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| Publisher |
Marvel |
| Series |
Avengers Forever |
| Published | January 1999 |
| Artist |
Carlos Pacheco |
| Writer |
Kurt Busiek |
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN... Flash-assembled from throughout time and space by a mysteriously-empowered Rick Jones, the Avengers are thrown into the middle of a battle on the Blue Area of the Moon between Kang The Conqueror and Immortus's "Army of the Ages". Kang directs them to align with his effort to save Jones. Confused by this circumstance, the Avengers await Captain America to make their play, only finding him more out of sorts than usual. Snapping to, the Wasp takes command, ordering the unlikely team to lend the Conqueror support. As the fighting in the Supreme Intelligence research facility progresses, the Wasp and Giant-Man make some startling realizations about their new teammates, particularly Captain America's apparent superhuman strength and the improbable appearance of a "Yellowjacket" that could very well be Giant-Man himself during a period of mental instability. Even as his forces press their assault, Immortus attempts to collapse Kang's force bubble, hoping to trap the resistance in chronal stasis. Rick accesses cognitive mastery over his strange new gifts and is able to counter Immortus's pincer maneuver. Realizing stalemate afoot, the time lord withdraws his army. Capitalizing on their brief respite, Kang strategizes with the Avengers, urging them to remove Rick from Immortus's potential grasp quickly. Facilitating this course of action, the Intelligence and his elusive ally, revealed as the Zodiac's Libra, offer their assistance. As Libra leads the heroes on an inconceivable egress bending all sorts of scientific laws, they are allowed a quiet moment to recount everyone's individual story. Libra relays how he is still alive since his seeming demise amid Zodiac's criminal exploits[1], inadvertently raising flags when he outright denounces claims that he has since encountered the Avengers under the moniker "Moonraker". Yellowjacket confirms suspicions that he is indeed Doctor Henry Pym from years in the past, pulled from across time on the day of his wedding to the Wasp[2]. Both the present-day Wasp and Dr. Pym are disquieted, realizing that this is nothing less than an erratic amnesiac persona made manifest and given a second lease on life. Songbird, seen as a former super-villain turned would-be hero, recounts an experience from what would be the team's future, telling of a "recent" struggle against Oort The Living Comet and his Solar Squadron. Hawkeye also verifies assumptions that is also from years in the past and not just sporting a new look since joining with Songbird's present-day teammates in the Thunderbolts. Bereft of his ubiquitous array of trick arrows, Hawkeye begins to tell about his exploits following the Kree-Skrull War before feeling he's needlessly bringing up old news. Captain Marvel gives a terse account of disposing of the carcass of the cosmic entity Eon after its being used in a ploy against Earth by Ego the Living Planet. Rick recognizes the futuristic Captain as the modern-day ne'er-do-well son of his former partner, Mar-Vell. Captain America becomes quiet and reserved when it reaches his turn. Coupled with the superhuman feat she witnessed earlier, the Wasp correctly surmises that Cap is also from their past, a brief yet specific era wherein after witnessing the Secret Empire infiltrate high-ranking U.S. political offices, he would become morally dejected and temporarily abandon his role. Assessing their situation, the Avengers overwhelmingly agree to not play defensive and run. Libra counsels that their most effective vantage point would be to seek refuge in Kang's pan-temporal city-stronghold of Chronopolis. Wending through various points in history, Libra and the Avengers eventually come across Kang's fortress. However, it seems they've arrived to late, as an armada of Immortus's attack ships is currently laying siege!
