Dormammu has taken over
Ego The Living Planet to invade this universe. He has sent his
Mindless Ones to attack 5 planets. We've seen
Hulkling and
Wiccan with
SWORD forces defending
Hala and
Skrullos. The
Guardians Of The Galaxy are split between
Chitauri Prime and
Spartax. But what about the
Shi'ar's
Aerie?
On Earth
M'Baku of the
Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda is trying to fit in to the Earthly
Wakanda. He was 1 of the
Maroons who helped
T'Challa overthrow
Emperor N'Jadaka, named after T'Challa's foe
Erik Killmonger. Here he learned that his own namesake was the villain
Man-Ape. But this M'Baku looks after N'Jadaka's innocent young daughter
Zenzi who has now joined Wakanda's
Dora Milaje. He worries that she too was named after 1 of
Black Panther's enemies.
T'Challa and his sister
Shuri receive a transmission from
Abigail Brand of SWORD. She tells them how Dormammu is attacking 5 planets to form a mystical pentagram across galaxies. She asks him as an
Avenger and a galactic Emperor to help the Shi'Ar defend Aerie. He says he's too busy trying to maintain peace in the Empire and deal with a security problem in Wakanda (as will be seen in the upcoming
BP series). But he has someone with space warfare experience he can send.
He meets with M'Baku at the
vibranium mound and recalls that it was an expedition to seek the origins of the vibranium meteorite that got lost in time and founded the Intergalactic Empire. And M'Baku reminds Panther that the Empire had people like him as slaves mining vibranium. T'Challa reveals that some time ago (when he was with the
Ultimates) he learned of previous multiverses, and he believes that is where vibranium came from. He knows that the metal is too powerful to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. But his quest to control it led to an Empire that *was* such wrong hands. Now he seeks to use the Empire to make amends. And he wants M'Baku to spearhead it.
M'Baku says goodbye to little Zenzi who fears that if he goes into space he'll become a monster like her father did. He assures her it won't happen, and Princess Shuri is going along to help him. He dons his battle armour and he and Shuri are joined by the Wakandan
Vibraxas and
Manifold of SWORD. And they and some troops take off in a Wakandan spaceship. On the way Manifold flirts with Shuri, and M'Baku warns them that there is bad blood between the Shi'ar and the (old) Empire. They reach the nearby stargate and Manifold guides them through to their destination ...
... to find that the Mindless Ones are attacking Aerie's vacation moon
Bauble. Manifold teleports them down to the moon and they start fighting Mindless Ones and helping civilians alongside
Deathbird and some of the Shi'ar
Imperial Guard Superguardians, among them
Gladiator plus
Smasher of Earth. Deathbird doesn't believe that Wakandans will really help them. Smasher intercedes by explaining the situation re Dormammu and the 5 worlds.
Eden Fesi has teleported into the sky and created loads of teleport discs which send Mindless Ones back into space. But they are replaced by more (or just teleport back). And Manifold ports back to the ground to tell the others that the
MO's have been converting Bauble into a giant version of the large Mindless One heads that we've seen in some other battles. They can't figure out why so Eden opens a portal to Earth and the Wakandan mystic
Zawavari, who tells them that Dormammu wants to conquer Aerie because it's the origin world of the Shi'ar and this will give him control of all Shi'ar. And he's transforming the moon just to add the spice of fear. His only advice is to just don't get conquered.
Gladiator's plan is to just kill all the Mindless Ones on the moon. He sends the Wakandans to the dark side where there are no Shi'ar to distrust them, while the Imperial Guard handle the light side. Our guys try various tactics but have no luck. But the light-siders aren't doing any better. But then M'Baku thinks of a way of heeding Zawavari's advice.
He gets Manifold to teleport them to planet
Bast, throneworld of the Wakandan Empire and his brainy young sister
Captain Taku. He wants the
Koukou Array, a vibranium satellite network that can shatter a planet. It's threat was used to force a truce with the Shi'ar. He tells Shuri that he wants to use it as a *shield* around Aerie to absorb the magical energy that the
Mindless Moon will fire. Then they can study it and create a countermeasure.
The Superguardians have abandoned the fight and evacuated the moon. Smasher goes to see how the Wakandans are doing and finds them absent. Deathbird assumes they fled like cowards. And then she sees a Wakandan ship port in and deploy the Koukou Array, and she assumes they've sided with the enemy. M'Baku goes to explain his plan to the Shi'ar but they just attack him. But then the Mindless Moon directs a giant blast at the planet ... which the Array absorbs. The fighters defend the Array against Mindless Ones while Shuri analyses the energy and devises an antifrequency which she tries to send the energy back with. But the magic energy has fused itself to the vibranium network and won't move.
But then the cavalry arrives in the form of Black Panther and
Storm with the
Krakoan magical supermetal
mysterium. Then everyone snaps into action. Vibraxas infuses the mysterium with the antifrequency. Manifold swaps the vibranium for mysterium. Smasher uses her superspeed to get the duo all around the Array. Everyone else plays defence. When they're ready Manifold opens a portal to get Shuri back on their ship to fire the Array. But a Mindless One eye-blasts him. While Shuri helps him M'Baku takes the MO through the portal and then presses the big button. The Mindless Ones die/vanish and the moon is healed (I think).
Afterwards the Shi'ar and Wakandans kiss and make up. And T'Challa asks M'Baku to be his Regent in the Wakandan Empire.
The Last Annihilation will conclude in
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #18.
For the special marvelite in you