Chemistro is pursued by an incredibly pissed Enchantress, searching for Zemo in order to extract her revenge. His alchemy gun is completely ineffective against her sorcery and he coughs up the location of Arnim Zola in short order. The Avengers later find him turned to gold, along with the Living Laser frozen in his light form. Thor, who has remained behind to defend Asgard while she rebuilds, is with Heimdall when the seal between the Realms is once again broken. Sensing that something terrible has happened, he is forced to warn Odin and can't go back to help the team against Amora.
Reaching Zola's lab, Enchantress makes a similar demand of him but Zola doesn't buy it for a moment, having witnessed the fates of Chemistro and the Laser. He tries to fight back with one of his mutant monstrosities but it only holds the Asgardians back for a moment. With precious few options left, the remaining Masters of Evil go to the Avengers for help.
Iron Man proposes a plan based on his study of Asgardian magic; they will use Baron Zemo as bait to lure the Enchantress within range of a magic dampening device that he and Black Panther have designed, allowing the Avengers and the Masters of Evil to take her down. Understandably, Zemo doesn't trust Iron Man to guarantee his safety and only agrees on condition that Captain America is the one holding the trigger; he is the most honorable of the Avengers and would not just abandon Zemo to his fate. Black Panther takes the time to reiterate to Wonder Man that they could find a way to change him back to normal but before he has time to consider the offer, the Enchantress breaks into the Mansion and starts attacking everybody.
Zemo confronts her personally, confident that the Cap will fulfill his end of the bargain, except that he doesn't. Of course, Zemo wouldn't have gotten as far as he has without carrying a little insurance, which he promptly pulls out — the last Norn Stone, which helps maintain the barrier between Midgard and Muspelheim, realm of the fire giants. He is saved from having to use it by the arrival of Iron Man and Hawkeye, with the Crimson Dynamo in tow. Iron Man activates the dampener by remote and it seems as if the Enchantress is doomed, when Zemo decides to turn on the Avengers just as everyone expected him to. During the ensuing battle, a stray shot from Dynamo destroys the dampener. Amora takes the Norn Stone to use for her own purposes but Wonder Man sacrifices himself to destroy it, causing her to vanish. The Masters of Evil are rounded up in short order but not before Zemo observes that Captain America is not the man he once knew.
Far from dead, the Enchantress finds herself trapped in Muspelheim and at the mercy of its terrifying ruler Surtur.
Tropes:
- Brought Down to Normal: Iron Man says he's studied Asgardian magic for months and believes the dampener can disable Amora's powers. Black Panther cautions it's still just a theory, but it does work (until the dampener is blown up).
- Deus Exit Machina: Zemo lampshades how Thor not being present makes facing Amora that much harder.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Amora gets sent straight to Muspelheim after Wonder Man destroys the Norn Stone. While not the actual Norse hell (that would be Helheim), Muspelheim appears as a Fire and Brimstone Hell and its ruler, Surtur, is very much a Satanic Archetype and treated as such, so it fits the bill.
- The Dreaded: Surtur. Thor is deeply troubled to discovered he's active once more, and Amora is outright terrified to discover she's literally in his clutches in the end.
- Dynamic Entry: Iron Man crashes through the mansion's skylight to confront the remaining Masters. The moment's ruined, though, as he's told they just agreed to surrender.
- Enemy Mine: Zemo has little choice but to go to the Avengers for help against their common foes.
- "Eureka!" Moment: After Iron Man and Hawkeye arrive to help Crimson Dynamo, Amora says this is none of their business. She realizes mid-sentence that Zemo went to them for help.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Like Amora says, even Loki knew better than to do anything that last Norn Stone and risk bringing down the walls around Muspelheim.
- Everyone Has Standards: Iron Man is disgusted that Zemo sent Crimson Dynamo (one of Tony's own personal rogues) to die as a distraction.
- Flashback: A brief one to right after Thor was transported to Asgard. Amora dreads the punishment she'll receive for failing, and Zemo (after kicking her in the face) mocks her before spotting something glowing.
- Glamour Failure: After defeating the Enchantress, Zemo, who was down on the ground, looks up at Captain America, who's casting the shadow of his true self as a Skrull.
- Hates Being Touched: When finally getting her hands on Zemo, Amora reminds him of how he kicked her in the face and says that no one can get away with that. Saving Zemo, Hawkeye tweaks her by hitting her with an arrow and then saying, "Touch."
- Heel–Face Turn: Wonder Man, as his last appearance foreshadowed.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Wonder Man sacrifices himself to destroy the Norn Stone, least Amora use its power and become unstoppable.
- I Choose to Stay: At the beginning of the episode, Thor was actually ready to return to Earth to search for Amora himself. However, Heimdall's warning and the reveal of the Surtur threat changed his plans.
- I Gave My Word: Subverted. The real Cap would've honored the deal with Zemo, but not his Skrull imposter.
- I Lied:
- Amora to Chemistro, right before she turns him into gold.
- She's about to try something similar when confronting Zola, but he tells her not to bother since he was monitoring Living Laser and Chemistro.
- In Name Only: The episode has nothing in common with the crossover storyline of the same name.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Zemo kicked Amora in the face while she was on the ground, only to end up getting the same treatment from Skrull Cap.
- Little "No": Amora when the dampener disables her action. She gets an even more panicked example when she realizes she's literally in Surtur's grasp.
- Mythology Gag: The title comes from a Crisis Crossover that focused on various supervillains facing heroes they normally didn't fight.
- Never My Fault: Amora wants revenge on Zemo and the Avengers for foiling the scheme in "This Hostage Earth". Zemo suggests she take a little responsibility herself.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: As much of a Token Good Teammate as he was, Wonder Man may not have turned had Zemo not double-crossed the Avengers.
- Oh, Crap!:
- "Odin... Odin must be warned. The seal has been broken."
- Abomination right before Hulk sucker-punches him before standing down.
- Zemo when he learns that Thor isn't on Earth anymore.Baron Zemo: What do you mean, "gone"?!
- When Skrull Cap won't turn on the dampener as Amora closes in:Baron Zemo: Activate the dampeners, Captain. Now, Captain! Captain! Disappointing.
- Amora when she realizes the Norn stone literally sent her right into Surtur's hands.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Skrull Cap not activating the dampener despite giving his word to protect Zemo. Of course, by the time the dust has settled, everyone else is unconscious and Zemo gets stomped in the face before he can tell the others what really happened.
- Properly Paranoid:
- He can't put his finger on it, but Zemo suspects there is something different about Captain America.Baron Zemo: All of them would gladly let the Enchantress have her vengeance upon me if it suited their needs, but not you; not the "noble" Captain America. Isn't that right?
- Zola remarks that he was always suspicious of what really became of the Grey Gargoyle.
- He can't put his finger on it, but Zemo suspects there is something different about Captain America.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Amora is waging war on the Masters of Evil to make Zemo pay for foiling the scheme in "This Hostage Earth". Chemistro and Living Laser are still technically alive, though we never find out about Zola for certain.
- Save the Villain: Iron Man takes Hawkeye to save Crimson Dynamo from Amora and the Executioner.
- Something We Forgot: The episode deals with what became of the Masters of Evil, all of whom were on the loose when the Avengers were transported to different realms during the last arc of Season 1. By the end of the episode, they've all either suffered the wrath of Amora or been sent to 42. Thor also appears to give us an idea of what he's been up to since we saw him at the end of Season 1.
- Taking the Bullet: Skurge is taken out of the fight by shielding Amora from a Norn Stone blast.
- Villain Ball: While the double-cross is expected, Zemo is rather foolish for turning on the Avengers before Amora is properly restrained. The resulting battle causes the dampener to be destroyed and nearly gets them all killed.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Crimson Dynamo doesn't hesitate to turn on the Avengers after Zemo orders him to.
- We Need a Distraction: Zemo has the Crimson Dynamo ambush Amora and the Executioner to buy himself time to get the Avengers' help.Iron Man: You sent Dynamo to die?
Baron Zemo: That's what a team is for, yes?
