Beginning in a Cold Opening, The Enchantress and Executioner attack Karnilla, the Norn Queen in her stronghold. Although she is a powerful fighter in her own right, she is attacked from behind by the Gray Gargoyle who turns her to stone. The trio then recover the legendary Norn Stones of Norse mythology for the Masters of Evil but Gray Gargoyle did not survive the encounter.
It seems Zemo and enchantress haven't been idle since their last defeat, and have added two new members to their ranks: Living Laser and Chemistro, and Zemo proclaims that this is the day they become The Masters of Earth.
Meanwhile, there is joy in the Avengers Mansion as Stark and T'Challa unveil an device they have been working on that should be able to open portals between dimensions, allowing Thor to return to Asgard. The catch is that they have to use it somewhere where the veil between worlds is already weak. Cap pipes up that It's Been Done. He then recounts the story of how he and Bucky stopped HYDRA from opening a portal and summoning mythological monsters to Earth and T'Challa reasons that the old castle would be an excellent place to test out the device. Suddenly, JARVIS starts detecting flares of dimensional energy at each of eight such points across the world, aside from one that is inside an active volcano. Seven points, seven Avengers. No problem.
Why seven? Hank is still feeling incredibly guilty after what happened last episode, and still thinks he no longer belongs on the team. Wasp tries to reassure him that Thor's back and things worked out in the end, but Hank reasons that he's strayed too far from what he once believed in and appears to leave on ant back.
Of course, this is all a trap by the Masters of Evil to divide the Avengers and it worked perfectly. Wasp discovers one of the Norn Stones at her location and is ambushed by Abomination. Ditto Iron Man with the Living Laser. Cap battles the Crimson Dynamo and Hawkeye gets to go up against Chemistro. At his objective, Black Panther finds Wonder Man and tries to reason with him again, offering to help him with Wakandan science. Executioner keeps the Hulk busy. Finally, Thor is met by Baron Zemo and the Enchantress, who brought the Norn Stones to Earth in order to tear down the veil. In fact, it has already begun. Over the course of their fights, Norse creatures begin to appear all over the world as the nine realms merge together.
However, there are greater plots at work, as Zemo betrays the enchantress, hoping to claim the creatures of the 9 realms for his own army.
The Avengers gradually rally and repel their respective foes. Hulk tosses the executioner away, claiming his ax, Cap shatter's Dynamo's dome, Hawkeye binds up Chemistro, Iron man shoots living laser into space, and Thor takes down Zemo and The Enchantress. Wonder Man fled the scene after Black Panther gave him an Armor-Piercing Question, and even Hank shows up to rescue Wasp from Abomination, having stowed away in her quinjet. On Thor's instruction, the avengers proceed to destroy the Norn Stones, severing the connections between the realms. Unfortunately, it also causes the Avengers to vanish into these other realms. Thor ends up in Asgard, where Loki taunts him from atop Odin's throne.
The story continues in "The Fall of Asgard"
Tropes:
- Accidental Hero: Crimson Dynamo had Captain America pinned, but he was distracted by the sudden appearance of spirits.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Black Panther's question for Wonder Man: "It is time to ask yourself: do you truly believe there will be a world left for you to live in if you help Zemo?"
- Batman Gambit: Zemo boasts that Iron Man did as he thought he would: divide the Avengers."And while they may have defeated my Masters as a team, individually they will fall!"
- Big Damn Heroes: Hank appears to save Wasp from Abomination.
- Big "NO!": Though freed from Zemo's mind control, the Enchantress is horrified in seeing Thor destroying the Nord Stones.
- Big Word Shout: After Cap reveals he saw a similar machine to what Iron Man's proposing back in the '40s, a stunned Iron Man shouts, "WHERE?!"
- Blank White Eyes: Amora while wearing the mind control collar.
- Blatant Lies: "The battle was hard fought. He did not make it."
- Blood Knight: Skurge smiles the second that Hulk shows up. Also, while the rest of the Masters ambush their respective opponents, Skurge is seen standing out in the open waiting for his challenger.
- Breaking the Fellowship: The team splits up for individual missions, but they won't actually reunite until the season finale.
- Brick Joke: Hawkeye really did punch Chemistro in the face.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Hawkeye really doesn't remember Chemistro, even mistaking him for Paste Pot Pete and the Hypno-Hustler.
- Call-Back: Captain America and Bucky previously witnessed HYDRA bringing assorted Asgardian creatures to Earth, which Cap tells the others about here. Thor even faces Zemo in the ruins of the original lab, and the control collar is again featured.
- Cliffhanger: JARVIS loses contact with the other Avengers, while Thor winds up in an Asgard under Loki's control.
- Didn't See That Coming: Loki's reaction to Thor arriving in the throne room.
- Flashback: When Cap explains what the Red Skull was doing with the portal and various monsters.
- Foreshadowing: Much is made of there being Nine Realms and the stones corresponding to given places, but only eight realms (counting Earth) are at play. When going over the dimensional fault line and the sudden energy flares, Iron Man says a volcano spot is the only one not exhibiting any changes. Season 2 will confirm this relates to Muspelheim and that that stone was not used because not even Loki wanted to risk Surtur getting free.
- Full-Name Basis: Black Panther addresses Wonder Man by his full civilian name.
- Heroic BSoD: Hank is struggling with how the guilt he feels for Ultron's Near-Villain Victory and leaves the mansion.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Hawkeye gets the better of Chemistro by exposing him to his acid blast. As the panicking villain says, this is dangerous stuff.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Cap is eating an apple, as Iron Man and Black Panther explain to Thor how they're going to open a doorway to Asgard. The computer simulation uses an apple as an example, prompting Cap to look at his suspiciously.
- It's Been Done: Tony comes up with a way to help Thor return to Asgard by creating a wormhole generator. To his shock, Cap tells him that HYDRA built that decades ago.
- Little "No": Seeing Loki on their father's throne, Thor provides the Asgardian equivalent: "Neigh."
- Megaton Punch: Hulk uses one of these to send Skurge flying out of the lake.
- Near-Villain Victory: Zemo nearly pulls off hijacking what turns out to be Loki's plan.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Giant-Man pounds Abomination into the ground.
- Oh, Crap!: Thor's expression in response to Zemo getting the better of Amora and being poised to conquer Earth.
- Out-Gambitted: Zemo anticipated the Enchantress betraying him, so he acted as soon as she started her spell.Zemo: Do you really believe that I ever trusted her?
- Pretty in Mink: Wasp wears a fur-lined alternate version of her costume for her mission to the arctic.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Earth is saved, but at the cost of the Avengers being pulled into different realms, with Thor landing right in Loki's clutches.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Abomination to Wasp."You're useless, bug! You know that, right? Even the guys with no powers, with the shield and the bow, even they put up more of a fight. You? YOU'RE NOTHING!"
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Living Laser doesn't care what Zemo's plan is; he just wants an opportunity to kill Iron Man.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Wonder Man ultimately flies away.
- Shooting Superman: Subverted, as Thor learns the hard way. Zemo's pistol is augmented with a special crystal that ensures Thor can't shake off the blast like he would a normal bullet.
- The Starscream: Zemo hopes to use the Enchantress to gain control of the incoming armies of Asgard.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Hank intends to quit after what happened with Ultron. He turns up to help Wasp, though, because he overheard the mission briefing and decided to tag along.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Wasp when she finds up she's up against Abomination.
- Unwitting Pawn: Zemo knows full well that the Enchantress was using him and turns the tables on her with a mind control collar.
- Wham Shot: Loki sitting on Odin's throne.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Inverted. Thor warns Zemo that Enchantress holds no regard for any mortal. However, Zemo already knew that.
- Would Hit a Girl: Abomination relishes the thought of crushing Wasp.
- You Are Not Alone: The second JARVIS mentions the dimensional flares, Thor feels an Asgardian matter is responsibility to fix alone. Iron Man reminds him he's on a team and that they can all pitch in by splitting up.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The Enchantress tells the Executioner to give the Grey Gargoyle his "reward."
