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Avengers #10

Apr 2024
on-sale: Feb 7, 2024
Jed MacKay, C. F. Villa

Avengers #10 cover

Story Name:

Twilight dreaming part 4


Synopsis

Avengers #10 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
The Twilight Court have attacked the Avengers in their new orbiting base the Impossible City. But it's only a misdirection while their wizard boss Myrddin goes to kill Kang The Conqueror comatose in the med bay.

His touch awakens Kang who he congratulates on warning the Avengers about the 1st Tribulation Event, the Ashen Combine. (The team defeated them in #3-6, and their AI base willingly became the Avengers new HQ.) Myrddin holds Kang down with his wooden staff as he reminds his foe of their last encounter (the 2022 Timeless 1-shot) where his Twilight Court fought him until Myrddin himself dealt a fatal blow, causing the Conqueror to flee through time to 'his' Avengers. Myrrdin calls them that because he believes they are Kang's unwitting pawns.

Myrddin reminds him (and us) of their rivalry (as described in Timeless). They both seek the missing moment that no chrononaut like themselves can access. They both believe that moment is a locked door behind which lies a prize they call the Grail. And they both want it for themselves. Kang reminds *him* that the Tribulation Events bar the way to the missing moment and only heroes can win through them and unlock the moment. And that is why the wizard created his Twilight Court. Myrddin suggests that this is what Kang wants the Avengers for.

He decides not to kill Kang after all because he likes the challenge of an opponent. But he's still going to tilt the scales by handicapping him. He uses the mystical/electrical emanation from his hand again, this time to delete from Kang's mind everything he knows about the missing moment and the Tribulation Events (helpfully explaining to his foe and us what he's doing). And he magically takes his leave just as Captain Marvel and Iron Man arrive at high speed (because they realised at the end of last issue that Myrddin wasn't in the battle).

They're surprised to find Kang awake and angry at their failure to protect him. He tells them about the stolen knowledge. (He possibly only remembers that it *existed* because Myrddin told him what he was taking.) He calls for a status report from his armour which says it is fully repaired. So he causes it to envelop him and timejumps away declaring that the Avengers are once more his enemies.

Later we see Scarlet Witch and Thor visiting Nightmare in his Dream Realm. He reminds them how he had the team at his mercy (#8) and only let them go because the Thunder God admitted defeat and surrendered. Wanda Maximoff says that she is the Living Darkhold and Thor is the All-Father of Asgard and as such they are easily the equal of a Fear Lord. Nightmare denies being in league with Myrddin, claiming that the wizard just took advantage of his attack on them.

Wanda then claims to know that rather than being the Lord of Nightmares he is instead addicted to the fear they cause, and she asks what would happen to him if there were no more dreamers to prey on. Thor suggests that the dream he trapped them in (#7-8) was in fact *his* nightmare - the end of the universe. And his move wasn't an attack but a cry for help against that end. Nighty admits that someone is planning to murder the 8th Cosmos but he can't detect who they are. But 1 thing he does know is that the Avengers will either prevent it or cause it.


 

Review / Commentaries


Avengers #10 Review by (February 9, 2024)
The mention of the Grail adds to the Arthurian vibe of Myrddin and the Twilight Court, but it's presumably metaphorical.

Captain America and Vision are only seen in a battle scene against some of the Twilight Court. And Black Panther isn't portrayed at all.

This issue seems to change the plot. Kang originally sought refuge with the Avengers from Myrddin, and offered info about the Tribulation Events that were on their way. But now he no longer has that info for them and leaves because they obviously can't keep him safe.

But behind this is the quest laid out in the Timeless 1-shot. Kang and Myrddin both seek the missing moment which can't be reached by time-travel, or by villains such as themselves. It can only be accessed by heroes, and they have to go through the Tribulation Events. To that end Myrddin created his Twilight Court of heroes, and Kang has co-opted the Avengers.

However this *should* mean that Kang didn't really warn the Avengers of the up-coming TEs, but by involving them in his quest he brought the TEs down on them. If so he can't really be abandoning them because he needs them to face the Events for him. Meanwhile Myrddin supposedly wants his TC to get through the Events as well. But the Avengers have already defeated the Ashen Combine so presumably the TC can't face *them*. So do we have a storyline where both teams will defeat different TEs with a final confrontation between them over the missing moment.

Presumably the universal threat Nightmare foresees is connected to all this. The missing moment is also described as a door that needs to be unlocked. Maybe the Avengers will doom the universe by opening it, or save it by not doing do. Or vice versa.

1 last thing. In the current Thanos series (with a different writer and editor) Death offers to tell the Illuminati about an upcoming ultimate destruction. Is this the same thing or (as usual) are there multiple mega-threats ongoing at the same time?

And another thing. At the end of Timeless Myrddin has a 'chessboard' with pieces representing Kang, Dr Doom and I think Ultron. There are 2 other pieces with their backs to us which might be Grandmaster and ... Nightmare.



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

C. F. Villa
C. F. Villa
Federico Blee
Stuart Immonen (Cover Penciler)
Stuart Immonen (Cover Inker)
Stuart Immonen (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Cory Petit.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel

(Carol Danvers)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Anthony Stark)
Kang
Kang

(Nathaniel Richards)
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch

(Wanda Maximoff)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)
Plus: Myrddin, Twilight Court.

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