It’s a two-front cosmic war and Earth’s heroes are caught in the middle. In Queen in Black #2, Knull, now the King in Bright, is on his way to destroy Earth. Meanwhile, Hela is sitting on the Onyx Throne as she plots to take over the planet for herself. Can the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and the Spider-Friends keep Hela’s symbiote armies at bay AND protect Earth from Knull at the same time?
The Avengers Plot Their Next Move
The heroes are spread out across the globe fighting off Hela’s symbiote legions. Wolverine (Logan) is tearing through a Mentelleronite in rainy Tokyo. But things get weird fast because the Mentelleronites are natural reality-warpers. They warp the local space, causing Logan to flicker through alternate versions of himself, including a cartoonish version and a zombie-like “Skullverine”.
Even though this sensory overload is throwing him for a loop, Logan just toughs it out. He mounts on top of the symbiote-creature with his adamantium claws and yells for Storm (Ororo Munroe). She strikes him and the Mentelleronite with a massive bolt of lightning, turning Wolverine into a living lightning rod that zaps the monster straight into the ground. Once the dust settles, Logan tells Iron Man (Tony Stark) that Tokyo is secure, though the latter tells the X-Vengers to stay put for now.
Back at Avengers Mansion, Iron Man and Cable (Nathan “Nate” Summers) go over their global defense rosters with two strike teams set up: Team Dark and Team Light. These teams are designed to hit Knull and Hela right on their home turfs.
Cable questions why they are jumping straight to “Plan B,” especially since Tony would be fighting Knull in an untested, gray-painted “Knullbuster” armor. Cable compares it to a video game skin, arguing that testing war strategies in a simulation will never compete with actual combat experience. To Cable, Plan B is their best shot at taking out both villains at once. Tony agrees that while it’s quick and elegant, it has too many unknown variables. If they’re losing, it may be their “Hail Mary.” Until then, they go with the strategy they have.
Hela’s Grand Scheme
Still seated on the Onyx Throne, Hela gets a report from her general, Tyr. He expects direct contact from Beta Ray Bill, who he likes to think will listen to reason even though he “was never a true Asgardian.” And yet Beta Ray Bill is left being the only one who remembers Thor. Hela notes that while Thor is dead, there is a mortal with a strange connection to him: Sigurd Jarlson.
Tyr warns her not to get distracted by synchronicities. Besides, Hela has her sights set on a much bigger prize.
She’s annoyed that the Avengers didn’t get distracted by old foes like the Kree and Skrulls. Instead, they sent their strongest forces against the Rigellians and Mentelleronites, her symbiote forces’ terraformers and reality-shapers. It’s taking away from her real goal of carving a planetary Norn Stone straight into the bedrock of Earth. Charged with the power of the Queen in Black, this stone will allow her to conquer Midgard and reopen the Rainbow Bridge to take over the rest of the Nine Realms. When Tyr reminds her about Knull, Hela just smiles and hints she has a “a dagger prepared for his back too.”
New York City and London Under Siege
In London, Captain America (Steve Rogers), Falcon (Sam Wilson), Hercules, and Wonder Man land in Tottenham Court Road to smash through a horde of symbiote-infused Chitauri. Hercules clears the street with a massive sonic clap, while Cap and Falcon use energy shields to blast the symbiotes right off their hosts.
Meanwhile, in New York City, Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Venom (Mary Jane “MJ” Watson) are fighting alongside MJ’s adopted son, Dylan Brock who’s bonded to the Toxin-symbiote and calling himself “Captain Spider.”
MJ points out that the Toxin symbiote is a defensive measure and she wants Dylan taken to the Baxter Building. Dylan refuses to sit out because he has more experience as Venom than she does. MJ doesn’t want to lose another child but Dylan doesn’t want to lose another parent (his father is Eddie Brock, the original Venom).
Deciding that Captain Spider is a dumb name, Dylan declares himself the Chainbreaker. Ready to break everything, he charges in and slashes a symbiote-bonded enemy shouting that it’s now free of Hela’s hive.
Hela Has It Out For Dylan
Right in the middle of the brawl, Hela uses a forgotten Asgardian spell to target Dylan. She invokes Ehwaz, the rune of harmony between beings, a spell that’s so impossible to counter.
MJ explains to Dylan that Hela doesn’t want a “Chainbreaker” like him freeing people. She wants a “Chainmaker” who can help her control any symbiote she wants.
Reinforcements like the Human Torch and Nova show up to help contain the giant Symbiote Intelligence, but things take a terrible turn. Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr) suddenly crashes the scene. Once the leader of the Utopian Kree, he’s fallen on hard times and symbiote-bonded as a Kreebiote. Using his Nega-Band technology, Noh-Varr pulls a Quantum Swap to switch places with Dylan.
When the dust settles, Black Cat is missing. Spider-Man finds MJ staring in horror at a green containment dome of the Symbiote Intelligence where Dylan is trapped inside. Realizing they need to crack open an impossible vault, Spidey notes they’re going to need the best thief in the world to break Dylan out of that mold.
