Continued from "Breakout, part 1"
Picking up from the last episode, Graviton delivers his little Motive Rant to Nick Fury while telekinetically smacking him around.
A Cold Open expands a little on Graviton's backstory. Ten years ago, Fury approached a physicist named Franklin Hall to start developing Super Soldiers for S.H.I.E.L.D. Unable to resist the lure of an unlimited budget and free access to human test subjects, Hall agreed immediately. Unfortunately he proved too ambitious and one of his experiments failed explosively, putting him in the hospital. When Hall regained consciousness, he found that he had the power to control gravity but before he could begin testing the limits of his new powers, Fury had him locked up in the Raft and kept in a coma to prevent escape attempts.
Fast forward back to the present and Graviton delivers his little Motive Rant to Fury while telekinetically smacking him around but his revenge is spoiled by the intervention of Thor, Wasp, and Ant-Man. Iron Man is temporarily out of commission and has to wait awhile for a "taxi" to the fight. The Hulk makes a brief stop to take care of Leonard Samson and has a debate with Bruce Banner over whether he should go to New York and help the other superheros fight. He is convinced on one condition: he will retain control over their shared body.
Back in New York City, the battle isn't going very well. Even with the arrival of Iron Man, Graviton's powers are overwhelming and as a demonstration, he lifts a good chunk of Manhattan into the air. The heroes regroup for a second try but Graviton flings them aside and declares himself the strongest one there is.
The Hulk arrives just in time to turn the tide of the battle. His insane strength defies Graviton's best efforts to subdue him and, with the assistance of a little quick thinking by Ant Man, he is able to distract Graviton long enough for the rest of the heroes to mount a truly combined offensive for the first time. One smackdown later, they stand victorious and SHIELD swoops in to recapture the Hulk. This time, however, Iron Man stands between the two, followed by the rest of the heroes who witnessed the Hulk fight to defend innocents. Once again, Fury shows up and orders his men to stand down and once again, he invites the heroes to work for SHIELD and help hunt down the 74 supervillains that were previously incarcerated. Iron Man concedes that they can make more of a difference as a team, but it won't be under S.H.I.E.L.D. They will form an independent group to "avenge" the wrongs caused by all these evildoers.
Hulk: Hrm. Good name.
Agent Quartermaine shows up to report that Graviton did not wake up until after the security systems were disabled, so he could not have been the cause. But the question still remains — if he didn't, who did?
Tropes:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Graviton reminds Fury that he wanted a Super-Soldier like Captain America and has instead got something much worse.
- Big Damn Heroes: Hulk arriving to fight Graviton.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Avengers are formed and vow to protect the world, but 74 supervillains are on the loose and no one knows who's responsible for that.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- Hank and Wasp's stunned reaction to Hulk showing up to fight Graviton.
- Hulk's reaction to Wasp helping him during the fight.
- Foreshadowing: When Iron Man discusses forming a team, Agent Hill steps forward as if to say something, but Fury stops her — an early indicator of their conflicting opinions on the Avengers going forward.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Graviton does this regularly when activating his powers, but the biggie is when Zemo says he's been locked up for more than six years.
- Go Through Me: After a huge S.H.I.E.L.D. force arrives to arrest the Hulk:Iron Man: You want the Hulk, you go through me. The Hulk saved us all. He's a hero, as sure as any of us.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: With extreme effort, Graviton manages to keep the Hulk buried and the other heroes pinned down. Hank breaks Graviton's concentration by using his Ant-Man gear to contact some nearby ants and getting one to suddenly bite the villain. As a bonus, this comes after the more physically impressive Giant-Man openly struggled against Graviton.
- How We Got Here: The Teaser shows how Franklin Hall went from a brilliant scientist recruited by Nick Fury to the unhinged Graviton.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Iron Man refuses to work for Nick Fury, but he says the guy had a point about the heroes working together to recapture the escaped supervillains.
- Little "No":
- Wasp when she remembers that Thor has been sent to the bottom of the ocean.
- Graviton when Hulk manages to stand up.
- Load-Bearing Hero: Graviton lifts the island of Manhattan over the sea with his powers. When he was briefly incapacitated, the island starts crashing back down, so Thor flies to the foundation to ease the impact.
- Man Hug: Thor to the rest of the team following Graviton's defeat. Hulk's reaction is priceless.
- Mythology Gag: Wasp names the team, just like she did in the comics.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: S.H.I.E.L.D. was responsible for Graviton and tried to cover it up. Hank calls Fury on it.
- Oh, Crap!: When Graviton realizes the Hulk isn't like the other heroes:Graviton: No... nothing is that powerful.
- Red Herring: Graviton is considered as the one responsible for causing the Breakout, but Quartermain says security footage proves he only woke up after the security systems failed.
- Say My Name: After Graviton wakes up and learns he's been in the Raft for more than six years at least:Graviton: FURYYYYYYY!
- Shut Up, Hannibal!:Gravitron: With the power I control...!
Wasp: *Zap!* - Skewed Priorities: After Graviton is defeated, assorted S.H.I.E.L.D. agents try to arrest Hulk. While the other heroes won't stand for that, Fury also tells the present agents to back off on the grounds that 74 escaped supervillains is what they should be worried about.
- Tempting Fate:Graviton: I'm stronger than all of you! I'm the strongest one there is!
Hulk: [arriving] You sure about that? - The Teaser: Explains Graviton's origin.
- Villainous Breakdown: Graviton is already unhinged, but the trouble the Hulk gives him makes it even worse.Graviton: This is IMPOSSIBLE!
