Avengers (vol. 2) #4
That Which Gods Have Joined Together…
Following Bruce Banner’s transformation into the Hulk, the military has formed a unit called Gamma Search to hunt down the gamma spawned monster.[1] They find the Hulk on the rampage in the city of Marlboro in upstate New York. When they shine their spotlight at the creature, it angers the Hulk who then lunges at the chopper. However, instead of knocking it out of the sky, the Hulk is actually leaping away from the scene where he can be left alone.
Meanwhile, on Avengers Island, the Vision has been brought to Hank Pym’s lab after he was heavily damaged during the Avengers recent battle with Kang the Conqueror.[2] In order to determine the extent of the damage, Hank has put on his new Ant-Man armor, which allows him to shrink down to the size of an insect and explore inside the Vision’s body.[3] Once Hank is inside, his robotic assistant Ultron suddenly cuts Hank’s line and seals the Vision’s mouth shut. Moments later, when Hank’s girlfriend Janet Van Dyne comes looking for him, the robot tells her that he has been working in the lab alone and has no idea where his creator has gone.
By this time, the Hulk has landed in Hyde Park to drink from a nearby lake. When looking at his reflection in the water he sees the image of Bruce Banner looking back at him and this throws the gamma spawned monster into another fit of rage. That’s when a little bird lands on his shoulder and begins talking to him. It tells the Hulk that it knows where to find Banner, a place called Avengers Island. With his task complete, the bird flies back to the New Salem home of Agatha Harkness where it changes back to its true form, that of the trickster god Loki. When Agatha’s familiar, Ebony, tries to attack him the trickster easily incapacitates the feline. He then gloats over being able to transform Ebony’s master into a tree so she couldn’t warn the Scarlet Witch that she is in danger.
At that very moment, the Enchantress has disguised herself as the Harkness woman so she can get close to the Scarlet Witch. “Agatha” tells Wanda that there is a threat to her life that she needs to take seriously. The Scarlet Witch doesn’t think it is such a big deal but agrees to follow “Harkness” anyway and follows her into a nearby mirror, apparently unaware that she is walking into a trap.[4] While at a bar in the Bowery, Thor has been drinking all night. The entire time he has made the staff nervous because the whole time he seems to have been talking to his enchanted hammer Mjolnir.[5]
Back at Avengers Island, Captain America and the Swordsman are in a sparring session. When Cap easily disarms him, he advises the Swordsman not to rely on his weapons so much in battle. While in the monitor room, Hellcat spies on Hawkeye who is on monitor duty. She wonders what secrets he hides behind his mask and if her curiosity will get her killed.[6] That’s when the Hulk lands on the island, prompting Hawkeye to sound the alarm. Hawkeye tries to incapacitate the monster with his trick arrows but is quickly knocked out with a flick of the Hulk’s finger. That’s when the Swordsman charges in half-cocked and gets his hands crushed for his troubles.[7] Captain America then tries to battle the monster alone. Although he manages to block some of the brute’s powerful blows with his indestructible shield, the Hulk knocks him out as well then proclaims that nothing can stop him.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Swordsman, Hellcat), Hulk, Loki, Enchantress, Ultron, Ant-Man, Janet Van Dyne, Agatha Harkness, Ebony
Continuity Notes
Banner was caught in a gamma bomb explosion that turned him into the Hulk in Iron Man (vol. 2) #1-2. At the same time it should also be noted that nearly everyone in this story are constructs created by Franklin Richards. The Hulk, Captain America, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Hank Pym, and Janet Van Dyne are the only originals in this story, as explained in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4. The Earth-616 Avengers were transported here to save their lives after they sacrificed themselves to destroy Onslaught in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. They will have no memories of their past until much later.
The Avengers battled Kang in Avengers (vol. 2) #2-3.
This whole scene is paying homage to the time Hank did this way back in Avengers #93. Hank will remain trapped inside the Vision’s body until Avengers (vol. 2) #9 and the Vision will be offline until Avengers (vol. 2) #12.
It’s later revealed in Avengers (vol. 2) #10 that Wanda was well aware that this was the Enchantress in disguise and that she was only going along with things to figure out what her plan was.
This is not the real Thor, but a construct. The real Thor also won’t appear until Avengers (vol. 2) #9. This story implies that Mjolnir might be sentient and somehow speaks to Thor. This plot is never fully explored as Rob Liefeld infamously got fired from the job and when Walt Simonson took over for the rest of the run, he basically turfed all of Liefled’s terrible ideas as quickly as possible. Whatever couldn’t be ignored was either dismissed or replaced.
The mystery surrounding Hawkeye’s face is never explained during the Heroes Reborn run. When Franklin Richards creates another pocket dimension identical to the one in Heroes Reborn, that version of Hawkeye turns out to be Wolverine in disguise, as seen in Onslaught Reborn #1-5. Since those stories were written by the same creative team (Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefled) I wouldn’t be surprised if that was their original intention, as stupid as that idea sounds.
This puts the Swordsman out of commission until Captain America (vol. 2) #12.