Brian Reed (New Avengers Illuminati) and Aaron Lopresti (Incredible Hulk) bring the Puppet Master saga to an explosive conclusion! In the heart of South America, Ms. Marvel goes toe-to-toe with a giant as she tries to put an end to Puppet Master's final grab at glory – while facing the possibility of losing one of the people she cares most about in the world! Death, destruction and special guest star Stature of the Young Avengers, all in this issue! Dusk does not appear in this issue, with the implication being that she was sold off-panel by Puppet Master.
In Puerto Maravilla, Chile, Ms. Marvel finds herself captive of a semi-retired Phillip Masters AKA Puppet Master. He has crafted a puppet in her likeness, but its hold over her is brief. Again, Ms. Marvel experiences an inexplicable reboot – turning blue and breaking Masters' control over her mind and body.
Chasing the now-fleeing villain, Ms. Marvel bursts into a room full of mannequin-like women, all under Puppet Master's control. Before she can make a move to free them, the massive fist of a giant-sized Stature breaks through the wall to pluck Ms. Marvel out of the room.
Agent Sum, Sleepwalker, and Machine Man (with a captive, mind-controlled Arana in tow) watch helplessly from the grounds of Puppet Master's estate as Stature tosses Ms. Marvel across the city. After dodging a house flung by Stature, Ms. Marvel manages to subdue her opponent with a flying uppercut.
Sleepwalker suddenly disappears from the battleground, as Rick Sheridan awakens back at the SHIELD minicarrier. Without Sleepwalker to help contain her, the puppeteered Arana breaks free and draws a machete on Ms. Marvel.
Puppet Master commands Arana to kill, but she resists – weakly saying, “I won't kill my mother.”
Carol is floored by the revelation that Arana thinks of her as a mother. She orders Agent Sum and Machine Man to return Arana to the safety of the minicarrier, and launches in pursuit of Puppet Master. Ms. Marvel smashes her way back into the house and breaks the puppet of a police woman, who she orders to smash all of the statues and evacuate the house.
Ms. Marvel confronts Puppet Master in his study, where he threatens to self-destruct his entire estate. Ms. Marvel has the upper hand, but she still allows him to press the destruct button – sending the house up in a mushroom cloud.
Ms. Marvel survives without a scratch
Half a day later, Beast calls Carol with the results of his latest battery of tests. Not only has she acquired a healing factor beyond Wolverine's, but the blip his noticed on his original scan was a ping – a tiny packet of data transmitted from Carol's body into outer space.
Suddenly, Carol is picking up a matching signal from low Earth orbit. Seconds later, an explosion rocks the minicarrier... Cru has returned.
Log in to comment