History ComicBook / TheKorvacSaga

* AntiVillain: This story brought back the Collector and gave him a belated backstory. [[spoiler: It seems he went crazy with collecting so he could find worthy and strong people to help protect the universe.]]

* BigBad: Korvac, who started off as a minion of the week in an issue of ''The Defenders'', then a one-shot villain in ''Mighty Thor'', which explain his origins and motivation, now stepping into center stage as someone capable of wiping out the Avengers entirely.

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: the Collector

* TerminatorTwosome: Averted. The Guardians of the Galaxy think that Korvac returned to the 20th century to kill the young Vance Astro, and erase them from existence. Korvac did time-travel to the 20th century, but with much more ambitious plans in mind. He was quite happy to let the Guardians stay in the dark about his intentions, so that they made a pointless trip and leave him alone.

''The Korvac Saga'' was a 1978 storyline of ComicBook/TheAvengers, written by Creator/JimShooter. It is the tragic story of Michael Korvac and Carina.

* BishonenLine: Disfigured cyborg Korvac's first act upon gaining the power of Galactus is to become a handsome, perfectly physiqued blond man.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Although there have been previous stories featuring all the characters who had ever (up to that point) been members of the Avengers, this was the first time the full cast was a multitude and not just a large group. Add to them Jocasta, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel and Two-Gun Kid (who were not Avengers yet), and villains unrelated to the main story as Ultron, Tyrak and Porcupine, as well as the original Guardians of the Galaxy, and you get the idea.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2021250-avnkor_mphc_cov4_ver1_col__large_7449.jpg]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: It's considered that ComicBook/SecretWars was an expanded version of the Korvac saga

* DownerEnding

Michael Korvac was an evil cyborg from the 30th century, who wanted vengeance against the alien race the Badoon who were responsible for making him what he is. He found the ship of the legendary Galactus and began to take power from it. He became a god and restored his human body, and then abandoned his vengeance. With his new power, he made an even greater plan: conceal himself from the cosmic powers and make subtle changes to reality, to end the control of Eternity.

First, some former Avengers and other people close to them begin to disappear, vanishing into thin air, such as Quicksilver (who was living in Attilan) and the time-displaced Two-Gun Kid. Then, a giant ship appeared in the space: the Guardians of the Galaxy came to the 20th century to capture Korvac, as they believe he will attempt to erase the Guardians from existence by killing Vance Astro in his infancy. And to complicate things even further, Henry Peter Gyrich revoked the special government permits of the Avengers because of their defective security.

Starhawk, with his cosmic senses, locates Korvac immediately, and fights him alone. Korvac destroys him, and recreates him, with his memory of the meeting erased and incapable of ever sensing Korvac again. Korvac had also met a woman named Carina at a fashion show, and makes her his girlfriend.

The Avengers begin to investigate the disappearances, as well as keep fighting against common villains as Tyrak, and called for all the former Avengers to return to the team. With the help of the Guardians they locate the one responsible for everything: the Collector, who was defeated by four remaining Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Wasp. The Collector explains that there was a great menace to the Cosmos, and that he sought to capture the Avengers to save them from it. He had also sent his daughter to spy for him. As the Collector explained this, Carina confesses to Korvac that she is a spy, but has fallen in love with him. Korvac kills the Collector from a distance, before he could tell the Avengers who "The Enemy" was.

Everyone who had ever been an Avenger begins to search for this "Enemy". All the clues pointed to the same place: a luxury house in Forest Hills Gardens. Once there, they only find a common couple, Michael and Carina, with nothing seeming to be out of the ordinary. Michael is revealed when Starhawk asks why the Avengers are talking to the air, indicating he could not see Michael, and is therefore the enemy they were searching for.

* AntiVillain: This story brought back The Collector and gave him a belated backstory. [[spoiler: It seems he went crazy with collecting so he could find worthy and strong people to help protect the universe.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: Engineered by the Collector. The Avengers had been in problems several times before, and Thor (who had left in a search for Odin) makes a dramatic entrance, helped the Avengers, and left again. It happened that the Collector was taking him from other times, placing him in the fights, and then returning him to his own timeline.
* BigFancyHouse: With nigh-omnipotent powers, capable of living anywhere he wishes, Korvac chooses to live... in a luxury house in Forest Hills Gardens, 20th century. Nobody can accuse him of not having good taste.

* BoltOfDivineRetribution: If Michael is a God, what better way to kill the Collector?
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: The outcome of the fight. Note that Korvac died when he lost the will to live, and Carina commited suicide... on their own, it was never within the power of the Avengers and the Guardians to slay such beings. Accept the word of one who knows!

* ChekhovsGunman: An old man in a ship, slowly approaching the United States. His purpose is not very clear, and doen't add anything to the story. Several issues after the conclusion of the Korvac saga he would play a role in revealing the long ignored origin of Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The Collector. So far, he has always relied in "nerd" stuff, but when Hawkeye defeats him, he reveals his cosmic power, which he doesn't use directly very often because of his age.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Starhawk found Korvac immediately, and fought him alone. Korvac killed him, and to secure his secrecy he recreated him, exactly as he was, but with no memory of their fight, and making him unable to see him again despite his deep senses. The Avengers found Korvac's house anyway, but failed to find anything out of the ordinary in it. They were about to return home empty-handed, but then the all-seeing Starhawk starts to ask what the hell are they doing, talking and expecting answers in an empty house? As he said that right in front of Korvac, it became obvious: if he could not see him, it's because he has blinded him somehow, which means that he is "the enemy".

* TerminatorTwosome: Averted. The Guardians of the Galaxy think that Korvac returned to the 20th century to kill the young Vance Astro, and erase them from existence. So they follow him, to protect the young Vance. Korvac did time-travel to the 20th century, but with much more ambitious plans in mind. He was quite happy to let the Guardians stay in the dark about his intentions, so that they made a pointless trip and leave him alone.

-->'''[[ThirdPersonPerson Starhawk]]:''' It was not within our power to slay such a being! Accept the word of one who knows!

'''The Korvac Saga''' was a 1978 storyline of ComicBook/TheAvengers, written by Creator/JimShooter. It is the tragic story of Michael Korvac and Carina.

Michael Korvac was an evil cyborg of the 30th century, who wanted vengeance against the alien race the Badoon who were responsible for making him what he is. He found the ship of the legendary Galactus and began to take power from it. He became a god and restored his human body, and then abandoned his vengeance. With his new power, he made an even greater plan: conceal himself from the cosmic powers and make subtle changes to reality, to end the control of Eternity.

First, some former Avengers and other people close to them began to disappear, vanishing into thin air, such as Quicksilver (who was living in Attilan) and the time-displaced Two-Gun Kid. Then, a giant ship appeared in the space: the Guardians of the Galaxy came to the 20th century to capture Korvac, as they believed he would attempt to erase the Guardians from existence by killing Vance Astro in his infancy. And to complicate things even further, Henry Peter Gyrich revoked the special government permits of the Avengers because of their defective security.

Starhawk, with his cosmic senses, located Korvac immediately, and fought him alone. Korvac destroyed him, and recreated him again, with his memory of the meeting erased and incapable of ever sensing Korvac again. Korvac had also met a woman named Carina at a fashion show, and makes her his girlfriend.

The Avengers began to investigate the disappearances, as well as keep fighting against common villains as Tyrak, and called for all the former Avengers to return to the team. With the help of the Guardians they located the one responsible for everything: the Collector, who was defeated by four remaining Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Wasp. The Collector explained that there was a great menace to the Cosmos, and that he sought to capture the Avengers to preserve them from it. He had also sent his daughter to spy for him. As the Collector explained this, Carina confessed to Korvac that she was a spy, but had fallen in love with him. Korvac killed the Collector from the distance, before he could tell the Avengers who was "The Enemy".

Everyone who had ever been an Avenger began to search for this "Enemy". All the clues pointed to a same place: a luxury house in Forest Hills Gardens. Once there, they only found a common couple, Michael and Carina, with nothing seeming to be out of the ordinary. Michael is revealed when Starhawk asked why the Avengers were talking to the air, indicating he could not see Michael, and is therefore the enemy they were searching for.

Michael Korvac was worried because he had worked hard to hide himself, but the fight with the Avengers would be noticed by the cosmic powers. He easily bested them, but lost the will to live when Carina doubted him and died. Then the Avengers turned against Carina, who had cosmic power as well. Although she could also defeat them with ease, she committed suicide by forcing Thor's hammer to fire against herself. Moondragon began to cry: she had read their minds, and realized that they were not evil, that the Avengers spoiled a good-intentioned plan, and that he brought the deceased back to life before dying.

* BigDamnHeroes: Engineered by the Collector. The Avengers had been in problems several times before, and Thor (who had left in a search for Odin) made a dramatic entrance, helped the Avengers, and left again. It happened that the Collector was taking him from other times, placing him in the fights, and then returning him to his own timeline.
* BigFancyHouse: With nigh-omnipotent powers, capable to live anywhere he wishes, Korvac chooses to live... in a luxury house in Forest Hills Gardens, 20th century. Nobody can accuse him of not having good taste.

* BigNo: When the Avengers discussed how did Michael died, as they couldn't have killed him.

* TheCavalry: Averted. When they realized that Michael was "the Enemy", Moondragon summoned the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was useless, Korvac defeated both groups as he would have defeated the Avengers alone.
* ChekhovsGunman: An old man in a ship, slowly approaching the United States. His purpose is not very clear, and do not add anything to the story. Several issues after the conclusion of the Korvac saga he would play a role in revealing the long ignored origin of Quicksilver & the Scarlet Witch.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The Collector. So far, he has always relied in "nerd" stuff, but when Hawkeye defeated him, he revealed his cosmic power, which he does not use directly very often because of his age.

* FantasticRacism: Quicksilver and the Vision met each other once more. A good moment to remember that Pietro complains about [[FantasticRacism racism of mutants]] because he's in the receiving end, but he engages in racism of robots.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Thor had a strange feeling of being somehow displaced, as if he shouldn't be where he was... and he was right: the Collector had time-displaced him, to save the Avengers.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Starhawk found Korvac immediately, and fought him alone. Korvac killed him, and to secure his secrecy he recreated him, exactly as he was, but with no memory of their fight, and making him unable to see him again despite of his deep senses. The Avengers found Korvac's house anyway, but failed to find anything out of the ordinary in it. They were about to return home empty-handed, but then the all-seeing Starhawk started to protest: what the hell are they doing, talking and expecting answers in an empty house? As he said that right in front of Korvac, it became obvious: if he could not see him, it's because he has blinded him somehow, which means that he is "the enemy".
* HonorBeforeReason: Averted. Iron Man told the Black Panther to attack Carina, but he did not consider it honourable. Yellowjacket screwed "honor" and took Carina hostage himself. Michael burnt him in the middle of his threat. At least the Black Panther got a compliment when Michael killed him...
* InLoveWithTheMark: Carina was sent to spy of Korvac, but she fell in love with him, and supported his plan.

* LeaderWannabe: Averted. Captain America filled this role against the leader Iron Man (even trying to punch him during a scene). Some issues later, Iron Man accepted that Captain America's criticisms were right, and proposed to resign as leader and hand the command of team to him. But Captain America refused, apologized for the old discussions, and accepted Iron Man's leadership.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Henry Peter Gyrich revoked the government permits on the Avengers, and became a royal pain in the ass for a lot of time, beyond this specific storyline. Let's just say that, unable to use the Quinjets, the Avengers had to go to their great battle... on bus.

* PinballProjectile: Hawkeye defeated the Collector with one.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: The collector only spoke of Korvac as "the enemy". He died [[HisNameIs just before revealing his identity]], so the Avengers had to keep naming him that way.

* SuicideByCop: Carina manipulated Thor's hammer to fire at her with full force. She committed suicide to reunite with the deceased Michael.
* TerminatorTwosome: Averted. The Guardians of the Galaxy thought that Korvac returned to the 20th century to kill the young Vance Astro, and erase them from existence. So they followed him, to protect the young Vance. Korvac did time-travel to the 20th century, but with much more ambitious plans in mind. He was quite happy to let the Guardians stay in the confusion about his intentions, so that they made a pointless trip and left him alone.
* TheseHandsHaveKilled: When Moondragon pointed the real motivations of Michael, Thor accepted that the Avengers' hand were stained with his innocent blood.
* TogetherInDeath: Averted. After Michael's death, Carina fought the Avengers for a brief time, and then committed suicide to reunite with him in death. With her last breath, she jumped towards Michael's body... but her hand could not reach his, falling a few centimeters short.
* {{Tomboy}}: Wonder Man, a HumanPopsicle from the 60s, sees Ms. Marvel as such, and does not understand "what has happened to women". Unlike the Wasp and the Scarlet Witch, who merely fire from a distance, Ms. Marvel actually engaged in physical combat as men, and had a similar attitude.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vance Astro returned to the 20th century, along with the Guardians, but only they can go to Earth, where Vance lived in his infancy. The adult Vance Astro had to stay on the ship in space, to avoid messing with the timeline.

The Avengers began to investigate the disappearances, as well as keep fighting against common villains as Tyrak, and called for all the former Avengers to return to the team. With the help of the Guardians they located the one responsible for everything: the Collector, who was defeated by four remaining Avengers: Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Wasp. The Collector explained that there was a great menace to the Cosmos, and that he sought to capture the Avengers to preserve them from it. He had also sent his daugther to spy for him. As the Collector explained this, Carina confessed to Korvac that she was a spy, but had fallen in love with him. Korvac killed the Collector from the distance, before he could tell the Avengers who was "The Enemy".

Michael Korvac was worried because he had worked hard to hide himself, but the fight with the Avengers would be noticed by the cosmic powers. He easily bested them, but lost the will to live when Carina doubted him and died. Then the Avengers turned against Carina, who had cosmic power as well. Although she could also defeat them with ease, she commited suicide by forcing Thor's hammer to fire against herself. Moondragon began to cry: she had read their minds, and realized that they were not evil, that the Avengers spoiled a good-intentioned plan, and that he brought the deceased back to life before dying.

-->'''Carina:''' NO! You killed him! You! You, with your wretched interference! You, with your dogged persistence! You - you slew his dream - slew my love!

* MessianicArchetype Korvac considers himself the savior of the universe. The WhatIf sequel to the Korvac Sequel reveals him to be a DarkMessiah however.

* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: The adult Vance Astro had to stay in space and doesn't go to Earth with the others, to avoid getting near his younger self.

* TerminatorTwosome: Averted. The Guardians of the Galaxy thought that Korvac returned to the XX century to kill the young Vance Astro, and erase them from existence. So, the followed him, to protect the young Vance. Korvac did time-travel to the XX century, but with much more ambitious plans in mind. He was quite happy to let the Guardians stay in the confussion about his intentions, so that they made a pointless watch and leave him alone.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vance Astro returned to the XX century, along with the Guardians, but only they can go to Earth, where Vance lived in his infancy. The adult Vance Astro had to stay on the ship in space, to avoid messing with the timeline.

%% PLEASE read ExampleIndentationInTropeLists

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Although there have been previous stories featuring all the characters who had ever (up to that point) been members of the Avengers, this was the first time the full cast was a multitude and not just a large group. Add to them Jocasta, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel and Two-Gun Kid (who were not Avengers yet), and villains unrelated to the main story as Ultron, Tyrak and Porcupine, and you get the idea.

* AGodAmI: Korvac and Carina. The Collector as well.

* TogetherInDeath: Averted. After Michael's death, Carina fought the Avengers for some moments, and then suicide to reunite with him in death. With her last breath, she jumped towards Michael's body... but her hand could not reach his, for a few centimeters.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vance Astro returned to the XX century, along with the Guardians, but only them can go to Earth, where Vance lived in his infancy. The adult Vance Astro had to stay in the ship in the space, to avoid messing to the timeline.

* SuicideByCop: Carina manipulated Thor's hammer to fire to her in full force. She suicided to reunite with the deceased Michael.

* SpiritualSuccessor: It s considered that ComicBook/SecretWars was an expanded version of the Korvac saga

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Henry Peter Gyrich revoked the government permits on the Avengers, and became a royal pain in the ass for a lot of time, beyond this specific storyline. Let's just say that, unable to use the quinjets, the Avengers had to go to their great battle... on bus.
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Korvac does not take an active role in during the story; he mostly stays at his luxury house and uses his omnipotent powers to avoid detection.

* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: The adult Vance Astro had to stay in space and don't go to Earth with the others, to avoid getting near his younger self.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Although there have been previous stories featuring all the characters who had ever (up to that point) been members of the Avengers, this was the first time the full cast was a multitude and not just a large group. Add to them Jocasta, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvell and Two-Gun Kid (who were not Avengers yet), and villains unrelated to the main story as Ultron, Tyrak and Porkupine, and you get the idea.

* LeaderWannabe: Averted. Captain America filled this role against the leader Iron Man (even trying to punch him during a scene). Some issues later, Iron Man accepted that Captain America's criticisms were right, and proposed to resign as leader and hand the command of team to him. But Captain America refused, apologized for the old discussions, and accepted Iron Man's rule.

* InLoveWithTheMark: Carina was sent to spy of Korvac, but she falled in love with him, and supported his plan.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Starhawk found Korvac immediately, and fought him alone. Korvac killed him, and to secure his secrecy he recreated him, exactly as he was, but with no memory of their fight, and making him unable to see him again despite of his deep senses. The Avengers found Korvac's house anyway, but failed to find anythingout of the ordinary in it. They were about to return home empty-handed, but then the all-seeing Starhawk started to protest: what the hell are they doing, talking and expecting answers in an empty house? As he said that right in front of Korvac, it became obvious: if he could not see him, it's because he has blinded him somehow, which means that he is "the enemy".

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Vance Astro returned to the XX century, along with the Guardians, but only them can go to Earth, where Vance lived in his infancy. The adult Vance Astro had to stay in the ship in the space, to avoid messing to the timeline.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: Korvac does not really do anything "evil" during the story; he just stays at his luxury house and only uses his omnipotent powers to avoid detection.

* SpeakOfTheDevil: The collector taked about Korvac as "the enemy". He died before revealing his identity, so the Avengers had to keep naming him that way.