Avengers, The #2

Issue Details

Synopsis

THE AVENGERS BATTLE... THE SPACE PHANTOM Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk are awaiting Ant-Man and the Wasp in Tony Stark's library so they can begin their meeting. There is already tension among the ranks of this new super-team as Thor and Hulk bicker. Before anything can come of it, Ant-Man and the Wasp make a sudden entrance, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Ant-Man, (now using the name Giant-Man) explains by showing the team his new size-changing capsules.  Elsewhere, the eerie Space Phantom arrives on Earth, under the guise of a fragment of meteorite. He plans to destroy the Avengers so that his race can invade the planet. He takes the appearance of a passerby, sending him to Limbo.   Later, the Space Phantom (under the guise of the passerby) approaches the Avengers Mansion. He is spotted by the team and the Hulk goes to investigate. The man takes the Hulk off-guard and assumes his form, sending him to Limbo in place of the man. The Phantom (this time under the guise of the Hulk) returns to the team and taunts Iron Man and Thor, causing a miniature brawl and heightening the tensions in the team before leaving. Outside, he spots the man he replaced earlier trying to warn everybody and decides to cause more havoc as the Hulk. "The Hulk" is approached by his friend Rick Jones, who convinces him to escape before the police arrive. Rick realizes something is wrong with the way "Hulk" is acting and the Phantom reveals himself, before leaving. He arrives at one of Tony Stark's operations plants and, still posing as the Hulk, destroys a new experimental anti-missile defense weapon. Iron Man is told the news and faces off against the "Hulk". Iron Man proves to be too much for him however and the Phantom flees by taking the form of a passing wasp, leaving a confused and dazed Hulk behind. Iron Man and the Hulk continue to battle.   Meanwhile, Rick Jones communicates with Giant-Man and explains the situation to the Wasp and him. They catch up with Iron Man and Hulk and break up the fight. The Phantom, still in the form of a wasp, attacks the Wasp and flees to a nearby factory. After aiding the Wasp, Giant-Man is taken by surprise by the Space Phantom and replaced. This time the Wasp and the Hulk saw it happen and know this "Giant-Man" is fake. They battle and Iron Man eventually catches up only to be replaced. Hulk catches the Space Phantom in the act yet again and the newly-returned Giant-Man teams up with the Hulk to fight the fake "Iron Man".   Across town, it is revealed that the Wasp left to search for Thor. She finds him with the help of Dr. Donald Blake and the duo race back to the factory to assist the rest of the team. The Wasp shrinks down and damages the mechanism of the Iron Man suit and Thor creates a thunderstorm, causing the armor to rust. In a final desperate attempt to succeed, the Space Phantom decides to take Thor's form. Unfortunately for the Phantom his power only works on mortal beings and it backfires, sending him to Limbo instead. After the battle, the Hulk expresses his sadness at his recent treatment in the team and decides to quit.