The Avengers Break-Up!

This story is reprinted from Avengers #10

Unrung

When confronting the time master known as Immortus, Rick Jones finds himself transported to the Tower of London in 17th Century London to lure Captain America (Steve Rogers) into a trap.[1] Rick finds himself trapped in a cell with a man named Luther. Starving, the elderly man catches a rat to feed himself, a last meal before he is hanged. Rick tries to pull apart the bars on the window, but they are too strong for him. Luther tells the young man to accept his fate, but Rick is confident that Captain America will save them.

Looking out the window, Rick sees Captain America materialize in the court yard where he is attacked by the soldiers guarding the tower. Cap fights his way to their cell and frees both Rick and Luther. At first, the old man is afraid to leave his cell. That’s when Immortus appears before Cap and Rick and boasts that they will never leave this era alive. When another soldier arrives and tries to shoot them with a crossbow, Luther surprises them and himself by knocking the guard out with a torch. Captain America then subdues Immortus and orders him to return them to the present. With his friends from the future gone, Luther leaves the Tower happy to be free.

Back in the present, Captain America and Rick rejoin the Avengers — Iron Man (Tony Stark), Giant-Man (Hank Pym), and Thor — in battling the Masters of Evil — Baron (Heinrich) Zemo, the Enchantress (Amora), and Skurge the Executioner. With this recent scheme now in shambles, the Enchantress casts a spell to send her and her companions back in time so they can refuse Immortus when he first approached them with this plan.

An unforeseen repercussion of this spell is that Luther never meets Rick Jones and Captain America, nor does he manage to get free from the Tower of London. Not long after he catches his final meal, he is put to death by hanging.

Recurring Characters

Rick Jones, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man), Immortus, Masters of Evil (Baron Zemo, Enchantress, Executioner)

Continuity Notes

1. This, of course, occurs in Avengers #10. It should be noted that when the Enchantress goes back in time to undo the Masters of Evil’s encounter with Immortus, she creates a divergent reality where the Avengers did not fight Immortus. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4, that alternate timeline has been classified as Reality-64410. The Avengers of the Prime Marvel Universe won’t learn about this until Avengers Forever #8.