Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Avengers Annual #12 Synopsis by
T Vernon
The Avengers (Thor, Captain America, She-Hulk, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Starfox) are summoned to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council and are surprised to find the Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic, Thing, Invisible Woman, Human Torch) there. And they are puzzled to learn that the FF are facing serious charges at this informal hearing, which also has the FF confused and angry. A Council member presents the evidence: SHIELD doing a reconnaissance of the moon discovered a city which had not been there at the previous scan two months earlier, city of non-humans with advanced technology. Reed Richards speaks up, identifying the city as Attilan and its inhabitants as the Inhumans, an advanced offshoot of humanity created by the Kree millennia ago. They had been living peacefully in the Himalayan Mountains but after a recent invasion by the scientists of the Enclave, they discovered that they were falling ill due to Earth’s pollution and so were forced to relocate to the Blue Area of the Moon for their safety. The Council is highly outraged that Richards had never revealed their existence when the Inhumans were in a position to attack the neighboring nations of Russia and China and especially now that they command a strategic view of the entire Earth. The Council wants a determination of a possible threat he Inhumans pose to Earth and, since the FF can’t be trusted, the Avengers will be dispatched to provide it….
The Avengers, with Scarlet Witch and Vision added, pilot a Space Quinjet to the Moon where they are greeted by the Inhumans royal family (Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, Lockjaw) plus Crystal and Quicksilver with baby Luna. The new Avengers are introduced to the Inhumans and everyone gets to see the baby. The Avengers explain their delicate mission and some of the Inhumans are angered but Black Bolt responds wordlessly with the open hands of peace and friendship. The hard part over, they go on a tour of the city that leads to the royal crypt where they pay their respects to the dead Maximus, the traitor who rejoined the family against the Enclave and perished in battle. Lockjaw smells something that isn’t right but can’t tell anyone and after they leave, Maximus’ eyes open….
Before the Avengers go, the Inhumans throw a big party for them. Wanda notices that Medusa is distraught; the Inhuman Queen explains how her husband Black Bolt has been distant since they came to the Moon. Lockjaw checks out Black Bolt and is still concerned….
That night, Medusa has a nightmare about Black Bolt, who is in the crypt, taunting the “dead” Maximus in clear language. Wanda is troubled by a nightmare of Earth under attack; Captain America wakes everyone up to tell them that he has received a message from SHIELD: Earth is under attack from the Moon just as Wanda has foreseen. Thor takes a deep breath and flies into space to destroy the barrage of rocks hurtling toward Earth while recriminations flay back and forth between the two groups. Black Bolt arrives and wordlessly announces he has declared war on Earth and condemns the Avengers to death. Battle breaks out: Cap vs. Lockjaw, She-Hulk vs. Gorgon, Triton vs. Starfox, Wanda vs. Crystal, Karnak vs. Vision, Captain Marvel vs. Quicksilver. Wasp tries to talk sense into Medusa who then questions Black Bolt’s murderous decision. She-Hulk leaps on the Inhuman leader with the same question and Black Bolt yells at her. Everyone flinches but nothing happens, revealing himself to be an impostor. Medusa binds the baddie with her hair and Lockjaw teleports them all to the royal crypt where Vision and Karnak combine their powers to break into Maximus’ crystallized tomb. Black Bolt’s and Maximus’ bodies switch back to normal and the villain explains how he was merely put into a coma by his injuries; when Attilan relocated to the Moon, some sort of crystal which crated hallucinations among the Inhumans, awakens some latent psychic ability in Max who used it to swap his mind with Black Bolt’s. He then re-established contact with the Enclave and plotted to attack Earth. Max then escapes and races to the secret lair of his Enclave allies. Lockjaw brings the two heroic teams to the site and Black Bolt lets out a blast that clobbers the bad guys and destroys their infernal machine. Maximus demands that Black Bolt take his rightful position as ruler of Earth but BB brushes him off. Up in space, Thor notices that the attack is abating and returns to Attilan. Medusa gives the Avengers a message to take back to the UN Security Council: The Inhumans pledge peace and ask if the leaders of Earth can do the same….