The Avengers assemble for the funeral of a fallen hero, and are soon joined by the Sub-Mariner….
Flashback several days, as Captain America, dropped from the Helicarrier by the Red Skull, is plummeting toward the Gulf of Mexico. Sharon Carter swoops down in a SHIELD Hovercar and manages a tricky maneuver to rescue Cap—just as the car is blown out of the sky by fire from the Helicarrier.
In Louisiana, Adam Hauser is inciting hatred and violence among each ethnic, age, or gender group by appearing as a member of each group, pushing them all toward a confrontation….
Cap and Sharon, sinking into the Gulf, are rescued by the Sub-Mariner, who had been alerted by Iron Man. Cap persuades Namor to join him in opposing the Red Skull by reminding him of the need for all to stand together against evil and injustice.
On the Helicarrier, a captive Nick Fury is brought before the Red Skull and Hauser and is about to bear witness to America’s dissolution in its blind rage and hatred, paving the way for a new Reich. But Cap and Sharon are aboard the craft, brought by Namor, who flies into a fury when he spies the enemy. Namor attacks the villains and a melee breaks out, as Nick Fury deduces that the Skull’s real aim in capturing the Helicarrier was to obtain SHIELD’s psych weapons in order to spread the contagion of hate. The heroes, however, are overpowered with SHIELD defensive weapons, and Hauser unmasks as…the Hate-Monger.
At the funeral, Namor informs the Avengers that the Hate Monger was now pure emotion manifesting itself in human form, thanks to the Red Skull’s Cosmic Cube power. In the distance, they hear a helicopter approaching, bearing the one who will make this ceremony meaningful.