Summary

• The Avengers face a treacherous nightmare in their latest issue, similar to DC’s “Knight Terrors” event; in both cases, the heroes are trapped in a horrifying version of their fears by a villain.
• Nightmare sends the Avengers into a deep sleep, leaving only Scarlet Witch and Vision awake to face the returning Twilight Court at the conclusion of the issue.
• The impact of Nightmare’s plot on the Avengers is more effective than what Insomnia did to the DC Universe in “Knight Terrors.”

Warning: Spoilers for The Avengers #7!

The Avengers have been forced to endure a treacherous nightmare in their most recent issue, drawing parallels to “Knight Terrors”, DC’s summer event, in which the company’s heroes and villains were catapulted into the Nightmare Realm, courtesy of new villain Insomnia. The current Avengers storyline, meanwhile, finds Earth’s Mightiest Heroes trapped in a simulation depicting their own deaths.

The Avengers #7 – by Jed Mackay, C.F. Villa, Federico Blee, and VC’s Cory Petit – puts Marvel’s premiere superhero through something very similar to DC’s recent crossover, though arguably in a much worse way. While each member of the Justice League suffers their own individual nightmares, the Avengers suffer one collective nightmare.

The horrifying vision in question plunges the Avengers roster into the absolute worst-case scenario at the end of the world, showing what they fear most – their collective failure as a superteam to protect Earth from the increasingly great threats faced by the planet and its population.

The Latest Avengers Arc Parallels DC’s Summer Crossover

Avengers #7 opens bleakly, with no context for how the heroes get to where they are. The first image of the heroes features the Scarlet Witch cradling her dead husband in her arms as the rest of the heroes – including Carol Danvers in her old-school Ms. Marvel outfit – mourn the Vision. Within moments, one by one, each hero suffers a brutal, traumatizing death of their own. By the issue’s end, Scarlet Witch awakens to learn this is all a ruse on behalf of the villain Nightmare, who managed to send The Avengers into a deep sleep, buying the Twilight Court time to touch down.

It’s unclear if this is a generic nightmare, or if this is a combined fear for them, but in either case, it clearly shakes each member to their core. Rather than target each of the Avengers in different ways, Nightmare manages to damage Marvel’s superstar heroes all at the same time, in one fell swoop. Besides, surely, it has to be a fear for any superhero or team of heroes to realize that the latest threat they face is too big for them. Staring down the end of the world, and coming to terms with being on the losing end of this battle, clearly leaves a mark on the Avengers.

What Separates DC’s Knight Terrors from Marvel’s Version

Just as with DC’s “Knight Terrors,” the Avengers’ predicament is a result of a villain’s plot. Nightmare’s machinations leave the Avengers exposed, and unable to defend themselves when the returning Twilight Court arrive. Only Scarlet Witch and Vision are awake to see the arrival of The Twilight Court. In the next issue, while the rest of the Avengers sleep, the duo will have to stand tall, alone, against the group that struck fear into the heart of Kang the Conqueror. Given his impact and what he’s achieved, what Nightmare does to the Avengers has already proven far more effective than what Insomnia has done to the DC Universe.

The Avengers #7 is on sale from Marvel now.