Synopsis
Avengers (2023 series) #28 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
While the rest of the Avengers were thrown into a pocket dimension by Dormammu in One World Under Doom #3, the injured Captain America (Sam Wilson) with Black Panther (returned from a separate adventure) were trapped in their base the orbiting Impossible City which had been taken over by some Masters Of Evil led by Mad Thinker. They defeated Dreadknight, Exterminatrix, Madcap and Mr Hyde, but Thinker combined their powers into a Super-Adaptoid which he's now using as armour. And he's now coming for them.
Thinker's MO is to outthink his opponents by planning several moves ahead and taking account of all possibilities. We learned last issue that he expected the Avengers to defeat his minions. But now *he* will defeat *them* to prove his superiority to the others and cement his position as leader. The AI Quasimodo has taken over control of the City from *its* AI and is now reporting the 2 heroes' movements to him as he zeroes in on them.
Now he smashes into them. T'Challa goads him by reminding him that their butler Jarvis defeated him last time (#11). But that was part of his plan (he let them take his plastoid Man-Slayer androids for use by the City AI as avatars, but this allowed the Quasimodo virus to infiltrate it). Cap and BP spar with MT in his oversize armour but he fends off all their attacks. Then he uses Madcap's madness-gaze on Panther but Cap pulls out 1 of Exterminatrix's guns which shoots Midas bullets which turn things to gold. However MT had a planned immunity against that. As the fight continues he reminds them that the City is about to teleport an asteroid onto New York City. The Avengers have already shown that they couldn't protect the world from Dr Doom, now he will show that Doom can't protect it from the MOE. But the duo now reveal that they've just been stalling until their 'inside man' is ready. Thinker thinks they're bluffing but they say that he should have been keeping tabs on his minions instead of them.
We now flashback to Sam Wilson talking to his armoured suit. (In #26 we saw that the City's AI had retreated from Quasimodo into 1 of its plastoid avatars which had then converted itself into armour to enable the injured Sam to fight and fly.) We see the AI also taking over another plastoid and that leaves the heroes to find Dreadknight where it takes over *his* armour.
In the present Quasimodo searches for the fallen villains. It locates Mr Hyde, Exterminatrix and Madcap's head. But then it reports that Dreadknight is moving towards the City's emergency reboot terminal. And Thinker gave each of the MOE override authority. We see that DK has the plastoid on its back and it now pulls a big switch and all the lights go out as the City undergoes a hard reset.
When power is restored Thinker discovers that Quasimodo doesn't respond. Instead the City AI says it's regained control of the base. It's aborted the asteroid teleportation process and taken down the defensive screen which has been keeping anyone else out. And the other Avengers (Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Storm and Vision) drop in to help defeat MT (off-panel).
Later Vision brings our duo up to speed with what's been happening outside. They are examining another change Thinker made. He set up the crystal prison containing the Ashen Combine as a deterrent to be dropped on Earth by 1 push of a big red button. Now T'Challa admits that part of the reason he went to see what was happening to the people trapped inside Meridian Diadem, 1 of the imprisoned Combine, was to avoid confronting his ex-wife Ororo when Storm joined the team (#17). But now they embrace each other as trusted colleagues. As everyone is congratulating themselves we see Madcap's body approaching the big red button. But Sam notices him, and a slung shield takes him down.
EnemiesPlus: Dreadknight, Exterminatrix, Madcap, Mr. Hyde (
Calvin Zabo), Quasimodo.