Secret Empire
Immediately after the last issue, Earth's remaining heroes converge on Washington D.C. to defend it from a HYDRA invasion force. The heroes include Peter Parker, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Jane Foster, T'Challa, Riri Williams, the Tony Stark AI, Scott Lang, Miles Morales, Kamala Khan, Amadeus Cho, Vision, Squirrel Girl, and Wanda Maximoff. Though numerous, the heroes are still outnumbered and outgunned by the vast HYDRA forces, which have been augmented by members of the various heroes' rogues galleries.
After the battle begins, a plane with the HYDRA insignia arrives and lands. The heroes surmise that HYDRA's new leader must be aboard the plane, but are stunned when its door opens and Steve Rogers reveals himself along with the rest of the HYDRA Council, including Arnim Zola, Baron Zemo, Viper, and Hive. The younger heroes wonder if Rogers was replaced by a skrull or Life Model Decoy, but Barton and Romanoff both say they take Rogers at his word when he says it's really him and he's really on the side of HYDRA. Rogers tells the assembled heroes that HYDRA will improve and strengthen the world, moreso than the other heroes were able to do. He then says that the others have a choice: to work with HYDRA in improving the world, or to oppose HYDRA. The Tony Stark AI says they choose to fight HYDRA, and the heroes attack.
Jane Foster immediately fades out of existence, with Thor's Hammer falling from her grip before she vanishes. Several of the heroes' powers then malfunction, with Vision suddenly speaking binary and Wanda's magic blasting everywhere. The other heroes keep fighting but are brutally beaten down by the HYDRA Council and its army, or are taken out of action by their teammates' malfunctioning powers. Rogers himself does not fight, instead walking to where Foster dropped the hammer.
Rogers seizes Thor's Hammer, unleashing a blast of energy which takes down the last remaining heroes. He stands over their fallen bodies and raises the hammer over his head, indicating he has been found worthy to wield it.
The Spectacular Spider-Man
In East Village, New York City, Peter Parker is on a date with Mary Jane Watson when he sees Vulture robbing a bank. He pursues Vulture, making several cracks about his age as he fights the villain in mid-air ("You're so old, you remember when Logan was happy! You're so old, you wanted to burn Scarlet Witch at the stake!"), but Vulture has upgraded his equipment and proves to be stronger and more capable than before. Spider-Man eventually overpowers him, but then Trapster arrives and disables both of them with a blast of goo. She jokes that Vulture and Spider-Man are both old men compared to her and takes off with the bank's money, leaving Spider-Man complaining that he's not as old as she says.
The fight is shown on monitors at a secret base, and people at the base say the fight reveals some kind of conspiracy. They wonder how to fight the conspiracy, and one of the people says she knows who can help them.
Tropes:
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Scarlet Witch and Vision become this.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: What the HYDRA Council and its army delivers to the heroes.
