Avengers/Invaders #11
Royal Allies
The Red Skull has gotten his hands on the Cosmic Cube and has used it to alter reality so that the Nazis have won World War II in December, 1943. Sending his mechanical Dogs of War to hunt down and kill Spitfire and Union Jack (Jackie and Brian Falsworth), the two Invaders sacrifice their lives to try and destroy them. Pulling the pins on all of his grenade, Brian tries to take out their pursuers in an explosion as two soldier carry away the wounded Paul Anslem.[1]
The blast only manages to destroy one of the Dogs of War, leaving three left. The two soldiers carrying Paul turn to shoot at their attackers, not willing to go down without a fight. However, the futility of their situation does a complete turn around with the arrival of a team of heroes who have smuggled themselves into Nazi dominated Europe. They are the Invaders — Captain America (Steve Rogers), Bucky (James Barnes), the Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Toro (Thomas Raymond), and the Sub-Mariner (Namor) — the Howling Commandos — Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and Rebel Ralston — as well as disguised members of the present day Mighty and New Avengers — Iron Man (Tony Stark, disguised as Electro), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers, disguised as the original Black Widow), and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew, disguised as the Silver Scorpion)[2] of the Mighty Avengers, and Luke Cage (Disguised as the Black Marvel), Spider-Man (Peter Parker, disguised as the Challenger), and Wolverine (Logan, disguised as Captain Terror) of the New Avengers — and lastly this eras Black Panther.
They quickly destroy the Dogs of War and check on the soldiers. Captain America is pleased to see that Paul Anslem is among them. Paul apologizes to them all because it was his fault that the Cosmic Cube fell into the hands of the Red Skull, creating this nightmare reality. Cap agrees, but says that he did it for the right reasons and they can still fix things. When his fellow soldiers asks what Captain America is talking about, Paul explains that he learned that his buddies died in 1943 during his time in the future. Iron Man then examines Paul’s gunshot wound and uses his armor’s tools to treat the wound.[3] He tells Paul that he should recover which is great as they will need his help to set things right.
All they press ahead into Germany, the Human Torch and Toro do aerial recon of the area. They are shocked to see that the Red Skull has laid waste to Berlin as well. Toro doesn’t understand, but Jim reminds him that the Skull is rage personified. That’s when they spot one of the Dogs of War and try to destroy it. Despite their efforts, the creature manages to get away. As they head back to the others, they miss the Dog of War hiding behind some rubble. Once the heroes are gone, the Red Skull teleports before he creation with the Cosmic Cube.
As the others enter enemy territory, Bucky takes the time to update the journal he is keeping of these events. With a lull in combat, he then asks Iron Man about changing the past. Specifically, he wants to know what would happen if someone did not do something they will do, or would have done. Tony tells the kid that everyone has past mistakes that they regret and wish they could change. However, Paul Anslem’s attempt to save his buddies is a perfect example of how well intended ideas could have horrible repercussions. Stark says that the real measure of a hero comes from doing the right thing even if they are damned in the process. James takes the advice to heart and says it is a shame that his Captain America isn’t alive in Tony’s era as he figures they would be great friends. Iron Man says nothing.[4]
Meanwhile, the Red Skull has finished interrogating his Dog of War and upon learning that they failed to stop the Invaders and their allies he kills his subordinate. With the heroes coming, the Skull decides to prepare for the final battle. With the Cosmic Cube, he summons an army of Nazi soldiers. The heroes charge into battle wondering why the Skull is sending ordinary soldiers against them. Everyone quickly goes into their roles taking down their opponents. Spider-Woman notes that Nick Fury is barking orders like he still does in the future, while Spider-Man engages in his usual snappy banter. He pauses briefly to remind Wolverine not to use his claws as he is supposed to be pretending to be Captain Terror. Meanwhile, the Torch tells Toro not to get over confident. Annoyed by this, he mentions that this is probably what gets him killed in the future.[5] When Jim asks Toro what he means, he tells him to never mind.
This battle is being observed by the Red Skull through the Cosmic Cube and he is annoyed that the soldiers are not killing his foes. That’s when the Vision (Aarkus) appears before him and tells him that the Cosmic Cube draws from the imagination of the user as part of its transformation into a sentient being. It will established its identity through the desires of the user. The Red Skull takes this advice and uses the Cube to summon others that have fought for him in the past.
By this time, the heroes are on the final stretch to the Red Skull’s fortress. The only thing that appears to be in their way is a massive mine field. This is a minor obstacle for them as Iron Man uses his armor to emit a high frequency signal that detonates all the mines at once. However, when the smoke clears they see that the Red Skull has summoned Super-Axis — Master Man (Wilhelm Lohmer), Warrior Woman (Frieda Ratsel), Baron Blood (John Falsworth), Iron Cross (Helmut Grueler), Thor, and U-Man (Meranno) — to face them.[6] As the heroes charge into battle, Wolverine can’t resist the urger to let out a cry of “Avengers Assemble!”
Recurring Characters
Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, the Wasp, “Spider-Woman”), New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine), Invaders (Captain America, Bucky, Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, Spitfire, Union Jack), Howling Commandos (Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Rebel Ralston), Black Panther, Paul Anslem, Vision, Nazis (Red Skull, Super-Axis (Master Man, Warrior Woman, Baron Blood, Iron Cross, Thor, U-Man))
Continuity Notes
This happened in Avengers/Invaders #7-8, as a result the timeline had change erasing present day Reality-616 and overlaying it with a new one. This principal was explained in Exiles #70-71. This will remain the status quo until everything is changed back to normal in Avengers/Invaders #12. As per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #1, this timeline has been designated Reality-93198.
The woman who appears to be Spider-Woman here is actually a Skrull spy named Veranke, as will be revealed in Secret Invasion #3. Per New Avengers #42, she took the place of the real Jessica Drew circa Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1. This is ahead of a planned invasion of Earth that will primarily take place in Secret Invasion #1-8.
Iron Man mentions that he knows a little something about dealing with critical wounds. He is referring to how his heart was injured with landmine shrapnel in the incident that led to his becoming Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39. Tony created his first Iron Man suit partially to keep the shrapnel from his heart. Over the years, Stark has used technology to assist him with this vital organ.
Both Iron Man and Bucky are dealing with the urge to prevent certain things happening in the future. Let’s break them down:
In Avengers/Invaders #4-5, Bucky unknowingly met his future self who is the present day Captain America. The future James warned his younger self about how he will attempt to disarm an explosive drone in 1945, as seen in Avengers #4. This will lead everyone to believe Bucky died for decades. In reality, he was recovered by the Russians who transformed him into the brainwashed assassin known as the Winter Soldier as seen in Captain America (vol. 5) #11. Barnes will be freed from this fate in issue #14 of that series and succeed Steve Rogers as Captain America in Captain America (vol. 5) #33-34.
For Iron Man, he regrets that death of Captain America, who came about over the sides they chose after the passage of the Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) in Civil War #1-7. Captain America surrendered when he saw the public supported the new law and he was seemingly assassinated while being taken to trial in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. Tony blames himself for Steve’s death as seen in Civil War: The Confession #1. That said, Steve isn’t really dead. He was actually shot by a chronal bullet that has caused him to live his life in an endless loop. He will be rescued from this purgatory in Captain America: Reborn #1-6.
Toro is killed in the Modern Age after being brainwashed into fighting the Sub-Mariner by the Mad Thinker, as seen in Sub-Mariner #14. Toro learned his fate during his time in the future as seen in Avengers/Invaders #6 and was particularly upset that none of his fellow Invaders were around to save him. Future Toro will remain deceased until the end of this series.
If you’re wondering why Thor is among Nazi supervillains the answer is simple: At one point during World War II, the Nazis had tricked the thunder god into siding with the Nazis to assassin Russian leader Josef Stalin. He was stopped by the Invaders. See Invaders #32-33.
Translations
There are lines of dialogue in this story that are presented in German without translations. They are:
Page 15: “Hast do das gesehen?” and “Es ist ein geist” which translate to “Did you see that?” and “It is a ghost.”