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Avengers Vol 1 245

Quote1  I’m afraid this was just the first battle in a long war for us.  Quote2
—Captain America

Appearing in "Bombshells!"

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Synopsis for "Bombshells!"

As Captain Marvel overtakes the escaping experimental rocket, she recalls the events that led her and the Avengers to the current situation. After checking in with Captain America and being advised that the rocket is potentially explosive, C.M. enters through the cabin window as light, briefly blinding Dr. Cather, who she did not know was aboard. Captain Marvel finds the Wasp just as she's regaining consciousness but is shot from behind with a strange weapon that seemingly disintegrates her. Unaware that her friend has escaped death by turning into x-rays and sinking through the deck to safety, the Wasp blasts Cather, causing him to revert to his true form as a Dire Wraith. Cather fires a few more blasts at the Wasp before a rumble forces him to turn his attention to the controls. After a few minutes of work, Cather has stabilized the star-drive's power levels and thinks he's safe but then the Wasp puts the muzzle of his weapon against his head.

Meanwhile, in a small Transian village, Quicksilver uses Lackjaw to track down an injured Bova who is resting at the home of the local doctor. She reveals that both her injuries and her home's destruction are the work of Magneto, and Quicksilver vows to make his father pay for what he did to Bova.

Hundreds of miles out in space, with the Wasp holding him at gunpoint, Cather reveals that the ship's drive is unstable because he and his brother Wraiths had used Earth's primitive technology construct it, and how his brothers had begun making raids in the guise of the Rocketeers. They urgently needed an escape ship because they were being hunted by their sorcerous Wraith-sisters who had exterminated most of the males. Cather also explains that the Wasp cannot kill him because he is needed to keep its drive generators from inverting and turning the ship into a flying mass of anti-matter that would rain down on Earth, obliterating whatever it struck. Cather absolutely refuses to return to Earth because he knows he would only fall into the hands of the Wraith-sisters. Having overheard all this while in her invisible energy form, Captain Marvel reports the situation to the Vision. Before departing with Starfox to use their Quinjet to intercept the rocket in orbit, the Vision tells Captain America and the Scarlet Witch to remain on guard at the space enter since there must be at least one female Wraith in the area who will try to get to the four captive male Wraiths.

As Starfox and the Vision fly towards space, Captain America has General Bridges escort him to check on the captives. However, upon entering the secured isolation lab where they were being held, Cap is shocked to see that the male Wraiths are already dead, killed by the two female Wraiths in the lab. Cap is then grabbed in a bearhug from behind by General Bridges who reveals that she is a female Wraith who has been General Bridges for a number of days, ever since she killed the real Bridges while devouring his mind. As one of the other females prepares to consume Cap's mind in order to gain the useful information that it holds, the Avenger waits until the last possible moment and then, even as the other Wraith's barbed tongue lashes out, he kicks off from the floor, propelling himself up and over his captor so that the tongue strikes and kills her instead of him.

Aboard the rocket, the stalemate between the Wasp and Cather ends when the Vision and Starfox arrive. While the Vision restrains Cather, Starfox easily shuts down the drive systems, ending the threat of an explosion. Upon hearing that they plan to return him to Earth, the Dire Wraith changes into a stronger form and attacks Starfox but finds himself outmatched. Realizing that he is doomed either way, Cather chooses death for them all by blowing the forward hatch, opening the cabin to the vacuum of space. Although the Dire Wraith is sucked out of the cabin to his death, Captain Marvel shows herself and catches the Wasp in a helmet which she passes to the Vision. Moments later, all four Avengers are safely aboard the Quinjet and heading back to the Space Center.

Meanwhile, in the isolation lab, Captain America has managed to evade the two rampaging females while secretly setting up a coordinated action with the Scarlet Witch via communicator. As they successfully carry out the maneuver, one of the Wraiths is driven into the high voltage cable that Cap had torn loose. Instantly electrocuted, the Wraith dies and her body crumbles to ash. Then, as the Scarlet Witch enters the lab, she spots the final Wraith about to attack Cap with her tongue but warns him in time for him to use his shield to protect himself. Wanda then casts a hex sphere on the last Wraith, causing miniature seismic quakes that knock the alien away from Cap and into a rupturing cryonics tank, releasing gallons of liquid nitrogen that freeze the Wraith to death in seconds.

Hours later, as a major become the new head of military security, Nick Fury arrives and announces that the responsibility for dealing with further Dire Wraith activities has been assigned to S.H.I.E.L.D., rather than the Avengers. The Vision is secretly dismayed by this news because he fears that it could seriously undermine his long-range plans.

In Los Angeles, Hawkeye and Mockingbird look out over the city from the balcony of their hotel room and Clint speaks of how they will soon find the chunk of land that will become home to the Avengers' expansion team.

Solicit Synopsis

  • See the Avengers pitted against the Dire Wraiths in Florida! See Quicksilver seek out Bova, the woman-cow from his childhood! See Hawkeye and Mockingbird look for a house! See why the Mighty Avengers are still the greatest, issue after issue!

Notes

  • After SHIELD is put in charge of anti-Wraith operations, Vision decides that his initial plans to expand the control of the Avengers will need to be altered.
  • At the time this story was written, Magneto was believed to be the father of both Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. It would be over thirty years before it was revealed that the twins actually had no blood ties with Magneto,[1] a retcon that still had not been fully explained.
  • It was subsequently revealed that the twins were also not really mutants either.[2]

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