Avengers, The (1963 series) #344

The Avengers (Thor (Eric M), Hercules, Crystal, Black Knight, Vision) have been ambushed at Four Freedoms Plaza by a villain claiming to be their long-dead comrade the Swordsman, back for revenge; he is accompanied by an armored woman warrior called Magdalene. Vision testifies that this is not the real Swordsman; the enemy before them accuses Vision of having killed him because he wanted Swordsman’s woman Mantis for himself. Vision denies this and Swordsman unleashes another blast from his weapon. An angry Black Knight leaps forward to challenge the villain who is now felled by a violent headache. Thor also attacks and Swordsman shoots him down with a power blast. Hercules attacks and Magdalene intercepts him, matching his strength and electrocuting him with her staff, surprising the Avengers. Black Knight engages Swordsman in a duel of swords, while Crystal creates a quake on the roof to throw Magdalene off Herc; Vision tries to seize her but she flings him off the roof. And Crystal confronts Magdalene….

Back at Avengers Mansion, nanny Marilla comes down to the kitchen to warm Luna’s bottle, spies something cooking on the stove and adds some spices to make it edible from her point of view. Jarvis returns and is outraged that Marilla has tampered with his recipe. He tastes the concoction and vomits in the sink. They argue but are interrupted by the arrival of Sersi, who has not been seen for a long time. Jarvis directs her to Four Freedoms Plaza and she runs out…but she spies herself in a mirror and breaks down in tears….

Interlude: A huge alien ship materializes near the sun….

Black Knight and Swordsman go at each other fiercely, shouting defiance at one another until Swordsman is suddenly halted by pain in his head. Dane cuts him down with his laser sword’s neural inhibitors. Swordsman accuses him of treachery, showing the Avengers no longer believe in honor. Seeing her comrade in trouble, Magdalene rushes to his side then uses her staff to open a port for them to escape through. It closes before Thor can follow. They head back to the Mansion to report to Cap….

Magdalene takes the wounded Swordsman back to their ship where Magdalene reports to Proctor that the simulation of disaster to the Fantastic Four was a success. Proctor lays a hand on Swordsman’s forehead and heals his turmoil. We discover that Proctor and Mag were a couple before she took up with Sword, which Proctor still resents….

Interlude 2: Aboard Starcore One, Dr. Peter Corbeau and his team look at some readouts and realize that if the solar flare activity continues in this way, the sun may go nova….

Back at the Mansion, Captain America and Black Widow show the others hologram footage of the original Swordsman. Thor points out that this Swordsman knew details a stranger wouldn’t know plus, had he really wanted to destroy the Avengers, it would have made more sense to pretend to be an ally than to attack them directly. Vision states that the new Swordsman’s vital statistics match the original’s. Black Knight says that the new guy’s body language and fighting style were identical to the original’s. Cap says they must all be careful….

Interlude 3: As the alien ship orbits the sun, it has attracted the attention of Uatu the Watcher….

“Operation Galactic Storm” begins in CAPTAIN AMERICA #398.