Synopsis
The previously page:- Avengers #27 Bruce Banner KO'd the evil BB from another timeline. Av#37 We discovered Sue Richards was a spy in Steve Rogers' camp when she met secretly with husband Reed. Av#38 Shang-Chi gained the power of replication from the Japanese Origin Bomb site. Av#39 Steve's SHIELD Avengers attacked the Illuminati in Cadiz. On the last page Beast summoned Sunspot's group, now claiming to be the Avengers, to oppose them. This issue continues directly from there.
Sunspot, calling from the (New) Avengers disc-shaped flying craft which dwarfs the 2 SHIELD helicarriers, tells Rogers that he thinks it's time for all the Avengers to band together to face the major crisis (incursion of alternate Earths, death of the multiverse) that is facing them. But Steve just cuts him off.
Instead he checks in on James Rhodes, to learn that he's running out of War Machine drones. So he authorises Maria Hill to unleash their secret weapon - the alternate Bruce Banner SHIELD has had in custody since Av#28. Agents throw him off the helicarrier, and on the way down SR remotely triggers his transformation into a Hulk.
This Hulk's landing scatters Black Panther and Captain Britain, setting the scene for a slugfest between Hulks.
Before Hill and Rogers can send SHIELD against the (New) Avengers, the fight is brought to them as Manifold teleports in from Sunspot's craft with Black Widow and Spider-Woman. Natasha hopes her long friendship with Steve will help sway him. But he's adamant that the Illuminati are bad guys. And he gets agreement from Captain Marvel who's just returned from space where Hulk hit her to in Av#39.
Roberto da Costa decides to send in the multiple Shang-Chi's to take down all the SHIELD agents in the helicarrier Archangel. SR's response is to leave Carol Danvers to keep BW, Manifold and SW from causing any trouble while he and Maria Hill execute the next stage of their plan.
A square of floor the 2 are standing on drops into the air. And Steve sends a control message to their Hulk to catch them when the square nears the ground.
Their Hulk has knocked out our Hulk. The remaining Illuminati (Beast, Black Panther, Captain Britain and Mr Fantastic) make another plea for cooperation. But as he sees Sunspot flying in with Cannonball and Smasher, Steve calls Captain America to bring in their next players - the Mighty Avengers (CA with Blue Marvel, Luke Cage, Power Man, She-Hulk, Spectrum, Spider-Man and White Tiger) (which Reed Richards refers to as Steve's Secret Avengers - this is getting too confusing).
Then we have a double-page battle spread plus more involving most of the players, including Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman and the Shang-Chi's come down from the helicarrier. And also including Hawkeye in the background of the 2-pager.
Reed Richards keeps mostly out of the fighting, and makes another comms call. Steve Rogers confronts him and tries to punch him in the face. But something prevents him. Looking round he sees that every combatant apart from Reed is surrounded by a forcefield. He belatedly realises that Invisible Woman must be a traitor.
And SHIELD agent Sue Richards arrives on the scene - but descending from the (New) Avengers' craft. And behind her comes Medusa of the Inhumans. Followed by 2 more surprises - Sub-Mariner who's supposedly leader of the evil Cabal, and Black Bolt who's been who-knows-where.