Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Illuminati
- Black Ant (Eric O'Grady) (Death)
- Hood (Parker Robbins)
- Titania (Mary MacPherran) (Main story and flashback)
- Thunderball (Eliot Franklin)
- Enchantress (Sylvie Lushton) (Impersonates Amora)
Supporting Characters:
- Thor (Jane Foster) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Roxxon guards
- Mad Thinker (Leaves the Illuminati)
Other Characters:
- Defenders (Mentioned)
- Asgardians (Mentioned)
- Thor (Thor Odinson) (Mentioned)
- Odin (Mentioned)
- Luke Cage (Mentioned)
- Iron Fist (Danny Rand) (Mentioned)
- Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom) (Mentioned)
- Wrecking Crew (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- Upstate New York
- Roxxon laboratory
- New York City (Only in flashback)
- Manhattan (Only in flashback)
- Midtown (Only in flashback)
- Times Square (Only in flashback)
- Midtown (Only in flashback)
- Manhattan (Only in flashback)
- Upstate New York
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Asgardia
- Bifrost (Mentioned)
- Lost Dungeons
- Armory (Destroyed)
- Asgard (Mentioned)
- Hell (Mentioned)
Items:
- Mjolnir (Main story and flashback)
- Pym Particles
Synopsis for 1st story
In a Roxxon facility in New Jersey, the Illuminati's plan of theft has hit a snag - Thor, who has shown up responding to alarms. Titania prepares to fight, having fought the hero before, but Hood tries to derail the impending fight by selling a story of how they have turned over a new leaf and become "New Defenders", invading this facility of the notoriously amoral company with the aim of shutting it down. Before Thor can call them on this charade, Roxxon security shows up and starts shooting wildly. Thor prepares to knock out everyone, but Titania grabs her by the leg and throws her through a wall. As the rest of the Illuminati carry on with the break-in and make for the artificial Bifrost, Enchantress warns Titania not to try to lift the hammer. Titania snipes back that this is not the first time she has fought a thunder god.
As Thunderball, Mad Thinker and Black Ant work through Dr Karver's truly subpar control panel, Titania and Thor engage in a high-power battle that awakes new powers in Titania - something the Hood had apparently been waiting for. As the criminals activate the Bifrost, Thor's pulls off a magically-assisted series of rebound shots with Mjolnir, which knock out all the guards. However, instead of the talk she intended, she gets sucker-punched by Titania, who immediately runs away. Thor throws her hammer, hitting the apparatus just after all the villains have escaped. She does have hope for what this encounter entails.
In a reliquary in Asgardia, the Illuminati catch their breath. Titania is puzzled as to the source of her battle-power, but Enchantress urges them to push past this, following her to the armory of Asgardia. Here, they move on to the second part of the plan, with Black Ant unveiling a collection of device which, when activated, grow to massive size and draw all the magical weapons in the room to them. Black Ant then shrinks them down again, now full of weapons for ease of transport. Hood is already rapturous about the prices they will get... but Mad Thinker stuns him.
The scientist explains that betrayal was his plan all along, and, picking up one of the miniaturized containers, chides the others for not predicting this. Hood recovers enough to reject him in turn, calling him a cliché, and Thunderball derides his need to jumpstart his creative juices by stealing other people's designs. Mad Thinker responds by pressing a button on his belt which he says will turn Black Ant into a bomb. He steps through a portal and is gone.
As Black Ant insists he is not a bomb, Hood demands he shrink down to minimize the size of the explosion.
The subsequent explosion punches a hole in the side of the building and is visible from every part of the city...
Solicit Synopsis
• TITANIA VERSUS THOR! 'NUFF SAID!
Notes
- Part of the Mad Thinker's monologue includes a reference to the Fable of The Scorpion and the Frog.
- Part of what makes Hood call him a cliché afterwards is that the exact same fable was mentioned in the Justice League comic just over a year ago.
