The past three issues of Avengers: Armageddon have been a series of escalations. Originally, the Avengers took it upon themselves to stop Red Hulk’s invasion of Latveria. Then the Red Hulk decides to invade a neighboring country, only to be beaten senseless by former Captain America and new Avengers recruit Dave Colton.
Then Red Hulk is kidnapped by Russian Minister Maxim Milyukov and the Winter Guard. Dave goes rogue and decides to dismantle every nuclear weapon on the planet with help from Bucky Barnes. But they failed to make sure Russia was stripped of their nuclear weapons, leaving them free to launch several missiles at the now defenseless United States…
Dreams of a Little Dream of Me
Ever since the Origin Box gave Dave Colton his powers, he’s been having vivid dreams/hallucinations of his late mother, a war protestor. “You have no idea what you’re capable of, Davey. The good you can do with this,” his mother tells him. “You’re just scratching the surface, but if you say the word, it can be forever.”
Dave knows she’s not real and even wonders if she’s the devil trying to trick him. But he can sense the light and goodness she represents and he needs to hold onto that.
Russia Attacks America
Back in the real world, Dave and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) are confronted by Iron Man, The Vision and Captain Marvel at Intrepid Base. Before any fighting can take place, Nick Fury Jr. tells the team that Russia has launched at least ten high-propulsion ICBMs targeting major cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Washington.
Nearly every superhero who’s been part of the Avengers jumps in to stop the nukes. It’s not an easy task since the Russians added countermeasures that shut down superpowers. Rogue and Storm of the X-Men intercept the one heading to Boston. Invisible Woman saves Pittsburgh by crashing the Fantastic Four’s jet into a missile and then using her force fields to hold back the blast.
The incident is resolved rather quickly which I find to be a little underwhelming. There was a lot buildup of Russia being an even bigger threat than Red Hulk in issues #2 and #3. But in this issue, the Russians launching the first strike doesn’t get the focus it needs to make them feel like an actual threat. And we still don’t know why they’re doing this and what they’re planning!
Milyukov Sets a Trap
Meanwhile Bucky tells Dave about a secret Russian missile silo so they go out to Plesetsky District, Russia. On the way, Dave admits he feels like his powers aren’t really his, that his body doesn’t feel like it belongs to him either.
“It’s like a blank template and I’ve made it into me,” Dave explains. “But I wasn’t meant to have it, so there’s something…other…underneath it all. Baked in.” And that something is speaking to Dave, pushing him to “fix the problems” and Dave believes this hidden entity will save him no matter what so that he can save everyone else.
Bucky is understandably creeped out by this and suggests they get Dave checked out once the dust settles. Before Bucky can finish that sentence, the Winter Guard shows up to attack. Bucky realizes it was a trap to lure Dave to Russia and on queue, a blazing Red Hulk makes his presence known.
Yes, that’s right. The so-called patriot Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross is working with the Russians to take down the Avengers. Everyone knew the Avengers would stop the nukes. It was all a ruse to lure the “little soldiers” to Russia. Red Hulk calls Dave an enemy of America whom he should have killed years ago. Captain Marvel arrives at that very moment and calls Ross the traitor as they fight. Red Hulk rejects Carol’s accusations of him being the enemy. Even after everything he’s done, Ross genuinely believes he’s the only one who hasn’t “lost their way” and that he’s saving the world.
Meanwhile, Maxim Milyukov tells Darkstar to keep Red Hulk away from the city. Why? A few panels later, Bucky tells Dave that Red Hulk was turned into a living bomb created with the goal of killing the red-haired soldier. And he’s way too close to Plesetsky District and could annihilate the entire city and kill scores of innocent people. But Dave isn’t strong enough to push Red Hulk back and when he detonates, Dave and an entire city are caught in the blast.
Just Say the Magic Word
Lying on the snow in a coma, Dave has another dream about his mother. He’s sitting with her in a brightly lit kitchen, shedding tears as he tells her how many have died in the blast and that he might be dying as well.
“David, death comes for everyone,” his mother tells him. “But not you. Not yet. This body isn’t you. This body is one of many built for a god by a god.” She encourages him to seek more, to “say no to death” and do everything he can to make things right. When Dave asks how he can do that, she tells him to just say the magic word. Then we get a close-up of a poster about atomic energy on the window, spelled backwards.
Dave manages to summon the strength to say the magic word “kimota.”
And just like that, he’s the new Miracleman.
Out of all the issues from this Armageddon event, #4 of Avengers: Armageddon has the worst pacing. Several different plot lines are either ignored or rushed through. We don’t know what exactly Milyukov is up to or why it requires turning the Red Hulk into a literal ticking time bomb.
Wolverine isn’t mentioned at all, his fate left unknown despite Dave nearly killing him back in issue #3. But we know he’s going to on the new iteration of the team when the new Avengers #1 launches on November 4, 2026. Even implying he might be on death’s door makes the whole thing anti-climactic in the end.
Speaking of Dave, him becoming Miracleman came out of nowhere. There were no hints, no explanation of what is going on since Miracleman hasn’t been a part of the Marvel Universe for decades. I understand Marvel has to save some story for #5 and the upcoming Avengers relaunch. But the execution just made this issue unenjoyable and a bore to read through. I pray this isn’t a sign of what to expect from the grand finale next month.
