Synopsis
Dr Strange mystically transports himself to to a park bench meeting with Daimon Hellstrom who says he's been warning Strange and the Avengers that all the recent superhero infighting and Norman Osborn's Dark Reign have weakened the barriers between this world and other dimensions. Now there have been breaches, which Stephen Strange says he's sensed too. DrS suggests they both contact Dr Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), the current Sorcerer Supreme (since original New Avengers #53), to figure out who the invaders are and how they got here. Hellstrom says it was via possession, and grows giant-size and fiery to attack.
The next scene expands on 1 bit of a scene in the equally-new Avengers #1. Steve Rogers has called together loads of ex/potential Avengers for a post-Dark Reign party on the roof of Avengers Tower and he's been asking each of them if they'd like to continue being on (or join) 1 of several Avengers teams. Luke Cage isn't happy. He and his New Avengers have been on the run since Civil War, hunted by Iron Man's Mighty Avengers and then Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers. Rogers himself was killed at the end of Civil War (but of course he got better) and is now no longer Captain America. But now Steve wants them all to shake hands and forget it and take orders from him. The War started because Tony Stark wanted all superheroes to register and now Rogers wants the same thing. Steve protests that this time they can *choose* to be Avengers or not. Stark points out that all this time both sides have claimed to be Avengers. He asks if Cage still *wants* to be an Avenger, and Luke reluctantly says "Yes". So Stark asks him for a dollar (which he has to borrow off Iron Fist). In return Tony signs over to him the newly-renovated Avengers Mansion and Steve tells him his independent team can operate from there. He can have any members he wants apart from Iron Man and Thor.
Meanwhile in Dr Voodoo's Sanctum Sanctorum in New Orleans he's trying to meditate but the spirit of his brother Daniel Drumm keeps castigating him for ignoring his own religion in favour of Dr Strange's magic. But then Daniel more urgently alerts him to the arrival of Strange and Hellstrom. Both brothers sense something wrong as the new arrivals demand Jericho surrender the Eye Of Agamotto. Jericho counter-demands to know who he's *really* speaking too, while Daniel urges him to run.
Iron Fist is helping Luke and his wife Jessica Jones and their baby daughter Danielle Cage move into their new home. Danny Rand jokingly offers Luke 50$ for the Mansion, a big return on his 1$ investment. Jess laughs it off so Danny suggests that he co-owns it anyway since it was *his* dollar. Luke wants to stand outside for a while savouring the moment but Jessica heads towards the door because she needs to pee.
But she'll have to wait because Victoria Hand comes out of the front door menacing them with a big gun. They know her as Norman Osborn's Deputy Director of HAMMER but she tells Cage she has a note for him and hands it to him. It's from Steve Rogers asking them to accept her as a liaison with him. He thinks she deserves a 2nd chance (which ex-con Luke can understand). She says that she had the gun to hold them off because she knows they hate her - and they have powers and could kill her. Cage's response is a loud clap of his hands and the shockwave sends her flying back into the Mansion. He asks her why she worked for Osborn and she says she hoped to keep him from going too far, and from reverting to being Green Goblin. But neither parts worked. She says she's only here because Rogers asked her, so she'll leave. Jessica points out that she pointed a gun at their child, but Luke's thinking about it.
Dr Voodoo is still defending himself against the possessed Dr Strange and Daimon Hellstrom, and the spirit of Daniel Drumm is still telling him to run. Jericho Drumm is still trying to magically coerce the possessors into revealing their true names and they are still demanding the Eye. But now they threaten Daniel, and 2 demon spirits leap out of his eyes and attack him. Jericho tries to stop it and urges his brother to hang on. But the spirit and demons vanish in a puff of astral smoke. 'Dr Strange' says that the Eye Of Agamotto is needed for the next event to happen.
It seems that Luke Cage decided to give Victoria Hand the benefit of the doubt because he and Wolverine track her down to a rooftop cafe. Cage opens by saying he can't understand how she could agree with Norman Osborn at all. Hand thinks Logan's here to kill her but Cage says that's not their way. So she explains that Osborn was sick but a genius, and she tried to help him live up to his potential and to combat his demons. Because she really believed in his vision and how he was the 1 to do what was necessary to get things done. And he was successful. Wolvie adds "until he wasn't". Victoria gives up and asks to be sent to jail with Norman rather than argue with them. But Luke asks why she wants to work with *his* Avengers. She regains her feisty spirit and says because they need someone with a different perspective to tell when they're right and wrong. If Nick Fury and Tony Stark's egos had let them take advice then things might have gone much better. And Steve Rogers seems to think so too. Cage has brought Wolverine along as a lie detector and Logan confirms she believes everything she said. So Luke welcomes her into the team, but warns her to stay away from his angry wife.
Later he hosts a meal in Avengers Mansion. Logan is there along with Jessica (Victoria is strategically absent). Other members of the previous version of the team are Iron Fist, Clint Barton (as Hawkeye rather than Ronin), Spider-Man, Mockingbird and Ms Marvel. A surprise addition is Thing who jokingly disparages this lot as *not* the Avengers when Luke suggests he join. Carol Danvers points out that he's already in the Fantastic Four, but Luke says he can multitask. Logan boasts that he's in *both* Avengers teams and the X-Men. Nobody mentions that Spidey's in both Av teams as well. Thing thinks for a few seconds and is about to accept when ...
... the Eye Of Agamotto appears in Luke's hand. He instinctively drops it and they all stare at it. Luke recognises it as Dr Strange's amulet but Thing points out that it's Dr Voodoo's now. Then DrS appears with Hellstrom in tow and suggests that it must mean that Jericho Drumm is dead so the Eye belongs to him again, so hand it over and we'll avenge him together. But Wolverine's senses aren't fooled so now it's Cage's turn to ask who they really are. Strange answers that they are the new ruler of this dimension, with his help. Luke has the amulet again and grows large as he too is possessed.
Story 2: Avengers Assemble: The oral history of the Earth's mightiest heroes Chapter 1 part 2 (continued from Avengers #1)
Written by Brian Michael Bendis with 2 spot illoes by Arthur Adams & Laura Martin.
The conceit is that various chars are being interviewed separately for material for a book about the Avengers.
This initial section continues to talk around Avengers (1963) #1.
Henry Pym says he was a multidisciplinary scientist and his size-changing research was for medical purposes. But he realised it was too dangerous to be released to the world (and his later invention of Ultron will prove his point). So he kept it to himself and used it for good as Ant-Man. But if Janet Van Dyne hadn't become his partner Wasp he would probably have soon given up superheroing and returned full-time to science. And he thinks without Wasp Jan would have remained a rich heiress and never become leader of the Avengers.
Jan gives her 1st impressions of the others. She was overawed by Thor. Iron Man was annoying because his original bulky armour was so noisy. She should have been scared of Hulk but she felt safe in the company of the others.
Tony Stark remembers their fight with Hulk in a circus tent before they realised Loki was the real villain, but he doesn't think Hulk's clown makeup bit happened. He was impressed by the Thor/Hulk tussle, but he and his early armour weren't up to it. But he learned a lot from the fight and it inspired him to finance the team. He initially intended to give them all armour but quickly scrapped that idea.
Stark and Bruce Banner met a few times at conferences before they both became superchars. Banner didn't make much of an impression and most of his work was hush-hush. Tony's heard the origin story with Rick Jones but he's still not sure if it wasn't really that Banner screwed up an experiment.
Henry, Jan and Thor all thought the team wouldn't last long (and technically they were right, it only lasted 16 issues). Only Tony believed in it.
Bruce reminds us that they invited Hulk on the team. He thinks it was because they thought they could tame him. Tony says he wanted to find out what made him tick. And also he was a secret weapon they could unleash. He wasn't quite as unmanageable as he is now. Banner and Pym both think it was a big mistake. Jan never knew he was invited, she thought he just hung around. Bruce recalls that Rick Jones and the Sentry could calm Hulk. Tony thinks Hulk's best moment was being instrumental in causing the Avengers to form. Jan thinks Hulk was scary ...
... but Loki was scarier. A god as evil as Thor was good!
Hank and Jan both mention that she was the 1 who came up with the name Avengers.
Their 1st official adventure (in #2) involved an extradimensional being called the Space Phantom impersonating Hulk. But Hank and Tony don't remember it. Bruce does because it led to Hulk quitting the team. Rick Jones remembers it because he and his Teen Brigade 'saved the day' by alerting the team to the problem. As far as Jan recalls they went straight from forming the team to discovering Captain America frozen in ice (#4). Tony thinks that was 1 of the most important things the team ever did. And Hank remembers it as being when he began to believe in the team as something permanent.
To be continued in current Avengers #2.