Synopsis
The Avengers have come to Costa Verde to help their friend Silverclaw investigate a call for help from her Kamekeri village. But they found it replaced by an ancient (non-South American) city guarded by a magic barrier which turned anyone who entered into barbarians working for its ruler the Hyborian Age wizard Kulan Gath.
The Avengers made camp for the night in the jungle outside the city. But next morning they are awoken by the sounds of battle from a nearby mountain where Lupe's mother the volcano goddess Peliali was believed to live. The team head to investigate, Iron Man and Warbird flying and the other 6 on 2 skimmer discs. They approach and see the fiery-red goddess encircled by hawk-priests waving magic staffs which seem able to keep her trapped. But our team are attacked by Gath's hawk-riders. Silverclaw and Wasp can also fly, and Goliath, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk and Triathlon each find their own way of surviving the fall.
While the Golden Avenger keeps the hawk-riders busy, Silverclaw, Warbird and Wasp try to reach Peliali. But a lightning-bolt sends IM reeling back, scattering the 3 like 9-pins. When he surges back to the attack the 3 females descend towards the ground battle just in time to see all the combatants disappear in a flash of light. The other Avengers arrive on foot and Iron Man returns with a captive hawk-rider to question. But the man says that they won't learn anything that Kulan Gath doesn't want them too, and he dies in a puff of mystic flame.
Wasp has spotted from the air an approaching Costa Verdan tank division (which is strange because last issue the authorities claimed that the Kamekeri village didn't exist and had never existed). This is worrying because as soon as they enter the city they will become loyal to the wizard, as briefly happened to Goliath, She-Hulk and Warbird last issue. (But since they also got transformed into barbarian warriors it should mean the soldier's tanks and guns would be turned into something equally prehistoric.)
Scarlet Witch comes up with a way that might allow the team to enter without being changed. She takes some spare computer chips from Iron Man and imbues them with her chaos magic. Then she uses sympathetic magic to link them to the individual Avengers, which will hopefully keep them in their present-day forms. (But even by this 'logic' I don't see why it would stop them become thralls of Gath.) Iron Man and Wasp head off to warn the army not to enter the city while the others go to try Wanda Maximoff's experiment. Last issue's mystery watcher muses to himself over which group to follow, and an editorial comment tells us that the Avengers would recognise his voice.
As the flying twosome approach the army Tony Stark's thoughts provide something of an answer to 1 of my musings. He figures nearby people reported strange events and there was some official investigation, but the investigators must have passed through the barrier and never reported back. So now things have escalated. When they land the commander doesn't believe what they tell him about a magic city, but he agrees to suspend his attack for a few hours while the pair go talk to the higher ups in the capital. (He seems more respectful of the Avengers than the home crowd has been lately.) Wasp hitches a miniature ride in IM's armour for the journey.
Wanda's trick works and the Avengers get into the city as themselves. But of course they have to don some conveniently handy all-concealing robes. Silverclaw can almost recognise the layout of her village in the strange city. But then even stranger she finds a modern gum wrapper on the ground. And they suddenly see a lone set of traffic lights at an intersection. As they walk on a young native woman watches the lights disappear, and follows them. But behind her a bus stop appears. The team continue until Goliath sags, hit by a spasm of unwellness. He's been feeling funny since last issue's initial attempt to pass the barrier. But he recovers and leads them into a bar where they're likely to pick up information. The woman sees them enter and makes certain gestures.
Recently-reformed alcoholic Carol Danvers is worried about being in this place. But she distracts herself by taking Triathlon aside to berate him for his attitude. The African-American was added to the team in #27 by government order to satisfy public demand for a more diverse team. Ever since then he's been making snide remarks about being unwelcome, or being the hired labour. Warbird strongly suggests that he drop the chip on his shoulder and try joining in for a change. He'll actually find he gets treated as an Avenger.
When they join the others at a table Henry Pym is suggesting that they can't just ask questions pretending to be visitors because when they popped in last issue they immediately knew who they were supposed to be and what their function in the city was. He proposes instead that they should single out someone important-looking and ... But he doesn't get to say any more because Wanda is concerned about Silverclaw. It has come home to Lupe that her mother really *is* the volcano goddess but abandoned her.
Then another interruption decides for them what they're going to do. A tough tries to 'persuade' Lupe to join him in a drink, but She-Hulk 'persuades' him to go away. And that of course starts a bar-room brawl. Jennifer Walters suggests they can question whichever of the drinkers is left standing.
Meanwhile the young woman who was following them approaches the central palace and is welcomed as 'Blessed One'. She is informed that the scryers have detected 7 intruders in the city. (Astute readers will have counted only 6 Avengers.) But she says she's already dealt with that problem. And in the bar we see our team's foes turn into demons.
As she progresses further into the palace 'she' turns into Kulan Gath, and goes to visit the captive Peliali. The sorcerer then relates to the goddess his history. In the Hyborian Age he gained great power in service of Shuma-Gorath, the N'Garai and others. This enabled him to live a long time, but he knew death might finally claim him so he created a necklace within which his essence would survive even that. He was reborn into this age (Marvel Team-Up #79) but, overwhelmed by the totally changed world, he was defeated by Spider-Man and Red Sonja. The necklace was found again, leading to Uncanny X-Men #190-191 where he was again defeated and the event erased from time.
He now adds that he was reborn from the necklace yet again, and he sought somewhere suitable as his power base. However nowhere in the modern world suited him so he created a city to call his own. But even here outsiders have infiltrated bringing elements of the modern world with them.
He rants that his aim in his own age was to gain enough power to leave this plane of existence and become a god. But in this world the gods have gone and the gates to their realms are closed. (Tell *that* to the Asgardians, Olympians and many others!) He will need a mighty magic to open them, and that magic will be the sacrifice of Peliali, this city and maybe the world. And the mystery watcher is listening.
Meanwhile the Avengers have been buried in the mass of serpentine demons. And gas renders them all unconscious.