The Avengers #199

"Last Stand on Long Island"

Hawkeye finds himself alone and up against the humongous robotic Red Ronin while it indiscriminately destroys everything in its path. He lobs explosive arrows at it, to little effect as Ronin plows through the CTE facility. Suddenly, a quinjet careens through the air at Ronin on a collision course with its head. Wonder Man bails out at the last second. Ronin manages to slice the quinjet apart with his energy blade though, thwarting the attack. The giant robot (whose controller Dr. Cowan is still unconscious within) simply strides away down the Long Island shore.

Wonder Man asks where the rest of the Avengers are and explains to Hawkeye that he woke up alone and miles away, after he was knocked unconscious (in the previous issue). SHIELD’s Behemoth heli-carrier arrives and Wonder Man is reunited with the team. Hawkeye joins them as well. The Avengers and Nick Fury bring Simon and Hawk up to date on the mission, explaining how Dr. Cowan stole Red Ronin in an insane mission to instigate WWIII and thereby “kill the great fear.”

Wonder Man asks where the Beast and Jocasta have gone. Cap relates that they were last seen entering the robot by a door in its heel. Wonder Man is concerned that if they attack Ronin, they might kill their friends inside. Iron-Man states that it is a risk they have to take.

Inside Red Ronin, the Beast and Jocasta are climbing up through the vessel and steadily making their way into the command center located in the head.

Dr. Cowan awakens to find Ronin facing off with Coast Guard ships. He attempts to shut the robot down but finds the circuitry has been fused by Iron-Man’s massive attack (also last issue). The “DESTROY” command is locked and cannot shut it down!

Ronin wends his way into the more densely populated northern end of Long Island, advancing into a shopping mall and causing thousands of pedestrians to flee in terror. After evacuating the area, Captain America and Iron-Man provoke Red Ronin into tossing his shield (similar to the way Cap tosses his own.) They bring it to ground, although doing so causes Cap to crash his sky-cycle. Iron-Man crawls into the shield, interfacing with it and activating the energy blade. The Vision and Wonder Man use their combined strength to maneuver the shield in the air and use the blade to attack Ronin. They successfully pulverize his right hand and slice off his left leg. Ronin is laid low on the ground.

Inside Ronin, the Beast and Jocasta have at last reached the command center and confront Dr. Cowan, who confesses he cannot control the giant anymore. Jocasta and Cowan stab at consoles furiously, hoping to randomly land on some sort of off switch. The Beast merely sits back and ponders…

The Avengers slice Ronin in half. But then the energy blade burns out and Ronin is still active! He crawls toward the Long Island expressway, threatening to kill hundreds, perhaps thousands of innocents. The Avengers’ desperate attacks can’t stop it. But just as everything seems hopeless, the Beast unplugs one link, in particular, causing Ronin to completely shut down.

The wrecked Red Ronin is carted away by Behemoth. Fury informs the Avengers that Cowan will likely be committed rather than stand trial. Hawkeye agrees to accompany the Avengers back to the mansion for a debriefing (and a friendly visit).

Back at the mansion, the Avengers are stunned to find their teammate Ms. Marvel, who has been much changed. Ms. Marvel, who reveals her true identity as Carol Danvers to the team, has undergone an entire nine-month gestation period in just two days! The Scarlet Witch has returned with Carol as well and has brought in Dr. Donald Blake (a.k.a. Thor). The Avengers react with excitement at the idea of Ms. Marvel’s “pregnancy”, despite her obvious trauma from it.

Later that night, Carol goes into “labor” and Dr. Blake is certain it is like no birth a human has ever seen!