- "That's it? You murdered him because you could?"
"His death was a favor. Yours will be a triumph." - ―Loki and Yellowjacket[src]
The Ambush on Yellowjacket was a trap set by Nick Fury to take down Yellowjacket.
Background[]
- "You filled her head with nonsense about protecting humanity and saving the world. 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." - ―Yellowjacket and Loki[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 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.
Thor is killed by Yellowjacket
During his crusade against Fury, Pym killed Tony Stark, Clint Barton, and Bruce Banner, while remaining completely undetected. He also killed Thor when he was trying to retrieve Mjølnir from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s site, assuming that Fury would try to recruit him as well.
In the wake of Thor's death, the army of Asgard, led by Loki, invaded Earth, threatening war on humans if they did not find the culprit behind Thor's murder. During her investigation, Black Widow managed to figure out that van Dyne was connected to the killings and informed Fury about that before Pym killed her. Fury concluded that Pym was behind the killings, so he approached Loki and organized a trap to take down Pym.[1]
Ambush[]
Hope van Dyne's final resting place
- "Come on. You're supposed to be a killer? Well, come on, then. Kill me."
- ―Loki to Yellowjacket[src]
Disguised as Nick Fury, Loki arrived at the cemetery in San Francisco, and while waiting near Hope van Dyne's grave, he encountered Hank Pym. Pym confirmed that van Dyne's death was the reason he swore to revenge by ruining Fury's Avengers Initiative, while Thor's death was more of a collateral damage. Pym then attacked Loki, being convinced that he was attacking Fury, 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, appearing behind him. Loki then created multiple illusions of Fury and surrounded Pym, while he was unable to land a hit on any of them. 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.[1]
Aftermath[]
Defeated by Loki, Hank Pym was apprehended by the Einherjar, so he could be judged by Asgardians for killing Thor. However, Loki then decided to turn against S.H.I.E.L.D. and conquer Earth for himself. Loki announced to the United Nations that he proclaimed himself a new ruler of Earth, while his army spread around the globe.
Black Widow attacks Loki
With Pym neutralized, Fury restarted the Avengers Initiative by summoning Captain Marvel and recovering Captain America from Arctic.[1]When the Helicarrier was attacked by the Asgardians, Captain Marvel and Captain America mobolized and fought them. A version of Natasha Romanoff hailing from an alternate universe arrived at the Helicarrier and attacked Loki, saving Nick Fury from falling under the trickster god's mind control.[2]