Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #2
On the Side of Angels
Following her take over of Kang’s domain, the Terminatrix, aka Ravonna Renslayer, has been targeted by the mysterious Revelation. This foe had summoned three Avengers: US Agent, Thunderstrike, and War Machine to attack Ravonna. Fleeing into the time stream, Ravonna then decided to summon three Avengers of her own: Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man.
She asks them to help defend her from her attackers. However, Captain America has encountered Ravonna in the past and heard about how she almost tore the Avengers apart before and warns his allies not to trust her.[2] That’s when a time portal opens and US Agent, Thunderstrike, and War Machine emerge from it. Ravonna is surprised they were able to find her so quickly.
With her Avengers still unconvinced, Ravonna jumps into the time stream in order to double back a few moments and subliminally compel Captain America and the others to fight her pursers. The gambit works and Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man start fighting US Agent, Thunderstrike, and War Machine.[2] Cap’s reasoning is simple: Although Ravonna is a threat, they have no idea if the person who sent US Agent after her isn’t even more so, better the devil you know, than the one you don’t. Neither side is willing to trust the other, with accusations of mind control and general misunderstandings keeping them fighting one another.[3]
While the two teams fight it out, the Terminatrix has retreated back to her private chambers in Chronopolis. There she uses her scanners to determine who was responsible for sending US Agent and the others after her. She pinpoints their location to an alternate timeline in the year 9999 AD.[4] Deciding to confront her mysterious attacker, Ravonna suits up in her battle armor and travels to that time period. Before she can leave her AI computer, Brideshead, tells her that the Council of Cross-Time Kangs have requested she attend another meeting. Ravonna declines to do so, telling the computer that there is a war to fight first.
Elsewhere in the complex, the two warring teams of Avengers fight each other to a stand-still. Captain America then asks who the others are working for. Before he can get any answers, robots rip through the wall and attack them as, with Ravonna gone, all of the Avengers have been singled out as intruders that need to be disposed of.
Elsewhen, Ravonna materializes on a strange world in the year 9999. There she is attacked by a man calling himself Marcus Immortus. This comes as a surprise to Ravonna who is about to ask if this man is related to the Immortus until she stumbles onto a razorweed pod.[5] Suddenly, she is enveloped in the tendrils of the plant. Marcus warns her that not only are the razorweed incredibly sharp, but they also excrete molecular acid that will eat through her armor.
Back in Chronopolis, the Avengers have trashed all the robots. With the battle over, War Machine grabs Captain America and holds him at gun point, demanding straight answers from Iron Man and Thor. However, Captain America is easily able to break free from War Machine’s grasp. After doing so, Cap asks just one question: Who was it that recruited US Agent and the others. Thunderstrike tells him that they were gathered by a woman calling herself Revelation. Little do they know that Revelation is watching them at that very moment and is pleased that they have completed the first part of their mission. She decides to give them a short reprieve before dispatching them to their next objective.
Elsewhen, Marcus takes some glee at tormenting the Terminatrix but promises he won’t let her die. Suddenly, Ravonna is teleported to yet another location. Here she and various other counterparts have been plucked from similar moments and freed from their razorweed traps.[6] They are all immobilized by a stasis ray. Soon, they are visited by an elderly version of Immortus who tells them that he has reached the end of his life span and today is the day he will die.[7][8] He tells the gathered women that they are at a critical juncture in their personal timelines and he has brought them all together in the hopes of helping them break free from the tyranny of time itself!
Back in Chronopolis, the Avengers agree to work together until they figure out who their true enemy is. However, before they can move any further, Revelation teleports them into the middle of a meeting of the Council of Cross-Time Kangs. None of which are happy to see six Avengers and are prepared to destroy their hated foes!
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, US Agent, War Machine, Thunderstrike), Terminatrix, Revelation, Brideshead, Marcus Immortus, Immortus, Nebula, Grandmaster, Council of Cross-Time Kangs
Continuity Notes
Some notes about Ravonna and the three Avengers that she has gathered.
Captain America mentions how Ravonna Renslayer once posed as Nebula and took mental control of Doctor Druid to force the Avengers to help her recover a supposed weapon hidden in a Time Bubble, as seen in Avengers #292-297. Druid’s betrayal led to the Avengers disbanding until Captain America formed a new team in Avengers #300.
Captain America met Ravonna for the first time years ago when he and the Avengers helped liberate her kingdom in Avengers #23-24. Cap later encountered Ravonna himself during the Citizen Kang event, see Captain America Annual #11, Thor Annual #17, Fantastic Four Annual #25, and Avengers Annual #21.
Here, Cap states that neither Thor nor Iron Man have met Ravonna. That’s not correct actually. They would have encountered her unconscious form during Kang and the Grandmaster’s Game of Galaxies in Avengers #69-71. They also encountered Ravonna during the period in which she was still seeking the weapon in the Time Bubble. See Fantastic Four #337-341.
One could assume that Captain America is specifically speaking about the Nebula/Terminatrix version of Ravonna Renslayer. Which, again, isn’t entirely correct since Iron Man and Thor encountered her. One could assume that Cap is mistaken and the other Avengers decided not to correct him since they have bigger things to worry about.
War Machine states here that he thought he and Tony got past fighting each other. Jim Rhodes and Tony Stark were long time friends until Tony faked his death and left Jim in charge of both Stark Industries and Iron Man in Iron Man #284. When Tony revealed he was still alive in Iron Man #289, Jim was so furious with him that he quit and went solo as War Machine. The two grudgingly made peace in Iron Man #290-291. However, this won’t last as Jim will go back to hating Tony again after the events of Iron Man #299-300.
When War Machine scans Iron Man he is surprised to discover that it is Tony Stark in the suit of armor, noting that during their last encounter Tony was still bed ridden and was using a suit of robotic tele-presence armor. Indeed, when Tony revealed he was alive in Iron Man #289, it was after having his central nervous system completely replaced with an artificial one requiring lengthy physio-therapy. Tony built a new suit of modular remote armor in Iron Man #290. However, Tony won’t go back to physically wearing the armor until Iron Man #300. This contradicts the Marvel Chronology Project (as of January, 2023) which states Iron Man is here circa Iron Man #295. However, this would be impossible since he was still wearing the telepresence armor at that time.
Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, Revelations future timeline exists as part of Reality-93091. As we’ll learn in Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #3, Revelation is an alternate version of Ravonna who agreed to marry Kang and ruled by his side until his death before taking over his empire for herself.
Marcus’ does indeed have a familial relation with Immortus, that he is calling Ravonna “mum” here isn’t out of mockery either, it’s literal. As we’ll learn over the next two issues, Marcus is the offspring of both Ravonna and Nathaniel Richards the man who is both Kang and Immortus. Where it gets confusing to some is when Marcus was born since he refers to Revelation as his mother and will also refer to the elderly Immortus and Ravonna as his parents. I think it’s pretty straight forward, he’s Revelation’s son that she birthed with her version of Kang. The reason why he calls the elderly Ravonna and Immortus his mother and father is for the same reason he calls the Terminatrix his mum here, he views them all as his parents even if they might be versions of his parents from other timelines. Who couldn’t ask for a more loyal son?
We see the Terminatrix among other versions of herself. While there is no record of which realities they come from (at least time of this writing in January, 2023) they are all stand-ins for Ravonna’s many past and future incarnations. They include:
Princess Ravonna, as she first appeared in Avengers #23-24.
A version of Ravonna that was posing as the space pirate Nebula, prior to her joining the Council of Cross-Time Kangs circa Avengers #291.
A version of her dressed like a Kang, which she also started doing in Avengers #291.
The Temptress, an identity Ravonna briefly went under in Avengers Spotlight #37.
Obviously, we got the Terminatrix, a guise Ravonna has been operating under since Fantastic Four Annual #25.
Then we have a version of Ravonna that resembles the Grandmaster, which other than this appearance we know nothing about, as of this writing. Other than the fact that she hales from Reality-9324, per the Terminatrix profile in All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #11. Some ideas:
Following her incapacitation in Avengers #24 and Kang’s failure to cure her in Avengers #71, it was later revealed in Avengers Annual #21 that Ravonna was freed and restored by the Grandmaster, who took pity on her. My assumption is that in at least one timeline, Ravonna either stole the power of or became a consort to the Grandmaster.
Another explanation is provided in Kang the Conqueror #1-5, which revealed that after her incapacitation in Avengers #24, Kang transmitted her essence across the timestream so she would be born and reincarnated across time and space. It’s entirely possible that one reincarnation of Ravonna is a member of the Grandmaster’s race.
Following Avengers #267-269, all multiversal versions of Kang had been slain, meaning that there was only one true Kang left and therefore only one Immortus. This became doubly true since Immortus operates out of Limbo and can affect time without creating a divergence (unless he wants to make one). This was further reinforced in the events of Avengers Forever #12, which will see the destinies of Kang and Immortus separated and forge their own individual pasts instead of one leading to the other. That all said, there is only one Immortus. His appearance here is vague, however the Immortus profile in All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5 suggests that this is Immortus from the very end of his timeline, meaning his appearance here comes well after appearances that are published in later years. However, it reminds readers that Immortus is a master of deception and this could be yet another one. I’m inclined to disagree, I like the idea that Immortus has an end point and that we — as readers — got to jump ahead to see it before all of his later appearances.
Kang the Conqueror #5 identifies that this “end times” for Immortus takes place in the year 31,248 AD. As of this writing (January, 2023) this future timeline has not been given a reality designation.
Topical References
References to the present day taking place in the 20th century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe forward in time enough that it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
