Synopsis
Avengers #318 synopsis by
T Vernon
Rating:
Suddenly, the Avengers (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Vision, Sersi, Spider-Man, Starfox) and the Stranger are teleported to the latter’s main monitor room where Nebula, having gained all power through the activation of the Infinity Union, appears on all screens, reveling in her triumph. Stranger defies her and she disintegrates him with a thought, returning him to existence a few seconds later. Cap rebukes her over her use of psychological torture so she goes in for simple physical punishment: she appears before them as a literal giant. The Avengers attack but Nebula shrugs them all off in seconds as none of their powers can affect her. Even the simpler efforts fail, Spidey tries to blind her with webbing while Thor and Iron Man try to tackle her. The heroes retreat to regroup but Nebula can appear out of any part of the ship to make further threats….
At Avengers Mansion, Quasar and Jarvis recover from their injuries…and then the universe vanishes and returns in another split second, shocking Quasar….
As the Avengers flee to another part of the ship, the universe keeps winking off and on again. And then Nebula integrates herself with the ship’s systems. The Stranger seizes Gunthar, demanding to be told how Nebula was able to absorb the energies of the Infinity Union. Gunthar explains that a bio-receiver was inserted in her brain surgically, which gives the Stranger an idea of how to defeat her….
The Avengers find themselves in a weapons room, being attacked by everything. Iron Man is drained of power, Starfox is hit by a blast, and Spidey is trapped in a big glass tube; Cap calls for them to retreat though leaving three comrades behind doesn’t sit well with the others. They seal themselves into an airlock and Thor, especially, resents having to keep running from their enemy instead of facing her. Aboard Nebula’s ship, the Stranger has recovered the Infinity Union and sends a message to the Avengers that he is about to alter the frequency of the device so they will have the opportunity to remove the brain implant. Thor rushes to battle, Spidey escapes, the Stranger directs the device’s energy to himself, Nebula is staggered, Sersi rips the implant out of her brain, closing the wound behind. Nebula shrinks and tries to escape but Spidey grabs her and is about to beat her when Thor stays his hand. Gunthar contacts the Avengers to tell them the Stranger is badly injured….
Afterward, Sersi has tended to the Stranger’s injuries, the others receive first aid. At the heroes’ suggestion, the Stranger agrees to destroy the Infinity Union. Gunthar scoops up Nebula and teleports back to her ship and they speed off. Cap asks the Stranger if he would send them home to tend to the comatose Starfox and he waves his hand to make the heroes vanish, noting that he has gained respect for them….
Arriving at the Mansion, they find Quasar and Jarvis relieved to see them. Thor takes Starfox to the medical lab to be hooked up to life support. On the way out, Cap suggests to Spider-Man that maybe the Avengers aren’t for him, he would be better off fighting street crime on his own; Spidey concurs and swings off with a wave….