Delta Force

The Eternal known as Sersi crashes into the Pentagon office run by former Deviant ruler Kro.[1] He is shocked to see that she has had one arm severed and is in pretty rough shape. Reviving, Sersi tells Kro that the Avengers need his help and explains what happened…

A day ago, the Avengers were making repairs on their headquarters when the Vision informed them of a priority alert coming out of Deviant Lemuria in the South Pacific.[2] Since the west coast team had just been disbanded, it is up to the prime Avengers team to investigate.[3]

Taking a Quinjet to the undersea kingdom of Lemuria, the Avengers were ambushed by an army of Deviants led by Karygmax. In the ensuing battle the Deviants were able to plant brain mines on everyone and take them prisoner. This was all so they could capture representatives of the different races common to Earth: Crystal a member of the Inhumans, Sersi a member of the Eternals, Captain America the pinnacle of human perfection, and Hercules a god. They were to be added along with the Young God named Varua for some nefarious purpose. However, Sersi was able to resist her brain mine and break free. As she tried to escape, her arm was disintegrated by a Deviant weapon, but her foes failed to capture her. From there, she went to Washington to seek the aid of Kro….

… With her story over, Sersi then uses her powers to rebuild her disintegrated arm. Kro agrees to help and begins searching his computer database for Deviants and Eternals who might help them in their cause. With Ereskingal missing in action, Kro starts by recruiting her sister, Dragona who rescues unwanted Deviant children.[4] He also recruits Enigmo, a Deviant wrestler who is part of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation. After deciding against recruiting the enigmatic Blackwulf,[5] Kro instead recruits Ransak the Reject and Karkas who are in Hollywood playing a part in a movie starring the Eternal named Kingo. He also decides against recruiting Metabo, wanting to reserve him for a future mission.[6] Instead, Kro goes to the University of Sandiego to get his children — Donald and Deborah Ritter — who are attending school there. However, things are a little hairy as a man smitten by Deborah attempts to rape her in the school library. Sensing his sister in trouble, Donald comes to her aid and the pair merge into their ultimate form, Tzabaoth. Kro stops them from killing Deborah’s attacker. The last recruit is the Red Bull, a Deviant trapped in a magical medallion who can take possession of its wearer, an autistic South American boy named Tupac Amaru.[7] Kro arrives to recruit Red Bull after he saves Tupac’s family farm from some local drug dealers hoping to use the land to produce cocaine.

Kro and Sersi lead this group — now called Delta Force — back to Deviant Lemuria to rescue the captured Avengers. However, upon their arrival, Sersi is incapacitated by another brain mine and added to the others that the Deviants are seeking to use. The mastermind behind this plot then reveals himself to be none other than the Deviant priest named Ghaur. Back from the dead, Ghaur reveals that he intentionally allowed Sersi escape so she could bring him the final people needed for him to obtain ultimate power.[8]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Giant-Man, Hercules, Vision, Black Knight, Black Widow, Sersi, Crystal), Delta Force (Kro, Karkas, Ransak the Reject, Dragona, Enigmo, Tzabaoth, Toro Rojo), Ghaur, Karygmax, Vaura, Kingo Sunen, Tupac Amaru

Continuity Notes

1. Kro went to work for the Pentagon following the events of Eternals: The Herod Factor #1.

2. The damage done to Avengers headquarters is blamed on the Genoshans here. However, this is not correct. During the Bloodties event, the Avengers got into a scrap with SHIELD who were trying to prevent them from getting involved in the political situation in Genosha. See Avengers #368-369, X-Men (vol. 2) #26, Avengers West Coast #101, and Uncanny X-Men #307.

3. The Avengers West Coast had just disbanded at the time of this story. See Avengers West Coast #102.

4. Here, Kro states that the Deviant known as Ereskigal is currently missing in action. She was posing as a human named Holly Steckley in order to steal the Starbrand. She was ultimately defeated by Quasar. See Quasar #30 and 35-50.

5. For more on Blackwulf see Thunderstrike #6, Blackwulf #1-10 and Daredevil #336-337.

6. Metabo doesn’t end up getting recruited into Delta Force. His only appearance to date (May, 2022) has been Thor #286.

7. When last seen in Thor #290, El Toro was not sealed in a mystical amulet. How he got stuck in this situation is never explained as of this writing.

8. Ghaur had previously perished during the Atlantis Attack events. See Silver Surfer Annual #2, Iron Man Annual #10, Uncanny X-Men Annual #13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23, Punisher Annual #2, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9, Daredevil Annual #5, Avengers Annual #18, New Mutants Annual #5, X-Factor Annual #4, Web of Spider-Man Annual #5, Avengers West Coast Annual #4, Thor Annual #14, and Fantastic Four Annual #22.

Topical References

• It is stated that Enigmo is having his wrestling match at the Brendan Bryne Arena in New Jersey. This should be considered a topical reference as it has undergone numerous name changes since the publication of this story, such as the Continental Airlines Arena, and the Izod Center. It is currently called the Meadowlands Arena.