Avengers, The #53

Issue Details

Synopsis

 "In Battle Joined!" This story continues from X-Men #45. Cyclops has just defeated Quicksilver in battle within Magneto's fortress when the Avengers arrive. Apparently unaware that their former comrade has rejoined Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Avengers attack Cyclops. As he flees, Cyclops wonders what happened when he sent the Angel back to New York to seek the Avengers' aid.  A flashback to several hours earlier depicts the Angel arriving at Avengers Mansion where he is cornered by its security system. After being freed by the Avengers, Angel informed them how Magneto had the X-Men prisoner and that Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch had rejoined the Brotherhood. Agreeing to help Angel free the X-Men, the Avengers returned to the island with him aboard one of their aircraft. Along the way, the Wasp spotted a spy recorder hidden in Angel's wing, making them believe that Angel must have been in league with Magneto and prompting Goliath to restrain the protesting mutant. This was the situation when the Avengers arrived and encountered Cyclops.  As it turns out, Magneto had the Toad plant the device on the Angel and allowed him to escape so that he might bring his other foes, the Avengers, to his base. He hopes to trick them into a battle against the X-Men. While explaining this, Magneto is both physically and verbally abusive toward his loyal minion. The Scarlet Witch sees Magneto slapping him and silently wishes she still had her hex powers so that she could defend him. She dares not reveal that she's lost her abilities as she fears Magneto's reaction if and when he finds out.  Meanwhile, the Avengers are searching the island for Cyclops when Goliath and Hawkeye briefly get into fisticuffs. The Wasp and Black Panther break up the scuffle and get them to focus on their true enemy: Magneto. But spying on the Avengers via a closed-circuit camera, Magneto is pleased to see that his enemies' tempers are already strained. He hopes to use their own internal strife to his advantage. Magneto then uses a special device to amplify his powers and direct them into mentally dominating the X-Men.  Cyclops has found the rest of the imprisoned X-Men and freed them. But just then, they are overwhelmed by Magneto's mind-control device that turns them into rampaging killing machines. They encounter and immediately attack the Avengers. A battle ensues in which the X-Men seem to be triumphing. But the Black Panther realizes that he and his team-mates are unconsciously holding back against the X-Men (whom they know to be heroes) while their opponents are not. The Avengers stop pulling their punches and quickly subdue the X-Men, all of whom are performing sloppily in battle as Magneto's "rage" machine has caused them to forget their meticulous Danger Room training.  As Magneto and his allies watch the events unfold, they are startled by the appearance of the Angel. He reveals that the Avengers had caught onto the ruse concerning the bug. They had put on a ruse of their own, pretending to turn on the Angel so that Magneto would be caught off-guard. Goliath tied up the Angel, but made sure the knots were loose enough for him to easily escape while the Wasp approached him in miniature size, so as not to be seen by the cameras, and she whispered the team's plan into his ear. Even Goliath and Hawkeye's quarrel was a ruse to confuse the master of magnetism.  Magneto holds the Avengers at bay and then once more lashes out at Toad, slapping him as he curtly orders him to activate the base's defense system. The Toad, however, has had enough of Magneto's abusive behavior. He sets the defense system to self-destruct the entire island flees the base along with the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.  Magneto tries to board their escape craft, but his magnetic abilities cannot affect the ship. The Toad reminds him that Magneto, in his hubris, built a non-metallic ship just to prove he could still control it. Magneto desperately grabs hold of the ship as it rises, but Toad steps on his hand, causing him to fall back into the base as the ship flies off.  The Avengers take the X-Men onboard their own ship and escape just as the base explodes, seemingly killing Magneto in the process