Avengers, The (1963 series) #366

Having evaded capture by the Kree, Vision returns to Avengers Mansion to warn them that their teammates have been captured and the Kree have a Nega-Bomb set to destroy Earth. He recounts how he was taken down by an EMP; once he recovered he tried to rescue his comrades but the Kree ship took off and vanished to he doesn’t know where. As they ponder how they can locate their quarry, Sersi reveals that she knows: her mental link to Black Knight allows her to trace them. Spurred by anger she takes off, flying into the distance. The others, including the visiting Hank Pym, head for the Quinjet to follow; Magdalene also volunteers to join them. Vision, damaged, remains behind to coordinate their mission….

At their Pacific Island stronghold, the Kree are torturing the captive Avengers, Dane and Crystal are taken away, leaving Hercules bound in supposedly unbreakable bonds, vowing that the others will soon hunt them down. Deathcry is brought in so Dylon Cir can take his revenge on her….

Admiral Galen-Kor is speaking to their mysterious benefactor, informing him that they have three Avengers captive; the mystery man demands more. Kona-Lor enters and Kor flies into a rage, demanding she leave….

In the prisoners bay, Crystal at first thinks Dane is dead but he has been meditating, trying to contact Sersi to reveal their location but it is painful. Crystal encourages and strengthens him….

Sersi leads the Quinjet to the Pacific where they know they have reached their objective when they see a pair of Kree Sentries approaching. Black Widow evades them, piloting the Quinjet. Sersi wrecks one Sentry but the other lands atop the Quinjet. Giant-Man goes out, grows in size and grapples the Sentry, causing them both to plummet into the lake. And Hank emerges victorious. As they regroup, an energy pulse moves through the air, indicating that the Nega-Bomb has been armed….

The Kree marvel at their weapon; Galen-Kor orders the captive Avengers be taken into space with them so they can witness the destruction of their world. They then head to the prison where he will allow them to see the execution of the Shi’ar prisoner. As a weapon is readied to be plunged into Deathcry’s body, Hercules breaks out of the unbreakable bonds and overpowers the Kree while Deathcry burst her bonds and kills the other guy. The Kree open fire on the prisoners and the Avengers crash in, Sersi having transformed the ship’s walls to glass. The power dampeners were also destroyed, restoring Crystal’s powers as Dane recovers his photon sword. But another energy wave knocks down the Avengers and the Kree depart in their ship as the bomb’s countdown begins. The Avengers assemble but don’t know how to stop the bomb. Vision informs them that only Sersi can change the nature of the negative ions. But the containment field fails sooner than Vision had calculated, meaning the planetary threat is over but the bomb will disintegrate two hundred square miles. The island is vaporized as the Quinjet zooms out of there. Later, Hank, the only original Avenger among them, tells them they did good….

Elsewhere, Admiral Galen-Kor is disappointed that their scheme has failed and he apologizes to their mystery benefactor who is revealed to be the Collector….

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Story #2

Swordplay3

Writer: Glenn Herdling.
Penciler: Mike Gustovich.
Inker: Ariane Lenshoek.
Colorist: Ariane Lenshoek.
Letterer: Janice Chiang.

Synopsis

A bank is robbed by a pair of bandits called the Plug-Uglies: Flame who has a weapon which shoots fire and Foam whose weapon shoots foam. They demand, not cash, but the contents of Tolliver’s safety deposit box, hoping to get their hands on the Ultimate Weapon. The teller shows them in and opens the box then presses the alarm. The baddies decide to use her as a hostage….

Meanwhile, Sean Dolan walks down the street, brooding about his recent experiences. The police arrive and at first Sean thinks they are after him but then he sees the Plug-Uglies with their hostage as the bad guys fight the cops. The hostage pleads with Sean for help and he orders the baddies to release her; they respond with fire so Sean draws the Ebony Blade and is transformed into Bloodwraith. He frees a cop encased in foam and advises him to run away. BW slashes Foam’s throat and the sword absorbs the man’s soul. Flame panics and runs so BW hurls his blade and pierces the man’s back, causing his fuel pack to explode. But Bloodwraith is denied the soul as it was the explosion that killed Flame and not the sword. The teller shows BW the floppy discs from Tolliver’s box. As he puzzles over them, Deadpool shows up to claim them….

At Castle Garrett, Dane “Black Knight” Garrett apologizes to Victoria Bentley for not having told her about his relationships with Crystal and Sersi, and that she had to find out from Sean Dolan. They review Sean Dolan’s transformation into Bloodwraith—then Dane receives a signal from Crystal that they have detected ATM activity by Sean Dolan at a bank in New York so the Black Knight races to the scene…

…where Bloodwraith and Deadpool are fighting furiously over the floppies which hold the secret of a great weapon, one which Deadpool desires but Bloodwraith decides must be kept out of his hands. Then Deadpool decides that BW’s sword is a better weapon and demands it at gunpoint. Black Knight arrives and blasts the gun in DP’s hand and so he starts fighting with BW, who claims to be trying to help Sean. Deadpool jumps in creating a three-way sword battle. To simplify matters, Dane slashes Deadpool through the middle with his photon sword. But this gives Bloodwraith the opportunity to overpower the Black Knight and prepare to kill him. BW feels a touch on his shoulder and immediately spins around to skewer the person. But it isn’t Deadpool, it’s Victoria. Dane knocks Sean down and holds Victoria in his arms as she dies. Deadpool then steps in, picks up the Ebony Blade and teleports away. Bloodwraith summons his winged horse Valinor and flies off, assuring Dane that he will avenge this wrong. Dane responds with a promise to kill Bloodwraith. And then the black horse teleports away….

At his refuge in Sarajevo, Deadpool is admiring his new acquisition when Bloodwraith suddenly appears before him, Valinor kicking him across the room, and the hero reclaims his sword. He prepares to execute Deadpool but he no longer feels the bloodlust. He realizes this was the intent of Lady Victoria in sacrificing herself. He leaves Deadpool with a warning and flies off on his winged steed….