Plot
In the North Atlantic Ocean, Misty Knight stops some mercenaries from smuggling ancient Asgardian artifacts, though they manage to get away with their primary target. Misty takes the recovered artifacts to Annabelle Riggs, who is excavating a Viking burial site and inadvertently awakens the dead Vikings with one of the artifacts. Misty battles the Vikings and is soon joined by Valkyrie, who senses the commotion. When the fight is over, Valkyrie agrees to take Annabelle and Misty to Asgardia, to seek council on the matter.[13]
The mercenaries kidnap Danielle Moonstar and bring her to Caroline le Fey, who wants to become a valkyrie like Dani. In Asgardia, the All-Mother explains to Valkyrie, Misty and Annabelle that the dead Vikings signal the return of the Doommaidens; corrupted valkyries, who come to fill the void left by Valkyrie's inability to assemble a new Valkyrior. Hela, aware of the Doommaidens' return, brings Hippolyta from the Underworld to help set things right.[14]
The All-Mother teleports Valkyrie, Misty, Annabelle and Hippolyta to Harrowpoint Island, Washington, where Caroline le Fey has taken Dani Moonstar to use in a ritual to summon the Doommaidens. Once inside Caroline's chamber, the heroes discover that the Doommaidens have already arrived. During the subsequent battle, Annabelle manages to free Dani before the Doommaidens halt their fighting, recognizing Valkyrie as their "sister".[15]
The heroes retreat to Misty's safe house in New York City as the doom maidens give chase. There, Valkyrie has a vision from long ago of herself leading an attack against Odin. Valkyrie then decides to take Dani and Hippolyta and lead the doom maidens away from the city, while Misty and Annabelle call Heroes for Hire for help.[16]
During the Age of Ultron, Wolverine and the Invisible Woman travel back in time and assassinate Ultron's creator, Hank Pym, to prevent Ultron from taking over the world. In the divergent timelime created by Pym's death, Morgan le Fey and her husband Doctor Doom conquer half the planet. Morgan and Doom's daughter, Caroline recruits Hippolyta to seek revenge for abandoning Caroline as a child. In Latveria, Caroline and Hippolyta discover that Doom has died and has been replaced by Ares, Hippolyta's father. Hippolyta defeats Ares and takes back command of the Amazons, who have been subdued by Ares.[17]
Valkyrie, Dani and Hippolyta lead the doom maidens to an Asgardian ruin in Descanso de Deus, Brazil. There, the three are outnumbered and near defeat before Misty and Annabelle arrive with reinforcements. Caroline reveals to Dani that Valkyrie intends to syphon Dani's powers at the ruin. With Dani's powers, Valkyrie transforms into the berserker-like maiden of rage.[18]
Valkyrie, the maiden of rage, destroys the doom maidens and then turns on her allies, while Caroline escapes. After Valkyrie defeats the heroes, she sets her sights on a nearby village. Annabelle follows in pursuit and is able to quell Valkyrie's rage with her love, but Annabelle is killed in the process. Valkyrie returns with Annabelle's body and calls for the formation of a new Defenders, however the heroes rebuke Valkyrie's offer. Meanwhile, Caroline begins searching for new doom maidens amongst the villainesses of Earth.[19]
In Valhalla, Annabelle struggles to adjust to the afterlife, while Valkyrie searches for Clea. After fending off some trolls, Clea agrees to help Valkyrie bring Annabelle back to life in exchange for a sacrifice. Clea transports Annabelle to New York City, where she reunites with Misty and discovers that her lifeforce has been merged with Valkyrie's and she is now Valkyrie's host.[20]
Misty and Annabelle investigate a monster problem in New York's Chinatown and ask Elsa Bloodstone for assistance. They discover that the Ghost Boys gang have been using Brood hatchlings to carry out hits in the neighborhood. Valkyrie, Misty and Elsa track a hatchling to an underground lair, where Hai-Dai ninjas are bio-engineering Brood eggs. The three aided by No-Name of the Brood defeat the Hai-Dai and their master, Zheng Bao Yu. Afterwards, Bao Yu turns to Caroline for protection.[21]
In New York City, the Fearless Defenders attempt to stop the Doom Maidens from awakening the Pandemonium Axles, evil sculpture-like creatures that have remained dormant underground for sometime. Meanwhile, the significant others of each of the Fearless Defenders have invited them to a bar to convince them to disband. The fight reaches the bar and together with their partners, the Fearless Defenders defeat the Doom Maidens and the Pandemonium Axles. However, the women decide to stay together without any assistance from their mates.[22]
During the Infinity event, Ren Kimura, a dancer living in New York City, is exposed to Terrigen Mist, causing the dormant Inhuman genes in her DNA to awaken. Meanwhile, the Wardogs of Thanos comb through the city, exterminating newly formed Inhumans, but are stopped by Caroline and her Doom Maidens, who seek the new Inhumans for their own purposes. Ren is rescued by the Fearless Defenders, but are cornered by the Doom Maidens. When the fight is over, Ren joins the Fearless Defenders as they push through the city and search for Ren's parents.[23]
Hippolyta invites the Fearless Defenders to New Amazonia for some rest and relaxation. There, Hippolyta explains that she has been charged by the Death-Lords to rebuild the ranks of the Amazons in exchange for her resurrection. The following morning, New Amazonia is attacked by Aradnea, Echidna, and Echidna's sea-monsters on orders from Caroline Le Fey. After the monsters are defeated, Caroline reveals that the attack was a test and offers to become the Amazons' queen.[24]
In Los Angeles, Misty recruits Frankie Raye for a mission to put an end to the Doom Maidens once-and-for-all. The Fearless Defenders find the Doom Maidens in the final stages of a ritual to grant Caroline the powers that she has been craving. In the subsequent battle, the Fearless Defenders defeat the Doom Maidens while Frankie siphons the energy from the ritual before Caroline can complete her transformation. However, Caroline still manages to succeed in the secondary ritual of restoring Morgan le Fey.[25]
