Appearing in "Darkness on the Edge of Time!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)
- Vision
- Iceman (Bobby Drake) (Main story and recap)
Antagonists:
- The Tribunal
- Elves with Guns
- Kamado (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Lord / God (Invoked)
- Neptune (Invoked)
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Secret Empire
- Galactus (Galan) (Mentioned)
- X-Men (Only in recap)
- Angel (Warren Worthington) (Only in recap)
- Havok (Alex Summers) (Only in recap)
- Lorna Dale (Only in recap)
- Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Only in recap)
- Unus the Untouchable (Gunther Bain) (Only in recap)
- Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde) (Only in recap)
- Mesmero (Only in recap)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Only in recap)
- Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch) (Only in recap)
- Dolly Donahue (Mentioned)
- Tom Pritchett (Only in flashback)
- Charles Lester (Only in flashback)
- Richard Kessler (Only in flashback)
- Mutant Force (Only in recap)
- Burner (Byron Calley) (Only in recap)
- Lifter (Ned Lathrop) (Only in recap)
- Peeper (Peter Quinn) (Only in recap)
- Shocker (Randall Darby) (Only in recap)
- Slither (Aaron Salomon) (Only in recap)
- Jack Norriss (Only in recap)
- Buzz Baxter (Only in recap)
- Luann Bloom (Time-Buoy Number 6-C)
- Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond) (Mentioned)
- Defenders (Earth-8394) (First appearance) (Only in flashforward)
- Silver Surfer (Earth-8394) (First appearance) (Only in flashforward)
- Doctor Strange (Earth-8394) (First appearance) (Only in flashforward)
- Hulk (Earth-8394) (First appearance) (Only in flashforward)
- Sub-Mariner (Earth-8394) (First appearance) (Only in flashforward)
- Dormammu-8394 (Referenced)
- Vishanti-8394 (Referenced)
- Tom Pritchett-8394 (Only in flashforward)
- Charles Lester-8394 (Only in flashforward)
- Richard Kessler-8394 (Only in flashforward)
- Neptune (Referenced)
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Atlantean-Human Hybrids
- Zenn-Lavians
- Elves
- Tribunals
- Atlanteans (Mentioned)
- Kamado (First appearance)
- Mutants
- Synthezoids
- Asgardians
- Demons (Referenced)
Locations:
- Alternate future reality
- Earth-616
- Earth
- United States of America
- Gobi Desert, China (Mentioned)
- Atlantis (Referenced)
- Zenn-La (Mentioned)
- Heaven (Invoked)
- Earth
Items:
- Cloak of Levitation
- Eye of Agamotto
- Captain America's Uniform (Only in recap)
- Captain America's Shield (Only in recap)
- Dragonfang
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Darkness on the Edge of Time!"
The original Defenders—Dr. Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer—are shown Earth in the 24th Century, where it has become a wasteland. The Elf then takes them to stand before the Tribunal. Back on Earth, SHIELD arrives at the Vision and Scarlet Witch’s house to take custody of Cloud, Seraph, and Harridan. Beast is concerned about the return of the Secret Empire and tries to convince the Vision and Scarlet Witch to join the Defenders against this common enemy, but they are committed to living as a normal couple and have no interest in joining another super-hero team. Meanwhile, the Tribunal explains that they have taken a form that the Defenders can comprehend. They exist outside of time—yet throughout all times—and act as sort of an anti-body to the universe, seeking out disease and eliminating it wherever and whenever they can. They created the Elves to serve as their physical agents on Earth, giving them a form that was familiar throughout mankind’s history. The first Elf With A Gun used his time-displacement gun to remove people from the timestream whose existence posed a threat to Earth’s future, until he was hit by a truck. Determining that the Defenders were the focal point of the problem with Earth’s future, the Tribunal posed as a government agency that was investigating the group. Then, they created a mechanical “time-buoy” to pose as Kyle Richmond’s nurse, Luann Bloom, to monitor the Defenders more closely. When the Defenders demand proof that they are responsible for Earth’s fate, the Tribunal shows them a vision of an alien spaceship that lands on Earth. Dr. Strange investigates and finds out that the aliens’ prince, Ch’kra, has fallen ill and the aliens have taken several Earthlings to drain their life-energies and cure him. The aliens are peaceful and mean no harm, but they need their prince to lead them, and only human life-energy can restore him to health since the disease he suffers from originated on Earth. Strange attempts to communicate with the aliens, but they assume he is an enemy and capture him. Strange’s astral self contacts Namor, the Surfer, and the Hulk for help. They attack the spaceship in order to free Strange and the other captive humans, but they are stunned to find that the aliens have all committed suicide.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- Cover pencils and colours by Plunkett, inks by Weiss.
- Scheele is credited as Christy Scheele.