Pax Demonica Part III: Demonica, Mon Amour

The Avengers West Coast had returned to the island of Demonica to negotiate the release of hostages recently taken by the Pacific Overlords. They then learned that Doctor Demonicus and his followers now worship the demon Raksasa.[1] In order to ensure the safety of the hostages the Avengers were forced to leave the island. They were also ordered to leave behind US Agent and Mockingbird.[2] Taken down to the secret altar to Raksasa, the two were about to be made into his next loyal slaves. Luckily, Mockingbird and US Agent were able to break free from their bonds and fight back against their captors. Although they face greater numbers, the talismans on the brow of each of the Pacific Overlords — which make them slaves to Raksasa — has slowed their autonomy, making them less effective in battle.

The two get split up when US Agent has to get more space to fight Morning Star, the Overlord’s newest recruit who has yet to be enslaved by a talisman. The Agent wonders why a Russian nationalist like Morning Star would join up with the Pacific Overlords in the first place.[3] However, once they are far enough away from the others, Morning Star stops fighting and demands a truce. As it turns out, she doesn’t like what’s been going down since she joined up with the Pacific Overlords and suggests that US Agent team up with her to take Demonicus down.

Meanwhile, the Avengers West Coast have landed at a military base in Hawaii just as Raksasa’s demon swarm has been unleashed. The Air Force scramble fighter jets, but they are no match for the swarm which quickly clog up the jets forcing the pilots to ejected and devoured by the monsters before they can even reach the ground. War Machine and Darkhawk then take to the air to try and blast the creatures out of the air. Some manage to slip by and begin swarming Goliath who is the biggest target on the ground. Fearing that her teammate will be eaten alive, the Scarlet Witch uses her hex power on him, triggering Clint’s size changing abilities and making him shrink down to ant-size. With the swarm getting out of control, Spider-Woman uses her psi-webs to create a barrier between the Avengers and the demon swarm, buying them some time to figure out their next move.

Back on Demonica, Morning Star returns to the others with US Agent’s shield, claiming to have atomized the hero. By this time, Demonicus has Mockingbird tied up so she can be put under the mystical ceremony that will make her a slave to Raksasa as he has done with the other Pacific Overlords except Morning Star and Klaw. As Demonicus prepares for the ceremony, Morning Star whispers to Klaw trying to convince him to turn against Demonicus as well, pointing out that it is only a matter of time before the mad man does to Klaw what he has done to his other followers. When this takes too long, US Agent blows his cover and comes to rescue Mockingbird leading to another battle to break out. However, with the added power of Morning Star, the battle is turning in their favor. That is until Irezume uses his maliable tattoos to deflect their attacks. That’s when Klaw decides he has had enough and turns against the Pacific Overlords as well and blasts Irezume from behind. With the battle turning agianst him, Doctor Demonicus summons Raksasa again for aid. When Klaw tries to blast the demon, Kain uses his ability to control machinery with his mind to hijack Klaw’s sonic blaster. US Agent is forced to intervene, forcing Klaw to jam his blaster into the ground.

With his minions failing to stop the two Avengers, Raksasa calls back his demon swarm to help. However, it is too little too late, as Klaw’s sonic powers have destabilized the foundation of Demonica causing a massive earthquake that threatens to rip the island to shreds. With his minions defeated, Raksasa retreats back to his home dimension. Upon doing so, his demon swarm is freed from his control and begin attacking each other. With nobody left in charge, the Demonican military is quickly defeated and the hostages are loaded back up on the commercial airliner they were taken from. They are able to get back into the air before an earthquake rips the airport runway in half.

With the hostages now safe, US Agent and Mockingbird then decide to evacuate themselves and the Pacific Overlords off the island as well. Klaw, however, refuses to be taken back into custody as he wants revenge against the Human Torch. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get very far when the ground opens up under his feet and he falls deep into the ground.[4] While back in the crumbling temple to Raksasa, the Pacific Overlords are finally free from the demon’s influence. Doctor Demonicus, fully realizing what he has done, apologizes to his followers for leading them astray like this. That’s when the cave collapses on them burying the Pacific Overlords alive.[5] With the island sinking, the rest of the Avengers West Coast arrive in their Quinjet to evacuate their comrades. US Agent tries to convince Morning Star to give up her nationalist ways and come with them. However, she cannot see America as anything but an enemy. Despite this, she kisses US Agent — much to his surprise — and then flies off back to her home.[6] The Avengers then quickly evacuate the island just in time to see the rest of the island get swallowed up in the ocean.

Recurring Characters

Avengers West Coast (Goliath, Scarlet Witch, “Mockingbird”, US Agent, Spider-Woman, Darkhawk, War Machine), Pacific Overlords (Doctor Demonicus, Klaw, Kain, Cybertooth, Jawbreaker, Irezumi, Kuroko, Morning Star)

Continuity Notes

1. The Avengers West Coast learned about the situation in Demonica over the last two issues.

2. The woman who appears to be Mockingbird here is actually a Skrull spy named H’rpra who took Bobbi’s place between issues #90 and 91. This is all part of a years long plot by the Skrulls to invade the Earth. However, nobody will not learn this until many years later in New Avengers: The Reunion #2. The real Mockingbird will be rescued from the Skrulls in Secret Invasion #8.

3. US Agent previously fought Morning Star in Avengers West Coast #87-88. At the time she was part of a Russian terrorist organization called the Bogatyri who sought to restart the Cold War in the hopes it would lead to the reformation of the Soviet Union.

4. The Human Torch was instrumental to Klaw’s most recent defeat at the hands of the Fantastic Four and the Black Panther in Fantastic Four Unlimited #1. He was broken out of custody by the Pacific Overlords in Avengers West Coast #93. This is not the last we see of Klaw, who will literally resurface again (ha ha) in New Warriors #36.

5. Doctor Demonicus will survive the destruction of Demonica, years later he ends up a prisoner at the Vault where we’ll see him again in New Avengers #4. The other Pacific Overlords have not been seen since as of this writing (October, 2022) so their fate is unknown at this time.

6. While this is teasing a potential romance between US Agent and Morning Star (which would make for an interesting story him being a conservative American and her a Russian nationalist — HOW WILL THEY GET ALONG?) Unfortunately, as of this writing we have yet to see Morning Star again and it seems unlikely this plot thread will ever be picked up again. So it seems that the two are just two ships passing in the night.