Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Korvac has been resurrected as an android and intends to regain his former 'god'-powers from their original source, Galactus' worldship Taa II. He has recruited a small army of worshippers to help him and now they're about to leave for space. But 1st they dealt with Iron Man and his gang. Korvac himself smashed IM and Hellcat while a bomb took out the rest.
Tony Stark lies in his armour with a broken neck which he's determined to overcome. The attack on Patsy Walker had been mental, stirring up her previous insanity and memories of Hell. But she drags herself out of it to help Tony up. However the armour's too heavy so he has to force himself to his feet, with the armour holding his neck in place.
Hellcat finds a shopping trolley and Iron Man slumps into it. She pushes him outside into the traffic and forces a taxi to stop. Somehow she gets him into the cab but Tony doesn't want to go to hospital. He tells her to get him to Halcyon who can upgrade his armour to keep him functional.
But Halcyon is 1 of the group who got bombed. However he, Frog-Man, Misty Knight and Scarlet Spider awaken in a protective bubble. It turns out that it is bio-mystical energy from their 5th member Gargoyle who is outside it with 1 of his wings blown off and dying from lack of the life-energy he used to create the dome. As he collapses so does the force-field, and the others rush to help him.
Meanwhile the villains are charging up their Shi'ar spacecraft. Blizzard, Controller and Unicorn are already inside. Korvac goes out to check on their hostage James Rhodes. Guardsman, who set last issue's bomb, has joined them in the warehouse. But Rhodey breaks the old water pipe he's shackled to and removes the Controller's discs from his forehead. Guardsman and Korvac blast at him but Jim escapes. Guardsman elects to go after him rather than accompanying Korvac into space. So his boss promises to remember his loyalty when he ascends to godhood.
Hellcat has got Iron Man to the others. Misty injects him with steroids and hydromorphone, especially dangerous to addiction-prone Tony, while Halcyon fuses the armour's collar rigid and increases its strength. This will limit his head's mobility but at least keep it upright, and the drugs will keep the pain at bay and keep him conscious. He'll stop at nothing to stop Korvac.
Gargoyle is slowly regenerating. But Shellhead makes the command decision that if he's not ready in 2 hours then they'll leave him behind.
Patsy is facing Hell in her head. Korvac is also in her mind promising to save her from that if she follows him to his future Paradise (which for some reason has 2 Moons in the sky). Tony finds her to see how she's doing. She asks if maybe Korvac is right and they should let him create his perfect world. Tony replies that the villain can't create a perfect universe, even *he* could do better. Patsy only half-jokingly finds that even scarier.
Meanwhile practical Misty is pointing out to the others that they're going on a suicide mission. Scarlet Spider says it would be even more suicidal for the damaged Hellcat and Iron Man to go alone. Naively heroic Frog-Man opines that they've *got* to do it. Spidey wants to call in the Avengers but Misty says there's no time. Froggie interprets Halcyon's sign language as a suggestion that they contact some outer space allies on the way, and Misty agrees.
But then Rhodey arrives in his War Machine armour to say *he*'s taking control. And *he*'s sent out the call to all the heroes he can. Tony and Patsy join the crowd and Tony insists it's *his* fight. Rhodey quite rightly points out he's in no fit state and tells him to stand down. But then Guardsman interrupts the macho confrontation only to be surprised that the others are all still alive. Iron Man faces him him and takes him out with 1 blow.
Tony asks Rhodey to be his space pilot. Jim still wants Tony to sit it out but knows he can't persuade him. So he agrees so he'll be there to protect him. Stark tells him to go get the most advanced spacecraft he (or presumably his old company Stark Unlimited) owns.