Avengers (vol. 3) #7
Live Kree or Die Part 4: The Court Martial of Carol Danvers
After setting off a Nega-Bomb in the Kree Empire in order to jumpstart his people’s genetic evolution, the Supreme Intelligence had decided to wait things out hidden on the Blue Area of Earth’s Moon and study humanity in the interim. These plans however, are now jeopardized thanks to the arrival of Galen Kor’s Lunatic Legion, vengeful Kree who blame Earth for the decimation of their people. Galen Kor is now planning to transform the entire population of the planet into dead-end Kree race. Galen Kor promises the Supreme Intelligence that their great empire will be reborn. The Intelligence is not pleased with this recent development in the slightest.[1]
Meanwhile, on Earth, the Avengers are holding a court-martial for Warbird in order to determine if she is fit to serve on the Avengers. Iron Man wanted to avoid something like this, but Captain America points out that they haven’t had any choice. They confront Carol over the fact that her alcoholism has put the team and innocent people at risk as it has caused to her have lapses in judgement. They point to the fact that Carol kept the fact that was losing her Binary powers a secret and, most recently in their battles against the Kree, Carol’s drunkenness has put lives in danger and even led to Lockjawk — the Inhuman’s teleporting dog — to get injured.[2] Carol is insulted by all of this, and points out the times she has helped the team recently — such as exposing the Corruptor — and justifies her right to drink considering everything that has been taken from her.[3][4] The Avengers find this explanation inadequate and everyone agrees that unless Carol gets some help for her drinking problem she is a liability to have on the team. Iron Man, who has had his own struggles with alcohol pleads with Carol to get help.[5][6]
That’s when the Vision’s holographic form appears before them and warns the team that he has received word from the Moon that the Lunatic Legion are still a threat.[7] As Captain America mobilizes the team, he asks Quicksilver to accompany them since he is familiar with the Blue Area of the Moon. Carol insists on coming along, but Cap refuses, prompting Carol to quit on the spot and storm out.[8] Hawkeye wonders if Steve was being too rough, but Cap insists that he did what had to be done. As Carol leaves the mansion, Wanda wonders if they are wrong turning her away, remembering how the Avengers abandoned her in the past when she was whisked away by the monster Marcus Immortus.[9] Wanting comfort, Wanda is surprised when Wonder Man appears before he and assures her that Carol will be fine.[10] Wanda is just surprised that Simon has appeared again but he quickly vanishes again when the Vision comes to tell her that they are about to leave.
Soon, the Avengers are heading to the moon, much to the delight of Justice who has been waiting his entire life for this opportunity.[11] The Kree soon became aware of their approach and begin opening fire. Captain America manages to get the Quinjet down in the long abandoned city in the Blue Area. The Avengers are fighting their way through the soldiers but it is slow going. Cap orders the Scarlet Witch to summon Wonder Man for help. While she complies with this request, she is becoming increasingly worried about summoning Simon whenever they are in a bind. In the next chamber, Galen Kor is trying to form an omni-wave projector to complete his mission, and in doing so is willing to sacrifice himself and his troops to achieve his goals.
Back on Earth, Carol Danvers refuses to accept that she has a problem and decides to prove the Avengers that they are wrong about her. Changing into Warbird she flies into space in an effort to get to the moon under her own strength. However, the distance is too far and she cannot sustain herself in the void of space to make the trip.
Meanwhile, the Avengers get to the massive cannon that will use modified Terrigen Mist to transform everyone on Earth into Kree. As the weapons begin powering up, it begins absorbing the Kree warriors one by one to open a portal that will unleash the transformative energies upon the Earth. Thor races out to try and close it using the power of Mjolnir but he is attacked by Galen Kor. With Firestar being the only one with the power to shut the portal down, Justice pleads with her to push her powers to the limit. She is reluctant to do so because of the risk to her health, but does so anyway, cursing Justice under her breath while doing so.[12] This allows Justice to telekinetically toss the omni-wave projector into the portal where it harmlessly explodes, ending the threat posed by the Kree weapon.
In the aftermath of the battle, Captain America confronts the Supreme Intelligence as he figured out that the alien artificial intelligence was responsible for tipping them off. However, an answer from the Intelligence isn’t forth coming, and that suits it just fine as it can now continue its observation of events as they unfold over the coming centuries. While on Earth, news of the Avengers victory on the moon hits the news. This is seen by Carol Danvers who — after he failed attempt to join the battle — is now sitting at a bar where she has been staring at the same drink for the past 3 hours, wondering if she will drink it or not.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Justice, Firestar), Warbird, Quicksilver, Wonder Man, Supreme Intelligence, Lunatic Legion (Galen Kor, Dylon Cir, Kona Lor, Talla Ron)
Continuity Notes
There is a lot going on here off the top, so lets get into it:
The Supreme Intelligence instigated a war between the Shi’ar and the Kree in order to jump start his people’s evolution. This came in the form of a devastating Nega-Bomb that decimated the empire, leading it to be annexed by the Shi’ar. See Captain America #398-400, Avengers West Coast #80-82, Quasar #32-34, Wonder Man (vol. 2) #7-9, Avengers #345-347, Iron Man #278-279, and Thor #445-446.
The Supreme Intelligence faked his death, only to retreat to Earth, as seen in Imperial Guard #1-3.
The Lunatic Legion blamed the Earth in general and the Avengers specifically for the nega-bomb going off and have attempted to get revenge on two different occasions in Avengers #364-366 and 378-379 respectively.
This current operation, to transform humans into pre-nega-bomb Kree has been chronicled so far in Iron Man (vol. 3) #7, Captain America (vol. 3) #5-8, and Quicksilver #10.
Warbird’s drinking problem and loss of powers have been known since Avengers (vol. 3) #4. Prior to this point, Carol had cosmic powers that she gained in Uncanny X-Men #163-164. She kept this loss a secret from the team, resulting in her disobeying Cap’s orders during their fight with the Squadron Supreme in issue #5. This tribunal scene also recounts Carol’s sloppy actions during the previous chapters of the Live Kree or Die! story arc.
Carol did reveal that the Corruptor was responsible for mind controlling the Squadron Supreme in issue #6. Carol’s trauma is in reference to the time that Rogue used her powers to absorb all of Carol’s original Ms. Marvel powers and memories, as seen in Avengers Annual #10. While her mind was able to be restored by Professor X of the X-Men, Carol no longer had the emotional connections associated with those memories.
Here, Quicksilver boasts about how he once trained the Inhuman militia. He did so pretty much from the moment after he married Crystal of the Inhuman royal family in Fantastic Four #150. It was his focus on training the Inhuman military that he neglected his wife, resulting in her seeking out an affair. So this is not the moral flex it looks like. But Quicksilver has always been a pious prick. See Vision and the Scarlet Witch #6-12.
Tony Stark has had his own struggles with alcohol and almost lost it all on two different occasions. The first from Iron Man #120-128 and again in Iron Man #167-182.
Scarlet Witch mentions how she and Carol grew to be close friends the first time Danvers served on the Avengers. This was from Avengers #183-200.
The Vision’s body was severely damaged in Avengers (vol. 3) #3 and he has existed as a holographic projection while it is being repaired. He’ll be back on his feet again in issue #12.
Carol’s drinking problem gets worse from here as seen in Iron Man (vol. 3) #24-25. She will eventually realize that she has a problem and will be going to Alcoholics Anonymous starting in Avengers (vol. 3) #26.
In Avengers #197, Carol discovered that she was somehow pregnant. This pregnancy rapidly came to term and she gave birth to a child that rapidly grew to adult hood. He revealed he was Marcus Immortus, the son of Immortus, and he was trapped in Limbo and romanced Carol in-between moments in time so he could impregnate herself with his essence so he could be born outside of Limbo. After all this, the Avengers stood back and let Carol leave with him to live “happily ever after”, as seen in Avengers #200. We later learn in Avengers Annual #10 that Carol was being gaslit by Marcus and she was rightly pissed off that her Avengers teammates didn’t clue in on the fact that she basically raped.
Wonder Man died in Force Works #1 during a battle with the Kree. Wanda has been able to use her power to summon him back from the dead since issue #2. It’s explained in Avengers (vol. 3) #11 that Simon has been straddling the barrier between life and death due to his love for the Scarlet Witch.
Firestar points out that she and Vance had been in space before while they were members of the New Warriors. The pair were founding members of that group as seen in New Warriors #1. The earliest instance of the Warriors being in space happened in New Warriors #4-5. Vance and Angelica had just recently joined the Avengers in Avengers (vol. 3) #4.
Justice recounts the time Firestar used her powers to activate a stargate. This was in New Warriors #41. Angelica’s reluctance to use her full power is because high concentrations of her microwave powers are slowly making her sterile and she wants to have kids some day. She learned about this health condition in New Warriors #62-63. She was be given a special mesh to cure her of this problem in Avengers (vol. 3) #12.
