Dream Lover

A father and his son walk Manhattan’s upper-west side. The son is upset with the form given to him by his father. However, the father tells him that his form fits his punishment. They soon arrive outside the apartment building that is home to Taylor Madison. The father asks the doorman if Madison is home and is informed that Taylor has gone out with her new roommate, Augustine Jones. The father finds this interesting news and tells his son to follow him as there is duplicity to be exposed.

On the other side of the city, Augustine Jones has convinced Taylor Madison to see Hercules again, even though Taylor cut short their relationship some time ago. When the door is answered by Jarvis, he tells them that Herc isn’t home. Augustine is fine with waiting for him to return and barges her way inside.[1]

At that moment, Hercules and Quicksilver have flown to the Schuyler Hill Memorial Daycare Center in the Bronx so Herc can try and surprise Taylor at work. Unfortunately, the staff there tells him that Madison had stopped coming into work weeks ago. Hercules still wants to try and find Taylor and his determination makes Quicksilver wonder if there is actually such thing as true love after all.

Back at Avengers Mansion, the Black Widow is getting off the phone with her old mentor who had called to warn her of a possible threat.[2] She asks him to keep he informed and then checks in with Giant-Man to see if he has learned anything about the mysterious door they discovered in the sub-basement of their headquarters.[3] Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report as the door continues to defy any attempts to open it. They head into the living room where Jarvis and Deathcry have been entertaining Taylor and Augustine. When Giant-Man confirms to Augustine that the only Avengers unaccounted for are Quicksilver and Hercules, she suddenly unleashes a powerful mystical bolt on them all.

When Hercules and Quicksilver finally return to the mansion all the lights are off. Suspecting some kind of attack, the pair rush in and are greeted by Hercules’ step-mother Hera. She reveals that she has the Avenger and Taylor Madison held prisoner in a sphere of magical energy. When Quicksilver tries to run at her, she casts a spell that causes the floor to curl up in front of him, knocking him out. She then shows Herc that she is slowly draining the life out of Taylor Madison and how she had been orchestrating their romance in an effort to utterly destroy him by breaking his heart.

Hercules tries battling his step-mother in combat, but the two are knocked away from one another by a bolt of lighting. This has come from Zeus, who has comes to intervene in this conflict. He knows that his wife Hera has been disobeying his edict that Olympians are to not come to Earth and reveals that Ares was the one who ratted her out. In fact, he knew of Hera’s machinations all along and set a trap for her himself by creating Taylor Madison.[4] She is in fact a mystical construct created by Zeus and her “terminal illness” was actually the magic sustained her burning out as her existence would eventually run its course in due time. Hercules can’t bear to lose Taylor and pleads with his father to keep her alive. Unfortunately, there is nothing Zeus can do and after heartfelt goodbye, Taylor Madison winks out of existence.

Furious over having his emotions manipulated in such a way, Hercules denounces and tries to attack his father. Taking insult to this, Zeus decides to punish his son by stripping him of his immortality, promising his son that he will never see the splendors of Olympus ever again. Zeus then teleports away with Hera and Ares, leaving Hercules to mourn the loss of his beloved.[5]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Hercules, Black Widow, Crystal, Deathcry), Hera, Taylor Madison, Zeus, Ares, Edwin Jarvis

Continuity Notes

1. Hercules first met Taylor Madison back in Avengers #349. She called off their romance in issue #367. Augustine Jones moved in with Taylor back in Avengers #380 and been trying to get them back together. As we’ll learn later this issue, “Augustine” is actually Hera and this was all a plot to break Hercules’ heart.

2. Natasha is talking to her former mentor, Ivan Petrovitch who — as per Black Widow: Deadly Origin #1 — has cared for her since she was a child. He’s been investigating AIM and determining if they are attempting to create another Cosmic Cube. See Avengers #385-388 and Captain America #440-441.

3. The mysterious door was discovered in their headquarters in Avengers #382. It will be a gateway from which Immortus (posing as Kang the Conqueror) will launch an all out assault against the Avengers. See Avengers: The Crossing #1, Avengers #390-395, Force Works #16-20, Iron Man #320-325, War Machine #20-23, Avengers: Timeslide #1, Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1 and Avengers Forever #8.

4. Zeus decided that it was time for the Olympians to withdraw from Earth some time ago. The catalyst for this was when Hercules was injured during the siege on Avengers Mansion followed by the war between Olympus and the Avengers in Avengers #273-277 and 281-285. Hercules was the only one exempt from this rule, returning to Earth in Avengers Annual #17. This edict will remain more-or-less in place until Hercules (vol. 3) #1-5.

5. Hercules would remain stripped of his immortality in Ares #1-5.