Dark Avengers #3
Days Ago
When forming his new team of Avengers, Norman Osborn made a trip to the Watchtower home of the Sentry (Bob Reynolds) atop Avengers Tower. There he finds Bob sitting in front of an empty chair while his wife Lindy sleeps in bed. Osborn has read Bob’s file and reveals that he knows how Bob has struggled with his mental health.[1] Norman can relate, telling him that he too used to hear voices in his head and was once the Spider-Man villain known as the Green Goblin.[2]
This allows Bob to open up about the Void. Norman manages to convince him that the Void isn’t real and all in his head, just like the Green Goblin was in his own. Reynolds is relieved to hear this and is cajoled into joining up with Norman’s new team of Avengers. As Norman leaves he is unaware that Lindy was laying awake in bed and is horrified by what she just heard.
690 AD
Morgan le Fay had gone to the future to get revenge against Doctor (Victor Von) Doom for spurning her.[3] This has led to a conflict with Osborn’s Avengers. After being beheaded by the Sentry.[4] Morgan returned to her own time to look into her mystic cauldron and learn everything she can about her new opponents and their weaknesses. She is shown images that reveal that these Avengers are all former criminals and ruthless killers.[5] She realizes that she let them get the best of her but now she is ready.
Now
The Dark Avengers — Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn), Ms. Marvel (aka Karla Sofen, aka Moonston), Spider-Man (Mac Gargan/Venom in disguise), Hawkeye (actually Bullseye in disguise), Captain Marvel (Noh-Varr), Ares the god of war — are swarmed by a demonic hord summoned by Morgan le Fay. With the Sentry (Bob Reynolds) seemingly killed, Osborn contacts his second in command — Victoria Hand — and tells her to give him all the intel they have on le Fay. He then tells Ares that if he has any tricks up his sleave to pull them out now. When Ares bellows for Morgan to return to her own time, she casts a spell that suddenly turns him into stone. That’s when Bullseye manages to strike Morgan with five arrows, killing her in this era and shunting her back in time.
The team just barely manages to revive Doctor Doom before Morgan returns again. They are once again swarmed by creatures. The Iron Patriot manages to get a force field around Doom to protect him. The battle, which is faring badly already gets worse when Morgan casts a spell to enthrall the Venom symbiote again.
Osborn picks up Doom and tries to get a safe distance away as the data on le Fay finishes downloading. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot there to work with. Norman then asks Victor how they can stop Morgan. Von Doom can’t fight back because le Fay has cast a spell paralyzing him. He says that the only way to stop her is to go back in time and stop her before she can travel forward in time and cause this attack. The only way they can do this is if Norman links his Iron Patriot armor with Doom’s own to access his time machine. Doom refuses to allow this. However, with Morgan following after them on the back of a dragon, Osborn convinces Doom to let go of his ego and give him access. That’s when a massive time cube appears before them and both the Iron Patriot and Doctor Doom pass through it before Morgan can catch up with them.
690 AD
Morgan le Fay is looking into her cauldron to see the current fate of Doctor Doom and is plotting the start of her attack. However, before she can she is interrupted by the arrival of Osborn and Doom. Victory tells her that nobody raises a hand against Doom![6]
Recurring Characters
Dark Avengers (Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Ares, Sentry), Doctor Doom, Morgan le Fay, Victoria Hand (voice), (in flashback) Lindy Lee, CLOC
Continuity Notes
The Sentry’s mental health issues come from years of addiction and abuse as a child, it manifests as the Void, which represents that trauma as an opposing force to the Sentry. See Sentry/The Void #1, New Avengers #7-10, and Sentry (vol. 2) #1-8.
Norman Osborn arguably went insane after his Goblin Formula experiments literally blew up in his face, as told in Amazing Spider-Man #40. However, it is later revealed that his mental health issues were the direct result of an ill advised pact with Mephisto as per Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #72. At the time of this story, Osborn has been the most lucid he has been in years because of mental health treatment he started receiving in Thunderbolts #110. This won’t last as Norman will be pushed to the bring of insanity again by Siege #4.
Doom traveled back in time to learn new spells from Morgan and spurred her romantic gestures in Mighty Avengers #11. She came to the present to get her revenge against Doom in Dark Avengers #1.
Morgan had her head ripped off by the Sentry last issue. However, due to the magical nature of her time travel, killing her physical form in the present merely sent her back to her own time and she returned moments later. This scene takes place prior to her return to the present at the end of last issue. She then seemingly killed the Sentry, but he’ll reform himself by the end of next issue.
Here we see some past moments of the various members of the Dark Avengers. An explanation:
We see Noh-Varr standing before Plex, his reality’s version of the Supreme Intelligence. Noh-Varr comes from another universe and has been stranded in the Prime Marvel Universe since Marvel Boy (vol. 2) #1. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, this universe has been designated Reality-200080.
We see Mac Gargan as the Scorpion during his first battle with Spider-Man (Peter Parker) circa Amazing Spider-Man #20. At the time of this story, Gargan has been the current host of the Venom symbiote since Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10.
Another image shows Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin unmasking Spider-Man. This was in Amazing Spider-Man #39. Osborn knew Parker’s identity for years until a magic spell clouded his memories of this knowledge circa Amazing Spider-Man #545. Per Amazing Spider-Man #590-591 and 641, this spell made everyone who previously knew Peter Parker’s double identity forget who he is. They will remember knowing it but somehow having forgot it. So while Norman doesn’t remember Parker’s identity, Morgan could look into the past and see the moment he unmasked Parker, not that any of that would matter to her, but I digress.
We also see the Ares during the period he fought the Avengers as the Warhawk. See Avengers #98-100.
Another vision is the iconic moment that Bullseye killed Elektra, a rival assassin and former lover to his nemesis Daredevil circa Daredevil #181. Her death would be short lived and she was resurrected in Daredevil #190.
We see Karla Sofen as Moonstone being ordered by Baron Zemo. She has had a long association with Zemo since he recruited her into his Masters of Evil in Avengers #273, and later the original Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts Annual 1997.
Lastly, we see Daken standing over his, Wolverine, after he slit Logan’s throat. This image is from their fight in Wolverine: Origins #13.
Doom and Osborn going to the past before Morgan started her attack on Doom should have created a divergent timeline where the Prime Marvel Universe goes on as though Morgan never attacked, and a branching timeline where she did attack. However, as we’ll see next issue, this apparently is not the case. As of this writing (October, 2024), there has yet to be an official explanation for this. I’d wager it has something to do with the fact that Morgan used magic to time travel I suppose given the chaotic nature of magic the fact that Morgan was stopped before she went to the in her future but also fought the Dark Avengers at the same time. It’s magic, what do you want?