New Avengers (2010 series) #34

The spirit of Daniel Drumm blames Dr Strange and the New Avengers for the death of his brother Joshua/Dr Voodoo. After possessing the NAv's liaison Victoria hand and using her to kill 2 sorcerers, Daimon Hellstrom and Jennifer Kale, who might have been able to stop him. He also killed Hand and made it look like Strange did it. SHIELD and the FBI got involved, and later the main Avengers team too. But Drumm made them fight each other by mind-hopping between them. At the end of last issue DrS turned up and challenged Daniel to a sorcerous duel to the death.

Now Daniel accepts the challenge but continues to use various Avengers as weapons against Strange. Stephen Strange corrals them all with a spell but Thor's Uru hammer dispels it. Stephen tries to persuade Drumm he's got it wrong but Daniel is convinced that Strange made Dr Voodoo his successor as Sorcerer Supreme *knowing* that he'd fail which would make Stephen look good. And he attacks with Red Hulk.

What follows is 6 pages of wordless battle, each page with a different artist:-
Chuck BB does a full page panel of DrS vs Red Hulk .
Farel Dalrymple contributes Strange tangling Spider-Man up in vegetation.
Page 3 is Stephen vs Thing by Ming Doyle.
The 4th page by Lucy Knisley has Strange subduing Captain America with a spell.
Becky Cloonan shows him surviving an attack by Thor.
The last page by Yves Bigerel has Captain Marvel getting some mighty punches in.

As Thing, Thor and Red Hulk take turns to beat Strange up, Daniel Drumm agrees that it won't bring Joshua back because he's searched the nether realms and can find no trace of him. But meanwhile we see a trenchcoated figure in a white space asking someone why he's not stopping Daniel, and wonders if this is all a test. His unseen companion says that *everything* is a test. And we see that 'trenchcoat' is the spirit of Daimon Hellstrom.

Meanwhile back in the real world the synthezoid Vision is helping some injured Avengers including Black Widow and Daredevil. He points out to the foe that *he* has no soul to possess. So Drumm gets Carol Danvers to hit him with Iron Man. That doesn't work so he makes Thing threaten to crush Daredevil's skull. Steve Rogers tries to intervene but Thor bats him away. But controlling Thor means Thing is free to let DD go, until Daniel possesses him again. However he then notices Strange's battered body falling as his astral body leaves.

But before Daniel can do anything the Thing body is punched out by Luke Cage. (At the end of last issue Luke left with his wife Jessica Jones and their baby Danielle. But Jess persuaded him to return to help his friends and teammates.) Vision helps Daredevil to safety and throws Thor a long way away to keep him out of Daniel's control. But before he can help comatose Hawkeye and Spider-Woman he's KO'd by the invulnerable, superstrong and now possessed Cage. Daniel/Cage tries to get Stephen's body to answer him ...

...but then he notices everyone else bar Vision has gone, including all other people in sight. He can't understand how DrS has achieved this (why not?), and in the white space Daimon thinks Daniel is beginning to realise what's happened. Stephen returns to his body and tells Daniel/Cage that he just had to pop over to a friend's house to look some stuff up. And Daniel realises he can't leave Luke's body. Awakened Vision offers to grab the villain but DrS surrounds Luke's body with that old favourite the Crimson Bands Of Cyttorak and suspends him over a 'dark spirits' pentagram. Strange explains that he'd finally realised the real reason Daniel had murdered Daimon and Jennifer Kale - because they used dark magic which he wouldn't do. (Daimon cheers with a "Badass!") But now that he's not Sorcerer Supreme and his friends are in danger he feels free to indulge. And he forces Daniel Drumm to leave Luke Cage and then shreds his astral form to nothing.

Everybody else suddenly reappears to find it's all over. Stephen apologises to them all. Luke tells him it wasn't his fault but Stephen apologises for apologising. Hawkeye, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman just want confirmation that it's *really* all over. Meanwhile Daimon gets his unrevealed companion to agree that Universe-616 needs a Sorcerer Supreme. And he appears to the Avengers alongside Stephen's mentor The Ancient One who commends Strange for progressing so far beyond what he was taught. The student would never have been able to use the dark arts without succumbing to their lure. Stephen relinquished the SS role because he thought himself no longer worthy (in NAv Annual #2 after using dark magic in World War Hulk and against the Hood). But Yao points out that he continued to be a hero and protect the realm even though it was no longer his duty. So he gives back the Cloak Of Levitation and Eye Of Agamotto, symbols of Stephen's return to being Sorcerer Supreme.

The astral duo depart, and Hellstrom says he's not really dead and he'll be back with a new look. Maria Hill of SHIELD leaves to fill in loads of paperwork. And Iron Man tells the SHIELD and FBI Agents to leave them in peace.

Much later when the damage has been cleared up the combined Avengers gather in front of a statue erected to Victoria Hand, because she died on Avengers duty. Despite the fact that she originally worked for bad guy Norman Osborn they all say they'd grown to like her. (Well nobody wants to speak ill of the dead.) Luke and Jessica pop in to join the celebration and Luke asks Tony Stark for $5 then tells him he's just bought back Avengers Mansion. (Tony sold it to him for $1 in our 1st issue. Danny Rand offered to by it for that sum in #31 when Luke said he was quitting leading the team.) Capitalist Stark approves of him making a profit. Jess  and Spidey hug. She tells him she and Luke are going to raise their child where evil spirits and Nazi robots won't pop up. SM jokes that it means they'll have to leave New York completely. Luke says goodbye to Cap and Thor but promises to answer the call if they *really* need him.

Luke and Jess leave the Mansion grounds and meet up with baby Danielle and her nanny Squirrel Girl. Luke looks back and remembers all the things that happened there, in this series and the previous 1. Doreen Green inspires them to also remember how they've changed their lives from dark beginnings through Avengerhood to parenthood and marriage. And she also checks that they still want her as nanny. This leads Jessica to ask how they intend to make the money to *pay* Doreen. Luke suggests reviving Heroes For Hire and they trail off in banter.