The Death Song of Kulan Gath is a storyline of The Avengers, which took place in Avengers vol. 3 #28-30.
Silverclaw gets word that there are bad things happening back in her hometown, and the team agrees, after doing some public relations demolition work, to accompany her. During the flight to South America, Silverclaw recounts her complete origin, including the possibility that her mother is the goddess Peliali. The team finds her village completely transformed, are attacked by guys on giant birds, and when they try to enter the village, are themselves transformed into medieval/fantasy versions of themselves. After leaving the town limits, the Avengers decide to camp out there, and Triathlon gives attitude about having to get water for his teammates.
The Avengers see that Kulan Gath’s followers are attacking Peliali, and go to help her, but are stopped by some of Gath’s other followers. The god disappears, and the team splits up. Iron Man and Wasp go to stop the local military from intervening, and being trapped in Gath’s spell, while the rest infiltrate the village, using Wanda’s magic to keep from being transformed. They end up in a big bar brawl, while Gath narrates his origin to the captured volcano god. The Avengers are all knocked out with a magic gas, and get trussed up to watch Gath sacrifice Peliali as a ticket to get to some other dimension.
Goliath and Warbird are able to free the Avengers, just as Iron Man and the Wasp show up with the local military. There’s a lot of fighting, but in the end, Gath is able to stab Peliali, although he doesn’t kill her, and is himself taken by the creatures he was trying to summon. Silverclaw watches her goddess mother who she’s never met die, and then becomes a reserve Avenger.
Tropes:
- Batman Gambit: The guards use electric whips, not magic, to keep order. When Pym noticed that, he reduced his size and jumped, going in front of the captive Warbird. She was recharged by the electric attack, which helped her to get free.
- Everything Is Racist: Triathlon is angry about the way he joined the Avengers, and so he's a little touchy. Asked to help to demolish a building? That's racist! Forced by the villains to try to land on his own? That's racist! Asked to get water for the camping? That's racist! Silverclaw's village has been enchanted? That's racist! Iron Man tries to makes amends for being Mistaken for Racist? That's racist! Iron Man is about to be killed by magic war elephants? That's... ah, screw it!
- Eventually leads to him receiving a What the Hell, Hero? speech from Warbird.
- Fake Action Prologue: The story starts with Warbird charging to the attack. Is she fighting some exiting adventure? No, she's helping to demolish an abandoned building.
- The Future Is Shocking: Kulan Gath does not like at all the noisy and ugly modern era.
- Ms. Fanservice: Lampshaded by Triathlon, who pointed that the suits of the altered Warbird and She-Hulk are so striferrific... but not that their regular ones fall short on that.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Warbird eventually calls Triathlon out on his attitude towards the rest of the team, telling him that he can either go around with a chip on his shoulder and never fit in with the other Avengers or actually try and spend time with the others and take the chance that they won't be perfect heroes.
