Free Comic Book Day 2009: Avengers #1

May 2009
Brian Michael Bendis, Jim Cheung

Free Comic Book Day 2009: Avengers #1 cover

Story Name:

The way things are ...


Synopsis

Free Comic Book Day 2009: Avengers #1 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
It's snowing in May in New York and Thor comes crashing down out of the sky in front of Spider-Man, mumbling that he's been beaten by someone who has returned with even more magic power than before. And Peter Parker sees a huge form in the blizzard. He decides the better part of valour is to call in the New Avengers.

His team (Captain America (Bucky Barnes) leading Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Mockingbird, Ms. Marvel, Ronin, Spider-Woman and Wolverine) assemble on a rooftop to view the monster. Ronin recognises it as the Norse ice-giant Ymir from his early days as Avenger Hawkeye. But he doesn't know how to defeat it because that time it was taken out by the Norse fire god Surtur.

Spidey swings in carrying unconscious Thor - and Ms Marvel flies the Thunder God to safety. Then Wolverine gets Cage to fastball special him into the air where he dives claws-1st into Ymir's head. The ice-giant is just made angry and turns his attentions on the out-powered Avengers - when its head explodes in a cloud of ice shards. And in its place flies the Sentry.

But if Sentry's here then *his* Dark Avengers team can't be far behind. Sure enough Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn) leads in Ares, Captain Marvel (really Marvel Boy), another Hawkeye (really Bullseye), another Ms Marvel (really Moonstone), another Spider-Man (really Venom/(Mac Gargan)) and another Wolverine (really his son Daken). They're here to take over, and also to arrest the vigilante New Avengers.

Ares too recognises their foe and warns both teams to keep clear. Destroying its head didn't actually hurt it (and that has already reformed). Ymir isn't a physical being he is an elemental force. And that elemental force sees Ares as an ally of Thor and attacks with a blast ...

... that transports all the Avengers (including Sentry and Wolverine, but not the absent Ms Marvel and Thor) to a snowy waste. Iron Patriot tries to contact his H.A.M.M.E.R. base but discovers that they're not in New York (or Kansas) anymore. Venom immediately attacks Spider-Man, and this sets the rest of their teams at each other's throats. Until IP tells them all to stop fighting, and gets Ares and Sentry to help rein in his side.

Ares points out that they can hazily make out the towers of NY. He claims that Ymir is merging his world with Earth, and has ejected them out of both. He also says that Thor and Odin previously kept the ice giant in control using the Twilight Sword - and so Ymir must have gained possession of it. And he walks off claiming to know where the Sword is.

Osborn takes Sentry and his Ms Marvel to the skies for aerial recon. Spider-Woman goes with them, and the rest walk after Ares. They come to a fairy-tale fortress where the God of War expected to find the Sword. And IP, MsM and Sentry are ejected out of it, followed by a horde of ice creatures. (SpW is back too.)

Battle is joined. But Ares heads into the castle with Iron Patriot, Luke Cage, Sentry and Spider-Man as backup. They find the Twilight Sword encased in ice. Ares says the Sword can't be destroyed so Ymir was just keeping it out of the hands of anyone who could use it against him. He sets about hacking at the ice with his axe. This alerts Ymir and his forces outside. Ares' 4 guards keep the ice hordes off him, joined by others from outside. The heroes are about to be overwhelmed when ....

.... they're all back in New York and Ares holds the Sword.

Norman Osborn demands the unregistered New Avengers surrender. Everyone's spoiling for a fight when the recovered Thor shows up with the real Ms Marvel. He gratefully takes the Twilight Sword off Ares and says he'll take it back to Asgard. He tells NO to let the NAv go or face his wrath. IP backs down - for now, and leaves with his DAv.

But there will have to be a real showdown between the 2 teams soon.

 

Review / Commentaries


Free Comic Book Day 2009: Avengers #1 Review by (May 30, 2017)
Hawkeye 'fought' Ymir and Surtur in the original Avengers #61. There Dr Strange made the 2 elementals cancel each other out.

Ares says here that the Twilight Sword was created by the God Above Gods, which is why it can't be destroyed. But it was actually created by Surtur and featured heavily in Walt Simonson's run on Thor (#337-382).
Ares also says that the threat of the Sword kept menaces like Ymir in check, but I find no support for this.
The only involvement Ymir had with the Sword was in Th#425 when he and Surtur disappeared with it into the 'Sea of Eternal Night'. They were seen in #473 awakening there with the Sword - a sign of forthcoming Ragnarok (again) - but nothing was made of that.
Someone looking like Ymir was among the Asgardian heroes and villains depicted in Th(1998)#14 as being released after being imprisoned by the Dark Gods (not in the Sea of Eternal Night. But he's not appeared since then until now.
(Surtur *has* reappeared in various Thor issues since then. He and the Twilight Sword were involved in the Ragnarok in the Thor Disassembled arc which terminated the 1998 volume with #85.)
The Twilight Sword showed up in Av/JLA#3 (if that counts), used by Morgana Le Fay in Av(1998)#1-3, then Thor Disassembled, and now here.

Ymir will continue to be underused, and his so far only next app will be in A+X #7.
The Sword will have a fuller life starting with the Avengers Prime limited series, then playing a major role in the Fear Itself event and on to more stuff.

Since Secret Invasion Thor attended Wasp's funeral in Mighty Av #20.
After this tale he will cameo in MAv#23 as 1 of Loki's schemes unfolds. Then another cameo in Wolverine (2003) #73 in a storyline which drags in loads of heroes and villains. Then a 3rd cameo in Ghost Rider (2006) #32 which ends a battle between multiple GRs. All before returning to #11 of his own series before it all changes with #600.

This is the 1st time these teams have met. They crossed over in NAv#50/DAv#2 but Norman Osborn ensured that they were kept apart. Ms Marvel and Ronin had a follow on in NA#51 p1-5 while the Dav went straight into their #3-4 helping Dr Doom against Morgana Le Fay, with their own follow on in some early pages of #5. Then Luke Cage had some quality time with his family in Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2/2, and Ares cameoed in Incredible Hercules #121. Then NO and most of the DAv were on hand when Daken tangled with Wolverine in Wo: Origins #33-36. Then NO cameoed in Dark Reign: Young Avengers #3 and DR: Elektra #1 p5-6. Which brings us to this issue. (Iron Fist supposedly left the NAv in #50 but he's still here for this issue. He really *will* now leave for things in his own mag.)
After this NO, Bullseye, Daken and Sentry will be in DR:YA#4-5 which I shall be synopsising. Then the whole DAv will be involved when Lyra, a She-Hulk from the future, comes back in time for revenge on Osborn in Savage She-Hulk #1-4. Members of both teams will then be involved in MAv#21&23 and #1-5 of Agents of Atlas's 2nd series - but again without seriously clashing.


> Free Comic Book Day 2009: Avengers comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

Jim Cheung
Mark Morales
John Rauch
Jim Cheung (Cover Penciler)
Jim Cheung (Cover Inker)
Laura Martin (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Cory Petit.
Editor: Tom Brevoort.

Characters

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Captain America
Captain America

(James "Bucky" Barnes)
Iron Fist
Iron Fist

(Danny Rand)
Iron Patriot
Iron Patriot

(Norman Osborn)
Luke Cage
Luke Cage

(Power Man)
Marvel Boy
Marvel Boy

(Noh-Varr)
Moonstone
Moonstone

(Karla Sofen)
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel

(Carol Danvers)
Ronin
Ronin

(Clint Barton)
Sentry
Sentry

(Robert Reynolds)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman

(Jessica Drew)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)
Venom
Venom

(Mac Gargan)
Wolverine
Wolverine

(James Howlett)
Plus: H.A.M.M.E.R., Ymir (Frost Giant King).

Thor

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