Avengers Forever #3
City at the Heart of Forever
Seven time lost Avengers have been gathered to protect Rick Jones from Immortus who wishes their old ally dead for unknown reasons. Deciding to take the fight to Immortus directly, the Avengers are led to Chronopolis by Libra only to discover that Kang’s stronghold is under attack by Immortus.
As the Avengers scramble to battle with the invasion force sent by Immortus, the Wasp wonders why this particular group of Avengers were selected. It includes a Captain America who has been disillusioned by recent events, a Hawkeye without his trick arrows, Yellowjacket during a time he was going through a mental breakdown, a crippled Rick Jones, the present day Goliath troubled by seeing his past self, and two future Avengers unknown to them, the reformed criminal Songbird and a new Captain Marvel.[1]
Rick is stashed somewhere safe where he tries to access the Destiny Force powers he used earlier but cannot access them.[2] As the group fights, Yellowjacket is taken aback by how much more powerful his future-wife the Wasp will be.[3] While he is distracted Hawkeye saves him from an arrow shot from the shadows. Attacking the other archer, Clint is surprised to see that this is Red Wolf, but not the one he has met in the past.[4] Libra explains that this Red Wolf — also known as Wildrun — is part of Kang’s elite guard, the Anachronauts. The rest of the group had been decimated by the attack by Immortus and have been reduced to temporal shadows of their former selves. Needing to get to Kang, Wildrun leads them to his master.
As the battle rages outside, Kang has been having his minions get one of his time machines, styled to look like the Sphinx of Egypt, out of storage. Kang is grateful for the Avengers assistance in the battle, but insists that they should not have come since it is putting Rick Jones at risk. The Wasp demands to know why Immortus is attacking Kang’s citadel now of all times. Kang explains that Immortus seeks to steal the Heart of Forever, a powerful trans-chronal engine that will allow him to prune the timelines without creating new divergent realities. This infuriates Kang as he continues to fight back against the destiny that will see him become Immortus, despising his future self’s scholarly ways.[5]
The Avengers reluctantly agree that they need to work with Kang as he is the lesser of two evils. They also agree to protect Rick by hiding out in the time stream using Kang’s time machine. When Yellowjacket makes suggestive comments toward the Wasp — his future wife — she tells him to keep his mind on the job. Deciding that since the Wasp isn’t interested in fooling around, Yellowjacket decides to set his sights on Songbird. Hawkeye also spends this time getting to know Songbird, which is weird for both since Melissa has known Hawkeye for years from her perspective.[6]
Hours later, as the others are getting ready, Captain Marvel is spending some time alone reflecting on his past, his lineage to the original Captain Marvel, and his bitter relationship with Rick Jones. There is something about Genis-Vell’s past that he is keeping a secret from the others, Rick in particular, which has made his interactions with Jones prickly to say the least.[7] That’s when Rick joins him in a new combat chair that was built to give him some mobility. He asks Genis-Vell what the future has in store for them. However, Captain Marvel says that the Destiny War was long over by the time he had joined the Avengers and, besides, he doesn’t know if his timeline is the same as Rick’s future or just some alternate reality. Annoyed by the lack of a straight answer, Rick thanks Genis for nothing and storms off.
During this downtime, the Wasp takes the opportunity to talk to Captain America. Janet knows that Steve is going through a lot after what he just experienced. But she needs him to pull it together, assuring him that in the future he’ll get over what happened with the Secret Empire. Watching from afar are Hawkeye and Goliath, and Clint can tell that Cap is hurting but is certain that he’ll pull out of it soon enough. Hank agrees figuring if they can just survive all of this. That’s when Songbird comes out to warn everyone that Immortus has sent another wave of soldiers to attack Chronopolis. Without a second thought, the Avengers put all of their worries and concerns aside and leap into battle. Everyone gives it their all, even Captain Ameirca. Rick tries to join the fight but his battle chair gets destroyed. About to be split in half with a viking’s axe, Rick is finally able to channel the Destiny Force once more. However, instead of getting the full range of its powers, it gives him back his mobility.
However, despite their best efforts, Chronopolis is going to fall due to the sheer number of invaders. Kang orders the Avengers to take Rick back to the time machine and escape before it is too late, telling them that he’ll hold the invading horde back for as long as possible. Rick doesn’t like always being on the run, but the others assure him that it is necessary. While they load up into the time ship, Kang is attacked by Tempus, while Immortus reaches the chamber where the Heart of Forever is being kept. As the Avengers makes their escape, Immortus reaches into the machine and unleashes its energies, which completely absorb Chronopolis, distilling it into the time altering Forever Crystal, an object of incredible power that will give him the ability to restructure all of time.
He also vows that wherever the Avengers go and whatever they do, they will never escape the fate he has in store for them.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Wasp, Goliath, Captain America, Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel, Songbird), Rick Jones, Kang, Immortus, Libra, Tempus, Anachronauts (Raa, Wildrun, Sir Raston, Apocryphus, Ssith)
Continuity Notes
The Avengers were all plucked from different points in history as seen in Avengers Forever #1 and explained last issue. They are:
Captain America circa Captain America #175, after he discovered that the President of the United States was secretly the leader of the Secret Empire.
Hawkeye was plucked out of time circa Avengers #99. This was after he returned to Earth following the Kree/Skrull War without his Goliath growth serum or his trick arrows.
Yellowjacket was abducted from Avengers #60. Actually Hank Pym, a mental breakdown convinced him that he was someone else and that he killed Hank Pym.
At the time of this story Rick Jones had been crippled in Incredible Hulk #457. He will regain his mobility in this very issue.
Goliath and the Wasp come from the present day, having been plucked out of time circa Avengers (vol. 3) #11.
Songbirdand by extension Captain Marvel) aren’t from the mainline Marvel Universe, but an alternate reality. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, it has been designated Reality-98120.
Rick first used these powers during the Kree/Skrull War as seen in Avengers #97. These powers began coming back in Avengers Forever #1.
While Hank and Janet do get married, their marriage will eventually fall apart in Avengers #213. From Yellowjacket’s perspective, Janet’s Wasp sting has been a rather pitiful compressed air gun that she has used since Tales to Astonish #44. A few years from Yellowjacket’s time period Hank will give Janet a power upgrade, allowing her to create bio-energy stings. That happened in Marvel Team-Up #59-60.
Hawkeye met the Red Wolf of his own era, William Talltrees, back in Avengers #80. This is Wildrun, one of William’s ancestors that was recruited into Kang’s Anachronauts circa Fantastic Four Annual #25.
It was revealed that Immortus is the future version of Kang back in Giant-Size Avengers #2.
Hawkeye asks if Songbird’s solid light powers are similar to Klaw. Her Earth-616 counterpart had her sonic carapace designed by the Fixer using similar technology to Klaw’s sonic horn, as explained in Thunderbolts Annual 1997. Melissa also notes that she’s known Clint for years. On Earth-616, Hawkeye would later go on to lead the Thunderbolts starting in Thunderbolts #21 in order to help the group redeem themselves as heroes.
On Earth-616, Genis-Vell is the son of Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel. However, he was birthed years after Mar-Vell’s death in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. He was spawned by Mar-Vell’s lover Elysius who combined her DNA with a sample taken from Mar-Vell to create Genis, as we saw in Silver Surfer Annual #6. This version of Genis has a raw history with the Rick Jones of his timeline as the two were forced to bond together as revealed in Avengers Forever #11, the same thing will happen to Rick Jones-616 and his world’s Genis in issue #12. This is a similar relationship that Rick had with Mar-Vell from Captain Marvel #18-50.
Topical References
References to the present day taking place in the 20th century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has long pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe to the point where it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
Yellowjacket refers to Jan as a “Bloomingdale’s Commando”. This should be considered a topical reference as Bloomingdale’s is a real world business.