Avengers Forever #4: Review

Mar 2022

Jason Aaron, Jim Towe

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Story Name:

The forever storm

Review & Comments

Rating:

Avengers Forever #4 Review by Rob Johnson (March 26, 2022)

Does the existence of different Black Skulls from other timelines indicate that there are multiple versions of all the members of the Multiversal Masters Of Evil? The BS on Earth-818 looks identical to the MMOE member seen in Avengers #50-54 while the other Skulls are different (except that they all seem to have Venom symbiotes). I'm sure there's only 1 Doom Supreme.

I think the Wolverine/Phoenix died in Thor (2018) #5-6 and transferred the Phoenix Force to King Thor's Mjolnir (which here has been left on Midgard). But the Goddesses Of Thunder here seem to think he survived that and wonder what force could have dismembered him.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Avengers Forever #4 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) and 1 of Avenger Prime's Deathloks came to Earth-818 in Avengers #50 and then this series. It is a wasteland ruled by Black Skull of the Multiversal Masters Of Evil whose torturing has turned GR into the more powerful All-Rider. With the help of the few living heroes of this world (Ant-Man (Tony Stark), Infinity Thing (Ben Grimm), Moon Knight (Mariama Spector), Wonder Man and Vision) they defeated the Skull last issue only to see alternate universe variations of him coming through portals from other timelines.

At the end of the King Thor mini-series the Goddesses Of Thunder (Atli, Ellisiv and Frigg), the far-future granddaughters of King Thor, were left to protect the survivors on Midgard (Earth) while Thor sailed off to help the rest of the dying cosmos. Now years later a lightning bolt strikes the ground. Atli the warrior drains her mead. Ellisiv stops tending her garden and summons her war goat. 1-eyed Frigg leaves off her diplomacy, and they all rush to the scene where they find that Mjolnir is now floating above the ground. Then they have to fend off a barrage of meteorites which Ellisiv recognises as Phoenix fire which they saw wielded by an old Wolverine (Thor (2018) #5-6). Logan was obliterated there but now they find that 1 of his clawed forearms has landed on Midgard. Ellisiv says she dreams of multiple Mjolnir's crying out, and she believes the threat they are being warned of is something bigger than their own universe. They hitch Mjolnir to their ship and let it pull them out into the multiverse.

On Earth-818 our heroes are being overwhelmed by Black Skull variants until the Goddesses' ship crashes through a wall and the trio help them. The All-Rider ends the battle by separating the Skulls from their Venom symbiotes, and then sends both sets back through the portals. But in the aftermath they find that Moon Knight and Vision have disappeared.

The 'original' Black Skull and his symbiote are still captive here. GR traps the symbiote in the trunk of his Hell Charger car, and the Skull is chained out in the sun in a wasteland desert. The Goddesses and other heroes set about freeing all BS's prisoners while GR and Wonder Man deal with his War Machine minions. They accomplish it all in 1 night and Earth-818 is free. Then the blood-covered Simon Williams prays to the Goddesses that he never has to kill again. They promise to do all they can to make it come true (although Atli can't understand why anyone would want that), and WM walks off into the sunrise.

Tony Stark takes the Goddesses to the million year old Mjolnir he dug up, and another fiery Wolverine forearm that fell to Earth recently. Frigg figures that the Mjolnirs in different universes talk to each other. They take the Logan-fragment with them, reasoning that the hammers want them to reassemble the Phoenix. Then they leave on their ship with 2 Mjolnirs to guide/pull them. But they leave Asgardian seeds to reclaim the wasteland and rain to nourish them.

Ghost Rider and Deathlok plan to move on to save other Earths. Ant-Man (and his Iron Ant) will accompany them, leaving Infinity Thing and Wonder Man to look after this world.

Meanwhile we learn that Moon Knight and Vision have been transported to the Centre Of Infinity where they are welcomed to join the army of Avenger Prime. Their greeters are (versions of) Captain Peggy Carter (sporting the UK flag as in her just-begun series), Hawkeye (looking like the Longbow version from Morgan Le Fay's reality in Avengers (1998) #2-3) and War Widow (Black Widow in War Machine armour as in Av#28 of the current series).

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Barberoids 1 cover original artwork on ebay

Jason Aaron

Jim Towe

Guru-eFX

Aaron Kuder (Cover Penciler)
Aaron Kuder (Cover Inker)
Jason Keith (Cover Colorist)

Letterer: Cory Petit.
Editor: Tom Brevoort. Editor-in-chief: C. B. Cebulski.

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Ant-Man (Tony Stark 818), Black Skull (of MMOE), Deathloks, Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), Goddesses of Thunder, Infinity Thing, Moon Knight (Mariama Spector), Vision (of 818), Wonder Man (Simon Williams 818).

> Avengers Forever: Book info and issue index

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