- "You just left out how she died the same way her mother did, doing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dirty work!"
"And that gave you permission to murder them? Anthony Stark? Clint Barton? Bruce Banner? Natasha Romanoff?"
"You took everything from me. I wanted you to hurt. To witness everything you've ever worked for... fought for... hoped for... die." - ―Yellowjacket and Loki[src]
The Assassination of the Avengers was a series of murders carried out by Yellowjacket to avenge the death of his daughter by killing the Avengers Initiative candidates.
Background[]
Hope van Dyne's Demise[]
- "Agent Hope van Dyne was killed on a mission outside Odesa, Ukraine."
"Agent? She was my daughter! My little girl. She missed her mother and you exploited that!" - ―Loki and Yellowjacket[src]
Following the steps of her mother, Hope van Dyne joined S.H.I.E.L.D., however, she was killed during a mission in Odesa. Blinded by grief and rage, Hank Pym blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury in van Dyne's death and swore revenge. Using van Dyne's old S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance, Pym found out that Fury started the Avengers Initiative to put together a group of remarkable individuals. Armed with the Yellowjacket Suit, Pym took it upon himself to ruin everything Fury wanted to build by killing any candidate for the Initiative.[1]
Assassinations[]
Target: Tony Stark[]
Yellowjacket attacks Tony Stark
- "I'm here about Tony Stark. I believe he was murdered."
"What? By whom?"
"Me. Or at least someone's trying to make it look that way, using this." - ―Black Widow and Betty Ross[src]
Aware that Tony Stark was a potential candidate for the Avengers Initiative, Yellowjacket hid in the ampule with the lithium dioxide that S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to use against Stark's Palladium infection. When Black Widow injected Stark with the antidote, Yellowjacket took the opportunity to enter Stark's body and rearrange his organs. Stark suddenly started convulsing and collapsed on the floor before dying, to Fury and Black Widow's shock.
Tony Stark is dead
A prime suspect for Stark's murder, Romanoff was apprehended by the STRIKE unit and Alexander Pierce ordered Brock Rumlow to bring her in for questioning. Fury, however, was certain that Romanoff was innocent and suspected that someone with S.H.I.E.L.D. connections had compromsed the antidote. Fury ordered Romanoff to go off the radar and find the culprit, giving her an ampule with the Lithium Dioxide. As Romanoff was escorted to New York City in the convoy, Romanoff freed herself and escaped after fighting off the STRIKE agents.[1]
Target: Thor Odinson[]
- "First Stark, now Muscle Beach. That's two high value S.H.I.E.L.D. targets killed by our own agents inside 24 hours."
- ―Nick Fury[src]
Targeting Hawkeye next, Yellowjacket arrived at Puente Antiguo where S.H.I.E.L.D. set up an investigation site to research the Mjølnir. Suddenly, Thor broke into the facility to retrieve his hammer, taking out S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on his way. Phil Coulson notified Nick Fury about Thor's presence at the site, so Fury ordered Hawkeye to monitor Thor's movements and keep him posted.
Thor is dead
Armed with his bow and arrows, Hawkeye took a position at the higher point and informed Fury that Thor made it to the hammer. Hawkeye told Fury that he had a chance to take a shot but Fury ordered him to stand down, as he wanted to see what Thor would do next. Yellowjacket assumed that Fury would try to recruit Thor for the Avengers Initiative and decided that he must die as well. As Thor reached to pick his hammer, Yellowjacket tapped on Hawkeye's arm, causing him to misfire and shoot an arrow at Thor, which resulted in his death.[1]
Target: Clint Barton[]
Clint Barton is dead
Hawkeye was apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for disobeying Fury's direct orders and killing Thor, although he kept insisting that he did not kill him. Barton was locked in the holding cell, while S.H.I.E.L.D. was investigating the incident and examining Thor's body. While Barton was in the cell, Yellowjacket killed him by flying into his ear and causing a hemorrhage in his brain.
In the wake of Thor's death, an army of Asgard, led by Loki invaded Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. unit confronted the Asgardians, as Loki told Fury that they came to avenge Thor's death. After a brief confrontation, Fury convinced Loki to give him time until the next day to find a true culprit behind Thor's murder.[1]
Target: Bruce Banner[]
- "The Avengers Initiative. Seems our killer is going after the candidates."
"If someone wanted to kneecap S.H.I.E.L.D., that's a good place to start. Who else is on the list?"
"That's the thing. Bruce Banner and you." - ―Nick Fury and Black Widow[src]
On the run from S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow arrived at Culver University and requested Betty Ross' assistance in investigating Tony Stark's death. Ross ran tests on the antidote ampule and concluded that the antidote did not have any traces of foreign substances and whatever killed Stark, it was not biological. Nick Fury informed Black Widow that Clint Barton was killed and the culprit targeted the Avengers Initiative candidates, so after finding Bruce Banner at the university, she told him to run.
Yellowjacket attacks Hulk
However, Banner was tracked down by the United States Army battalion, led by Thaddeus Ross. Black Widow tried to stop soldiers from attacking, claiming that Banner was under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody, however, Yellowjacket attacked Banner, entering his body. The injury resulted in Banner turning into Hulk and attacking the soldiers, assuming that he was hit by their sniper. While Hulk was fighting against the soldiers, Yellowjacket inside his body hit his heart with the Pym Particle Disc, causing it to enlarge, which resulted in Hulk's death.[1]
Target: Natasha Romanoff[]
Yellowjacket attacks Black Widow
- "Fury, it's Hope! It's all about Hope!"
- ―Black Widow to Nick Fury[src]
Black Widow hid herself at Manassas Public Library and accessed the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database to investigate the murders. Black Widow discovered that Hope van Dyne accessed the Avengers Initiative files despite being dead for two years, and figured out that she was involved in the killings in some way. Black Widow tried to contact Nick Fury about that, however, Yellowjacket managed to find her.
Using his microscopic size and the darkness to his advantage, Yellowjacket attacked Black Widow, as she was unable to see him or fend off his attacks. Yellowjacket quickly overwhelmed her by hitting her against the walls and the celling. She tried to reach for her phone as it connected to Fury's voice message, screaming that it was "all about Hope" before being Yellowjacket finished her off.[1]
Nick Fury's Trap[]
Yellowjacket is confronted by Loki
- "That's it? You murdered him because you could?"
"His death was a favor. Yours will be a triumph." - ―Loki and Yellowjacket[src]
With Black Widow's final message, Nick Fury figured out that she meant Hope van Dyne, and concluded that Hank Pym was behind the killings. Fury organized a trap for Pym at van Dyne's grave in San Francisco, using Loki disuguised at him as a bait. Being confronted by Loki in Fury's disguise, Pym admitted to killing the Avengers Initiative candidates and Thor as a retribution for the death of his daughter.
Intending to kill Fury as well, Pym attacked Loki, however, Loki was able to effortlessly deflect all of his attacks. As his attacks were not effective, Pym attempted to fire his pulse stingers at him, but Loki tricked Pym with his illusions, surrounding him. Eventually, Pym tried to fly away, only to be confronted by the giant illusion of Fury in the sky. Loki caught Pym in the icy trap and knocked him down on the ground, before revealing his true identity to defeated Pym. As a part of a deal between Fury and Loki, Pym was apprehended by Asgardians so he could be punished for murdering their prince.[1]
Aftermath[]
The fallen Avengers
- "The Avengers fell before they had a chance to rise. May they rest in peace."
"They can, but we won't." - ―Phil Coulson and Nick Fury[src]
With Hank Pym neutralized, Loki decided to turn against Nick Fury and ordered the Einherjar army to conquer Earth, as there was no one to stop him. In response, Fury relaunched the Avengers Initiative, recruiting Captain Marvel and Captain America into the Avengers.[1] The confrontation between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Asgardians resulted in Loki attacking the Helicarrier and preparing to enthrall Fury with the Scepter. However, Loki was stopped by a Black Widow from an alternate unvierse who joined the Avengers in their fight against Asgardians.[2]