encountered Nebula. The idea of her appearing with visible cybernetic implants before her appearance in Avengers #257 is not impossible since she has been shown to flip-flop between her cybernetic and original appearance, notably in Nova (vol. 2) #1.

Topical References

• The Beyonder is depicted in this story as mirroring the style of Michael Jackson had in the mid-80s during his Thriller period. While one could consider this esthetic look as being a topical reference, later flashbacks featuring the Beyonder from this period still have him dressed as an 80s fashion reject. I would argue that his appearance is not a topical reference at all, but a product of his not really understanding human fashion trends. It would add to his bizarre attempts at fitting in if he glommed onto a dated fashion trend.

Secret Wars II Reading Order

Secret Wars II #1, New Mutants #30, Captain America, #308, Uncanny X-Men #196, Iron Man #197, Secret Wars II #2, Web of Spider-Man #6, Amazing Spider-Man #268, Fantastic Four #282, Secret Wars II #3, Daredevil #223, Incredible Hulk #312, Avengers #260, Secret Wars II #4, Dazzler #40, Alpha Flight #28, Rom #72, Avengers #261, Secret Wars II #5, Thing #30, Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #74, Fantastic Four #285, Secret Wars II #6, Cloak and Dagger (vol. 2) #4, Power Pack #18, Micronauts (vol. 2) #16, Thor #363, Power Man and Iron Fist #121, Secret Wars II #7, New Mutants #36, Amazing Spider-Man #273, Spectacular Spider-Man #111, Uncanny X-Men #202, Defenders #152, Secret Wars II #8, New Mutants #37, Amazing Spider-Man #274, Avengers #265, Uncanny X-Men #203, Fantastic Four #288, Secret Wars II #9, Avengers #266