The Avengers have a new headquarters - and it may even count as a new member of the team. As of October 11's Avengers #6, the current version of the team takes action to defeat their new enemies the Ashen Combine, gaining a new base of operations and even a new ally in the process.
Spoilers ahead for Avengers #6
Avengers #6 by writer Jed MacKay, artist Ivan Fiorelli, colorist Federico Blee, and letterer Cory Petit kicks off where last issue left off, with the Avengers about to be overcome by the Ashen Combine, with each member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes facing off against a different member of the enemy group.
However, one by one, the Avengers start to overcome the Ashen Combine, using their own unique abilities - and even their flaws - to beat them.
Thor knocks all of Idol Alabaster's brainwashed "worshipers" unconscious, neutralizing its divine power. Iron Man uses the capabilities of his new stealth armor to trick Citysmith into a hand-to-hand fight. Captain Marvel pumps Lord Ennui so full of cosmic energy he can't absorb anymore. Vision tricks Meridian Diadem into absorbing the dormant Ultron code that lies in his programming. And Scarlet Witch uses her reality warping abilities to teleport The Dead to Antarctica where it cannot feed on the dead that lie in the cemeteries of populated areas.
Finally, with all the Ashen Combine defeated, Captain America and Black Panther activate their plan in the Ashen Combine's sentient headquarters, the Impossible City. As the Ashen Combine fall, Black Panther destroys part of the shell built around the Impossible City with explosives, freeing it from the Ashen Combine's control.
The Impossible City then returns the Ashen Combine to captivity in its core, where it also reveals to the Avengers that the villains were actually its prisoners, captured and imprisoned there by a mysterious group of heroes that the City cannot fully remember.
Setting the mystery aside, the Avengers decide to stay on the Impossible City, making it their new headquarters, with the City's own consent and input as it decides it would like to join the team. This makes the Impossible City the Avengers new headquarters, floating far above the Earth, while the city's sentience technically makes it a member of the team in addition to their new base.
Interestingly enough, there's an obvious comparison to be made between the Avengers' new headquarters, which floats high above the Earth, and the classic Justice League Satellite headquarters which has featured in the team's adventures off-and-on for decades.
So who are the mysterious heroes who previously defeated the Ashen Combine? We're still not sure, but thanks to the story's connection to the Kang-centric Timeless one-shot, we're guessing it could even be a future incarnation of the Avengers themselves.
We'll likely learn more when Avengers #7 arrives on November 1.
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