37 Years Ago[1]

Morgan le Fay, angered at being scorned by Doctor (Victor Von) Doom has travelled forward in time from Camelot to Latveria when Doom was only a boy. Watching him sleep in a tent, Morgan prepares to stab the boy to death but stops herself. She has decided that this would not be a worthy victory as Victor will die without knowing what he had done. Startled awake from the noise, Victor bolts up in bed but all he sees is a whisp of smoke that marked Morgan’s departure. Slowly, Victory lays back down but has trouble going back to sleep.[2]

Today

Norman Osborn, recently appointed at Direction of National Security, has called a meeting of his new subordinates at the new helicarrier that is being constructed. He tells them that SHIELD and Tony Stark are no more and that a new era is upon them. They are members of a brand new organization that will succeed SHIELD in protecting the world and keeping it safe. He proclaims that this new agency will be called HAMMER. His speech is met with cheers from his new soldiers.[3]

In modern day Latveria, Doctor Doom has been released from US custody by HAMMER and dropped off at the ruins of his castle.[4] He finds Morgan le Fay waiting for him with an army of demons and other beasties to get her revenge. He tries to explain to her that he has lost his kingdom, but she refuses to accept any defeat other than his death. As the two are locked in mystical battle, one of the HAMMER agents radios for back-up.

Later, Norman Osborn’s newly formed team of Avengers are meeting after they have unveiled themselves to the public. The team consists of mostly former villains posing as established heroes including Osborn himself (the Iron Patriot), “Ms. Marvel” (aka Karla Sofen, formerly known as Moonstone), “Spider-Man” (actually Mac Gargian and the Venom symbiote), “Hawkeye” (secretly the assassin known only as Bullseye), “Wolverine” (actually his son Daken), Captain Marvel (aka Noh-Varr, who was previously known as Marvel Boy), Ares the Olympian god of war, and the Sentry (Bob Reynolds). Osborn is laying down some ground rules, telling them that after that press conference none of them are to talk to the media again. He also warns them that they are now team players and if any of them step out of line, they’re off the team.

He tells the group that their first order of business is to compile a list of targets to take down. Osborn also introduces them to his second-in-command at HAMMER, Victoria Hand. Karla takes offense to this because she wanted that role. Norman explains that she is the team’s field leader, an equally important role in the scheme of things. When Noh-Varr says they should go looking for any Skrulls that remain on Earth following the invasion, Osborn says they are yesterday’s news. Bullseye then floats the idea of going after Tony Stark. Norman vetos that idea, saying that his situation is a matter of the law and kicking a man while he is down will make them look bad.[5] He also insists that his concern for their public image is also theirs as well. That’s when the report on Doctor Doom starts coming in and that he is losing his fight with Morgan le Fay. Osborn doesn’t like saving Doom to be their first mission but they have no choice and tells everyone to suit up.

By the time they arrive, Victor is down and Morgan is about to stab him in the heart with her dagger. When the Avengers jet arrives on the scene, Morgan orders her creatures to attack it, causing the ship to crash. The Avengers make it out alive and the Iron Patriot orders Morgan to cease her hostilities. Having faced Avengers in the past, Morgan isn’t phased by this.[6] Osborn tells her that she hasn’t fought Avengers like his and, upon his orders, the Sentry swoops down at super speed and rips Morgan’s head off. With le Fay dead, her creatures vanish. Bob is confused about what he just done, but gets praise from Osborn for a job well done. The other Avengers, however, are uncomfortable about Reynold’s mental state.

As they are checking on Doctor Doom, who is unconscious, Osborn explains that Morgan le Fay traveled to this era from Arthurian times to get her revenge. That’s when Bob suddenly feels something building up in his body. The rest of the Avengers manage to leap to safety as the Sentry suddenly explodes. This is Morgan le Fay, who is alive again. She explains that her magic prevents her from being killed in this era and that if they continue to resist her she will go back in time to when they were children and eliminate them before they can oppose her in the present. When Ares orders her to go back to her own time in the name of his father, Morgan smiles and retorts that its funny that he thinks Zeus cares if he lives or dies. She then casts a spell to enthrall Gargan’s symbiote, transforming it to monstrous size to try and eat Ares. She also summons her army of creatures back to kill the others.

Recurring Characters

Dark Avengers (Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Ares, Sentry), Doctor Doom, Morgan le Fay, HAMMER (Victoria Hand)

Continuity Notes

1. Per the Sliding Timescale, the present day of this story takes place in “Year 12” of the Modern Age. As such, that would make this flashback as happening about 25 years before the start of this era. Per the Marvel Chronology Project, this flashback takes place after the young Victor Von Doom discovered his mother’s trunk of spells, as seen in Fantastic Four Annual #2 and Fantastic Four #278. Specifically following page 5, panel 1 of the former and page 6 panel 1 of the latter. It’s hard to peg down Doom’s age around this period. Assuming he is the same age as Reed Richards, he is probably about 13 years old in this time period.

2. Morgan le Fay is furious with Doom’s future-self after he spurned her. As seen in Mighty Avengers #11.

3. Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) had taken over as Director of SHIELD in New Avengers #25, making the spy agency reliant on his technology to operate. This made it vulnerable to attack and it was crippled by a computer virus during a Skrull invasion of Earth. In the final battle, Osborn was the one who killed the queen of the invaders. This made him a hero and he succeeded as SHIELD’s director while Stark took the fall, as seen in Secret Invasion #1-8. Osborn will hold this position until Siege #4.

4. Prior to the Skrull invasion, Doom’s Venom Bomb weapon was unleashed on New York City. This prompted Iron Man and SHIELD to come down heavy on Doom. He was defeated by the (Mighty) Avengers and incarcerated, as seen in Mighty Avengers #7-11. One of the first things Osborn did while taking power was make a pact with Doom, and part of the deal was his release as we saw last issue.

5. As I said above, Stark was scapegoated for the Skrull invasion. Osborn will use the law to make him a wanted fugitive on the run. See Invincible Iron Man #8-19.

6. Morgan has previously fought the OG Avengers twice in the past. See Avengers #240-241 and Avengers (vol. 3) #1-3.