Story continued
from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (2024) #1.
In the Casino
Cosmic, the Champion of the Universe Tryco Slatterus fights in the cybo-gladiator
games, this time against Killcrab…and he wins in under three seconds. The games
organizer Profiteer is fed up as fewer people want to buy tickets to the games
because Tryco always wins. Tryco promises Profiteer that after a vacation, he
will have regained the Power Stone and then he will challenge real cosmic
powers like Galactus and the Living Tribunal….
In Asgard, Thor
is concerned about Gaia’s having opened the gates of Utgard, releasing the
Elder Gods on the universe. He battled Toranos and won but by wit, not
strength. And his wits are now clouded by the influence of Amora the
Enchantress. So he asks Loki where to find the Power Stone. Loki warns him but
can’t help him….
On the planet Znrrgax
IV, a gang of hoods are trying to carjack a guy’s valuable Hovercedes when the
local superhero, Prince of Power (born Prince Otherone), now wearing a shirt and
calling himself Powerstone, arrives on the scene, flattening the guy’s car, and
takes down the bad guys, all thanks to the Power Stone he once ate. And then
the Champion of the Universe arrives….
Thor stops by
the offices of Blackjack O'Hare, former mercenary leader and Otherone’s boss,
looking for the crackpot hero. Seconds later, Otherone comes crashing through
the door, hurled by Tryco Slatterus, who recognizes Thor from an earlier
battle. Tryco picks a fight, Thor knocks him down and places Mjolnir on his
chest so he can’t rise. Otherone decides to help and uses his Power Push on
Mjolnir, which now decides the floors below are not worthy, dropping Tryco down
multiple levels, leading to the landlord evicting Blackjack on the spot. Tryco
now has the unconscious hero in his hand, drawing on his power. Thor summons
Mjolnir but with its increased power, it breaks Thor’s wrist when he catches
it. They fight but Thor chooses to use the hammer for a very small deed: he
releases a single rain drop, which splashes against Otherone’s face, waking him
up. And now Powerstone uses his Power Pull ability to drain Tryco of all of his
strength. While admiring himself, Powerstone uses the word “apex” and decides
it would be the perfect superhero name. And, as he cannot be separated from the
Power Stone, Thor calls up the cosmic winds to take him to a place where seasoned
heroes can train him to use his power responsibly: New York City…and Blackjack
O’Hare is pulled along for the ride….
Story continues
in MS. MARVEL ANNUAL #1.
“The Death Stone
Saga Chapter Three”
Writer: Derek
Landy. Art: Sara Pichelli. Colors: Mattia Iacono. Letters: Travis Lanham
Synopsis: The
newly resurrected Phil Coulson escapes from the cemetery but Nighthawk catches
up to him, wanting the Death Stone inside the late agent. Coulson fights his
foe but, even with all his training, nothing he does even fazes Nighthawk. Eventually,
Coulson’s thinking straightens up and he recalls that a pact made with Nick
Fury to have warriors buried with their weapons, means Coulson has a handgun,
which he draws, and a pager. As Nick Fury is bad news in every universe,
Nighthawk quickly knocks out Coulson but too late: Fury has been contacted….