Avengers #338
The Collection Obsession Part 5: Infectious Compulsions
The alien race known as the Brethren have escaped the Collector’s prison and are now invading Earth. In order to find a way to defeat them a team of Avengers — Quasar, Black Panther, and the Beast — have brought the Collector into his countless miniaturized biospheres. Along the way, they had befriended a primitive named Nakka, who assisted them in finding where the Breathren came from, only to die moments after their arrival. After they finish burying Nakka, the Avengers begin scanning the area. The Beast is shocked to discover that the entire biosphere is practically swimming in bacteria. Suddenly, Quasar is attacked by a huge mass of bacteria that has sprung to life. Although Quasar manages to blast himself free with his Quantum Bands, this creature manages to eat enough of natural bacteria on the human body to start reforming. The entity begins assuming a humanoid form and introduces itself as Olar, the oldest of the Brethren who was left to die and pronounces that he is hungry.
Back on Earth, Thane Ector’s base of operations sits atop the World Trade Center. Inside, the Thane’s right-hand, a woman named Sybyl Dorn, questions why their leader is so infatuated with the the Eternal known as Sersi. She has decided that this cannot be allowed to continue and orders the Fool to call back the rest of the Brethren so they can determine if Thane Ector is still fit to rule.
Not far away the core Avengers — Captain America, Black Widow, Rage and Hercules — wait on a nearby rooftop of Avengers Headquarters for Crystal to return from the moon with the science team. With the help of Lockjaw, the Inhumans teleporting dog, Crystal returns with Hank Pym, the Vision, the Black Panther, Beast, Quasar, the Collector, and a restrained Olar. The scientists explain how the Brethren are creatures that have evolved from bacteria. Little do they know that they are being observed by a drone launched by the Fool that reports everything back to him. He fears that the humans might experiment upon Olar and finally learn the secret shame of their people. However, seeing the Collector among the Avengers pleases the Fool, who decides that to focus his attention on protecting Thane Ector from the looming insurrection. Heading into the throne room, Fool sees that Sybyl Dorn is pushing to have Thane Ector removed as their leader. He decides to use the footage he recorded of the Avengers to his advantage, to make it seem as though they are going to experiment on Olar. This angers Thane Ector, who was told by Sersi that the Avengers were noble warriors.
This renews Ector’s desire to destroy all life on Earth and rallies his armies together. Before leaving, Sybyl Dorn takes the opportunity to gloat over her victory over Sersi’s alleged seductions. The Eternal is then left with the Fool who admits his deception and explains that it was necessary to preserve the status quo among his people. Sersi then reveals that she knows the secret of the Brethren. The Fool grins, telling Sersi that her knowledge is very unfortunate for her.
Back at Avengers Mansion, Hank Pym and Beast are in the lab about to examine Olar and finally learn the secret behind the Brethren. However, someone ambushes the pair and then disintegrates Olar so the Avengers can never learn the full truth.
Moments later the Avengers priority alarm goes off, rallying the team together. They learn that the Brethren are renewing their attack. Moments later, Thane Ector arrives outside their headquarters and challenges the heroes to come out and face him. Hercules is more than happy to oblige and goes out to face him. However, Ector is too powerful for the Olympian demigod and he soon falls. The other Avengers — the Beast, Black Knight, Rage, Iron Man, the Vision, Crystal, Captain America, and the Black Widow — all fall one after another until Thane Ector can get to the Collector. Just when it appears that Ector is about to kill the Elder of the Universe, the Collector surprises everyone by unleashing a powerful blast knocking everyone away. The Avengers realize that something grave is happening as the Watcher has appeared on Earth to observe what will happen next.
The Collector meanwhile, has assumed a brand new form, more alien and more menacing than his original appearance. The Elder of the Universe reveals that he was merely pretending to have been senile and that he intentionally unleashed the Brethren in order to destroy the human race!
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Beast, Black Panther, Black Widow, Black Knight, Captain America, Crystal, Hercules, Iron Man, Quasar, Rage, Sersi, Vision), the Collector, Brethren (Thane Ector, Sybyl Dorn, Fool), the Watcher, Hank Pym, Edwin Jarvis, Lockjaw
Topical References
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are prominently featured in this story as the Brethren park their ship atop this former landmark. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and since replaced with the Freedom Tower. Modern readers can assume the Brethren ship is perched atop the newer Freedom Tower instead.
