Synopsis
Wolverine has brought rest of the Avengers (Captain America (Bucky), Hawkeye, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Thor and their leader Maria Hill) to meet Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr), who will be able to help them see the future, and build a time-machine to travel there. They find him taking down an old Iron Man foe Titanium Man.
Noh-Varr explains that he no longer goes by the name Marvel Boy, but Protector because his job is to protect the Earth.
They take him back to Avengers Tower, where Tony Stark provides him with loads of equipment. Noh-Varr builds a space-time viewer with advanced Kree knowledge, helped by Stark and Spider-Man with Thor doing heavy lifting. Tony wants to hire Noh-Varr to bring his Kree science to Stark Resilient. But the alien follows something like the Star Trek Prime Directive.
Maria Hill thinks the warning Kang gave them last issue is a trap. Cap/Bucky agrees, but expects that Stark has a plan up his sleeve.
The time viewer shows them several alternate futures, one of which contains the Next Avengers and their version of Maestro (future Hulk), which is the one Kang warned them about last time. They focus in on that and see the scene from last issue with the Next Avengers confronting Immortus, and Immortus being struck by lightning. Unfortunately there is no sound, only vision.
Then the vision implodes into into a black hole. With the bearded Hulk/Maestro's face in the middle.
Protector says something's wrong, and Stark claims that the timestream is broken. And it could affect all times and all alternities. The Avengers speculate as to whether Kang broke it, or their children the Next Avengers. And they obviously wonder how much they can trust Kang. Noh-Varr says he can take them to that future.
But before he can do it the Tower is invaded by Wonder Man. Last issue he warned Steve Rogers not to reform the Avengers. And now he's here to stop them personally.
Thor and Tony try to calm him down. But he attacks Thor and Wolverine until Protector blasts him out the window. Wonder Man attacks again, but then vanishes. (He's made of ionic energy, so he could do that.)
Tony is determined to help Wonder Man. He doesn't want another Avenger cracking up under pressure, like Scarlet Witch in Avengers Disassembled (and House of M), and Sentry in Siege. (Or like himself giving in to alcoholism.) Maria Hill contacts Steve to find out why Simon Williams has turned against them.
But for now the time problem is more important. Simon's attack has broken the time viewer. Tony and Noh-Varr plan to build a time machine somewhere else. But then they're interrupted again.
This time it's Apocalypse and one version of his Four Horsemen from an alternate future.
Story #2Avengers Assemble: The Oral History of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes Chapter 2
Writer:
Brian Michael Bendis. Penciler/Inker:
Synopsis
This chapter covers
Captain America's early years.
Steve Rogers,
Bucky Barnes,
Tony Stark,
Nick Fury and someone called
Dr Farnsworth Hill discuss his WWII career. Steve, Tony, Nick,
Spider-Man,
Henry Pym,
Janet van Dyne,
Thor,
Rick Jones,
Hawkeye and
Reed Richards reminisce about his resuscitation into the modern world.