This post covers most of the second half of the “Heroes Reborn” run of Avengers, as the title was transferred to Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Studios starting with issue #8 and written by comics legend Walter Simonson for the rest of its short run, during which the team faces a large number of new versions of classic foes—and greets an old friend, verily!
Issue #7 deals with a number of plotlines, with the only meaningful scene featuring Cap being the one below, with our hero sitting at the Swordsman’s side as he recovers from the battle with the Hulk in the “Industrial Revolution” storyline and praising his heroism.
At the end of the issue, Avengers Mansion is attacked by the Lethal Legion—the Enchantress, the Executioner, Wonder Man, and Ultron V—who circumvented the mansion’s extensive security measures thanks to the Scarlet Witch, who was under the control of the Enchantress (believed at the time to be her mother in this reality). We see the ensuing battle in the following double-page spread from issue #8…
…and we zoom in on the bit with Cap below, where he takes advantage of Ultron’s lack of battle skills. (No comment on the unfortunate sound effect.)
Cap spoke too soon: Ultron V learns from his mistakes, so Cap needs to do something new. (Hank Pym obviously didn’t build Ultrons as well as he did in the old world.)
(Cap must have taken up tennis during his period of domestic bliss.)
After the Enchantress and Wanda teleport away, Cap wonders why attacks have escalated—the readers know that Loki’s behind it—while Hellcat expresses her animal nature…
…which Cap quickly shuts down, only to have Thor say, “hold mine mead.”
To make Cap’s day even better, Nick Fury shows up before he has a chance to call, and we see the two are as close as ever.
The two trade barbs for the entirety of the next page, with Fury threatening to investigate Cap’s tax records (seriously?) while Cap demands to see the defeated foes SHIELD is holding (reasonable), both eventually coming around to acknowledging the increasingly frequent attacks.
About those prisoners, though… looks like SHIELD needs better shields.
(Cap was alluding to a famous incident from 1943 in which Lieutenant George S. Patton slapped two hospitalized soldiers who complained of shell shock, behavior for which he was reprimanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.)
Cap plays detective, suspecting that the prisoners were removed by supernatural means.
While Cap is hanging with his pal, the Masters of Evil (Whirlwind, Radioactive Man, Klaw, the Melter, and the Black Knight) attack the other Avengers at the end of the issue.
In issue #9, our heroes have little trouble defeating them, with Hawkeye patting himself on the back and Thor again considering ending them once and for all… but Cap arrives just in time to shut him down (again), and with a slight change in appearance that Clint appropriately picks up on. (Apparently Cap stopped off at the White House to speak with the president, as we saw in Captain America #7, after leaving the SHIELD helicarrier, with Nick always there like gum under your shoe.)
(And I can’t ignore Thor’s callback to Ben Urich’s famous comment from Daredevil #223!)
Cap elaborates on the Avengers’ “no killing” rule, and Thor invokes his right to exit.
Hawkeye takes his opportunity to criticize Cap’s leadership—some things never change—and Hellcat takes her leave as well, leaving Cap to wonder what happened (and Tony wondering the same thing from a different angle).
To make things worse, Cap learns that it is not only defeated foes who are disappearing, though his concern in this case is more personal.
At the end of the issue, Cap and Tony, joined by Hank (in the weird bug suit) and Janet (buzzing around somewhere), revisit the gamma core under Avengers Island, which is malfunctioning once again. Cap wishes Thor hadn’t left… but when a Thor is needed, a Thor will appear!
In issue #10, Tony is cautious about the new arrival but Cap has a good feeling about him, while Thor seems to think they should all be dead (and Jan is back to gushing over the Odinson, like in the days of yore).
Some of Cap’s memories of his 616 life are creeping back, which Thor seems ready to confirm over glorious battle and copious drink, but there is urgent business to be dealt with in this ersatz Midgard.
At the Baxter Building, Reed and Tony seem to be stumbling into the reality of their situation.
Later, while Hank and Janet update the rest on the status of the Vision, Cap and Nick get into it once again, but now Cap has an new ally who likes not the one-eyed man’s tone.
After meeting this “new” Thor (actually the old Thor), Nick tells him and Cap about the “old” Thor (actually the new Thor), currently attacking New York (on Loki’s orders), so this Thor leaves to investigate. His place is taken by Wanda (actually Hellcat in Wanda’s body, thanks to Loki), whom Cap thinks is his double agent on the other side, but he is a tad too gullible on that front (perhaps due to unconscious fondness for the 616 Wanda).
Cap is further disappointed to learn that Hawkeye has been turned as well, although I would think the difference is much harder to perceive! This reality’s Thor arrives with Wanda and Clint as well, mixing it up with Tony…
…until the O.G. returns to join in an epic clash of hammers.
At the end of the issue, Loki absorbs the radiation from the nuclear reactor, becoming… even more of a god… and as issue #11 begins he retreats to craft his plan to “reshape the world in our own image,” leaving a very naive Hellcat in his wake.
Tony sounds a defeatist tone, but Cap is having none of it, preferring to tend to their fallen enemy…
…who proceeds to free Wanda of Hellcat’s soul (which travels on to the next life), but finds it harder to release Clint, whose possession makes less sense to Cap, showing his regard for the pain in his rear guard.
Tony figures out that Loki is still drawing power from the reactor, so the heroes head down to destroy it, Cap calling on two Gods of Thunder (now working together to defeat Loki after our Thor convinced the other Thor there is glorious battle to be had).
The hammers just bounce off Loki’s mystical barrier, so the heroes (and the Enchantress) launch a final attack on Loki, with the Thor of this reality posing as Odin with the help of Wanda, Amora, and Agatha Harkness. They all fall to Loki’s might, but he is weakened enough for the others to join in, led by Cap, always willing to confront bullies in any reality.
In the end, Tony, Hank, and Thor defeat Loki, and Thor mourns his true brother. Afterwards, Clint expresses his shame to Cap, admitting his own resentment and jealousy may have made him particularly susceptible to Loki’s charms.
But Cap dismisses it all, praising Clint’s efforts when it counted, and reminding him when he’s due back to work.
Next, as we wind down the “Heroes Reborn” era… Galactus!
ISSUE DETAILS
Avengers (vol. 2) #7, May 1997: Rob Liefeld and Jeph Loeb (writers), Ian Churchill (pencils), Jon Sibal, Norm Rapmund, and Lary Stucker (inks), Andy Troy and Extreme Color and Don Skinner (colors), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 2) #8, June 1997: Walter Simonson (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Saleem Crawford, Will Conrad, and Norm Rapmund (inks), Nathan Lumm and Wildstorm FX (colors), Richard Starkings and Comicraft (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 2) #9, July 1997: Walter Simonson (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Saleem Crawford and Sal Regla (inks), Nathan Lumm and Wildstorm FX (colors), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 2) #10, August 1997: Walter Simonson (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Saleem Crawford and Sal Regla (inks), Nathan Lumm and Wildstorm FX (colors), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Avengers (vol. 2) #11, September 1997: Walter Simonson (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Saleem Crawfordand Sal Regla (inks), Nathan Lumm and Wildstorm FX (colors), Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne (letters). (More details at Marvel Database.)
Collected in: Heroes Reborn: The Avengers.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: Avengers #6, Captain America #6, and Iron Man #6 (April 1997)
ALSO THESE MONTHS: Captain America #7 (May 1997), Captain America #8-9 (June-July 1997), and Captain America #10-11 (August-September 1997)
NEXT ISSUES: Avengers #12, Fantastic Four #12, Iron Man #12, and Captain America #12 (October 1997)
THE VIRTUES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 
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