Avengers (vol. 3) #53
The Last Castle
Kang the Conqueror had succeeded in dominating the planet Earth. However, the tide has changed as the Avengers have succeeded in pushing Kang’s forces off the planet.[1] From his Damocles ship, Kang was about to lay waste to the Earth when a team of Avengers came crashing in aboard the ship previously piloted by the Triple Evil. Using massive holographic proxies, Captain America and Kang the Conqueror now fight one-on-one over the fate of the Earth.
Cap’s holographic projection is possible thanks to the amalgamated Triathlon/3-D Man who is channeling the power of the Trion to create it. This means that when the Kang construct strikes Cap, it causes him real physical pain and damage. Regardless of the pain, Captain America continues fighting. Watching from the sidelines is Jonathan Tremont, disgraced leader of the Triune Understanding who has been caged since they defeated the Triple Evil.[2]
Aboard Kang’s ship, his son Marcus wonders how the heroes can win over them. Kang warns his son not to over-estimate their foes. That’s when the Damocles is rocked by an explosion. This is coming from the artillery walls that have been erected all over North America.[3] Joining the assault in space are the Vision, Photon, Quasar, Living Lightning, Firestar, Justice, and Jack of Hearts who were aboard the pyramid ship. Joining them from the planet’s surface come Thor, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Warbird, and Firebird. Along the way, Firebird tries to apologize to Thor for yelling at him earlier, however he says nothing in response.[3] As they all pour on the attacks, they still cannot breach the force field. They are then joined by the Presence and Starlight who add their powers to the rest.[5]
While the shields maintain their hold, the Damocles base is rocket by the constant barrage and its starting to take its toll. Suddenly, Kang’s hologram dissipates before a conclusive victor can be made. Kang then shifts focus on his warship’s weapons and begins opening fire on all ports. It’s the Triple Evil pyramid ship that takes a brunt of the damage, and Triathlon warns Cap that the ship is taking damage faster than his powers can make repairs. Triathlon also has come to realize that the source of his power is alive — as it consists of the life forces that the Triple Evil consumed — this has put him in a moral dilemma as using the power will extinguish their lives. Captain America agrees that using this power might be wrong. Jonathan Tremont, however, doesn’t see it that way. He manages to get access to some of the power again and breaks free from his prison. Exiting the ship, he tries to join the battle but is instantly blasted by Kang’s ship. As he dies, Jonathan Tremont unleashes one last blast of energy that completely shuts down the shield around the Damocles.[6]
Soon, the Avengers are breaching the hull and take the fight inside. Back on the ground, Yellowjacket and Wasp scan the Damocle’s and locate it’s power core. Transmitting its location to Warbird, she flies to it in the hopes of absorbing it’s energy. When she arrives she finds the Scarlet Centurion barring her path. While he helped her in the past, he warns her to step away as he will not let her interfere with his father’s plans again.[7] However, his hesitation to act leaves him open to an ambush from Jack of Hearts. With Marcus out of the way, Carol leaps into the power core and absorbs as much power as her body can handle before unleashing it all at once. This causes catastrophic damage to the ship, putting it on its last legs.
As the Avengers flee for Earth, Kang’s crew is consumed in the explosions. Kang and Marcus manage to make it to the only escape pod still functional. As Kang sees this as his final battle, he tells Marcus to take the escape pod and carry on his legacy. Marcus refuses, forcing Kang to shove his son into the pod and launch it. Kang then remains aboard the Damocles as it plumets to Earth and begins to burn up on re-entry.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Yellowjacket, Wasp, Vision, Black Knight, Wonder Man, Warbird, Photon, Quasar, Firebird, Stingray, Living Lightning, Firestar, Justice, Triathlon, Jack of Hearts), Kang, Scarlet Centurion, 3-D Man, Hal Chandler, Jonathan Tremont, the Presence, Starlight
Continuity Notes
Kang took over most of the world in Avengers (vol. 3) #48. The Avengers started driving him back last issue.
For more on the Triple Evil, the Trion, Triathlon merging with 3-D Man, and Jonathan Tremont’s downfall see Avengers (vol. 3) #50.
These defensive walls were erected by the so-called Master of the World in Avengers (vol. 3) #45. The Avengers managed to commandeer control of them in issue #48.
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. Firebird got frustrated with Thor’s stubbornness and yelled at him last issue.
Starlight shoots down an idea to go back to Earth and create a race of radioactive beings. The Presence already tried this and was defeated by the Avengers. See Avengers (vol. 3) #41-44.
As of this writing (February, 2023), Jonathan Tremont is still considered among the deceased.
Marcus has been attracted to Warbird since he first saw her in Avengers (vol. 3) #41. So much so that he visited her when she was trying to take control of the Master’s Arctic base in issue #47. In the following issue, his obsession with Carol almost allowed the Avengers to get past the Damocles’ shields.
