Avengers Forever #2
Now is a Good Time for All Good Men…
When Rick Jones fell ill due to a growing power inside him, the Avengers left him on the Moon with the Supreme Intelligence in the hopes the Kree artificial intelligence could cure him. Moments later, Rick Jones has become a target of the time master Immortus. Immortus seeks to kill Jones in order to set humanity on its proper course.
However, the Supreme Intelligence, a mysterious robed man, and Kang the Conqueror have all teamed up to prevent Jones from being murdered. In response, Immortus has unleashed an army of warriors from across time. Reacting to this tactic, Rick’s powers are reawakened and he summons seven Avengers: The Wasp, Goliath, Captain America, Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel, and Songbird to assist in the battle.
Having no idea what’s going on, the Avengers know that they must protect their ally Rick at all costs. Turning to Captain America for leadership, they discover that Cap is reluctant to take the lead, prompting the Wasp to take command instead. While everyone tires to make sense of what’s going on, both Songbird and Captain Marvel realize that they have just been pulled into the Destiny War. As they fight through the horde of soldiers, the Wasp and Goliath take stock of who they are fighting side-by-side with: Songbird (whom they only know as a criminal),[1] Captain Marvel (but not one they’ve seen before),[2] Yellowjacket (who is also apparently Hank Pym, as is Goliath),[3] and a version of Captain America that has super human strength.[4] With a bubble of time shrinking around them, Immortus tells the Avengers that he’ll win as soon as they are trapped in his time freeze.
However, Rick Jones is suddenly able to tap into the full potential of his powers. Furious that he has been prevented from stopping this from happening, Immortus sends his soldiers away and retreats, vowing he’ll be back. As the Avengers begin wondering what to do next, Kang tells the Avengers that they need to get Rick into the time stream, the only place where Immortus can’t reach him and keep him safe, promising to handle the rest. With that, Kang teleports away as well. When comparing notes over what to do next, Hawkeye asks if the Kree/Skrull War is still going that. That, combined with the fact that Clint is still wearing his old Goliath costume, makes the Avengers realize that they have all been plucked from different points in time.[5][6]
That’s when the mysterious cloaked man emerges from another chamber and confirms their suspicions. Removing his hood, the man reveals himself as Libra, a former member of the Zodiac crime cartel. Captain America isn’t very willing to follow him especially after everything that happened to him before he got here. However, the Supreme Intelligence warns them that the time bubble around them is beginning to fade and unless they leave, they’ll be found out by the SHIELD agents holding him prisoner and this will tie up much of their time.[7] Seeing that they have no other choice, they follow Libra through a secret passage that times them somewhere he describes as being “in between” one place and the next.
There, Libra admits to his criminal past, however it was a means to an ends as he studied the nature of balance in the universe. After his arrest, during the Zodiac’s failed attempt to murder all the Gemini’s in Manhattan, Libra drifted away from crime to focus more on his studies.[8] It was through these studies that Libra managed to cheat death when the Zodiac was betrayed by one of their own.[9] When the Wasp points out that Libra turned up again not long ago and calling himself Moonraker, Libra denies that this was him.[10] Despite all of this, the Avengers can’t bring themselves to fully trust Libra, especially when he doesn’t exactly have a clear idea as to why Immortus is set on trying to kill Rick Jones. Yellowjacket tires to start a fight, but the Wasp gets between him and Libra.
She tells everyone to calm down and decides that the first order of business is trying to figure out what time period everyone had come from. Yellowjacket starts first, recounting that he was plucked out of time on the day that he and the Wasp were supposed to be married.[11] Songbird figures she comes from sometime in the Wasp’s future, saying she was on her way back from battling Oort the Living Comet and his Solar Squadron when she was nabbed.[12] Hwakeye had just been stranded in Europe following the Kree/Skrull War and discovered an anmesiatic Hercules and was trying to get back home.[13] Captain Marvel, also from the future was towing the corpse of Ego into space after it was briefly reanimated by Ego the Living Planet. That’s when Rick recognizes this Captain Marvel as Genis, the “no-good” son of the original. Rick’s disdain for Genis-Vell is likewise toward him.[14] That leaves Captain America, who they learn came from the very moment where he discovered that the leader of the Secret Emprie was a high ranking government official who then committed suicide in the Oval Office.[15] While this has demoralized Captain America and make him begin to doubt himself and what he stands for, the Wasp — knowing that Cap will get over this in time — not to sweat it.
With proper introductions out of the way, the Avengers all vote to take the fight to Immortus instead of hiding. Libra protests against this, but the Avengers insist on direct action. Libra resigns to their decision and opens a doorway that will take them to Chronopolis. This is the stronghold of Kang the Conqueror, a massive city complex that touches every point in history.[16] As they reach Kang’s citadel they discover that it is under attack by the forces of Immortus. Appearing in an astral projection, Immortus thanks the Avengers for bringing Rick Jones to him, making the job of killing the young man easier once he has finished crushing Kang.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Wasp, Goliath, Captain America, Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel, Songbird), Rick Jones, Kang, Immortus, Libra, Supreme Intelligence, SHIELD
Continuity Notes
From the perspective of the Wasp and Goliath, Songbird is a former member of the Masters of Evil previously known as Screaming Mimi. Around this time, Mimi had reinvented herself as Songbird and joined other former members of the Masters to pose as heroes called the Thunderbolts. At the time of this story, the Thunderbolts had been exposed and are now on the run while also trying to redeem themselves as actual heroes. See Thunderbolts #1-12.
The pair state that this Captain Marvel isn’t the two they have previously met. The first would be Mar-Vell, a Kree warrior who became a defender of Earth starting in Marvel Super-Heroes #12. Hank and Janet first met him in Avengers #89. Mar-Vell later died of cancer in Marvel Graphic Novel #1. The second was Monica Rambeau who joined up with the Avengers in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. At the time of this story, she has changed her name to Photon as seen in Avengers Unplugged #5.
Hank Pym has had many identities over the years. He created the Yellowjacket persona when he suffered a mental breakdown in Avengers #59.
After snake venom interacted with his Super Soldier Serum in Captain America #157, Cap briefly gained super human strength. This enhanced power would eventually fade back to his regular strength by Captain America #218.
From his perspective, Clint had just fought in the Kree/Skrull War, which took place in Avengers #89-97. He is still wearing his Goliath costume here, which he wore when he took over the identity in Avengers #63 until he abandoned the identity in issue #99.
Now is as good a time as any to mention that Rick Jones can’t walk here. This was after he was crippled by the Hulk in Incredible Hulk #457. He will regain his mobility next issue.
At the time of this story, the Supreme Intelligence is being held prisoner by SHIELD after a failed invasion of Earth by the Kree Lunatic Legion. See Iron Man (vol. 3) #7, Captain America (vol. 3) #8, Quicksilver #10, and Avengers (vol. 3) #7..
Libra and the Zodiac crime cartel all first appeared in Avengers #72. Their attempt to kill every Gemini in Manhattan occurred in Avengers #120-122.
Libra is referring to the events of West Coast Avengers (vol. 2) #28, when most of the Zodiac cartel were seemingly murdered by Scorpio so he could replace them with Life Model Decoys based on each astrological sign.
Moonraker was an individual who claimed to be Libra in Force Works #18. The character vanished after his last appearance in Avengers #394. He was primarily involved with Force Works and the Avengers during an event called The Crossing. Avengers Forever #8 reveals that Moonraker was actually a Space Phantom posing as Gustav Brandt as part of a complex scheme orchestrated by Immortus.
Yellowjacket and the Wasp got married in Avengers #60. At the time, Hank Pym believed he was someone else all together until after he rescued Jan when their marriage was interrupted by the Circus of Crime. The marriage wouldn’t last, as Janet would divorce Hank years later when he struck her in Avengers #213.
Songbird (and by extension Captain Marvel) aren’t from the mainline Marvel Universe, but an alternate reality. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5, it has been designated Reality-98120.
Hawkeye was plucked out of time circa Avengers #99. During Avengers #98-100, Hercules was found with amnesia, put upon him by Ares the god of war.
Years after Mar-Vell’s death, his lover Elysius used his DNA to create a son, Genis-Vell in Silver Surfer Annual #6. While this Genis-Vell comes from a different reality, we’ll find out he doesn’t like Rick because he is bonded with Jones’ future self, as we’ll learn in Avengers Forever #11. This will also happen with Rick and the 616 version of Genis-Vell in issue #12.
Captain America fought the Secret Empire in Captain America #169-175. However, that story ended with the revelation that the leader of the SE was the President of the United States, not a high ranking government official. Regardless, Steve Rogers did end up giving up being Captain America for a time from issues #176-183. He got back in the saddle when his replacement was murdered by the Red Skull.
Kang constructed Chronopolis as his staging ground for his invasions of the present day. As revealed in the Citizen Kang storyline. See Captain America Annual #11, Thor Annual #17, Fantastic Four Annual #25, and Avengers Annual #21.
Topical References
References to the present day taking place in the 20th century should be considered topical. The Sliding Timescale has long pushed the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe to the point where it does not begin until after the start of the 21st century.
During the fight with Immortus’ army of warriors, Hawkeye refers to Native Americans as “Indians”. This should be considered a topical reference. Indian is an incorrect term for the indigenous people of North America that dates back to the colonial era where they were mistaken for the people of India. This term is now considered incorrect and offensive to some.
When the Wasp mentions Moonraker, Libra says the only Moonraker he knows is an Ian Fleming novel. This is in reference the 1955 novel written by Fleming as part of his series of James Bond spy stories. It was later adapted into a film in 1979. It’s reference here wouldn’t be topical since he’s associating the name of Moonraker the individual with the book. Generalizing this wouldn’t make any sense.
