Domination Factor: Avengers #3.6
Seeds of Change
This story continues from Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #3.5…
In order to preserve history from evil forces trying to change it, the Avengers and Fantastic Four have been sent back to different time periods to recover slices of an enchanted Golden Apple. Each member has their spirits cast into their past selves in a different time period.[1]
Captain America has found himself sent back to 1942, where he and his partner Bucky were trying to destroy a Nazi tunnel being built under the English Channel.[2] About to detonate the bomb, they are suddenly interrupted by the android Human Torch, who appears to be under Nazi control. They are about to fight it out when a Nazi soldier comes upon them. In the ensuing skirmish both the Nazi and Bucky are knocked out.
With that out of the way, the Human Torch reveals that he is actually possessed by the present day Vision, which makes sense since the Vision was constructed from the original Torch’s body.[3] With the Nazi tunnel taking priority, the two time travelers agree to split up. The Vision will search for the Golden Apple slice in the tunnels while Cap finishes his mission by blowing up the tunnel and escaping with Bucky, as history intended. The “Torch” discovers the apple slice in a lock box full of confiscated valuables. Recovering the slice send the Vision and future Captain America’s spirits back to the future. History then continues on its proper course, Cap and Bucky unaware of the tragedy they will suffer a few years from now.[4]
In the present day, Nora — the elderly owner of the Praxis Corporation — is dying. As medical crews try to sustain her vitals she is interrupted by her assistant Lester. He insists that she will achieve immortality if she can hold on just a moment longer. He then scoops her up and carries Nora outside where a temporal anomaly has slowed time all over the rest of the world, as it will grant her the moments she needs to survive.
Thousands of years in the past, the final Avengers in time is Thor, who had been sent back to when he was only 20 years old. He had just prevented a war between the Mountain Giants and Asgard only to be snared in a trap set by Loki. The trickster creates a skrying pool so he can show his half-brother what happened after he defeated Queen Knorda.[5] After he was exposed as a traitor, Loki’s cousin Arkin surrendered his soul to Hela, the goddess of the dead. Meanwhile, Odin had determined a suitable punishment for Knorda. He had decided to banish her from all of Asgard, but not empty handed. He presents her with one of the Golden Apples of Idunna. He slices it into nine pieces, each representing a different world of Asgard. He allows her to eat one slice, representing her former kingdom, while the rest represent those denied to her for all eternity. Odin then sent her on her way to the Rainbow Bridge.
Thor chases after her in order to get the slice that he has been sent back to retrieve. When he finds Knorda, they are ambushed by Mountain Giants that are furious with her over their loss. When Knorda spills her apple slices, Thor goes for the one he was sent to retrieve and his soul is sent back to the present. This disorientates the thunder god’s past self enough that he is caught off guard when the Mountain Giants attack him. They manage to pummel Thor to death. When Loki arrives and orders them to stop, they refuse, prompting the trickster to cast a spell that turns the giants into wood. That’s when both Idunna and Hela arrive to assess the situation. Idunna tries to restore Thor to health, but all she has are apple seeds. Unfortunately, they are not enough to save Thor and Hela is able to claim his soul. Upon doing so, the seeds in Thor’s mouth cause his body to transform into an apple tree, denying Odin the chance to hold a proper funeral for his son.
In the a dimension between time and space the spirits of the Avengers reunite with Doctor Strange who add their slices to the ones already gathered by the Fantastic Four. With the Golden Apple restored, they are shocked when Thor’s soul suddenly disintegrates. Fearing something has gone wrong, they race back to the present and try to return to their bodies. However, some force prevents them from returning to their bodies. Suddenly, all reality distorts around them as the timeline suddenly changes. The Avengers and Fantastic Four are surprised to see that history has completely changed to a futuristic world run by the Praxis organization. Reed Richards insists that they need to take possession of their counterparts in this new timeline and undo whatever change to history that occurred. He suspects that it has something to do with Thor’s sudden appearance. That’s when Captain America asks who Thor is, as he no longer remembers the god of thunder!
In the Swiss Alps, Nora wakes up and discovers that her youth has been restored, she is once again Knorda, Queen of the Mountain Giants. When she asks Lester how this can be, he reveals that he has been Loki in disguise this entire time. He tells her how she managed to dominate Midgard with her corporation. Knorda doesn’t remember any of this, but Loki assures her that she’ll remember it all soon enough.
… This story continues in Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #4.7.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision), Doctor Strange, Bucky, Human Torch, Nick Fury, Rebel Ralston, Nazis, Loki, Norda, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing)
Continuity Notes
This story runs parallel with Domination Factor: Fantastic Four. Ultimately this series ends with history diverging Earth-616 with Earth-8921. From the perspective of the Fantastic Four the divergent point in history is at the moment where Tony Stark asks Reed to observe the golden statue on the plane as seen in Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #1.1 and Domination Factor: Avengers #4.8.
Operation: Einfall was first depicted in Sgt. Fury #13. These events took place in 1942. The number of years between that story and any Modern Age time periods will always be subject to change due to the Sliding Timescale.
The revelation that the Vision was built from the Torch’s body was first told in Avengers #134-135. This story refers to Avengers Forever #8, which was a story that reaffirmed this origin after it was thrown into question in West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #42-45.
Captain America’s stint in suspended animation and the alleged death of Bucky were first chronicled in Avengers #4. At this time, Cap doesn’t know that Bucky actually survived. His body was recovered by the Russians who transformed him into the Winter Soldier, something Steve won’t learn until Captain America (vol. 5) #14.
The conflict between Asgard and the Mountain Giants was originally told in Journey into Mystery #109.
In this time period, Tony Stark had fallen off the wagon in Iron Man #167. His drinking got so bad that he lost Stark International in issue #173 and he will end up living on the street. Tony will eventually sober up after a near death experience in Iron Man #182. Tony is appearing here between the events of Iron Man #176 and 177. Per the Sliding Timescale, Tony had gone back in time about 4 years into the past from the present day.
SHIELD shut down the Demon Druid back in Strange Tales #145. That took place about 5 years prior to this point and time and 9 years before the present day.
The time period which Wanda finds herself in was when Magneto had returned to Earth after an extended period on the Stranger’s prison world. He then attempted to recruit Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch back into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Quicksilver, having faced anti-mutant bigotry while an Avenger, as an easy mark. These events all transpired in Avengers #47-49. Wanda is currently reliving the events of X-Men #45 and Avengers #53. This incident happened 8 years from the present day.
Lester and Nora are not who they seem. Lester is Loki in disguise, while Nora is Knorda, former queen of the Mountain Giants in Asgard. This is all revealed in Domination Factor: Avengers #3.6.
The death of Thor thousands of years in the past is the cause of the timeline change. This reality is designated Earth-1000 per Marvel Encyclopedia: Fantastic Four.
