The Collection Obsession Part 2: Bloody Encounter

The planet Earth is being invaded by a warrior race called the Brethren, led by the powerful Thane Ector. The United Nations have given the Avengers clearance to defend any country under attack by the alien invaders. While the primary team deals with this threat, reservists Hank Pym, the Black Panther, and the Beast have been called in to assist Quasar in trying to revive the Elder of the Universe known as the Collector, who was the first to fall in combat against this threat.

Thane Ector and his followers Fool and Sybyl Dorn boast over their constant conquest, despite humanity’s continued resistance.[1] Sybyl earns the ire of her master when she suggests that the Brethren have lost their edge after being captives of the Collector for so many centuries and suggests they push harder. This angers Thane Ector who believes he is being questions, but Fool assures his brother than Sybyl Dorn is just eager.

Soon the Avengers — Captain America, Black Widow, Vision, Hercules, Sersi, and Rage — arrive on the scene to challenge Thane Ector in combat. During the ensuing battle, the Avengers are put on the defensive as Ector and his followers also threaten the lives the innocent people fleeing in the street. Eventually, Thane takes interest in Sersi and attempts to capture her. Captain America responds by fighting Thane Ector one-on-one. However, Ector is much more powerful that the Star-Spangled Avenger and defeats him in combat. Than Ector then decides to make Sersi his prisoner, much to the protest of Sybyl Dorn, who insists that he killed the Eternal instead. Ector refuses to do so, warning he will kill any insurectionists in his ranks before teleporting away.

The Avengers can do nothing but watch as Thane absconds with Sersi before rushing to the aid of Captain America.

Collect and Proceed

Meanwhile, on the Blue Area of the Moon, Hank Pym examines the Collector along with the Black Panther and Beast. The trio are attempting to find a way to revive the Collector in order to learn more about the Brothren and how to stop them.[2] After a battery of tests, the Beast determines that the Collector was once given additional vitality due to his possession of a Soul Gem, and his current state is due to the fact that he lost the powerful gem recently.[3] In order to revive the Collector, all they need to do is find a way to duplicate that energy source and use it to revive him. Luckily, Quasar’s Quantum Bands are able to tap into any energy source and they are able to re-energize the Collector’s body with them.

When the Collector first wakes up, he begins speaking in an alien tongue and starts to attack the four Avengers. The Collector is stopped when Hank Pym uses his powers to shrink Beast down inside so he can enter the Elder’s body and apply pressure to his carotid artery, knocking him out again. When the Collector comes around again, he is more placid however he claims to be having problems recollecting anything about the Brethren. He does, however, remember which of his micro eco-systems that he had kept them in for thousands of years and agrees to show the Avengers how to get to it. The Beast, Black Panther, and Quasar all board a ship with the Collector that is then shrunk down by Pym so they can travel through the various shrunken biospheres that the Collector has amassed on his ship.[4] However, this is not without danger as they enter one ecosystem where they are attacked by creature from the Bruruthianparamecium Rex system.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, Hercules, Quasar, Rage, Sersi, Vision), Beast, Blast Panther, Hank Pym, Brethren (Thane Ector, Sybyl Dorn, Fool), Collector

Continuity Notes

1. Than Ector mentions how Earth has managed to repel the world devourer known as Galactus. Galactus has made multiple attempts to consume the planet Earth and had been repelled each time. The earliest recorded instance was during the Renaissance, when inventor Leonardo Da Vinci and the Brotherhood of Shield repelled the planet devourer, as revealed in S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. In modern times, Galactus had been defeated on Earth on a few occasions thanks to the Fantastic Four as seen in Fantastic Four #48-50, 74-77, and 243-244.

2. It is mentioned here that the Beast is currently a member of the X-Men. He was a founding member of that group in X-Men #1, but later went on to become a long standing Avenger from Avengers #137 through 211. At the time of this story, Beast had recently rejoined the X-Men in X-Men (vol. 2) #1.

3. The Collector and a number of other Elders of the Universe had obtained the various Soul Gems (later called Infinity Gems or Stones) to obtain ultimate power in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) # 15-19. The Collector was in possession of the Reality Gem before they were all taken by Thanos in Thanos Quest #1-2.

4. Here, Hank Pym states that he can no longer size change his own body. For years, Hank used his size-changing Pym Particles on himself to shrink (starting in Tales to Astonish #35) or grow (starting in Tales to Astonish #49). However, the process was always extraneous on his body. He gave up size-changing after retiring from costumed heroics in Avengers #230. Hank would start using his size-changing powers again in Avengers #366, despite the health risks.

Topical References

• The Beast states that the Collector had possession of the Reality Gem for years. This should be considered a topical reference as it measures the length of time between the publication of the stories in Silver Surfer (vol. 3) from 1988 and this story, published in 1991. Based on the Sliding Timescale, his time with the gem would actually measured in months rather than years as the Surfer stories take place in the tail end of “Year 7” and this Avengers tale taking place midway through “Year 8”. At most, a year would have passed between stories.