Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Avengers The Childrens Crusade: Young Avengers #1 Synopsis by
Rob Johnson
This issue begins in the future on the Badoon homeworld Moord where Iron Lad (Nathaniel Richards) is attacking his future self Kang who has just slaughtered the population. IL has sworn to free all the worlds Kang has Conquered and kill every alternate version of Kang, including this 1. But the Avengers are here to stop him. And they're the grown-up Young Avengers (Captain America (Elijah Bradley), Captain Marvel (Ted Altman), Hawkeye (Katherine Bishop), Quicksilver (Tom Shepherd), Stinger (Cassandra Lang) and Vision (Jonas)).
More surprises come thick and fast. 2 extra Avengers are Falcon (Eli's wife Samantha Wilson-Bradley) and Bucky (their son Steve). Stinger and Kang are an item. (Well, Cassie and Nathaniel *were* in love before he left the YA.) IL wonders what happened to Cassie's relationship with Vision, but Jonas says he deleted his emotions. Kate and Tom are also involved, and Kate is pregnant with twins. And they're all in the timestream hiding from the 'real' Avengers.
Kang explains that their attempt to rescue the Scarlet Witch (in the main Children's Crusade series) led to war with the Avengers. Kang led them in escaping into the timestream, and now they roam the timelines doing whatever needs to be done - including wiping out the mass-murdering Brotherhood Of The Badoon. Iron Lad says this makes them just as bad as the Badoon. Eli reminds him that they became the Young Avengers after the Avengers had given up, disbanded after Avengers Disassembled, to fill the gap and do what their elders wouldn't. IL reminds *them* that the reason *he* founded the YA was to defeat Kang (and stop himself from becoming him).
Most of the rest of the issue is a flashback to the earliest days of the team (before YA#1), before Cassie, Kate, Tommy and Vision joined them.
The 4 lads are in a sub-basement of the abandoned, ruined Avengers Mansion. Iron Lad has created holograms of villains for he, Asgardian (Billy Kaplan), Hulkling (Teddy Altman) and Patriot (Eli Bradley) to fight. This bunch of villains is Spider-Man's old foes the Sinister Six (Dr Octopus, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman and Vulture). They defeat 5 of them but then IL freezes when Mysterio imitates Kang - but Hulkling just knocks him out.
Billy and Teddy are going on a date night (I didn't think they were actually in a relationship at this time) and Eli is going with them. They persuade Nathaniel to accompany them. Nat confesses that he was a science and comics geek in the 30th Century and didn't get to go out with girls. On the way they pass a girl who Eli is immediately attracted to. (We know that it's Kate Bishop ringing her sister about preparations for the wedding in YA#1.) But an electric storm and a blackout distract them.
It's the real Electro causing havoc. The 4 dash in but electric bolts drive them back until Asgardian magics up a forcefield. Then Nathaniel screws up his courage and dives on the villain, absorbing his electrical energy into his future-tech armour. There's a big bang and Electro is down, but Iron Lad also needs holding up. But the baddie may be down but he's not out, and he too can absorb energy. He grabs IL and takes all the energy back, and then tosses the body to the others. Electro then goes back to whatever he was doing before. Billy applies CPR and Nate is back with them. But instead of tackling the villain again they go to save people in a building Electro's blasts have set afire. (This is the fire that is reported on in the Daily Bugle at the start of YA#1.)
Back in the future Iron Lad says that this event turned their attention from defeating Kang to protecting civilians. But Kang reminds him that they didn't stop Electro, who went on the to free loads of super-villains (in New Avengers #1). IL counters that the prison break sparked the re-formation of the Avengers. Kang says that those same Avengers killed Billy and the Scarlet Witch, and only his own intervention allowed the rest of the team to escape.
Iron Lad swears to go back in time and prevent that disaster. Kang says he may well succeed, but every change he makes to history has been bringing him closer to becoming the Kang he hates. He sets off in a time craft.
After he's gone Billy Kaplan makes himself visible in the robes of the Sorcerer Supreme. Kang lied about the Avengers killing him. But now what happens in the past (Children's Crusade #4-9) *will* cause Nathaniel to become Kang. And he will destroy the Avengers forever.