Avengers #396 — Nick Peron

Apr 16

Apr 16 Avengers #396

First Sign Part 4: Balance of Power

This story continues from Iron Man #326…

The criminal organization known as Zodiac has erected a protective dome around the island of Manhattan. Responding to this threat, the Avengers have created a device that will create an opening so people can escape.[1] However, they need to re-energize the transporter and young Tony Stark uses the power from his chest plate in order to do so. While this makes an opening for people to get out, it drains the chest-plates energy, putting strain on Tony’s heart that could inevitably kill him.[2]

Worse, Giant-Man flies his Quinjet too close to the field, causing it to shut down and crash. As the Wasp pulls Hank from the planet, Thor uses Mjolnir to knock the plane into the East River below the Brooklyn Bridge. As Deathcry and Quicksilver help with the evacuation, Giant-Man examines Tony. He determines that if they don’t use the transporter to recharge his chest plate he will die. However, in doing so they will also seal off the dome again, putting the Avengers in a dilemma.

Not wanting Tony to die a second time, the Wasp flies down and forces the remaining crowd back while Giant-Man recharges Tony’s chest plate. Unfortunately, the process shorts out the transporter, preventing them from using it again. Realizing they are trapped again the refugees down below begin demanding they be set free with some of them calling the Avengers traitors.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye and the Scarlet Witch are heading to California in Wanda’s hex-ship.[3] She isn’t sure if they are doing the right thing, but Clint insists that after the recent incident with Iron Man they need to learn from their mistakes. They are soon contacted by Dum Dum Dugan of SHIELD who asks them to help out with a problem involving the Hulk.[4] The Scarlet Witch changes course when suddenly a military grade helicopter appears in front of them and shoots the hex-ship out of the sky.

Back in New York City, the Avengers have tracked Zodiac to their base of operations aboard the USS Intrepid. Captain America leads the charge against the Zodiac’s foot soldiers. During the battle, Libra makes an appearance and ambushed Thor. While the Avengers deal with this new threat, Giant-Man goes into the bowels of the ship and retrieves the device generating the dome over Manhattan and crushes it at giant size. Impressed with how the Avengers conducted themselves, Libra then sets off explosives rigged into the uniforms of his followers, killing them all. As he flies away, Libra tells the Avengers that he’ll be back with the rest of his Zodiac someday soon. With more questions than answers, Giant-Man wonders if Libra is just the tip of the iceberg of this new Zodiac.[5]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, Wasp, Quicksilver, Deathcry), Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Libra, SHIELD (Dum Dum Dugan)

Continuity Notes

It’s mentioned here that young Tony Stark is not from this era. The Avengers brought Tony forward in time from the past to help them combat his evil future self in Avengers: Timeslide #1. In doing so, they created a divergent reality in which teen Tony came from, Marvel Legacy: The 1990s Handbook #1 indexes it as Reality-96020.
Young Tony’s heart was injured when battling his future self in Iron Man #325. In order to save his life, the Avengers installed a special chest plate to keep his heart going in Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man #1.
Here, the Scarlet Witch is referred to as a mutant. However, it’s later revealed that she actually isn’t. As explained in Uncanny Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, she was experimented upon by the High Evolutionary as a child. In order to cover up his work he made it so future genetic tests would have her register as a mutant.
The incident involving the Hulk has to do with the villain known as Omnibus trying to detonate a gamma bomb as seen in Cutting Edge #1 and Incredible Hulk #436-440.
As of this writing (May, 2022), Libra and his Zodiac team has never been seen again. Who they were and what their plans are have all but been forgotten. Official Index to the Marvel Universe: Avengers confirms that this Libra has no known ties to any other group calling themselves Zodiac both past and present.