Avengers, The #166

Issue Details

Synopsis

"Day of the Godslayer!" Count Nefaria is taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of Thor. The villain’s tremendous arrogance is put to the test when he faces the thunder god hand-to-hand, realizing that he’s far more powerful an opponent than any of the other Avengers. But he stands his ground and even manages to put up a tough fight. Nefaria is intent on wresting control of Mjolnir from Thor, convinced that it is the source of his immortality. Inside the mansion, the Beast chastises Yellowjacket for running away from a fight, until Pym explains that he’s fighting the best way he knows how -- as a scientist. Pym at last awakens the dormant Vision from his slumber. The Beast mentally notes that Vision appears to act more robotically, less human than before. Nevertheless,the synthezoid Avenger immediately departs the lab to join the fight against Nefaria. The Vision confronts Nefaria while Thor is stunned. He attempts to attack in his usual method by inserting his intangible hand into Nefaria’s chest and semi-solidifying, thereby causing intense pain. But for the first time ever, the Vision cannot “phase” through Nefaria’s body as it is too super-charged with energy! Realizing the reverse must be true, Nefaria slugs the intangible Vision, sending him reeling! Unknown to any of the combatants, the red-haired “Man in Black” from last issue secretly takes pictures of the fight and waits for a chance to sneak into the mansion (via any of the huge holes ripped into its exterior walls during this battle.) Inside, the Wasp recovers from her injuries (sustained in #164). Jarvis pleads with her to stay out of the fight, but she won’t hear of it. Meanwhile, Nefaria’s Rolls Royce plows through police barricades and crashes by the battle site. The driver is Prof. Sturdy, looking battered and bruised. (A flashback recounts how Sturdy stole the abilities of Power Man, Living Laser and Whirlwind to empower Nefaria, but that Nefaria then betrayed him by killing all his colleagues and attempting to kill Sturdy himself.) Sturdy claims that without his treatments, Nefaria will age rapidly, dying of old age in just a few days. However, Sturdy keels over after uttering this threat. Horrified, Nefaria goes berserk! He flies off to destroy the city and wreak as much havoc as he can before his death. Meanwhile, the Wasp revives the injured team members. She rouses the Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man, but Captain America is too injured to go into battle. He gives Wonder Man to use his shield. They join the battle, as does Iron-Man separately. Together, the team begins wearing the villain down. But the Vision finishes him off by flying several miles up in the air and dropping on top of Nefaria while altering his density to its most massive state. (In Vermont, a seismic station detects the Vision’s blow and mistakes it for an atom bomb dropping on the city!) Nefaria is defeated, but the Avengers don’t take time to breath. Instead, they begin sniping at each other: Scarlet Witch and Iron-Man take Thor to task for what they see as his diva-like last-minute appearances. Captain America blames their struggle with Nefaria on Iron-Man for his weak leadership. Yellowjacket intervenes in the fight to relate some ironic information: Pym managed to talk to Sturdy briefly before he died. He not only told him how to reverse the process that empowered Nefaria, he also confesses that empowering him actually granted Nefaria immortality! In an epilogue, an old man in Vladivostok is about to board a steamer ship bound for America. He carries with him a locket that holds pictures of siblings Wanda (the Scarlet Witch) and Pietro (Quicksilver), whom he seems to think are his children.