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- "Something was waiting for us. Something that we had been warned about. Thanos. He wanted the Mind Stone."
- ―Spider-Man[src]
The Battle of Wakanda, also known as the Wakanda Event, was a confrontation between the Zombie Outbreak Survivor Group and a zombified Thanos who sought to acquire all Infinity Stones.
Background[]
- "Thanos is coming. He's coming."
- ―Bruce Banner[src]
Desperate to bring Janet van Dyne back, Hank Pym took on a risky mission to venture into the Quantum Realm. Using the Quantum Tunnel, Pym managed to get there and find van Dyne, however, he found out that she was infected with the Quantum Virus and turned into a zombie. Having infected Pym, the two emerged from the Quantum Realm back on Earth and proceeded to spread the virus further, from San Francisco to the rest of the world. Despite the Avengers and Black Panther's attempt to intervene, the zombie outbreak eventually overtook the entire planet.
As the world was plunged into chaos and death, Vision sought a way to cure the Quantum Virus and assumed that the Mind Stone could be a key. He brought a zombified Scott Lang to Camp Lehigh and experimented with the Mind Stone, eventually being able to cure Lang's decapitated head and turn him back into human. Vision strived to cure Wanda Maximoff of the virus and as he continued his research, he needed human flesh to sustain Maximoff for the time being. Having Black Panther in his captivity, Vision fed Maximoff his leg and used fake distress calls to lure in survivors and feed them to Maximoff as well.
Meanwhile, Thanos made it his goal to achieve unmatched power by collecting all six Infinity Stones, which eventually pitted in him in the conflict with Hulk. Having five of the Stones in his possession, Thanos arrived on Earth to get his hands on the Mind Stone. Thanos arrived at Wakanda which was fallen to zombies and it did not take long until Thanos got infected and joined the horde as well. Banner was sent on Earth to warn the Avengers of Thanos' arrival, but then witnessed the planet being lost to zombies.
Joining up with the Zombie Outbreak Survivor Group, Banner traveled to Camp Lehigh, following a signal from a fellow survivor regarding the cure from the virus. As they met up with Vision, he revealed to them the progress of his experiments with the Mind Stone and how he managed to cure Lang's head. Winter Soldier sensed something suspicious and searched the base, finding a mangled Black Panther in Vision's captivity. Vision was forced to admit that he could not cure Maximoff due to her enormous power, but could not get rid of her either, so he kept her at the base and fed her human flesh.
Driven mad by starvation, Maximoff awakens and attacked the survivors, so they lose Kurt Goreshter, Okoye and Winter Soldier. Vision helped the survivors escape from the base and providing them with the Mind Stone to atone for what he had done. With Vision dying without the Stone, the zombies closed in on the survivors, so Hulk fought them and Maximoff to give Spider-Man, Black Panther and Lang enough time to get away. With the Mind Stone in their possession, the three took the Quadjet to Wakanda to continue the work on the cure, unaware that Thanos was there waiting for them.[1]
Battle[]
- "It all seemed hopeless. Thanos turned the Golden City inside out, exposing the molten vibranium in its reactor's core. I heard T'Challa say 'Wakanda forever,' quietly, like... Like he knew that it was the last time. T'Challa saved the universe. Every single one of us."
- ―Spider-Man[src]
As the Quadjet with the Zombie Outbreak Survivor Group remnants reached Birnin Zana, they witnessed Wakanda being overrun by zombies. Thanos used the Power Stone to force the Quadjet to crash, so Spider-Man, Black Panther and Scott Lang launched an attack. Knowing that he needed the Mind Stone to complete his Infinity Gauntlet, the three could not let that happen, so they fought Thanos. Despite his immeasurable power, Thanos' infected mind struggled to properly wield the Infinity Stones, so the three were able to land their attacks.
However, as the battle progressed, Thanos was learning and grasping his power better, even figuring out how to use the Reality Stone to summon more zombies to swarm the survivors. Being outnumbered, Spider-Man, Black Panther and Lang were about to be eaten alive, but then lightning descended from the sky and struck the zombies down. Thor, Rocket and Groot emerged from the Bifrost Bridge to participate in the battle. They charged at Thanos, with Thor launching the Stormbreaker into his chest, but it did little to stop him. In response, Thanos concentrated a devastating Power Stone blast, incinerating Rocket and Groot alive, while Thor was seriously injured and had a part of his face burnt.
Black Panther attacks Thanos with the Mind Stone
Thanos then used both Power and Space Stones to shatter the ground, which exposed the core of Wakanda's reactor, full of molten vibranium. Spider-Man, Black Panther and Lang then proceeded to charge at Thanos again, as Spider-Man used his Synthetic Webbing to pull the Stombreaker out of Thanos' chest and use it for an attack. Thanos was able to destroy the Stormbreaker with a Power Stone blast, but Spider-Man then webbed a massive rock that floated above him and pulled it down to drop it on Thanos. As Thanos emerged from the rubble unscathed, Black Panther signaled Spider-Man and took the Mind Stone off it, using its power to charge his attacks and damage Thanos.
Black Panther and Thanos fall into the reactor
However, Thanos charged his five Stones into a single punch that knocked Black Panther back and caused him to loosen a grip on the Mind Stone. Thanos then promptly used the Space Stone to reach it and inserted it into his Gauntlet, completing the set of the Infinity Stones. Black Panther realized that he only had one last chance to stop Thanos and that he would not come out of it alive. Using all the kinetic energy stored in his Panther Habit, Black Panther desperately charged at Thanos one more time and the impact caused him to lose his footing and fall back into the reactor.
As both Thanos and Black Panther both fell down and perished in the reactor, the Infinity Stones got destroyed and released an enormous surge of Infinity Energy. Spider-Man and Lang rushed to get away from the surge closing in on them, before the Masters of the Mystic Arts opened an Inter-Dimensional Portal and transport them to safety.[2]
Aftermath[]
As a result of the Infinity Stones being destroyed, the surge of Infinity Energy grew bigger and bigger, devastating everything in its way and threatening to destroy Earth whole. As the Masters of the Mystic Arts had no capacity to stop it on their own, they approached Bruce Banner who they thought could absorb the energy into himself. Banner willingly leaped into the surge and transformed into Hulk, allowing Infinity Energy to coarse through him. He managed to stop the destruction by becoming an anchor that kept the energy from spreading, losing both parts of his personality.[3]
Due to all the Infinity Energy remaining in the atmosphere, the planet was cut off from any intergalactic communications as no signal could go through. It was a serious roadblock for the Project Lifeshot, spearheaded by the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. in an attempt to reach out to the Nova Corps and request their help to combat the Quantum Virus outbreak. S.H.I.E.L.D. planned to launch the Intergalactic Transmitter into outer space, but their plans fell through due to a zombie horde attacking the base.
The transmitter was then shrunk down with Pym Particles and swallowed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was being infected and needed to keep the transmitter safe. The agent then got into a Quinjet and flew as far away from the base as possible, which led to him crushing in New York City and the transmitter being found by Kamala Khan, Riri Williams and Kate Bishop.[4]
As Wanda Maximoff proclaimed herself to be the Queen of the Dead, she sought a way to take control of the Infinity Energy to fix the world in the way she sees fit. She knew that Hulk was way too powerful even for her, so she started to build an army of zombies from across the world and sought to use Khan's Noor powers to achieve her goal.[2]
It all eventually led to a final confrontation in Paris where Maximoff's forces attacked Hulk, before he was aided by Khan and other survivors. However, the survivors started falling and Maximoff was able to get to Hulk and harness the Infinity Energy from his body. She then manipulated Khan into succumbing to despair of watching her friends die and made her accept Maximoff's offer to fix the world together.[3]