Avengers #1

Issue Details

Synopsis

AWAKEN THE THUNDER! Loki materializes over the Earth, his memories hazy, when he attempts to return to Asgard he finds that the Rainbow bridge is missing and upon searching mystically realizes that the nine worlds of Asgard are seemingly missing. Believing that Thor is the cause of all this he goes searching for his brother and finds him frozen in a block of ice in Norway where he has just been discovered by archeologist Dr. Donald Blake. Loki attempts to destroy Thor then and there and finds that his magics are unable to do so. Blake, seeing the strange spectacle decides to call in SHIELD and the newly formed Avengers. Remembering the Avengers, Loki decides to go and seek them out and learn what his old foes are doing.  Seeking them out he finds the newly built Avengers Island headquarters off the coast of Manhattan. Peering inside he witnesses as the Scarlet Witch is unpacking her room with her teacher Agatha Harkness. Loki detects that the Scarlet Witch is a powerful sorceress, and she manages to pick up Loki's presence even though Agatha cannot. Not wishing to be seen yet Loki would go onward. He'd enter the wrong of the Swordsman, and note how the hero is a narcissistic braggart. In the next room, he finds Hawkeye working out in a rigorous training schedule. In another room he finds Hellcat watching television until she is interrupted by the Vision. The Vision departs abruptly when Hellcat offers to try out a new massage technique on her.   In yet another room he finds the living legend of World War II, Captain America, scanning the Captains mind he learns that it is filled with much turmoil and strife. Else where in the complex Nick Fury is showing government liaison Henry Gyrich around the island, listening to Gyrich's complaints that super-heroes should be outlawed not government sanctioned. Overhearing that the Avengers are waiting to go on their fist mission, Loki begins to realize that he is in some kind of alternate dimension that is different from the one he knows, but still decides to try and get revenge against his long hated foes. The argument between Gyrich and Fury is cut off when they are called by Donald Blake who shows them that he has found the long lost body of Thor the god of thunder.   Elsewhere in the complex, the Scarlet Witch meets with the Vision for the first time and she finds it a little creepy that he was deactivated part way through her conversation with him. Vision shows her around, and introduces her to his creator Dr. Henry Pym and his girlfriend Janet van Dyne, both part of the Avengers support staff. Janet is startled by Pym's newest creation Ultron-1, his new lab assistant since the Vision has joined active duty with the Avengers. The alarm sounds and soon the Avengers are deployed to Norway to investigate Blakes discovery.   In Norway, Blake shows the Avengers Thor, and his uncovered hammer, deciding to break Thor free from the ice, each of the Avengers attack separately and find that none of them can break through the ice. It takes a combination of Cap's shield, Visions phasing powers and the Scarlet Witch's hex magic to break the ice freeing Thor from his captivity. Realizing that Thor has been in ice for centuries and may simply just be a barbarian he orders the Avengers to stand ready for anything.   Loki then takes the time to appear and convince the confused Thor that the Avengers are Thor's enemy leading to a battle between the Avengers and Thor. The Avengers prove no match for the combined strength and magic of Thor and Loki. However during the fight, Loki tries to strike down Thor with a bolt of magical energy, and is saved by Captain America. Finding his hammer, Thor picks it up and his memories return and he remembers that his brother is a trickster god and turns against him. With Loki distracted, the Scarlet Witch uses her hex powers to banish him away.   With the battle over, Captain America establishes that the Avengers are heroes and asks Thor what happened to him. Thor cannot recall, he remembers an onslaught and possibly Ragnarok but not much else. Realizing that having Thor's raw strength on the team could be a great asset to the group they invite the thunder god to join them, an offer which Thor agrees to take.   While in the limbo realm that Loki has been banished too, the trickster god is confronted by Amora the Enchantress who agree to team-up and work with Loki as she has an interest in the Scarlet Witch, someone that the Encahntress claims is her daughter.