Counter Attack

The world has been taken over by Kang the Conqueror.[1] However since the fall, pockets of resistance still exist. In northern Montana a group of American soldiers come looking for a supposed sanctuary that is supposed to exist. They are dogged by two high tech fighter planes dispatched by Kang’s forces. Luckily, one of the turrets on the long deactivated defensive wall springs to life and shoots the craft down.[2] This is a sign to the soldiers that they finally made it.

Elsewhere, Kang the Conqueror and his son the Scarlet Centurion watch the fall of Siberia, one of the few free regions in the world. However, Kang’s amusement comes to an end when one of his servant droids comes to inform him that there has been a break-in at the imperial prison.

This break-in is the work of the few remaining Avengers to avoid capture — Thor, Yellowjacket, Quicksilver, Wonder Man, and Warbird — they have come to the prison to free the Wasp, their leader, who has been prisoner since she surrendered to Kang. Quickly freeing Janet from her shackles, the team leaps through a dimensional portal Thor opened with Mjolnir. This takes them to Northern Canada, where the resistance is operating out of the former hideout of the so-called Master of the World. Waiting there for them are Tony Stark, as well as fellow Avengers the Black Knight and Stingray. They have been formulating a plan to try and liberate the world. However, after the decimation of Washington, DC, the Wasp is afraid to try again for fear of the potential loss of life. That’s when the President of the United States — who has been hiding out here as well — makes his presence known. He tells Janet that the price of freedom is never too high and they must do whatever needs to be done to stop Kang. This convinces Jan that fighting back is the right thing to do. However, the Avengers won’t have to do it alone as she has a few calls to make and markers to call in.

Meanwhile, over the dark side of the Moon, aboard the pyramid ship of the Triple Evil are another team of Avengers: Captain America, the Vision, Photon, Quasar, Firestar, Justice, Triathlon, and Jack of Hearts. Unfortunately, with the Triple Evil defeated, they are stranded and Captain America is growing impatient to get back to Earth after learning that Kang has won. Their only hope is that the amalgamation of Triathlon, 3-D Man, and Hal Chandler can figure out how to channel the power of the Trion and power the ship so it can bring them back home.[3] With some effort, they succeed and the ship begins making its way back to Earth.

Back on Earth, the Wasp is getting down to work getting the help she needs for the counter attack. As she argues with Russian officials, Yellowjacket watches from the door and can’t help but be impressed by how much Jan has changed for the better over the years. Elsewhere, Tony Stark decides that he has been on the sidelines long enough and begins suiting up as Iron Man for the first time since this invasion began.[4] In the kitchen, Stingray and Silverclaw bond over coffee by talking about how they both stumbled into the lives of superheroes. At the same time, the Black Knight checks on Warbird who has been preoccupied with her thoughts for some time now. Carol is thinking if she made the right call killing the Master of the World.[5] Dane is convinced that she did the right thing and that they need to keep looking forward, even if the future is still uncertain.

Outside, Thor stands pondering his decision to divorce himself from humanity after this battle is over. He has been considering this as he can no longer stand to see the mortals closest to him put their lives on the line anymore.[6] Firebird has been trying to convince Thor not to cut his ties with humanity. When she can’t get through to him, she becomes frustrated with his stubborness. Comparing Thor to the god of her Christian faith, Bonita says that her god recognizes the death of everything, even the most insignificant sparrow. She tells him that is the kind of god she would chose to emulate before flying off.

The next morning, Kang returns to his base of operations on Earth to send out a holographic address to the people of America. He tells them of how the Avengers broke into one of his prisons and that he intends to punish them by wiping out the cities of Denver and Atlanta. However, as Kang’s forces move in on these two cities, more of the Master’s defensive walls burst out of the ground and begin opening fire upon them. This is the first of many counter attacks against Kang’s forces. In Japan, an army of Deviants emerge from their underground caverns to liberate the island nation. On the shores of France, Namorita leads the armies of Atlantis to Europe. While in Russia, officials have released the Presence and Starlight upon their enemies. The pair forms their own army as the Presence slowly transforms each of Kang’s soldiers into radioactive beings loyal only to him.

On the Eastern Seaboard, Kang and his son Marcus try to fend off another one of the Master’s walls. Reports come in that the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Alpha Flight have all been freed. With his forces losing ground on, Kang orders everyone to retreat back to the Damocles, as it has the power to teach the rabble on the planet’s surface who their real master is.

Back at their temporary base, the Avengers regroup and begin their assault on Damocles. Unfortunately, Kang begins opening fire on the planet’s surface with the massive warship before they can even get space borne. Able to locate the Avengers hideout, Kang begins laying waste to its defenses, prompting Janet to order a full retreat. However, before Kang an fire off the kill shot, the pyramid ship of the Triple Evil crashes into the Damocles, knocking it off target.

Furious over this recent interruption, Kang heads down to a chamber where he suits up with armor that will project a massive solid-light hologram of himself. He increases the hologram’s size so that he can crush the pyramid with his bare hands. However, before he can do it, Triathlon uses his powers to duplicate Kang’s trick and create a massive solid light hologram of Captain America to stop him!

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Quicksilver, Vision, Black Knight, Wonder Man, Warbird, Photon, Quasar, Firebird, Stingray, Firestar, Justice, Triathlon, Silverclaw, Jack of Hearts), Kang, Scarlet Centurion, the Presence, Starlight, 3-D Man, Hal Chandler, Namorita, Glomm

Continuity Notes

1. Kang finally conquered present day Earth in Avengers (vol. 3) #49.

2. There massive, heavily armed walls were constructed by the so-called Master of the World in Avengers (vol. 3) #45.

3. For all the details on the Triple Evil, the Trion, and how Triathlon and 3-D Man got merged together see Avengers (vol. 3) #50.

4. While Iron Man had been present for Kang’s announcement in Avengers (vol. 3) #41-42, Tony has been mostly busy using his scientific knowledge to build weapons and defenses against Kang.

5. Remember those walls that I mentioned in point #2? Well the Master of the World offered them to the leaders of North America in exchange for their loyalty. Instead, the Avengers infiltrated his base of operations to take control of them instead. In the final battle, Carol killed the Master in combat, believing that the Avengers usual “no killer” rule did not apply during wartime, as seen in Avengers (vol. 3) #48.

6. Thor was reminded of how fleeting mortal lives were when Captain America was briefly transformed into a radioactive zombie by the Presence in Avengers (vol. 3) #44. Although he was restored to normal, the incident convinced the thunder god to reconsider his connections to humanity. Believing his connection to humans is important, Firebird has made it a point to try and change his mind since issue #45.

Topical References

• The President of the United States is depicted as George W. Bush in this story. This should be considered a topical reference as he only served as President from 2001 until 2009