Avengers (2027 series) #1

This issue begins at the breakfast table of a man named John, his daughter Paige and an unnamed wife who works for Amanda Spring who is challenging Luke Cage in the election for Mayor of New York which is happening today. Mom wants Paige to apply for an internship at her PR(?) firm but the daughter doesn't want to be a nepo baby. But John is more concerned about the crackdown on super-powers after the megadeaths of the Armageddon event. And he feels like the end of the world is imminent. (Marvel Fandom Wiki has their surnames listed as Howley with mom's name Julie, and confirms that we've never seen them before.)

Wolverine is with Gambit and Rogue at their place in the Louisiana Bayou. Reed Richards has sent him a package which we'll later learn is a device to track Miracleman. Logan asks Gambit to teleport him to NY, and Remy LeBeau achieves that using 1 of the 3 Eyes Of Agamotto.

A successful businesswoman named Diana is visited by a being with glowing eyes who's come to claim payment for what he gave her, knowledge from souls in Hell which she used to build her empire rather than help others. She claims that she gave many people jobs but he says that *now* she's going to help *him*. And there are many glowing eyes in the darkness behind him.

The next scene is where May Parker is organising people at FEAST. But a stroke (an editorial comment tells us to see Amazing Spider-Man #1000) has left her with no memory of her nephew Peter even though he's here in her life. And his Spider-Sense keeps telling him that something bad is going to happen.

In Josie's Bar in Hell's Kitchen Carol Danvers is staring at a glass of whisky that she's not drinking. Daredevil arrives to see what's bothering recovering alcoholic Captain Marvel. As he heard it she saved very many lives in Russia by partially absorbing an explosion, but she sees it as her failure to stop Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross) from exploding and killing thousands (at the end of Avengers: Armageddon #4). She can't sleep for seeing the dead, and she's contemplating drinking herself senseless.

Julie Howley is at an Amanda Spring rally with the slogan Spring Into Action. Spring is campaigning against the fact that the USA is the only country that hasn't banned the use of superpowers. She points out that Mayor Cage is invulnerable so can't possibly understand how the people fear superhero battles.

Meanwhile Luke himself is attending the scene of the earlier murder of Diana Pacter, 1 of his campaign's biggest donors. He contacts his private detective wife Jessica Jones who's at home with their children Danielle and Joe. He tells her that she seems to have been killed by a hand melting through her chest and taking her heart, and there's a smell of sulphur. She suggests the supernatural is involved and he feels it's an omen. He sees Spider-Man waving to him outside the window hanging from a web-line, and goes up to the roof to meet him. After some banter about the Mayor avoiding him Spidey says there's a bad feeling in the air, what with Bucky dying, Captain America almost dying, the anti-powers stuff (all in the Armageddon event) and Tony Stark going AWOL (in Iron Man's current series). (He of course doesn't mention Thor going missing because (nearly) everyone's forgotten he and Asgard ever existed - in the current Thor series). Luke brushes it of as anxiety but Peter Parker thinks his Spider-Sense doesn't lie. And then it triggers as Wolverine comes up out of a subway. And Logan with his tracker sees a figure flying overhead who we'll later realise is Miracleman.

Back at the bar Carol is playing darts. She tells him that since the explosion (Armageddon again) Reed Richards examined her (in AV:A#5) and told her that her powers were reduced to 10%. She's still pretty strong and fairly bulletproof but she really misses being able to fly. DD says he rarely drinks now because people with powers can't afford the risk, as he casually throws a dart behind himself and scores a bullseye. Carol wonders if needing to help people is just another addiction but he replies that he'd rather have *that* than not.

Miracleman has arrived at the top of Stark Tower but a hologram informs him that Mr Stark isn't in. There's an explosion as he destroys the Tower's defences. Spidey had spotted him overhead and wants to know what he's doing. David Colton claims the defences attacked *him*. SM counters that *him* fighting the Avengers and Red Hulk in Europe ended with Rulk blowing up and killing thousands (Av:A again) which is why the world now hates superhumans. So they fight.

Mayor Cage is meeting and greeting the people outside the Daily Grind cafe in Hell's Kitchen when his aide Taryn tells him what's happening at Stark Tower. He walks off.

Miracleman has sent Spider-Man crashing to the pavement at the base of the Tower. Colton claims that he *wasn't* responsible for Ross exploding. (Actually exploding Rulk was a Russian plan to kill Colton but instead it turned him into Miracleman at the end of Av:A#4.) He says he's come to Stark to find answers about his powers. SM responds by shooting webbing into his eyes and hitting him. But Wolverine intervenes with his claws out and confirms that Colton didn't explode Red Hulk he was trying to stop him. But then the Spider Sense *really* goes off!

Danvers and Daredevil leave Josie's Bar and he says he *knew* she wasn't going to drink the drink, she just wanted to prove to herself that she was strong enough to resist it. He admits that he has a different addiction (I think he means to bad girls like Elektra and Typhoid Mary). They almost kiss but he turns away as *his* hypersenses alert him that something's *really* wrong!

John Howley sees the sky turn red and a horde of things are flying in it. His eyes turn red and he tells his daughter Paige that they have to leave now. He grabs a book from a bookshelf and its outer disguise burns away to reveal an ancient book fastened with a metal clasp. He calls it Grimsby and tells it that he passes ownership to her. He gives it to her and tells her to do what it says. Then he tells her to run as his right hand turns blue and taloned grasping a bloodred sword. His wife phones him saying she knew the deal wouldn't last, but he reassures her that he's sent their daughter away with Grimsby. And he turns to face the horde of 'angels' smashing through his window - silver bodies with golden faces, wings and swords.

Paige runs out into the street with the book in her shoulder bag. She pulls it out and opens it to find the pages are blank. But it startles her by speaking to her. It tells her briefly that her parents made a deal long ago which resulted in her. Now that deal has been cancelled and so the universe is trying to kill her.

Meanwhile the 'angels' are everywhere attacking people. Spider-Man leaps on the back of 1 thinking they're demons, but they don't 'feel' like that. Wolverine joins in the fight, as does Miracleman in the background. 1 angel touches a man it calls Simon Curtis and tells him his deal has been nullified. Curtis immediately becomes very old and dies in Spidey's arms saying he was promised a millennium. Danvers, Daredevil and Cage join the battle asking what's going on. Luke grabs a sword from a fallen angel and stabs 1 with it which makes that angel disappear. DD deduces that their swords teleport them.

John Howley has killed many angels but he's also been stabbed. Julie is still on the phone to him trying to get back home, but he tells her to find their daughter. We see him facing a giant golden-skinned being with eyes hidden in a metal helmet and holding a large double-ended hammer inscribed with scales (of justice) and crackling with energy. (The Wiki calls him the Adjudicator.)

Outside our heroes all pick up discarded swords and start dispatching angels. Paige runs towards them menaced by a couple of angels but DD gets rid of them. She then turns to Spidey and says her book told her to find him. She tells him her parents made some sort of deal, but now something has happened to cancel all the deals and the universe is taking away what was promised. And she adds that the book says *he* made a deal too, and now only he can stop it all and save her. His deal was with someone called Mephisto to save the life of someone named May Parker. And now the universe won't stop until they're both dead.

We see Mephisto with some real demons and Diana Pacter's heart.

And we see 'angels' approaching May at FEAST.