Future Imperfect!

With the Avengers under her full control, Nebula has succeeded in reaching the Time Bubble, a massive barrier 20 years in the future that contains the most powerful weapon in the whole omniverse.[1][2] She then pilots the Quinjet down into the bubble to try and pierce the other side. Once inside, Nebula discovers an infinite number of Quinjets trying to pierce it. Suspecting that these are other attempts by the Avengers to enter the Bubble and when she tries to see who the passengers are but they are moving too fast to get a clear view of the cockpit.

Unwilling to go back, Nebula orders Thor and the Black Knight to go outside the ship and help them pierce the bubble. With Thor using Mjolnir to increase their speed, the Black Knight uses his Ebony Blade to cut through the energy barrier.[3] This plan succeeds and they manage to break through the barrier.

Back in the present day, members of the Council of Cross-Time Kangs have just arrived at Avengers headquarters on Hydrobase to learn that they just missed Nebula by moments. This is hardly a problem as the Kangs travel back in time to moments earlier so they can secretly hitch a ride aboard the Quinjet before the Avengers left for the Time Bubble.

In the Time Bubble, the unforeseen passengers begin affecting the Quinjet’s ability to remain within the field. It’s a bumpy ride causing Kang Mesozoic-24 to get pulled from the Quinjet and lost in the bubble and instantly ceases to exist. Inside the Quinjet, Nebula deduces that the reason why they can’t remain inside the Time Bubble is because the wrong Avengers are on board. Since Doctor Druid’s powers are enhanced in the bubble, she orders him to determine which Avengers are among them are present when the future Avengers pierce the Time Bubble. He determines that the odd man out is the Black Knight, and the unable to defend himself due to the blood curse that is immobilizing him, the Knight is tossed out of the Quinjet.[4] However, Dane is spared from the same the same fate as Mesozoic-24 thanks to Chairman Kang snares him in a tractor beam.

With the situation growing out of control, the Kangs begin trying to hack into the mindbender devices that keep the Avengers under Doctor Druid’s control. First, they manage to free Thor who begins attacking Nebula. This tips her off to the Kangs who have stowed aboard and she begins reasserting control over the thunder god. They then succeed in freeing She-Hulk who removes the mindbender from the back of her head to prevent Nebula from taking control of her again. A brawl breaks out between She-Hulk and Thor, causing enough turbulence to knock loose Chairman Kang and “Fred” from the ship, sending them into the Time Bubble to their apparent destruction.[5] As the Black Knight gets back aboard, She-Hulk knocks out Doctor Druid, finally freeing Thor.

Attacking Nebula, She-Hulk rips up her armor causing it to short circuit when their captor tries to attack them. This sends Nebula falling out of the ship to her apparent doom. Still under Nebula’s influence, Doctor Druid leaps out of the Quinjet and gets lose in the vortex along with her. With Nebula’s scheme foiled, the remaining Avengers return to their own time. There, they free Jarvis from the mindbender that was controlling him as well.[6] After their ordeal, She-Hulk decides that she needs time away from the Avengers. Thor then decides to head off to try and find a cure for the Black Knights condition. With the Avengers effectively disbanded, Jarvis believes that this is the end of the team and begins shutting everything down. As he leaves the communications room one of the machines begins giving off a soft humming sound.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Thor, She-Hulk, Black Knight, Doctor Druid) Nebula, Council of Cross-Time Kangs (Chairman Kang, Fred Kang, Mesozoic-24 Kang), Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3 designate the future the Time Bubble exists in as being in Reality-8810.

2. Kang Nebula is actually 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.

3. The sword had the curse suspended by a spell in Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #68-69, but it was broken Avengers #293 when Namor used the blade to slay Marrina. Due to the blood curse, Dane Whitman’s body is being transformed into a living sword, as stupid as that sounds. This causes Whitman to become completely immobilized eventually, but he is eventually freed from this curse thanks to the aid of Doctor Strange and the spirit of Sir Percy, his ancestor and the original Black Knight. See Thor #396-400 and Black Knight (vol. 2) #1-4.

4. In reality, the Avengers were not the ones to breach the Time Bubble, as seen in Fantastic Four #337-341 it’s actually the FF who make it through the barrier alongside Thor and Iron Man. These stories also reveal that the Kangs, “Nebula”, and Doctor Druid all survived the Time Bubble.

5. This is not the end of “Fred” Kang. He will manage to survive and will appear again in Avengers #300.

6. Jarvis is depicted wearing an eyepatch here. This is because his optic nerve was damaged after suffering a beating during the siege on Avengers Mansion in Avengers #275. He will wear this eye patch until around issue #318

7. 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.

Topical References

• The present day is stated as happening in the 20th Century. This is a topical reference due to the Sliding Timescale that has pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward so that it doesn’t begin until after the start of the 21st Century.