Hey guys! As the title suggests this is my breakdown for Avengers Vol. 1. While some might think I am late to the game, it was important for me to start from a good starting point. I could go back further since a lot of this comic rests on the events in Marvel Legacy. This is still a fair starting point as it is the beginning of the new Marvel Fresh Start. That being said, a lot of these are not origin stories. If you want to see that then I would suggest going back a little further but will do my best to explain it as we go.
So just some back story before we jump in. In Marvel Legacy there were several things that happened in order to set up this comic. Probably the most significant was the end of the Avengers. At the beginning of this comic they no longer exist. Tony spent time in a coma and nearly died, Steve spent some time as a Hydra agent and, Thor lost Mjolnir with Asgard was destroyed by Mangog. There was also the set up for the first hero group to grace Earth a million years ago but more on that in a minute.
This Volume is broken into six issues as shown above and the bases of the story is the origin of existence on earth and then how it relates to these celestial hosts coming to Earth/Midgard. Of course, Odin is at the beginning of the story since he is one of the longest living characters and this is really a clean up of the mess he started about a million years ago with that original stone age Avengers group I already mentioned.
The group consist of a Young Odin, Phoenix Force, the original Black Panther, Starbrand looking like a Hulk here, one of the first Iron Fist, a Ghost Rider who rides is a mammoth, and then Agamotto, the original Sorcerer Supreme.
Odin in the fist issue summons T'Challa to tell him about this ancient group when the celestial they fought and buried gets dug up by none other than Loki. He not put the burden of fixing this mistake on Black Panther but also asks him to kill Loki, something that him nor Thor have ever had the heart to do.
Black Panther hires a group of Archaeologist to look into this supposed Celestial buried under Africa and when the group all dies a mysterious death, he enlists the help of Dr. Strange. He recognizes the magic that once held the Celestial as Agamotto’s magic and thinks that his recent fight with the Empirikul where Magic was wiped out allowed for this thing to be free. Digging even further they come upon what is only to describe as an egg nest that is not becoming active at the center of the Earth.
In Odin’s memories we learn more about this first fight with the Celestial that was buried here. It came to earth about a million years ago and from their argument we know that it was out of its mind. Desperate and acting in self defense they killed the Celestial only to bring forth the first host. We learn later how that ended.
Then to present time Manhattan, we have the meeting of the ultimate trio, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor who talk passionately about wanting to get the Avengers back together with Tony being against this as he was the one that recently almost died. But, as he is passionately arguing this he is alerted to an attack. Call in Captain Marvel, who has been working at Alpha Station, and we see that these portals have opened in the sky and giant dead Celestials are coming out of them and crashing to earth.
Meanwhile, we have two other characters make their appearance separately. Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk is just trying to not Hulk out when she comes across a dead Celestial.
Robbie Reyes, the newly minted Ghost rider is also struggling with what he has become. There is more to this story in the Marvel Legacy #1 issue so go check that out of you want.
These two end up meeting and not exactly seeing eye to eye until they realize that they have a common enemy in these bugs. Robbie also notices that it seems that She-Hulk can hear or understand what is happening. That is because she is hearing Loki’s monologue we see happening here as he makes his appearance know. After fighting the bug, Jennifer decides that she is going to head to Hell, with Ghost Rider following.
There they find Black Panther and Dr. Strange fighting the bugs that have been erupting as they are attracted to the Celestials. She-Hulk and Ghost Rider show just in time to save them from being overrun.
Back to the surface, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Captain Marvel are all working together to fight the Final Host that has arrived with Loki. Tony mentions calling in the help of Jean Grey or the Eternals hoping that they would be able to communicate with the Celestials. Instead, Captain Marvel comes up with the plan to use these Omega Level Warp grenade to suck the Celestials to the sun. Captain America though gets trapped by a Celestial, so they are reluctant to sent him to the Sun as well. Instead, Loki takes the grenades and is revealing his plan, Cap then hits the grenades sacrificing himself to kill the Celestials.
It doesn’t end there though. Tony and Carol argue about how this happened in the first place when the crew from the center of the earth show in the Ghost rider’s car. Probably, my favorite part of this entire volume is that they shoved She-Hulk in the trunk.
From here, they come with the part of the plan where they split up looking for intel. Captain Marvel can confirm that according to Alpha Flight, Captain America is alive with Loki and the Celestials but have disappeared off the radar. I’ll talk about all that in a moment.
So, Tony basically tells Ghost Rider to get lost. Robbie does in a way, but not before grabbing a piece of one of the Celestials. Dr. Strange and Black Panther though recognize him from the cave paintings where the original celestial was located but agree that it is best to let him figure out, he is important on his own.
From this point, Dr. Strange and Tony Stark head to talk with the Eternals. Here they find them all dead. If you don’t know much about the Eternals, the legend or story there is that they were left by Celestials to guard men and it was the Celestials involvement that led to the creation of super humans and mutants. According to Ikarus, the one remaining living Eternal, that was all a lie. There is something more going on that we learn later from Loki. The important part from these meeting is the words that Ikarus gives to Tony. He says to stop Loki and the Final Host from unleashing the Horde, and that only the Uni-mind can stop them.
Thor and She-Hulk go to Old Argard together to talk to Odin and get to the bottom of what is happening once and for all. He skims over the story of the Stone-Age Avengers but gives the news that any chance of beating the Final Host is unlikely. However, he does have one weapon locked away. After almost freezing to death and getting a nice warming kiss from She-Hulk they get the egg that contains the blood of Ymir, Father of the Frost Giants.
So, for all the answers, or at least most of them. Loki has Captain America at the Sun, then teleports them all to the North Pole. Steve tried to reason with Loki, but we all know that that was never going to happen. Loki explains to Steve that one of the Celestials with him was the one that Odin and the Stone-Age Avengers had trapped in the ground. He then goes on to tell him that this was not the first Celestial to come to the Earth, like Odin and the others thought. The original is the one he shows Cap at the North Pole, the Progenitor, or Alpha Celestial. He came to Earth FOUR BILLION years ago when the Earth was a shapeless ball after getting infected by the Horde. He came here to die. From his death life on Earth was created.
Then about a million years ago, the second Celestial came. Now, this one happens to be the Celestial Partner of the first and was here looking for him but became infected by the Horde as well. This is the one that the Stone-Agers buried. Now that two Celestials are missing this brings in the First Host to investigate what is going on. However, they take one look and skedaddle out of there leaving behind the Celestial and the Horde.
At this point in the story telling there is an interruption in the form of Ghost Rider who chains up Loki, throws him in the trunk of his Charger, and high tails it out of there with the Final Host coming up behind them.
So, let’s pause to regroup here. There are bugs coming from the earth that attack and kill Celestials. They are also a threat to pretty much everything else. Black Panther and Captain Marvel are working on a solution for that at Alpha Station. Iron Man has called in his suit from Mars that is a giant. Thor and She-Hulk return with the blood of Ymir and then Ghost Rider rolls up with Cap in his car and Loki in the truck. Not to mention the Final Host tailing them.
The plan here is to have Captain Marvel and Black Panther fight the bugs since they were able to make the physiology of their suit to match the Horde. Basically, they scienced that. Thor and She-Hulk join Iron Man in fighting the Final Host since they eat/drink the blood of Ymir making them giants as well. The Ghost Rider also makes himself large by making one of the dead Celestials his ride. We have a flaming skull head Celestial.
While this seems like a great plan and things are going well for a moment. They still do not have the power level of a Celestial let alone several Celestials. Especially, now that the dead Celestials are coming to life with the Horde in them. Gross, I know. Iron Man gets his arm cut off, Robbie has to escape as well, Thor and She-Hulk shrink eventually.
So, while that helped for a while. They need more. This is when they work out the big mystery left. Why did the First Host leave Earth when there was an injured Celestial and the Horde here to brew? Simple, humans were the product of the infection that killed the Alpha Celestial. So, like with modern medicine, we can then be used as a Vaccine. Tony remembers what Ikarus told. That they will need to use the Uni-Mind which will combine their powers making them the ultimate human.
This works as the solution to the Final Host stopping them form destroying the world. Loki takes the defeat in stride, glad that he can bring the Avengers back together.
And that about sums up this breakdown of Avengers Vol. 1 – The Final Host.
Hope you guys enjoyed this volume as much as I did. Personally, I think that the stand out character here more than anyone was Ghost Rider, but it was also nice to see the main trio in action together again. If you want to read this for yourself here is a link to purchase this on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Fri69N
Next Monday, I will be moving to Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla so make sure you check that out and visit to see that!