Rites of Conquest!

Hercules is entertaining the patrons of a local by lifting a table full of them over his head. The table quickly buckles under the pressure and the Olympian tells the bartender that he can get compensation from the Avengers. He is pulled aside by a friendly patron who offers to buy him around. When asked about his fellow Avengers, Hercules has nothing but praise for everyone except for their current leader, the Wasp, because Hercules dislikes taking orders from a woman. When the patron mocks Hercules, he angrily tosses the man out a window. When he lands in the path of a oncoming truck, Hercules races out to rescue him. The man is unharmed and brushes it off and departs. Little does Hercules know that this patron is the criminal known as the Wrecker. He has been pumping the hero for information on the Avengers. After returning to the surveillance van run by Yellowjacket, the pair report back to Moonstone at their hideout. She relays this information back to their employer, Baron Zemo. During this exchange, Zemo finds that Moonstone is starting to question his orders and believes that she is the largest threat to his leadership, luckily he has plans in place to prevent her from usurping command of his group.

He is particularly interested in finding a way to defeat the Avengers most powerful member, Captain Marvel and he monitors her as she uses her energy powers to fly through the Moon and head to Paris for breakfast. He then goes to check on Moonstone who is still working on their weapon to use against Captain Marvel, the villain known as Blackout. Although the villain is hopelessly insane, his Dark Force powers are Marvel’s only known weakness. Moonstone is making progress with a mind control device that will allow them to make Blackout follow her orders without question. To prove the mental probe works, she has Blackout protect them in a shroud of Dark Force matter.

Baron Zemo is then pulled away from the lab when he hears Mister Hide and Piledriver fighting. Zemo manages to calm Hyde down by convincing him to save his rage for their enemies. Moonstone is shocked by how easily Zemo was able to pull this off, little realizing that the scientist had some help by secretly dosing Mister Hyde with some tranquilizer.

Meanwhile, the Black Knight and the Wasp have arrived for a charity show. There Janet is surprised that the media knows about the Sub-Mariner’s recent absence from the team.[1] The Black Knight is unimpressed when Paladin shows up to crash the event. Little do they know that the information that has been leaked to the media was thanks to Baron Zemo who has been spying on the Avengers for some time. His observation of the Avengers is interrupted by the Fixer who comes to Zemo with a device that will allow him to usurp control of Blackout from Moonstone, allowing him to cement his leadership.

Soon, Baron Zemo calls a meeting of his new Masters of Evil, which consists of Moonstone, Goliath, the Absorbing Man, Titania, Tigershark, Yellowjacket, Mister Hyde, Blackout, and the Wrecker’s Wrecking Crew. He tells them that they have failed to stop the Avengers in the past because of the heroes unity and that they can only win by dividing them and beating them with superior numbers. When he demands an oath of loyalty, Moonstone steps up and attempts to convince the others that an ordinary man like Zemo has no right to lead them. However, the Baron proves he has the upper hand by ordering Blackout to restrain her, revealing that has outsmarted her at every turn. He then asserts his rights as leader of the Masters of Evil, the group first founded by his father, whose death her blames on Captain America.[2] Zemo’s rousing speech convinces the others to fall in line and they agree to follow his plans.

With Avengers Mansion deserted, the Masters of Evil storm the front gates. Jarvis, the team butler, responds by activating the mansion’s defenses but they are no match for the super-villain army. While he observes from the air, Baron Zemo sends Absorbing Man and Titania on another mission while the others secure the mansion.[3] Soon, Jarvis is caught by the Masters and is tied up. With Avengers Mansion under their control, Baron Zemo tells his minions that this is but the first step on their road to victory.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Wasp, Black Knight, Hercules, Captain Marvel), Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo, Goliath, Yellowjacket, Moonstone, Blackout, Mister Hyde, Fixer, Absorbing Man, Titania, Tiger Shark, Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer), Paladin, Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. The Sub-Mariner joined the Avengers in issue #262. When word got out, this led to protests that started in issue #267. Namor has been on a leave of absence from the team to sort out his romance with Marrina. See Avengers #272 and Alpha Flight #39 & 40.

2. Helmut Zemo’s father, Heinrich, formed the Masters of Evil back in Avengers #6. He died in battle with Captain America in issue #15.

3. The Absorbing Man and Titania are sent to La Guardia Airport to recruit the Mongoose into the Master of Evil. See Amazing Spider-Man #283. The Mongoose refuses to join, also his identity is not revealed until Thor #391.

Topical References

• The newscasters that interview the Wasp and the Black Knight identify themselves as being from Entertainment Tonight and CBS News. This as well as their doing charity work for the March of Dimes should all be considered topical as these are real world organizations.