In Avengers: Twilight's desolate future, the world is still haunted by H-Day, a battle with the artificial intelligence Ultron that resulted in the deaths of many heroes. As a result, the original Avengers have been replaced by new heroes working with the totalitarian government.
Among the new breed of "hero" is James Stark, son of the original Iron Man and the Wasp. James' mentor, Kyle Jarvis, is secretly the Red Skull, working in concert with Ultron's captive consciousness to seize control of the world.
To counter the Nazi's machinations, Luke Cage recruited Steve Rogers to his underground resistance called the Defenders.
Steve agreed to retake the Super-Soldier Serum and become Captain America once more, recruiting Ms. Marvel, Thor, a new Hawkeye, and Tony Stark, now housed in a robotic body, to his cause. The team infiltrated the headquarters of the replacement Avengers, only to discover that they were mere projections engineered by the Red Skull.
The villain, now also in a mechanical body, then revealed that he's already begun his full takeover of America, launching an attack on the government with James by his side.
In today's penultimate issue, he murders the United States President and enacts his plan to take control of the country by destroying Ultron and pitting the returning Avengers against an army of soldiers who have been manipulated and brainwashed by the media for decades. James, fully under the Skull's influence, viciously attacks - and likely kills - Tony (we see his son caves the hero's head in).
It's hard to imagine Iron Man surviving those injuries, though he has spent decades as a severed head in a jar, so you never know!
We then learn the truth about H-Day/Hero Day. The reason the world has been at peace since superheroes were killed and outlawed is that America finally managed to get its hands on the ultimate weapon to threaten other nations with.
It's unclear whether this was a happy accident following Ultron's attack or America's plan all along; either way, the weapon in question now belongs to the Red Skull...The Hulk!
It seems he's been brought under government control, making him the deadliest weapon known to man. Can what remains of Earth's Mightiest Heroes stop the Jade Giant? We'll no doubt find out in the finale, but Avengers: Twilight is definitely making a political statement about the U.S. which might not be to every reader's liking.
Take a closer look at The Hulk's return in Avengers: Twilight #5 below.
America and democracy are under attack! Can THE AVENGERS of tomorrow save a country from itself, as their greatest enemy dismantles everything CAPTAIN AMERICA holds dear? It's a battle decades in the making, and no one is safe!
AVENGERS: TWILIGHT #5
Written by CHIP ZDARSKY
Art by DANIEL ACUNA
Cover by ALEX ROSS