Synopsis
The Avengers #276 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
The police are clearing up matters at the ruined hospital after Wasp and Ant-Man have protected the unconscious Hercules from being killed by the Absorbing Man and Titania. Wasp tells them about the Masters of Evil having taken over Avengers Mansion and she takes off for there, accompanied by Ant-Man….
At the Mansion, a bound and gagged Captain America and Black Knight watch helplessly as the sadistic Mister Hyde brutally tortures a helpless Jarvis. BK tries to summon his magic sword but it is held in place in the lab by an energy field….
Wasp and Ant-Man meet with Colonel Jordan of the US Army to settle on a response. Jordan doesn’t want to launch a military action in such a densely populated area but also doesn’t want to cede responsibility to Wasp. She suggests a compromise, asking for support while she enacts her plan. Wasp tries to contact Thor but only gets Sigurd Jarlson’s answering machine….
Captain Marvel is still trapped in the Darkforce Dimension, deducing that Moonstone must have brought Blackout under control since the last time they met. Again, Monica sees a glimmer of light and heads toward it, emerging from the Shroud’s cloak as he faces an enemy on a San Francisco dock. Shroud punches out the bad guy, explanations are made, CM heads back to New York….
Doctor Druid is in a New York hotel room and his personal assistant is going over the schedule for his book tour when he learns of the crisis at Avengers Mansion on the news. Druid concentrates and picks up the voice of the captive Black Knight in his head. So, he dons his work robes, tells his PA to reschedule everything, and heads for the Mansion….
Wasp and Ant-Man are having trouble locating allies for their assault on the Mansion when first Captain Marvel, then Thor arrive on the scene….
Inside the Mansion, Moonstone tries to break Baron Zemo’s psychic hold over Blackout while Goliath and the Wrecking Crew continue to search the building for loot. As Baron Zemo has Yellowjacket and Fixer try to extract the memory discs from the computers, there is suddenly a blackout. And with the energy field off, Black Knight is able to summon his Ebony Blade to him. And in the dark, Cap and Black Knight deliver a beating to Mister Hyde. Then Captain Marvel burns a hole up from beneath the Mansion and she, Wasp, and Thor come forward and really give a whupping to Hyde. Thor vows vengeance for what Hyde did to Jarvis. But Yellowjacket, in tiny form, has seen all this and rushes to warn Zemo. The villain then prepares to depart, abandoning Fixer, tipping off Yellowjacket that Zemo will easily betray any of his associates….
Doctor Druid arrives at the Mansion and, using his mental powers to pass unseen through the army personnel, approaches the Darkforce covering the building. Sensing that the force is controlled by a single mind, Druid connects to Blackout’s mind and commands him to dissolve the barrier….
Ant-Man punches out the Fixer when he comes to check on the generator. Wasp has BK and AM rig a stretcher for Jarvis, asking Cap and Thor to take the lead. CM returns, having scouted the building so that Cap and Thor evade an ambush by the Wrecking Crew. Thor reverses the Norn Queen’s spell that empowered the Crew so that it drains back into the Wrecker, leaving the other three powerless. Before Thor can remove the Wrecker’s power, he is seized by Goliath who batters him around as he did Hercules….
Doctor Druid levitates to the Mansion roof where he discovers Moonstone trying to control Blackout. But Captain Marvel appears and knocks out Blackout; Moonstone flees hoping to lose CM in New Jersey but, panicking, she crashes into a cliff at the Palisades, breaking her neck. CM learns from her that she was not controlling Blackout, Baron Zemo was. Back at the Mansion, Zemo reaches the roof and sees Doctor Druid standing over the unconscious Blackout. He shoots Druid with his needler and revives Blackout, ordering him to send the Mansion and the Avengers into the Darkforce Dimension….