Death Wager

The Black Knight, Crystal, and Hercules are out testing out a new sky-craft to blow off some steam after their investigation into disappearance of Marissa Darrow turned up nothing.[1] Unfortunately, the Knight pushes the craft too hard and they are forced to make an emergency landing on a section of the highway closed for repairs. The crash is less serious thanks to Hercules ramming his fists into the pavement to slow themselves down. Crystal is concerned that Hercules was hurt in doing so, but the Olympian demigod assures her that he’ll heal quickly.

This scene is being observed by Hera, the step-mother of Hercules. She still holds a grudge against him due to the fact that Herc was a product of infidelity between Zeus and a mortal woman.[2] She and Ares the god of war are eager to get revenge against Hercules despite the fact that Zeus has ordered the Olympians are not to travel to Earth.[3] Having different ideas on how to deal with Hercules, the two agree to enter a bet to see which one succeeds in destroying him.

Back on Earth, the Black Knight returns the sky-sled to find out what went wrong with the device. With the aid of the Black Widow and Vision he discovers that the vehicle has been sabotaged. They are then interrupted by Hercules, Crystal, and Thor who need a Quinjet to visit a hospital for sick children. Crystal invites the Knight and Vision to join him, but they are both busy.

Later that day, Hercules and his allies arrive at the hospital in Westchester County. There, they entertain the children and meet with a volunteer named Taylor Madison. Hercules takes particular interest in a boy named Bradley who is terminally ill and learns from Taylor who gets a great deal of comfort from Tipps, his stuffed bear. As Herc learns about Bradley’s sad story he is unaware that he is being observed by Hera and Ares, who are using an invisibility spell to spy on him. Ares decides that this is the perfect opportunity to strike and uses his magic to take possession of Thor and force him to attack Hercules. As Taylor begins evacuating the children, Crystal — unaware of what’s going on — tries to get Thor to stop, but he easily swats her aside.

Soon, an all out brawl breaks out between Hercules and Thor and as the area is being evacuated Taylor notices that Bradley is not among the children. She learns that he wandered off looking for Tipps and fears that he might have gone back to the scene of the battle and goes after him. By this time, Hercules has noticed that “Thor” has been calling him by his Greek name, Herakles and realizes that his friend is somehow possessed by his step-brother Ares. With the power of Thor at his command, Ares is able to beat Hercules in submission. This is just as Taylor finds Bradley and so Ares threatens to kill the two mortals, challenging Hercules to try and stop him.

Herc tackles Thor/Ares and while they struggle, tells Crystal to get ready with her elemental powers. Forcing Thor to tap Mjolnir on the ground twice, Hercules triggers a bolt of lighting which Crystal amplified and directs down at the two battling gods. The powerful bolt of electricity is powerful enough to force Ares to separate from Thor. As everyone recovers, Hera appears and reveals that she and Ares were working against him and teleport away before he can stop him.

Back on Olympus, Areas laments over his loss but notes that Hera didn’t do anything during the fight. She then observes Hercules through her seeing pool. Watching Taylor Madison patch up Hercules’ wounds, Hera explains that her scheme is much more subtle and in the end she’ll win and begins to laugh.[4]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Thor, Hercules, Vision, Black Knight, Black Widow, Crystal), Hera, Ares, Taylor Madison

Continuity Notes

1. Marissa Darrow was a counterpart to the other dimensional being named Magdalene. She was murdered by Proctor in Avengers #348. It will be explained in Avengers #355-356 that the Gatherers need to kill their alternate reality counterparts in order to exist in a given reality.

2. According to Greek mythology, Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene. This is also the case in the Marvel Universe, which retells the birth of Hercules in Hercules (vol. 3) #2.

3. Zeus’ edict that the Olympians were to no longer go to Earth has a long history behind it. After Hercules was seriously injured during the siege on Avengers Mansion (Avengers #273-277) Zeus sought to punish the Avengers for allowing his son to get hurt (Avengers #281-286). After the Avengers won their freedom, Zeus decreed that his people would no longer interact with Earth. The only exceptions to these rules would be Hercules (after he recovered in Avengers Annual #17). This more or less remains in effect until Incredible Hercules #113.

4. Hera makes Hercules fall in love with Taylor Madison, who we’ll learn is terminally ill. However, what nobody knows is that Taylor is actually a magical construct created by Zeus in order to catch Hera operating on Earth against his decrees, as we’ll learn in Avengers #384.

Topical References

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as these buildings were destroyed on September 11, 2001 and replaced with the Freedom Tower.

• Also depicted is a Pan Am Building. This should be considered topical as it has since been renamed the MetLife Building.