As the Exemplars torture Juggernaut aboard their stone plaza, Thor summons Hercules to help fight the mystical beings. Captain America gathers information about the Exemplars’ civilian identities, while Quicksilver reassures Scarlet Witch his Genoshan activities are not to further Magneto’s agenda. Joined by Nova and Spider-Man, the team breach the Exemplars’ flying construct and battle the villains, but all bar Cap are defeated. Noticing the Exemplars’ arrogant behavior is unlike their prior selves’ personalities, Cap appeals to the people buried within the Exemplars’ psyches. Bedlam’s host’s mind breaks free, and her pain and fear rips through her teammates’ minds, allowing their human personalities to surface. The Exemplars flee, leaving their plaza to crumble into the East River. Juggernaut surrenders to police and reporters barrage the Avengers with antagonistic questions, causing Thor to lose his temper and smash their cameras with Mjolnir. Convinced of his inability to deal with an unseen foe twisting his team’s every act into an appearance of wrongdoing, Cap quits the Avengers.
To settle a disagreement about who is strongest, each Octessence member creates a totem containing a fraction of his might to empower a human. Thor battles Tempest (Jug:Ed #1, ’99).
Cap quits but visits in Av #27, ’00 to assist with a roster transition. The mansion’s figurine display depicts Ant-Man (Pym), Black Knight, Cap, Hawkeye, Hulk, Wonder Man, and Wasp. The Exemplars’ civilian identities are revealed. Wasp wears an ensemble similar to the one she wore in Av #69-71, ’69. Greg Schigiel is credited as “movin’ on up.”
