Appearing in "This Beachhead Earth"
Featured Characters:
- Avengers (Main story and flashback) (Reassemble)
- ⏴ Vision ⏵ (Main story and flashback) (Rejoins team)
- ⏴ Iron Man (Tony Stark) ⏵
- ⏴ Thor (Odinson) ⏵
- ⏴ Captain America (Steve Rogers) ⏵
- ⏴ Goliath (Clint Barton) ⏵ (Main story and flashback) (Rejoins team)
- ⏴ Quicksilver (Pietro) ⏵ (Main story and flashback) (Rejoins team)
- ⏴ Scarlet Witch (Wanda) ⏵ (Main story and flashback) (Rejoins team)
- ⏴ Ant-Man (Hank Pym) ⏵
- Ant-Man's Ants
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Skrull Empire (Main story and flashback)
- Super-Skrull (Impersonates Carol Danvers)
- Skrull Cows/Fantastic Four (Main story and flashback)
- "The Thing" (Main story and flashback)
- "Human Torch" (Main story and flashback)
- ""Mister Fantastic" (Main story and flashback)
Other Characters:
- Odin (Invoked)
- Ultron-1 (Only in recap)
- Janet van Dyne (Mentioned)
- Lord (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Devil (Invoked)
- Raquel Welch (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Fritz Lang (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Metropolis (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Clark Kent (Mentioned)
- Clark Gable (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Al Feldstein (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Salvador Dalí (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Nash Rambler (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Alien Activities Commission (Only in recap)
- H. Warren Craddock (Only in recap)
- Carol Danvers (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Fantastic Four (Mentioned)
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (Mentioned) (Main story and flashback)
- Thing (Ben Grimm) (Mentioned) (Main story and flashback)
- Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Mentioned) (Main story and flashback)
- Various unnamed Vermontians
- David (Referenced)
Races and Species:
- Synthezoids (Main story and flashback)
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Asgardians
- Ants
- Robots (Main story and recap)
- Horses (Mentioned)
- Fish (Mentioned)
- Skrulls (Main story and recap)
- Kree
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe (Main story and flashback)
- Milky Way (Main story and flashback)
- Solar System (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States (Main story and flashback)
- New York State (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- Manhattan (Main story and recap)
- Midtown (Main story and recap)
- Fifth Avenue (Main story and recap)
- Avengers Mansion (Main story and recap)
- Fifth Avenue (Main story and recap)
- Midtown (Main story and recap)
- Manhattan (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- Vermont (Main story and flashback)
- King's Crossing (Main story and flashback)
- A farm in King's Crossing (Main story and flashback)
- King's Crossing (Main story and flashback)
- New York State (Main story and recap)
- Earth Orbit (Main story and flashback)
- United States (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- Solar System (Main story and flashback)
- Hell (Invoked)
- Kree Galaxy (Mentioned)
- Andromeda Galaxy (Referenced)
- Milky Way (Main story and flashback)
Items:
- Captain America's Shield
- Iron Man Armor Model 3
- Mjolnir
- Ant-Man's Suit and Helmet
- Goliath's Suit (Main story and flashback)
- Captain Marvel's Suit
- Uni-Band
- Omni-Wave Projector (First appearance)
- Pym Particles (Mentioned)
Vehicles:
- Quinjet (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Skrull Saucers
Synopsis for "This Beachhead Earth"
Captain America, Thor and Iron Man are in Avengers Mansion when the Vision bursts in and passes out. Henry Pym conveniently arrives in the guise of Ant Man in time to repair him by shrinking down to microscopic size and entering his inert form. Battling through the Vision's high-tech immune system, the miniature Avenger revives the synthezoid.
After Ant-Man has departed, the Vision explains to them the events that led up to his arrival: The battle in the Arctic, the insurgency in alien hysteria, H. Warren Craddock's government hearings and finally the fact that Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor had ordered the Avengers to disband. The Big Three heroes are shocked to hear the last part as they did not in fact issue such a proclamation.
The Vision continues his story: after being ordered to disband, Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Goliath left to meet up with Captain Marvel and soon found themselves battling three cows that shape changed into Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, and the Human Torch. The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were captured but the Vision escaped thanks to his density changing powers. As the Vision finishes explaining his story, the Avengers vow to rescue their friends and Mar-Vell.
At the farm, Captain Marvel and Carol Danvers are being held prisoner by the Skrulls. They watch helplessly on the monitors as the Skrulls disguise themselves as members of the Fantastic Four to stalk the remaining uncaptured Avengers: Goliath and Rick Jones. The pair is then defeated by the Skrull.
Inside the Skrull’s ship (hidden within the barn), they explain that they were part of the first Skrull invasion force to visit Earth but were defeated by the then recently formed Fantastic Four and hypnotized into believing they were cows. Just then, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and the Vision arrive at the farm to rescue their friends.
While the Skrull engage the arriving Avengers, Mar-Vell frees himself and Carol. While the Avengers battle the Skrull (who assume the forms of the Fantastic Four’s members) and rescue Goliath and Rick, Mar-Vell begins to construct an Omni-Wave projector, a Kree communication device that can also be used as a devastating weapon. However, certain remarks from “Carol” tip-off Mar-Vell that something is not right. He quickly destroys the Omni-Wave and "Carol" reveals himself to be the Super-Skrull in disguise!
The Super Skrull defeats Mar-Vell and sets the ship to blast off. The Avengers, having just defeated their Skrull opponents, attempt to stop the ship from escaping but fail. The Super Skrull escapes...with Mar-Vell, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch as his prisoners.
The story is continued in the next issue.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- This issue is divided into three parts, each with their own story title. They are:
- This Beachhead Earth (Part one, pages 1-4)
- A Journey to the Center of the Android! (Part two, pages 5-22)
- War of the Weirds! (Part three, pages 23-34)
- As with the other issues from this storyline, the titles are homages to science-fiction novels or films. These titles refer to Raymond F. Jones' "This Island Earth," Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth," and H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."
Trivia
- Ant-Man's adventure inside the Vision is an homage to the 1966 movie "Fantastic Voyage" which is about an experimental submarine and its crew being shrunk down to microscopic size and inserted in a human in order to perform surgery. In the movie, the sub and its crew are attacked by antibodies, similar to what Ant-Man endures here.
- John Buscema drew the distinctive cover box art of the Vision for this issue which will be displayed consecutively until Avengers #152.