Avengers #374
Intersecting Parallels
Sersi has gone completely mad and caused a tidal wave to shatter the Brooklyn Bridge with the Avengers on board. The team — consisting of Captain America, Giant-Man, the Black Knight, Hercules, Crystal, and Black Widow — are pulled from the water by the Eternals Thena and Sprite. They have come because they fear that Sersi has completely succumbed to the Mahd W’yry, a mental illness unique to their kind. Hoping that they can use the Gann Josin link between the Black Knight and Sersi, they discover that Dane Whitman has managed to break this bond.[1]
They are soon joined by Thunderstrike who brings Quicksilver and Jarvis with him. The Avengers butler has important information for the team. He tells them how Sersi had recently confided in him recently about a series of terrible nightmares she has been having where she is terrorized by a mysterious man in black.[2] With this information, the group deduces that Proctor and the Gatherers are responsible for all of this.[3]
Meanwhile, Proctor has taken Sersi prisoner at his secret hideout. There he explains how he came from another reality. He remember how when he fell in love with his world’s Sersi when he first joined the Avengers. They had a whirlwind romance and she made him her Gann Josin. This bond grew strong as their relationship progressed by eventually, Sersi got bored of him and left, cutting off her mental link with Proctor. For the first time in years, Proctor’s mind was alone and the sudden abandonment drove him mad.[4] He then explains that he has traveled the multiverse to kill every version of Sersi he encounters. Sersi points out that she is not the same woman as the one who dumped him in his home reality and demands he let her go. Proctor refuses, and explains that this reality is the prime reality and if he kills Sersi here he will destroy every single one in the multiverse. As he explains how he had been stalking and manipulating her for months, Sersi realizes that Proctor is responsible for killing the men she has been accused of murdering.[5]
At that moment, Detective Marta DuBois has brought Thunderstrike, Hercules, and Sprite down to the morgue to see the bodies of Joe MacNamara and Tomas Delgado, two homicide officers that Sersi is alleged to have killed. However, upon closer examination, Sprite determines that the two officers are not dead, but have been transmuted into stone. More over, he is certain that Sersi wasn’t the one who did it.
While at Avengers Headquarters, the Black Knight and the rest of the team are putting all evidence they have on the Gatherers together to figure out what’s going on. The Black Knight notes that all of the Gatherers have claimed to be Avengers from other realities and deduces that Proctor must be a counterpart to one of the Avengers. As the other members of the team heads down to the med-lab, the Black Knight is given a moment alone with Crystal. She is happy to see that he is free of the Gann Josin link with Sersi, but Dane points out that even though he is free they need to save her. He then thanks Crystal for helping him on the Brooklyn Bridge, as she help him break free of Sersi’s mental control. When they start talking about their feelings for one another, Crystal tells him that things in her life are so confusing now that her husband, Quicksilver, is back in his life. She has to be careful now more than ever with her feelings, telling him that if she makes the wrong choice she’ll be ruining lives. Little does she know that her husband, Pietro, is listening to all this from the shadows.[6]
In the Med-Lab, the remaining Avengers begin searching through the records to come up with some way of tracking Sersi’s unique Eternal energies. As they look, Captain America begins to cough, making the Black Widow concerned. He assures her that it’s nothing and continues working.[7] When Thena expresses her doubts that the Avengers have what it takes to deal with the current crisis, the Widow assures her that they can face what is ahead of them.
Back at Proctor’s hideout, the villain confirms that he is responsible for all of the madness in Sersi’s life as of late. However, when he tries to scan her mind he is shocked by what he finds in there. Sersi — her mind finally clear for the first time in months — uses this opportunity to break free. Smashing her way through the secret facility she ends up entering the room where Proctor has been holding Ute the Watcher prisoner. There she is shocked to see the dead bodies of many of her counterparts strung up like grotesque trophies. This stops her long enough for Proctor to knock her out with a telepathic attack and take her away. Two of his Gatherers — Jocasta and Rik — are shocked to see Proctor’s ghoulish trophy room and start to doubt his claims that they are trying to save this universe from armageddon.
While at Avengers Headquarters, Hercules and the others return with the revived detectives MacNamara and Delgado. They reveal that Sersi wasn’t responsible for transmuting them into stone, and describe being attacked by a man fitting Proctor’s description. Suddenly, the Avengers are contacted telepathically by Ute who only has enough time to warn them that the key to defeating Proctor lies within them.[8]
Downstairs, the Black Knight is confronted by Quicksilver who wants to talk with Dane man-to-man about Crystal and will not take no for an answer. He tells Whitman that Crystal means the world to him and he will do anything to get his marriage back on track and pleads with the Black Knight to let Crystal go so they can have a decent chance. Before Dane can give him an answer the computer finally makes a connection between Proctor and the Avengers. Pulling up the search results, Dane is shocked to discover that Proctor is an alternate reality version of himself.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Hercules, Vision, Black Knight, Black Widow, Sersi, Thunderstrike), Gatherers (Proctor, Jocasta, Silver, Korg, Tarkas, Rik), Ute, Thena, Sprite, Edwin Jarvis, Marta Dubois, Joseph MacNamara, Tomas Delgado,
Continuity Notes
The Eternals have feared that Sersi was suffering from the Mahd W’yry since Avengers #361. They believe that it was caused when she joined a Uni-Mind with the Brethren back in issue #339. In reality, she has been slowly driven mad by Proctor’s multiversal gaslighting as we’ll learn later this issue. The Black Knight was forcibly made Sersi’s Gann Josin in issue #361 as well.
Sersi told Jarvis about her nightmares back in Avengers #364. At the time they didn’t know she was dreaming of Proctor as neither had met him at that point.
The Avengers have been dealing with Proctor and the Gatherers since Avengers #343. They had formally met Proctor himself and learned of his hatred of Sersi in issues #362-363.
Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, Proctor’s home reality has been designated Earth-374.
Proctor started killing any man that Sersi went out on a date with. The first known victim was in Avengers #357. He was also responsible for “killing” NYPD detectives Joe MacNamara and Tomas Delgado in issue #363. As we’ll learn this issue he actually transmuted them into stone.
ONCE MORE WITH FEELING: there has been an on going love triangle between the Black Knight, Crystal, and Sersi. The details:
Since Fantastic Four #150, Crystal has been married to Quicksilver. However, their marriage has been troubled since she cheated on him in Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #6-12. This was made all the more harder when Crystal joined the Avengers in issue #336 and both she and the Black Knight became smitten with one another.
Sersi on the other hand has been throwing herself at the Black Knight since Avengers #350. Later, when she was accused of suffering from the Mahd W’yry, her fellow Eternals forced Dane to become her Gann Josin, a telepathically bonded life mate. This happened after Crystal came to believe her marriage couldn’t be saved after a disastrous romantic getaway with Quicksilver in X-Factor #89 went bad. This led to Crystal having a romantic tryst with Dane.
More recently, Quicksilver was injured in a battle with Exodus in Avengers #369 and has been living with the Avengers while he recovers, adding significant strain on the situation. In issue #372, Crystal admitted to her husband that she loves both him and Dane.
Cap’s coughing fit isn’t nothing. In Captain America #373 he was caught in a meth lab explosion that reacted dangerously with the Super Soldier Serum in his veins forcing him to eventually purge it from his body in issue #384. By issue #425 of that series, Cap’s health begins to go into decline. Cap will eventually be cured of this condition in issue #445 of Captain America.
Here, Captain America recounts how the Avengers previously met Ute. That was in Avengers #363.
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 in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.
