By [ad_1]
As the Avengers go on an especially hi-tech adventure, one of their greatest enemies has just gone through a cosmic upgrade.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Avengers: Tech-On #1, on sale now from Marvel.
As several different Marvel characters scour the Earth for the Infinity Stones, including the Black Cat and the villainous Nighthawk, a familiar foe has resurfaced to menace the Avengers: The Red Skull. And while Earth’s Mightiest Heroes stand together against their common enemy, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, they discover that the Red Skull has located the shards left by the remnants of the Infinity Stones and used them to upgrade himself into his most fearsome form yet, quickly using the reality-bending nature of his omnipotent powers to make the Avengers even more at a disadvantage against him.
During the 2018 crossover event Infinity Wars, the Avengers took on Thanos, who wielded the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet once again. Over the course of the conflict, an omnipotent enemy known as Requiem appeared and apparently killed Thanos and destroyed the Infinity Gauntlet before she was eventually defeated herself. Since then, the Infinity Stones have mysteriously been resurfacing around the Earth but, with the comic book miniseries Avengers Tech-On by Jim Zub, Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz and VC’s Travis Lanham, a commemoration ceremony remembering the sacrifices made during Infinity Wars results in the Red Skull attacking and unveiling his new power upgrade.
This is far from the first time that the Red Skull has enjoyed a cosmic power boost and used his temporarily gained omnipotence to rewrite reality. Long coveting the power of the Cosmic Cube, the Red Skull used its immense powers to create a world where he presided as its supreme ruler in the classic Captain America storyline “Red Glare.” Running through the pages of 1998’s Captain America #14-19 by Mark Waid, Andy Kubert and Lee Weeks, the Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to bring the United States under his will while Captain America lose his trusty vibranium shield. At his lowest point at that time, Steve Rogers eventually defeated the Red Skull and had reality restored though the Skull would continue to seek the Cosmic Cube’s powers for himself as part of his never-ending quest for conquest and unchallenged rule.
Using the shards of the Infinity Stones, the Red Skull is able to transform himself into a monstrous, armored vision of himself and convert anyone that falls under his influence into a mindlessly loyal creature ready to fight to the death for him. And rather than let the Avengers even have the opportunity to challenge him as they assemble against him, the Red Skull dismissively strips away their superpowers as he resumes his plot to conquer the Marvel Universe and reshape it in his image. And even as the Avengers scramble to take on the Red Skull without their powers, the supervillain is taking no chances, constantly one step ahead of them.
While Thanos may be licking his wounds, more of a pressing threat to the Eternals these days than the Avengers, the Red Skull has quickly come out the gate swinging, proving himself just as dangerous, even if the Infinity Stones are currently a fraction of the omnipotent powerhouses that they once were. Rather than start by rewriting reality, the Red Skull has started by giving himself a physical upgrade and expanding the power disparity by stripping the Avengers of their incredible abilities. And while the Avengers aren’t going down without a fight, they are definitely going in outgunned.
About The Author
[ad_2]
