Investigating the continuing disappearance of past and present Avengers, Iron Man assembles Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Whizzer, Black Widow and Hercules, who impatiently damages an airport terminal and wrecks a helicopter en route to the meeting. Iron Man seeks SHIELD’s technological aid, but Nick Fury refuses due to Gyrich’s recent suspension of the team’s security privileges. Meanwhile, Korvac spies on the Avengers and their allies the Guardians of the Galaxy, still protecting young Vance Astrovik. Satisfied that the heroes are unaware of his location and his universal domination agenda, Korvac also spies on various major powers that have not yet detected him. Ironically, Korvac’s new wife Carina is a spy, and nearly sends out a psychic message regarding his plans, but stops herself in mid-effort because she loves him and has started to believe in his cause. Detecting her psychic energies, Korvac angrily questions her, but quickly determines she is loyal. During the search for the missing Avengers, lovers Black Widow and Hercules discuss mortality, leaving the former uneasy as she considers how the latter will long outlive her. The elderly Whizzer says he is retiring from heroics and departs. While Hawkeye tries to cheer up Scarlet Witch regarding her missing brother and husband, Wonder Man is baffled when a returning Thor treats him like a stranger, and Black Panther suggests using the Guardians’ Drydock technology to track the vanishing Avengers. Moments later, the Panther, Yellowjacket, Scarlet Witch and Wonder Man all disappear. The Guardians’ Vance Astro determines that they have been teleported away by a construct orbiting Earth, so Astro teleports remaining Avengers Thor, Iron Man, Wasp & Hawkeye into that construct. Inside they find their old foe the Collector, who has added Black Widow, Captain Marvel and Hercules to his captives, boasting that his Avengers collection is complete.
With this issue’s reference to them as “old Avengers” and their attending a team meeting in that capacity, longtime Avengers associates Captain Marvel and Whizzer are implicitly identified as honorary members, a status later confirmed in various editions of OHMU (though some editions mistakenly classify Mar-Vell’s status as posthumous, incorrectly suggesting he held no Avengers status prior to his death). The Collector’s statements in this issue and next about having a full set of Avengers are an exaggeration, since he has yet to capture Hulk, Black Knight, Mantis, Beast or Hellcat, not to mention the late Swordsman and honorary members Rick Jones, Whizzer and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Thor fails to recognize Wonder Man because all their prior meetings since Wonder Man’s resurrection were facilitated by Collector’s pulling Thor out of time; Thor’s memory of those encounters has been wiped.
