Metamorphosis

Hydrobase has been suspended on a massive pillar of volcanic rock by the Lava Men that is now starting to crumble. The only person in headquarters is the Avengers dutiful butler, Jarvis, who sends out a distress call to any Avengers that can come and rescue him.[1] Answering the call are Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. When they arrive in their air-car. In order to stabilize the island and prevent it from tipping over into the ocean, Reed tells Sue to use her powers to create an invisible wedge to steady Hydrobase.

Meanwhile, deep below the surface of the Earth, the Avengers are in for the fight of their lives. They have been kidnapped by Jinku, a witchdoctor and apparent last survivor of the Lava Men. He blames the Avengers for the loss of his people because they killed Cha’sa’dra during the Inferno crisis. The Lava Men worshiped the demon as a god and in response Jinku has unleashed his creation a massive lava monster he calls the Avenging Avatar of Cha’sa’dra.

As the battle rages below, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman continue to try and stabilize Hydrobase. Wonder Man soon arrives to lend them a hand. As he uses his tremendous strength to keep the island stable, Reed instructs his wife to create a coil around the crumbling pillar of volcanic rock that keeps the island suspended high in the air. This is so that when the pillar finally falls apart, the coil will act like a spring that will gently lower Hydrobase back into the water.

Back below the Earth, the Avengers battle on, with Gilgamesh taking the most pleasure in the battle since he joined the Avengers specifically to fight monsters such as the Avatar. However, his zeal makes him careless and the monster knocks him out with a single punch. The battle comes to an abrupt end when the last of the Lava Men — who had solidified into solid rock follow Cha’sa’dra’s death — undergo a startling transformation. Apparently, the solidification was part of a metamorphosis wherein the Lava Men evolved into beings made of a solid gold material.

Revived, the newly transformed Lava Men are able to stop the Avatar in its tracks. They tell Jinku that his quest for revenge was pointless and ask him to join them. Jinku is relieved that his people are alive again and when he is struck by one of them his stone skin shatters revealing that he too was undergoing the same transformation. Realizing the errors of his ways, Jinku apologizes to the Avengers. Captain America tells the witchdoctor that all is forgiven as they will recover, all except for Gilgamesh his is still in a coma after being knocked out.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Gilgamesh, Quasar), Lava Men (Jinku, Avatar of Cha’sa’dra), Ewin Jarvis, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Wonder Man

Continuity Notes

1. Jarvis is depicted wearing an eyepatch here. This is because he suffered optic nerve damage after being tortured by Mister Hyde in Avengers #275. He will continue to wear this eye patch until his eye is fully healed in Avengers #317.