The New Avengers have uncovered one of the darkest, most well-kept secrets in the history of the Marvel Universe. A secret from Nick Fury's past that reveals the secret origins of the Avengers themselves. Plus, who invented the Infinity Formula and why was Nick Fury the only person to ever have taken it? Or was he?? Bendis reunites with superstar artist Mike Deodato Jr. (Dark Avengers, Secret Avengers) and they both welcome a guest appearance by comics legend Howard Chaykin.Plus: another illustrated chapter of the oral history of the Avengers
This issue cuts back and forth between the present (illustrated by Mike Deodato and featuring the New Avengers fighting Superia) and the past (1959 in this issue, illustrated by Howard Chaykin and featuring Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan assembling an early Avengers team). In this particular issue it is by no means obvious what if anything the past and present sequences have to do with one another.
In the present, Mockingbird is barely clinging to life after taking a gunshot wound to the stomach in the previous issue. Ms. Marvel and the other New Avengers still on the scene are having a hard time handling Superia, who has seemingly undergone significant power increase levels since her last appearance. In the midst of the battle, emergency responders on en route to pick up Mockingbird. Team members Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist left the scene in the previous issue with much of Superia's equipment still loaded up on three trucks, and begin investigating what she's up to. As the emergency crews arrive at the end of the issue, Superia, enraged that the heroes ambushed her before she necessarily did anything that was actually illegal and hence breached etiquette, unleashes a massive blast of vague power/energy that knocks the entire team off their feet.
In the 1959 segment, Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan travel the world assembling an Avengers team. The team consists of Sabretooth, Kraven the Hunter, Namora (apparently Kraven's girlfriend at the time), Dominic Fortune, Ulysees Bloodstone and Ernst Sablinova, the original Silver Sable (and current Silver Sable's father). No hints just yet on what the team's purpose or mission is to be.