A Doctor Strange Villain Just Took Out the Avengers

One of Doctor Strange's oldest villains just took the entire Avengers team down a peg. SPOILERS follow for Avengers #7 by Jed MacKay, C.F. Villa, Federico Blee, and Cory Petit follow. Last week, Marvel Comics released a preview for Avengers #7 that had a few odd markings to it. For one, the Avengers were wearing dated costumes instead of their modern looks. For another, Vision had died, and the Avengers had failed to protect the earth from a destructive conquest. Avengers #7 eventually explains these oddities, revealing something less immediately concerning and more sinister at play, thanks to the villain called Nightmare.

Nightmare is a demonic villain, a Fear Lord who rules a Dream Dimension. He usually goes up against Doctor Strange or sometimes Ghost Rider, but he's chosen to turn his focus to the Avengers here. The Scarlet Witch, in a moment that feels like breaking the fourth wall, hears the verbose narration describing the Avengers' deaths throughout the early part of the issue, revealing Nightmare as the source of the account.

After confronting Nightmare, Scarlet Witch wakes to find that she and all of the Avengers save Vision (explaining the need for him to be dead in Nightmare's story) were put to sleep. The android Avenger has meanwhile been mounting a doomed defense of The Impossible City, the newest Avengers member/base, from incursion by Myrddin and the Twilight Court on their quest to find and finish Kang the Conqueror.

Two things stand out about Nightmare invading the Avengers' dreams. One is that he tried the same thing not too long ago against the X-Men, only to be put in his place rather thoroughly by Jean Grey. The Avengers may want to look into recruiting a psychic.

Second is that the scenario Nightmare inflicts on the Avengers may not be entirely fictional. When the Scarlet Witch approaches Nightmare, she declares, "This isn't real. This is a trick." Nightmare ominously tells her she's wrong. "Just because it's a trick…" he corrects, "… doesn't mean it can't be real."

What is that supposed to mean? Throughout the early part of the issue, there are allusions to the Avengers' world already being dead and something called The Black Presbyter finishing the job by unraveling the laws of reality.

Did Nightmare offer the Avengers a glimpse at a dead timeline? An alternate universe? Something that could have occurred previously, explaining the dated Avengers costumes? Is Kang the Conqueror somehow involved? Is this an example of one of the Tribulation events Kang warned the Avengers about? What about Myrdden and the Twilight Court? Is this related to last year's Timeless one-shot?

Marvel fans will have to keep reading to find out. Avengers #7 is on sale now.

• Avengers #7
• AUG230830
• (W) Jed MacKay (A) C.F. Villa (CA) Stuart Immonen
• ALL-NEW STORY ARC STARTS HERE!
• The Avengers defend the world – but they are beginning not to recognize the world as their own. What has happened to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and...what has happened to the Vision?
• Rated T+
• In Shops: Nov 01, 2023
• SRP: $3.99