Avengers (vol. 3) #15
Three-Fold Path
In Calleyville, Texas, Jonathan Tremont — the founder of the Triune Understanding — is hosting the grand opening of their new temple. To kick off the festivities he has their resident superhero, Triathlon, put on a performance showing off his abilities. Tremont tells the gathered audience that Triathlon — a former Olympian disgraced by a steroid scandal — was able to achieve his new power by achieving his full potential through the Triune Understandings teachings.[1] After the demonstration, both Triathlon and Tremont give rousing speeches to the benefits of the Triune Understanding.
Not far away, the Avengers — Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Firestar, and Justice — are in the area trying to follow an energy source with devices designed by Tony Stark. When Thor laments over not using Mjolnir for this task, Wanda explains that the old ways of doing things don’t seem to be working and they need to try something different. This causes her to think back to what went down at Avengers Mansion earlier that day…
The Scarlet Witch has just recently been made deputy leader of the team and after their inability to capture Lord Templar or Pagan, she decided that it was time to sit down with Captain America and talk about where the new team of Avengers are lacking.[2] She points out that Cap has been distracted with his personal affairs of late,[3] and suggests that while he continued to operate as field leader, she take command as a “morale officer” when they are at the mansion and find ways to bring the team closer together.
Wanda then called a meeting and announced that they would be going back to a rotating chairmanship and selects Firestar to go first. Although she is nervous to start, Angelica runs through the different threats that the Avengers are currently investigating. In addition to Lord Templar and Pagan, the team has been looking for Graviton after his recent battle with the Thunderbolts,[4] trying to get a line on Apocalypse after clashing with his “chaos agent” Moses Magnum,[5] and they have just received word that the Wrecking Crew have just recently broken out of jail.[6] Firestar also recommends having Simon return to regular active duty, Wonder Man shoots this down for personal reasons.[7]
As Firestar is going over training schedules, Iron Man arrives and interrupts the meeting. He tells the group that he has developed a means of tracking Lord Templar’s energy signature, prompting the team to begin the search that led them all the way to Texas…[8]
… The Avengers soon trace the energy signature to the Triune Understanding compound. Deciding to go in the backway, they knock at the door and are greeted by Triathlon. As Tremaine observes from a security monitor, he assures the rest of his team not to worry as they won’t get found out. When the Avengers explain why they have come, Triathlon refuses to let them inside. Cap finds this suspicious, particularly when he sees a group of well armed men moving into position inside. Suddenly, Pagan comes smashing out of the ground. The Avengers and Triathlon then rush into battle, but the hulking brute is just as strong as the last time the heroes fought him,
Meanwhile, the Wrecking Crew are robbing a bank in Muscatine, Iowa, where they revel in their newly restored powers. Their leader, the Wrecker, wishes they had some superheroes to fight when suddenly the police arrive on the scene to try and stop them.[9] However, before the Wrecking Crew can start fighting they are suddenly teleported away.
Back in Texas, the battle between the Avengers and Pagan is not going well for the heroes. Thor eventually loses his temper and begins attacking their foe without holding back, even at his full fury the thunder god can do little harm to the creature. That’s when Lord Templar appears and proves to have enough power to stagger the brute. As Triathlon tells the Avengers to stand back, Lord Templar unleashes his avatars which then swarm Pagan and fly him off into space. With the threat now over, Lord Templar boasts that he was able to do what the Avengers could not and takes off. In the aftermath of the battle, the Avengers has a suspicion that something is not on the level. That feeling only worsens when Jonathan Tremaine holds a press conference and uses the opportunity to discredit the Avengers. This leads the group to wonder what Lord Templar’s connection to the Triune Understanding might be.
Later that evening, once the press and the Avengers are long gone, Lord Templar visits Jonathan in his room while he is meditating. He is pleased that their efforts to discredit authority structures is going as planned. As the two merge, they begin preparing for the next phase of their plan: doing away with the Avengers.
While at Nugent Technologies, Hank Pym has completed his newest invention: a communication system that uses insects as transmitters. As he celebrates his latest achievement, Pym is unaware that his work is being closely monitored by his rogue creation, Ultron, who intends to use the technology to destroy the human race.[10]
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, Justice, Firestar), Triune Understanding (Jonathan Tremont, Triathlon, Lord Templar, Pegan), Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, Bulldozer), Ultron, Doomsday Man
Continuity Notes
Triathlon made this claim as well back in Avengers (vol. 3) #8-9. In reality, however, his powers actually come from the goggles that he wears which contain the power of the 1950s superhero known as 3-D Man. The truth will be revealed in Avengers (vol. 3) #50. The Triune Understandings secret goals are to save the world from domination by Kang the Conqueror, see Avengers (vol. 3) #41-51 and Annual 2001.
Wanda was chosen to be deputy leader, the battle with Lord Templar and Pagan happened in Avengers (vol. 3) #13 and 14.
Captain America has been somewhat pre-occupied after a failed Skrull invasion shook the public trust in government institutions. See Captain America (vol. 3) #4-7.
Graviton battled the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #17. He’ll turn up again in Thunderbolts #27-30.
The Avengers fought Moses Magnum in Avengers (vol. 3) #8-9. At the time he claimed he was trying to regain favor of Apocalypse. As explained in Classic X-Men #25, Apocalypse was the one who gave Magnum his powers. Following this story, the Avengers will team-up with Cable to battle Apocalypse in Cable #66-68.
The Wrecking Crew breaking out of prison is a prelude to the events of Avengers (vol. 3) #16-18, where the trio end up briefly conquering Polemachus.
As revealed last issue, Wonder Man doesn’t feel as though he deserves a second chance after a series of violent acts and/or killings he committed after being negatively affected by a Nega-Bomb explosion. See Wonder Man (vol. 2) #9, 12, 16, 18 and 22-25 for the nitty gritty.
Iron Man refers to his alter-ego — Tony Stark — as though he is a different person. This is because, at the time of this story, Tony kept his true identity a secret from the general public. While most of the Avengers present know Tony’s secret, Justice and Firestar do not. Thor discovered the truth in Avengers #113, Captain America in Avengers #215-216. There isn’t a specific issue where Wonder Man finds out the truth, but it was probably around the time he and Tony were part of the West Coast Avengers and Tony wasn’t so concerned about his teammates knowing the truth, circa West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #1. This is likely the same situation with Scarlet Witch and Vision when they joined the West Coast team in issue #37 or thereabouts. Tony will publicly reveal that he is Iron Man in Iron Man (vol. 2) #55.
At the time of this story, the Wrecking Crew were stripped of their Asgardian powers, as seen in Journey into Mystery #505. They were later given a power boost by Arnim Zola circa Thunderbolts #1, but it soon wore-off. Their current powers are being provided to them by the Doomsday Man, as explained in Avengers (vol. 3) #16-18.
Ultron’s scheme comes to fruition in Avengers (vol. 3) #0 and 19-22.