Thunder War

Thunder War is the three-part series premiere episode of Avengers Unleashed. It is the 1st, 2nd and 3rd episodes of Season 1.
== Characters ==
=== Featured Characters ===
* Avengers
** Captain America / Steve Rogers
** Iron Man / Tony Stark
*** F.R.I.D.A.Y. (first appearance)
** Spider-Man / Peter Parker (joins team) (joins Phoenix Corps)
** Thor
** Hulk / Bruce Banner
** Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff
** Hawkeye / Clint Barton
** Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers
** Black Panther / T'Challa
** Phoenix Princess / Mary Jane Watson (first appearance as Phoenix Princess) (merges with Light Phoenix) (joins team) (joins Phoenix Corps)
** Black Cat / Felicia Hardy (first appearance) (joins team)
** White Swan / Gwen Stacy (first appearance) (joins team)
** Wasp / Janet Van Dyne
** Falcon / Sam Wilson (first appearance) (joins team) (joins Phoenix Corps)
*** Redwing (first appearance) (joins team) (also a member of the Phoenix Corps)
** Ant-Man / Scott Lang (first appearance) (joins team)
=== Supporting Characters ===
* Henry "Hank" Pym
* Mantis (first appearance) (leaves the Thunderbolts)
* Queen Andrea Carter (first appearance)
** Phoenix Corps (assembled)
*** Air-Force / Sharon Carter (first appearance as Air-Force) (joins team)
*** Jean Grey (first appearance)
*** Red She-Hulk / Betty Lockwood (first appearance as Red She-Hulk) (joins team)
*** Inferno / Dante Pertuz (first appearance)
*** Summer Knight / Winter Soldier / James Bucky Barnes (first appearance as Summer Knight) (single appearance as Winter Soldier) (leaves Hydra and joins team)
* Future Resistance (single appearance)
** Arsenal (single appearance)
** Unnamed Members (single appearance)
* Sally Avril
* Happy Hogan (first appearance)
=== Villains ===
* Kang the Conqueror (single appearance)
** J. Jonah Jameson (single appearance)
** Thunderbolts (assembled; disbands)
*** Citizen V / Baron Helmut Zemo (first appearance) (single appearance as Citizen V) (joins and leaves)
*** Hyperion / J. John Jameson Jr. (first appearance) (joins and leaves)
*** Power Princess / Zarda (first appearance) (single appearance as Power Princess) (joins and leaves)
*** Vulture / Nighthawk / Adrian Toomes (first appearance) (single appearance as Nighthawk) (joins and leaves)
*** Mysterio / Doctor Spectrum / Quentin Beck (first appearance) (single appearance as Doctor Spectrum) (joins and leaves)
*** Speed Demon / James Sanders (first appearance) (joins and leaves)
* Leader / Samuel Sterns (first appearance)
* Mandarin (first appearance)
* Hydra
** Arnim Zola
* General Ross
** Hulkbuster Scientists
=== Other Characters ===
* Fantastic Four (mentioned only)
* New York Police Department
** Commissioner George Stacy
** James Paxton (first appearance)
* Wanda Maximoff (first appearance)
* Max Dillon (first appearance)
* Thanos (impersonated by synthezoids)
** Outriders (impersonated by synthezoids)
* Stan Lee
== Premise ==
After the Avengers are sent to the future by Kang the Conqueror, Mayor J. Jonah Jameson enlists a team of apparent superheroes called the Thunderbolts to replace them as New York’s new protectors and (to everyone's objections and displeasure) forbids the vigilance of other heroes. But knowing that New York’s “new heroes” are not what Jameson claims they are, Spider-Man works alongside his friends to expose the Thunderbolts’ connection with Kang’s plans, bring the Avengers back to the present and save New York from the Thunderbolts’ tyranny.
== Plot ==
=== Part 1: Shattered Warriors ===
The Avengers (consisting of Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Thor and Hulk) are battling Kang the Conqueror, who is planning to destroy New York City with a new weapon he implanted in the Mayor Hall. Just as the heroes subdue Kang and Iron Man stops the bomb, however, the whole situation turns out to be a trap as the machine blasts the Avengers and sends them to Kang's period in the future. As Kang speaks with his secret informant of his plan's apparent success, Wasp silently and secretly observes and records everything with her cameras before flying away.
Next day, Peter Parker overhears as J. Jonah Jameson, who had been elected Mayor of New York, announces that New York will now be "protected" from future threats by the Thunderbolts, a new group of (said to be) heroes who are to be the Avengers' replacement. To everyone's (specially Peter's) displeasure and objections, Jameson also decrees a law which forbids the vigilance of other heroes (even the Fantastic Four) who are not in the Thunderbolts' team in New York. Peter voices regret on having not accepted Captain America's offer to join the Avengers (which Peter refused to keep Jameson from accusing Cap of "ruining the team by enlisting Spider-Man"), to which Doctor Hank Pym assures him that one day, Jameson will see the error of his ways and be accused of being what he hated the most. Peter eventually continues fighting crime in secret as Spider-Man while granting joy the citizens (including his step-cousin Gwen Stacy) who are also reluctant to accept the Thunderbolts as their 'protectors'. Just then, Spider-Man is met with the Wasp, who comes with the evidences of the truth about the Avengers' disappearance.
Meanwhile, Captain America and the Avengers with him find themselves stranded in Kang's time, a world where the human race is overrun by aliens after the superheroes were destroyed. Just as they are about to be annihilated by Kang's forces, they are saved by the last surviving metahumans and the A.I. robot Arsenal, who is leading the Resistance against Kang. Arsenal also agrees to help the displaced heroes find a way to bring them back to their time while also working to expose the human who helped Kang with his plans. Meanwhile, in the Present world, Peter and Pym oversee Wasp's footage and discover the truth (which both suspected): it was Jameson who allowed Kang to abduct the Avengers to fake his own “heroic deeds” and take control of all, and the Thunderbolts’ leader Citizen V is in reality Captain America’s great adversary Baron Zemo. As Pym works to build a device which will bring back the Avengers, Peter (as Spider-Man) works to infiltrate the Mayor Hall to get the supplies they need to stop and expose the Thunderbolts for who they really are. Just then, Peter overhears of the Thunderbolts battling the forces of Hydra and, to Peter's shock, the battle is taking place in Midtown High... where Gwen is.
Having taken advantage of the Avengers' absence, Arnim Zola has planned to create a new Super Soldier Weapon using the DNA of metahumans channeled through a diamond stone. The Thunderbolts battle Zola and his goons as Peter rushes to save Gwen. Though the Thunderbolts manage to stop Zola’s plan, the battle results in Gwen, who was among the citizens witnessing the weapon’s creation, getting injured and hit by one of the diamond’s scattering shards. As Zola and his men retreat, the Thunderbolts attempt to take Gwen to a hospital, but only for a furious Peter to keep them away from her and demand them to leave. As Gwen is given medical attention, Peter angrily vows that Jameson and his Thunderbolts will pay for the incident, although Pym still reminds him of Uncle Ben’s words about Justice over Revenge. Just then, Peter and Pym end up discovering an teleportation portal to the Nest of Helios, a Paradise Island ruled by Andrea Carter, the first host of the Light Side of the Phoenix Force, who offers them the mission to help resurrect the Island’s omnipotent guardian entity Light Phoenix in exchange of helping bring back the Avengers and end the Thunderbolts’ tyranny. The two accept and Peter is made a member of the new generation of the Phoenix Corps by a dying elder. As Peter promises Gwen he will come back for her and leaves with the Tribe’s messenger Redwing and the Phoenix Corps’ commander Jean Grey to find the new recruits, Gwen is shown recovering from her injuries as the shard which was stuck in her merges with her, her eyes ignite energy light and her body levitates in the air.
To Be Continued...
=== Part 2: The Phoenix Reborn ===
In the Mayor Hall, the Thunderbolts are bickering over their failure to uncover Hydra's secrets (which were their key for their ascension to full World Order) until their argument is cut short by Jameson, who compliments that Gwen Stacy's critical condition was an "occupational casualty" and claims that their next move will be flawless. They are then contacted by Kang, who demands them to find and obtain the Nexus of All Realities, which Kang intends to use for his great purposes. Once again, Wasp spies on Jameson, Kang and the Thunderbolts and records the situation before heading back to the underground of Pym Industries.
Back in Kang's time, the Avengers continue aiding Arsenal and the Resistance in battling Kang's forces while working to find a way to contact Hank Pym in their time. Meanwhile, having started to recruit the members of the Phoenix Corps by recruiting young Inhuman Dante Pertuz / Inferno, Spider-Man and Jean Grey break into a Siberian Hydra Base, where they defeat Bucky Barnes (who was brainwashed by Hydra as the Winter Soldier) and convert him to the Phoenix Force, transforming him into the Summer Knight and recruiting him to the Corps. Spider-Man is contacted by Wasp, who warns him of Kang's plans, and Air-Force searches for the Nexus before the Thunderbolts do. In New York City, Mary Jane Watson and Felicia Hardy are complaining about Jameson's arrogance until they encounter the Thunderbolts' naive but innocent child prodigy Mantis, who had just fled their headquarters due to Power Princess having been constantly treating her like a helpless pet, much for Mary Jane and Felicia's displeasure.
Mary Jane and Felicia comfort Mantis and decide to take her with them; they also invite her to join Spider-Man’s side while teaching her to maneuver the abilities she was unaware of, including her empathic powers and her ability to manipulate plant life. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Summer Knight infiltrate a rogue military base, where criminal scientists allied to U.S. General-turned-fugitive Thunderbolt Ross had mutated his adopted daughter Betty Lockwood into a Red-Skinned Gamma-Radiated metahuman (addressed to as Red She-Hulk). The duo subdue the scientists, apprehend Ross and convert Betty to the Phoenix Corps. Back in Pym Industries, Gwen awakens to discover that the diamond shard which merged with her has given her the powers of the metahumans Zola’s men captured (those including Flight, Telekinesis, Telepathy (from Wanda Maximoff), Electricity Manipulation (from Max Dillon) and the ability to turn her body and skin into pure indestructible diamond (she can also turn her arms into weapons at this state and absorb and redirect energy blasts)) and trains to make good use of them... and also give the Thunderbolts "a taste of their own medicine".
In Sokovia, Spider-Man and Jean Grey encounter former U.S.A.F. pararescueman and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sam Wilson taking Wanda Maximoff back home and upgrade his wing pack into a Falcon-based body armor, recruiting him in to the Corps the progress. In the Pym Industries Underground, Gwen finishes practicing her abilities and makes peace with Mantis, whom she acknowledges to have never really been trained to be one of the Thunderbolts. Back in the Nest of Helios, with the new Corps complete, Peter, Queen Andrea and the chosen recruits to the Corps start the focusing ritual in the Nest of Helios and successfully resurrect Light Phoenix. Mary Jane also joins the ritual to offer herself in becoming the Phoenix's new host. Peter is initially concerned that something may go wrong, but Mary Jane calmly convinces him to let her do this by claiming that it is time for those he holds dear to accomplish what he did for the sake of all. Mary Jane approaches the entity, who successfully merges with her. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts get a new member with a mysterious white hooded young woman only known as the Oracle. Unbeknownst for them, she is actually Mary Jane as a double agent allied to Spider-Man. Furthermore, she obtains the resources the team will need to bring back the Avengers.
To Be Continued...
=== Part 3: Avengers Reassembled ===
As the Thunderbolts continue watching over the Earth while also intimidating the citizens who protest against them or Jameson, Mary Jane (still disguised as Oracle) stands next to Jameson while secretly stealing the technology Kang shared with the Thunderbolts. Back in the Pym Industries underground, Spider-Man and Doctor Hank Pym have fully assembled their team (consisting of Ant-Man / Scott Lang, Wasp, Felicia (on her Wakandan moniker of Black Cat), Gwen (who had taken the moniker of White Swan), Mantis and the Phoenix Corps) and they are ready to bring the Avengers back from the future and end the Thunderbolts' tyranny once and for all.
They are given by Mary Jane the tech they need to bring back the Avengers as well as more footage of Jameson's confession of his part in Kang's plans against the Avengers. Pym is also able to contact Iron Man, who likewise prepares the same device so they can be connected. As the Avengers keep Kang and his forces in the future occupied, Spider-Man and his team set out to neutralize the Thunderbolts' security protocols piece by piece while also baiting them with extra-realistic Life Model Decoys posing as Thanos and his Outriders enough to buy Spider-Man and Wasp time to infiltrate the Daily Bugle Communications building. The Thunderbolts defeat and destroy the decoys, but they realize too late that they were caught in a trap as Spider-Man and Wasp successfully broadcast the recorded footage and expose the truth about Jameson and the Thunderbolts for all New York citizens to see and hear, including Jameson's involvement with Kang's abduction of the Avengers and the identity of the Thunderbolts’ leader Citizen V as Baron Zemo.
Spider-Man eventually drags Jameson out of the Mayor Hall to be beaten up by the angered mob. Against Zemo's orders, the Thunderbolts hunt Spider-Man down, but only to be ambushed and taken into a fight by his friends and the Phoenix Corps. Falcon and Redwing manage to attack and disrupt Nighthawk and Doctor Spectrum's stabilizers, exposing the two as Vulture and Mysterio respectively. Seeing the failure of his plan, Zemo attempts to destroy the city with nuclear bombs implanted on the Thunderbolts and flee in his glider, but he is stopped by Summer Knight and Air-Force, who disable the bombs and apprehend him. Back in the future, the Avengers and the Resistance are battling Kang's forces until Spider-Man's actions subsequently change the world to a tyrant-free utopia. Realizing what is happening, Kang travels to the Avengers' time and confronts Spider-Man in the Mayor Hall. Just then, Spider-Man is joined in the fight by Mary Jane, who changes from her guise of Oracle to the form of a winged Pyrokinetic amazonian warrior styling herself as Phoenix Princess. The couple disable his time-travelling gadgets and distract him long enough for Pym to activate his completed invention, which successfully transports the Avengers back to the present.
Seeing the Avengers coming back from the future, Hyperion leaves his fellow Thunderbolts behind and attempts to attack the heroes, but only to be defeated by Thor and Hulk. With the remaining Thunderbolts neutralized, the assembled heroes defeat Kang, who is then imprisoned into a alternate timeline by Spider-Man and Phoenix Princess and entrapped into a endless Time Loop which he cannot get away from, and the Thunderbolts are taken to prison along with Jameson as Stark’s old friend and former bodyguard Happy Hogan is elected Mayor of New York City. Having been given a new sense of confidence after knowing the citizens fully trust and respect him, Spider-Man finally accepts Captain America's offer in joining the Avengers, who are also joined by Ant-Man, Black Cat, Phoenix Princess, Falcon, Redwing and White Swan. As the world celebrates the return of the Avengers, Mandarin and Leader, who had been previously banished from Earth by the Thunderbolts, vow revenge on them until they cross paths with Thanos, who has more important plans for them.
== Voice Cast ==
* Scott Porter as Spider-Man / Peter Parker
* Ashley Johnson as Phoenix Princess / Mary Jane Watson
* Roger Craig Smith as Captain America / Steve Rogers
* Mick Wingert as Iron Man / Tony Stark
* Mae Whitman as White Swan / Gwen Stacy
* Laura Bailey as Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff
* Travis Willingham as Thor
* Fred Tatasciore as Hulk, Doctor Spectrum / Mysterio
* Troy Baker as Hawkeye / Clint Barton
* Jennifer Hale as Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers, Light Phoenix, F.R.I.D.A.Y.
* Lacey Chabert as Air-Force / Princess Sharon Carter
* Wally Wingert as Hank Pym
* Colleen Villard as Wasp / Janet Van Dyne
* James C. Mathis III as Black Panther / T'Challa
* Ashly Burch as Black Cat / Felicia Hardy
* Bumper Robinson as Falcon / Sam Wilson
* Crispin Freeman as Ant-Man / Scott Lang, Summer Knight / Winter Soldier / Bucky Barnes
* Jessica DiCicco as Mantis, Wanda Maximoff
* Kari Wahlgren as Jean Grey, Sally Avril
* Olivia d'Abo as Queen Andrea Carter
* Vicki Lewis as Red She-Hulk / Betty Ross
* Yuri Lowenthal as Inferno / Dante Pertuz
* Alan Tudyk as Commissioner George Stacy
* Nolan North as Arsenal, Mayor Happy Hogan, Officer Paxton
* Jonathan Adams as Kang the Conqueror
* Wil Wheaton as Hyperion / J. John Jameson Jr.
* Adrienne Wilkinson as Power Princess / Zarda
* Jeffrey Combs as Nighthawk / Vulture
* Jason Spisak as Speed Demon
* Ron Perlman as the Mandarin
* as Dr. Arnim Zola
* Clancy Brown as J. Jonah Jameson
* Keith Ferguson as Thunderbolt Ross
* Isaac C. Singleton Jr. as Thanos
* Stan Lee as himself (archive footage)
== Notes ==
* In her last line in Part 1: Shattered Warriors, Gwen is heard asking: "Guys, why is the ceiling so low?" after the diamond which was stuck in her body merges with her and her powers manifest. This moment is similar to Carol Danvers in the end of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! episode "459", on which her Kree-radiation powers manifest after she regains consciousness.
== References ==
Category:Episodes
Category:Avengers Unleashed
Category:Series premieres
Category:Multi-Part Episodes