Avengers #293
And Flights of Angels…
The Sub-Mariner’s bride Marrina has transformed into a massive sea creature called the Leviathan.[1] After terrorizing the surface world, the monster has not launched an attack on Namor’s homeland of Atlantis. Watching helplessly from the sidelines, Namor realizes that he can no longer stand by and allow his wife to continue her rampage and swims off to join the Avengers.[2] Little does Namor know is that his mind has been subtly influenced by Doctor Druid. Not only that, but Doctor Druid used his mental powers to make Leviathan attack Atlantis to give the Sub-Mariner the necessary push. Plagued with dreams that show him becoming the ruler of the world, Druid believes that he must save the planet from some great cataclysm, which he believes is the threat posed by Leviathan.[3] Convincing Namor to rejoin his teammates is part of the Doctor’s long con to usurp control of the Avengers from the groups current chairperson, Captain Marvel.
Meanwhile, the other Avengers are working on a way to try and save Marrina by finding a cure for her condition. To this end, they have enlisted the aid of Hank Pym who has created a solution that should overwrite Marrina’s Plodex DNA and revert her back to human form. Due to Leviathan’s armored hide, Pym has constructed massive needles that operate like harpoons. However, Pym isn’t entirely sure that this will work but wishes the Avengers all the best. As they prepare to embark on their mission, the Black Knight worries that they will continue to receive opposition from the Sub-Mariner. That’s when Namor arrives and tells the team that he will help them by leading them to Leviathan’s nest. She-Hulk, however, is not quick to trust Namor considering that they are hunting the Atlantean’s wife.
The Avengers then head out in a Quinjet and after searching the seas they find Leviathan attacking yet another ship. Aboard his atomic steed, the Black Knight and She-Hulk attempt to fire the harpoons at Leviathan. However, her armored hide proves too strong for the needles to puncture. Noticing that the monster’s mouth is unshielded, Thor attacks the monster head on so it opens its maw. This gives the Black Knight a perfect shot and after Pym’s solution is injected into Marrina she rapidly reverts back to her human form. Namor quickly rushes to his wife’s side. When she wakes up Marrina has no memory of what she has been doing.
Meanwhile, somewhere in time and space, Kang the Conqueror is brought before the leaders of the Council of Cross-Time Kangs.[4] Their leader, Chairman Kang, explains that they are a multiversal force who recruit the surviving Kangs of each timeline who survives the war against their divergent selves.[5] Designated Kang of Earth 123488.23497, he is offered a position on the council, warned that if he refuses he will be killed. With no other choice, Kang agrees and is left in the care of a female named Kang Nebula.[6] Nebula shows the new recruit around, explaining that they have all given themselves nicknames to tell each other apart. Hearing this, Kang decides to go by the name Fred, after the character from the Flintstones. Nebula then lets “Fred” know about the Council’s goal: To obtain the most powerful weapon in the omniverse. Promising to tell him more later, Nebula then returns to her room where she uses a device to transmit another “prophetic” dream to Doctor Druid.
Back in the present, the Avengers are heading back to base with Marrina, who feels off after her reversion. Suddenly, she attacks Namor and falls into the ocean where she transforms into Leviathan again. With the cure a failure, the Avengers realize that they have no other choice but to slay Marrina in order to end her threat. While Thor summons a powerful lightning storm, Captain Marvel adds the power of her energy form to the attack. She strikes Leviathan at the same time as a bolt of lightning. This only manages to cause the ocean around the monster to boil and Captain Marvel is lost in the steam. The Black Knight then decides that the only way to kill the monster is with his Ebony Blade, even though that this will reactivate the blood curse on the enchanted weapon.[7]
However, the Sub-Mariner insists that if anyone is to slay his wife, it will be him. Taking the Ebony Blade from the Knight, the Sub-Mariner fatally stabs Leviathan through the eye. The blood drawn from the blow reactivates the blade’s curse causing Dane to scream in agony. As Leviathan sinks to the ocean floor, the Avengers follow after her. They discover that the ships that she sunk earlier have been built into a next to protect a number eggs that she has laid. As the team tries to make sense of what happened, the eggs hatch and strange humanoid forms flit off into the ocean. Namor then finds Marrina’s body — reverted back to human form — and confirms that she is dead. Mourning the loss of Marrina, Namor vows to track down their children after putting her body to rest and swims off.[8] As the other Avengers prepare to head for home, Doctor Druid notices that Captain Marvel is missing.[9]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Thor, Black Knight, She-Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Doctor Druid), Leviathan, Henry Pym, Council of Cross-Time Kangs (Chairman Kang, Fred Kang, Nebula, Kong, Cobra)
Continuity Notes
Marrina is a member of the Plodex race, which sends its children to alien worlds where they adapt to their environment and conquer the planet. Marrina’s origins and biological nature are detailed in Alpha Flight #2, 3-4, 14-16, and 39-40. It’s revealed in Avengers #293 that this transformation was triggered because Marrina is pregnant, which triggers her Plodex DNA. She and Namor got married in Alpha Flight #40.
Namor refers to the people of Atlantis as his former subjects. At the time of this story, he had just recently abdicated the throne in Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner #1-4. He will remain in exile until Namor the Sub-Mariner #40.
These dreams are the product of manipulations by Ravonna Renslayer who is manipulating Druid in order to get access to a powerful weapon that is trapped in a Time Bubble that exists some 20 years in the future. This is all part of a long running scheme to get revenge against Kang the Conqueror. See Avengers #294-297, Fantastic Four #337-341, Captain America Annual #11, Thor Annual #17, Fantastic Four Annual #25, and Avengers Annual #21.
Avengers Annual #21 and Avengers Forever #9 clarify that these are not divergent Kangs, but others who murdered the Kang of their native reality and usurped his identity for their own ends.
The Kang brought before the Council is the apparent survivor of the Kang War that occurred in Avengers #267-269. At the end of that story, Kang fled into Limbo after being driven mad by a globe of knowledge. Avengers Forever #9 clarifies that this is not the Kang, but another divergent created when the Kang at the end of Avengers #269 committed suicide and created two divergent selves to break his insanity. This Kang was recruited by the Cross-Time Kangs in Avengers #291.
While this story implies that this is the space pirate Nebula, whom the Avengers fought in Avengers #259-260, it is not. This is actually Ravonna Renslayer in disguise, as we’ll learn in the Citizen Kang event that occurs in the annuals mentioned in footnote #3.
The curse on the Ebony Blade was just recent subdued with a spell during the events of Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #68-69. Strange warned the Knight that the spell would be broken if he used the sword to draw blood.
Some facts about Marrina’s demise here:
In Alpha Flight #78, Lian the Sorcerer informs the Master of the World that Marrina is not truly dead, but in a death-like state. Her body would be seen being experimented upon by the Master in Avengers (vol. 3) #47. Later, it ends up in the possession of Norman Osborn who will use Leviathan against Namor and the X-Men in Dark Reign: The List - X-Men #1. She will be fully restored to life in Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1.
Marrina and Namor’s children would not fare much better. When Namor finally tracks them down in Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #4, they end up getting killed by a deadly toxin created by Hydra.
Captain Marvel’s energy form was dissipated in battle and she will return in a emaciated state next issue, forcing her to resign from the Avengers.
Topical References
Kang asking to be called Fred Flintstone would not really be considered a topical reference. If you remember back to Fantastic Four #19, Nathaniel Richards was obsessed with the modern age. It stands to reason that he’d know about 20th Century pop-culture.
