The Devourer of Worlds, Galactus, has arrived on Earth. The Avengers assemble the Earth's mightiest heroes for a final battle not just to determine the fate of the world, but of the Avengers' place in history.
Tropes:
- Avengers Assemble: Invoked by Cap and Iron Man a la Code White. While the New Avengers Protocol is used as a substitute plan, this rallies the original and New Avengers, as well as all of their allies. Frankly, this trope was almost too obvious to list.
- Back for the Finale: Dozens of characters return for the final battle, notably Hulk, who had been Commuting on a Bus since his last appearance.
- Badass Boast: Thor gets in a good one when facing down Galactus, but right before it, Cap has a much quieter, but all the more poignant one.Spider-Man: Aren't you freaking out?!?
Captain America: No. Because I can hear it.
Spider-Man: Hear what?
Captain America: The thunder.
Thor: Here me, Galactus. I am Thor, the thunderer, son of Odin, prince of Asgard. But today above all things, I am an Avenger and this world is under my protection! - Big Bad: Galactus, who had been introduced briefly by the Skrulls earlier this season.
- Book Ends: In The Teaser, Iron Man wonders how the team will be remembered in the future. In the final scene, Cap shows him an answer: a cheering crowd.
- Call-Back: Cap recalls how one of the Skrulls told him about Galactus and what he does.
- Classical Elements Ensemble: Galactus's Heralds are four cosmic beings, each one an embodiment of one of the classical elements: Terrax is the embodiment of earth, Stardust is the embodiment of water, Firelord is the embodiment of fire, and Airwalker is the embodiment of air, with each one channeling their cosmic energy into their associated Elemental Power.
- Elite Mooks: Galactus' Heralds: Terrax, Firelord, Air-Walker, and Stardust.
- End-of-Series Awareness: Tony seems all too aware that he's opening the Grand Finale of the series when he wonders how they'll go down in history after they're gone.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Reed mentions that Galactus feeds on Anti-Matter for survival, and needs the devices his heralds bring to convert Earth's energy to it, Tony remembers one place that they can send the villain: The Negative Zone.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Finally resolved; the public finally trusts and loves Cap and the Avengers again after the Skrull invasion.
- Hope Spot: The heroes destroy the towers built by Galactus' heralds... Only for Galactus himself to restore them all effortlessly to proceed with draining the Earth.
- Last Episode, New Character: Galactus' Heralds. Galactus technically doesn't count, since he made an Early-Bird Cameo early into this season, but this is the first (and last!) episode to deal with him as a true threat to Earth.
- Mythology Gag: When Captain America commenced the Code White protocol to any of the available hero who heeded the call, Mr.Fantastic activates a rocket that is projected into the sky and creates a flare that forms into a number 4. Mr. Fantastic had pretty much done the same thing in Fantastic Four #1 in the early 1960's when he used it as an alert in order to call the rest of the Fantastic Four.
- The Fantasti-Car Mk-1 makes an appearance and it has the same design as the original silver age version of the vehicle that's from the 1960's.
- When the Code White combat unit disbands, Spider-Man web-slings away in the same manner as he had done in the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon.
- Out of Focus: The vast majority of the heroes summoned are there just to cameo and take part in the Grand Finale, but this is a Justified Trope since it would be very hard to lend decent screen time to the dozens of characters present in a regular-length episode.
- Rousing Speech: Cap gives a truly moving one as the Earth's mightiest heroes assemble.Captain America: You are Earth's mightiest heroes, and I've summoned you all here for one reason: The end of the world is here, and it's our job to stop it. You have your assignments. Galactus' Heralds must be stopped, no matter what. Do whatever it takes to destroy the machines they're creating, and then we take the fight to Galactus himself. This isn't a battle of good versus evil, it's a battle for survival. The world is counting on us, and we will not fail. Each of you are heroes, but today... we are all Avengers.
- Sealed Evil in Another World: The hero's solution to saving the Earth from Galactus is by sending him to the Negative Dimension. Galactus can gorge himself on its raw energy, the Earth doesn't get destroyed, everyone's happy.
- The Voiceless: Galactus and all the Heralds save Terrax.
"You wanted to know how history will remember the Avengers, Iron Man? Well, here's your answer!"
