Story by Al Ewing
Art by Paco Medina and Juan Vlasco
The story opens in Elysium, where Ares and his son enjoy paradise. But several Summoners arrive and Ares is forced to do battle. However, he is a bit rusty since his death and ends up being summoned away from his son and into the games.
Iron Man, Gamora, and Outlaw have been brought before the Collector and the Maestro and are told of the great contest and its prize: A secret stash of Iso-8! So far, the Collector has nearly entire sphere of the substance, and it's in its rawest form, while the Grandmaster has the rest of it. Ares, encased in crystal, arrives and bursts free. A fight ensues, with Ares, Iron Man, Guillotine, Gamora, and Outlaw attacking the Maestro. Stick observes from afar, disinterested. Eventually, the Maestro wins and the heroes are placed in healing crystals in preparation for tomorrow's match.
On Earth-Prime, White Fox continues her investigation into the death of South Korea's biggest hero, Gun-R, unaware it's about to draw her into the games...
The Grandmaster speaks with his Summoner, and we find out he is forbidden to cull players from the main universe, so he can only choose from alternate earths. We then learn who his Summoner is: Jake Gallows, the Punisher of 2099! And his team is ready for the next match. Venom (from a world where he killed Peter Parker)! Joe Fixit (Grey Hulk)! The Void (a younger Sentry)! Bullseye (an evil Elektra)! and Madame Hydra (a variation of the one from Hickman's SECRET WARRIORS series, the Viper with the squid on her head)!
Meanwhile, in his chambers, we discover that the Maestro has plans of his own devising to steal the Iso-8 stash for himself!
Okay, the set-up is done. The time for the matches is now, or rather next issue, as we will get Ares vs Sentry/Void and other battles. The Maestro and the Punisher 2099 are not only the Summoners, they are the leaders, too, so they will be in combat as well.
This is a great series so far. Interesting choices for players. Seems the Collector and the Grandmaster are trying to match one another by getting like characters. Stick...Elektra/Bullseye. The Maestro...Joe Fixit. Punisher 2099...Outlaw. And so on.
Having White Fox back on Earth-Prime investigating the disappearance and subsequent death of a player is cool because this means more is going on than just the contest. This thread will soon lead to bringing in another set of heroes who will become involved in this great cosmic game
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