Sam Grainger – Some Assembly Required

Plot Summary

A mysterious figure in a mask and trench coat makes his way through the shadows, but he is not alone. Following closely on his trail are three figures, more alike than foreign. Here on the streets of America, the Avengers hunt the alien known as Captain Marvel.

As Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Vision attempt to confront the mighty Kree warrior, their entreaties are met with fear and hostility. When their offers of friendship are rebuffed, Quicksilver attempts a more direct approach only to be sent reeling by a single punch. Captain Marvel then decides to take the fight to the Avengers, though his initial efforts are foiled by Vision’s density shifting abilities. Stopping the android with his photonic Uni-beam and not wanting to engage with Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel attempts to flee by flying to the roof of a nearby building. To his surprise, he is blasted by an unexpected figure, Rick Jones. With the help of Rick Jones, the Avengers load Captain Marvel into their waiting Quinjet and jet across the sky to the hospital at Cape Kennedy and a waiting Dr. Donaldson. Upon their arrival, Mar-Vell is strapped in to a decontamination chair in the hopes of saving his life, as well as preventing the destruction of the Earth.

As the assembled heroes wait to see what will become of Captain Marvel, Rick Jones takes a moment to reflect on the events which brought them all together. While playing a gig in a Bleecker St. club, Rick is suddenly overcome by the presence of Captain Marvel. Still trapped in the Negative Zone and linked to Rick Jones via the Nega-Bands, Captain Marvel informs Rick of a visit by Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. Unseen by both Richards and Annihilus, lord of the Negative Zone, Mar-Vell has spied a way for him to escape the Negative Zone. All he asks is that Rick make his way to the Baxter Building to seek the answer that may set both men free. On his arrival, Rick switches atoms with Captain Marvel one last time, so that Mar-Vell may use his superior abilities to enter the Baxter Building. Making his way deeper into the building, Captain Marvel triggers a silent alarm, one which the Avengers Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Vision have been monitoring for at the request of Reed Richards. Their signal received, the Avengers quickly make their way to confront the unknown intruder. Just as they arrive, Mar-Vell is able to activate Reed Richards’ Negative Zone portal and free Rick Jones. Unfortunately, Rick is not the only one waiting and watching. Just before they are able to close the portal, Annihilus makes his way through. Immune to the attacks of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, only the quick wit and intangibility of Vision allow the heroes to send Annihilus back to his realm.

While the heroes are distracted by their brush with doom, they fail to notice that Mar-Vell has slipped out and stolen their Quinjet. As they realize what has happened, the Avengers discover something even more worrisome, Captain Marvel is nearly bursting with radiation, absorbed from his weeks spent stuck in the Negative Zone. If they are unable to catch up with the Kree, the radiation might kill him, or worse, start a chain reaction which will destroy the Earth. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel makes his way towards Florida’s Cape Kennedy in hopes of commandeering a rocket with which he can return to his home world. As a result, the Avengers are forced to pursue Captain Marvel and bring down his craft.

Back in the Cape Kennedy hospital, Captain Marvel’s condition is dire. His Nega-radiation has absorbed nearly all the power the hospital can muster. If they are unable to purge all the radiation from his system, the buildup will start all over again and their efforts will have been for nothing. In a last ditch effort, Vision offers to use the solar energy stored within his forehead jewel as an alternative power source. The process is successful, but it leaves both Mar-Vell and Vision in severely weakened states.

Galaxies away, the Kree criminal, Ronan the Accuser has escaped his imprisonment and has returned to Hala to confront the Kree Supreme Intelligence. Taking control of the Kree Empire from the Supreme Intelligence, Ronan unleashes a Kree Sentry to hunt down his hated enemy, Captain Marvel.

Avengers #73 Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencillers: Frank Giacoia & Herb Trimpe
Inker: Sam Grainger
Letterer: Art Simek

Featured Issue: Avengers #73

Plot Summary

In a secret hall, speaking from a platform in the form of a viper, the Sons of the Serpent spout their venomous, hated soaked speech.

On the other side of the ocean Black Panther makes his way from his ancestral homeowners Wakanda to his newly adopted residence in New York. Little could he suspect that while he convinces himself that little is likely to have changed, a terrorist bomb is just then tearing its way through a New York high rise Containing an Equal Employment opportunity office . As firefighters and paramedics descend on the catastrophe, a strange serpent staff is found near the ruined building. Only one organization could be behind this attack and could have left that calling card. Then when a local African-American television host, Montague Hale demands the bombing be investigated as the terrorist act it most obviously is, Hale is attacked by the Sons of the Serpent. As a result of the ensuing controversy, Hale’s show is cancelled.

In the wake of his firing, Hale is invited as a guest on the Dan Dunn Show, a rival show hosted by the obviously bigoted Dan Dunn. The two men begin to exchange barbs, but Dunn quickly cuts off Hale in order to introduce Monica Lynne, an attractive young African-American singer. When her performance is done, Dunn invites the young woman to join the debate. Though she joins the pair, Lynne declines to participate in the conversation, much to Hale’s frustration and Dunn’s thinly veiled pleasure. After departing the studio, Hale attempts to convince Lynne to be more politically active and to fight discrimination though Lynne wants nothing to do with Hale’s cause. Little does Ms. Lynne know that the Sons of the Serpent already have their sights set on her.

In Avengers Mansion the heroes have assembled themselves to address the situation presented by the return of the Sons of the Serpent. Before they can truly get started though, Yellowjacket fills in Vision on the team’s previous encounter with the hate mongers. Following an attack on Pym’s assistant Bill Foster, Captain America was kidnapped by the Sons. The Avengers were told that if they wanted their teammate back they would need to publicly support the Sons. Initially Hank Pym agrees, but once he takes the stage Pym instead denounces the group. The Avengers are then confronted by an imposter Cap, while Hawkeye and Black Widow rescue the real Cap. In the end, the Supreme Serpent is unmasked as a foreign general trying to sow dissent. As the Avengers attempt to guess their foe’s next move, little could they foresee that it is already underway.

In a park near where she was dropped off by Montague Hale, Monica Lynne is attack’s by several men robed in the garb of the Sons of the Serpent. Just as her assailants prepare to murder Lynne in cold blood, they are thankfully interrupted by the timely intervention of Black Panther. Although he manages to draw their attention, Black Panther is unable to immediately defeat the Sons and is forced into a quick retreat. Before they have a chance to regroup however, Black Panther is once again on top of them. With the outcome now in doubt, the leader of the Sons, who has been watching remotely, chooses to kill his followers rather than let them be beaten by Black Panther. When the police finally arrive on scene it becomes clear that the attack was racially motivated and that the experience has shaken Ms. Lynne our of her political apathy.

Following the attack the Avengers tune in to the next episode of Dan Dunn’s show where Lynne and Hale have returned as guests. As Lynne explains her recent experience, Dunn is quick to dismiss the idea that race had anything to do with the attack, and once again tempers begin the flare. The situation at Avengers Mansion also heats up as the team decides that the time has come for their involvement. Unfortunately Black Panther disagrees, demanding to take on the Sons on his own. His teammates reluctantly agree, wondering aloud if one person, even one as capable as Black Panther, is up to the challenge.

After making contact with Monica Lynne to explain his mission, Black Panther begins to hunt the Sons of the Serpent. Finding several members out on a mission, Black Panther discreetly incapacitates one of the men and quietly takes his place. As the men return from the mission they are confronted by a sentry demanding they recite the Serpent’s Oath. While his would be comrades are well versed in this passcode, Black Panther is unable to finish the oath when it comes his turn and he is quickly revealed and captured by the Sons of the Serpent. As his voice booms out over the intercom, theSupreme Serpent makes it clear that the whole situation was a setup in order to obtain the last, key piece that will make their plan successful, Black Panther himself.

Avengers

Black Panther
Goliath
Vision
Wasp
Yellowjacket

Villains

Sons of the Serpent

Tag: Sam Grainger

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Featured Issue: Avengers #89

Plot Summary

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Featured Issue: Avengers #73

Plot Summary

Avengers

Villains