Avengers/Invaders #12
The Last Full Measure
Germany, 1934
The Red Skull (Johanne Schmidt) has used the Cosmic Cube to alter reality so the Nazis have won the war.[1] Trying to turn back the tide are the Invaders — Captain America (Steve Rogers), Bucky (James Barnes), the Human Torch (Jim Hammond), Toro (Thomas Raymond), and the Sub-Mariner (Namor) — and the time traveling Avengers — Iron Man (Tony Stark, disguised as Electro), Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers, disguised as the original Black Widow), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew disguised as the Silver Scorpion)[2] of the Mighty Avengers as well as Luke Cage (Disguised as the Black Avenger), Spider-Man (Peter Parker, disguised as the Challenger), and Wolverine (Logan, disguised as Captain Terror) — are pressing into Berlin to recover the Cube and set things right.
The only thing between them and the Red skull is the Nazi superhumans known as Battle-Axis — Master Man (Wilhelm Lohmer), Warrior Woman (Frieda Ratsel), Baron Blood (John Falsworth), Iron Cross (Helmut Gruler), Thor, and U-Man (Meranno) — who have been summoned to stop them.[3] In the thick of it, Bucky is almost struck down by a bolt of lightning. This near death experience causes him to remember what the Captain America of the future warned him about. How there would be a moment where Buck would try to be a hero by trying to disarm an explosive filled drone and how he shouldn’t do it.[4] As the battle rages on, Paul Aslem apologizes to Captain America because it was his fault things ended up like this. Cap reminds Paul that they will sets things right soon enough. That’s when another bolt of lightning cleaves the sky, this time striking the Human Torch and killing him. Toro is horrified to see his partner cut down. Cap then comes in to deflect bullets fired at Bucky with his shield. He tells James to get his head back in the game because the Torch is dead. Barnes then points out that any losses they suffer today can be undone when they correct history.
This reinvigorates the heroes who press forward still until they are all struck down by the Red Skull with the Cosmic Cube. Standing behind him is the Vision (Aarkus) who is shepherding the Cube through its transition period to sentience. The Skull then uses its power directly on Captain America. However, before he can kill Steve Rogers the Cube suddenly stops working. The Skull demands answers from the Vision, even accusing him of betrayal. However, the Vision states that the Cube has finally selected its template and it has decided against the Red Skull.
In reality, the reason why the Cosmic Cube couldn’t destroy Captain America is because the Wasp — who had shrunk down in size — was on the Cube and influencing its power. She then resumes normal height and snatches the powerful weapon away. However, she is too distracted with how her clever plan worked that she is fatally stabbed from behind by the Red Skull. Janet drops the Cube. It is then picked up by Bucky who tries to run off but is shot three times in the back. This then leads to a tug-of-war between Captain America and the Red Skull over the Cube.
Ultimately, Cap wrests the Cube from the Skull’s hand, but it goes flying into the air, landing near Paul Aslem. The Vision concludes that the Cube has finally reached sentience and leaves to commune with this new entity. Meanwhile, Paul struggles with what to do with the Cube until he is swarmed by Super-Axis. He then remembers all the heroes from this era and uses the power of the Cube to resurrect them all and save him.[5] With that, the Cosmic Cube is taken back by Captain America who uses its power to set everything back the way it should be. The Avengers from the future are sent back to their own time, Paul Aslem’s fellow soldiers are returned to death, and the timeline is restored.
The Present
In the aftermath of their time into the past, the Mighty and New Avengers take the elderly Paul Aslem to Arlington National Cemetery to pay his final respects to the Invaders.[6][7] Paul uses this opportunity to pass some wisdom to Iron Man. He tells him that Steve Rogers would have never blamed Tony for his death and that fate often takes matters out of our hands.[8]
Not everything is back to normal, as at Cypress Hill’s Cemetery in Brooklyn, something is sturring. Toro suddenly rises from his grave after being dead for years. As it turned out, when Bucky briefly held the Cosmic Cube he used it to wish his friend back to life.[9] However, seeing how changing the past could have unforeseen repercussions for the future, Bucky chose to have Toro come back to life in the present day where the future is still unwritten. Witnessing his resurrection is the Vision who tells Toro that there is a whole world out there for him to discover.[10]
1945
With the knowledge of his future demise, Bucky Barnes had written in his diary that his sacrifice was an act of heroism and regardless of his fate, he was not going to act any less the hero. On the fateful day of the drone plane, Bucky decided to hold on even though Cap told him to let go and is caught in the explosion sending both him and Steve Rogers falling into the icy water below.[11] As they hit the water, Bucky’s diary lands into the water as well and is lost to history, its story never to be read by anyone again.
History will march on as it did, with Bucky being recovered by the Russians and transformed into their assassin known as the Winter Soldier. James will eventually be free of his puppet masters in the present and, following the death of Steve Rogers, Bucky would succeed him as the new Captain America!
Recurring Characters
Mighty Avengers (Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, the Wasp, “Spider-Woman, Wonder Man, Ares, Sentry), New Avengers (Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange), Invaders (Captain America (Rogers), Bucky, Human Torch, Toro, Sub-Mariner, Union Jack), Black Panther (Azzuri), Nazis (Red Skull, Super-Axis (Master Man, Warrior Woman, Baron Blood, Iron Cross, Thor, U-Man), Paul Anslem, the Vision, Angel, Black Avenger, Black Marvel, Blue Diamond, Citizen V, Defender, Destroyer, Dynaman, Dyna-Mite, Fiery Mask, Golden Girl, Human Top, Jack Frost, Marvex, Miss America, Patriot, Purple Mask, Red Raven, Spirit of ‘76, Whizzer, Black Panther (T’Challa), She-Hulk, Captain America (Barnes)
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 is shocked that Thor is among Battle-Axis, to which the Human Torch states that he and the Invaders fought a few months back and that he works for the Nazis. This is not entirely true. Jim is referring to the events of Invaders #32-33, wherein the Nazis mind controlled Thor into trying to assassinate Josef Stalin. The Invaders fought him until his mind was freed.
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.
Paul Aslem uses the Cosmic Cube to summon heroes from the Timely era of comics or ones that appeared in past Invaders series. Many of these heroes were seen decased last issue. They include:
Angel aka Thomas Holloway, one of the first costumed adventurers in the Marvel Universe. He first appeared in Marvel Comics #1.
Black Avenger aka Jerry Carstairs, is the hero that Luke Cage has been posing as in this era. He first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #7
Black Marvel aka Daniel Lyons who first appeared in Mystic Comics #5
Blue Diamond aka Elton Morrow who also first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #7
Captain Wings aka Roger Dicken, who first appeared in Invaders #14.
Citizen V aka John Watkins who first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #8
Defender aka Don Stevens who first appeared in USA Comics #1,
Destroyer there were two men who were active as the Destroyer at this time they were Keen Marlow (first seen in Mystic Comics #6) and Roger Aubrey (who took on the mantle in Invaders #26). The appearance of the Destroyer here is complicated, see below for more
Dynaman aka Lagaro first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #6
Dyna-Mite was an identity previously used by Roger Aubrey in Invaders #14. Like the appearance of the Destroyer, Dyna-Mite’s appearance here is problematic. See below.
Fiery Mask aka Jack Castle who first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #1
Golden Girl aka Gwen Sabuki who appeared in Invaders #26
Human Top aka Davey Mitchell who first appeared in Invaders #27,
Jack Frost who first appeared in USA Comics #1
Marvex the robot first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #3
Miss America aka Madeline Joyce, she first appeared in Marvel Mystery Comics #49.
Patriot aka Jeff Mace who first appeared in Human Torch Comics #4
Purple Mask aka Dennis Burton, first appeared as the Laughing Mask in Daring Mystery Comics #2, and took on the Purple Mask persona in the following issue of that series
Red Raven first appeared in Red Raven Comics #1
Spirit of ‘76 aka William Nasland he first appeared in Invaders #14
Whizzer aka Robert Frank who first appeared in USA Comics #1
How Paul Aslem can still be alive in the Modern Age becomes increasingly impossible due to the Sliding Timescale bumping the Modern Age forward in time. As yet (September, 2024), Marvel has yet to provide an explanation for how he could survive until this point. My theory is that the Cosmic Cube somehow extended Paul’s life to complete the time loop that is central to this story.
Spider-Man asks if this experience means they won’t be fighting each other anymore. He is referring to the fact that the New Avengers are outlaws due to their refusal to follow the recently passed Super Human Registration Act (SHRA) in Civil War #1-7. This new law will remain in place until Siege #4.
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 had died years earlier after being brainwashed by the Mad Thinker into battling the Sub-Mariner. See Sub-Mariner #14.
From here, Toro is seen next in The Torch #1-8.
This, of course, is the often referenced “death” of Bucky, which was originally told in Avengers #4.
The Destroyer and Dyna-Mite
The appearance of these two characters in the same place at the time of this story is problematic because of the rather convoluted history behind the Destroyer. See, during World War II there were three men who used the Destroyer identity.
Kevin “Keen” Marlow who was given a derivative of the Super Soldier Formula while in a Nazi concentration camp became the first Destroyer, as seen in Mystic Comics #6. In Invaders #18 we were introduced to the second Destroyer who was revealed to be Brian Falsworth, who claimed that Marlow was an alias that he had used. Lastly, there was Roger Aubrey, who took on the Destroyer mantle in Invaders #28 after Falsworth became the successor to the Union Jack identity. Marvels Project #7 also reaffirms that Marlow was a false identity. However, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Golden Age 2004 and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3 clarify that Marlow was a real person and that both he and Falsworth were operating under the Destroyer identity at the same time. This is further supported by the fact that Marlow has been seen in the Modern Age in Destroyer (vol. 3) #1-5. Before becoming the third Destroyer, Roger Aubrey had become Dyna-Mite in Invaders #14-15.
The issue that arises is the fact that Aubrey’s time as Dyna-Mite and his transition into the Destroyer role all happened in 1942. Marvel, as of this writing (September, 2024), has not clarified this inconsistency. I already bothered Jim Krueger once already while indexing this series, but I figure that his answer will probably be the same for this detail as the issue of the Torch visiting Auschwitz. This was probably an error that slipped by the editors.
As usual the Unofficial Appendix goes into an overly long discussion about this discrepancy here and makes some speculations on what might be happening here. The TL;DR version is that these are all constructs created by Aslem in the zero hour and not the actual heroes. Or that they were pulled from some other alternate reality (Either Reality-616 or some other one) Which feels like a cheap cop out to me. I think the actual reason is that Anslem isn’t aware who the Destroyer was or was aware that Dyna-Mite was no longer active. Anslem was just a grunt in the military and news traveled so slowly during World War II, the idea that he didn’t know who was who when is understandable. The Destroyer identity was secret and obfuscated due to the early deceptions made by Marlow, Falsworth, and Aubrey all acting under that identity. Rather than constructs, I think that Aslem resurrected and summoned all of these wartime heroes. Since he knew of the existence of Dyna-Mite, perhaps the Cube filled in the blanks by reverting Aubrey back to that identity. It was then undone when history was set right.
With that interpretation in mind, Dyna-Mite is clearly Aubrey making the Destroyer who appears here being Keen Marlow.