Help!

Beyond time and space, Loki observes Midgard. He proclaims it as nothing more than mud and vows to finally destroy his hated step-brother Thor and the Avengers.[1] He is soon visited by the Enchantress who tells him that everything is in place and the mischief can now begin.

Down on Earth, the clean-up of Avengers Island is well underway after the island was trashed during a rampage by the Hulk. Since this almost led to the island’s gamma core exploding,[2] Iron Man has decided to take charge of the Avengers, informing Nick Fury that the team will no longer be acting as his foot soldiers.[3] Fury doesn’t like this because his hands are tied. However, Iron Man doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on when SHIELD repossesses the Vision’s body from the wreckage. Fury is willing to fight for repossession of the android since it is considered SHIELD property. Deciding to let this go, Iron Man flies off, telling Fury that this isn’t over. Fury agrees it won’t be until one of them manages to find Hank Pym, who has gone missing in all the confusion. Little do they know that Pym — in his Ant-Man armor — has been trapped inside the Vision’s body this entire time and now has to find a way out before the android’s internal defense systems snuff out his life.[4]

Iron Man flies into New York City, where he is joined mid-flight by Thor. The pair soon arrive at their new headquarters, Avengers Mansion, which was previously the family home owned by Tony Stark. As the pair undergo a security scan, Iron Man is surprised when the scanners register Mjolnir making Iron Man wonder if the hammer is sentient. However, when he poses this question to Thor, the thunder god is more interested in knowing why they don’t have a butler to tend to them.[5]

Meanwhile, in New Salem, Agatha Harkness has been trapped inside a tree since she was ambushed by Loki a short while ago. With the Scarlet Witch in danger, Agatha needs to get free. Her only option is transferring her soul into the body of her familiar, Ebony, allowing her the mobility to get to New York.[6]

Back in New York, Captain America pays a visit to the Swordsman who is in the Avengers medlab recovering from injuries sustained fighting the Hulk. Cap tells the unconscious warrior that he acted rashly trying to prove himself, something that he didn’t really need to do. Still, regardless of what happens next the Swordsman will always be considered an Avenger in his book. With that, Cap leaves to join the others.[7]

While at Avengers Mansion, Hawkeye is in a training simulation where he is reliving a mission in Argentina where he and his comrade the Grim Reaper fought their way through enemy forces. Just as in real life, the Reaper is fatally wounded and dies after telling Clint to warn Fury that Baron Zemo is still alive. Curious to learn more about Hawkeye’s mysterious past, Hellcat ends the simulation and presses him on what his relationship was with the Grim Reaper. However, Hawkeye refuses to reveal anything about his past.[8]

Suddenly, there is a pounding at the front door of Avengers Mansion, alerting everyone in the building. When Thor goes to answer it he finds Wonder Man waiting on the other side. He appears to be injured and pleads for help. However, this is only a trick and he sucker punches the thunder god through the building with his titanic strength. Wonder Man is then joined by the Enchantress’ Lethal Legion which also includes the Executioner, Ultron, and the missing Scarlet Witch![9]

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Vision, Swordsman, Hellcat), Loki, Lethal Legion (Enchantress, Executioner, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, Ultron), Grim Reaper, SHIELD (“Nick Fury”), Ant-Man, Agatha Harkness, Ebony

Continuity Notes

1. Here, Loki talks about this world as an alternate reality. He’s not entirely right, it’s actually a pocket dimension. He also speaks as though he is the original Loki, but he is not, he’s yet another construct created by Franklin Richards to populate this dimension, as we’ll learn in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4. Nearly everyone is a construct with the exception of Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Vision, the Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man. Even Thor is a construct, the real Thor won’t turn up until Avengers (vol. 2) #9.

2. The Hulk went on a rampage on Avengers Island in Avengers (vol. 2) #4-5, this resulted in the gamma core being breached and nearly exploding as chronicled in the Industrial Revolution story arc which took place in the 6th issues of Fantastic Four, Avengers, Iron Man, and Captain America.

3. The man who appears to be Nick Fury is actually an impostor. Captain America (vol. 2) #11 reveals that he is actually a Life Model Decoy planted within SHIELD by the Sons of the Serpent.

4. The Vision was severely damaged during the Avengers battle with Kang the Conqueror in Avengers (vol. 2) #2-3. Hank enter his body to make repairs inside only to have his lifeline cut by Ultron in issue #4. Hank will remain trapped until issue #9 and the Vision won’t be reactivated until issue #12.

5. The idea that Thor’s hammer might be sentient was first hinted at in Avengers (vol. 2) #4. However, this idea is dropped after this issue as Rob Liefeld was fired from the book and Walt Simonson took over. Simonson quickly dropped this idea and it was never fully explored as this version of Thor was soon killed off in Avengers (vol. 2) #11.

6. Agatha was transformed into a tree by Loki in issue #4. She will be restored to human form in issue #11, seemingly sacrificing Ebony in the process.

7. The Swordsman will remain out of commission until Captain America (vol. 2) #12.

8. Baron Zemo ends up resurfacing in Captain America (vol. 2) #6. The secrets of Hawkeye’s past and his apparent connections with the Grim Reaper are never explored, primarily because Rob Liefeld was fired from the Avengers title with writing duties being taken over by Walt Simonson, who didn’t bother exploring this mystery any further. It’s a moot point since everything on Counter-Earth is all fabricated anyway.

9. Wanda was lured away from the Avengers by the Enchantress who was posing as Agatha Harkness in issue #4. It’s later explained in issue #10 that Wanda knew that it was the Enchantress and was only playing along to find out what her plans were.