Now learn the lesson you have forever so feared. If you would save all creation...look beyond each single life. Let those who must fall, fall. Mourn the facing of each dead leaf. But do not pause to stop it. Instead, you create anew. Create out of ashes and death. Create out of darkness and chaos. That is how existence fought for life. Remake yourself, Hercules. And rise. 
- —Gaea
Appearing in "Facing Oblivion"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Chaos King (Amatsu-Mikaboshi)
- Athena (Death)
- Chaos King's extraterrestrial god army
- Miek
- Negative Zone creatures
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Thor ⏵
- Glory
- Alpha Flight
- Hulk (Bruce Banner)
- Abomination (Emil Blonsky)
- Dead Avengers
- various unidentified Earthly gods
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Negative Zone
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Facing Oblivion"
Athena has revealed to have been the servant of the Chaos King from the very beginning. Her motivations for assisting him is for her master to succeed in returning the universe to darkness and chaos before order restarts existence to get it right. But she senses how much hesitation the Chaos King has that he can't even find nor defeat Hercules. But the Chaos King does not care, as he begins to torture her.
Meanwhile, Hercules and Amadeus Cho arrive in Hawaii, where the remaining gods of Earth have taken refuge. Hercules is aghast that everyone is willing to give up the fight against the Chaos King, despite Cho's insistence that they can't fight him. Cho then comes up with an idea to move all of Earth into Continuum. However, Hercules refuses to aid him, believing that they should continue fighting. Cho becomes exhausted with his stubbornness and then goes to work with Galactus to find a way into Continuum.
As Balder volunteers to aid Hercules, the latter soon begins to the see Cho's math and fears that his friend may be right. It is then that he is ambushed by Athena.
As Cho and Galactus scramble to complete the device to get into Continuum, the dimensional boundaries with the Negative Zone are breached, as Miek and all the other bug inhabitants spill out, commanded by the Chaos King to kill them. Galactus dispatches his Punisher to aid Cho.
As the Chaos King begins to consume Earth, Gaea tells Hercules that she can give him the means to be a true god. Withe Pele's help, they destroy Hercules before he is reborn anew. With a single gesture, Hercules vaporizes Athena.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- Opening page features events happening elsewhere: Alpha Flight last appeared in Chaos War: Alpha Flight #1. Thor, Hulk, and the Dead Avengers' appearances are concurrent with events in Chaos War: Thor #2, Incredible Hulks #619, and Chaos War: Dead Avengers #2, respectively.