The Avengers’ escape is detected almost immediately, and they watch with horror as Hugh Jones launches guided missiles at them. Though they dodge the first few, they are split up, and with more missiles coming they run for cover. In a nearby suburb a couple witness the missiles exploding above the facility and call the cops. Captain America, Iron Man and Patsy Walker end up in a storage area, where they find the Cat’s costume, and after Iron Man recounts what he knows of the heroine, they suggest Patsy wear the costume. Swiftly agreeing Patsy dons the outfit and dubs herself Hellcat. Meanwhile in 1873 Hawkeye, Thor and Moondragon prepare to return home using Kang’s time sphere, but Two-Gun Kid surprises them by asking to come along. Thor and Moondragon are unsure, pointing out that he will find it difficult to adjust to the future Earth, but Hawkeye says he will teach the Kid about his new time, since he plans to quit the Avengers once they get back. In the modern day the Avengers reunite, but are confronted by the Squadron Supreme. Monitoring events from another room, Hugh Jones is informed by Buzz Baxter that the police have turned up to investigate the missile explosions; to hide any evidence of wrongdoing, he hits a switch, sending both the Avengers and Squadron Supreme to the Squadron’s alternate Earth.
Cap and Beast fight Roxxon’s Red Unit; later the Avengers investigate Brand’s Long Island plant but are captured by the Squadron Supreme (Av #141, ’75) and imprisoned in an energy cage (Av #142, ’75). The Cat battles Mal Donalbain (Cat #1, ’72), battles Man- Killer alongside Spider-Man (MTIO #8, ’73), and becomes Tigra (GSC #1, ’74). Patsy recalls growing up in Centerville alongside her friend Hedy, and falling in love with Buzz Baxter. She idolizes super heroes, has a crush on Mr. Fantastic and dreams of becoming a heroine herself (1). She and Hedy manage to attend Mr. Fantastic’s wedding to Sue Storm (FF Ann #3, ’65). When Buzz returns from Vietnam she marries him, but the wedding proves an unhappy one (2). Eventually the army assigns him to be Brand’s security chief, where they meet Hank McCoy (AA #13, ’72). One morning she finds the injured Beast outside her home, and discovers he is McCoy when he talks in his delirium (AA #15, ’72). When he awakes she promises to keep his secret so long as he helps her become a super hero (3). Soon afterwards she divorced Buzz, and waited for Beast to return (4), eventually spotting a newspaper article about his joining the Avengers (Av #139, ’75)
Letters page includes LOCs from future comics writers Peter B. Gillis and Mary Jo Duffy. The story continues in Av #147, ’76; the two interim issues tell an unrelated filler story. Issue includes Marvel Value Stamp B39, depicting Thor’s right arm. To make the chronologies clearer, Patsy’s memories, presented as a single fb in the issue, have been split into their constituent parts in the fb section above. The Patsy Walker comic is revealed to have been fictionalized accounts of the real Patsy’s life in Def #89, ’80; however, Patsy’s memories of Buzz going to Vietnam confirm that at least one issue, PW #123, ’65, recounted a genuine event, that of Buzz enlisting. Someone resembling Hugh Jones is seen greeting Buzz Baxter to the Brand Corporation in rfb to AA #13, ’72, but since Brand was not bought by Roxxon until after Buzz began working there it cannot be Jones; OMIAv #7, ’88 confirms it is a misdrawn Mr. Grant, Buzz’s supervisor.
