In the Carpathian Mountains, a hulking brute invades the castle of Baron Mordo, slaughters his monstrous servitors, and makes off with the magic amulet that hangs around the sorcerer’s neck….
In an unnamed dictatorship (dude, it’s North Korea; that’s Kim Jong Il standing there), Moses Magnum demonstrates his state-of-the-art orbital weapons platform, with advanced cloaking technology so that no other nation has detected it. As the demonstration proceeds, an armored figure, impervious to weapons fire, pierces the platform, emerging on the other side with an important component clutched in a red gauntlet, as the platform explodes behind him….
At the site of the destroyed Asgard in Broxton, Oklahoma, Thor stands in a bleak reverie, and Iron Man is overseeing a crew of high-tech workers as they clear the ruins in search of survivors of the disaster (see SIEGE for details). Someone is detected under the rubble but it turns out to be a huge fire-breathing dragon. And it’s angry too. Iron Man rescues his workers as Thor tries to subdue the monster—then Volstagg steps forward to claim it as his pet. Iron Man then receives an emergency call from Steve Rogers, telling him that there has been an experimental disaster in Russia and that they are asking for Tony Stark’s help in containing a black hole. Iron Man rushes to the scene, but it is a trap and he is attacked by a larger, magically upgraded Crimson Dynamo. Meanwhile back in Asgard, the workers have uncovered the Destroyer armor just as Ulik the Troll King, his body enhanced by science comes to claim it. Thor fights him—and is stunned to discover that his enemy can deflect a blow from Mjolnir. Ulik hits back, flattening Thor. In Russia, Iron Man is subdued by his foe and seized by a giant version of the High Evolutionary, who intends to build a god for the 21st century, and Iron Man will be the raw material….