Powers that Be!

While battling the irradiated Russian national named Illaion Ramskov, the Avengers, the novice hero Rage, Russian intelligence official Galina Zhukova, and Doctor Deidre Estevez had all been transported to the Dimension of Exile. Although they were able to cure Ramskov of deadly radiation, they are now attacked by the various monsters that have been imprisoned on this world. Their leader, a demonic creature named Ngh hopes to escape their prison with the help of the humans from Earth.

While the Avengers and Rage are fighting the creatures, Ngh intends to have his diminutive minion Xa escape with the heroes. Once outside of the power nullification of this dimension, she can then use her abilities to open a portal to free Ngh and the others. To this end, Ngh hypnotizes Xa into betraying her comrades and helping the Avengers. As per Ngh’s plans, Xa is seriously injured in doing so, prompting the Avengers to take Xa back to Earth with them so they can get her immediate medical attention. Thor and Sersi then combine their powers to teleport the Avengers and their allies back to Earth, playing right into Ngh’s hands.

Back on Earth, the authorities and the media have all gathered in the sewers where the Avengers went missing. When they heroes suddenly appear, they explain what happened and that Illaion Ramskov has been cured and also mention how the United States government has also revoked their government security clearance. Ramskov also takes the opportunity to reveal that his “accident” at the Russian space agency was a lie, in reality he was a victim of an act of sabotage at a nuclear power plant, something his government was trying to cover up. One of the bystanders in the crowd calls Illaion a traitor and tries to shoot him, but Galina Zhukova leaps in the path of the bullet. As she dies, she explains to Ramskov that she wanted to protect him so the truth about her government’s misdeeds become a matter of public record. Illaion then confronts the shooter and is shocked to discover that the man has been horribly burned by radiation. As it turns out, the assassin is one of the men who sabotaged the nuclear reactor.

That’s when Diamondback arrives to check on Captain America. She begins flirting with him earning the ire of Sersi while also embarrassing Cap. THat’s when he notices Rage is trying to slink off and tells him to wait as they need to talk. At that same moment, Iron Man tries to hand Galina’s killer over to the authorities, but he bites down on a cyanide capsule hidden in his molar, killing himself and taking everything he knows about the nuclear disaster with him.

Meanwhile, Captain America catches up with Rage at the nearby subway station to try and convince the young hero that he has gotten the wrong impression about the Avengers. Rage decides to give Cap an education about what his world is like. When they both walk onto the train to Brooklyn, a woman passenger cowers from the sight of Rage, pointing out that she only did that because he is black and wouldn’t have reacted the same way if Captain America entered the train alone. Rage states that this has been how he has been treated his entire life. He then relates to an incident when he was kid.

He had gone to see a kid to trade comic books when he was accosted by a group of kids who accused him of being a thief just for being black. After suffering a beating, young Elvin fled his attackers and dived into the fetid water of a drainage pipe to get away. When his pursuers finally left, Elvin tried to climb back out, only to be doused in toxic chemicals that were being illegally dumped by Fisk Biochem. The chemicals burned to the touch, but Elvin eventually made it back home where he was being raised by Granny Staples, his grandmother. She nursed Elvin back to health and prayed by his side every night until he got better. Not only did Elvin get better, he also grew in size and strength. Consumed with rage, Elvin created his costume and decided to go out and get revenge on the kids who put him in his situation. A deeply religious woman, Granny Staples refused to let him do something like that while living under her roof and convinced him to use his powers to help people instead.

By the time that Rage concludes his story, he and Captain America are back in Elvin’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Cap marvels at Rage getting his powers as a kid nd wonders where he has been hiding all this time. Rage tries to correct Cap’s understanding of the situation when they are suddenly ambushed by L.D. 50, a local drug dealer seeking to get revenge against Rage for demolishing one of his crack houses.[1] L.D. tries to shoot Rage with a rocket launcher, but Captain America deflects the attack with his indestructible shield, prompting the drug dealer to flee down an alleyway. Cap and Rage then give chase.

Meanwhile, She-Hulk has boughten Xa to the hospital where Doctor Estevez performs emergency surgery on the diminutive creature and expects a full recovery. When they finally leave her alone in her room, Xa wakes up and — per Ngh’s hypnotic commands — uses her power to bring her master and his demonic cohorts to Earth.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Sersi, She-Hulk), Rage, Ngh, Xa, Orm, Ffurg, Grogg, LD. 50, Illaion Ramskov, Diamondback, Granny Staples, Galina Zhukova, Dr. Deidre Estevez

Continuity Notes

1. What Captain America doesn’t realizes is that Rage is only 14 years old. He will learn the truth about Rage’s real age in Avengers #341.

Topical References

• Russia is referred to as the Soviet Union in this story. This should be considered topical as the USSR dissolved in 1991.

• Illarion Ramskov’s origin is rooted in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Although I don’t find any reference otherwise, this could be considered topical. Modern readers could assume that Illarion was involved in a completely fictional nuclear disaster. On the other hand, one could argue that his exposure to radiation at Chernobyl caused him to age slower so issues with the Sliding Timescale would not arise. Stranger things have been done in the past TBH.

• Rage likens the woman cowering from him on the train to a similar reaction one would have seeing the likes of Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, or John Hinkley. These are all notorious criminals of the era in which this comic was published. Bundy was a serial killer who was convicted of murdering 20 women between 1976 and 1978, he was executed in the electric chair in 1989. David Berkowitz, aka the Son of Sam, killed 6 people and wounded 9 in July of 1977, he’s been in prison ever since his capture a month later. John Hinkely made a failed assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He’s been in prison since, but (as of this writing) is about to be released in 2022 after serving his time in prison. While these characters are incredibly infamous, Rage is citing them as recent examples, making their references here topical. A young person of Rage’s age (14 years at the time of this story) would likely mention more contemporary individuals.