Time to wrap up this team’s first adventure. We open on Spider-Woman yelling at Yelena from the distance that she’s really messing up, that Spider-Woman is a Level 7 SHIELD agent, that they’re the Avengers, and this is Captain America they’re all pointing guns at. Yelena’s goons seem pretty unsure after that, but she just starts shooting.
Whatever’s going on with those shots in panel 1 is not working. It looks like every member of the team has been hit, but none of them have.
All Jess gets out of Yelena is “I work for the same people you work for” before Sauron remembers he’s in this and attacks. He catches Yelena in his fire breath, and she goes running and screaming into the underbrush as Iron Man and Luke take Sauron down. The gang starts thinking about how they’re going to get out of here when Iron Man registers strange activity to the north, so they go check it out. And that’s when they find what appears to be SHIELD agents forcing the local mutates to stripmine Antarctic Vibranium. Everyone is struck silent by this.
The End, everyone’s dead. Just kidding, Tony’s shield saves them. However, most of the mining operation and the people there, SHIELD agents and locals alike, are not so lucky. And then we see the helicarrier lower into view.
It’s exposition time!
Back in the 80s, in Captain America Annual #8, there’s a Cap/Wolverine team-up with a very famous cover. The two do not find working together too easy, and their encounter ends like this, courtesy of Mark Gruenwald, Mike Zeck, John Beatty & Glynis Oliver:
A lot can happen in 20+ years. But wait, this issue has an epilogue:
Secrets and mysteries abound! A lot of stuff to work on in future issues. This storyline seemed as much about proving there were good reasons for this team to exist as bringing them together. And so, here we are in the new world. Which means I’m going to be covering every issue of a team book in addition to Spider-Man’s 3 solo monthlies (4 if you count USM). The glut is real. But the saddest thing is, New Avengers will routinely be the only non-Ultimate place Spider-Man is appearing that isn’t awful…