The Avengers #256

An innocent shipwreck near Antarctica plunges the Avengers into a crisis that could destroy the Savage Land! A shocker from start to finish!

Summary

This issue starts with the Greek God of the Sun Apollo flying over traffic in New York in his golden carriage and then landing down on the Avengers's Mansion yard, where his brother Hercules is waiting for him. Then Hercules said he had though Zeus would send Hermes instead of him to what Apollo replies that Hermes was busy. Apollo is here to give Hercules his new clothes made in Olympus by the hands of Hephaestus himself. Hercules says to Apollo that he had already destroyed the three suits the American Army had loaned to him since his old Greek suit was destroyed by the Blood Brothers in Avengers #252. Then Hercules presents Apollo to Jarvis, who scared about the God ask if he should give water to the horses. Apollo says it is better not because they are carnivorous.

Meanwhile downstairs the Black Knight is practicing his sword skills with a robot in the training room. He is almost defeated but manages to dodge the robot's blows and then turn it off by pressing a button in its chin with his sword's tip. Wasp was watching him and now congrats her colleague saying he is a valuable members to the Avengers both as a swordsman and a scientist. Dane hasn't known yet about Janet's disengagement with Hank Pym and when she told him he thinks that's happen a lot of changes in the Avengers during his absence. Wasp leaves and meets Starfox in the elevator and reacts strange to him. Starfox asks her what he had done, because since their battle against Maelstrom ( Avengers #250) she is avoiding him. Janet says to him that because of his powers of manipulate people around she never knows when he is using it or not on her or in their friends.

Starfox promises to her not to use his powers on his friends unless they ask to. Then they meet Apollo and Hercules and Janet praises Hercules's new suite, especially because of his chest. After that Apollo leaves in his carriage.

Someone is lurking the Avengers from one of the buildings around and they get frightened by the flying horses. Then Captain America arrives in his motorcycle and enters the Mansion using a control that opens its walls. The two guys say they have to wait, because their source said the Avengers have an important meeting today and they have to act just when it is finished.

The meeting is about choosing a new leader for the Avengers now that Vision isn't with them anymore. Starfox quickly replies that Wasp should continue to be their leader as she was before Vision assumed. Captain America agrees and ask Hercules, who also agrees and then Wasp accept her old role. She prompt proposes that Dark Knight become an active member in the place of Scarlet Witch, who is gone with Vision. Dane thinks about Vision's last break out, Hercules thinks about the beauty and the power of Scarlet Witch and Captain America thinks that Captain Marvel is late but she had never been late to a meeting before.

Captain Marvel is actually in the space at the spaceship Sanctuary II as a hostage of Skunge. She can't assumes her spectral form since they left, but then she concentrates and her power is back. She uses it to make an hologram of herself and deceives a robot in the ship. Skunge and his partner wants Monica to be a space pirate with them, but she denies again to their proposal.

Back to Earth the meeting is over as they are talking about Vision's last break out and what he had done to computers all over the World. The Government could be still investigating it, but there is nothing more they can do about it. Suddenly the alarm goes off and they leave the mansion in their Quinjet. The two guys in the ambush are amazed again as the Avengers escape them by the roof. One of them call someone and ask them to be prepared.

The Avengers had received a call from the SHIELD to investigate a ship wreckage with a secret cargo in the South Atlantic. When they reach the location a huge ship is destroyed at an island shore and there is only one survivor left lying down at the beach. Captain America tries to talk to him, but he is hallucinating. After a sedative he says it had happened so fast - their secret cargo, something about Tora Operation, started to glow in the basement and then the ship started to spinning, increasingly faster and some of the crew was stroke out to the ocean. Then the ship enters a giant swirl and a huge hand came out of the swirl and hit the ship in the middle, breaking into peaces like a little toy. After that speech the sailor dies. Captain America promises he would be avenged.

Minutes later the Avengers take off in their Quinjet using their radar to follow the destruction trail left by the strange monster who had attacked the ship. The trail takes them down, but there is nothing to the South but Antarctica. Washington send them a message saying nothing more than that the Tora Operation is about something named Terminus. Starfox had already heard about it as a legend in his planet on some giant world pirate. Captain America also remembers about that name when Vision said something about it but the Government had sent the Fantastic Four after it. Wasp is trying to reach the Fantastic Four but in vain, it is like the Baxter Building is out of the Earth (it really happened in Fantastic Four #278 and #279).

Then the Avengers sight a trail of footage in the snow. It lead them to a destroyed polar research station with survivors. A woman tells Wasp and the others that a giant suddenly entered the base and smashed everything out from nowhere. Then Starfox appears saying he had found a new trail in the other side of the base leading to mountains in the South. Hearing that one of the researchers scream that there is a hidden place, the Savage Land, with forests and animals from an older time. They even have an exploring team in there.

Meanwhile in the Savage Land that team is with Ka-Zar and Zabu exploring the wild animals, when a huge dinosaurs stampede starts. It happened because of a tremor, caused by no one but Terminus himself, a giant robot like creature. He appears saying he is their master and they have to do everything he ask them!