Avengers Annual #14
Fifth Column
This story takes place concurrently with the events of Fantastic Four Annual #19…
With the Skrull Empire in disarray following the destruction of their home world, a team of Skrulls led by Raksor break into a Skrull prison on the world of Klarr.[1] There they liberate Prince Dezan, who had been imprisoned there years earlier and forced to wear an iron mask as punishment.
Meanwhile, the Avengers have helped General Zedrao secure Sanctuary II following their battle with Nebula. However, the mercenary managed to escape due to the unexpected interference from the Beyonder. Hearing Nebula claim to be the granddaughter of his brother Thanos, Starfox is eager to pick up the train and figure out where she went when she was teleported away.[2] With Firelord recovering from the battle, the Avengers decide to at least try and figure out where Nebula went. To that end, Zedrao offers them safe passage to a power asteroid that could track her energy signature.[4]
A crew if formed to escort the Avengers to the power station, although they are unhappy to do so because of the Avengers past involvement in the Kree/Skrull War, but follow orders anyway.[3] En route, they are attacked by spacecraft that resemble World War I biplanes. Their Skrull allies inform the Avengers that these are Skrulls from the planet Kraal, who are enamored by the American culture from the 1930s.[5] Explanations are quickly made and the Avengers are invited back to Big Casino, a massive starship built to resemble a 30’s era Zepplin. There they meet with Floyd Donahue, a Skrull who has taken on the appearance and personality of actor Humphrey Bogart.
As it turns out Donahue is heading to the power station himself because he is harboring Prince Dezan aboard Big Casino. When the Avengers meet the disposed prince he tells them about how he entered into exile. He conspired with two others named Zabyk and Myrn to overthrow the Skrull ruling class. Dezan was caught and imprisoned and forced to wear an iron mask. However, he did not reveal his co-conspirators who continued their plans in secret. This is particularly dangerous since Myrn, a scientist, has pushed ahead with some kind of doomsday plan following the destruction of the Skrull home world by Galactus. They also meet Raksor, who explains that he stumbled upon Zabyk and Myrn’s plans and sought out the one person who could potentially stop them from carrying out their mad scheme.[6]
While Zedrao’s men are furious that Raksor freed Dezan, Starfox agree that they need to investigate this new threat and put a stop to it. Both Captain America and the Wasp are a little bothered by Eros’ overstepping the chain-of-command, but they agree. With Floyd’s help, the heroes disguise themselves as Krallian Skrulls while Big Casino makes a drop off depleted power stones as a cover for the covert operation. With most of the Avengers disguised, both the Black Knight and the Wasp hide in a wooden crate which the Krallians claim contains the drained power stones. Unfortunately, the plan goes sideways when the Skrulls aboard the satellite scan the crate and begin picking up life-signs. With their cover blown, the Avengers and their Skrull allies drop their disguises and begin fighting.
Captain Marvel is sent ahead to try and find Zabyk and Myrn as well as use her energy power to short out the defense and communications systems aboard the space station. Seeing the attack on the security monitors, the two conspirators decide that it is now or never. Myrn instructs Zabyk on how to activate the hyperwave bomb that he has created. This requires Zabyk to wear a specially shielded exo-suit that he can only wear by snaking his malleable body through a complex mesh of shielding. Once he is in the suit, Zabyk murders Myrn so that nobody is able to force the scientist into revealing how to disable the weapon.
Meanwhile, the Avengers continue to press forward through the facility when they are joined by what appears to be Thor and a bunch of Rigelians who have claim to be on a mission to stop the Skrulls. However, Captain America is suspicious about this and when he catches “Thor” in a lie, he has Hercules knock the impostors out.[7] They fight their way through the Skrulls until they run into She-Hulk and the Fantastic Four. This leads to a tense moment where both teams wonder if they are actually Skrull impostors until Captain America confirms that they are dealing with the real Fantastic Four when Reed Richards confirms that their headquarters was recently destroyed.[8]
That’s when Zabyk contacts them through the com-system from the chamber where the hyperwave bomb is being held. Captain Marvel uses her energy form to try and destroy the device but has to retreat when the dimensional energies contained within threaten to rip her apart.[9] Zabyk then activates the hyperwave bomb which uses the power center broadcast dish to transmit its energies across the universe. The weapon causes all Skrulls to lose their ability to shapeshift, locking them into whatever form they are wearing at the time of detonation. Zabyk realizes to his horror that his exo-skeleton is not properly shielded and he is now trapped inside it. Mister Fantastic explains that he and his team had run into the dying Myrn and he told them what the weapon was capable of and were trying to stop Zabyk before it was too late. In the aftermath of the detonation, Dezan realizes that for better or for worse the Skrulls are going to have to live with this seemingly irreparable change moving forward, particularly since his people are now trapped in a myriad of different forms.[10] Captain America gives Dezan a modicum of hope when he explains how, in America, people are treated equal despite their many differences.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Black Knight tries to use the Skrull computers to pinpoint Nebula’s location but the tracking devices were destroyed by the hyperwave bomb. On their way back home, Captain Marvel wonders why Dezan’s crimes were that resulted in his imprisonment years earlier and Captain America — who had a private talk with the former prince — tells her that his great crime was trying to bring peace among Skrull society.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Wasp, Black Knight, Hercules, Starfox, Captain Marvel), Skrulls (Zabyk, Myrn, General Zedrao, Prince Dezan, Raksor, Floyd Donahue) Firelord, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, She-Hulk)
Continuity Notes
The Skrull home world was destroyed by Galactus in Fantastic Four #257.
The battle with Nebula happened in Avengers #259-260. Her claims of being the granddaughter of Thanos have since been refuted in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #38 by Thanos himself. She later claimed to be the daughter of Zorr in Nova (vol. 2) #1. Silver Surfer Annual #5 identifies her father as a man with blue skin and a ridged chin. Gamora #1-5 suggests that there was a period when Thanos adopted Nebula, however the full details surrounding these circumstances has yet to be full explored.
The Avengers put a stop to this centuries old conflict. See Avengers #89-97.
This satellite was once used to beam power to the Super-Skrull, enabling him to mimic the abilities of the Fantastic Four. See Fantastic Four #18.
The gangster themed Skrulls of Kral IV were first seen in Fantastic Four #91-93.
Readers are reminded that Raksor was previously seen in X-Men #137 and Fantastic Four Annual #18.
Specifically, Captain America tells “Thor” it’s too bad Goliath wasn’t on this mission. At the time of this story there had only been two people who went under the moniker of Goliath in Avengers history: Hank Pym and Clint Barton.
Pym assumed the identity in Avengers #28 but retired the identity to become Yellowjacket in issue #59. At the time of this story, Pym had retired from heroics following the events of Avengers #230.
When Pym retired as Goliath he also eschewed his growth formula. Later, Clint Barton — aka Hawkeye — began using the formula to give him extra power in battle starting in Avengers #63. During the Kree-Skrull War, Clint forgot to bring enough growth formula and eventually gave up being Goliath and became Hawkeye again starting in Avengers #98. He will become Goliath again in Avengers West Coast #90.
At the time of this story, the Baxter Building had been recently destroyed by Kristoff Vernard in Fantastic Four #278-279.
Captain Marvel likens these energies to the ones that gave her her abilities. See Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16.
The Skrulls will eventually regain their ability to shape-shift when the Skrull’s new empress, S’Byll gained the ability to restore this lost talent to her people. See Silver Surfer (vol. 3) #25.
