After the death of Doctor Doom left the European country of Latveria without a ruler, American General Thaddeus Ross went rogue and seized it for himself as the Red Hulk. He also beats Steve Rogers (Captain America) into a coma for good measure, angering the superhero community, particularly Sam Wilson (the other Captain America/The Falcon), Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) and Iron Man (Tony Stark).
In Avengers: Armageddon #1, Ross renames Latveria then proceeds to invade neighboring country Symkaria under the delusional assumption that he’s “spreading democracy” across the globe. Defying orders from the United Nations to do nothing and let regular people save the day, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Namor, Wolverine and Winter Soldier travel to Symkaria to stop Ross. Joining them is David Colton, a disgraced 21st-century Captain America who gained a power boost from a mysterious Origin Box in Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon. Colton now has strength, flight and durability that puts him on par with the Sentry. But his growing instability and volatile temper makes him a dangerous wild card.
Okay, now let’s get into Avengers: Armageddon #2
The issue starts with Ross and his army of Hulks pushing further into Symkaria, with the Avengers and the Fantastic Four showing up to stop him. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Riani is on the phone with Russian Minister Milyukov. She tries to convince him to join the coalition against Ross but brushes her off, saying his country needs to focus on protecting its own borders first. As soon as he hangs up on Riani, Milyukov meets with the Winter Guard, Russia’s own team of superpowered soldiers whom we’ll revisit later.
Back to fighting at hand, Ross is cocky enough to think he can handle the heroes until David Colton slams. Turns out that the prediction machine Ross is using never saw Colton coming. He’s also blindsided by Colton’s new abilities, which is another thing Doom’s machine failed to register. It’s possible that the blind spot is because Colton’s power boost comes from an object originating from Earth-6160, a reality outside the device’s range.
Colton launches Ross through a mountain with one hit so Ross drags the fight into Kronlia, a city of 300,000. He assumes that Colton will hold back to prevent civilian casualties. But Colton goes all-out, leveling buildings while innocent people are caught in the crossfire. Captain Marvel and Iron Man arrive in Kronlia to pull survivors from the wreckage.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Avengers and Fantastic Four succeed in subduing Ross’ Hulk army but Black Panther is the first to realize that something is wrong. These soldiers are weaker than a typical Hulk and they lack the ability to heal from their injuries, but the issue doesn’t explain why just yet.
During their vicious brawl, Ross criticizes Colton for going against his promise of “spreading democracy,” throwing the man’s old ideals right back at him. Colton responds to these by catching Ross’ fist mid-punch, interrupting the Red Hulk’s rant. He then slams Ross into a crater in the middle of a forest where he proceeds to beat Ross senseless. Colton doesn’t stop until Bucky points a gun at him just as a bloody, unconscious Ross reverts back to his human form.
Colton is about to deliver the killing blow until Stark shoves him out of the way. He chews Colton out for his recklessness and reminds him that none of the heroes here are in a position to decide whether Ross lives or dies. Colton’s rebuttal is to rip the reactor out of Stark’s chest, then rips into Stark, Bucky, and Carol Danvers for endangering civilians by saving people like Ross.
“People died,” Colton says in regards to the lives lost in Kronlia. “It’s war. It’s unfortunate and I’ll carry those deaths with me, the same as I did before. But you know what? More will keep dying because you let Ross live.”
“You’re weak. God gave you incredible abilities and yet you’re all still so damned weak. People with powers and big brains playing at helping people. You should be ashamed,” Colton says before flying off.
Where do things stand now?
Symkaria is ironically in a worse position now than it was when Ross was invading. The Hulk army has been neutralized but dozens of innocent people are dead. Hospitals are at full capacity, forcing The Vision and Invisible Woman to send injured patients to neighboring cities and everyone waits for medical aid from Wakanda to arrive. Countless individuals have lost their homes, a loved one, or both. David Colton has gone rogue and nobody knows where he could have 6.
Oh, and Ross is missing.
Unbeknownst to our heroes, the Winter Guard was able to extract Ross and leave Symkaria without anyone realizing it. But what does Milyukov want with the Red Hulk?
Also, did I mention that the U.N. is furious with the heroes?
As Iron Man enters Ross’s old base, one soldier skewers him by accusing Stark and his allies of “looking for glory.” He also points out that despite annihilating the edge the U.N. had in the against Ross, Stark is still a free man, a privilege that would never be granted to a regular soldier if they were in Stark’s shoes. All Stark can say is that whatever that soldier is feeling towards him, the rest of the Avengers and Fantastic Four, they’re “feeling it ten times worse.”
Once Stark is inside Ross’ tent, he has his AI assistant F.R.I.D.A.Y. to scan the area. She finds three laptops, a portable Gamma-radiation, and an unknown object giving off what appears to be multiversal energy.
She theorizes it could be a prognostication machine that can let the user see into the future. The issue ends with Stark activating the device, curious on what Ross could have seen.
